“Why’s it so hard to have a good thing?”: Brian Dunne Digs into the American Dream of a ‘Good Life’ in His Restless, Hungry Anthem, “Clams Casino”

Singer/songwriter Brian Dunne confronts class, craving, and the cost of wanting a ‘good life’ in “Clams Casino,” the punchy, soul-baring title track off his upcoming fifth album – a wry and weary anthem for anyone feeling a little hard up and still chasing the American Dream.

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Stream: “Clams Casino” – Brian Dunne

‘Cause all I want is just a little bit more; is that so much for me to ask for? And clams casino on a Sunday night, is it so bad to want a good life?

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There’s something about your thirties that makes you pause and ask: Is it really so bad to want a good life?

Brian Dunne’s “Clams Casino” feels like it was written for that exact moment of questioning – that tug-of-war between self-critique and self-worth, between what we think we should have and what we’re allowed to want. It’s a song that cuts to the core of millennial disillusionment, and then keeps digging – searching for sweetness in the tension, and light in the middle of the wreckage.

I’ve been trying to have a good life
But no one wants you to be satisfied
They double the bill and split the difference
Leave you paying down the interest

They say you get what you pay for
I bought a mattress at the discount store
I feel like I’m sleeping on a concrete floor
I guess you get what you pay for

“I have both a lot of class pride and a lot of class shame,” Dunne, a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter, member of folk rock supergroup Fantastic Cat, and longtime favorite of our pages, tells Atwood Magazine. “The story kind of ping pongs back and forth between ‘why’s it so hard to have a good thing?’ and ‘is it so bad to want a good thing?’ Which is sort of what I’m always asking myself – when I can’t get what I want or need, I’m just so existentially frustrated. And then the second I do, I start to have imposter syndrome, wondering if I deserve this $6 coffee.”

Why’s it so hard to have a good thing?
It should be easier you would think
You better be rich and good looking
‘Cause it’s so hard to have a good thing

“Clams Casino” is the title track and thesis statement of Dunne’s upcoming fifth album, out September 5^th via Missing Piece Records. Inspired by working-class blues and modern malaise, the record asks what happens after the dream fades – when the bad guys have won, and you’re left trying to salvage dignity, meaning, and a little joy at the dinner table.

“Overall, I’m really interested in following my generation through the different phases of life, narratively speaking. The people in these songs are the same people populating those songs on the last two albums – both those records are about millennial disillusionment. So this record is about what happens after. To me, it’s about the chasm between selling out and moving out,” Dunne says. “Should I stay or should I go? The eternal question.”

I’m just trying to have a good life
Clams casino on a Sunday night
Betting the house on a bottle of wine
I’m just trying to have a good time

Is it so bad to want a good thing?
Don’t even let ’em catch you looking
Don’t let ’em see you get your foot in
Is it so bad to want a good thing?
‘Cause all I want is just a little bit more
Is that so much for me to ask for?
And clams casino on a Sunday night
Is it so bad to want a good life?
Is it so bad to want a good life?

That tension is baked into every line of “Clams Casino,” where layered guitars, soft synths, and a soulful vocal burn slow and steady. Dunne opens the song in a place of quiet frustration: “I’ve been trying to have a good life / But no one wants you to be satisfied / They double the bill and split the difference / Leave you paying down the interest.” From there, the verses spiral deeper into the everyday indignities of scraping by – “I bought a mattress at the discount store / I feel like I’m sleeping on a concrete floor.”

He ultimately hits his high in the song’s spirited chorus – bold, buoyant, and brutally honest: “Why’s it so hard to have a good thing? / It should be easier, you would think / You better be rich and good looking / ‘Cause it’s so hard to have a good thing.”

Dunne explains how this song came very naturally to him – driven by the title, which he had sitting in his notebook for quite some time, and always liked.

The question was always when, not if he’d write this song. “I felt like ‘Clams Casino’ is what a working man thinks a rich man eats, and I felt like I could fold a lot of story into that,” he shares. “This one came pretty easy to me – the subjects in this song were eating at me in a particularly aggravating way. I knew the moment I wrote it that it was the direction I needed to go. I could just see all the characters playing out, like a movie.”

She said all you do is bitch and moan
You’re never happy and you’re never home
Everyone wants what they don’t have
And you really don’t have it half bad

But baby I’m trying to express myself
You know the doctor said it might help
If I can release some of this tension
If I can make peace with this question

Dunne’s brilliance lies in his balance of humor and heaviness, irony and empathy. “I’m just trying to have a good life / Clams casino on a Sunday night / Betting the house on a bottle of wine / I’m just trying to have a good time.” The imagery is rich and cinematic – a little absurd, a little tragic, and all too real. Whether he’s dreaming of tiny luxuries or calling himself out mid-song, there’s a vulnerability here that makes the whole thing hit harder.

“The last verse is my favorite,” Dunne says. “A second character enters and eviscerates the argument as completely self-involved and useless.” She cuts through the noise with biting clarity: “All you do is bitch and moan / You’re never happy and you’re never home / Everyone wants what they don’t have / And you really don’t have it half bad.” It’s the kind of mirror that stings – and it’s what keeps this song from collapsing under its own weight.

Is it so bad to want a good thing?
Don’t even let ’em catch you looking
Don’t let ’em see you get your foot in
Is it so bad to want a good thing?
‘Cause all I want is just a little bit more
Is that so much for me to ask for?
And clams casino on a Sunday night
Is it so bad to want a good life?
Is it so bad to want a good life?
Is it so bad to want a good life?

If Dunne’s last album, 2023’s Loser on the Ropes, was about still being in the fight, then Clams Casino is what happens when the final bell rings and you’re left picking up the pieces.

And yet, there’s hope here – not cheap optimism, but hardened grace. “My intention for all my records has always been to make people feel less alone in their personal struggles. But I wanted to take on a bigger issue on this album and how it trickles down (no pun intended) to one’s personal issues. Catching a break in this world is nearly impossible,” Dunne says. “There’s an embarrassment of riches on our planet and they’re being hoarded by a bunch of lottery winners who don’t even know what they have.”

For anyone feeling a little hard up – for meaning, money, or a moment of peace – “Clams Casino” is a mirror and a balm. Dunne may be calling himself out, but in doing so, he’s calling all of us in. And while I’ve never had clams casino, based on this song, it sure sounds nice. Read our conversation below, and stay tuned for more to come as Dunne continues to roll out his fifth album! Clams Casino comes out September 5^th via Missing Piece Records.

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A CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN DUNNE

Brian Dunne: Hey Mitch, thanks for saying that. I would say that overall, I’m really interested in following my generation through the different phases of life, narratively speaking. The people in these songs are the same people populating those songs on the last two albums – both those records are about millennial disillusionment. So this record is about what happens after. To me, it’s about the chasm between selling out and moving out.  Should I stay or should I go?  The eternal question.

Brian Dunne: Ok well, I had the title sitting in my notebook and I knew I really liked it. I felt like “Clams Casino” is what a working man thinks a rich man eats, and I felt like I could fold a lot of story into that. This one came pretty easy to me- the subjects in this song were eating at me in a particularly aggravating way. I knew the moment I wrote it that it was the direction I needed to go. I could just see all the characters playing out, like a movie.

Brian Dunne: I grew up in a super working-class family, and I have both a lot of class pride and a lot of class shame. The story kind of ping pongs back and forth between “why’s it so hard to have a good thing?” and “is it so bad to want a good thing?” Which is sort of what I’m always asking myself- when I can’t get what I want or need, I’m just so existentially frustrated. And then the second I do, I start to have imposter syndrome, wondering if I deserve this $6 coffee.

But my favorite thing about this song is the last verse, where a second character enters and eviscerates the argument as completely self-involved and useless. Am I illustrating the finer points of the class war in America, or do I just want what I don’t have? Do I just want an invite to a party I’m not invited to? I think these are all very valid questions and they kind of reflect the current conversation about class in today’s world.

Brian Dunne: It’s the thesis, for sure. Every song after it digs into a different aspect of class and how it influences, how we live, where we live, who gets to continue to chase their dreams and who has to pack it in and move back to suburban Ohio, ya know? And most of it centers around the dinner table; who has enough to eat and who doesn’t.

Brian Dunne: Clams casino is fine; it is not my favorite preparation of the clam. BUT that’s the point. It’s not that good, it’s just that I want it because I can’t afford to have it. It’s like saying “when I make it to the top, I would like a bathtub full of champagne.”

Brian Dunne: My intention for all my records has always been to make people feel less alone in their personal struggles. But I wanted to take on a bigger issue on this album and how it trickles down (no pun intended) to ones personal issues. Catching a break in this world is nearly impossible and I think at the core of a lot of internal struggles is the sad fact that there’s an embarrassment of riches on our planet and they’re being hoarded by a bunch of lottery winners who don’t even know what they have.

Brian Dunne: I mostly make what I want to hear, as a music fan. And though I’m a massive fan of a lot of contemporary artists, I think because of the current state of the industry and the world, things have gotten a little bourgeois for me.  This record is my response to that.  It’s for anyone who feels a little hard up right now.

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:: stream/purchase Clams Casino here ::

:: connect with Brian Dunne here ::

:: pre-order Clams Casino here ::

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Stream: “Clams Casino” – Brian Dunne

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