| Talking Heads – Found a Job Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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It's darker than a simple reading of the lyrics on a page implies. In the context of hearing the lyrics in the song, the lyrics come across as rather spooky and even a little creepy to me. Listen to the change at "Judy's in the bedroom...", for example. I like one comment about referencing the I Love Lucy show. As "ironic" art school kids, the Heads indeed could have been making a pop culture reference. More broadly, it feels like, yes, the characters in the lyrics are tired of the norm and the mainstream, as represented by their dissatisfaction with "what's on TV." But then their subsequent pursuit of something outside of the norm is made to sound a little perverse, e.g., in the bedroom inventing situations and out on the streets scouting locations--juxtaposing those lines does suggest to me the making of porn or worse. The use of the word "enlisted" is an interesting choice and fits with the somewhat military march-like sound in that section, as if to suggest that the enlisting is somewhat against the wishes of their family and friends. Like the best Heads songs, it's ambivalent and open to different readings. This is the sense I get when I hear the song, but I see that a lot of Heads songs affect people differently, and what the Heads do best is remind us that art is as much about the audience as it is about the artist. |
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| Steely Dan – Chain Lightning Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I like the jazz interpretation better than the Nazi interpretation. The Nazi one fits but I like the "feel" of the jazz one better. Given that these guys knew their jazz and that the song has a rather traditional 12-bar blues structure and includes a jazzy guitar solo, this is the interpretation that resonates with me. It's either two jazz musicians steeling their nerves, or the thoughts of a jazz fan to himself as he prepares for the possibility of meeting one of his jazz idols. | |
| Steely Dan – Chain Lightning Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I've heard the Nazi interpretation before and while it fits, I don't like it. I much prefer the jazz interpretation. Given that these guys were really into jazz and that the song is very jazzy, this is the interpretation that "feels" right to me. | |
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