submissions
| David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I always took it as shorthand for Nazarene, a la Lord Buckley's brilliant old bit. In effect, the kids were treating him like the Second Coming.
Well spotted, though, and now I'm curious as to which he meant. |
submissions
| Warren Zevon – Porcelain Monkey Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I remember thinking from the first time I heard this song that it's about the decline and fall of Elvis Presley, but I could never fit in what the actual porcelain monkey was supposed to be. I tossed it back and forth from something to do with drugs (he had a monkey on his back?) or the fact that The King died on the crapper.
I read Crystal Zevon's bio of Warren and it turned out to be a literal porcelain monkey that Elvis had in his living room, which Warren saw in a picture of the place. A piece of kitsch that for some reason Elvis liked. |
submissions
| George Jones – He Stopped Loving Her Today Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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To be honest, it didn't occur to me that the guy died until about ten years after I first heard the song. I'm not too proud to admit that I thought it was an optimistic song. |
submissions
| Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I'm currently nursing a theory that this song has something to do with the rise and fall of rock music as Zevon sees it. The theory hinges on "Little Suzy," which may be a reference to the Everly Brothers' hit. It's a thin thread, but I think I can flesh it out a bit. |
submissions
| Warren Zevon – Hit Somebody Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I personally think that Buddy's fate is left ambiguous on purpose. It could easily end up that he was hit by the Finn and killed or that he scored the goal and survived. I think Zevon left it up to the audience on this one. |
submissions
| The Clash – (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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kaisersteev, I feel that the connection with the Sex Pistols' manager's store and the Pistols themselves is pretty easy to see when you look at the band's beginnings.
1) Malcolm McClaren has a store named Sex.
2) "I want to have a band to play at my store," says McClaren.
3) Sex Pistols
Back to the subject at hand, I think there's a concern addressed toward Britain's growing conservatism (verse 8). This of course, is directly connected to their concerns with sellouts and false-punks, but I thought it was important enough to be noted. |
submissions
| The Clash – Tommy Gun Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I agree with inmyeyes, although I'd like to add that there is also a denunciation of the people that respond favorably to that kind of protest for all the wrong reasons. This figures heavily into the next-to-last verse. |
submissions
| Spinal Tap – Big Bottom Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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In the greater context of the film in which this song appears, a great amount of meaning can be derived from this song. Primarily we see a woman constantly compared to objects and having her assets commented on. As the film itself is a satire, the song, too, is (obviously) meant to be satirical.
I would like, however, to mention the symbolism at the end of the first verse. I think these two objects are expressive of the nature of love, both sexual and romantic. A flesh tuxedo could be considered a very disturbing thing, just as a pink torpedo could be an absurd thing. Love can be quite disturbing and often quite scary, just as it can be absurd. Love also causes people to perform in scary and absurd ways.
(This analysis was previously written for a lit class, so forgive me for sounding so trite.) |
submissions
| Phil Ochs – The War Is Over Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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The fourth verse is one of the greatest in music history. The language is so deliberately harsh that it grabs the attention and doesn't let go. I was honestly shocked the first time I heard it. |
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