| Britney Spears – Toxic Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It is a shame that modern pop artist such as Britney Spears have fallen into a place in modern culture where they no longer need to craft artful lyrics that move people. By simply accepting a writer and giving a small credit in the back of a lyric booklet, the songwriting process has been streamlined to a T. Whoever wrote this song (I have nowhere near the energy to check the credit, itself) knows how to write a hit, and has probably given his/her expertise to many of the stars we know and love today, from Fall Out Boy to Coldplay. This is what I've gotten from this specific hit so far: -The main character in this (making the assumption that it is a self-insert piece) clearly has a sexual desire for another character who has yet to be revealed in the first verse. -The main character expresses that this love interest should "Wear a warning", revealing that this person has been profiled to be the type of person that may use/abuse the main character- not the upstanding type, indeed! -By saying that she is "fallin'" the main character relates a state of emotion that may reflect the stereotype of "falling in love", but to a lesser extent. Perhaps a simple physical attraction? -By saying that she "needs a hit" the main character is attempting to compare that love interest with a drug, adding that they are "dangerous", but adding that they enjoy it all the same. The analogy is quite basic. -The prechorus reflects that earlier notion of a more carnal state of the complexity of "love". Basically a simple sexual attraction and little else is had between these two personalities. -The chorus itself continues to hammer the point home of the love interest being both "dangerous" (stating that he/she is like a "poison") and like a drug, adding that she is "addicted" to him/her. -The main character states that "it's getting late", possibly making implication that the rendezvous between the two has gone on for too long at this point, and that she now tires of him/her. Despite this, the main character states that she "took a sip from (her) Devil Cup", which would relate to basic mythology wherein Satan rewards foul behavior with pleasures. This implies that, though the main character has moral issues with her actions, she has no plans to repent, and will continue her tryst with her newfound lover. -In the last verse, the main character expresses a desire to be seduced by her new lover all over again, repeating the cycle. Well, that was a bit unsurprising, right? Little context to really be read there. That being said, I'm glad that the suggestion to analyze these lyrics was brought to my attention. Maybe the person who made the request learned something new about the song "Toxic". Sadly, I wasn't given a specific song to give my personal treatment to, so I hope that they are satisfied. |
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| Jaguar Love – The Man with the Plastic Suns Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Sorry, theTyrant, I guess I didn't really explain that part every well. The inclusion of the number six for the bullet count is obviously a reference to a six-shooter due to the idea that the main character would unload the selected gun on her prey. However, the revolver is a gun with little modern relevance and would be far harder to acquire than your standard pistol. So, as a result, we can assume that the insert of the number does have relevance. Also, thank you for the request, and I believe I honored it in full. I chose the song "Toxic", as it was one of Britney's bigger hits from her recent work: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858489277/5/ASC/#comment Just scroll down to the bottom for my comment. I hope that you enjoy it. |
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| Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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You know, it's the funniest thing. This song has lyrics that are so sugary sweet and horrible for you that it just makes your teeth rot directly out of your head (much like the beloved Charleston Chew). The beats and synths (not to mention the chorus of black women in the background) make this tune a generic recycling of eighties pop that could never stand the test of time in the gauntlet of teenage musical enthusiasts. That being said: I love Rick Astley. For all the guff that the man gets, he was way ahead of his time in his frame of mind. Back in the 1980's, Rick put out several records that never so much as saw air time on the radio, never mind MTV video circulation. Left and right he had people telling him what to do, how to dress, how to act, and what songs to sing, but to little avail. So what did he do? He dropped his record company, got himself a freelance agent and started writing his own tunes. Now, as I said, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is not exactly poetry, but if you actually break the instrumentals of the song down, you can find some composition that is quite complex and intriguing beneath all of that synth pop. So I raise my glass to Mr. Astley and thank him for giving us a fantastic internet meme that we (and the other 18 million Americans who have been Rickrolled thus far) can laugh about for many months to come, until we latch onto the next hilarious icon. But beware... it's surely to have a power level of over.... Nine thousand. |
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| Jaguar Love – The Man with the Plastic Suns Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Err.. yeah, kind of. Heh. I guess I just have no real life to speak of. | |
| Jaguar Love – The Man with the Plastic Suns Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Johnny Whitney is truly a master of the modern lyric. His style of writing transcends genre, and can be appreciate on both the literal, as well as the metaphysical level. Johnny has always been deep into the metaphysical- especially in the earlier days of his career, where, to the untrained eye, many of his songs would make no sense at all. Recently, he has taken to spinning a story that can be appreciated as a tale in and of itself, but has a deeper subtext. "The Man with the Plastic Suns" is a perfect example of this. For those of you who haven't looked into it yet, I'll make it easy for you and lay out everything that I've figured out thus far: -By making the main character's father play in a band in Las Vegas (notoriously the "Sin City") it implies that her father is a man who has already been corrupted morally before ever meeting "The Man with the Plastic Suns". -The father's band plays old "big band standards". This implies a sense of innocence, harkening back to a simpler time in history, when, supposedly, all was right in the world. This note stands in stark contrast to the previous point made, implying that the "father" was attempting to find some sort of redemption for his past misdeeds. This shows that he is a reflection of all of mankind who have hit rock bottom and are trying to pull themselves back up while in dire straits. -Traditionally in film if a character has a hand of aces versus a hand of kings, they are branded a cheater. This shows that "The Man with the Plastic Suns" represents all that is evil in mankind, if not the darker section of mankind themselves- the dregs, the criminals, etc. -"The man with the Plastic Suns" kills police officers, thus he is not part of any oppressive government. -"The man with the Plastic Suns" invents diseases. This shows that he is supposed to be, in this example, synonymous with the blanket term of "terrorist" that governments use to described anything that they deem to be evil. -"The man with the Plastic Suns" "blackmails rainbows to turn into nooses". This is one of my favorite lines in the song, because it foreshadow the suicide at the end of the song. Not only that, but it also shows how the metaphysical "Man with the Plastic Suns" takes the happiness that exists in modern society and turns it into a proverbial suicide for those effected. -The main character refuses to shame herself by stripping. This implies both a sense of morality and selfishness on her part. Therefore, the main character reflects the faux holy teenage culture. People who complain about this and that, but do nothing to stop it. -The "father" sells his guitars to pay off his bills, implying that he no longer has his job as a musician, which was symbolic of his (and thus mankind's) final shot at redemption. Now he is- and thus, we are- immersed in corruption. -"The Man with the Plastic Suns" doesn't actually do his dirty work, but drones carry it out for him. This shows that many people are actually part of moral corruption without actually realizing it. -The "father" originally forgoes alcohol for "some time to think" which shows that he is not part of that inherently corrupt set that "The Man with the Plastic Suns" is. -The "father" relapses into old habits, falling to the level of his opposite by succumbing to alcohol, showing that with redemption can also come failure. -The "dead mother" represents the beautiful ideal of a perfect society, as the "father" seeks her in his time of desperation and doubt. -The "father" smashes televisions "on the cement". This is a constant theme in much of Whitney's work: a lashing out at the media as an answer to the issue at hand. It's a dichotomy that it is not the media that is responsible for many issues in society, but rather man's dependance on the media. In the context of this song, the section of society represented by the "father" is shown by this line to not be part of that sect that is enslaved by themselves, but rather by circumstance. This further implies that "The Man with the Plastic Suns" *may* be part of that sect. -When the "father" fills the swimming pool with gasolene and "drawings of angels," I believe that it is supposed to be a symbol of the volatility of religious obsession, and the unhealthy environment that it breeds; especially of those who have hit their own personal "rock bottom". -Walking "into a postcard of somewhere in London" implies a detachment from reality and the desire to simply have all of those ominous troubles in life just go away. This speaks to modern society and our tenancy toward escapism. -The main character, who (if you remember) originally has the moral ethic to not stoop to the level of objectification puts on a low-cut shirt. Now, in Whitney's work, whenever a woman is objectified, it is a symbol for evil, and so this shows a transition from "moral but inactive" to "active but amoral" on the part of teen culture that is symbolized by the main character. -"The Man with the Plastic Suns" is still in the casino. He has not shown any dynamic features, unlike the other characters, for the duration of the song. This shows that he represents those who repeat-offend; those who do not want to be corrected. -The main character is removed from the narration, implying that, even though she killed "The Man with the Plastic Suns" she, herself has also died in the process. -"The Man With the Plastic Suns" was shot in the face six times. The obvious symbol of the number six is that it is an evil number (666 being the well-known sign for the Beast). This shows that the character who once was morally upright is now brought to the same level as the man who ruined her father. -The main character is revealed to be the age of sixteen. This is an important age for teenagers- it is an age of rebirth and transition. This character, and thus who they symbolize, carries with them all that the age entails. -The "father" hangs himself at the end of the song, showing how one small event can alter the whole of society that is represented thus far in the song by our three characters. With this suicide, all three are dead by the end of the story. -"The desert" and "The ocean" represent the masses of people who fall between the cracks, and are not represented by either the main character, the "father" or "The Man with the Plastic Suns". By saying that they are both laughing and mourning, Whitney implies that the "desert" represents one point of view that mankind possess, and the "ocean" represents the opposite. This could be a nod to the current political climate: two harsh climates that cannot support human life being used to represent democrats and republicans. In my opinion the "ocean" would represent the democrats, being that it is a party that seems to be bountiful and life-giving (as a mass of water would be) but upon closer inspection, it is just as harsh and unforgiving as the "desert". |
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