In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Please clean your plate dear
The Lord above can see you
Don't you know people are starving in Korea
Alcohol and razor blades and poison and needles
Kindergarten people, they use them, they need them
The over-indulgent machines were their children
There wasn't a way down on Earth here to cool them
'Cause they looked just like humans
At Kresge's and Woolworth's
But decadent brains were at work to destroy
Rats in batallions were ruling the street scene
Generation landslide
Closed the gap between 'em
And I laughed to myself at the men and the ladies
Who never conceived of us billion dollar babies
Militant mothers hiding in their basements
Using pots and pans as their shields and their helmets
Molotov milk bottles heaved from pink high chairs
While Mother's Lib burned birth certificate papers
Dad gets his allowance from his sonny the dealer
Who's pubic to the world but involved in high finance
Sister's out till five doing banker's son's hours
But she owns a Maserati that's a gift from his father
Stopped at full speed at one hundred miles per hour
The Colgate invisible shield finally got 'em
But I laughed to myself at the men and the ladies
Who never conceived of us billion dollar babies
The Lord above can see you
Don't you know people are starving in Korea
Alcohol and razor blades and poison and needles
Kindergarten people, they use them, they need them
The over-indulgent machines were their children
There wasn't a way down on Earth here to cool them
'Cause they looked just like humans
At Kresge's and Woolworth's
But decadent brains were at work to destroy
Rats in batallions were ruling the street scene
Generation landslide
Closed the gap between 'em
And I laughed to myself at the men and the ladies
Who never conceived of us billion dollar babies
Militant mothers hiding in their basements
Using pots and pans as their shields and their helmets
Molotov milk bottles heaved from pink high chairs
While Mother's Lib burned birth certificate papers
Dad gets his allowance from his sonny the dealer
Who's pubic to the world but involved in high finance
Sister's out till five doing banker's son's hours
But she owns a Maserati that's a gift from his father
Stopped at full speed at one hundred miles per hour
The Colgate invisible shield finally got 'em
But I laughed to myself at the men and the ladies
Who never conceived of us billion dollar babies
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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,
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No Surprises
Radiohead
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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.
Blue
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one of their best. it's an attack on the rampant consumerism at the end of the sixties. society was in turmoil – vietnam, the aftermath of korea, changing values, womens lib etc. just kat is right, it's all in there. (easy for me, i was alive then!) and the chorus was just a further tilt. here were these five kids outta phoenix who in a matter of six years went from being track and field jocks to america's number one nightmare. and millionaires in the process. if you were around then you'd know, despite all the publicity, these guys terrified parents. i kid you not - there's never been anything like it since. kids now go "manson is so bad. isn't amy winehouse shocking?!" but us parents just go "meh...manson is like alice lite. and amy... puh, a two beer screamer." i wish i'd had the foresight to write down the sorta stauff my friend's parents used to say about the coopers.