| Radiohead – Bloom Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I highly doubt this, but someone suggested in the comments of this Radiolab episode (http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2012/mar/05/war-we-need/) that it could be a reference to coccolithophores. Now, I highly doubt that was Yorke's inspiration. However, it's certainly nonetheless spellbinding the way his lyrics can be so poignant and intuitive and the world so wonderfully orchestrated and/or machinated that it comes together anyway. | |
| The Mars Volta – Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
The train works as a really rich metaphor; by rich I mean it serves to explain a variety of notions, ideas, and emotions that are sort of "built in" without need for explanation simply by way of history and literature. Although I wish I had been a part of this conversation in 2005, watching "Inception" has opened my eyes to what a train could mean in this sense. Here's the quotation I'm working with: "I'll tell you a riddle. You're waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure. But it doesn't matter." - Mal Cobb Mal Cobb's character committed suicide, so I'm not just pulling this connection out of my ass just b/c she mentions a train. However, I AM operating under the idea that this concept of a train is shared between her character and Omar's perception of this song's subject. A train serves as a relic of the past that has this inherent creepiness attached to it, and that creepiness is only intensified by the use of Latin and lines like "midnight nooses from boxcar cadavers." Trains carry passengers -- people whose destination is wherever the train will take them, as Mal Cobb stated. These passengers are the "boxcar cadavers," the souls that are all aboard what I'll call The Suicide Express. The destination is unclear, but its passengers are along for the ride no matter where they end up. In the right situation, a train (especially a derailed one) can affect the lives of those not on the train -- just like the aforementioned Suicide Express can affect the lives of people close to those who commit suicide. When he mentions "tracks" and a "half mass commute through umbilical blisters," I believe it's not only referring to The Suicide Express's path, but the blood vessels in the human body, yet another way for someone to "transport" themselves to an unknown destination (wherever death may lead). I feel like I'm saying way too much, so I'll end on this thought. I believe the delayed exoskeletal junction is, as it has been speculated before I got here, the failure of the person to arrive at their destination. It's a failure to move from their shell/their body to the unknown realm of afterlife. Sure, the delay COULD be because they were rescued in some way, which might explain the ambulance/doctor theory. Or it could be the ongoing battle that a person who attempts suicide several times and fails, must go through... therefore having to face making that choice between choosing death or life, one that should seem simple and permanent, over and over again. |
|
| The Mars Volta – Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I'm sad that I wasn't a part of this conversation almost a decade ago when I first heard this song. I fell in love with its melody but it wasn't until recently that I really took a look at the lyrics. Let it foremost be known that I'm certain I don't know as much as you about The Mars Volta or the premise behind this album. I want to comment on this song using only what I've learned from reading y'alls thoughts, my own literary analysis skills and musical analysis skills, before I go gallivanting on Google to find out more. Based on my limited knowledge of this band's talent and general unique genius--I think you're right that this isn't just another song about a suicide attempt. In fact, I think it'd be really shitty for them to have to sing about their friend's suicide at every concert. I think this song draws from that experience but is a semi-fictionalized account of what Omar believes someone like his friend will go through when they commit to the thought of suicide, and the world they live in after that commitment has been made. I'll start by dissecting the first few lines. "The haunt of roulette dares" refers to the game of roulette, wherein "winning" usually means you live. Suicide turns that game upside down and changes the rules. "Metacarpi" and "an open wrist" that "talks back again" seems to me an obvious reference to cuttings one's wrists, which, unlike other methods of suicide, has the potential to become a mere temporary escape from life rather than a surefire way to kill yourself. "Asphyxia-derailed" sounds like a self-hanging. I know that trains are a HUGE part of this song's analysis, and I haven't gotten to what I think that means yet. But I feel like the aforementioned analysis is necessary to understand the train thing so stay with me... |
|
| Oh Land – Perfection Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| You struck the right chord with your interpretation. What's the most intriguing part of this song is the way Oh Land addresses any subject in this song. First she's talking to her lover, then her alter ego, then another girl? It's all very confusing. I wonder if it's attributed to the fact that Oh Land's first language isn't English, but she seems more than competent in the language to make that sort of mistake. | |
| Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for the Others Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
Having written my reply to NewRussian, these are what I believe are corrections to the lyrics that are pivotal to the song's meaning: --------------- or just wait out the evening [and always leave me dry] --------------- and what was there the perfect [cleft] we all fall through *You can fall through a cleft much more easily than through a glare!* --------------- while you wait on the answers that ill pretend to find keeping up with [the motions] still occupies our time ------------- Thanks for the great start, ThatHansonCover. |
|
| Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for the Others Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
I appreciate the comparison to Neon Indian's song. Alter Ego" by Tame Impala is another song that comes to mind concerning this song's subject matter. First of all, it's important to see how the composition of the music itself contributes to the meaning of the song. The verses are dominated by stuttering guitar and spare drums. To me that is reminiscent of someone stumbling through a tricky obstacle, i.e. the tricky social situations we navigate as individuals. The second verse repeats this pattern but adds a sweet, smooth descant on the organ. I think it hints at social lubrication (drugs, alcohol, or simply being more comfortable). And each chorus is a bright, boisterous revelation that is comparatively confident to the rest of the song. I agree with much of your take on the many facets of this song and have a few comments to add. Rather than this just being a conversation between two individuals, I think it's a general commentary on the way we behave ourselves in social situations. If you've ever been to a party, you notice the different approaches people take to meeting and getting along with others. Some people dive in and enjoy the moment without "[hoping] for substance" from any interactions they share with people. That being said, if any substance does occur, it's a by-product rather than the goal. Others have a pretty awkward time, for whatever reason. Some people experience a mixture of the two depending on their company. In the first verse, the mention of "useless pretensions" and "begging for forgiveness" points me toward the motions that we go through when we first meet people and get to know them (or not). We ask questions and wait on answers, keep up with "the motions", apologize for little things to maintain propriety in order to seem like a decent human being. The singer asks his audience to "kindly to make [their] way" because the only common goal that is worthwhile to him is to do what comes naturally and not worry about pretensions, etiquette, and social rules. Whatever dictates us in our interactions with each other are constructs that we use to reach our common goal of having a good time in the company of others. Where do they come from? Do they accomplish much? |
|
| Beach House – Used to Be Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
it's definitely interesting to see what kind of people two lovers grow into after the fire of a relationship has died out. she hits upon several relatable feelings that come out in the form of unanswered questions: can they be friends? do they enjoy being alone or was it better together, just with that company? is it a lie to be together? or is it a lie to be a part? even if it was given another go, would it just end up the same way it did? agh, that's a lot of questions. but that seems to be the point of this song. and in the end, it's a good idea to just take some time from each other and start fresh... or at least as fresh as you can get. haha. my answer would be to let the questions and the worry drift away and get better, feel like separate, unique people again, and if the spark is still there, if they still collide, they will see... |
|
| Kings of Convenience – Mrs. Cold Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
The "Mrs." is definitely a major part of what kind of message the Kings are trying to convey. It's either a dead giveaway that she's married, or that she acts like she. In other words, unavailable, distant. The fact that she's even flirting with the idea of being with him when she's a Mrs. whether literally or figuratively makes her vulnerable. For whatever reason she feels she has to bite her tongue ("You lost control and you lost your tongue") and must always have her guard up to preserve herself, her marriage. Either way the relationship suffers because she will never fully let go and be herself. She maintains a constant "front" because fully given into what she wants from their relationship would mean letting go (there's that magic phrase again) of her Mrs. status. And of course, when anyone has a front, it's human nature to want to break that front, either for malicious reasons, to call someone's bluff, or to get to know that person better. In the words of Outkast, you gotta "take off your cool" to get close to anyone. Which is why it's a game that they "can't get enough of." Just what is that incredible need to be able to breakthrough someone like that? It only happens with certain people, I feel. If it feels like the breakthrough would be worth it, like there are treasures behind that door ajar, it's hard to quit knocking. But then again if it feels like the breakthrough would be an empty goal, it's easy to not care and forget. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.