| David Bazan – Backwoods Nation Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I assume the "buggers" is based on the perceived homophobia of the redneck persona. I like the angst of this song, but I do find it uncharacteristically stereotypical for an artist who otherwise seems to object (and take offense) to those who trade in generalizations. |
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| David Bazan – Cold Beer and Cigarettes Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Lol, I already posted this link in another post but it does still apply here. David Bazan addresses the autobiographical debate here: http://www.staythirstymedia.com/0307m/html/0307davidbazan.html |
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| David Bazan – Selling Advertising Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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David Bazan explains in an interview the "Are you a Christian..." lyrics refer to not pigeonholing people based off of surface level assumptions. For example, one could assume that "Schreiber" is a Jewish last name so would he then make a bunch of stereotypical assumptions and write reviews about Ryan Schreiber's Jewishness? here's the link I got that from: http://www.staythirstymedia.com/0307m/html/0307davidbazan.html |
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| David Bazan – Curse Your Branches Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Definitely sounds like it's about David Bazan's switch from Christianity to agnosticism. I'm not sure if it applies or not, but his wife remains a Christian, so that may explain some of the lyrics which suggest a fear of loss. |
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| Pedro the Lion – Simple Economics Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| That is...the lyrics following "to get behind her desk..." not preceding. | |
| Pedro the Lion – Simple Economics Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Lerinjerin, Look at the lyrics preceeding the lyric you excerpted: power is being personified as a teasing woman- part of the sex/power metaphor. So when he makes reference to "her" he's just using a pronoun to refer to a character he's already introduced. At least that's my take. |
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| The Decemberists – The Soldiering Life Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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One I think we can all agree upon, is how the narrator in this song is actually a woman masquerading as a man in the army and is engaged in a thoroughly heterosexual relationship with a fellow soldier. Obviously. |
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| The Decemberists – Sons and Daughters Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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"Dirigible" suggests a time period closer to WWI. I'm not saying there weren't any during WWII, but WWI was near the height of the airship craze. Americans had a monopoly on Helium, so there Germans were stuck filling up their rigid airships with hydrogen, making them for all intents and purposes, a giant, very expensive, incendiary device. A few very public disaster and the airship as a means of mass transport fades away.... But then, while there was some aerial bombing during the first world war, it really didn't compare to the scope of the second. On second thought, it's more plausible that dirigible was used simply because it fits the rhythm and has employs alliteration. |
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| The Decemberists – The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I'm glad someone else is feeling the Pink Floyd vibe a well as me. I was starting to hum the rest of the lines of the song.... This album drew heavily from 70's rock. I hear Zeppelin, Rick Wakeman, Floyd, and ELP to name a few. |
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| Pedro the Lion – I Am Always the One Who Calls Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Gee...I really don't see in any contorted sense of interpretation this song could be about Bazan's relationship with Jesus. And I definitely don't see any evidence that's so incontrovertible as to warrant being rude about it, eh? If you take the metaphorical heavenly relationship approach you have a couple BIG obstacles: -Jesus takes short breaths and rolls his eyes when we ask too many "stupid" questions. -We communicate with Jesus via satellites and electronically encoded messages? Can you give me a website where I can submit my prayers? Or a cell phone number? I figure even a "short breath" from Jesus is a worthwhile thing to hear after all. I like Christian messages in his song just as much as anyone else, but making them up is pointless. That's like saying every Elliott Smith song is about heroine! ;-) |
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| Jack Johnson – Gone Going (feat. Black Eyed Peas) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Ooops...nevermind- Nanobot beat me to it. | |
| Jack Johnson – Gone Going (feat. Black Eyed Peas) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| The Black Eyed Peas singing about not overvaluing material possessions....damn that's irony. | |
| Jack Johnson – Gone Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I wonder if I'm the only one who really wonders just how Jack Johnson is with his money. Does he buy a lot of material baggage too? Or is he actually outside of the box of the overpaid celebrity? I like to think he's better than them. |
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| Pedro the Lion – Penetration Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Smartchic, that is the face value of the song, but as we all know, DB uses sarcasm to a great extent in many of his songs- and this is one of them! Another example is "Slow and Steady Wins the Race". Senor Bumblebee, it's funny that you talk about how we've lost individualism to corporations. I say "funny" in the bitterly ironic sense that for many the ultimate statement of their individualism is their greed. It can be said that corporations are full of individuals motivated by this ambition. Additionally, corporations aren't lacking in purity either. If we consider purity as a purity of purpose. I think they have a very well-defined unwavering goal- making more money! I think what you are describing is the daring and industrious American image we get taught in social studies and movies. It's a bit of an exagerration, but there's a lot to be said for paving your own way in life. It doesn't make life easier, but it makes it a whole hell of a lot more rewarding. |
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| Pedro the Lion – The Longer I Lay Here Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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On second thought, it's probably specifically about laziness("The longer I LAY here"...Doh!). Conversely, I think the power of the song lies in the fact that we can all apply it to personal things in our life as the patterns of recurrance and guilt are much the same regardless of the specific sin. |
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| Pedro the Lion – The Longer I Lay Here Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I think the song can be applied to masturbation or pornography- but generally it has to do with recurring, habitual sins that aren't considered to be "all that bad" by others. But we know better- sin is sin- and it's end result is a seperation from God. Typically the seperation is on our end- we feel ourselves to be hypocrites praying to God when we're so clearly sinners! The irony is that, we're sinners wether we link it in our minds to a specific failing or not. The point is, that God redeems us. I think the laziness mentioned in the song could be the character's specific sin, or just his general sense that he is lazy for not being able to overcome his problem. I feel like this song meshes well with Helicopter. In which case- perhaps it is about masturbation or porn. |
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| Pedro the Lion – Suspect Fled the Scene Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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You ever heard the saying that Christians have a bad habit of killing their wounded? I use to say that, with a sense of removal and superiority. After all, I'm open-minded and accepting. I understand fully that our sins are equal in God's eyes. But a part of me still felt elevated above these pharasaical litigators offering no quarter for the recurrent sinner. It's only been lately that I realized that the legalists throwing around rules and judgment are the wounded too, and act out of defensiveness or a desire for control- and I've been more than willing to condemn them. Simple message- always be compassionate. If only understanding it were the same as DOING it. |
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| Pedro the Lion – The Poison Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Yea, you're right, Stranger. This song is almost startlingly devoid of sarcasm and metaphor, but it's still powerful in it's honest portrayal. | |
| Pedro the Lion – When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Smithskid, I think the wisdom of a beauty queen is that the early you begin waxing the finer the follicle and the lesser the density of the hair when you're older. I think it's funny that DB knows about Laser Hair Removal. The things is...we all like our legs smooth and hairless- call me superficial- but I'm not unrealistic. But he's just using it as a facetious example anyway... |
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| Pedro the Lion – Slow and Steady Wins the Race Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This song is clearly about the attitude of apathy and calm withdrawal many Christians attempt to maintain in a sinful world. Ultimately they neglect the greatest commandments: Love the lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind." and "Love your brother as yourself." 1 John also clarifies that loving your brother is the same as loving God, and Matthew makes it clear that serving your brother is the same as serving Jesus. The Biblical case is overwhelming that as Christians, while salvation merely requires faith, real faith should begin a transforming work and produce "fruit". |
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| Pedro the Lion – Secret of the Easy Yoke Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This is my favorite Pedro the Lion song- and that statement carries a lot of weight because I enjoy so many of his songs. I have to disagree with the previous poster who feels that this song is from the perspective of an outsider, but it really is just a matter of perspective either way! To me, this song is not about an outsider at all, rather, the person who was raised up and inundated in the church life but didn't find God there(and not for lack of trying). The hard fact that we as Christians struggle with day-by-day is that Christians are human too. We can't quite seem to wrap our minds simultaneously around the non-performance based concept of redeeming grace in light of the everyday, tough, cutthroat experience of dealing with other Christians. This dichotomy of spiritual truth and physical experience lends itself to bitterness and the emotional boundaries that come from betrayed trust. Trust me, I go to Valley Forge Christian College, and I know too many who are so racked with guilt, they can't seperate God from their feelings of inadequacy and guilt. Too often, this manifests itself through defensiveness and protective legalism. So many in the school admin trip over themselves to prove that they are morally upright- and the self righteous learn that they too can excersize power through the enforcement of rules. Have we learned nothing? Real spirituality is not something you incidentally stumble across. It's not something that happens because you were raised up in the church or went to Bible college. Some might say it could happen IN SPITE of such things. To find truly authentic, real spirituality you need to dig for it, and pursue it as the absolute highest priority. You need to love a genuine relationship with God- like you would love the most precious commodity imaginable. It's a life work- your singular and lasting magnum opus. It needs to be your first pursuit instead of pursuing the feel good affirmation of other Christians who themselves are just scared enough and just hurt enough to do a lot of damage(both to professing believers or staunch atheists). But what could I say that Pedro hasn't himself expressed with greater eloquence? Likely the greatest wisdom to endure the tumultuous experience of corporate religion is simply: "Be still, and know that I am God." |
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| Pedro the Lion – Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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As mentioned before, this song is a retelling of the story of Hosea and Gomer. It's symbolism pertains to the way that God pursues and redeems His church. "I gave you boundaries to save you from certain death." It's often a difficult concept for us to grasp, but every pleasure brings with it a responsibility. I always fall back on the cheesecake analogy(though most any analogy will do). I love cheesecake- it's my favorite desert. When I eat a piece of cheesecake, I do it right with blueberries in syrup, and chocolate chips- the real deal. Sometimes when I eat a piece I think to myself, "Gee, I could really just go for another one!" And truthfully, sometimes I just happen to give in and eat another piece. You know the result- I feel stuffed and sick. Eating one piece was a boundary which allowed me to enjoy the pleasure of cheesecake within a limit that in the long run, provided more enjoyment. This can readily be applied to monogamous sex. Sex is emotionally charged and very compelling...but a lot of us struggle to limit those intense feelings to one person. It feels unnatural! But the truth is, not limiting that experience to one person can leave you burnt out and feeling sick in a way that's more permanent than overindulgence on cheesecake. Thus, to conclude my overlong treatise on pleasure within limits my point is simply this. It's not condescension, it's a little bit of wisdom that's we all usually learn the hardway- "Too much of a good thing, really isn't that good at all." It's wonderful news to know that when follow our own compulsions, God is there to redeem us- not because we deserve it...but specifically because we DON'T deserve it. As the book of Matthew says. "If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that." |
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| Pedro the Lion – Helicopter Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I think this song is talking about a struggle with a burdening and recurring sin. The helicopter is symbolic for the character's one chance at life, or perhaps a specific opportunity in his life. Unfortunately, he fears that he will undermine himself in his own personal weakness and fear. "I do the thing that I don't want" Is a paraphrase of Paul's own exasperated comment in Rom. 7:15 "For I don`t know what I am doing. For I don`t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do." "My thoughts have wings and they don't obey me." He has struggled to control his thoughts but the harder he tries the less success he realizes. "What's a boy to do?" The struggle could be either with pornography, or perhaps Bazan is trying to convey a sense of the character's guilty sense of inadequacy and immaturity. In exhaustion he turns to God for deliverance saying: Forgive me, God...please take this burden from me. The encapsulating idea of the song is that our own efforts won't make us soar in life any more than flapping our arms up and down. In our broken acceptance of God's mercy we are delivered. But hey...that's just my narrow-minded, Bible-beating, feel good fairytale paradigm. |
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