| Jay-Z – Empire State of Mind Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song is amazing for the breadth of its appeal. Unlike other portraits of New York by myriads of hip hop artists through the decades, including Jay Z, this song isn't just for the tough guys living in poverty and resorting to crime in Bed Stuy, East New York, South Bronx, etc. It's also not just for those born and raised in New York, and it doesn't take an elitist stance against the hundreds of thousands of young, wide-eyed Americans looking to embrace an urban lifestyle and pursue their dreams. This song is for the natives, the transplants, the immigrants, the criminals, the good citizens, the poor, the middle class, the wealthy--everyone and anyone whose dreams have been made and fulfilled in this great city. You hear this song played in the bars where young people gather to socialize. You hear it trickling from the boom box behind the counter at the corner deli, where you are served by a man or woman who left everything behind to make a new life in New York. You hear it coming out of the car windows of sixty-year-old men and women who, along with the rest of their family, have spent their entire lives in the city. This song doesn't glorify the crime-ridden city of the 1970's (nor does it ignore the past). It is an all-encompassing, optimistic anthem for an ever-evolving city in the year 2009. |
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| Miike Snow – A Horse Is Not a Home Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Amazing how people interpret songs based on their own lives. I listen to music every day on my half-hour bike commute, and honestly thought this song was literally about "ride[ing] in morning traffic." "By your fortress side / without magic" -Motorists look at their vehicles as private fortresses in the public roadway, "wheel-houses," if you will, and we ride our bikes "by your fortress side". And unlike those with metal shells to protect them, we are vulnerable to these rolling fortresses, "without magic". "in a room that is ocean-sized and clear not here / where all I breathe is smoke." -The streets in NYC are pretty large area-wise, but due to the way the space is rationed, it's not clear, and we all have to breathe smoke/exhaust. "A horse is not a home." -See #1! So I guess the lesson is that if you have recently felt rejection or whatever, then that's how you interpret it. Or if you happen to be upon a bicycle while thinking about what it means, then, well, there ya go! |
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