This Week's Song: The Only Way Out is the Exit

It is now week nine! For those of you just checking in, Max and the Marginalized are a band in LA that writes a song every week, records it quickly and posts it on HuffPo and our MySpace.

This week's is a simple song about how though I, too, have flirted in the past with "We weren't supposed to go to war in Iraq, but since we did, we have to finish the job" and "We didn't have enough troops, so let's see if it will work better with some more," I think that we should leave immediately because no further loss of American life in Iraq is justifiable to me, and no damage to our image is worth another life lost. If I have to be called a "defeatocrat" to want lives to be saved, I'm merely grateful that that's the only sacrifice I've had to make in this horrible detour.

Downloads of all Max and the Marginalized songs, as well as tour information and other treats are here.

The Only Way Out Is The Exit

Sooner or later the planes will take off
They'll keep counting 'til they get to enough
and the backward rationale is pulled asunder
They'll come forward with easels and charts
Powerpoint projects with 26 parts but they all end up the same
Except the numbers

And I like details most of the time
But what they say about the devil, I'm afraid it's true sometimes

So I gave it a shot but I'm through with the thought
That everything works if you let it
And I once believed that we can't just leave
But I'd rather soon just forget it
The fact that I'm too young to remember
Don't make me too old to forget it
It might not be nice however you slice it
The only way out is the exit
You'll figure it out, the only way out is the exit

When we exhaust the ten point plans
They'll roll their eyes and throw up their hands
And I stand my stance for more than just convenience
Sooner or later we'll start the retreat
I hope it's soon, yeah that's fine with me
One mans defeatists are another's realists

And we'll come back from where we came
To clarify the picture at the expense of the frame

So I gave it a shot but I'm through with the thought
That everything works if you let it
And I once believed that we can't just leave
But I'd rather soon just forget it
And I'm not old enough to remember
But I'm not too young to regret it
It might not be nice however you slice it
The only way out is the exit
You'll figure it out, the only way out is the exit

The wheels have all come off
And it's time that someone suggests it
And I don't need more experiments
Or the patience for someone to test it
I'm not old enough to remember
And I'm not too old to forget it
So I'll wait around 'til you figure it out
The only way out, the only way out is the exit

Comments

[Tankan]

The war will not end, but it is time to bring the illegal invasion to an end!

[wrabbitt]

I think that EVE OF DESTRUCTION fits in here somewhere...

[gardenbookie]

It won't be over until Bush/Cheney gives the nod for the Fat Lady to take center stage and belt it out. (applause, applause, applause)

[vippy]

Bush said if he does not get the funding he will have to let go some civilians in those jobs over there. Now would that be those
Blackwater guys???? Good riddance.

[Tator]

Should be the song of the Democrat Party, but should have the title "WE SURRENDER"

[Tellmethetruth]

Presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden said Tuesday the agreement signed by President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki this week, setting the foundation for a potential long-term U.S. presence in Iraq, is premature and counterproductive.
Biden, a Democratic from Delaware, said the "Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship" fails to address the main problem, which is solidifying a government that can end sectarian violence.
"Nothing this administration has done, this declaration not withstanding, has brought us any closer to ending this civil war," he said.
"All these Declaration of Principles really are is further confirmation of what I said two years ago. This president has neither a plan to win this war nor a plan to end the war. His plan is to pass it on to the next president."
Iraq and the United States agreed Monday that the U.N.-mandated occupationof Iraq will end in December 2008 and that any U.S. troop presence in the country after that time will be subject to U.S.-Iraq negotiations that are to be completed by next summer.
If he were president, Biden said, he would "dump it." He said the principles neither tie the next president's hands nor solve any problems.
Earlier this week, Biden was critical of Republican presidential hopefuls Arizona Sen. John McCain and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for defending the administration's troop surge, citing a significant decrease in violence. Biden said neither the surge nor Monday's declaration will move Bush closer to his stated goal of building a strong, centralized government in Baghdad.
"We are seeing less violence because the military is doing the job we assign them, as they always do," he said. "Now it's time for the president do his job."
Biden's exit plan, detailed at www.planforiraq.com, entails establishing three or more regions " Shiite, Sunni and Kurd " with a strong but limited central government in Baghdad. He said he has the support of 74 other senators and troop leaders overseas.

[TRYKER]

Good song good post, thanks.

[TazeMe65]

What the hell are you talking about? Things are finally turning in our favor in Iraq and you want to bug out? wtf?

We left the Iraqi's collective ass hanging out in the wind in '91--you want to repeat that?

I suppose you have a great plan to deal with Dinnerjacket and his nukes.... (crickets chirping)

I say again, wtf?

[realitytrumpsbull]

I've got a better one for you:

Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush

Hey Mur-kuh we're gettin' robbed
so write to Congress
have'm do their job
People need to speak, 'cause it's time
the Iraqi war, it is a high crime

Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush
Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush

There's other ways to move your car
write the teachers tell em raise the bar
we don't need oil, we don't need war
so what the hell are they fighting for

Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush
Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush

I can only speak for myself
but I put the car keys back on the shelf
if the only choice is 'stay the course'
I say to hell with that I'd rather ride a horse.

Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush
Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush

Ecology, economy
rhetoric to in-fluence me
Arlo Guthrie's dead and gone
so it's up to us to carry on

Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush
Impeach Bush, Impeach Bush
the bowl is full
and it's time to flush

(Big finish)

[sa]

great song.
- not snarky or bad or anything -
but i wish the producer had a
70's sensibility - there were all
sorts of cool phrases and moments
lost by its speed. poignant stuff
that could have been worked
to make a great song - a classic.

the song is a heartbreaker,
not just a nihilist thrash dance song.
a slower pitch could have nailed it.
still, kudos.