| Big Black Delta – Capsize Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
Great song! I should note that I discovered this song, and this artist, because of Halt and Catch Fire, so my interpretation is probably coloured by that context. Also, I don't agree with one line from the above lyrics: Rather than "And the boredom emulation of love," what I hear (and what makes sense to me) is, "With the boredom and elation of life." Every lyric site I've found disagrees with me on this, but I haven't been able to find a primary source to support or reject my hypothesis. Any help or opinions on that would be welcome. As for my interpretation: I feel that this song is about the internal struggle one faces when choosing to follow convention or one's heart/passion/vision. It captures the moment when a person resigns him/herself to take the chance. Conventional life is a steady flow of highs and lows (moments of boredom, and moments of elation). If you conform to convention (keep your garden growing just right), you'll have security, acceptance and "stories to take home." In many ways this is a comfortable way to live, unless you have a specific dream... Acceptance (not rocking the boat) is important, but if you have a dream that "aches in [your] belly," the "tender fascination" with convention simply isn't enough to sustain you. But, breaking away from convention and risking failure to pursue your dream, in full view of your peers ("everybody knows how your garden is growing tonight"), is a terrifying prospect. As such: The subject recognizes that the the struggle, between the comfort of convention and the longing to realize his dream, is getting him nowhere. He recognizes that conformity can take him no further, so he commits, with "god [as his] witness," to follow his dream. Inasmuch: I interpret this song as a reflective internal dialogue; a crisis of character resulting in a steadfast commitment to disregard convention in favour of the pursuit of self-actualization. |
|
| Garbage – Not Your Kind Of People Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
Music is open to interpretation, that's what's so beautiful about it. When I first heard this song my interpretation was crystal clear, and while I'm sure it's different from what most people arrive at it certainly made me chuckle. To set the stage, there is this rather esoteric branch of behavioural science called Dynamic Mechanism Design Theory. It's actually quite implementable, but because it's advancing so rapidly that it retains the designation "theory". In short, it's comprised of the mathematical systems that enable the creation of psychological rat mazes for people. In practice this means creating a system that learns how a person makes decisions, and creates situations where the choice the person makes, of their own free will, is the same choice the designer wants him to make. The "dynamic" in the title refers to the system's use of revealed preferences, rather than stated preference, as an adjustment mechanism. People often say one thing yet do another. We believe that the "do" portion is more predictively robust. I.e. "We see through your lies." Since most people spend their lives just "running around trying to fit in, wanting to be loved. It doesn't take much" to predict and augment their behaviour. If society could be separated into just two kinds of people, they would be those who understand and apply these principals (to whatever end), and those who can't. Members of the former "speak a different language," and certainly "don't see eye-to-eye," with the latter. So, Joe Lab Rat stumbles into the Bilderberg conference… As he is escorted out, a dialogue ensues (the lyrics of the song) The dialogue, if you can call it that, is between the narrator ( I ) and the subject ( you). Additionally, there are two groups identified; that which the narrator belongs to, and that which the subject belongs to. The narrator is attempting to illustrate the distinction between these two groups by drawing attention to specific traits. The masses seem to be weak minded, constantly searching for external validation of their existence, caught up in superficial subject matter, confused by lies, and constantly searching for acceptance all the while shunning perceived conformity. The narrator explains that her people are not of this sort. They see through the circular and redundant logic of the others, they recognize the ephemeral nature of the masses sycophantic search for acceptance, and they recognize that there is little chance of the masses ever being able to come to this realization for themselves. Obviously it's all fun, games, and musing; but that's what I got from this song. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.