| Arctic Monkeys – Despair in the Departure Lounge Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Listening to this song makes me wonder why their new stuff cannot capture this kind of poignancy; or maybe I'm just looking at it favourably because I liked it so much back in the day. Turner uses relatively few words and describes quite disaparate, simple feelings and situations, but captures perfectly how it actually feels to be separated from someone you love. Particularly the lines "the thought comes closely followed by the fear, and the thought of it makes you feel a bit ill", which will speak volumes to anyone who has broken up with someone they truly love and suffers that anxious jolt of sickness and fear when the thought of them and all you don't have anymore creeps back into your mind. Or even if you haven't split up, but you're separated by distance (being on tour, for example), that vulnerable fear that she's going to somehow forget about you, or meet someone else, and suddenly you realise just how dependent you are on her. They're feelings everyone might have at some point or another, but the song is beautiful because it captures the essence of those feelings perfectly. |
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| The Smiths – The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I have two references which come to mind when I hear this song. The first would be "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Rules The World", a poem by US author William Ross Wallace in 1865. The second, for the line "So rattle my bones all over the stones, I'm only a beggar-man whom nobody owns", would be the corresponding "Rattle his bones. Over the stones. Only a pauper. Nobody owns", which was written about the funeral procession of a child in James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. (1922) Obviously, Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard" predates this by some way, but it doesn't strike me as being an obvious source for the line, while The Lion in Love was written almost 40 years later than 'Ulysses'. Joyce being such a prominent Irish writer, I'm sure he would have appealed to Morrissey. |
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| Modest Mouse – Dashboard Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Why criticise the drumline? Granted it's very simple, but it works. Why add anything more and clutter the track up if it fits? This is a well-crafted song, performed by pretty accomplished musicians. It's a good length for a song of its kind and everything in it works as it's supposed to. I'm not a longtime listener of Modest Mouse, but when I have heard them I've noticed that they're a very efficient band in that they don't waste time on things that don't improve the song. Everything is there for a reason and it all fits together perfectly. If this is a fault then, by all means, criticise it, but I don't think it is. |
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| Counting Crows – Raining In Baltimore Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| For the record, some areas of England are approx. 3,500 miles from Baltimore. (e.g. Manchester is 3,503 miles away.) | |
| The Mars Volta – Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake cover) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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One of my all time favourite covers. It totally suits Cedric's voice and the selection of effects culminate in a really memorable interpretation of the track. As a bonus, it gets more and more people to look up Nick Drake, which can only be a good thing. |
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| Glasvegas – Daddy's Gone Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's not a bad track, but every time I listen to it, I wonder if it couldn't have been better? I appreciate James Allan singing in his accent, though his voice isn't particularly strong. I do like the chorus, finding it quite biting (even if it isn't sung with a great deal of conviction), but the flow of the lyrics seems unnatural and amateur. Take James Dean Bradfield singing on Manic Street Preachers' 'The Holy Bible' Album. A lot of the words don't scan properly or run into enjambement, but he makes them fit. Despite NME's ravings (I think they just want a token Scottish band now Travis and The Fratellis aren't their poster boys) I think Glasvegas are overrated and a work in progress. I'm not saying they're crap, I'm just saying they're overrated. |
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| Cold War Kids – We Used to Vacation Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The phrase "two weeks paid vacation ... i need another one" have the double-meaning of i) needing another holiday ii) needing another drink. It leads the listener to think 'holiday', but I would guess that it is intentionally dualistic. |
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| Radiohead – Idioteque Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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A scaremonger is someone who deliberately instills fear in others to suit themselves. The title is often attributed to people in power who repeatedly reinforce the notion that there is some unseen danger that needs to be united against. Many people criticised the Bush and Blair governments for exaggerating the Terrorist Threat as a means of control. To say "We're not scaremongering. This is really happening" means pretty much what it says. Yorke is denying that the Global Warming issue is fabricated and saying that it is happening, whether you ignore it or not. I don't agree that all Radiohead songs have no meaning. I think Thom doesn't always make them clear, but he doesn't usually just pick names out of a hat to form his songs (though he probably has done at one point or another, just to screw with people). I would also think twice before you say that this is a jab at dance/electronic music. Thom uses a lot of similar techniques in much of his music, especially his The Eraser and Kid A. If anything, it's a jab a boring, repetitive, banal music. |
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| Radiohead – Reckoner Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| There is a warped sound filtering through aruond 40 seconds from the end of the In Rainbows version of Reckoner. I'm not sure what it is, (it sounds like something reversed, definitely digitally manipulated). Anyway, it's also used, more extensively, in the second half of In Limbo, from Kid A. | |
| Radiohead – Down Is the New Up Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It's probably only a tongue-in-cheek reference, but the line "Down is the new up. And what is up, buttercup?" seems to at least hint at the The Foundations' song "Build Me Up, Buttercup". "why do you build me UP, BUTTERCUP, baby, just to let me DOWN?" No? Not even as a joke? Other than that, 1984 as a reference, flip-flopping as a political term and a swapping of priorities by a controlling state (Don't worry, you're safe, nothing's going to happen without warning) mentality seem coherent and make sense. |
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| The Mars Volta – Ouroborous Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Gutted... Overhauled, revised and corrected the whole lyric submission for this song, and do I get any credit? 'Course not. Fantastic song though. Probably my fave from TBiG. |
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| The Spooks – Things I've Seen Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I think the song is called "Things I've Seen", not "The Things I've Seen". | |
| The Kinks – Lola Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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The song is a about a guy who goes to a club and winds up dancing with a transvestite, whom he doesn't realise isn't actually a woman at first. He realises but continues dancing with her anyway. The line "I'm glad I'm a man and so is Lola" is an intentionaly play on words: Could be Lola is glad the singer is a man, could mean Lola is also a man. Either way the song doesn't attempt to hide the fact that it Lola is, indeed a transvestite man. The re-recording of the song, changing the lyrics from Coca Cola to Cherry Cola were not enforced by Coca Cola themselves, rather neccessitated by the BBC, who refused to play the song as it was. |
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| Radiohead – Videotape Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I've got to say, I originally considered the Videotape to be a reference to a record of someone's life, but reviewing the lyrics I think the Videotape is what's left behind by a person who has passed on to a loved one. (The 'you' that is the centre when he spins away). The reference to Mephistopheles implies the idea of a Satanic Pact, possibly for the "most perfect day I've ever seen". Red, Blue, Green... seems quite obviously to mean the constituent colours of any televised image. Obviously there are more complex layers, but as an overview of the form, I think this is about right. |
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| Muse – Sober Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| **semantic field, eep, damn my lack of mental coordination. | |
| Muse – Sober Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I'm not going to hazard a guess as to what the parallels of the song are: alcoholism, romance, desperation, but I will say one thing: all the terms he uses are from the linguistic field of whiskey, specifically, not just alcohol in general. Wild Turkey, Jameson, Crown Royal (Canadian Blended), single malts, caramel nose, the burning sensation: all references to whisky and whisky drinking. Arbourler may well be whisky, though not one I'm familiar with. |
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| At the Drive-In – Incetardis Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Good job, Lango84. Some very plausible theories there. Nice to see someone who has done their research making comments. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – Brianstorm Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Great song, one of the few on the album that really echoes the "Whatever people say..." aesthetic. My only concern is that it feels a bit too much like "When the sun goes down". Listen to them one after another and you'll know what I mean. |
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| At the Drive-In – 300 Mhz Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Mega Hurts? :-| I think atd-i were above puns like that. I mean, it's possible I guess... But I really don't think so. | |
| Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip – Thou Shalt Always Kill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"...spelling with the 'e' first?" (Sorry, I had to add the question mark. I'm a complete grammar obsessive.) |
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| Dan Le Sac VS Scroobius Pip – Thou Shalt Always Kill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Great song, love it all the way through yet still don't understand the bit about "pheonix/phoenix". Where is the case for spelling it with the 'e' first. I'm not an ignorant person, but I have honestly never heard of anyone spelling it that way for any reason. Was that just to see if we were listening? I mean, it'd be pretty ironic if people spelled it like that because he said so... It would completely contradict the meaning of the song: To think for yourself. I'm not going to spell Phoenix differently 'cos some guy told me to... I'll spell it the way I believe it is spelled, thank you. Still, great song, very fresh. |
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| Hadouken! – superstar Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Who the fuck are Luke and Ryan? Can we get a competent journo to do a profile on this up and coming band? I' willing to bet money that MTV2, if not Radio 1, will latch onto these guys very soon. Just wait for them to blow up. Still not sure if that's a ood thing, could ruin their sound, but right now they're good. |
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| Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Correction: Turns out that the Official Downing Street source for the Iraq Dossier isn't as reliable as we might hope. By that I mean while trying to download it, it reports a series of I/0 Connection failures and refuses to make the entire document available. Luckily we have The Guardian newspaper's online image database as well, so if you're looking for a copy go to: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Politics/documents/2002/09/24/dossier.pdf Good luck! |
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| Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Don't walk the plank like I did. You will be dispensed with When you've become inconvenient. Up on Harrowdown Hill Where you used to go to school Thats where I am Thats where I'm lying down. Did I fall or was I pushed? Did I fall or was I pushed? And where's the blood? And where's the blood? Now I'm coming home I'm coming home To make it all right So dry your eyes. We think the same things at the same time We just can't do anything about it. we think the same things at the same time We just can't do anything about it. So don't ask me Ask the ministry. Don't ask me Ask the ministry. We think the same things at the same time. There are so many of us So you can't count. We think the same things at the same time. There are too many of us So you can't count. Can you see me when I'm running? Can you see me when I'm running? Away from them. Away from them. I can't take the pressure No one cares if you live or die They just want me gone They want me gone. I'm coming home I'm coming home To make it all right So dry your eyes We think the same things at the same time. We just cant do anything about it. We think the same things at the same time. There are too many of us So you can't... So you can't count I was lured into the back of Harrowdown Hill It was me lured into the back of Harrowdown Hill It was a slippery, slippery, slippery slope It was a slippery, slippery, slippery slope I feel me slipping in and out of consciousness I feel me slipping in and out of consciousness I feel me... Having started with a fairly uncommitted guitar riff that states no obvious mood, 'Harrowdown Hill' blossoms into a more intense song at around 1min 10secs. Still, without an understanding of what the lyrics mean you could play this song endlessly without ever really feeling its true sentiments (and even then, as it's Thom Yorke, you probably still won't really 'get it', I can only theorize on what his feelings were when he was penning this one). The lines "Don't walk the plank...dispensed with," are most likely Yorke invoking a direct voice as Dr. David Kelly: an expert in Biological Warfare, employee of the UK's Ministry of Defence and a former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq. After his work in Iraq, Dr. Kelly was interviewed by journalist Andrew Gilligan for information to be used on the Today programme. The informationcaused a major political scandal regarding the Iraqi potential for Weapons of Mass Destruction as a reason for the invasion of Iraq by US and British Armed Forces. Days after the interview, Dr. Kelly was found dead in an area known as Harrowdown Hill, about a mile from his Oxfordshire home. While the official line from the Ministry of Defence and the Hutton Enquiry stated that the cause of death was suicide by overdosing on co-proxamol and slitting his left wrist, Norman Baker, a Lib Dem MP, spent a year investigating his death and decided that there was insufficient evidence to support a verdict of suicide and murder was a much more likely reason. This Suicide-Murder debate is captured by the line "Did I fall or was I pushed?" Falling implying suicide, being pushed implying murder. "Where's the blood" most likely refers to the lack of blood around Dr. Kelly's body, evidence that would seem to support the theory that he was murdered elsewhere and his body moved to Harrowdown Hill where it was discovered the next day. The ministry mentioned slightly further on in the song is believed to be a reference to the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and that they should be asked as they are the ones responsible. Thom Yorke has also been quoted as saying that this is the angriest song he has ever written. I have tried to give as much information as I can regarding likely references in this song and avoided injecting my own interpretations too much. For those of you interested in the theories surrounding Dr. Kelly's death I will quote the following sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kelly http://www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk/content/report/index.htm http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page271.asp |
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| At the Drive-In – Non-Zero Possibility Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It's not "Paint Your Pretty face", it's "Paint You A Pretty Face". That particular phrase could be, as RTBRAND1 says, an Undertaker at work... But let's face it, this is Cedric Bixler-Zavala we're talking about. He didn't write a song to go with '6 Feet Under' now, did he? No, I'm really feeling the AIDs interpretation, if you don't mind me calling it that. It's not about dealing with depression or anything else so superficial, it's about matter-of-factly, almost impassionately, reflecting on a death sentence of the medical kind. Shame that Cedric and Omar were in At The Drive In at the time. This kind of introspection wouldn't have been unwelcome on a Mars Volta track. Love TMV :-D. |
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| The Mars Volta – This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This story, rushed and crazy as it sounds, is not a psychotic prelude to his suicide. Cerpin is persuaded by his comatose hallucinations, his demons, to end his physical existence by jumping from a bridge. This is not to end his life, but to transcend his body into a spiritual form. After this, he recovers from his coma and severs all connections with friends and family before finding his bridge on an agreed date, believing that he had passed all the required tests to move into his purer existence on the other side. He did not view it as suicide at all. Instead, the concrete that he dove into was a gateway, an exit. |
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| Eminem – Kim Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I'd like to see if there were any samples from "Levee breaks" and which parts they are. I'll have to dig out Led Zep IV and Marshall Mathers LP again, to check. | |
| Eminem – Kim Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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the same way you have to give any concept artist props for doing something that just says "fuck you", you have to give em props for this track. It is self-indulgent, it doesn't pander to the target audience It should be respected in the way all abstract genius or independent style shit should be, from led Zeppelin to Outkast, but Em does it well here. |
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| Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give It Away Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| It's also true that the song arose from an improv session, but Kiedis had thought up the phrase "give it away" from the events both I and Adrienne have described. | |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give It Away Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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The concept of "giving it away" is a reference to giving away the things you love the most, your material possessions, rather than your virginity- which most people assume it's about. It was born from an incident when Athony Kiedis said that one of his friend's jackets was particularly good-looking. She said it was her favourite possession, and that he could have it. He didn't quite understand why she would freely give away something she had just admitted was her prized possession, and she explained that one could only trly be happy if they gave away the things they loved, and spread the love between others, hence: "Give It Away". The verse about "There's a River, born to be a giver," is about River Phoenix, a good friend of Kiedis' who he had loved dearly, and marvelled at his great sense of selflessness. Needless to say, Kiedis was rocked to the core when Phoenix died of an overdose. It was a reminder and a warning to Kiedis, who at the time was very, very heavily into cocaine, heroine and many other drugs, to the point where he had become a pathetic excuse for a human being. He quit drugs many times, but two of the most affecting incidents for him were when River died, and before that, even more resonant was the death of his friend and band member Hillel Slovak. That's all i cba to say. If you want to know more about the roots of many RHCP songs, get a copy of Kiedis' biography 'Scar Tissue'. |
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| Manic Street Preachers – Archives of Pain Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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The Manics are far from pro-capital punishment. For a start, people who are pro execution would not refer to it as 'slaughter'. The most I can come up with is that they are displacing their perspective, making someone else's opinion sound dangerous and rash. Would you trust someone who spoke like the lyrics of this song? No, you'd think they were just as psychotically homocidal as the people they want to have killed. Just a thought. |
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| Kaiser Chiefs – Born To Be A Dancer Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Indeed, "lay back and think of England" used to be the advice given to young girls when they did the unspeakable deed as it were. If you look at the verses differently, as MamaD pointed out, the first verse reads "You and me were made - it's impossible to say - to be together". The second could be construed to read: "I came down at your request, on the National Express (very cheap railway line, rubbish) to touch your breast." It remains ambiguous who requested that he touch her breast. Ah well. When she asks him what he's thinking (over the phone, presumably) he strikes an air of properness and being a good boy. How ever, he also says he wants to be a dancer. Messing around with gender stereotypes seems to be a kind of pastime for the kaiser chiefs, I love it :P. Dancer could be a metaphor for having a more... curious sexual instinct. More than LBATOE as it were. The fact that she's in London, Capital of England, reinforces the prim and proper stereotype she seems to carry. Pure speculation, however, i wouldn't bet that any of these views are accurate. AMARE. |
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| M.I.A. – Bucky Done Gun Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think its obviously about rrrrrough sex. But that mite just be me :p. | |
| Radiohead – Paranoid Android Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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He seems to be sceptically observing the cannabalistic, uncivilised nature of Media and Business people (yuppies, Gucci piggies) and drawing similarities with Lord Of The Flies. He despises them for a number of reasons, they don't care, don't remember his name, their "ambition makes [them] look pretty ugly". As the song builds, his imagination descends into a warped hallucination "crackle of pigskin", "panic, vomit". He then sarcastically adds "God loves his children", as if anyone could love the things these soulless art destroyers have done. I assume this because I know Thom wa a fan of the Comedian Bill Hicks, as am I, and any other fan will know Bill's opinions an people in marketing and advertising. As for the rain fall down on me, i can only guess it refers to a desire for something 'real', and refreshing. Also, the "unborn chicken voices in my head"? Could be a reference to the saying "Don't count your chickens before..."etc. As for the "You'll be the first against the wall," it means putting someone in a firing line, to be killed by shooting. I assume this is a threat to those who don't appreciate art and beauty, only see it as a means to make money. I might be miles off, but I'm fairly sure of this as being coherent. |
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| Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I thought it was quite obvious that the September Ends was a reference to the way that the entire country seems unable to forget the 9/11 attacks. He's sayin that he wants to detach from all the bullshit or to 'go to sleep', and wants to be woken up when everybody's ready to let it lie. It may also tie in to personal pains that he feels related to the same month. Just to clarify, I'm not a Green Day fan. |
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