| Protest the Hero – She Who Mars the Skin of Gods Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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"She who mars the skin of Gods" To me, the title refers to how Kezia will change the world and its way of thinking. Already she has deeply affected the priest and caused him to realize how corrupt and hollow his religion is. It's this same oppressive religion that is fostering inequality between men and women, and Kezia will die as a martyr to help correct this. The first part is Kezia remembering her mother's words-- searching for some kind of comfort but finding little. The only comfort she finds is that the "world's got the substance of a frozen summer silhouette" which seems to say that the world is cold and hollow. She doesn't need to be discouraged that no one will listen to her, because the world doesn't matter (it's all transitory). Her mother was mistreated at the hands of men as well, the difference is that Kezia is brave enough to do something about it. The part where she writes "I"m shaking while I write, because tonight I'll stay awake and breathe away my fright" is important because when her fear is gone, she awakes a new person. You see this in the line "resurrected to be killed" and "I'll always be kezia, so long as any hope remains" in the song DIVINE SUICIDE OF K. She is proud of what she's doing and hopes that she can inspire other people with her courage. She writes a final letter to her mother, talking about her difficult situation. Even though Kezia is a strong woman with great conviction, she still needs her mother's love or some kind of support-- but she knows it won't be coming. Maybe her mom was a shitty parent because she was spineless and conformed to the standards set by the dominant and controlling sex. Kezia ends her letter by sardonically stating "there's no one here to tuck me in, so the shotgun will instead". She wanted to leave one final biting remark for her mother who abandoned her. |
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| Protest the Hero – A Plateful of Our Dead Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Just a few lyrics I'd like to comment on: "There's almost nothing worse than never being real Strained voices crying wolf when nobody can hear If I had a gun I'd pump your ethics full of lead If I believed in meat I'd eat a plateful of our dead" Even though the story of Kezia is told in 3 parts, the band themselves insert their own opinions from a first-person perspective in a few songs (see turn soonest). Basically here they're referring to how awful it was/is when society renders your opinion invalid. They then use the metaphor of shooting "your ethics" dead, because that is what a close-minded society was doing to Kezia (who symbolically represents equal rights/recognition). Arif, Tim, Luke, Rody and Moe are all vegetarians which explains the last line, describing how much they detest this kind of ignorant response to progressive thinking. "I'd rather kill a stupid flower and spread its seeds Until a garden with our bullet-laden morals will be found." I'm conflicted as to whose perspective this part is from, but I think it is Kezia accepting her fate and coming to terms with the bull-headed and unreasonable nature of society. She seems disillusioned and bitter, but also hopeful. She realizes that with her death she can make a bigger impact than she could in life and seal the message she has been spreading throughout the story. Even though it's a bloody end, she believes truth will spring from her grave and eventually society will open its eyes. It's a beautiful, bittersweet ending to one of the greatest concept albums ever created. |
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| Kanye West – Flashing Lights (feat. Dwele) Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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A few people asked about how the video relates to the song, so I'll take a stab at it. The idea of flashing lights I think is supposed to represent how he never really has a chance to enjoy anything... it all just passes by like flashing lights. It can also be blinding. He gets caught up in the hip-hop lifestyle, but doesn't exactly realize where it's taking him. He also gets involved with fast women who are very high maintenance. This is where the girl in the video comes in. At first I thought it was pretty strange that she's barely dressed (even though it's industry standard), it just looks out of place. I think it's actually supposed to represent his infatuation with her. She is irrisistable to him, and he feels powerless. You see him bound in the car (a very nice car), so he feels trapped by his obsessions and is so caught up in partying and spending cash that he's destroying himself from the inside out. Eventually the girl kills him with the shovel to represent how his life spiraled completley out of control. I get the general vibe that he's trying to describe his difficulty in adjusting to fame. |
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