Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
He wants to live fast, die young, get drunk
He wants to tell the "Oh world up yours"
Don't wanna be last left on the shelf
Gotta do it, gotta do it for himself
Don't wanna meet girl, get house, have kids
Don't wanna give himself no five year plan
He wants to hold out 'til he has to
He wants to hold out 'til he gets his chance
His chance to dance...
Oh Nigel, where've you been?
She said you're wonderful, as you are
Over there, thinking your life away
Pushing the love away, on your...
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
He didn't think that he had a problem
'Til he woke up and all his friends were gone
He kissed a girl in '97, he thought she left
But oh how she'd hung on
Oh Nigel, where've you been?
She said you're wonderful, as you are
Over there, thinking your life away
Pushing the love away, on your...
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
You and Simon lay together
She told him all the place that she'd been
What she'd seen
Coulda laid back there forever
Under her breath she sweared she'd get him clean
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
He wants to tell the "Oh world up yours"
Don't wanna be last left on the shelf
Gotta do it, gotta do it for himself
Don't wanna meet girl, get house, have kids
Don't wanna give himself no five year plan
He wants to hold out 'til he has to
He wants to hold out 'til he gets his chance
His chance to dance...
Oh Nigel, where've you been?
She said you're wonderful, as you are
Over there, thinking your life away
Pushing the love away, on your...
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
He didn't think that he had a problem
'Til he woke up and all his friends were gone
He kissed a girl in '97, he thought she left
But oh how she'd hung on
Oh Nigel, where've you been?
She said you're wonderful, as you are
Over there, thinking your life away
Pushing the love away, on your...
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
You and Simon lay together
She told him all the place that she'd been
What she'd seen
Coulda laid back there forever
Under her breath she sweared she'd get him clean
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Well his stomach's sick but his heart is beating
Tears run thick but her eyes are bleeding
She slaps his face just to stop him screaming
And the world just stopped, the world just stopped
Lyrics submitted by simon_quine
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.