| Radiohead – Electioneering Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| No, it's not 1984 influenced, it's real life influenced. For a start, there were no elections in Airstrip One as far as I remember, and secondly he refers to the IMF. I really don't see any relation to 1984, or any influence by 1984. It's just a critique of OUR society. | |
| The King Blues – The streets are ours Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song is about the achievements of anarchists, focusing particularly on their role within the anti-capitalist movement. Tiananmen Square, China, was the site of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, the most famous photo of which was a protestor standing in front of a tank. I don't know whether Berlin is of any particular significance other than historically being a city with a militant anarchist movement - perhaps a reference to internal sabotage of the Nazi state. Chiapas is the region of Mexico controlled by the Zapatistas, an anarchist community composed mainly of Mexicans of indigenous ethnicity. The second verse refers to the militant protests against the Vietnam war. Seattle was the site of the famous WTO talks that led to the Battle Of Seattle, while a statue of Winston Churchill in London had turf lain over its head to look like a green Mohican, on Mayday 2000. Cochabamba in Bolivia was saved from the privatisation of its water supply, and "send in the clowns" is a reference to the Clandestine Insurgent Revolutionary Clown Army, a bloc of protestors dressed as clowns, performing circus skills, playing the fool, and generally irritating police. Antifa is a european-based antifascist organisation which advocates physical opposition to fascists. Schnews and Indymedia are both alternative/independent news media focusing on political analysis and protest/direct action reports, etc. The start of the last verse is referring to the Haymarket Square Riots, which led to the execution of the Haymarket Square Martyrs, and was a vital point in the history of the American labour movement and anarchist movement. The black flag is one of the most famous and potent symbols of anarchism. Lastly, the title and chorus are presumably a reference to the popular protest chant "Whose streets? Our streets!" which is featured in the song just before the samba-band interval. |
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| Million Dead – Bread And Circuses Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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OK... Let's begin! Bread and Circuses is referring to the idea that all the Roman public needed to keep them from expressing discontent en masse was "bread and circuses", and the song's theme is how "circuses" (a metaphor in this context) are methods of socio-political control. This song starts off a reference to the concept of the bank holiday. Frank says that we're all sick of work, and so desperately look forward to our time off that the anticipation in itself causes almost as much discomfort/etc as the work we're doing while we anticipate it. He then laments the fact that this twenty-four hour period away from the slavery of work is spent in an environment geared entirely toward over-consumption and frivolous waste ("you didn't have fun if you didnt buy the tshirt" and "an over-priced gift shop") "Art starts to imitate life in the factory" while our leisure time starts to imitate our work time; this parallel leads to the loss of meaning in both art and leisure as they're subsumed into the Capitalist system as merely means of improving productivity, and therefore are made more uniform, less spontaneous, etc. Then "Oh the kids... in darkened cinemas" is complaining about the loss of any large-scale protest movement, organisation against Capitalism, etc due to the fact that the younger generations have been 'brainwashed' or recuperated into placidly accepting the status quo. "If every hour that I have spent stuck in a circus..." points out how much time has been wasted in Frank's life, and all of our lives, simply trying to make our way through the maze of modern life - TV, bank holidays, school, work, all prevent us from thinking, learning, reading, etc. He then criticises the market's tendency to produce low-quality, safe, uniform goods ("maybe my skin wouldn't look so grey"). He finishes the song by stating his objection to the only way of living offered by Capitalist commercialism/consumerism ("the hand that feeds chooses the menu, but i'm a fussy eater"), and that the reason it does so is, returning to the theme of the entire song, to ensure control ("will keep subversive dreams away"). |
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| Million Dead – Bread And Circuses Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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OK... Let's begin! Bread and Circuses is referring to the idea that all the Roman public needed to keep them from expressing discontent en masse was "bread and circuses", and the song's theme is how "circuses" (a metaphor in this context) are methods of socio-political control. This song starts off a reference to the concept of the bank holiday. Frank says that we're all sick of work, and so desperately look forward to our time off that the anticipation in itself causes almost as much discomfort/etc as the work we're doing while we anticipate it. He then laments the fact that this twenty-four hour period away from the slavery of work is spent in an environment geared entirely toward over-consumption and frivolous waste ("you didn't have fun if you didnt buy the tshirt" and "an over-priced gift shop") "Art starts to imitate life in the factory" while our leisure time starts to imitate our work time; this parallel leads to the loss of meaning in both art and leisure as they're subsumed into the Capitalist system as merely means of improving productivity, and therefore are made more uniform, less spontaneous, etc. Then "Oh the kids... in darkened cinemas" is complaining about the loss of any large-scale protest movement, organisation against Capitalism, etc due to the fact that the younger generations have been 'brainwashed' or into placidly accepting the status quo. "If every hour that I have spent stuck in a circus..." points out how much time has been wasted in Frank's life, and all of our lives, simply trying to make our way through the maze of modern life - TV, bank holidays, school, work, all prevent us from thinking, learning, reading, etc. He then criticises the market's tendency to produce low-quality, safe, uniform goods ("maybe my skin wouldn't look so grey"). He finishes the song by stating his objection to the only way of living offered by Capitalist commercialism/consumerism ("the hand that feeds chooses the menu, but i'm a fussy eater"), and that the reason it does so is, returning to the theme of the entire song, to ensure control ("will keep subversive dreams away"). |
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| Million Dead – Bovine Spungiform Economics Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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"The maternity ward..." - Frank was born in Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf, which was used during the First Gulf War to launch attacks on Iraq, etc. Frank obviously links this war to Western economic concerns ("Like a stable petroleum price"). He goes on to talk about how these economic concerns are altering the physical landscape, and points out the irony in the name "carpark" ("the requisite stock of carparks [which aren't the same]"). He links it to "cultural decay" and mocks the "freedom of choice" that Capitalism offers, implying that none of the choices are positive ones, and also that this emphasis on choice avoids the fundamental nature of human life and the economy; "all choice and no need makes Jack a dull economist". He talks about the increasing privatisation of public space, feeding Capitalism further, and opening up new domains to it, at the expense of principles ("Prophet and cause superceded by profit and loss") The "Marshall's mustachioed face" line refers to Alfred Marshall, an economist who (to quote wikipedia) "extended economics away from its classical focus on the market economy and instead popularized it as a study of human behavior". [The fact that I had to look him up is amusing in itself due to the line "and if people knew who he was"] Frank tries to point out that the economic history and the way that Capitalism has developed have shaped our entire world, and yet it is ignored, downplayed, or even misrepresented ("if they taught honest history in school") |
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| Million Dead – After the Rush Hour Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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"And since the scramble ended" refers to the "Scramble For Africa". The reference to Mazzini is a reference to the idea of nation-states, a project/idea that Frank personally believes has failed (apparent in interviews, but also "why should I have to choose a state when every one of them has failed?") Frank compares them to the Panopticon in the next line, which was a prison designed by the philosopher Bentham. - Wikipedia "I promise not to overthrow the state if allowed to redraw the atlas before I emigrate" - another reference to Mazzini, who wanted to redraw the borders of Europe to be in line with God's intentions (borders delineated by great rivers, mountain ranges, etc) "I'll declare my own sovereign state, with borders based on the bottoms of my boots" is reclaiming autonomy and authority over himself, saying that he won't accept other people or states coercing him, and this is backed up by "but never on my knees". The Metternich line comes back to the lines about diplomacy, etc, and reflects his views that great revolutionary movements have failed, but that individuals can still attempt to reclaim autonomy for themselves. |
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| Propagandhi – Ska Sucks Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I really disagree joerobertsoncg, because there are 100 times more underground/DIY ska bands than big commercial major-label ones, so why haven't they picked on some other genre that's more guilty (eg. Pop punk, their own genre by and large on this album...) And I get the impression that they would make the song more serious if they meant it. |
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| Propagandhi – Ladies' Nite in Loserville Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Clearly the song is set in a bar - "drains her fifth" refers to her fifth drink, presumably, as it then counts how many more "rounds" (drinks each) the rest of the song takes place over ("It takes three more rounds till the subject changes and in that time she lays it down:") The song is written entirely from her words and the events of the song, so there's no reason given to believe that the writer's voice is in there at all. However, there's nothing to say that he's not using her words as his own voice. It seems that at the start of the song she's ripping into guys that memorise feminist rants and quotes and try to impress girls by using all the right words and talking about all the right things ("Cuz you been feeding me this crap ... like I'm supposed to sit and swoon) From that point onwards it gets a bit harder to interpret... The girl's trying to prove her credentials as a normal, non-repressed human being just like the guy's she's with ("I fuck to cum"). I think the "I can out-think, out-drink..." line is just bravado because she's indignant at the subtle veneer of sexism creeping into the supposedly feminist discussion (the attitude of the men trying to impress her, presumably to get in her pants). The "I fuck to cum" may also be trying to point out that if the guys want to lay her then they're better off just saying it - they're under the impression that she's looking for some fairytale Mr. Right who's going to treat her like an angel, and all she really wants is to cum. As for the "Fuck Larry Flynt...", "I'm so sick of..." and"fuck your bullshit femi-nazi crap" lines, I'm not so sure how to read them... And I'm not entirely sure what she's referring to when she mentions the Trinity - she obviously isn't talking literally about the Doctrine of the Trinity in Christianity, she's using it as a metaphor, but I'm not sure what for. I don't get the impression that she's saying guys are inferior, but that's one possible interpretation. |
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| Radiohead – Electioneering Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| IvoKent has the same interpretation as me of the "i'll go forwards..." line, although I also thought it had a double-meaning in reference to the "first world" progressing while the "third world" gets worse and worse, and the "somewhere we will meet" being the outsourcing of labour, influx of migration, trade, exportation of brand names, giving of loans, etc between the two. | |
| Propagandhi – Ska Sucks Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Actually "A message to you rudi" was originally by Dandy Livingstone, in 1967. The Specials' version is a cover. | |
| Propagandhi – Rock For Sustainable Capitalism Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| "I'll call you on your shit, please call me on mine" - the perfect one-line explanation of Propagandhi and NOFX taking digs at each other. | |
| Propagandhi – Haillie Sellasse, Up Your Ass Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| kaysow, you're missing the point - not all of the original Christian teachings are contained in the Bible, and those that are were generally written a long time after the events they're describing, sometimes/often without reference to Jesus himself, being an interpretation/amalgamation of other sources. | |
| Propagandhi – Nailing Descartes to the Wall/(Liquid) Meat Is Still Murder Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Descartes famously nailed his wife's dog to the wall by its paws to dissect it, hence "Nailind Descartes to the wall" | |
| Million Dead – Smiling At Strangers On Trains Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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When Frank played this live at The Marquee, February 2006, he said something along the lines of "This song is about someone that I used to be close to, and then she stopped talking to me, but it wasn't my fault, and then I wrote the song, and she's since started talking to me again" (and may have since stopped talking to him again haha) So basically it's about how you never get rid of someone who was close to you properly, they're always just around the corner of your mind, metaphorically speaking, and the title and last few lines are obviously about how they are sometimes literally just around the corner, and the awkwardness that can ensue when you bump into each other and one or both of you aren't acknowledging the other or there's an uncomfortable acknowledgement and no communication beyond that. |
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