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Modest Mouse – 3rd Planet Lyrics 14 years ago
"The Universe is shaped exactly like the Earth, if you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were."

I think this is referencing the concept of a cyclical Universe, or the eternal recurrence, which is the idea that we'll live our lives over again in exactly the same way for eternity. One of the great proponents of this idea was the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, with whom I think Isaac Brock would probably be in agreement about quite a few things.

There's a similar reference in the song Ocean Breathes Salty- "The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind, well I don't mind how the hell could I know?"

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Modest Mouse – 3rd Planet Lyrics 14 years ago
Yeah, Isaac Brock has admitted in interviews to having tried most drugs, and though he's at least quit most of them now, I think that probably did have some role in inspiring his lyrics.

That's not diminishing his creativity in any way; lots of writers and artists have been influenced by drugs. It's just another life experience that changes how you view the world.

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Modest Mouse – The World at Large Lyrics 14 years ago
"My thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth."

I think this line is about overanalyzing everything so much that you end up missing out on life (which is a pretty big theme in MM's music in general).

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Rush – Tom Sawyer Lyrics 15 years ago
I think this song is about people who use psychedelic drugs to expand their minds. The lyrics refer to many realizations commonly experienced on LSD, while simultaneously making double entendre references to tripping.

For example:
"Today's Tom Sawyer
He gets high on you
And the space he invades
He gets by on you"

'Tom Sawyer' refers to the tripper, because in the classic book Tom Sawyer was a young, inexperienced, but passionate adventurer who took a raft down a river, and one using LSD is also a passionate explorer who recognizes their own lack of knowledge about the nature of self and reality. The "space he invades" refers to his conception of himself as an ego separate from others, which he creates by perceiving others (i.e. "he gets by on you").

He "gets by on you" because he can only define himself by his differences from others (if no other people existed, their would be nothing to separate your stream of consciousness from everything else). And this stream of consciousness is exactly what "the river" is referring to, as well.

Peart further suggests that this is the correct interpretation by cleverly including lines that reference drug use, such as "gets high on you," and "maybe as his eyes are wide" (pupil dilation from LSD).

Oh yeah, one more verse that suggests this interpretation:

"What you say about his company
Is what you say about society"

Society is extremely polarized over the use of psychedelic drugs. Generally speaking, mainstream culture regards it as crazy, dangerous, and generally in a negative light, while the counterculture views it as consciousness-expanding and valuable. Therefore, whether or not you condone someone's use of drugs speaks to your opinion of society.

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Foxy Shazam! – Across the Golden Field Lyrics 15 years ago
Might just be my favorite Foxy song.

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Foxy Shazam! – Wife's Juice Watertower Wine Lyrics 15 years ago
Great song right here.

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Foxy Shazam! – Sailors Over Rhinosuarus Bay Lyrics 15 years ago
It's "I know what it ain't and it ain't lookin' to good" instead of "one thing that is"

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Foxy Shazam! – Aroma of You Lyrics 15 years ago
I think he's saying "They ain't strong enough to believe" instead of "to leave"

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Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground – Santa Cruz Lined Pockets Lyrics 16 years ago
This song pretty self-explanatory, obviously about tripping on acid.

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Gorillaz – Re-Hash Lyrics 16 years ago
First of all, the song is very obviously about marijuana. "Dub" is a quarter sack where I'm from.

Secondly, it's not a shallow interpretation at all. Even Rush (sophisticated progressive rock song) has a song about marijuana. It's been an inspiration to some of the country's greatest writers and philosophers (Ken Kesey, Allen Ginsberg, Carl Sagan). It's not a brain-rotting drug, it's perception expanding, and the Gorillaz are making reference to it.

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Rush – Natural Science Lyrics 17 years ago
I think this song is about quantum physics, and how humans are too limited in their perception to understand the staggeringly complex universe we live in.

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