submissions
| Coldplay – The Scientist Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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I used to think the lyrics were "I'm going back to the stars," which would make this song a lot more lyrically interesting. I think a metaphor about a scientist leaving a relationship to travel into space is a much cooler concept than the kind of relationship whinings the song actually contains. |
submissions
| Das Racist – Who's That? Brooown! Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I've thought about these lyrics a lot lately, in the slightly satirical context Das Racist exists in. My hypothesis is that this is a statement about the tendency of the media to declare "ethnic" versions of certain trends to be the "ethnic" version of "______"; e.g. the "Black Elvis," or "the Mexican Spielberg," the Chinese "Frank Sinatra." It gets sort of abstract at the end though; if anyone can comment on "what can brown do for you?" that lyrics befuddles mean. Unless it's just a simple reference to UPS, in which case... |
submissions
| Eartha Kitt – I Want To Be Evil Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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It's interesting what passed for evil in the 1950s when this song came out. Like cheating at jacks, playing pool, trumping an ace, so on. It's hard to tell if Eartha is being facetious here. Regardless, the rhymes are great. |
submissions
| Momus – The Penis Song Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Momus is an absurdly intelligent human being with a penchant for the sexually perverse. This is an excellent example of his genius.
I did some internet research and discovered that, indeed, Buckminster Fuller did give a lecture entitled "Everything I Know," although it was only 42 hours, not 4 years. |
submissions
| M83 – Run Into Flowers Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Are these really the lyrics? All the references online seem to be conflicting, but I always thought they were:
Gimme peace and chemicals
I wanna run with you. |
submissions
| Anaïs Mitchell – Your Fonder Heart Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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great song. Anais Mitchell is a good songwriter, not the deepest lyricist, but her ability to meld her lyrics with her melodies is always really great. I think this track is probably a simple ditty about friendship, possibly a lost love. Typical musical themes. |
submissions
| Azure Ray – The Drinks We Drank Last Night Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"It's just the wind that makes me cry."
Have you ever been in a situation either where you're breaking up with someone, or you're trying to discuss something extremely serious with an S.O. and either a person or a parade or a television or the weather is consistently interrupting your serious emotional talk? I think that's what this line is about. It's particularly poignant because the wind really can make you cry, on wretched nights or when it's blowing moist air. |
submissions
| The Magnetic Fields – Long-Forgotten Fairytale Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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This is a hilarious song, the imagery is just fantastic. I see it as being a reignited relationship that the protagonist never thought he'd return to, in which his partner has the power to lie or convince him of all this ridiculous shit that he really shouldn't be falling for. I've felt this way before. The metaphor that his partner is so powerful that they are capable of imagining him in a princess dress, in a fairytale, etc. is pretty funny. |
submissions
| Operation:Cliff Clavin – Kenny's Job Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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This is a great O:CC song. I assume it's about being unable to live within the framework of capitalism, as many of their songs are. I detect a slight Aerosmith parody in the "Kenny's got a gun" refrain. Funny, political, and satirical. Thank you Operation Cliff Clavin. |
submissions
| Fog – Under A Anvil Tree Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Andrew Broder, I think, is a very absurd person. It's hard to tell which lines are tongue-in-cheek and if this is a serious song or not.
It sounds so beautiful at the end of the lines "Dump two tons of kittens on me" and "..pretty big fucking deal." The refrain at the end is pretty cute too.
I think this is a metaphor for a cartoon world. Anvils on head, conking heads with frying pans. Relating this to a failing relationship perhaps, i.e. the first line? That's my interpretation, but maybe he just chose lyrics that "sound good." |
submissions
| Nico – These Days Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I wonder often if this song is sung from the perspective of someone who is dying, perhaps of cancer or old age or something slow and drawn out like that. It seems like the sort of things one would ruminate over when death was imminent. |
submissions
| Wilco – Dreamer In My Dreams Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I can't believe no one's commented on this song yet. It's an upbeat way to end an incredible 2-disc album. I think the song harkens back to old-fashioned songwriting and the lyrics are intentionally trite. The best part of the song is that the performers sound like they're genuinely having fun. |
submissions
| Uncle Tupelo – Screen Door Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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A more important song than most people realize, I think--Tweedy is singing about the lower class in the rural midwest, and their "plight" (or, more accurately, their happy ignorance). He sounds wistful--he sings about how they have fun without cares, and don't really worry about what happens outside in the rest of the world. I like the line "Everybody is equally poor"--it hints that this song might have more social meaning than appears. A good song. |
submissions
| The Notorious B.I.G. – Suicidal Thoughts Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I think it's songs like this that really differentiate Biggie from other gangsta rappers of our time... I think most would agree much of modern day hip-hop consists of quite vapid and empty lyrics, primarily glorifying their own egos & sex, etc. I'm not much for feuds, but I always found 2pac much more self-aggrandizing and conceited than Biggie--nothing 'pac has ever done measures up, emotionally, to this song.
Biggie was really in a league of his own in his rapping skills and his honesty. I get the feeling listening to this song that music is actually a form of therapy, perhaps, for Biggie (or was). It's a shame that his violent predictions were so accurate. Hopefully through songs like this, he was able to release some demons before his death. |
submissions
| Grandaddy – Guide Down Denied Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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What a sad song. I don't think this necessarily applies to the end of the band, but perhaps to failure or blocks to success in one's own life, as an analogy to an airplane pilot being denied landing (a common theme in Grandaddy songs). Such a beautiful song, my favorite on the album |
submissions
| Islands – Rough Gem Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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i think it's funny that people take this song seriously. Islands/Unicorns always have a bitterly ironic, absurdist vein running through every song. Diamond miners in Africa? Maybe superficially. Give me a break. The (chosen) last name of the lead singer is Diamonds. This song is ridiculousa-- one of the best on the new album. I love when he says "can you cut? I can cut, cuz I'm a rough gem!" Makes me laugh every time. |
submissions
| My Bloody Valentine – Soon Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I disagree with bocmaxima, I think this song fits perfectly and is a great album ender. It feels so geometrical and ethereal, and the way it fades out at the end is perfect. This is my favorite song on Loveless. |
submissions
| Dntel – Why I'm So Unhappy Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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This is probably the most beautiful song on the album. I have had some trouble dissecting it. To me, it feels like a painful breakup, one in which the girl keeps dreaming of her ex-lover, or a distancing from a partner, or perhaps not a physical partner but an existential one. The electronic blips and bloops add to this feeling. This is one of those songs where it seems to be less about the lyrics than the mood.
The soft crying at the beginning is very powerful. This almost has a dreamlike quality. Perhaps she is dreaming of her ex-lover, and that is why his "hands unfold" her, in the present tense rather than past. Amazing stuff. |
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