| TV on the Radio – Snakes and Martyrs Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Humans are intangibly intertwined with one another, but without any true human compassion in a world of proud individuals, quandaries such as war, famine, injustice, and oppression will not be remedied without a proactive society that works as a single unit. | |
| The Good Life – Under a Honeymoon Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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beautiful song about rushing into a relationship, and to some extent, denying that it's not based on a strong foundation. Since my family hails from Omaha, I am sorta obligated to like Tim Kasher. I mean, my grandpa taught at Creighton when Tim was there, and my uncle is the head chef at the Happy Hollow Country Club. I basically have Tim Kasher/Cursive in my blood. =) |
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| Butch Walker – Race Cars And Goth Rock Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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It's a bitter song about Butch's first relationship that he had when he moved to L.A. It is also the conclusion of what I consider the mini-L.A. narrative that Butch squeezes in to Letters (a la "So At Last", "Uncomfortably Numb", "Lights Out"). Other than that it's about having opposites attrack. Butch was a redneck from a small town in Georgia, and he meets a girl that is "California gridlock", or basically a stereotypical Cali gal. I love the clever lyrics, the twangy country feel to it at times, and be sure to check out the down-tempoed bass line when entering the final chorus immediatley following the bridge. =] |
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| Butch Walker – Uncomfortably Numb Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This and "Race Cars and Goth Rock" is about Butch's first mistake- I mean... relationship he had when he moved to L.A. Uncomfortably Numb is an extension of the "So At Last" narrative telling Butch's story about saving up and moving to L.A., and is later concluded in "Lights Out" and "Race Cars and Goth Rock." Basically this song is about having the first real relationship or the first real love of your life, and not being able to "fake love" somebody in a later relationship, and you just become so numb to anything and everything. It's also about wanting to leave a place because everything around reminds you of your past relationship, and then drinking yourself to high hell trying for a remedy. |
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| Butch Walker – Paid to Get Excited Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Most artists in genearl are liberal, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing (althought I'm more conservative), but Butch's views on pop culture and soceity in genearl come out in a tongue-in-cheek way in this song. =] The premise is that a lot of people act on how outside influences affect our lives, rather than just doing everything based on what we believe. Butch weighs in on the brevity of politics in everything we do, notably skewed views of teachers, preachers, and the media. It's basically saying be true to yourself, and don't change your views because you think they don't fit with everybody around you. Obviously the whole gay marraige controversy is touched on, which Buch is impartial and indifferent to. I don't necessarily agree with gay marraige or think it should be allowed, but if that's what people want, then it's going to happen, so I'm not closed minded about the situation at all. The song says to just live your life and not be concerned with events beyond your control, just like my example I just mentioned. Butch is just saying don't be a victim of sensationalism and just follow your heart. | |
| Butch Walker – Don't Move Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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To me, this song is clearly about a girl that is hesitant to enter a relationship due to her past involvements. By "staring at the stars" it is suggested that she already has plans and ambitions in life ahead of her, and she may not necessarily need or want a relationship at this point in her life. He doesn't want to fight with her about it, because is more than likely a selfless guy that would rather hurt himself than cause harm to her. Even though she doesn't want a relationship, they both know deep down that she truly isn't the rock hard person that's always happy on the outside. Her eyes hint that something else is deep inside of her. He tells her he loves her in so many words, but tells her not to move because he'd rather not complicate things. Just like the song "Joan" the beginning of the song is a foreshadowing to the conclusion/climax of the song. The guy has done all he can do, so now he waits for the girl to say what's on her mind and figure out what they should do from here. The music matches the mood of the song perfectly, and I love love love Butch's falsetto coming out of the bridge on the line "about to break my fall." |
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| Butch Walker – Promise Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This is a lyrical way around the mushy way of just saying "I love you" and getting it over with, but God do I love it! I don't find it ironic at all that this CD is called "Letters" because just about every song has that hand-written appeal, even evident in the liner notes. Something has gone wrong between the two people in this relationship; perhaps they fought and made up, but slowly drifted apart afterward. The guy, in this instance hates to see this happening, and places everything on himself. Depressed and alone, he drinks a bottle of red wine (Butch's favorite) and writes a love letter to this girl. He writes everything that comes off the top of his head because his side of the story never really had a chance to come out, probably because the guy is taking everything that happened solely on himself. The lines "I never knew the difference/ Between bullshit and sincere/ As long as it sounded good while coming out." show that he still knows he's young and naive but, he thinks he's found something good in her, and the relationship they had/have (a la "So At Last"). The point that he is taking the whole situation very hard is further emphasized when Butch sings about not blaming it on his father; there is nobody to blame for what happened in the relationship but him, even if it was beyond his control. The part about talking about himself more than likely means he constantly over-analyzes, when most of the time, women act on emotion and just want to vent rather than over-think a situation. The guy spends more time trying to fix the situation when in reality he really can't, and he should actually be focusing on just listening to her and being there for only that(she'll let him know if he can really do anything to help). He wants her to know that he may not be "the one" for her, but he can love her and be there for her better than any guy ever could. Once again, I love how bare and honest this song is recorded. Bittersweet, earnest, and painful; I love this song so much. |
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| Butch Walker – Maybe It's Just Me Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Ths is definatley a heartfelt song of a relationship that slowly drifts apart. The one end of the relationship loves the other end to the extent of not being happy, if that makes the other person involved more free. At the same time, there is a hopeful and bittersweet optimism that time will bring them together once again. The relationship might have also involved conflicting egos, reflected in the lines "It's not a contest of who'll try harder / Or who'll cross the finish line." The song is basically saying, hey, we didn't work out this time around, and if you're not ready to take me for everything that I have to offer, then strike out on your own and blaze your own trail. I'll still be here for you in whatever way you want me to no matter what happens. This is one of my favorite songs EVER. =] |
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| Butch Walker – Joan Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I think the reason the letters were never sent is actually because of the landlord she was having an affair with. It would seem that he was very controlling, and because he was the landlord, he probably had a good idea and a reasonable handle of what mail entered and exited the building. He obviously found out that she was planning on leaving at some point, and he couldn't stand the thought that he had competition, even if it was thousands of miles away. At this point, one of two things happened. Either Joan was killed, or she committed suicide because he simply would not let her leave. I lean toward the latter. The beginning of the song makes one believe that Joan moved away, but the I feel irony is developed until later on in the song when Butch sings the lines, "With all kind of letters that never got sent / to a guy in Colorado since 1994." This makes me believe that Joan never moved away. Also, due to the fact that this song tells a story more than anything, I don't really think it should be analyzed for any other meaning past the tale itself, although a case may be made to argue that the song stands for the immorality and desperation elements of the human spirit. |
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