| Beat Happening – Tiger Trap Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Part of me can believe Twee!'s comment, but I doubt that's wherever anyone finds the appeal in this song. All Beat Happening songs have an elusive quality to them, whether in the indeterminate guitar figures or the odd symbolism, all of which culminates in this song. | |
| TV on the Radio – Blind Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Still their best song. | |
| Beat Happening – Bury the Hammer Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Such a resigned farewell. Always puts a knot in my throat. Calvin may have a monotone voice, but in many cases, such as here, it's a poignant voice. Ooooh, the way he draws out, "...ride an empty soooooooOOOOOOOOOooooool..." | |
| Françoise Hardy – Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Oh, and I just noticed that I messed up in one space (maybe others too, but I haven't thought about them yet). In the last piece about "eyes in eyes", it's "When eyes in eyes and hand in HIS/HER hand", not just "hand in hand" again. |
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| Françoise Hardy – Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Quick translation without changing much to put it in less stilted English (never too much of a problem, though): All of the boys and girls of my age Walk together in the street two by two All of the boys and girl of my age Know well what it is to be happy And eyes in eyes and hand in hand They go together in love without fear of the following day Yes but I, I go alone in the streets, the soul in pain Yes but I, I go alone, because no one loves me My days like my nights Are in all alike situations Without joys and full of problems No one whispers "I love you" in my ear All of the boys and girls of my age Make plans for the future together All of the boys and girls of my age Know very well it means to love And eyes in eyes and hand in hand They go together in love without fear of the following day Yes but I, I go alone in the streets, the soul in pain Yes but I, I go alone, because no one loves me My days like my nights Are in all alike situations Without joys and full of problems Oh! So when will the sun shine for me? Like the boys and girls of my age Will I know soon what love is? Like the boys and girls of my age I ask myself when the day will come When eyes in eyes and hand in hand I will have a happy heart without fear of the following day The day when I will not have a soul in pain anymore The day when I too, I will have someone who loves me ------------------------ Sounds standard in English and sans music. In French and with that perfectly tight melody where all of the instruments and Hardy's voice mesh together perfectly, it's devastating. I do love the way the lyrics shuffle around throughout the song. Most strikingly, she eventually acknowledges the fact that others, even those supposedly joyous people she envies, are feeling just as uncertain about their lives (switching from "tous les garçons..." to "commes les garçons"). It might be a jaunty little number, but it really does bring on the sadness. |
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| Throbbing Gristle – Persuasion Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I can't think of any song that disturbs me more than this one. A lot of it is how generally sparse the band makes the soundscape (common throughout this album, but especially on this track), with such large gaps between the repeating bass notes. Of course, this makes the other sonic elements stand out, and those sampled screams and wailing guitar fragments are certainly disconcerting, but it really is Genesis' vocal performance and lyrics that make the song. The casual tone, the softness that sometimes approaches a whisper, the constant "you"s - everything becomes so intimate that it's easy to be...taken in, manipulated, persuaded by his words, but never enough that we like it. It always maintains that proper tension, simultaneously producing a picture of a situation both uncanny and frightening as well as almost everyday. We all feel like victims here, listening to these words amidst this creeping music - I'd presume. And so it's imminently relatable. And we just have to hope that, even in some small way, we aren't behaving like Genesis' narrator. |
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| Palace Music – new partner Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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What is this ad? Hmm...I agree with your assessment of songs and movies and art in general, that appreciation takes time more than effort or immediacy (even if those facets have sway in their own right). I have a tendency - like many, I would guess but would hesitate to assert - to create attachments to certain works based on how much I relate to them at the moment I meet them. And that's rarely an accurate judge of how they'll affect me within a few months or years. Over time, the "art" behind a piece will stand out more than the initial puppy love. (For example, Garden State became a contender for my favorite movie when it first came out, but I saw it again recently and was left completely annoyed.) This is one of those songs that hit me right when I heard it and has stuck around, because the nuances have emerged in sharper detail, which in turn leads to fuzzier ambiguity as the option of multiple interpretations comes about. The Magnetic Fields write really good songs with similar results... And you're a filmmaker? I'm a dramatic arts major considering becoming a film student, as well. Hmmm... |
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| Will Oldham – New Partner Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Yes, it is perverted, and that's part of what makes the song so good. See my response on the correct citation for this song: it's a Palace Music song, one of Will Oldham's groups but not just Will Oldham. And it's not altogether that self-explanatory. | |
| Palace Music – new partner Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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One of my absolutely favorite songs as well. Viva Last Blues is an album that wavers between thudding strength and wavering fragility (not a bad thing in any respect - it's part of what makes it so unique a record), and this song obliterates the rest. It's those slide guitars. Yeah, I've always heard it as a breakup song to a certain degree, and that's the way that it most effectively registers with me on an emotional level. This song pulled me through a bad split as well. But I think it's important to note that there are two other main readings to the song, both of which deal with that "awful action that just breathes from my hand, just breaths from a deed so exquisitely grand". (Whoa...that line...) -murder -molestation And the rest of the song is guilt, guilt that could just as easily support the reading that this deals with a breakup. All three at the same time? The best line for me is the one that leads into the final go at the chorus: "When you think like a hermit, you forget what you know." Not only does it come out with such a wonderful climax, but it helps push him against the guilt to a place that wants to accept it. And that's the intent that I find in the song - to push past feelings of guilt, which often only engender isolation. |
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