| The Weakerthans – Civil Twilight Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I agree with virtute. The bus driver had feelings for a commuter, but didn't say how he felt because his "chance to say something seemed so brief." That's why he's remembering the stop where she (he?) told him she had to go. Now that she's gone, he can't stop seeing her face in the faces of others rearranged. Good song. |
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| Manic Street Preachers – Baby Elian Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| "We follow a shining path/That you will never destroy" - Pretty sure this is an allusion to the Maoist rebels known as The Shining Path who have been waging a civil war in Peru for some time now. Their name comes from a quote of their founder: "Marxism-Leninism will open the shining path to revolution." Anyway, that's where that lyric comes from, which would make sense given the song's pro-Cuba message... | |
| Manic Street Preachers – Freedom Of Speech Won't Feed My Children Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| i'm an "anarchist fellow traveler" to borrow chomsky's expression, but i've got to disagree with matty uk. manics (post-richey) have come out in favour of the socialist labour party, which is pro-nationalization, etc. they also played a show in cuba and met with fidel. i'd say that just about rules them out. bare in mind, that this album is very pro-cuba. so i think what they're saying is: "you criticize cuba and china for negating human rights, but what the fuck have you or richard gere done to feed the hungry or shelter the homeless?" at least, that's my take. | |
| Manic Street Preachers – Archives of Pain Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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The album's theme is rubbing humanity's face in its own vomit. They actually have a sound bite in one the songs expressing as much. Richey had been reading Foucault and a lot of the imagery and stuff is taken from his book, "Discipline and Punishment." The thesis of the book is that society hasn't become more humane (hence it's not a liberal view) but has instead set up a punitive system that imposes a self-policing mentality on its victims (which ties in with songs like PCP). Foucault was a Marxist at one time and rebelled against it. A lot of lefty musicians who've read Foucault have felt very challenged by his ideas, which cut against the Marxist conception of history. This is reflected in the chorus: "Kill Yeltsin? Who's saying?" In other words, all these killers (who are supposedly so awful) are really no less murderous than the societies that create them. Moreover, as they advocate murder, they'd be the first to line up and kill someone like Yeltsin, the Russian goon who toppled the USSR, which of course the Manics were not happy to see. In short, I think the song's just reflecting Richey's increasingly nihilistic worldview, which was heavily influenced by a lot of pro-violence authors, including Octave Mirbeau and Foucault. I'd recommend reading the book. It will make much more sense of the song. |
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| The Weakerthans – Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"I read an interview with john k. somewhere in which he explained that the song was about his encountering Foucault and "postmodernism" generally. Specifically the difficulty he had with Foucault's work, which he saw as challenging the 'concept of grand narratives'." I wonder if that doesn't explain the shift in some of John's writing. As far as I can tell, he was a bit more of a Marxist than some of the other guys in Propagandhi, who swung more to the libertarian left. Or at least John always quoted Marx a lot more. Anyway, the whole idea of the grand narrative is pretty essential to Marx's historical dialectic, and Foucault (although once a Marxist) is now a staunch anti-Communist. So I wouldn't be surprised if Foucault's stuff really shook up John's sense of security. It'll be interesting to see where the band goes from here, creatively, musically, politically, etc. |
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| The Weakerthans – Confessions of a Futon-Revolutionist Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"You call in sick, I'll quit the word-games that I play." I love that line. Yeah, I think this song is John looking at his own life and having a bit of fun with it. Anyone who has ever been involved in leftwing politics can probably appreciate the sense of despair that comes with a line like, "Enlist the cat in the impending class war." But that's what makes the Weakerthans great: they're able to acknowledge the full spectrum of human emotion, and not stick to one feeling, like say rage at injustice, the way most political bands do. |
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| The Weakerthans – Pamphleteer Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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There have been a lot of good posts. I'm going to offer my interpretation, which is kind of a mix of different opinions. The basic gimmick of the song involves John is taking some very famous leftist cliches and then subverting them to express the narrator's state of mind as regards his personal life. Someone already noted the "Solidarity Forever" lyric - a famous union anthem that John has sung live at some concerts - but there is an allusion to the Communist Manifesto, namely, "A spector's haunting Albert's Street." In the Communist Manifesto, Marx declares that a spector (the spector of Communism) is haunting Europe and all have conspired against it. Also, the expression "to the barricades" can be used to conjure up images of revolution. Indeed, that is the name of a biography of Emma Goldman, an American anarchist that John looks up to, judging by the liner notes of his last Propagandhi album, Less Talk, More Rock. Okay so that's the background. Having this in mind, John K's explanation makes total sense. Basically, there's this political activist who, for whatever reason, grows tired of standing out in the rain, handing out pamphlets to people who don't care. This, in turn, reminds him of an unfortunate relationship wherein he sees his partner in "all that I could never overcome". So he snaps, and can no longer (or has no desire to) distinguish between the cause he is trumpeting and the details of his personal life - a very important theme in getting the Weakerthans, who are actually a very political group. Well, that's my interpretation. If it helps someone, I'm glad. If not, go listen to Propagandhi. It has the same message, but a lot louder and not less subtle. |
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| Propagandhi – Back To The Motor League Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"Blow-dry my hair" - does John K. of the Weakerthans (formerly the bassist of Propagandhi) sing that line? If so, that's hilarious. I'm kind of sad John & company left G7... Why, John? Why? |
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| Dead Prez – Sharp Shooters Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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Great pairing. Talib kills on this track. 'Property value plumit every time a shot is fired.' |
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| Eminem – Kill You Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| Very funny song. His flow is really impressive on this track as well. | |
| Eminem – We As Americans Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| Well said, Em. Shitty this didn't get released. | |
| Eminem – Nail In The Coffin Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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A very clever diss track. How can he hold me over some balcony/ Without throwin' his lower back out as soon as he goes to lift me/ Please don't, you'll probably fall with me/ and our asses will both be history/ But then again you'll finally get your wish/ cuz you'll be all over the street like 50 Cent/ Ahahaha The mean streets of Boston... |
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| Tupac Shakur – Brenda's Got a Baby Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| How has no one reviewed this song? One of Pac's best. The story-telling device is a great way of looking at how girls wind up in desperate situations which leads everyone around them to condemn them. | |
| Tupac Shakur – Ghetto Gospel (feat. Elton John) Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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Like 123 said, it's about social justice. Gospel means good news and this is Pac's vision of a better world. 'Changes' is kind of similar to this song actually, what with the hopeful lyrics and poppy chorus. Both songs were released post-mortem as well. As for the CD, 'Loyal to the Game,' I thought it was pretty good. Eminem is a good producer. His beats don't always match up with Tupac's style, but it's kind of enjoyable for that reason: it's an unlikely pairing. Favourite line in the song: 'It ain't about black or white 'cause we’re human.' |
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| Tupac Shakur – Keep Ya Head Up Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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Just a clarification, 'hit em up' was written after he was shot. Tupac thought Biggie had arranged the hit attempt and so wrote this song out of justifiable anger. At the same time, he was self-critical when it came to how blacks kill blacks instead of turning their anger against institutional racism. Back to the song, it's definately a classic. It's nice to hear a song that affirms women when so much of the genre speaks of them as T&A. One of the things I really like about Tupac is the way he's able to step back from the whole gangsta culture and see how it's ultimately self-destructive. |
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| Rage Against the Machine – Born of a Broken Man Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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They should really limit the amount of posts a person can make for one song to avoid these silly flame wars... I think the song is moreso about Zack's relationship to his parents and how that relationship was affected by their religion. When Zack's father burned all his paintings and made him (Zack) fast, it disturbed Zack a lot. I think this song is basically about Zack dealing with these events by saying that he would not be broken the way his father was. Incidentally, my own impression is that Zack approaches religion from a more reflective angle. Because someone is an atheist does not mean they are a bigot or dismiss all that religion has to offer. If Zack wanted to he could write a song called, 'Screw Jesus,' but he chose a more mature path. Whatever his personal views, I think he deserves credit for exploring such a sensitive topic with such candor. Great song no matter. |
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| Manic Street Preachers – Motorcycle Emptiness Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I always thought the lyric was 'Eagle's loaded and swallow,' which made me think it was about swallowing a gun. The song is less depressing now that I know the actual lyrics... | |
| Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I don't think it's about the second coming. I like what beulahrawk said. It's a meditation on a healthy kind of fear of God, which apparently was derived from Sufjan's vision of seven (flaming?) swans mentioned by 3lend. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| This song seems to work on two levels. The first is the more obvious one: it's about Superman. The other would be a Christian one. I'm not sure about the second though. There are some lines -'Raise the boat, and raise the dead' and 'Man of Heart, turn your ear to my part' - that suggest the song might be a clever way of exploring Christian themes. More likely though, it probably is about Superman. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhhh! Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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My own interpretation is that this song is about the general ressurection. If anyone's unfamiliar, the general resurrection is a belief that is common to classical Judaism as well as orthodox Christianity, which is basically that at some point in the future the god of Israel would resurrect the dead, with the righteous being welcomed into the messianic kingdom. (The whole obsession with the afterlife is a later mistake.) A lot of the imagery, as well as the terminology, in this song is taken from classical Judaism. The nations, in Jewish thought, was basically a word for the non-Jewish world. In the messianic age, Israel would be vindicated. This is where the lines 'I know, I know the nations past/I know they rust at last' fit in. The language about the axe is reminiscent of John the Baptist, who announced with very vivid imagery, including that of an axe being laid to the root of a tree, that Israel's god was issuing judgment upon his people. A lot of the imagery can be made sense of if I'm right, including the sounding of the horns, which was apocalyptic imagery for the arrival of the kingdom. It's kind of funny then that people focus so much on Sufjan's Christianity, which of course informs a lot of his music, when an equal amount of his imagery is derived, consciously or not, from the Jewish tradition. ... Of course, I could be entirely wrong and this song is actually about zombies coming to eat people. I dunno. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – Chicago Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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To answer your question, kaligula, I think it's cause most of us like to appreciate the song without delving too deeply into its meaning, thus allowing us to interpret the song in ways that resonate with our experiences. The SOOF-YAWN debate is simply amusing. From what I know, Sufjan used to make trips to Illinois when he was younger. Chicago, obviously, would have been one of the highlights of these trips. My guess is that he left on a trip for the purpose of fun, but ended up having some kind of 'self-discovery' which led to him becoming distanced from his friend. That's only a guess though. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – Come On! Feel the Illinoise! (Part 1: The World's Columbian Exposition; Part 2: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream) Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I also agree with mwalk. The song, it should be noted, is actually divided into two parts, the second being 'Carl Sandburg visits me in a dream.' I really enjoy how the transition is made from the general to the personal. I also love how Sufjan works in his own quasi-revelatory experiences into his stuff. Bravo. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – We Won't Need Legs to Stand Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think the first bit has to do with Jesus' saying about entering by the narrow path that leads to life as opposed to the wide path that leads to destruction. The next bit reminds me of what Jesus taught about the ressurection when people will no longer marry but be like the angels. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – In the Devil's Territory Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think the first stanza is addressed to the devil. He's saying that he's waiting a long time to see Satan defeated. The second stanza is addressed to Jesus. He's saying that he's not afraid to die since when he dies he will be with his Lord. The final stanza is addressed to Satan again. I'm only guessing. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – Marching Band Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I'm guessing the second coming. The trumpets sounding is taken from Revelation. The people dying and the dead rising has to do with the general ressurection. Setting the table by the door has to do with the great banquet that is promised in the messianic age. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders (Part 1: The Great Frontier; Part 2: Come to Me Only with Playthings Now) Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I have no idea what this song is about. Any ideas? | |
| Sufjan Stevens – Vito's Ordination Song Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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It could be entirely secular. The only thing that pushes me towards the religious interpretation is: ive made a crown for you put it in your room and when the bride groom comes there will be noise there will be glad The image of the bridegroom coming is used throughout the New Testament about the coming of the Messiah. Likewise, the giving of the crown is used by Paul to designate those who have fought the good fight until the end. The interpretation about father/mother/son makes sense too. What matters is what people get out of the song. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace! Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| Nice interpretation, Lunatic. I agree. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I like how he used the bit about the tree. 'And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre' (Acts 13:29). I always thought it was an interesting metaphor for crucifixion... | |
| Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I'm going to have to agree that this song is about the incarnation of God in Jesus. I think what Sufjan is doing in this song is taking the UFO sighting as a jumping point to explore the idea of incarnation. Of course, I could be wrong, but it seems to make sense, especially with the whole bit about the alien thing taking its form. | |
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