| Tom Waits – Underground Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I've been a fan of Tom Waits since I heard "God's Away on Business", and I've sort of been struggling to consume as much of his music as I can all at once, but this one rings as my personal favorite. I'm of two minds on the content; on one hand, it seems to be a song about a sort of underlying seediness (omnipresent in Waits' work throughout, especially his newer stuff), some kind of quiet, rolling hum beneath the Ivory Tower, perhaps the working class or the underbelly of any given city or society. On the other hand, it also reminds me distinctly of my night-shift work, which, I guess, ties into the 'working class' feel. I could be wrong, but, that's the vibe I get from it. It's about the metal-fire and the chemical stink of the high industrial guts of any major metropolis. | |
| The Wallflowers – God Says Nothing Back Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I think a key image in this song is lost by a simple lyric mistranslation in two spots. The lyrics in the third verse actually involve the line, "To be in your heart, I failed my own," and in the fourth, "I'm still here, reclimbing every rung". The song seems to be a 'tribute', of sorts, to somebody who simply cannot progress, someone who has lost in the past, and refuses to stop focusing on the 'good' in what was, ultimately, a failure. It's a smear of the 'every stormcloud has a silver lining' mentality. Sometimes, you fail. Sometimes, you lose, and you couldn't have won if you tried harder, and focusing on the good denies you the ability to accept your own fallibility and weakness, and improve. The 'narrator' seems to be trying desperately, even against immaterial, omnipotent forces like God, Time, Love, and even Death, to recapture something he's lost, and lost -for good-. Like trying to mend a split fencing foil with bubble-gum, it's a futile effort, but because of the new, learned instinct to 'look on the bright side', the strength found in admitting failure has died out for the narrator. Powerful song. | |
| The Tea Party – Heaven Coming Down Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This is a tricky one. The imagery's very vivid and pleasantly haphazard, but, the meaning's fairly simple, if not easy to describe. It sounds as though the singer's talking about/talking to a person who has fallen into their 'normal' life to the point of being locked in it. Acceptance bringing defeat, that sort of thing, chained by their history. The 'narrator', in this case, is describing the sort of change it would take - namely, finding love in a new direction - in order to break free from the norm. It almost guarentees a complete change of the person in question and their overall way of life, but, he's promising that it will become a change for the best. "Heaven Coming Down", in this case, is the proverbial 'bliss' falling onto the person all at once, crashing and painful, but in the end, much better than he/she has been living. | |
| Hawksley Workman – Tarantulove Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Knowing how his usual musical style goes, this sounds like an ode to really dirty, almost-meaningless sex. Not the kind you'd have with your significant other, and not the kind you pay for, either. More like the kind of awkward-good sex you have when that friend of yours from way back sits down with you, and you've had too much to drink, and you're both feeling down, and you end up groping and writhing with no real purpose to it. There's emotion, but it's not normal, and it feels good, but you've got this sort of guilty aftertaste. Like a spider's venom (hence the song title, I think), it creeps all through you, and you know it shouldn't be happening, but it is, and you can't think of anything else. It's a song set in the moment, right in the middle of doing something you'll both regret later, but, you don't care, because -right now-, it's amazing. At least, that's my spin on it. |
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| The Wallflowers – Health And Happiness Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| That's not a bad interpretation, Conicaxx, but I got something different from it. It seems to me, honestly, to be almost the inversive. It sounds like the point-of-view of a wronged party, expressing a sort of bitter, grudging acceptance of an ex-partner's new relationship, when the ex-partner expects the two to be the best of friends. I think a lot of people have been in that situation, as well. The narrator seems to be addressing the ex with a clear definition of his intent, but the last line, "You should be worried about somebody else" almost comes off as vaguely threatening, as if he wishes the ex-partner's new lover harm. Maybe I'm reading too deep into that, but, that's how it seems to me. | |
| DMX – No Sunshine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I usually can't stand Rap or Hip-Hop, but, this song's always been one I can get into. It's a pretty simple message, though, apparently detailing the 'facts of life' when dealing with violent conflict. Sounds less like he's bragging, more like it's a matter-of-fact statement, "I am talented, I am a veteran of this life, I am without pity, and I will end you". Maybe a bit deeper than I should get with rap, but, that's my take. | |
| Hawksley Workman – Anger As Beauty Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| For me, this song seems to be a representation of the beauty and strength of pure, unbridled passion, wrath, fury. Workman seems to be singing about the glory and the strength in letting go, giving in to the tiny, green spark in the back of every living person's mind, and letting the energy overtake you. It's not for every day, but some rare, shining moments, all a person can do is let the basest, purest emotional and mental force take them over, and relish it. It seems to be a call against apathy and passive behavior. At least, that's my take on it. | |
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