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Modest Mouse – Dig Your Grave Lyrics 16 years ago
There's a They Might Be Giants song called "Dig My Grave", and i know that they've made TMBG references before (e.g. in "Paper Thin Walls"), so perhaps this is another one.

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The Magnetic Fields – California Girls Lyrics 17 years ago
"This is a song about media literacy. And feminism."
[audience laughs]
"What? It is."
- Stephin Merritt at last friday's show in Atlanta. Which was amazing, by the way.

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The Hidden Cameras – Breathe on It Lyrics 17 years ago
I'm pretty sure this song is about sucking dick. It's kind of cryptic, but that's the impression that i get.

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The Presidents of the United States of America – Tiger Bomb Lyrics 17 years ago
Sometime after hearing this song, my friend showed me a herbal analgesic called Tiger Balm. This may be a reference to that; i'm inclined to think so because of the "soothing vapor" line.

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Marcy Playground – A Cloak of Elvenkind Lyrics 17 years ago
It sounds to me like it's about a rather nerdy person struggling with an interpersonal relationship, probably because i could totally sympathize with that. I like it.

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Cher – Dark Lady Lyrics 17 years ago
"If he cheats, make sure he won't do it again." That is a very messed-up philosophy. Please don't encourage it.

There's a tradition involving this song at a bar i visit - in the chorus, everyone pounds eir drink on the bar on the two beats following "one by one" and "on the twelve". Anyone else know of this?

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They Might Be Giants – Contrecoup Lyrics 18 years ago
"This song was first recorded in 2005 when John Linnell was challenged by the radio show The Next Big Thing to create a song using the almost-forgotten words contrecoup, craniosophic, and limerent. The Else's version contains a new bridge written for the song's inclusion on the album, and has more of a "full band" sound." - tmbw.net
This explains the discrepancy between the OP's lyrics and AdmiralThrawn's.

Also, i'm pretty sure the bridge is:
Which is to say how it goes /
Couched in terms no one knows.
And as if the choice were slim /
As if there's no synonym.

In other words, Linnell is saying that the language of the song is deliberately obscure, using words no one knows as if there's no synonym.

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Talking Heads – Wild Wild Life Lyrics 18 years ago
I think "Things fall apart" is a reference to Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming." I don't know what that means for the song, though.

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Eve 6 – Jesus Nitelite Lyrics 18 years ago
I'm pretty sure the spelling of "nitelite" is a reference to "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants.

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Eve 6 – Bang Lyrics 18 years ago
The other famous Vladimiri i know are Putin and Vlad the Impaler. I'm not sure either of those makes much sense either, since Putin had just entered office when this album was released. It could be, as Vervus said, that he was just reaching for a silly rhyme.

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Queen – We Will Rock You Lyrics 18 years ago
The first time i read the lyrics to this song, i thought the message was pretty obvious. I guess i was wrong, though, so here's my interpretation for each verse:
1) The protagonist is a child and all about competition (playing Kick-the-Can or any other sport); his goal is to "be a big man someday", i.e. to prove how good he is, and he's singing for his team.
2) Similarly, the protagonist has grown up to be a youthful idealist (probably a revolutionist, judging from the blood on his face), who wants to prove that his ideas are superior. Once again, he's singing on behalf of his team, or party, or regime.
3) This is where things change. Now the protagonist is old and downtrodden the mud on his face is probably from living on the streets. He realises that the views he had in his youth were flawed, and he just wants to find a measure of peace. But now "somebody" (possibly another young man like he once was) is gonna put him back into his place and reassert the competition and one-side idealism that he now know are not the answer. And note that this "somebody" is now the one who's singing "We will rock you!"

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Le Tigre – Phanta Lyrics 18 years ago
I think it's worth noting that "Now here's alright" and "Nowhere's alright" differ only by a single space (Now_here's alright). Perhaps that's one thing that was "misread".

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The Presidents of the United States of America – Love Everybody Lyrics 19 years ago
Twinkies get me high.

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OK Go – You're So Damn Hot Lyrics 19 years ago
This song is the epitome of what makes OK Go good - it's amazingly fun and lighthearted, and ultra-catchy.
I won't rehash the meaning, since i essentially agree with the previous posts, but i LOVE the alliteration in the chorus and the internal rhyme in the verses (especially the last one!).

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OK Go – There's A Fire Lyrics 19 years ago
I love the rhythm during the instrumental sections; it's so deceptive. It always makes me think I've lost the count. Good song.

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White Town – Your Woman Lyrics 20 years ago
Kudos to the person who actually checked the artist's site for interpretations. After lots of thought i eventually came to the conclusion that the song is about a gay man whose bisexual boyfriend left him for a woman, but i was never sure. I'm glad to have my point of view at least partially validated.

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Pixies – Here Comes Your Man Lyrics 20 years ago
"Only the pixies could make a song that sounds so upbeat and cheerful about an atomic explosion."

Not true: consider "99 Luftballons".
Great song though. In many ways.

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The Refreshments – Mekong Lyrics 20 years ago
I believe the words are "I came all the way / from Tempe today"
The band is from Tempe, AZ (which i wish i'd known when i was visiting family there).

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