| The Hold Steady – Oaks Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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"Tad: I think we became super obsessed with Radiohead's "Exit Music (for a Film) SaveFrom.net." There is a way those guys can really concisely convey an emotional element. There’s something really dour and lonely about that song. There's a feeling of real hopelessness in it. I’m not saying that “Oaks” is anything like that song or even remotely as good as anything Radiohead’s ever done. I mean, those guys are far and beyond what any band could aspire to. I don’t know if you have any friends that have had problems with drugs or anything like that, but I wanted to try to somehow portray this particular emotion that comes up when you’re saying good-bye and you walk away knowing that that’s the last time you’re going to see them. Craig: That’s again, the big last song, our longest song ever, and that was one that, I don’t know, it’s an obvious ender. At nine minutes, it couldn’t have gone anywhere else, but it’s a big dramatic ending on the album. The coda is something we added later because I felt otherwise it was really dark and I didn't want to go out on this hopeless note. That was one that came together in the studio and surprised everyone. We thought it was a B going in; we thought it was an A when we were done." http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/hold-steady-craig-finn-tad-kubler-pick-best-songs.html |
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| The Hold Steady – On with the Business Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Craig: In it I mention “that American sadness.” I read David Foster Wallace talk about this particular American sadness where, no matter what, through drugs or alcohol, especially consumer goods, we can’t seem to fill this void inside of us. The song is really about consumerism and people screwing other people over to get ahead, to get more stuff. Also, it’s really heavy and I like that. At 42 years old and on our sixth record, I was proud to make a heavy record this time around. Tad: I think that song is a great example of the interplay between Steve [Selvide, the band's new second guitar player] and I on the record. We both have really similar influences and we come from a really similar place — we were even born on the same day, just a few hours apart. But stylistically, as guitar players, we’re very, very different. I think that song is a really nice snapshot of that. Craig had a tough time finding where the words were going to fit because it’s dense and there’s a lot of guitars, and I remember rehearsing it and just being able to barely hear the lyrics, and then we’d get to the chorus: “On the carpet, on the mattress, waking up with American sadness.” When we finished and I said, “Are you saying 'American sadness'?” And he’s like, “Yeah.” And I’m like, “That’s fucking awesome. That’s perfect.” http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/hold-steady-craig-finn-tad-kubler-pick-best-songs.html |
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| The Hold Steady – Lord, I'm Discouraged Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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"Tad: A lot of my guitar solos are just sort of aimin’ the plane toward the side of the mountain and going for it. That was one I did manage to pull off fairly well. Craig’s lyrics: I would say that was the most of him, or his life, that I’ve ever heard him put in song. I remember listening to the rough mix and thinking, Jesus Christ, this is probably closer to him than I think people would realize. It’s very intense for a lot of reasons. Craig: I got that title looking at this Charlie Patton boxed set and there was a song called “Lord, I’m Discouraged” and I lifted the title. It was also because my mom used to say that things were discouraging, if she didn’t approve of something, and I always laughed about that." http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/hold-steady-craig-finn-tad-kubler-pick-best-songs.html |
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| The Hold Steady – The Sweet Part of the City Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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"Tad: That was one of the first songs, maybe besides “Lord, I’m Discouraged,” that was in an alternative tuning. The idea for it came up as an exercise for me to learn how to play slide guitar. And listening back, it’s obvious that I don’t do it very well. It never really gets super huge. It’s just kind of laid-back and more vibey — if I can use that word, which sounds kind of douchey. Craig: Yeah, and that’s a great one. I was thinking a lot about this idea of a young person in their twenties, how living in the cool part of town is enough. You know what I mean? Your troubles aren’t that big if you can go out and get a couple of beers, if you live near the cool bars." http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/hold-steady-craig-finn-tad-kubler-pick-best-songs.html |
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| The Hold Steady – We Can Get Together Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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"Craig: I feel like it's a sister song to certain songs from the first album. It’s about rock and roll and how we find a song that buoys us during hard times. There’s a Built to Spill song that’s similar and it’s almost a nod to it. That song has to do a little bit with this band called Heavenly, which was not a huge band, from England. It was a real upbeat poppy band. I read somewhere that the drummer had committed suicide and it sort of struck me because the band was this upbeat, twee pop band. It got me thinking about these songs versus our real lives, and how they intersect. Even though the song does concern the guy’s suicide, there’s something kind of sweet about that versus a lot of our mellow songs that are pretty sad. Tad: I was listening to a ton of Smiths albums, so that record there’s got a lot of what I’ve always referred to as sparkly bits. So that’s that one. Again, the lyrics to that song are some of my favorite because where a lot of Craig’s lyrics are so polarizing and so specific, that was one where you can really put yourself into and not just listen to this narrative that he’s laid out." http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/hold-steady-craig-finn-tad-kubler-pick-best-songs.html |
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| The Dismemberment Plan – Following Through Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| At a certain time in my life, this song actually gave me chills. I got into this band through a good friend (and ex) and after things ended (badly) between us, I was listening to the song and finally heard the words. They struck so true with me at the time. I couldn't get over the idea of the failed potential of our realtionship, which had been built up over a period of years of high school tension. When we finally were together, he was unable to follow through on my expectations or his own expectations. The part that starts "I can do it anywhere with anyone at anytime don't you forget" was what I wanted to be able to feel and say, but it took some time (and actually experiencing college life) to feel empowered enough to feel that I had a life to live outside of this failure. | |
| Coldplay – The Scientist Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Picture this: a girl who loves a boy who screwed up their relationship somehow. He comes to her and tells her he's so sorry and that he thinks she's beautiful and that he overwhelmingly needed to tell her how he felt about her. He tells her to talk to her like she always does about how she feels and what she thinks about the world. And he tells her see? We can start over. Things are still the same. He knows that it's hard for them for whatever reason, but he says "nobody ever said it was easy." In his head, though, and in his heart, he knows that the opposite is true - "no one ever said it would be so hard." But he determintely says, "I'm going back to the start." The start of their relationship, before anything bad happened. He was obsessed with what should be in their relationship, why they were fighting or why it wasn't working or why it wasn't like the "typical" realtionships. It didn't match up to science or progress, but here he is, still loving her. He wants her to tell him she loves him again and to start over with him. It's so haunting, like he even says in the song, because even though it appears like a plea to have her back in his life, there's still this line of "No one ever said it would be so hard" but he still says he's going back to the start... |
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| Minus the Bear – This Ain't a Surfin' Movie Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I love this song. The book is a metaphor for his life's story. In the beginning, a page in his life (the girl) was marked for him - like fate. The words knew he'd need to keep her around, but he didn't see it at first. They're together for a year (maybe more? no ending specified here) and it seems full of happiness - her singing and her pleasing him and sleeping. They're on a beach together and he knows it's one of those moments he wants to keep forever in his mind. They talk about the future and putting each other in it, writing themselves together in the book. The last two lines are perfect: he knows that they're together and that's all that matters. I love how this is pretty much a description of a love that grows despite him being completely unaware of it in the beginning. | |
| Margot & the Nuclear So and So's – Skeleton Key Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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These lyrics get better and better everytime I hear this song. It's weird, but sometimes I used to imagine one of my ex's singing me thing song and I would get 10 times angrier. It was difficult for me to be angry despite his wrongdoings, so this was a good thing, haha. There are a few lines, though, that I swear I could have said back to him. But let's start from the beginning: The boy cheated on his girl - his "lack of loyalty." The song mentions her doing a lot for him: cooking him food, getting him high (physically, mentally, emotionally...), and she even left another man to be with him. The whole metaphor of the skeleton key is pretty confusing. Skeleton keys, are far as my knowledge goes, are keys that can open a whole bunch of locks. This is pretty interesting, because it definitely seems like he's insulting her - "you're nothing special" but she can fit herself in anything she wants to - or anyone. So that takes skill. Maybe he's calling her a whore because of that. Anyway, he doesn't want her to tell him that she loves him because "you know" that isn't true. To me, it seems like her actions would be pretty indicative of love, but maybe he just doesn't believe her. Also: "My dire affliction I'll attribute to you." He claims that she is the cause of his problems in order to avoid taking the blame for his mistakes. The twist and turn imagery is definitely relative to sex - she can fuck whoever she wants now. I don't really get the "You gotta let me know." Does she brag about her other guys to him to try and make it seem like she's over the break-up? This guy acknowledges he messed up and he realizes he hurt her - "I did a sick, sick thing to my love" and "I did a horrible thing to that girl" and once again there's the image of taking out his pain and frustration on her. He didn't notice her pain in return - "I hardly noticed there were tears in her eyes." I love the lines "And I miss you less and less everyday / This stream of whiskey's helped to wash you away." He claims he doesn't miss her anymore but he drinks himself silly to avoid thinking about it. I think this song is really about him trying to avoid his own failure. |
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| Animal Collective – Grass Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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So I think that this is sort of a love song. This guy was following in his father's footsteps for whatever reason - maybe he fell in love the same way his father did or something. His knees were walking towards the girl's mom's house because the boy realized that this girl was more than just a friend. She "smelled like a lover." But I guess when he sees her, he treats her like a "brother" just out of nerves. He doesn't touch her like a lover, he touches her like he'd touch his brother - rough and brief. But then they have sex. And clearly this is recurring since the chorus is repeated throughout the song. They have sex outside, in the grass, "do the dance" and it seems really playful and fun. He shakes her shoulders and she pushes him down "into the grains." But then they have this cuddly, fun relationship after sex - "who rubs our noses in the night? we do, we do." That's adorable. The Pow pow now now stuff might be the actual act of sex, or who knows, it's absurd, but so animal collective. The next stanza, the boy is explaining how he enjoys the simple things in life now that he and his girl have made love; he's happy. He doesn't make particular plans because they don't matter now that his sleeping patterns are messed up. Which means they're having sex a lot and staying up late at night... or getting up early and having morning sex. You know, or both. I don't really understand the first part of the third verse. But the second half is fucking awesome. He refers to the thigh as the "femur." So he's siting in a "cherry dream boat" (I mean I have no idea - literally? figuratively? Anyway) with his girl and he notices her pretty thigh and he says he'd be sad if her thigh rejects being next to his hip bone and knee(like her straddling him!). But the next line too is weird. Maybe he's worried that she doesn't actually like him and so he tests her affection by saying she'd be happy if he touched his lover's hair. She doesn't care what he does or who he does it with. Or maybe he's talking as if she's a .... she... and not a you. If that makes sense. lol. The way I found these lyrics broken up like this is weird. The if in that who sentence is oddly placed. I don't know if it's supposed to be like that. I gotta listen to the song when I get in the car and figure it out. Then he says he was nervous about how he felt in there. In where? In the new lover? In the girl he likes now? I'm not sure. And why would he be nervous? Maybe nervous about how much he liked this girl who didn't like him, or if it's the new lover he speaks of, maybe nervous because he's uncomfortable and would rather be with the other girl. I love this line, which is directed again to the girl: "would you like to see me often though you don't need to see me often? / cause i'd like to see you often though i don't need to see you often." That perfectly describes that feeling in a relationship where there's no unhealthy dependency or obligation, but there's still that sense of "I want to see you." I'm also tentatively saying this could be a man talking to a man. Just because of that whole "brother" line. It could be about him being afraid to enjoy himself with another man but they end up being together. The whole part I didn't understand with the apples and change could be referring to his change in sexual attraction. Maybe the other guy is also weary about this whole thing, which is why he'd be happy if Guy 1 (speaker) sailed away and made love to a woman instead - "touched my lover's hair." That's also why he might be nervous about how he felt in there - inside her - because it's not natural for him. He likes dudes. So i don't know, either way, great song! |
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| Eisley – The Escaping Song Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Can anyone tell me what album or EP this song is on? | |
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