The cover of Low Cut Connie’s single, “Look What They Did.”
“They built casinos in 1981, they said the whole frickin’ city’s gonna grow/Donald Trump made half a billion, what do we got to show?” sings Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie in the band’s mournful new single, “Look What They Did.”
He continues: “Look at what they did to the people/Look at what they did to the town/Look how they built up the dream/And now they’re tearing it down.”
The city in question is Atlantic City, of course, though later in the song, the lyrics become more general. Alex Wroblewski’s video features footage from modern-day Atlantic City as well as footage and photos shot by Wroblewski in Ferguson, Mo., and Puerto Rico.
The single will be released on Feb. 17 (Presidents Day); you can watch the video below.
In a press release, Weiner, a Cherry Hill native, said the song is a sequel, of sorts, to “Atlantic City,” from Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 Nebraska album.
“I grew up in New Jersey and spent all my summers in Atlantic City,” said Weiner. “When I was a kid, Trump and his buddies convinced the town to let them come in and built all these vacuum-sealed casinos by promising a lot of things to the city that never happened … revenues to schools and seniors and community development.
“Those times were the backdrop for Bruce’s classic ‘Atlantic City’ song and video. I figured now that almost 40 years has passed, it was time for a little moral and civic check-in. Let’s see where Atlantic City is at now. What we find is some serious devastation. Trump went in on a lie, made his gazillions, stiffed a lot of people and skipped town. Now he’s running his scam on everyone else. In New Jersey, we had his number a long time ago.”
Weiner has solo shows scheduled for the City Winery in Philadelphia, Feb. 20 and March 26. Low Cut Connie will perform at the Hoagienation 2020 festival at the TD Pavilion at The Mann in Philadelphia, May 23, as well as at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, May 30.
For more on Low Cut Connie, visit lowcutconnie.com.
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