Tag Archives: review

Starship – We Built This City (Official Music Video) [HD]

Inspiration Behind We Built this City:

Starship’s We Built This City was conceived from a combination of personal experiences, industry observation, and creative reshaping. The WE include song writers Bernie Taupin and Martin Page with production input from Dennis Lambert and Peter Wolf. When Starship’s producers heard the demo, they decided to transform it into a pop hit, shifting their attention from the city of Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Biblical Application:

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building, 1 Corinthians 3:7-9.

Exegesis of We Built This City:

We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
Built this city
We built this city on rock and roll, oh

Music inspires construction workers as they build the latest project.

Say you don’t know me
Or recognize my face
Say you don’t care who goes
To that kind of place
Knee-deep in the hoopla
Sinking in your fight
We’ve got too many runaways
Eating up the night

A reference to societal influences. Meanwhile, city and local rules make construction projects complicated. Then, there is a mention to the breakdown of the family resulting in numerous homeless teenagers.

Marconi plays the mambo
Listen to the radio, don’t you remember?
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll

Perhaps cars stuck in traffic, rolling down their windows as music from a local radio station airs.

We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
Built this city

We built this city on rock and roll

Music provides a pulse and sets the tone for residents living in this city.

Someone always playing
Corporation games
Who cares they’re always changing
Corporation names
We just wanna dance here
Someone stole the stage
They call us irresponsible
Write us off the page

Alluding to politics within construction projects in major cities. Referring to a new night club. Receiving negative press for something that other people did.

Marconi plays the mambo
Listen to the radio, don’t you remember?
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll

The lead into the chorus is repeated. Music influences the moods of people.

We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll

Starship’s song has continued the power that music has on impacting cities.

It’s just another Sunday
In a tired old street
Police have got the chokehold, oh
And we just lost the beat

Morning patrols are trying to be proactive to prevent violence in an unsafe part of town.

Who counts the money
Underneath the bar?
Who rides the wrecking ball
Into our guitars?
Don’t tell us you need us
‘Cause we’re the ship of fools
Looking for America
Coming through your schools

Exposing corruption within local businesses. Perhaps a jab at government planning, who decides which establishments remain and which are torn down. Government lies about decaying public schools.

Marconi plays the mambo
Listen to the radio, don’t you remember?
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll

The closing stanzas end with the chorus. The power of music inside of vehicles.

We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll

Local clubs and radio stations provide soul to their residents.

We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll
We built this city
We built this city on rock and roll, oh

Los Angeles and San Franciso were built by construction workers listening to music.

Final Thoughts:

When I got my first Walkman for Christmas, I immediately began to play music when I went running. Whenever a great song started playing, adrenaline filled my body, propelling me to run faster and faster. When I wasn’t running, I played certain songs to prepare my mind before swim meets and golf matches. If things started to get out of control, words from a chorus would get me back on track to fight through adversity. This is how music has impacted my life.

by Jay Mankus

Rockaway Beach (40th Anniversary Tracking Mix)

Inspiration Behind Rockaway Beach:

Dee Dee Ramone whose real name is Doug Colvin grew up visiting Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. Dee Dee recalls taking a bus or hitchhiking there every summer as a teenager. As the bassist for the Ramones, Dee Dee wrote Rockaway Beach which went on to become the bands highest ranking song on the Billboard Charts.

Biblical Application:

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. ⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish, John 21:4-6.

Exegesis of Rockaway Beach:

[Intro]
One, two, three, four

Making sure the band is on the same page as they begin.

[Verse 1]
Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble gum
The sun is out and I want some
It’s not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach
Up on the roof, out on the street
Down in the playground, the hot concrete
Bus ride is too slow
They blast out the Disco on the radio

Recollections from a teenage going to the beach. The beach is like a mall in the summer, where teens like to hang out. The places where Dee Dee went when he was young.

[Chorus]
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach

Not much of a creative chorus, simply repetitive with a desire to go to the beach and the cheapest way to arrive.

[Bridge]
It’s not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach
It’s not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach

Anyone can get there if you try hard enough.

[Verse 2]
Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble gum
The sun is out and I want some
It’s not hard, not far to reach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach
Up on the roof, out on the street
Down in the playground, the hot concrete
Bus ride is too slow
They blast out the Disco on the radio

Using poetry and a catchy tune to celebrate going to this beach. Describing the conditions you should expect once you arrive. Going on the bus isn’t cool but when you hitch a ride the disco is blasting on the radio.

[Chorus]
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach

The preferred way of travel to Rockaway Beach.

[Chorus]
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
Rock, rock, Rockaway Beach
We can hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach

Ending with a repetitive chorus as there is no mention of actually going in the water.

Final Thoughts:

Rockaway Beach is a classic example of a band focusing on a beat and sound rather than the lyrics. Shorter songs can get away with this if a tune is catchy. On the other hand, sometimes record labels want a new album every year or two so there will also be songs that lack inspiration or are simply added at the last minute. My favorite beach songs paint a vivid picture that communicate lasting memories of one’s past.

by Jay Mankus