All the boys in the halfway houses wave to the girls of Emerald Street

[crhayes]

I was just listening to the song Emerald Street by my (favourite) band Alexisonfire and I realized they are singing about Hamilton. Thought I'd post it up because it's referencing Hamilton throughout. It doesn't put Hamilton in a good light but it's sung by a band member that grew up on Emerald Street and Barton.

Pregnant teens on the Barton street bus
Hard-up people living off crust
And there's a beat-up town car - it's starting to rust
Hard soles are kicking up dust
Half a million people living in the corpse of the brown brick 50's
To the north, all the small town outcasts are now big city bourgeoisie

All the boys in the halfway houses
Wave to the girls of Emerald Street

Our calloused fingers, blood red on the brick - but we hold on
We'll never falter, though they want us to slip - we hold on

The desperate, downtown stealing bikes
Drunks in the village are picking fights

So, police like the streets to read them their rights
No controlling hot summer nights
The sun goes down on the edge of town, at the end of everyday
We sit and watch the stacks, on fire, to the east across the bay

All the boys in the halfway houses
Wave to the girls of Emerald Street

Our calloused fingers, blood red on the brick - but we hold on
We'll never falter, though they want us to slip - we hold on

There's something in the church belfry
On the corner of Victoria and king
And it screams out into the night
It sings this city's plight

All the boys in the halfway houses
Wave to the girls of Emerald Street

Our calloused fingers, blood red on the brick - but we hold on
We'll never falter, though they want us to slip - we hold on

[emge]

I remember when "this could be anywhere in the world" came out, and Dallas (or someone else in the band) talked about how it was really about what St. Catharines was like. (i remember they played a show at my high school before they got really big - they had just graduated a year or two before).

The video just gave me chills, because it so perfectly encapsulated the desperation/stuck feeling a lot of people have in the Garden City.

When they do a song like this one about Hamilton, it's much more upfront... but strangely enough much more hopeful in the end.

All that aside, if we're a city where people keep seeing and experiencing things in terms of smokestacks and poverty (two big things out-of-towners and former residents associate with Hamilton) it's pretty difficult to change where we're going as a city and what we can be.

[astroblaster]

that is so awesome. i'm not a huge fan of them. but maybe i am now?

[crhayes]

Originally Posted by emge

I remember when "this could be anywhere in the world" came out, and Dallas (or someone else in the band) talked about how it was really about what St. Catharines was like. (i remember they played a show at my high school before they got really big - they had just graduated a year or two before).

The video just gave me chills, because it so perfectly encapsulated the desperation/stuck feeling a lot of people have in the Garden City.

When they do a song like this one about Hamilton, it's much more upfront... but strangely enough much more hopeful in the end.

All that aside, if we're a city where people keep seeing and experiencing things in terms of smokestacks and poverty (two big things out-of-towners and former residents associate with Hamilton) it's pretty difficult to change where we're going as a city and what we can be.

They played a free show at Mac last year (which was awesome) and they said they loved Hamilton.... Obviously artist's say that no matter what city they are in but apparently George still lives here and they mentioned that they have recorded albums here.

[astroblaster]

There's something in the church belfry
On the corner of Victoria and king
And it screams out into the night
It sings this city's plight

i love this part of the song. it is a very obscure and accurate hamilton reference.

i think there is a speaker in the belfry to scare off birds with hawk noises or something. st. patricks

[emge]

a while ago, i used to walk to the Victoria/King bus stop in the morning - and that stupid speaker was always going.

not a pleasant sound at all. i can't imagine living in those storefront apartments near it and having to hear it all the time... ugh.

[realcity]

this gets its own thread?

This forum gets lost because too many narrow topic threads get started that barely get two pages. New thread "Hey I found my glasses". About as dumb as "Where to buy shoes in Hamilton".

Can't we keep this stuff in like a general music discussion, general retail etc? It's like a new Decima poll comes out and its got its own thread, where there is already 8 threads talking about Harper, Iggy, the next election etc

Maybe I'm wrong but whatever. I'm okay with most of the discussions and it's become a good political forum too. However I do miss the architecture and Skyscraper part of skyscraperpage. I think its just the Hamilton section that gets like this and probably because we don't have any buildings over 10 floors to be talking about.

Steeltown?


nevermind Im hung over

[emge]

Originally Posted by realcity

However I do miss the architecture and Skyscraper part of skyscraperpage. I think its just the Hamilton section that gets like this and probably because we don't have any buildings over 10 floors to be talking about.

i miss it too.

however, until there ARE more buildings over 10 floors to be talking about though, i think threads like this are fine though.

[crhayes]

Originally Posted by realcity

this gets its own thread?

This forum gets lost because too many narrow topic threads get started that barely get two pages. New thread "Hey I found my glasses". About as dumb as "Where to buy shoes in Hamilton".

Can't we keep this stuff in like a general music discussion, general retail etc? It's like a new Decima poll comes out and its got its own thread, where there is already 8 threads talking about Harper, Iggy, the next election etc

Maybe I'm wrong but whatever. I'm okay with most of the discussions and it's become a good political forum too. However I do miss the architecture and Skyscraper part of skyscraperpage. I think its just the Hamilton section that gets like this and probably because we don't have any buildings over 10 floors to be talking about.

Steeltown?


nevermind Im hung over

Why shouldn't this get it's own thread? it's in General Discussion, which is the forum you use to talk about anything miscellaneous. I posted it because some people (who don't listen to AOF and therefore would never hear this song) may find it interesting to read the lyrics and see all of the Hamilton references.

[Jon Dalton]

Umm, I think shoes was part of the shopping accessible by foot and hsr thread. If it wasn't, screw it. That stuff is important. I mean, shopping at local businesses does more for the city than talking about buildings that won't get built.

[SteelTown]

I've deliberated with Judge Baum and we've concluded that no decision will be ruled at this moment.

[Jon Dalton]

Also I think the problem is the way this board is structured. Nobody would ever go though the 15 subsections so everyone reads the top 10 threads like it's all one board. If it was split into just one section for threads about specific projects and one for general Hamilton discussion you could choose which threads to pay attention to without going through so many different boards. Not that it bothers me, I just use the top 10 and if there's a thread I don't care about, I don't read it.

[realcity]

the thing is i can never come back here and find the last discussions i was involved in because a lot new threads were started and I just think they could be discussed without its own title thread. just put it in a thread already talking about music. Or the Where to buy Shoes can be discussed in the Retail thread.