Dubious Ranger Discuss Their Weapon
04/10/2009
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(PR) San Francisco based band Dubious Ranger are preparing to release their new CD, Uneasy Truce at the Watering Hole on April 21. Lead guitarist Jonathan Eccles explains the band's creative process, for the album's lead single, "Weapon", and its accompanying frenetically surreal music video
"A good deal of our songs aren't about overarching subject matter or messages, but rather subscribe to the David Byrne theory that loaded mantras, syllabic beauty, and stream of consciousness observation can create an ambiguous art from which any listener can derive their own meaning. [Lead singer/keyboardist] Alexander [Eccles] had this phrase 'anything is a weapon', which can be taken both literally and as a call to arms. He was hoping to write a poppy dance song, so he took a liking to the phrase 'Don't you mess with the girl next door no don't you dance with my monopoly,' which besides being syllabically interesting and memorable, is also a straightforward retread of the 'that girl is mine, don't you mess with her' idea that's been around since time immemorial. At the same time, the word 'monopoly' exposes the sick twist of sexist ownership that's always existed just under the surface of that message."
"As for the verses, it was always just about what sounded good to say, and what conjured jarring imagery or punny wordplay. 'Licorice is a weapon' is a Devo reference (a band that does not get enough credit for how awesome they were), 'Kerouac is a weapon' is an ode to the stream of consciousness writing we subscribe to not to mention our trippy general mindset and then there's the obligatory knock on religious fundamentalism being used as a earthly cudgel ('Jesus is a weapon if your mind is a [expletive deleted]'). Plus, we conjure some uniquely hometown imagery (homeless dudes flashing you, fights near BBQs in Dolores Park) because we like San Francisco and every time we mention it in a song we get imaginary bonus points"
Bassist Aaron Sankin calls the edgy and frenetic video a "heady and psychedelic mix of ridiculous hipster dancing, floating tanks and a thrusting Alfred Hitchcock all taking place in a digitally animated mash-up world of Hong Kong, Mumbai and Los Angeles. And at the end, everything kind of explodes for some reason. The video just wanted to be super-frantic and hone in on the girl-next-door concept. The 'Alfred Hitchock keeping that girl in chains on a dance floor' imagery is just a stab at pop surrealism"
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