THIS CLASSIC and what with it's ICONIC Effects Drenched Guitar Intro Needs No introduction indeed baby !
"22nd Street" may just be as good as it gets when it comes to G.e ,..or maybe not ,..depends on who you talk to,.. " Says Clark THE SHARK HAGINS IN LATE 2021 For Rock City Blogging Online.
"This Track is as Bad Ass as Art Rock can get !!"
Coming from the 1991 "Going Legit" album,..the same disc to deliver G.e classics 'Ben is Dead" , "Star" and "Hey Negrita" as well as "God's Joke" ,.. 22nd Street is indeed an oddball from that release as it stands out on it's own as some sort of G.e "anomaly" track...
"This song ,.. probably far and above so many other great songs from our band ,.. takes things to that super "Another Level" where Great rock meets art meets angst,.." Says Hagins.
The Track begins with a little guitar noodling that definitely irks ones curiosity before beaming into a fantastic 'spacey" guitar fantasy where Hagins puts together one of indie rock's Grande intros with Producer Andrew Houston at Torrance Recording Studio Accessive Light and Sound in early 1991;
"More than any other G.e song, 22nd Street conveys a pain and sadness angst ,..as it tells the story of the lead character from THE ROCK OPERA WHITE SUBURBAN LIAR$" barks Hagins. "This thing is a mish-mash of U2 meets the Cure meets Brian Eno meets like I donno' ,..maybe Rush ( Laughs ),.."
The Earnest lyrics
suddenly emerge out of the songs wilderness of layers of guitars;
"I fought
overseas
when I was a young man ,..
Came home
to find
I had no home !"
Maury "The Lad Insane" from the Rock Opera exclaims in a burst of first words,..
"God lied to me ,..
Left me here
22nd Street,..."
Hagins describes the plights of the Iraq War Soldier ,..coming home to live homeless in San Pedro California ; "The pain this character felt is just so damn sad" exclaims Hagins; "But as the story goes,.. my life is easy ,..I invent fake problems and phantom worries while this soldier really has issues indeed !!" ,..to deal with ,..real shit !!"
Later the lyrics continue;
"A tramp in green
Death sun ,..shines down !!"
"Children ,.. playing in the distance ,.."
God bless you friend
Please return each day !"
Hagins says that the dreary song is definitely influenced by the Bauhaus, New Model Army,..and David Bowie ,..
"To me ,... 22nd Street is the pinnacle of my kind of songwriting and yet it really has nothing to do ,..with what I normally do" Says Hagins.
