| Lady GaGa – Applause Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Koons is a wannabe Warhol. Kind of like Gaga, herself. Apparently it's become cool to name drop pop artists and fashion designers. Actually, music, pop art, and fashion seem to have merged into a self-referential circle of cash extraction. | |
| Kevin Devine – Redbird Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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It seems to me that the first half of this song is written from the perspective of a prisoner in a U.S. black site. The prisoner is water boarded and subjected to the various other forms of torture we now know such prisoners are subjected to, e.g., sleep deprivation, beatings, etc. The prisoner begins to lose his mind as he realizes that nothing he can do will help his situation, and he begins to "hold his fear in his mouth" rather than scream and cry as a normal human being would. Right after the second chorus when the tempo shifts, it seems like the song then presents the perspective of a U.S. soldier working at the black site. The man's job wears on him, as there seems to be and endless "line" of prisoners subjected to this form of punishment. And he is merely a functionary, carrying out the will of his government's leaders. In time, he begins to break down and realize the monstrosities he has committed. Beyond that, he's been away for so long that his daughter doesn't recognize him, and his father seems remote and uninterested in what his son has done. But his wife, the only person who really tries to understand, forgives him. On the whole, it's a song about the way this aspect of U.S. foreign policy breaks down those subjected to it, both the enforcers and the enforced. There is a deranged and inhuman sort of connection between these two types of "victims," and the only ones who can understand are those involved. Both end up broken human beings. The first time I heard this song I liked it, and I could definitely notice the influence of Jesse Lacey. But then I read the lyrics while I listened to the song and I started to cry. And I never cry. It's such a powerful work of art once you relate the lyrics, meaning, music, and "atmosphere" of the song. One of the highlights of Kevin Devine's newest album, no doubt. |
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