Surviving The America and navigating the human condition on "Shoot me Down" (Official Video)

"you're all I want, all I need..."

Surviving The America is a lot of things, a musical project / a website born out of and inspired by Henry Rollins' outlook and expression of growing up and oftentimes surviving more than living. The website's mission statement goes like this:

"You don’t live in America, you survive it. Dream pop with attitude. Music, education, and advice for your journey through The America™"

Delve into the website (link below) and you will likely stay awhile depending on your station in life, your political or societal views on a lot of thing, on the price of capitalism, the cost of private education, the parameters of life seemingly set in stone by maybe our parents or big corporations and big government. I find Max's opinions and ways to navigate through a lot of the problems we all face interesting but, let's focus on Max's music as this is, after all, an indie music blog and I am merely a guy who writes about artistic songs.

"Shoot me Down" features music written by Max and lyrics written and sung by his bud, Tyler Rodino. The track sparkles and moves in jubilant ways but the music has uncomfortable tensions as well, there is an exasperation percolating in Rodino's melodies and vocal aesthetic. The lyrics suggest a total all encompassing relationship that breaks down. When the most passionate of things die whether it is the love and desire between two people or the tenuous grasp of artists in collaboration or the breakdown of a family it hurts the most. "Shoot me Down" somehow counter positions an amazing free sounding amalgam of indie rock and chamber pop tones with a breakdown and yet it sounds so lovely and endearing. I am totally impressed.

Max seems to use the song as a metaphor for many things. Systems breakdown after all too. About the Official Video he shares:

[As humans we are endowed with a natural impulse to create. In the modern age this is expressed in our effort to spend our entire lives accumulating as much wealth as possible, at any expense. Our creative impulses are manipulated to our detriment. Instead of an expression of life, the fruit of our labor is replaced with the feeling of superiority over others that don’t have as much as we do, the brief rush of a flashy purchase, or in the bleak reality of some, mere survival. Taken from the 1948 cartoon “Going Places” by John Sutherland, now in the public domain, this video details the story of a Freddie Fudso, a boy with ambition and imagination, becoming a victim of his society's poor value system, obsessed with prioritizing wealth acquisition above all else. The need for money is a reality of life in the modern age, but who you are is up to you.

Special thanks to Everest Peerbolt. Your support means the world to me =).]

Keep fighting the good fight Max.

-Robb Donker Curtius

https://survivingtheamerica.com/

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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:


https://www.facebook.com/Surviving-The-America-360795824994697

https://www.instagram.com/surviving.the.america/


A music project and message dedicated to helping people navigate modern society and build the life they want.

Surviving The America, indie rock, indie project, diy project, navigating life, surviving American systems, education, health, welfare, the human condition, Henry Rollins, "Shoot me Down"