| Modest Mouse – Never Ending Math Equation Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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Of all the songs where Brock muses on mankind's existential malaise (and there are many), the most potent line he may have ever penned in regards to it is "We ain't sure where you stand / you ain't machines and you ain't land" When we think of the human condition, where else do we see a similarly replicated pattern? The answer is nowhere. Say all you will about the sapience of plants and animals - I think they're smarter and more emotional than we let on, from dogs to even insects - but regardless of their internal world, every animal understands its place in the cosmos at large. Ants exist to build their nest and serve their queen, lions exist to hunt and feed their children, etc. The plants and animals know what their task is, to eat each other and sustain life on this planet even if they may not consciously think about it. Research suggests that animals, though they avoid death as long as they can, don't fear their inevitable end the way we do. But what do humans exist to do? At the fundamental level we exist to fulfill the same roles, to be sure; to eat, fuck, feed our offspring, keep the cycle of life going. But we are the only species (that we know of) that is self aware enough to question why we do these things. Our emotional brains are separate from our primate brains, and this side of our brain gives us the potential to ponder things that other species need not ponder. This is the root of all existential anxiety; the fact that we are aware that we exist in the cosmos but are constantly seeking a satisfactory existential answer, one which does not exist beyond the basics. And because the basics are so rudimentary, we are not satisfied with that answer - there has to be something deeper, right? I think this is the point of this line, and this song. Our elevated intellect has given us a great many things, but it has also cursed us with being existentially lost, because we can never truly find a satisfying answer to being. We, and by extension the universe, "ain't sure where (we) stand" - we aren't land that has existed and served its purposes since time immemorium, and we aren't automatons that do their job without thinking about it. Our ability to think on the level that we do has put humans in an unprecedented, and as such profoundly lonely, dilemma, and it applies to every single one of us that exists, has existed, or will ever exist, at least until technology surpasses our current capacity for emotion, but even then it's a tricky question. A brilliant song. |
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| System of a Down – Chop Suey! Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I think this song is about how famous people and performers and artists in general bare their souls and entire personhood to an audience and the emotional toll it can have on such people. Performers are in some sense martyrs; they sacrifice privacy and in some senses their own autonomy for the uncertain reward (expressing art) that the populace may react with backlash to, cause a potentially career-ending scandal, be mocked by the public, etc. When you bare your art and your self to the world, you are opening yourself to the sometimes unwarranted scrutiny of the masses, for the sake of your art. "Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup" could refer to a performer having to pretty up their self image and present an essentially perfect view of themselves to the world in order to garner an audience. As performers are also human, this "fable" they have created will inevitably begin to crack and molder. There's only so long you can present a fake side of yourself. "I don't think you trust in my self-righteous suicide", the most pivotal line in the song, I could see being told from the perspective of the performer, most likely internally. The performer may see the false image they are baring to the world as righteous because while it may diminish their own happiness, it lends happiness to others, effectively a slow and methodical emotional suicide. In an attempt to pursue this self-poisoning goal, they may shut out outside opinions from the ones who truly matter (their closest loved ones, partner, etc.) "I cry when angels deserve to die" is a continuation of this sentiment - in some sense they know the image they are presenting is harming them, but may feel that their suffering is deserved in relation to the intensity of the work they do on stage. The final stanza brings the song's core theme of martyrdom full circle. "Father, why have you forsaken me?" is one of the final sayings of Jesus Christ on the cross during his execution. The performer might be feeling the same weight (though obviously on a much lesser scale). Their pursuit of happiness via performance and art may have emotionally and spiritually totaled them, forsaken them. The "father" may refer to the greater industry at large surrounding them, that often chews up artists and spits them back out for a profit. Finally the song ends with a slight alteration of its iconic line - not an accusation of those around them not trusting them, but a demand *to* be trusted. Trust in my self-righteous suicide. This may not truly be what I want, but maybe something will make this suffering and emotional self-destruction all worth it in the end...no matter how viable that may be. My interpretation is quite out there, and I think this song can be interpreted more openly and broadly than this, but I do personally subscribe to this avenue. |
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| The Mountain Goats – Golden Boy Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I think this song is about how consumerism is deified as a sort of god in capitalist societies. John establishes the song with a grand and uplifting religious tone, preaching ostensibly Christian moral dogma towards the audience before throwing a curveball and claiming that the reason one should seek Heaven is not for salvation but for something totally ridiculous and inconsequential (in this case, Golden Boy peanuts). Conversely, John warns to avoid Hell simply because you wouldn't be able to buy frivolous things there. The peanuts being portrayed as divine symbolism necessary for achieving eternal happiness emphasize how much capitalism paints the ownership of goods produced under it as existentially significant to the wellbeing and contentment of those consuming it. Just look at the way people scramble to obtain the next hit piece of ultimately useless junk whenever it comes out, regardless if they already have something that would adequately sustain them. Or the way advertisements both subtly and not-so-subtly convince you that you need to own what they're selling. The need for junk is compulsive, but it's compulsive precisely because society wants you, the consumer, to feel addicted. Another thing: I also find the "if thine enemy oppresses you..." part especially clever, because that's also exactly what this system entails - do as you're told, like it or not, and eventually you'll reap your reward in the form of consumer products that don't actually fulfill human needs. It's essentially an ultra-compressed and allegoric version of what capitalists are trying to sell common people; keep your head down and till the fields until your back breaks, and you'll produce what WE want while tricking you into thinking it's what YOU need. Basically, be complacent towards injustice for an inadequate reward of freedom, while being falsely fed the idea that the reward will be adequate when all the "freedom" actually entails is the "freedom" to choose between consumer products like peanut brands. Of course, this song has a very comedic portrayal, and it's entirely possible John wrote it solely as a joke. But I think the themes here are much deeper than it lets on, and for such a simple song it's honestly one of the most brilliant critiques of consumer culture I've heard in music. |
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| Munly And The Lee Lewis Harlots – Big Black Bull Comes Like A Caesar Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I believe this song is about toxic masculinity in general but I also tend to subscribe to the homosexuality angle specifically, and how gay children are treated in a toxic and suffocating upbringing, in this instance gay young boys. The protagonist is raised by his brother after the death of their parents, and after awhile it becomes clear the younger sibling is "not right" - considering the anachronistic seemingly mid-19th century period this song seems set in, as well as the psychosexual feel of the song, it seems likely that the perceived "wrongness" from his older brother's perspective is homosexuality. The line about the experience in the elementary school might be exemplary to this; the brother engages in experimental activity with his peers, as many people do when they're coming of age. Obviously the environment he lives in is suffocating and unapproving, and his brother reinforces this by telling him he is wrong and defective - later on comparing his "wrongness" to the "wrongness" of the baby calf the brother owns. As for the bull, which is integral to the song, there's some obvious phallic and disturbingly venereal imagery in this song. The reference to the brother's "brand new blade" is obviously phallic and I believe it probably refers to the penis as a symbol of masculinity and strength. This is reflected in the central part of the song, where it seems as though the protagonist's brother forces the protagonist to watch his bull mate with their neighbor's cow, maybe multiple times (or even worse, forcing his brother to undergo heterosexual behavior with a woman and the animals are just a metaphor? Munly's lyrics are so oblique it's hard to really tell). In the end, too, it's something the younger brother is still continually shamed and ridiculed for, by comparing the behavior of the calf to the behavior of the protagonist in a negative and insulting light, as his parents and brother both did. He came into the world "backwards" by the standards of his family and the repressive society around him, and given how he was treated for his ultimately normal behavior, he ends up internalizing it and truly feeling as though his desires are defective. Such was the sad reality of many gay/LGBT teens, and still even continues in many conservative upbringings to this day. |
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| Carissa's Wierd – Alphabet on the Manhole Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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As I've listened to this song more I've realized that, while my original comment pertains, I actually think it's from the perspective of two people in a mutually toxic, suffocating, and unhealthy relationship. The whole song frames the vocalists against each other, they don't sing with each other in a duet but in a series of jumbled, probably drunk and angry thoughts at one another ("I hope this makes you sad", "she'd look more beautiful if she cried", "learn to keep your mouth shut", etc). This seems to be the argument that causes their breakup, as at the end the male leaves, mumbling drunkenly to himself about the unceremonious breakup and the impending regrets, but also still holding on to his anger ("try not to sleep and scare these self affirming notions") It could be just about any relationship that ends in a tragically angry way, but I think the song seems to frame it in a way that's not necessarily abusive but in a way that it is clear these two people have been sucking away at each others' happiness and healthiness for a long time, and in the end, through all their trials and errors, they still failed as they remained in a state of anger and hatred in each other. It's a sad truth that many breakups end up like this, as much as we sometimes wish it could always be amicable - it's rarely that simple. |
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| Carissa's Wierd – Ignorant Piece of Shit Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| I think this song is about a divorce/breakup of some kind that results in a suicide, and the suicide and breakup are juxtaposed in the song; jumping out of a window and falling to your knees to propose. Beautiful song. | |
| Neutral Milk Hotel – The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1 Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I know this ties into Anne Frank in some way but I always interpreted this in a psychosexual fashion. This song could certainly be about any type of sexual "awakening" or loss of virginity but I feel like it's specifically about some kind of homosexual experience. I could be way off but the two (young and inexperienced) protagonists in the song are experimenting sexually and discovering who they are and the metaphors in this track pertaining to the adults in their life are as expected not very accepting of this ("your mom would drink until she was no longer speaking, dad would dream of all the different ways to die...") It could also just be about any sexual experience as a teen or young adult and the adult figures not being very forgiving of this, but the first line and the emphasis on the parents' grief makes me think it's probably some kind of taboo sex, most likely gay. I think the second and third parts of the song symbolize an escape from the adults' grasp and freedom and happiness in the love and connection they've found. Or it could just be nonsense. That's the beauty of a lyricist like Jeff Mangum after all. |
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| Modest Mouse – Teeth Like God's Shoeshine Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| This song feels like it's from the perspective of some perceived crazy speaker on the streets of a city, someone who grew up in the countryside as the land was industrialized and filled with rampant consumerism around him, shouting with the fervor of a street preacher to put two and two together and realize what's happening to the place they grew up and the country at large ("Or you could add it up and give a shit, give a shit"). Everyone just passes them off as crazy, but their hard truths get buried under the bustling sounds of the city and drown his very real concerns out. Powerful peace of music and one of the greatest anti-capitalist anthems ever made. | |
| The Birthday Party – Junkyard Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| One word: heroin. | |
| Carissa's Wierd – Alphabet on the Manhole Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Sounds like the jumbled thoughts of a drunk person after breaking up with their lover, perhaps in a selfish or unceremonious way that the person regrets ("She wants an explanation, didn't know what I ran for", "I hope this makes you cry, I hope this makes you sad"). At the same time, he also still sounds like he's trying to justify it in his mind and relieve his guilt, as seen in the last few lines. | |
| Carissa's Wierd – They'll Only Miss You When You Leave Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| A painfully accurate description of suicidal depression. | |
| Giles Corey – Spectral Bride Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Pretty simple meaning here. A person is afraid to kill themselves for fear of leaving his loved ones (specifically lover in this case it seems) behind, so as he weighs whether not to do it he promises he will visit his lover as a ghost if he does go through with the act. Beautiful song. | |
| Swans – To Be Kind Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I think this song is musically from the perspective of a child listening to its caretaker (lets just say mother for the sake of convenience) singing it a lullaby, and the lyrics are said lullaby that describe everything about childhood and existence. "To be kind, to be kind" - Mother sings her child a positive lullaby, prioritizing kindness over all. The child cannot understand the concept of kindness at this age, but is still soothed and intrigued by the melody and the sound. "To be real, to be new" - The most obvious line in the song, the child is a newborn and as such everything seems much more macroscopic from its viewpoint. Its very existence is monumental-feeling. "To be sung by a song that's untrue" - Gira compares the child's existence to a song, an artistic and beautiful expression of nature. The "untrue" part probably refers to existentialism, though both the child and the song exists and see different perspectives, they all ultimately mean nothing (though this is not a negative thing). "The falling sun, the fallen one" - Not so sure about this one. It's certainly the most cryptic line in the song. Perhaps it refers to death and light "extinguishing", though I can't tell why it'd relate to the child. It also references the sun, as common on this album. "In a bed, painted blue, touching you" - Simple, the mother is caressing her child in its crib while she sings to it. "Listening, just listening to the rain and the wind in the field" - Again, the child's perspective is amplified. The rain and wind outside is incomprehensible to it, but they just are there. The child listens not knowing its true nature, but being consumed by it all the same. It needs to do nothing more than listen. "To be lost in a bed, touching you, to be lost, to be found in the sound of this room" - The child is "lost" in the sense that it's surrounded by everything huge and unknowable. Even its bed seems gigantic through its perspective. It is encompassed in the sound of the astronomically (to it) huge room it sleeps in. "There are millions and millions of stars in your eyes" This final line can have several meanings from the way I see it. -It is the mother singing to the child, seeing all the beauty and wonder of her creation through its eyes and seeing its future and loving it unconditionally. -It is the child viewing his mothers eyes through its own, seeing how huge and vast she is compared to it, comparable to stars in the sky. -It refers to our existence itself; within our "eyes" (our entire lives and minds) is a vast and unutterably complex web of thoughts, memories, aspirations, fears, etc. We are all our own universe. Just my interpretation |
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