| Soul Coughing – Moon Sammy Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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I know that the "real" Moon Sammy is a fat black janitor/night watchman that Doughty met at some point. What the rest actually meant to him (aside from the weird apocalyptic musings that seem to infuse the whole album), I have no clue. However, I named one of my cats after this song so I can't help but think about it in terms of cat/human perspective. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the two "Moon Sammy" verses is very catlike (especially this cat, who was very certain of herself and her little world), and the rest of it, the complicated part that spins the mind out into its own universe, is human (especially me, because at the time I got this cat I was just settling into graduate school and my mind was going all over the place). I had a real sense of "great admiration" for her and her self-containment--what a weird little thing she was; I suppose all cats are (they contain multitudes). I don't know if Doughty's a cat man but if he were I suspect he might appreciate that reading. |
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| R.E.M. – Airportman Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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This song was written in 1999 or something so it was NOT inspired by 9/11, but the first time I heard it afterwards it scared the sh*t out of me; struck me as almost prescient. I can't listen to it anymore without thinking about the guys who hijacked the planes to fly into the WTC, "moving efficiently beyond security," and their sense of "great opportunity" within that suicide mission (i.e., blindly serving their leader, getting into heaven with all the attendant virgins, etc.). "The people mover discounted"--I could read that line as the appropriation of the airplane as weapon, discounting all the people on it. Even the foggy ambience of it, the lack of clarity of the lyrics, strike me as suitably horrific. (yogaboat, I like your interpretation, and given some of the other stuff on that album about disillusioned professionals--e.g., "Sad Professor," "Daysleeper"--I think it could be right on target. Disillusionment in general seems to be a big theme of the album, now that I think about it.) |
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| R.E.M. – The Flowers Of Guatemala Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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My favorite thing in the song is the reference to "Amanita"--which is the genus of several exceptionally deadly mushrooms, including the one commonly known as the Destroying Angel. I always get this image of these mushrooms popping up among the flowers--something deadly and nasty that appears overnight and unbidden. It's the creepy element in a song that's generally pretty and peaceful (and since what Jerrybear already said about its meaning is completely right, that creepiness is utterly appropriate). It's even a pretty word, with a slightly Latino feel, and I suspect a lot of people don't necessarily recognize what it really means. These days, I like the metaphor of the United States as the Destroying Angel, which is completely appropriate here too. |
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