| X-Ray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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@[asstronaut:19697] The song is about incecurity that comes from feeling out of control. The creation of 'phobials' helps give the sufferer something to control, providing them with the illusion that they are in control when they are actually stil not in control, because none of us can control the environment we live in. This reflects Poly's own struggle with mental health issues throughout her life. The line 'scrub away the SR way' is a direct reference to an advert for Gibbs SR toothpaste, that had the tagline, "Clean your teeth the SR way". Poly was a sharp commentator on modern life and it's no coincidence that an advert for Gibbs SR toothpaste was the first ever advert shown on broadcast TV, this was Poly subverting the media. She was smart, funny and a true original, she will be greatly missed, the world is a poorer place without her. |
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| Gary Numan – Down In The Park Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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The song was written by Gary Numan during the sessions for what would become the album Replicas, Jess Lidyard (Numan's uncle) and Paul Gardiner made up the remaining members of Tubeway Army. The music was influenced by Bowie's 'Low' and kreftwerk's 'ManMachine' albums, the latter would provide the germ of the idea for the lyrics. The lyrics are a conflation of ideas found in the works of J G Ballard and Philip K Dick mixed with Numan's own ideas and distilled into a basic narative. The narative from Down In The Park is a continuation of the narative on the rest of side 1. For example, 'The Machmen' includes references to 'The Park', 'Machman' and the line 'I'd even be a number just for you' which foreshadows the line in DITP, 'a friend called five'. 'Friends' are mentiond a number of times across side one, indicating the term has a special meaning in the context of the narative. The narative is exactly as it is set out in the lyrics. Verse 1 - In a place called 'The Park' machmen meet machines and kill humans. The humans used in this 'sport' have had their names changed for numbers ('friend called five'). Verse 2 - The song narator admits to lieing about being 'there' (The Park) due to some trauma ('I was in a car crash or was it the war?'), so where is our narator? Verse 3 - We are introduced to 'zom zoms' a 'place to eat' where our narrator can be found watching the killing. We also find out that the victims are humans. Verse 4 - the narrator explains that he doesn't want to go outside (from zom zoms into The Park) because of a 'rape machine' Verse 5 - more info about The Park - the killings take place at night ('until the sun cries morning') and who is with our narator in zom zoms ('friends of mine') Verse 6 - (the first 4 lines of this verse are in quote marks which changes the interpretation) different humans are used each night but they all have one significant thing in common. The humans have been de-humanised, stripped of all emotons and primed for use in 'The Park'. ('we are not lovers, we are not romantics, we are here to serve you'). This ties in with other tracks on side one of the album. Me I Disconnect From You - is about someone going through the de-humanising process Are 'Friends' Electric? - is the story of someone who has lost his 'friend' to this de-humanising process The Machmen - is about a close call with a machman Praying to the Aliens - this is a deatil of the de-humanising process |
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| Peter Doherty – The Ballad of Grimaldi Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was the world's first 'white-face' clown. He took the character of 'Clown' from a style of play called a Harlequinade, originally a country bumpkin fool character Grimaldi gave him the painted face and brightly coloured colthes we know as clowns today. Grimaldi was, quite simply, a comedy genius. Joseph's father, Jo Grimaldi, was a strict teacher who used to savagely beat Joseph as a child when he made mistakes in the routines. As a result Joseph grew up a manic depressive, giving rise to the legend of the brilliant entertainer who was a depressive in his private life. A pattern that has repeated itself over the centuries. The love of Grimaldi's life died giving birth. He never recovered from this. St Jude is the patron saint of hopeless cases. The song is a lament, a hopeless case of being in love with someone you can never have and hiding your sadness behind a wall of laughter. Clever and very effective. |
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