A lucky few bands make it to the point where they have a moment when the whole world seems to be paying attention to a specific release. Even a smaller percentage of those groups emerge from that time in the spotlight to sustain long careers.
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Old 97’s enjoyed such a moment with the album Satellite Rides, which earned them a powerful wave of critical acclaim from the music cognoscenti. They’re still out there doing their thing today because of the songwriting and performance qualities of songs like “Rollerskate Skinny”, one of the standout tracks from that 2001 album.
The Real “Skinny”
How many bands can you name that have been in existence for close to 35 years and have the same lineup now as they did on their first album? Sons of Dallas, Texas, Old 97’s, formed in 1992, can make that boast. It’s been Rhett Miller, Murry Hammond, Ken Bethea, and Phil Peeples since the get-go.
The band released their first full-length album in 1994. Eventually, they made their way to a major label by their third release. That brought them more attention, as they rode the first wave of the alt-country movement in the second half of the 90s.
Satellite Rides, arriving in 2001, represented their fifth studio album. As usual, Miller handled most of the songwriting chores, with Hammond adding a couple of originals as well. The band’s patented blend of country storytelling combined with punkish energy comes to the fore often. Meanwhile, the record also made room for more introspective moments like “Question”.
Meanwhile, “Rollerskate Skinny”, written and sung by Miller, settled into a ridiculously catchy power pop groove. Miller based the song in part on a brief romance with actress Winona Ryder. The Catcher In The Rye, one of Ryder’s favorite books, also happens to be the point of origin for the song’s title. Holden Caulfield, author JD Salinger’s narrator, uses it to describe his thin sister.
Exploring the Lyrics of “Rollerskate Skinny”
“Rollerskate Skinny” acts as both a character sketch of the titular character and a bit of introspection on the part of the narrator. When the song begins, he warns her that she could be headed for rough times if she stays on her current path. “How can you have everything and nothing to lose?” he wonders. “You and nobody see eye to eye/You’re gonna wake up with a ghost instead of a guy.”
The warnings continue. “You’re gonna break down on a midnight date,” he explains. “You’re gonna curse this town, you’re gonna run late.” He offers her simpler pleasures, including a Burbank, California, bowling center: “Do you want to meet up at the Pickwick Bowl?/We could knock nine down and leave one in the hole.”
Miller also adds smatterings of autobiography, such as the reference to the Athenia, a British boat sunk in World War II that his grandmother survived. He also mentions that this girl might be an antidote to his own doldrums. “But you make it alright, you make it okay,” he opines. “You make me sorta glad that I waited till today.”
In the final moments of the song, Miller throws up his hands at fate. “I believe in love but it don’t believe in me,” he explains. It’s a melancholy touch added to a raucous song. “Rollerskate Skinny”, like many new romances, bounces all over the place, from utter elation to unmitigated anguish, from boundless hope to irreversible despair. And it’s all the more memorable for that wild ride.
Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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