| Between the Buried and Me – Fossil Genera - A Feed from Cloud Mountain Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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For the heck of it, I googled Cloud Mountain and the first result was a Buddhist retreat in Washington. "It is our intention to provide opportunities for balanced cultivation of the Three Pillars of Buddhism: ethical and moral behavior (Śīla, शील, 尸羅), generosity and giving (DÄna, दान, 檀) and the cultivation of wisdom (BhÄvanÄ, à¤à¤¾à¤µà¤¨à¤¾, 禅定)." I don't think the members of BTBAM are necessarily Buddhist, but it seems they at least have the 1st and 3rd pillars down, dontcha think? Just thought it was striking. |
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| Between the Buried and Me – Fossil Genera - A Feed from Cloud Mountain Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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reading the Bohemian Grove wikipedia page... that makes a LOT of sense. +3 And thank goodness for including the interpretation of the music instead of just the lyrics. I was looking up the lyrics today just to make exactly those kind of connections. I wish there were jobs in musicology doing this. Effing cultural lag, this shit is important. |
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| Between the Buried and Me – Fossil Genera - A Feed from Cloud Mountain Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Basically, I'd call it a reference to people adhering to old [fossil] traditions/messages that are being continually broadcast to the masses from 'on high'. One could interpret this as religious dogma or social norms/status quo or government conspiracy. In the storyline of TGM, it's the 'Oppressor/s' or 'Cult leader/s' and their message that's been going on "For centuries".. Genera: 2. (Logic.) a class or group of individuals, or of species of individuals. 3. a kind; sort; class. Feed: 22. a local television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, esp. nationwide or international. Cloud Mountain: imho- mountain refers to status, cloud illustrates distance from commonfolk/cult followers , so basically a reeeally high position of power. |
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| Between the Buried and Me – Desert of Song Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Seriously? Juxtapose I,D,M and this song and it's definitely a story, and as a story it's an allegory/concept. I'm truly curious to hear why you feel it doesn't feel like a concept album. :) |
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| Between the Buried and Me – Disease, Injury, Madness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I agree that the narrower view of this song is a story about a cult leader. (Desert of Song displays the liberation of the cult followers.) I think the broader view is not specifically referring to any religious cults but is a broad sociological commentary. Here's my take on it: The exponentially fast 'progress' of technology is rapidly undermining the humanity of humans. It is generally accepted that technology is intended to take us to a higher level ("Trust the pedestal, for now we become a higher being") and is good for us ("I am a friend by first impression.") But it's really overloading us with information and forcing our priorities to change, even "to blind the caring" people (people who put priority on human interaction, human experience, empathy, and/or conserving values) who have to stay 'wired' just to keep up ("Slave. You will become mine, for there are no more options.") This is leading to a lack of true nurturing and/or social interaction (based on the above 'caring' traits), which is resulting in (and is, in and of itself,) a shift in priorities and/or a lack of direction, as the Child voice laments, "Don't know what to live for". Humans are instead finding fulfillment through technology/media/'culture' (The Child voice reflects "A comfort I've never felt... it's here") and filling the void. .....And we're allowing this to happen because: 1. humans are subject to Change Blindness, a term used in 'Obfuscation' (def.: "the phenomenon that occurs when a person viewing a visual scene apparently fails to detect large changes in the scene. The change in the scene typically has to coincide with some visual disruption such as eye movement or a brief obscuration of the observed scene or image. When looking at still images, a viewer can experience change blindness if part of the image changes.") We don't see the change that's happening right in front of our eyes (shift of priorities from 'caring for humans' to 'caring about technology'); 2. we've been comforted/reassured/deluded to think technology is 'good' for us and 'progress' is a panacea ("Lay down... drink this please./You'll be in peace soon"; "I have saved you"). I'm not going to say that all aspects of technology are bad or evil, but it's possibly gotten out of control without us realizing it or considering its implications or if we were ready for it. And it's possibly "Too late..." to slow down and reconsider our choices. Many don't realize that it might be in our best interest to do so. Hopefully we'll be able to free ourselves from the 'cult' of technology ("A cult by definition") like they do in 'Desert of Song'. X-] That song is truly liberating and gives me hope. It's undeniable that BTBAM wants us to think about things on a broader scale, otherwise they wouldn't write such ambiguous lyrics open to multiple interpretations on different levels. If you haven't seen their explanations of their Colors tracks, which are included on the Colors Live DVD, it's highly recommended, and supports my thought that they are trying to send a message bigger than the face value of their 'story' lyrics. Anyone want to try to interpret this in terms of the Man being your brain? That would be compelling, but it's too confusing for me to try right now. :D |
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