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Live — Selling The Drama
Album: Throwing Copper
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1467








Released: 1994
Length: 3:19
Plays (last 30 days): 0
And to love a god
And to fear a flame
And to burn a crowd that has a name

And to right or wrong
And to meek or strong
It is known, just scream it from the wall

I've willed, I've walked, I've read
I've talked, I know, I know
I've been here before

Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that

It's the sun that burns
It's the wheel that turns
It's the way we sing that makes 'em dream

And to Christ a cross
And to me a chair
I will sit and earn the ransom from up here

I've willed, I've walked, I've read
I've talked, I know, I know
I've been here before

Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Scarred like that

(SOLO)

And to love a god
And to fear a flame
And to burn a love that has a name

I've willed, I've walked, I've read
I've talked, I know, I know
I've been here before

Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
Comments (171)add comment
Great Tune! I used to hear this on the radio a lot & I never knew who it was.  Thank You RP!
 erik_408814 wrote:


Not completely correct. Live was very popular in the Netherlands in the nineties! 



Also in Germany. 
Hey Vlad, listen to this:


Hey, now we won't be raped
Hey, now we won't be scarred like that
 slandering wrote:

The band Live was totally unknown here in Europe. I first heard the track
mid 90ies in Mexico barefeet on the beach 3 in the morning with a drink in the one hand
a girlie in the other. Can imagine how i feel hearing this on RP again...



Not completely correct. Live was very popular in the Netherlands in the nineties! 
The cover art looks like it should be a mural in a 1930's Post Office. Well, maybe less the gal in the mini skirt...  
1994: THIS IS GREAT!
2020: Man, Live has not aged well.
 boober wrote:
The year is 1994 and I'm doing business in Omaha. At night, I usually try to find live music which is very tough mid-week in small cities in the U.S. Live is playing at this city hall and I buy tickets last second and find myself in the balcony. I'm sitting with a lot of older men and woman (only slightly older than I was.....I was 40 at the time).....and this one lady points down at the mosh pit and asks me ....."which one is yours"?  She meant which kid dancing down there was yours? I said I came here by myself to listen to the band and she looked at me like I was crazy. There must have been over a 100 "older" men and women at this concert watching their teenage kids thrash around at the mosh pit. I have never seen this before or since.
Great story!

 OhCanada67 wrote:
Shit Town!!!
 
Oops...misspelling Shit Towne.



I can still remember the first time I heard them, at a party in high school.... and I've been a fan since the intro baseline of "Pain lies by the riverside" on side 1 of mental jewelry.

REM they are not (and that's good for both of them).
I saw Live live in concert & they are goooood.
 hugogdt wrote:
Sounds like REM... I always thought this was them!

 
Barely. This is more grunge, and I can surely think of several bands that more resemble that genre and this track, or vice versa, than R.E.M. 
 Jota wrote:
REM rip off.

 
I don't hear it.  Distinct voice and certainly the music isn't similar. 
REM rip off.
 hugogdt wrote:
Sounds like REM... I always thought this was them!

 
I occasionally sing at Open Mic nights and I can do a fairly solid Michael Stipe impression, so I might give that a try. It's fun to do mash-ups like that.
be interesting to hear this next to High Tides and Green Grass...
great song for me! a 9 with no doubts
Not at all a fan...
Such an upbeat song... 10 all the way.
 Crumblebum wrote:
"Selling the Drameh": sounds like Eddie Vedder decided to front an REM cover band......ugh.

  The best Description You may Imagine, however, the Song itself isn't that bad, isn't it?


 easmann wrote:

Each year that passes I'm less convinced that Rod Serling is really dead.
Don't think he is. Seem to be living in the Twilight Zone.

(dragging of locally-stored images into post editor is not allowed - dragging images from other web pages is ok)

I just like the melodic yelling in a minor key.
 boober wrote:
The year is 1994 and I'm doing business in Omaha. At night, I usually try to find live music which is very tough mid-week in small cities in the U.S. Live is playing at this city hall and I buy tickets last second and find myself in the balcony. I'm sitting with a lot of older men and woman (only slightly older than I was.....I was 40 at the time).....and this one lady points down at the mosh pit and asks me ....."which one is yours"?  She meant which kid dancing down there was yours? I said I came here by myself to listen to the band and she looked at me like I was crazy. There must have been over a 100 "older" men and women at this concert watching their teenage kids thrash around at the mosh pit. I have never seen this before or since.
 
Each year that passes I'm less convinced that Rod Serling is really dead.
"Selling the Drameh": sounds like Eddie Vedder decided to front an REM cover band......ugh.
The band Live was totally unknown here in Europe. I first heard the track
mid 90ies in Mexico barefeet on the beach 3 in the morning with a drink in the one hand
a girlie in the other. Can imagine how i feel hearing this on RP again...
 dis wrote:
Me too! {#Cheesygrin}
 
hugogdt wrote:
Sounds like REM... I always thought this was them!



 


 
same here!  {#Bananajam}
Love, Love Love this{#Bananajam}
The year is 1994 and I'm doing business in Omaha. At night, I usually try to find live music which is very tough mid-week in small cities in the U.S. Live is playing at this city hall and I buy tickets last second and find myself in the balcony. I'm sitting with a lot of older men and woman (only slightly older than I was.....I was 40 at the time).....and this one lady points down at the mosh pit and asks me ....."which one is yours"?  She meant which kid dancing down there was yours? I said I came here by myself to listen to the band and she looked at me like I was crazy. There must have been over a 100 "older" men and women at this concert watching their teenage kids thrash around at the mosh pit. I have never seen this before or since.
Without a doubt one of my favorite albums ever.
Me too! {#Cheesygrin}
 
hugogdt wrote:
Sounds like REM... I always thought this was them!



 



Sounds like REM... I always thought this was them!
 Tana wrote:
Just to impress everyone with my old age ... Ed Kowalczyk Sr. was my high school newspaper advisor and I attended his wedding to the school secretary in 1969. Who knew they would spawn a couple of rock stars.

 
Too bad Ed Jr. developed a huge rock star ego and tried to screw the rest of the band out of their earnings a few years back.  They were so good back in the day, though.
Great album.  I'd never heard of them in the UK, so thanks again, RP, for more head-nodding times.
Not bad...the music is solid...too much like a sermon for me though. 
 I agree completely.
Kanuffen wrote:
Hands down, one of my absolute favourite, overall rock albums fo all time. Non-stop quality tracks, one after another..... but who the hell am I
 


Hands down, one of my absolute favourite, overall rock albums fo all time. Non-stop quality tracks, one after another..... but who the hell am I
Just to impress everyone with my old age ... Ed Kowalczyk Sr. was my high school newspaper advisor and I attended his wedding to the school secretary in 1969. Who knew they would spawn a couple of rock stars.
Love Live!  {#Bananajam}
Nice!
 sirdroseph wrote:
Run......into........ground.........is in China now.{#Rolleyes}

 

Caves in China

How about some Zeppelin for me Bill?   Or Stone Roses "This is the One" even better.
Good everything. {#Snooty}..#10
 htowncoog wrote:
Wish we could hear a more obscure tune...Live's album tracks can be some of their best work.
 
I most heartily agree!  I really loved this album when I was in high school, although I'm sure my parents hated it because I played it all the time at volumes that they frequently objected to.


Run......into........ground.........is in China now.{#Rolleyes}
Best left back where it belongs.... On the shelf... Yawn!!!!
Pretty kick-ass tune. I'd forgotten about this one.
When I look back to the 90's, the music seems a blur. The height of LIVE was in the 90s. College band.
It's okay, I've heard it before, but not that often that  I can't still enjoy it. 5 for live.
Bad '90's, not good, go away!
LIVE!!!  dude i was just listening to this cassette in my jeep.
Wish we could hear a more obscure tune...Live's album tracks can be some of their best work.
 redstorm wrote:

sound's very R.E.M.ish to me..... {#Undecided}
 

srsly, I thought it was R.E.M., or a spinoff thereof.
I think the consensus rating on this gets it right so I gave it a 7.
Wouldn't mind if I never heard this over-played band again.  {#Puke}
 romeotuma wrote:
Yeah, this song be good...
 
It's good enough that I don't have to throw copper, or any other metal at it.

 redstorm wrote:

sound's very R.E.M.ish to me..... {#Undecided}
 
+1

 romeotuma wrote:


This song is good for the ears...
 
The ears are good for this song...

Man, this is one hit or miss band...This is one I like.
Not a big Live fan, but this song touches a nerve.
 jedley wrote:
No, they didn't become jaded, they became born again evangelicals and started focusing on hiding Christian messages in the lyrics rather than on the music. That's why they suck now.
 
Can we get a source on that?  I know they started taking a more spiritual bent starting with The Distance To Here, but I've never heard anything about them going all fundie.  AFAIK their spiritual influences have always been pretty eclectic.


 horstman wrote:
Live's first two efforts, Mental Jewelry, and Throwing Copper are two fantastic albums. Full of meaning, great lyrics, awesome composition. Then they just faded, became more jaded.

  No, they didn't become jaded, they became born again evangelicals and started focusing on hiding Christian messages in the lyrics rather than on the music. That's why they suck now.



sound's very R.E.M.ish to me..... {#Undecided}
saw these guys in Embarcadaro, SF (sorry for the misspelling), in about 1994 or 1995. It was one of those free concerts in the square. It was pretty awesome. I don't like their albums after throwing copper. just didn't get it. but i still love listening to Mental Jewelry.
 Danimal174 wrote:

Oh, for the days when Live used to be good. I absolutely loved their first two albums ("Mental Jewelry" and "Throwing Copper"), but haven't cared for much of anything they've put out since then.


 
+1 
Fantastic early work followed by self- and label-based- indulgence, the apparent narcissism (or other forms of mental jewelry) of Ed Kowalczyk , and reckless creative / artistic abandon.  That said, I believe this is a talented and creative group which, after the first two CDs (both 10s IMHO), has spent its existence chasing the high of their initial creative (Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper) and commercial success (Throwing Copper).  I have continued to support and follow their work but remain vaguely disappointed by their output.  JM2CW as a long-term fan.  {#Zip-lip}


Jack_Jefferson wrote:
It's silly because these guys take themselves a little too seriously.


No argument about that here, but it's still a great tune.
 shakylegs wrote:
He's choppin' broccoli!
He's choppin' broccoli!
Choppinnnnn'!
Broccoli!
 
I was just going to say I was glad this song had gone away, and I hadn't missed it. At all. Ever.

But the broccoli is a WAAAAY better comment.
Well done, shakylegs.

He's choppin' broccoli!
He's choppin' broccoli!
Choppinnnnn'!
Broccoli!

Oh, for the days when Live used to be good. I absolutely loved their first two albums ("Mental Jewelry" and "Throwing Copper"), but haven't cared for much of anything they've put out since then.


Over-the-top bravura.
Here is a group that could drag my ass out of the sofa and go to just one more concert! Overplayed or not (I do not like the word overplayed) it's still a 10! Remember first time I heared it,was in a FM Radio studio a friend played it and asked-What do you think about this? "Really good,what's the name of the band?"-Live. "great name for a band sounding likr this!"
horstman wrote:
My son just asked who this was and I said "Guess". He said R.E.M. Pretty funny. And we both like R.E.M. (and Live)! Awesome song. Awesome band that faded pretty hard and fast.
They are still around! Still great. This CD shines though. Songs From Black Mountain came out June 2006.
sukilau wrote:
they sound too much like REM for me to like 'em..
My son just asked who this was and I said "Guess". He said R.E.M. Pretty funny. And we both like R.E.M. (and Live)! Awesome song. Awesome band that faded pretty hard and fast.
If you can not like this,I sugest some very private time with one of the best!
LizDeines wrote:
Wow that's harsh, but isn't it great we can live in a world where I love a song as much as you hate it?
A bizarro world? ;)
There's some songs that you can recover from the "overplayed-ness" of when it was first released. This isn't one of those songs. Unfortunate, becuase I liked it when it came out at first.
Jack_Jefferson wrote:
It's silly because these guys take themselves a little too seriously.
ha ha yeah they really do but nostalgia stil prevents me from being able to dislike this album
Sucks as much as let's say Jon Bon Jovi
electronicshaman wrote:
another album I just can't get sick of since when has silliness been such a bad thing? perhaps if more people were a bit silly, the world would be a nicer place
It's silly because these guys take themselves a little too seriously.
Lonestar wrote:
I hate this song with the white hot intensity of a 1000 suns!
Wow that's harsh, but isn't it great we can live in a world where I love a song as much as you hate it?
they sound too much like REM for me to like 'em..
I hate this song with the white hot intensity of a 1000 suns!
another album I just can't get sick of
I can't get past the silliness of naming a band "Live".
since when has silliness been such a bad thing? perhaps if more people were a bit silly, the world would be a nicer place
I remember I heard this song first at high-school time...it sounded not bad at the time.... 15 years ago?... my gosh...
These guys seriously kick ass live, I was converted the first time I saw them, was fairly apathetic prior.
I can't get past the silliness of naming a band "Live".
I so like that song.
LordBaltimore wrote:
Decent band, but some of the most bombastic and silly lyrics I've ever heard. These guys make the Stone Roses look like Dylan Thomas.
I agree, but now that they are more of a Christian band their lyrics make more sense (although can be a bit crazy - see the lyrics to "Heaven")
Live's first two efforts, Mental Jewelry, and Throwing Copper are two fantastic albums. Full of meaning, great lyrics, awesome composition. Then they just faded, became more jaded. This song simply rocks. And makes one think of domination and power and the force of man and woman. Good music makes you move and think. This does both of those, but mostly the latter. Great addition to the RP playlist. Try listening to this song and driving, or running slow. Go on. Try it. Just like Lays, told ya.
meloman wrote:
Jeez, Annie, relax. You're right, but not exclusively. (Are you sure you're not from Wake? That shrill thing you've got going isn't very tarheel.)
Judging from comments on other songs, I'm guessing she has some kind of experience that makes her paint songs with a very narrow brush of meaning (if that makes ANY sense at all). Damien Rice's Volcano next?
LordBaltimore wrote:
Decent band, but some of the most bombastic and silly lyrics I've ever heard. These guys make the Stone Roses look like Dylan Thomas.
Severe case of We Take Ourselves Far Too Seriously-itis.
anniebear wrote:
To which I reply rape n. The crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse.
Imagine the possiblity of a word having more than one meaning. Do you ever use the word impregnate? By your logic, it is off limits to females.
anniebear wrote:
To which I reply rape n. The crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse.
Jeez, Annie, relax. You're right, but not exclusively. (Are you sure you're not from Wake? That shrill thing you've got going isn't very tarheel.)
I reiterate ... Live rocks
Decent band, but some of the most bombastic and silly lyrics I've ever heard. These guys make the Stone Roses look like Dylan Thomas.
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
WordNet Dictionary Adj. 1. raped - having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence; "the raped countryside" Synonyms: despoiled, ravaged, sacked, pillaged
To which I reply rape n. The crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse.
supremo wrote:
I absolutely love Live and really wish I could argue with you guys there. This album isn't so bad lyrics-wise, but Secred Samadhi is just terrible. Though the rumor is that they channeled some of their lyrics. I'm thinking for future reference they should probably find some spirits that aren't using the same stuff as they were.
Wow ... channeled?? Is that for real? It sure would explain a lot. Secret Samadhi is simply dreadful, lyrically. But I do like this song, basically because of the way it's arranged and performed. Message? Heck if I know. I don't even have a clue what the title is supposed to mean. Selling the drama? Spaying the iguana? I dunno. It's okay.
Until Bill said who this was, I just presumed it was an REM song I hadn't heard before.
brandog wrote:
I agree, they took a decent piece of music, and infused it with stupid lyrics - a great fault of this band all through it's career.
I absolutely love Live and really wish I could argue with you guys there. This album isn't so bad lyrics-wise, but Secred Samadhi is just terrible. Though the rumor is that they channeled some of their lyrics. I'm thinking for future reference they should probably find some spirits that aren't using the same stuff as they were.
anniebear wrote:
hate this song. Hate it when any man says "we wont be raped" Well no sir, you most likely WONT be, unless you go to prison, pretty white boy. Frelling pretentious ass
WordNet Dictionary Adj. 1. raped - having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence; "the raped countryside" Synonyms: despoiled, ravaged, sacked, pillaged
ick, please, let's leave this one unplayed in the attic.
Stanford Mixed Company did an excellent a capella arrangement of this (with female lead) in their 2001-02 school year album.
hate this song. Hate it when any man says "we wont be raped" Well no sir, you most likely WONT be, unless you go to prison, pretty white boy. Frelling pretentious ass
Seeing them live is such a great experience. I for one love both the band and this song. O:)
6 + 2 for nostalgia.
Saw them live twice and they put on an intense show. Reminded me of U2 in that I felt the songs on a spiritual level; I don't experience that at too many shows.
(Sung to the bit that leads into the chorus) ~~I hate... this song... please kill... me now... I don't... think I... can handle one more noooootttee......~~
I will defend to the death your right to listen to this garbage.
Illustr8r wrote:
Awwwwww, that's cute. Did you hear that one on NPR?
i'm an npr junkie, but that was funny.
ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote:
Good old mid 90s stuff.
I've got your number now. I knew what you liked, Arbiter, but hadn't yet seen you praise a song. Now I have the benchmark. By the way, I hate this song, but speaking objectively, it might actually be good. Some songs suck and that's all there is to say, but Live seems to have all the good elements and put them together in ways I hate.
Love this song--I haven't heard it in a long time.
shel-nyc wrote:
Nothing like Creed. I'll admit that Ed's lyrics have lost thier edge a little since he became a Hare Krishna (sp?) and found inner peace. The pain and angst on Mental Jewelry made for much better poetry. But if you see any comparison betweeen Creed and Live, you should listen more closely to the lyrics. Ed's are about a his personal search for meaningful spirituality, the guy from Creed just thinks he's Jesus.
Oooops!
Seen these guys a bunch of times-always good and LOUD!
Cdog wrote:
This one just rubs me wrong.
Try your other hand
Good old mid 90s stuff.
cellar band
more like selling the over dramatic...
histrionic, self-important, pretentious... but at least it rocks.
Hey-yey, yeah-yeah. Takes me back - mid-90's living in South America, driving along beach roads with this blaring out. Cool song
Art_Carnage wrote:
CLEARCHANNEL ALERT! CLEARCHANNEL ALERT! CLEARCHANNEL ALERT!
Awwwwww, that's cute. Did you hear that one on NPR?