(antiMusic) Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Erika Wennerstrom from Heartless Bastards tells us about the title track from their brand new album "The Mountain," which hits stores next week. We now turn it over to Erika for the story:"The Mountain" is about the shrinking middle class here in the US. So many of the good jobs are going overseas and the companies that are sending them over are ultimately going to destroy themselves. The middle class is a big part of the spending power of this country. A great deal of these businesses were already making good profits before they sent the jobs over, it's just greedy. I think we have a flawed system. Even if the companies were trying to answer to stockholders by increasing the profits of an already successful business, looking at the economy now, it hasn't done that much good in the long term. People are losing their retirements in the stock market. It's not because of the war either; this has been coming for a long time. Even when the president said new jobs were being created, he never expressed what kind. I have noticed an abundance of McDonald's, Wal-Mart's and T.G.I. Fridays popping up.
"The Mountain" is about the overwhelming situation of adapting to a global economy. We're very far removed from the days when things were made at home and people supported local businesses. Now we've had baby formula with BPA in it and lead paint in children's toys. The song is my vent on the subject. On one hand I am happy for the people that have risen from poverty elsewhere in the world, but it's hard to justify when I hear of an increase of people at soup kitchens and shelters in my own community and country. I think home is where the heart is and that these companies need to have a little more loyalty to their own communities and the people within them.
I also want to express that even though this is what the song "The Mountain" means to me, what 'The Mountain' means to me as an album title is something very different; as a record, 'The Mountain' represents more of a personal narrative.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!