| Giant Drag – Kevin is Gay Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| For 365 days a year, she had been taking 7.5 mg Norcos in small fistfuls. | |
| Lana Del Rey – Hollywood's Dead Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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So I’ve been listening to this song for like at least five years now and have never been able to figure out who she’s referring to with the “Roland is dying” line. I could not for the life or Google of me figure out who would be appropriate. Then a thought occurred... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Bolan I’m almost positive it’s Marc BOLAN. 70s musician killed in a car accident at the age of 29. Tres LDR, no? Since this is nowhere that I can find, and most lyrics have “Roland” rather than “Bolan”, here’s a little help for anyone endlessly searching. You were not the only one wondering.lol |
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| Aimee Mann – It's Not Safe Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I’ve been listening to this song for YEARS and this is the first time I’ve looked up the lyrics and I’m so puzzled by: “In which everybody's willing to choose swine over pearls” I’ve always heard (and sung) “wine over pearls”. Thinking someone who chooses wine lacks foresight, hedonistic — wanting the immediate payoff, and the person who chooses pearls is looking either artistically, or with forethought — as an investment. Desire versus practicality. But when I played it at the highest volume I can hear “swine” and not necessarily just the s-sound carrying over from “choose”. Why would anyone ever choose swine? |
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| Jenny Lewis – Born Secular Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[thembraincells:25788] I completely agree. In the first part she refers to God from an agnostic point of view: he’s a myth, she’s cynical. But in the second part: It's the way mothers greet their sons When it's a moment too late. The immediate image that jumps to mind is that of a mother over a casket. Perhaps maybe the most unabidable shriek imaginable — of a parent losing a child? The heartbreak, the horror. And below that, crying : It's the law of the land That sometimes the dam just breaks. And then: And God gives and then he takes. From me. She starts off “inconsolable” and a bit jaded, but when she’s encounters that unsatisfactory situation/reality, it’s so tragic and desperate and unfathomable, that in an almost sick way, imaging a “God” is a comfort. Even if it’s a negative-coded comfort, it’s still better to channel that anger to something you’re not comitted to, than to accept that the dice just roll that way sometimes. It seems so personal and painful, that she would rather have an angel of some kind of accountability than total chance and bad luck. |
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| Rilo Kiley – Accidntel Deth Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I'm inevitably going to echo a lot of previous comments, but I think the pieces synthesize in a way that sort of points to the song being about Jenny Lewis, herself. This may sound completely tangential, but I'm a huge Marilyn Monroe fan, and when I read the first paragraph of lyrics, they could so easily have been written about her: physical and mental disassociation, self-loathing, feelings of worthlessness. It's not sink or swim (live or die), but rather a sort of purgatory. The (currently) unknown narrator isn't so much fighting but existing merely because nothing has happened to propel him or her from one pole to the other, ie: "at least the water's beneath your chin." This person doesn't even have to swim, yet. People seem to think that the second paragraph has an overtly sexual tone, which I reject, and depart from, based on my interpretation. This person, with such conflicted and fragmented sense of self. doesn't even understand that he or she is the source of the blood that is so obviously alarming to everyone else -- it's nearly unrecognisable for this person. True mental anguish and pain can be debilitating, so a person lying on his or her back is exhausted. There would be no reference to disobedient legs (disobedient in the sense that they refuse to carry this person despite that being their only function, another example of fragmented and conflicted identity) if this was about some sort of unwanted or unmotivated sexual encounter. And finally the coast to coast line, which Elliott Smith doesn't have a monopoly on, but is undeniably allusive, considering More Adventurous is an almost love letter to him. And finally, the last paragraph. The only thing I'll really mention here is the shift in narrative, which is what leads me to believe that although the song may be sort of about Elliott Smith, it's more likely a rumination on Jenny, herself, particularly since she's historically written songs in a similar vein. The second person usage that has been prevalent throughout the song's entirety is betrayed when Jenny drops it to change "your father" to "my father." When she sings "Will you feel sorry for what you've done? Will you put down your gun?," she's not singing to another person -- she's singing to herself. This person who has been fighting her own brain and hating her own body -- beginning for a new sense of identity -- is beginning herself for another chance. If an angel sits on one shoulder, and a devil sits on the other, the angel finally walks in on this lyric and begs the devil to put down the gun. When people ask me if Marilyn killed herself, I explain that when night fell, she habitually wandered into a wilderness of solitude, wherein she played with fire. And that the thing about playing with fire with such frequency is that one day or another it is going to burn you. Marilyn, in that sense, was the Indian in the cougar's nest. |
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| Liz Phair – You Should Know Me Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I was flittering through Liz Phair songs, when I stumbled on this one and I genuinely thought it must have been a B-side or an out-take from the Exile era. THIS is the old Liz Phair. A relationship where two people are supposed to collaborate and organically arrive on the same page at the same time -- something that Liz Phair has warned she can't do and never promised from day one. Her veiled antagonism and rebellion quietly gleams out in the song when she pauses on "I get even." Very simply, it's about someone not listening to her words and being obtuse about her actions: "[...] refusing to see who I am." | |
| The Elected – Go for the Throat Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I love me some Jenny Lewis, but there's no denying this is a good song, and she had it coming after My Pet Snakes. Everyone loves a good kiss-off song. It could be coincidence, but the words 'gravity' and 'brute' stand out to me. Rilo Kiley fans should know that Jenny does lead vocals on Gravity, and that More Adventurous was released on Brute/Beaute records (I think their own label?). As for Gravity, the lyrics allude to gravity as having karmic properties. The song ends with Jenny singing "You said that gravity was gonna do me in." I don't think Gravity is necessarily about Blake, but it's not too far off to think that he wrote that response bit with the song in mind. ("And if the gravity should ever bring you down, if we ever meet right back on the ground...) |
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| Blake Mills – It'll All Work Out Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I find this to be such a soothing song. The guitars really create this gentle and melodic backdrop for Blake's quiet stoicism, which is what the song feels like it's about. The world Blake paints isn't one where people consistently lose, they just seem to never win. My favorite aspect of this song, though, has to be its construction as a narrative. You know after the first verse that it's sort of a genesis song, starting with Blake's mother's disappointment or failing, a torch of inherited struggle that is passed on from verse to verse, person to person, until it ends with the personal disappointment of implied adultry (or at least an attempt on the guy's part, and at the least a lie on the girlfriend's part [Danielle?].) I think I read/saw somewhere that either intentionally or in retrospect, Blake realized that the phrase "it'll all work out" doesn't actually mean anything. It's a phrase as hollow as "it is what it is." It's what you say when you there isn't a right thing to say. It's one of those prayers of quiet desperation. Lovely song, lovely performer. |
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| Haim – Go Slow Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This is my favorite Haim song by far. And by no means am I a Danielle-hater, but I would love a recorded version with Alana on lead vocals, chorus-wise. This song is amazing live, and the intertwining of all three of their voices is showcased so much better in that type of forum. The recorded one sounds more like Danielle over Danielle which undermines the power of the song, I feel. Anyway.... Love, love, love. The song is a slow build. It's quiet, like a ticking time bomb. It musically sounds like the calm before the storm, and then turns into an actual storm, lyrically, when Danielle bursts forth on the chorus. It's all about the "heat," the passion, the pressure, the immediacy, all the extremes that contrast so well with the languid-esque nature of the music, itself. The lyrics "heat" is even built up and crescendo-ed upon repetition. "Oh, I just want to go back, hold on, to the way that I was, 'cause you took away all my young life, and I hate what I've become." Not a line you throw away nonchalantly. I suppose that doesn't contribute much, interpretation-wise, but I can't dote on this song more. It's the one I recommend to all people after the obvious song recs. It's about a slow but powerful burn. |
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| Haim – The Wire Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Aw, bless, these lyrics are kind of a hot mess. The biggest one is that the chorus is "But I fumbled it, when it came down to the wire." Anyway, love Haim. Wish it was more Este and Alana like on the live version(s)? I assumed this song was a cover upon first hearing it; pleasantly surprised to find it was one of their own -- a real testament to their talent/specificity/uniqueness. |
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| Liz Phair – Stuck on an Island Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is my go to wallowing song. It just sounds like a downward spiral, an exhausted, hedonistic mess of regrets and epiphanies and a lack of care/desire/wherewithal to fix anything. Top 5 Liz Phair songs. |
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| The Commodores – Nightshift Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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"Aw talk to me so you can see what's going on" Marvin Gaye's song What's Going On "You came and gifted us, your love it lifted us higher and higher" Jackie Wilson's song (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me)Higher and Higher. This is a lovely song. |
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| The Like – All Is Lost Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is one of me favorite tracks to never make it on an album. I think it sounds really mature considering it predates Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? |
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| Cut Copy – Autobahn Music Box Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| What I love most about this song is the voice chanting "I don't want to hear a love song." In my head it's the kind of la la la la la, I'm not listening, fingers in your ears type of denial. And of course, as soon as you say the words "love song" it turns into a love song. Cause even an anti-love, denial of love song is still a love song. | |
| The XX – Shelter Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I've been listening to this song since Christmas of last year and I forever thought it was "with the lights turned OFF" which I think is so much sexier so I still pretend that's what she says. First The xx song. Still probably my favorite. |
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| The Like – Narcissus in a Red Dress Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I'm sorry, but Z is too damn clever a lyricist to choose the word "charlatan" and not have this song be about Charlotte. | |
| Mark Ronson and The Business International – The Night Last Night Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I feel like Alex's part tells the story of this guy who has these really intricate and almost debilitating nightmares,to the point that he's obsessed with them. And Rose stands as someone who loves him and wants to help him but knows that she'll always be on the outside of it all. Her part is my favorite: "I know it might be foolish, but I hope that you're dreaming of me." Cause really, that's all you can do sometimes. |
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| Sleater-Kinney – The Size Of Our Love Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I have nothing to say about the meaning, BUT.... When the violin transitions into the guitar as the drums kick in is pure genius. |
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| Earlimart – Tell the Truth, Pts. 1&2 Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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My favorite Earlimart song, by far. The duality of the music is so outstanding. It's just wow. Espinoza actually found a way to improve on Elliott Smith. He's got the same voice, similar lyrics, but an even more dynamic sound. |
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| Broken Social Scene – It's All Gonna Break Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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9 minutes and 55 seconds. I don't think I've ever skipped through a second of it. |
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| Rilo Kiley – And That's How I Choose to Remember It Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Does no one else think that that memory isn't real? Cause in the second portion she mentions the 'Arctic Scene', and then she mentions it again in the 'memory.' ('By a mural of an Arctic scene') The way she describes it as perfect, and with her favorite jeans, and a nice boy, and then: "And that's how I choose to remember it." It's sad that way, but I really just think Jenny was daydreaming in the airport. She didn't get a good memory, she 'chose' her own. |
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