| Regina Spektor – Laughing With Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think this song is more a statement of how all people are the same in their desperation--how fear and death and tragedy level the playing field for us all, no matter what our beliefs may be. I think she's saying that God/religion is sort of a joke to us in general, but when things get scary or serious, we all start to hope in the idea of a God. I think the "We're all laughing with God" line (and the title... which would make this the main point, yes?) is more like... and now the joke's on us. We were never the only ones laughing... God was laughing at us, too. He's been toying with us. We've been treating him like a magic genie. Nobody wins. But we're all having such a fun time with all the laughing--another cocktail, anyone? ;-) |
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| Sufjan Stevens – The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Yes, there is a lot of Christian imagery/illusion in this song, but I don't think the actual song is about Christ or being a Christian. I think that imagery is used to convey the depth of hurt/love/faith/betrayal that happened in this important *human* relationship. I do think it's about a boy kissing his male best friend, and how that his changing (unrequited) feelings for that friend eventually ruin their friendship, and how it affects him deeply even years later. Whether it's fictional or autobiographical is neither here nor there. I think it's left ambiguous for a reason--that, to me, speaks to how beautifully crafted this song is. It's moving and heartbreaking, and the feelings the song evokes go way beyond the literal story that's being told. Everyone has had an important childhood relationship that affects them even in adulthood. First love can be both exceptionally beautiful and lovely as well as heartbreaking and traumatic. Do we ever really get over that? All of these things, like this song, span the width and bredth of emotion--positive and negative, something to be praised and cursed, something elevated and stinging, something to look back on with both affection and regret. All nit-picky details aside, Stevens, I think, made his point very clear--this song does exactly what it's supposed to do. I think the titular wasp serves as a symbol of the hurt/danger that will come as a result of the shifting of feelings, irrevocably changing and ending the friendship. |
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| Rilo Kiley – It's a Hit Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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nightwriter69-- A "holiday for a hanging" means the event of everyone getting exciting to see the criminal die (Hangings used to be public entertainment). Used here, I think it means that if it's not a hit, then everyone will be more than happy to see you hang. |
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| Rilo Kiley – It's a Hit Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I really love this song. I love how she's (they've?) played with words and with rhythm here. And, for my two cents--yes, it's about hypocrisy and a fair bit of whining about the pressures of fame, but that's just what's on the surface. I think mostly this one's about revelation--cracking the pretty surface and seeing the ugly underneath, that nothing is as good as it seems, that there will always be something that will break the facade and the truth will surface. I just love it. | |
| Death Cab for Cutie – Bend to Squares Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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My two cents about the line "with two fingers a rock glass" means drinking. You pour whisky and burbon by the 'finger' into a crystal glass. So, my theory is this: Dude is trying very hard to fit in with the high society snobs and work and work for the 'perfect' life, but he just can't--so he drinks too much and it's all killing him (the trying to be someone he's not and the drinking). It's a slow suicide--hence the "what a way to cut lengthwise' line. It's a METAPHOR. |
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