| Joy Division – The Sound Of Music Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I think that if you take this and New Dawn Fades as one piece (they were written around the same time, leading up to his death), then yes, it most definitely forms a suicide note. I actually think that this is probably the saddest of all Ian Curtis' songs, even though the music is actually quite upbeat (and what's up with that "BRRRRWOOOOOOOO!" at the beginning???), which of course adds a whole 'nother dimension of irony to it. It's also somewhat representive of the fact that if you can hide your soul-crushing, all-consuming depression under a veneer of happiness, you can leave a whole ton of people in the wake of your ultimate actions saying "I had no idea." |
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| Joy Division – New Dawn Fades Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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When I read the first three lines, I feel like maybe Ian was trying to write down or give creedence to things that he thought would help his predicament at the time (depression, infidelity, failing marriage, epilepsy, etc) - that if he had a change of scenery and whatnot, he would feel better. But then, it seems like on the fourth line, he breaks that - so often, depression is made worse by being idle, but in his case, he was VERY occupied - with the band gaining popularity and acclaim, touring all over, a US tour on the horizon... and yet, he forgot that things were looking up, that he was no longer just moping about Manchester, he was a rock star. It seems like he felt as though he'd tried many different ways of living, being, acting, thinking, etc. ("different colors, different shades") and that he'd bombed-out on all of them ("over each, mistakes were made") and that he had resigned himself to this reality, and the attitude that he was a failure ("I took the blame"). He goes on to repudate anything eariler about things that may help him ("Directionless, so plain to see" / "A loaded gun won't set you free"), and I wonder whether he meant that it was plain to see he was directionless, or it was plain to see that a loaded gun won't set you free. The way that he says "or so you say" in the song after almost seems like he's mocking that attitude that "you" have, and that he feels like suicide would free him - he descends into his depression and seems to almost dare you to prove him wrong. Then in the next verse, he starts off with a completely different mindset, and again, when you listen to him sing it, it sounds almost like he's trying to push aside those thoughts by thinking about other people, about socializing - almost chummy in a sense. The angry voice and the crying one could be the two emotions he felt in himself... anger and sorrow. People around him try to support him on his rise to fame and respect as an artist ("we'll give you everything and more") but he can't hear or feel anything but his own pain ("this pain's too much, can't take much more," which is about as desperate as it gets). He feels like he's done everything he can to feel alive again and it hasn't worked ("I've walked on water, can't seem to feel it anymore"), and then refers to the part earlier in the song where noted having tried to change, viewing himself in the past: that he felt that doing these things, that getting to where he was with the band or having a tryst with a music journalist or then trying to reconcile and be a husband and father all were things that would get him to where he wanted to be, hoping for something better, and better never came. He never shook the depression that ultimately led him to kill himself. |
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| Iggy Pop – China Girl Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Iggy Pop & David Bowie wrote this while they were recording with in France. They were recording in the same place as the French artist Jacques Higelin, and Iggy became smitten with his wife, who is Vietnamese. He confessed his love for her and she rebuked him. The song is a pretty good summary of falling for someone and not having them reciprocate; the feelings go from tender and loving to angry and frustrated. He sounds so hurt and dejected by the last line of the song... awesome recording. | |
| The Meatmen – Crippled Children Suck Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Truer words have never been spoken. | |
| The Meatmen – War Of The Superbikes Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| No, this song kicks ass. Never, ever let me catch you speaking ill of the Meatmen again. | |
| GG Allin – Shove That Warrant Up Your Ass Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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He didn't really get away with it, he was constantly in jail, and did a stint of a few years for rape and assault at one point. Then he died. |
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| GG Allin – Don't Talk To Me Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I love this song because it's such a snotty, irreverent tune. Bonus: you can hear GG's New England townie accent in full effect, which makes the nasally, snotty vocals even funnier. You can also hear GG's descent into madness starting on this track... he hadn't just become an outright asshole and still says "button your lip" and calls the girl a "twit," which are not particularly tough or intimidating, but then starts to freak out and screams "I'd like to tie your hands and feet and put you in a sack!" |
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| Blur – Wear Me Down Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song sounds nothing like Radiohead. It's actualyl a standout track on the album; it's the most distorted and "hard" of all the songs on the record... distorted guitars, crashing drums, off-tempo harmonies and disaffected vocals make for a great "I don't care anymore" love/breakup song. Pretty straightforward: he's sick of his girlfriend. |
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| Blur – I'm Just a Killer for Your Love Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Letmebe is right... forget the lyrics, the beat and swing of the song are perfect... it's very floaty and steamy... I always think of a girl with dark hair in black lingerie swinging her hips in red light when I hear the intro. I don't think that the song is really intended to have much of a meaning, they're just there to keep the song going. | |
| Blur – Yuko and Hiro Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It could be an analogy about Damon Albarn's relationship with Justine, which was in full force when the song was recorded. More directly I think it's a commentary on the Japanese salaryman (sarariman) culture: you graduate, you take a job, that job becomes your life: your boss is your father, your coworkers are your siblings, and you are expected to stay in that one job for life. It's changing over there now, but for a long time, if you were to quit one job to go to another like people do in the US or Europe, it was essentially suicide... the chances of you getting another, comparable job later were pretty much done for. Yuko is a Japanese girl's name, and Hiro is a Japanese boy's name. It's about a couple who met at work, and are now in a relationship together. They can't be a couple at work since it's work, and their hours are so long that they're only together weekends and then Sunday. They drink to keep themselves in check and be able to sleep (I'm familiar with this, haha) and so in effect, they never really get to spend time together. They work hard and sacrifice what they'd love to be able to do together in the hopes that their future is stable. |
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| Screaming Trees – Dollar Bill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Seems like it's about leaving a girl who's fallen harder for you than you have for her, and being torn about whether it's the right or wrong thing to do. He's saying to "let them say what they will/that no one should hurt ya" and then he sings in a lower tone, "that's all I seem to do," and then repeats it with "that no one should desert ya." When he says "goodbye mama" he's not talking about his mom; it's like calling someone "baby." Back in the '50's, "mama" was used in a similar fashion... couples would call eachother "mama" and "papa." Things have gotten too serious for him and he's tried to tell her this but she hasn't wanted to hear it, hence "been tryin to tell you what's going on," and now it's getting to the point where he has no choice but to just call it quits. And through the rest of the song that becomes obvious. He feels bad because he thought that a quick, easy romance would be a good thing but it's led to more pain. Great song. |
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| Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I think it's a song about a guy whose gf has moved to the other side of the country to be an actress in LA... I just moved from LA after living there for five years and they're everywhere: people who think they're hot shit because they were the best actress in their school in Shallow Ditch, TX or Dumpwater, NJ. They don't realize that every single person like them has moved to the same city with the same intentions. They all wait tables or in hotels but act like they're already a jetsetter. So his gf moved out there to be a star because she thinks she's the greatest thing ever, and while he told her it wasn't that easy she wouldn't listen ("yeah, but you're an actress I don't identify"). While she's out there trying to be a bigshot celeb, she's keeping him as a contingency, if you will, in case things don't go right and she has to move back home... so she still acts like she's in love with him while she's living on Doheny like every other LA superstar wannabe, pretending to live the good life. He's sick of it. He tried being single but he wants to get out there and find some love, and he knows that she's over there on the other side of the country sleeping around and all that. He doesn't want to read anything she puts up on her LJ or myspace or whatever about how awesome things are, he doesn't want to hold onto what was, to the point that he doesn't want her to care for him anymore at all. He just wants to walk away and leave it behind him and he's ready to do it ("my heart swings tonight"). She's starting to realize that everything he said about things not being as easy as she thought are true but he doesn't want to be there to gloat about it ("and I don't want a taste of victory") because she's shown who she really is. It makes me wonder, since Interpol is a successful band and all, if that's something that happened... one of the members had a GF who split to become a celeb, and now they're nothing and he's successful because he had a chance, he followed his "dance" and his "plan" and he made it while she pretended to be more than she was. And yeah there's something U2-like about this song. The difference is that unlike a U2 song, you don't get over this after listening to it three times! |
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| Deftones – Damone Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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You can sort of tell what the people putting their opinions up have been through... being cheated on. losing their jobs, haha. I think to OP is right though. Sounds like he was into a girl, he told her, and she totally wasn't into him ("you start, stand still, and shove regret right back at me"... it's sort of like she's saying "you're a great guy but... *pause* ...I'm not into you."). It almost sounds like he's gone back home and is laying on his bed, and he feels ashamed for her because he's "been down;" he's kind of a loser/loner/etc. and now he's like "well of course she wouldn't like me..." He feels ashamed for her for making a really bad lie about why she doesn't want to see him (something like, "oh, well, uh, I'm like, not looking for a relationship right now...") when he knows it isn't true. He's hurt and wants to know why she really isn't into him, and while they stay friends he eventually gets sick of her ("this feeling gets old, and so do your eyes, this is why I hate you") and the tables turn when he doesn't have feelings for her anymore and she has them for him ("soon I've been you" = they've switched places). And when she comes after him with open arms, he tells her he's not into her and she just stands and stares right back at him. Moral of the story, kids: don't squander love. Haha |
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| Deftones – The Chauffeur (Duran Duran cover) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I think it's actually about, literally, a chauffeur, who spends all his time driving this woman around who he's fallen in love with... they spend all this time together and she's even grown to love him ("and the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart"), but she won't act on it because a) he's always there and she takes him for granted and b) he's a chauffeur... she obviously has a lot of money and he's a servant. He has to drive her to see her bf, and it burns him up that she's seeing him. But when she leaves and he picks her up, she's happy because she really loves him and the time they spend together (glass splinters lie so deep in your mind). He feels like he could completely wreck her relationship by pointing this all out to her (to tear out from your eyes with a word to stiffen brooding lies) but he knows that because of her being rich and him not, it'd be pointless because she'd never seriously consider him as a romance so he feels like it's pointless (i only watch you leave me further behind). Needless to say it's a pretty sad song. Great one though. |
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| Interpol – Direction Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I digress... I think that this is Interpol showing how awesome they are. The song effectively has no lyrics (the only words, repeated over & over, are just as much an ambient part of the song as the instruments), but the musicianship is great. The song is gentle and sorrowful, but gets forceful toward the end like it's gaining a sense of being and builds to a climax that is only fleeting. It seems like it could be a song about death... the one direction we're all heading in. | |
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