Song: "Continental"
Artist: Alkaline Trio
Album: "Good Mourning"
Year: 2003
Place Of Origin: McHenry, Illinois
Years Active: 1996 - present
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"Continental" appears to be about a heroin addict who went to the well one too many times and it cost him his life. The vocalist was the addict's friend and he often wonders himself what the high must be like. It seems that the vocalist doesn't give into his own urge however. He does take his friend to get what would be his last hit. Not only does the vocalist have to live with that, he also has to be the one to notify the addict's family that he has OD'd and died. You get a sense that the vocalist saw this coming, that his friend's life was like a train gone off the rails and about to come to a crashing halt.
ALKALINE TRIO DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1998 - Goddamnit (Asian Man Records)
2000 - Alkaline Trio (Asian Man Records)
2000 - Maybe I'll Catch Fire (Asian Man Records)
2001 - From Here To Infirmary (Vagrant Records)
2003 - Good Mourning (Vagrant Records)
2005 - Crimson (Vagrant Records)
2007 - Remains (Vagrant Records)
2008 - Agony & Irony (Epic Records)
2010 - This Addiction (Epitaph Records)
2011 - Damnesia (Epitaph Records)
2013 - My Shame Is True (Epitaph Records)
CURRENT STATUS OF ALKALINE TRIO:
Alkaline Trio formed as a band back in 1996, hailing from Illinois. Matt Skiba, guitarist and lyricist, would be joined by bassist and lyricist Dan Andriano in 1997, giving Alkaline Trio a two-headed monster when it came to writing songs and contributing vocals. After dropping a few albums as well as some EP's, it was 2001's "From Here To Infirmary" that began giving Alkaline Trio more success outside of their Chicago punk scene. Thanks to the singles "Private Eye" and "Stupid Kid", Alkaline Trio officially broke into the Billboard 200, hitting #199. The next five full length studio albums all entered the Billboard 200 as well, the lowest being 2005's "Crimson" which peaked at #25 and the highest being 2010's "This Addiction" whice topped out at #11. After a very successful run on the Vagrant Records label and one release through major label Epic Records (2008's "Agony & Irony), Alkaline Trio forged on creating their own label, Heart & Skull Records, which is connected with famed punk label Epitaph Records. "This Addiction" was the band's first album to appear on this label. In 2011, the band released "Damnesia" which features re-worked, acoustic renditions of some of their songs. 2013 saw the most recent release that the band put out, "My Shame Is True". After this release, Matt Skiba joined up with Blink 182 to replace Tom Delonge for a tour and a new album. Dan Andriano also focused on his side project The Emergency Room and well as releasing new music with punk supergroup The Falcon. There was some uncertainty on when Alkaline Trio were gonna get back together, if at all, but those fears were alleviated when it was announced that the band will be dropping a new album in August of 2018 called "Is This Thing Cursed". A new single from that album called "Blackbird" has already been released. Alkaline Trio seems to take qualities of bands like the Misfits and Jawbreaker and blend them together to create their own style and sound. Their sound definitely has a pop punk feel but their themes are often dark and almost goth-like. There's definitely a lot of sorrow, addiction, depression, failed relationships and self-loathing in their songs. Skiba and Andriano have a real gift lyrically though. They often can paint something that's so dark and ugly and somehow make it sound beautiful. This inherently makes them stand out from their peers in music. If you like bands like The Lawrence Arms, Bayside, The Bouncing Souls, The Menzingers and AFI, then you would most likely love Alkaline Trio as well. This band is an alpha dog in punk music or in any genre as far as i'm concerned.
TEN ALKALINE TRIO SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. This Addiction
2. Radio
3. Mercy Me
4. Time To Waste
5. Private Eye
6. We've Had Enough
7. Clavicle
8. I Wanna Be A Warhol
9. Calling All Skeletons
10. Sorry About That
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