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*Song Description By Noles*

The idea of writing a protest song about idiot culture came to me on November 27, 2011. I was watching the halftime coverage of Sunday Night Football on NBC. During this NFL halftime report, legendary analyst Bob Costas had a segment on excessive touchdown celebrations. Illustrating how one player lost the game for his team over a pompous touchdown celebration that triggered a game costing penalty. The penalty was for unsportsmanlike conduct. Costas goes on to praise the classic touchdown celebration called "the spike". Where the player throws the football to the ground as a "simple, elegant punctuation", and then quickly moves on with the game. Touchdown celebrations have evolved over the years, much like the way of pop culture. These celebrations get to the point where they're too much, and sometimes insulting. In his analysis, Costas basically uses pop culture as a metaphor for idiocy and lack of substance. While looking back at the way meaningful things used to be.

As I was writing new material for the Fairbairn Meadows album, I had this chord progression I came up with earlier in 2011 that I wanted to use on a song. F# m - E - Bm - C# was what I came up with. It's also used in The Black Keys' "Tighten Up" from their 2010 album Brothers. The Black Keys were a big influence on me during the creation of the first 2 Plaid On Flannel albums. I wrote some other chord progressions and fully arranged all the parts to "All Time Low".

The lyrics for "All Time Low" were written sometime in mid-December of 2011. This was a few weeks after I saw that Bob Costas segment on touchdown celebrations. I even used the audio from that report in the intro to "All Time Low". From the clips I used, there is no actual mentioning of touchdown celebrations. This is so the speech can be open to a broader interpretation. For "All Time Low", I wrote lyrics about how shallow and tasteless popular culture had become in the 21st century.

Following the production of 5 songs for the Fairbairn Meadows album, I started recording "All Time Low" on December 22, 2011. The chorus melody for "All Time Low" was inspired by the chorus from The Cat Empire's "Falling" from their 2010 album Cinema. The Australian band were also a big influence on me during this time. The lead guitar in the intro of "All Time Low" was influenced by guitarist Carlos Santana.

I finished recording "All Time Low" on January 29, 2012, and the entire Fairbairn Meadows album was released on July 1, 2012. I've never played "All Time Low" with a band, but I have performed it as a solo acoustic act. Here's an acoustic version of me performing "All Time Low"... youtu.be/UMiAD2LzneY I've always wanted to perform "All Time Low" with a band. Because it makes such a statement on how much of a cesspool the old music industry has turned into. As long as there's abysmal pop music being shoved down the throats of the masses, "All Time Low" will always remain relevant. Which is why I would like to perform the song with a Plaid On Flannel band in the future.

lyrics

Words and music by Nolan Randall

Keeping up with the world they made for us
What’s it all about?
It seems that they betrayed our trust
They think they’re smart but they do not know a thing
What can you do when you live in a world
where only crap is king?

If we only knew where this would
Take us down the road
Sorry, I forgot to tell the story in stupid mode

Talking to the people who still care and you’re still
Walking with your feet up in the air when I start
Rocking in this never ending chair
I’m sure you know this all time low is everywhere

Graceless things like this make me wonder why
Mindless exhibitionism is why you’re with that guy
Obnoxious self-indulgence is a sign
That many people are aware that
true style is in decline

People get notoriety for reasons all unknown
Trying to blame the world
But it’s nobody’s fault but our own

Talking to the people who still care and you’re still
Walking with your feet up in the air when I start
Rocking in this never ending chair
I’m sure you know this all time low is everywhere

You do it to feel good about yourself
Every time you’re in a jam you have to ask for help
The world is yours, you have to make a choice
It’s not just you this happens to
all the girls and boys

Talking to the people who still care and you’re still
Walking with your feet up in the air when I start
Rocking in this never ending chair
I’m sure you know this all time low is everywhere

credits

from Vol. I: Fairbairn Meadows, released June 29, 2012

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Plaid On Flannel Toronto, Ontario

Plaid On Flannel is an alternative indie blues rock act from Toronto, Canada. With 80+ original songs recorded since 2011, singer-songwriter Nolan Randall has remained the sole constant member of the band. POF's music is known for guitar riffs/solos, memorable hooks, catchy melodies/harmonies, evocative lyrics, & superb musicianship. While keeping a focus on originality and songwriting quality. ... more

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