| St. Vincent – Just the Same But Brand New Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Just wanted to add that it seems to be about some sort of break-up or dissolution of a friendship because of the line about the letters stopping "unceremoniously in June." Like maybe there was some interest or flirtation, a connection via the letters (checking for codes and clues), but then it just didn't work out for some reason. | |
| Led Zeppelin – Ramble On Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| No, no they didn't. Train doesn't do anything "awesome" | |
| Beck – Motorcade Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Oh also, and this might be a stretch, but Edward Bond wrote a play (The War Plays), of which part 2 is called "The Tin Can People".... and it happens to be about the aftermath of a nuclear war: http://books.google.com/books?id=ASzIW5a6wYsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false | |
| Beck – Motorcade Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I agree with those that have mentioned WALL-E, this song (and the entire album actually) definitely has an apocalyptic/dystopian tone. The "smoke stack clouds with glory attached" I have always thought either meant clouds of pollution, as if from a factory ("smoke stack")-- or, alternatively and maybe more likely, they could be references to the mushroom clouds produced by nuclear weapons. The earlier mention of "the ghost of a bomb" would seem to support this conclusion-- as well as the general scene of desolation and destruction. Furthermore, the reference to lifeless "toys" whose armor has worn off conjures the image of army generals "playing with toys," as if in a giant childrens' game-- not realizing the true implication of what they are doing. (This is a fairly common critique of the psychological nature of militarism). In this case the toys would be nuclear weapons. Another part which makes me think it's about nuclear war is the reference to wind blowing from a "tundra" -- nuclear winter -- "where the jungle begins" (e.g. environmental chaos, with climate zones that would never naturally be adjacent to each other.... and there are only a couple things that could cause winter-like conditions in the tropics, one being nuclear war and the other being some sort of super-volcano or asteroid impact). Also, "guns in a church" seems to be a thematic reference to the connection between religious fundamentalism and the concept of nuclear "Armageddon"-- certainly some extreme fundamentalist thought considers nuclear annihilation to legitimately have "glory attached" in the sense that these weapons have the power to vanquish the sinners/anti-christ/enemies of christianity etc. in the "final battle,"-- as a sort of perversely righteous wrath of god. The "hope in a roadblock" would also seem to reference the "war on terror" in the sense that we "hope" security (roadblocks) will prevent some sort of catastrophic attack, such as a nuclear detonation or dirty bomb, etc. carried out (supposedly) by the other side of the fundamentalist coin-- Islamic fundamentalists. Lastly, "the Lord will... drive us into the dirt" seems to pretty obviously indicate the extinction of the human race-- perhaps as a response to our arrogance and carelessness in playing with these "toys." |
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| Steely Dan – The Caves of Altamira Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I absolutely agree with you Sleepy.... I had always wondered about the specific meaning of this song, and just the other day I was listening to it and it finally clicked: I see the song as, quite simply, a celebration of art/creativity as an inherent human good. "Art for art's sake," and for no other reason at all...except maybe expression and communion with the rest of humanity. "Hearing the call" is the human drive to create, and this is a much more ancient and primordial human trait than the modern ideas of art and fame and commerce or even written/spoken language. In this way I think SD are also able to comment indirectly on the essential corruption of modernity (good call on the 2nd verse taking place in an art gallery). Thinking in a wide historical context helps people to think "outside the box" of their little existence. We're connected to our ancestors and to our descendants by the thread of time and history-- but if you ask the average person, they barely ever think about this-- and thus they never question if perhaps "the way things are now" wasn't always the way things were done (i.e. "Hollywood"). And without that kind of critical thought, you're just going to accept everything blindly and never escape the narrow confines of modern constructions ("before the fall"-- religion criticism?). Also "for you and me WE understood" could be an attempt to illustrate how history connects us to our shared human heritage or experience, but even out past recorded history both into the past and the future. The narrator of the song AND the cave-dwelling artist both intuitively understand this kindred element to the art (be it music or painting), as do we all when engaged in the act of creativity (i.e. the cave-dweller was painting partly FOR the people in the future that he imagined might exist and find the painting). So basically I see it as an ode to authenticity-- "there wasn't even any Hollywood" implies that SD wanted people to know that they, like the caveman, were making music just for the hell of it, or the sheer joy of it--- not to make money or be famous primarily (which, sadly, most mainstream musicians/the recording industry nowadays have made their primary/only goal). But then there is still that quixotic element going on, in that the caveman is still going ahead and making the attempt at expression, or making something "permanent" against the ravages of time-- with no guarantee that anyone would ever see it or understand it or remember him or anything (and so perhaps he's actually the "wooly man without a face" and his painting the "beast without a name"). But still we have that "call" to do it anyway because that's what we humans do and have always done. And that's a wonderful thing that should be celebrated! (And what better way to celebrate this than by making your own mark, adding your own little piece to the continuum of human creative energy?) :) |
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| Ray LaMontagne – Beg Steal Or Borrow Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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When I heard this song I immediately thought it was a Joni Mitchell cover-- but apparently it is not, although it may be a conscious nod to her music/style. Yeah it's definitely about growing up, but I think it's a bit more nuanced than that. To me it's actually a very sad/melancholy/nostalgic song. It almost seems like it could be an old man thinking back on his life, or perhaps an older man imparting advice to a younger man. There's this sort of ambivalence about striking out on his own and leaving the hometown, and the young man is at this crossroads in his life: he could "step into line like your Daddy done," essentially conform to society's/his family's expectation and "pull the plow" like his friends are doing -- OR -- he could leave and "stay gone." (And "what will all the old folks say?") There's this romanticism about just up and leaving, escaping it all. (He's "dreaming of the day.") Yet, the chorus hints at the darker side of that course: possibly living in poverty, having to beg and steal etc. It remains unknown whether the "big plans" actually have a chance of success or if the young man's choice to leave is actually a poor choice which will lead to suffering and ruin (probably what the "old folks" would say to persuade him to stay). And so in that way it sort of reduces to the themes of possibility/adventure/freedom vs deterministic certainty. Or another way to put it would be risk vs safety. I think it's interesting that we never find out for sure what he eventually chooses. I think ultimately because he's "drowning in the small-talk" and being suffocated by his hometown-reality, he almost has no choice in terms of leaving. Yes it would be "safer" to stay, but maybe he's just a different kind of person than those content to conform and remain at home, and he needs to see more in life/more of the world than his peers/elders. In the process of growing up and maturing, especially if you are "different" in some way, the moment in life that is the subject of the song; it can be extremely difficult emotionally. It is not easy to realize just who you are, what you want in life, what stands/sacrifices you are indeed willing to make. Although it is a struggle, that process of self-realization is really at the core of who we become when we reach adulthood. Maybe this fact is only fully understood in retrospect, and while one is going through the process it is just confusing and terrifying. And this is where the bittersweet quality of the song comes into play, in that if it is an old man looking back on his life-- he's remembering that turning point in his life and how he felt, both the fear and the freedom, the sense of possibility... but now that he's reaped the harvest of those choices he can understand it in a way that is more complete. |
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| Gavin Castleton – Hard to Believe Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Amazing harmonies at the end of this song. | |
| Beck – Nitemare Hippy Girl Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Huh? I'm confused by these replies to my comment..... | |
| Beck – The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Just wanted to add that I noticed the line "shaking the dead birds from the trees" seems to reference an earlier Beck song from Mutations, "Dead Melodies" ( http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/9573/ ) "nightbirds will cackle rotting like apples on trees send in their dead melodies to me." I dunno, maybe not exact, but it reminded me of that line nonetheless. |
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| Beck – The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Just wanted to add that I noticed the line "shaking the dead birds from the trees" seems to reference an earlier Beck song from Mutations, "Dead Melodies" ( http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/9573/ ) "nightbirds will cackle rotting like apples on trees send in their dead melodies to me." I dunno, maybe not exact, but it reminded me of that line nonetheless. |
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| Beck – Nitemare Hippy Girl Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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My three favorite lines: she's spazzing out on a cosmic level...... she's a never-ending story...... she's playin' footsie in another dimension.... Hahaha this song makes me laugh. Also well placed in its era as a sort of post-modern response to the hippy-revival of the 90's (which was mostly an empty, false, fashion-based corruption of the "original" hippy cultural idea). Especially the never-ending story line... an 80's reference smack-dab in the middle of most 20/30-somethings' childhoods. |
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| Beck – No Complaints Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Wow, that's nuts. I didn't realize that was a direct scientology reference-- but after looking it up it almost certainly is. Anyone ever wonder if this whole Is Beck-Really-a-Scientologist question just might be an elaborate ironic joke on all us listeners? I feel like he's just too intelligent to be brainwashed by anything really..... (but I guess anyone can be brainwashed by one thing or another no matter how intelligent they are). And maybe rumors started spontaneously and he just decided to not deny them and play along (kind of like the inverse of how Lennon said Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds WASN'T about LSD....riiiight. Little joke on all the non-thinking people out there.... and a wink wink for the rest. Or how Pink Floyd denies the Dark-Side-of-Oz phenomenon was intentional-- it's one of those things where they probably realize that whether it was actually true ultimately doesn't matter, and it's going to be one of those things that's debated forever anyway with all sorts of competing theories). So maybe references like this in songs are sort of a nod to the whole rumor... like he's just messing with people. I wouldn't put it past him. (I haven't looked into it really though, so it might be an established fact that he's definitely involved with Scientology-- I can't say either way). It just seems like the lyrics to this song in particular are too rooted in this sort of sarcastic/ironic attitude to be outright references to Scientology without any other qualifiers. Could be another meta-layer thought too haha. Oh, and horriblefanfare, did you ever hear it as "WEARING spaceships"? (see my lyrics correction comment below) |
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| Beck – No Complaints Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Pretty sure it is "I wish I had more time for my brain" instead of "but I wish I had my top of my brain" (Haha, what? Doesn't even make sense) Also in that first stanza- I hear "where the sun doesn't know we're awake" (Or maybe "when the sun") I want to suggest that it's "WEARING spaceships" and not "we're in spaceships".... seems like all the lyrics on the internet agree on this one but a) I always heard "wearing" and b) in the last song on the album at the very end they talk literally about "wearing spaceships"...... Seems cooler to say that anyway haha. |
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| Beck – Broken Train Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's the end of capitalism!! The train is broken! We're out of kontrol! (Haha even the spelling is ironic) How low will we go?! No one knows!! Whatever happens though, we're in for one crazy surreal catastrophic ride (on a broken train). Add: "Beige Is the color of resignation"....hilarious. I know of only a small handful of songwriters who are able to consistently employ that magical transmutation of surreal and seemingly indirect/random descriptive language into such clearly-voiced, intentional, meaning. It's like he's able to cut right to the heart of the matter, putting his finger right on the detail(s) that encompass(es) the whole (and thus is able to make wide-ranging, universal commentary on our modern existence with just a handful of disparate images--- probably this is why a lot of people think he's just "random" and "surreal" for the hell of it. But maybe he purposely wants it that way.... below most people's radar.... who knows?!) |
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| Beck – Nobody's Fault But My Own Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I have to say that I think this is one of the greatest breakup songs of all time.... I always thought he meant the line "tell me that it's nobody's fault.." to be sort of ironic because he's saying it like a command or request-- he wants someone else to tell HIM it's HIS fault. It almost strikes me as masochistic or maybe just an expression of existential horror, like, "Wow, there was no predetermined outcome to this relationship, my (or our) own actions ruined it when we could've saved it." And that is truly more frightening than if some sort of deterministic fate (blame the devil) had intervened to screw it up (So from that angle he may be sort of "saying it for both of them" I suppose). "When the moon is a counterfeit... better find the one that lights the way for you," that line in particular has always stuck with me. As other posters have mentioned, it really captures that sense of crushing depression that can follow a tough break-up of a relationship. But also I like that it speaks to isolation in general as it relates to finding true companionship. How do you find "the one that lights the way for you" with all these hazards everywhere (connection to another Mutations song: "holding hands with an impotent dream, in a brothel of fake energy")?? And him choosing to make something as fundamental as the moon "counterfeit" is conveying how, particularly with romantic relationships, you can be totally misled and way way off course, with blinders on-- being with the wrong person (a counterfeit moon) for too long or not being with the right one (the real moon) for some silly reason. |
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| Beck – Strange Apparation Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is one of those Beck songs that gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it (and many subsequent times after). Especially that last part where it goes to half-time. Maybe it's because it's pretty obvious, but I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the theme of death in this song: "When the lord rings my front door" [the moment of death]....and having nothing to show but the dust in his pockets, and contrasting this with "the riches" and of course "the ruins"/"we all know how that story ends" [in death]. I think he's saying that despite all his success and material wealth etc, like anyone, he too will die someday and at that moment what do any of us really "have to show" except "those things that eat away [our] souls"? The other sub-theme I see is perhaps something about loss, or loss of someone or something important to him (a dream that got cremated). The apparition representing the impending doom of loss is literally haunting him- another connection to death. And he says that "the LEAST" he had to lose caused him the most worry/pain-- meaning really he didn't lose anything actually important. It follows then that yes, "Anything should make you happy"-- meaning really just being alive SHOULD make you happy. "That heavy ship" going down is all of our fears of the inevitable loss (both of material things, people, but also eventually our own lives) that we all will eventually experience. In a sort of reassuring message here, it seems like he's saying that since you will lose everything anyway eventually, this is just part of life and there really isn't anything to be afraid of if you can make it to that "shoreline"-- perhaps emotionally/metaphorically, but also maybe metaphysically (i.e. your "soul" can go to that shoreline). That last line has always puzzled me though: Does "You should see yourself now" mean that you are now LUCKIER than before... or does it mean you aren't lucky at all (and before when "you think that you were lucky," you actually were?)? My girlfriend thinks the latter- I happen to think it's the former just because of how beautifully the song itself ends musically-- such a great sense of completion and resolution, going to that final major chord and letting it ring. |
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| Beck – Lazy Flies Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Are you being sarcastic when you say you "really like it?" I can't tell. If you aren't being sarcastic then I think you really missed the point entirely. You are just projecting outward your own lack of imagination and inability to connect the lyrical dots. Yes it is surrealist, so what? And who says everything has to rhyme? (But actually much of it does rhyme so I don't get what you are talking about with that). The song is certainly much more than "a stream of consciousness" and if you took 5 minutes to think about it you'd realize it's definitely not merely a "mindless collection of loosely associated thoughts." Study some history and do some travelling and then maybe check out my comment below for and idea of what the lyrics might mean. (If you were indeed being sarcastic, my apologies). |
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| Beck – Lazy Flies Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is really a great, underrated Beck song. It has always reminded me of Southeast Asia ("they're chewing dried meat in a house of disrepute"..."trawlers"): and actually I just looked up Myna birds and apparently they are native to Southeast Asia, although they've been introduced to other tropical locations around the world. Mangroves are also a tropical/coastal species of tree. More evidence of the SE Asia connection would be the references to opiates and prostitution (by no means unique to Asia though). Also leading me to this conclusion is Beck's sometimes explicit references to Asian locations (such as in the Midnite Vultures album). I second what pianoguy wrote about the themes of decay (the quintessential Beck theme I'd say), pious detachment, and hedonism. I think also there is a fairly obvious theme of prostitution/the sex tourism industry (syphilis patients on brochure vacations, matrons and gigolos, house of disrepute, vanity of slaves), specifically in Southeast Asia. Also, "The skin of a robot vibrates with pleasure" (Hah! One of my all time favorite lines... what a great surreal image) I think is a meta-comment on the dehumanizing effects of prostitution; both for the prostitutes themselves and those utilizing said services. It's not clear which one the robot is and I think that is intentionally left vague. I think also there is a connection to the larger theme of colonialism/capitalist exploitation of the developing world which shows up in other Beck songs (Tropicalia for example)-- evidence of this is the almost Victorian/Edwardian quality to the lyrics ("carouse in the parlor"... "the magistrate puts on his gloves"), as that era was essentially the apex of European colonialsm, and is continued today largely by the United States. Coupled with the constant theme of decay and moral/literal corruption, it amounts to a prescient condemnation of capitalism. Because it's now becoming very obvious that we've reached the limits of what the Earth can sustain-- the result is that despite the projected image of glorious expansion and technological advancement (another colonial-era-based worldview) the reality is and will be decay, "broken equipment," ruins and the industrial wasteland which Beck often alludes to. |
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