| Radiohead – Let Down Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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http://lostmedia.wikia.com/wiki/Radiohead_%22Let_Down%22_Partially_Lost_Music_Video_(1997)?file=Radiohead_-_Let_Down To those of you who find this song to be hopeful, please watch the partially scrapped music video for it. It's unfinished, but my favorite music video of all time. It also supports my theory on this song. This song, in my opinion, is about as far away as one can get from hopeful. This is a song of desperation - but even more predominantly, I find it to be a song of futility. In the opening verses, Thom illustrates the sad realities of life through imagery of stop-and-go traffic, conveying a sense of urgency, impatience, and dissatisfaction. He describes depression self-medicated through drinking problems, which only leads to feelings of emptiness. You get the sense the narrator is only going through the motions. Life, it seems, has become only a series of idle activities that only make him feel lost and meaningless and above all else, hopeless. But then you get to my personal favorite part: "One day I am gonna grow wings A chemical reaction Hysterical and useless Hysterical and Let down and hanging around Crushed like a bug in the ground Let down and hanging around" "Growing wings" refers to a desperate attempt to change all this. To try to make the aforementioned depression and dissatisfaction in life actually MEAN something. The thing is, people need hope above all else. We cannot live with the idea that the everyday tragedies we all face in life don't ultimately mean something. Otherwise, what's the point? Why do we go through our own personal hells if it isn't going to count for something in the end? We all entertain our own dreams of "growing wings" in our minds - getting out of our rut, flying away towards something better, and making everything we've gone through worthwhile and meaningful. Thom describes this as "a chemical reaction" because it is man's natural instinct. It's how we cope with life. But it is, of course, "hysterical and useless:" the chorus repeats itself, and this time the "crushed like a bug in the ground" simile makes more sense. This is the disappointment. The realization that despite your best efforts, if you grow wings and take flight, you will eventually fall. Then you go back to that useless, meaningless, zombie-like life described in the first verse. It's cyclical, though. You become a zombie again, but then you will always try to take flight again. Like I said, the need to grow wings is a natural instinct, the only way of coping, even if it always ends with being crushed like a bug. It's a never-ending cycle, and in my opinion, that's what the last verse refers to when it mentions "floor collapsing, floating, bouncing back" before repeating the verse about growing wings. Try to fly all you want, but you're always going to be...wait for it...let down. Life is a series of attempts, short-lived successes, and ultimate downfall. This song teaches us to not let ourselves fall into that pattern. It's very existentialist, really. You can't go through life looking for The Ultimate Meaning of Life. You'll just be disappointed. Meaning in life is created, not found. In conclusion: favorite song in the entire world. Thom is a genius. I want his brain. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Love Is a Laserquest Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Do you still feel younger than you thought you would by now, or, darling, have you started feeling old yet? Don't worry, I'm sure that you're still breaking hearts with the efficiency that only youth can harness And do you still think love is a laserquest, or do you take it all more seriously? I've tried to ask you this in some daydreams that I've had, but you're always busy being make-believe And do look into the mirror to remind yourself you're there, or has somebody's goodnight kisses got that covered? When I'm not being honest, I'll pretend that you were just some lover Now I can't think of there without thinking of you I doubt that comes as a surprise I can't think of anything to dream about, I can't find anywhere to hide And when I'm hanging on by the rings around my eyes, and I convince myself I need another, for a minute it gets easier to pretend that you were just some lover When I'm pipe and slippers and rocking chair, singing dreadful songs about summat, will I have found a better method of pretending you were just some lover? Will I have found a better method of pretending you were just some lover? |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Secret Door Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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okay, I know this is like the 3rd comment I've left here, but now that we've got the lyric corrections out of the way...let's get to the song meaning. the important part. so I'll just go ahead and analyze what I feel is the key verses and whatnot. enjoy (: "Fools on parade cavort and carry on for waiting eyes Ones you would rather be beside than in front of Though she's never been the kind to be hollowed by the stares" an introduction to the girl later referenced. a prologue, if you will. starts off by saying many people strive to be in the limelight, but it actually really sucks. this girl, however, is the kind of beautiful and amazing that everyone just naturally stares at her and judges her. but she's used to it, and it's pretty much just normal to her, and he admires that it doesn't bother her. "She swam out of tonight's phantasm Grabbed my hand and made it very clear There's absolutely nothing for us here" so he meets this fabulous girl at a party. she drags him away, wanting to be alone with him. not in a, er, sensual way, but just in a way where she can be herself without everyone being all judgmental. he's a little wary, probably because he sees her as...untouchable, too perfect. you know. "Her arms were folded, most indignant, Not looking like she was soon to leave I had to squint in order to believe Then like a butler pushing on a bookshelf I'm unveiling the unexpected I, who was earlier reluctant, Was suddenly embarrassed and corrected How could such a creature survive in such a habitat?" he really would rather be back at the party, away from the girl, but she's stubborn. she stays put and makes him see the real her, not the person everyone assumes she is from the outside. and he realizes he really, really likes this girl on the inside. "And the secret door swings behind us She's saying nothing, she's just giggling along Even if they were to find us I wouldn't notice, I'm completely occupied" this is referencing the secret place they go to when they're together. metaphorically, of course. it's the only place where they can be themselves. "Fools on parade frolic and fuck about to make her gaze Turn to a scribble on a page, by a picture That holds her options, but you're daft to think she'd care" the other guys, the "fools on parade", think that they want her, too. but they don't, not really. they want the girl that they think she is, superficially, not who she actually is. alex is the only guy who loves her for who she is, and that's the only thing she wants. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Secret Door Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I'm pretty sure l8punkrocer is correct, it's "that holds her options" and "but you're daft to think she'd care". HOWEVER, I am almost positive "how was she never gonna look to?" is really "I, who was earlier reluctant". hence: Then like a butler pushing on a bookshelf I'm unveiling the unexpected I, who was earlier reluctant, Was suddenly embarrassed and corrected How could such a creature survive in such a habitat? that seems to make more sense. to me. (: |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Secret Door Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I am almost positive it goes like this: Then like a butler pushing on a bookshelf I'm unveiling the unexpected I, who was earlier reluctant, Was suddenly embarrassed and corrected How could such a creature survive in such a habitat? (: |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I could be taking this a tad too far, but I would venture to say that the girlfriend has died.."she was close, close enough to be your ghost.." am I taking that to literally, do you think? it would explain why he's reacting so deeply throughout the song. I mean, to be dumped sucks, but it would be infinitely worse to have your girlfriend pass away. he's trying to replace her. and the last verse, the new girl admits that it isn't a good idea for him to call her by the old girl's name, but she will help him move on. poetry, man. I love the "cornerstone" metaphor, though. to me it seems to be, like, a turning point. the corner stone on the turn of a stone path. when he's getting over the girl. and HEY GUYS I doubt it's about a freaking prostitute. you guys love to make everything Arctic Monkeys about sex (; |
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| Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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HEY GUYS just feel the need to point out that not every arctic monkeys song is about sex. (: I agree one may get that kind of feeling when just taking a shallow look at it.. but if you actually listen to it, you could see the depth of this song, both emotionally and physiologically.. it's pretty amazing. try it my way (:(: |
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