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School Who could possibly provide better social commentary and insight on Public Education than a life-long insider? I spent nearly 35 years as a student, teacher, or administrator in that mix. It was my life, and I knew it well. School is written from the perspective of a gifted, aware, yet thoroughly bored adolescent student who is forced to sit in his chair and replow the same old intellectual furrows that had typified classroom instruction for decades and had frustrated the socially and intellectually aware students who were required to look interested while sitting at [their] idle desk with every head in line. Thus the universal (and universally unanswered) question - Tell me, how does this compare to life? Such a profound looming issue, obscured by daily, mundane classroom distractions- The children steal your lunches . . . and the Teacher steals your mind . . . It's such a slick and mischievous device . . . In spite of the frustrations, most students would concur with the repeated refrain --- Leave me in . . . but leave me be . . . Sit me down . . . but set me free . . . A simple way of saying what modern reformers have told us --- Make education relevant --- Provide the comfort of structure that adolescents genuinely require (in spite of their reluctance to admit it) --- Allow their minds to soar beyond the rigid constriction of narrow and narrow-minded curriculum. After implementing those kind of changes, public school educators may no longer be asked the questions that are repeated throughout this song - ...........How come learning's such a chore? ...........How can life be such a bore? The song School is one of the primary reasons that I felt it ill advisable to use my real name on these recordings. We wanted School's rhythm track to have a sparse- early punk sound (Tom had done a few albums with the Modern Lovers). The beginning starts with a schoolboy's melody to mock its theme. With every chorus refrain emphasised by a nasty guitar chord and cymbals- nothing subtle here. Much like many a Beatle's song, School starts with the chorus. It is a relentless marching drum, with the guitar digging in as it leads to the first solo that has a Keith Forsey drum feel. Then there is another chorus then another chorus. There is simply nothing more to say, so the second solo says it all to the last and final word of the chorus. |
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