| Porcupine Tree – Lips of Ashes Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Ugh, no. It is not a concept about serial killers/rapists. There are about 6 songs on the album that follow that theme, but that's not really the full view at all. I really don't believe that PT would make something just that dark and morbid just for the sake of being dark and morbid. They don't want to be some shitty "hardcore edgy" band. They're far more intelligent than that. Really. I mean if you would just listen to the album with an open mind and forget all of that serial killer/rapist stuff you've heard, you'll see that it's about much more. Here's what Stephen Wilson has said: "[The Album Title] comes from…it's related to some of lyrics. It's about people on the fringes, on the edges of humanity and society. I have an interest in serial killers, child molesters and wife beaters…not in what they did but in the psychology of why, what caused them to become unhinged and twisted? Why are they unable to empathize? It's [In Absentia] sort of a metaphor - there's something missing, a black hole, a cancer in their soul. It's an absence in the soul." The album is not about serial killers, rapists and wife beaters as it may seem at first glance. It's about the loss of a soul. Really. From what I've been able to actually parse so far, not every song is about a serial killer, rapist or wife beater, but every song that I've been able to fully digest and parse is in some metaphorical way about the loss of a soul. Whether it be the lack of ability to care for others(many songs), yourself (prodigal) - the loss of the soul of music (The Sound of Muzak), or whatever. |
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| Porcupine Tree – Prodigal Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I don't think that this song is about suicide. Maybe there is some contemplation of it towards the end, but I think that's a two-dimensional interpretation to give to the entire song. Quite simply, this song is about boredom and escapism. It's about someone who does everything he can think of to escape the mundanity of living, but fills it with useless and trivial forms of escapism as we all tend to do, instead of finding their calling. He tries drugs and television, but they don't seem to satisfy him; he just "never seemed to get the joke." Religion is also something that a lot of people turn to to give their lives meaning - and it may work for some people, but all too many people focus on the mythology of the religion rather than the consequences. They may pray every day, multiple times even, but in reality they're not living their lives any differently than someone without religion - they're not ACTUALLY doing anything to make the world a better place. This character is perhaps disillusioned with that idea of religion. Whatever it is, this guy isn't content with the forms of escapism that he believes to be working for the "normal folk." In any case, this song seems to me to be a really deep song about the most mundane of emotions. Who here can honestly say that they've never been completely bored with life? |
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| Porcupine Tree – The Sound Of Muzak Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I like what nithish153 has to say about "the sound of music comes in silver pills" being about MP3 players. As several other people have pointed out, Steven Wilson rather hates digitized music, at least in part because it loses the sound quality, but I think it might be more than that judging by this song. A lot of people have talked about this song being about the music industry, and I think that's partially correct. I'd like to add an addendum though that this song is in fact about the state of music in the modern world as a whole. I think that especially there are some really hard-hitting lines about how people listen to music these days. Back in the days before MP3 players, CDs, and even tapes, there was basically only one way to listen to music in the house: Vinyl. Individuals and families would gather around their record players, and just LISTEN to music. But in the modern age very people do this. Now people are listening to music on the go, they're working, they're walking/driving, they're doing chores, they're browsing the internet, they're doing many things at once and not really paying any attention to the music. The music itself simply "does not entertain" anymore, it's only there as background noise - just like Elevator muzak - so that people don't have to think about the various other things in their life when they are on the go - but they're not really ENJOYING the music anymore, they're not thinking critically about it. I believe this is what is meant by "Music of the future does not entertain. It's only meant to suppress and neutralize the brain." In the beginning he also compares it to Prozac, an antidepressant, which could have two different meanings according to my interpretation. One is essentially the same as what I've written above; people listening to music only as a way to escape. The second is perhaps a reference to the tendency of popular music to be pretty light fair - never tackling any real issues. It's all feel-good music, that you don't have to think too critically about, when really music can and should be able to illicit many different emotions, and Top 40 bands typically try to play it safe and stay away from anything that might make someone feel bad. I think these two ideas are pretty closely related, and it may even be suggested that there is a bit of a cause and effect link between the two. If people are listening to music on the go, it's going to be much more satisfying to listen to something that doesn't really require any thought; therefore most radio music is pretty simple - you can really get the full meaning of the song without really paying ANY attention to it at all. |
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| Franz Ferdinand – Bite Hard Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Oh wow, I like this meaning so much better! A lot of the lines make more sense. Some lines don't however. What about "I'd never resort to kissing your photo, honest?" Not expecting you to know, but a cool little bit of info there. | |
| The Who – You Better You Bet Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| That's not ENTIRELY true, either. John Entwistle wrote at bare minimum two songs for each studio album released (excluding Quadrophenia, which was in fact penned entirely by Townshend). Actually every member has written at least a few songs for them (or at least every member out of the original line-up). Yes I do believe most or all of The Who's singles were penned by Pete, including this one - but let's not give him all of the credit. | |
| The Who – Music Must Change Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| One slight correction. They weren't sleeping pills, although they were sedatives. Keith OD'd on chlormethiazole which is intended to relieve the symptoms of alchohol withdrawal. That's right, Keith OD'd as a result of trying to get sober. | |
| The Who – Bell Boy Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Y'know...I never really understood how this song was supposed to represent Keith - or a part of Jimmy's personality. In fact I'm pretty sure that this is the only song on the album that isn't 100% Jimmy's inner-dialogue. Most of it is sung by Ace Face. Not Jimmy. And Ace Face isn't too much of a lunatic either - just a faux-rebel who may or may not miss the old days. So while I can't argue over what the liner notes say...it doesn't really make much sense to me. I always thought of Doctor Jimmy as a better Moon theme - at least the half of it that isn't taken by Entwistle. I can't help but wonder if this isn't Keith's theme just because it's one of the rare songs where we get to hear him take lead vocals. |
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| The Who – I've Had Enough Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I really like this interpretation, and I think it makes sense. There's so much going on here, it's contradictory to a large extent. Compare "I'm finished with the fashions and acting like I'm tough" to "My jacket's gonna be cut and slim and checked, Maybe a touch of seersucker, with an open neck. I ride a G.S. scooter with my hair cut neat, Wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet." it's really a contradiction, it's like Jimmy can't tell which voice to listen to, so to speak. Jimmy's passive side I especially see contradictory attitudes between this, and the sense of conviction you get from lines such as "You were under the impression that when you were walking forward you'd end up further onward, but things aren't quite that simple." Although there's no direct lyrical contradiction between these lines and the other personalities, the attitudes seem to be almost completely the opposite of "I've had enough of living, I've had enough of dying." How can you be so indifferent and so convictive at the same time? I think my favorite contrast in the song is "I'm bored with hate and passion, I've had enough of trying to love" and his plea "Love reign O'er Me." Of course he's not literally speaking about love as in the kind between two human beings, but rather a spiritual cleansing (and his ultimate fate) - still by seeking a spiritual cleansing Jimmy realizes that maybe if he can just escape his own thoughts - and seek purity, love and passion will come to him once again. It's not that he has actually been rendered incapable of passion - he's just "had enough" - passion is too hard - too difficult. Eventually all of the voices get to be too much - he has to escape - he has to get out of his own mind. This leads to the song where Jimmy goes "out of [his] brain on the train." |
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| The Who – Another Tricky Day Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I feel this song is about someone who just makes up problems for themselves so that they can have something to complain about. An attention seeker making a mountain out of a molehill. "This is no social crisis, this is you having fun." | |
| The Who – Baba O'Riley Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| The explanation I heard also had to do with Vietnam, but I heard a different explanation for the chorus. Basically, the explanation I heard is a much more literal interpretation of the term "Teenage Wasteland"...all these young men being sent to war to fight and die. In other words a literal wasteland of human beings. | |
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