On With The Business

Album: Teeth Dreams (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This blast of electric guitar and vocal delay finds Craig Finn evaluating people that are big on "beautiful kitchens" and "plastic and magic." He told The Sun newspaper that this song defined the direction of Teeth Dreams. "It took me a long time to get the words to 'On With the Business,' but once I got them. I thought we might have a thesis statement for the record," he said.

    "It's a song about the evil that people do to reach other in order to acquire more consumer goods," Finn continued. "There's one line. I got from an interview with the writer David Foster Wallace. He speaks of 'that American sadness,' which is the realization that no amount of stuff from the outside – alcohol, consumer stuff – can fill the void we all feel on the inside."
  • A key influence on Teeth Dreams was David Foster Wallace's dystopian American satire Infinite Jest. Finn read the novel twice during the recording of the album. "It's a brilliant book, and a very anxious one, but you read it and believe that Wallace had it all figured out," he told The Independent. "But then he went and killed himself, and I find that very hard to reconcile."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.