submissions

Iggy Pop – Neighborhood Threat Lyrics

4 years ago

I'm pretty sure a guy called "the neighborhood threat" references the cliche, "there goes the neighborhood," used by racist white people when a minority family (or some variation on the not-like-us theme) moves in... Everything else, I'm not so sure about. If you aren't willing to bet against the guy at the bottom rung (below you), then you don't have much confidence in your own situation. Kinda paranoid and hopeless, which I guess is expected in small-minded people... So, it seems as if "buddy" is already having a sneaking suspicion that the difference between him and the neighborhood threat isn't really substantial, and he's just as likely to be down at the bottom rung too, eventually.

submissions

The Wallflowers – Bleeders Lyrics

5 years ago

It feels like he tried but failed at suicide. When he "forgot to be vain" I think he's saying he missed the vein. When he says, "Everything just bleeds" I think that's his excuse for cutting himself, thinking he did it right because blood was coming out, even though it wasn't a fatal wound... Then elsewhere he's talking about it not be his "last try" and "maybe next time is never" as if he still intends to pull it off eventually. He "sent it off in a letter" ... suicide note? The idea of failure is also amplified by apparently missing the wishing well when he tossed a penny. etc.

submissions

Belly (US) – Seal My Fate Lyrics

7 years ago

I feel like this song is being sung by the girl hooked up to life support in Depeche Mode's Blasphemous Rumours. Perhaps singing to Martin Gore's narrator... Just before they pull the plug... "Unholy and dirty words" == "Blasphemous Rumours" ... When the ventilator "breathes" it's breathing for her too -- "breathing for two" ... Get it? At that point in the game, she'd surely be happy that God is in heaven laughing at us (as suggested by Gore), because at least then, that would mean there IS a God, and this isn't the final-final ending for her. In response to his laughing, she keeps saying, "I hope it's true..." One thing I'm sure of: I can't hear a shred of romance or joy in a single syllable of these lyrics. The title itself sets a tone of helplessness and resignation.

submissions

Richard Hell And The Voidoids – I'm Your Man Lyrics

9 years ago

It sounds to me like the singer/narrator is supposed to be a woman, trying to convince her male lover that she's as good as a man. It's as if he'd prefer to be with a man, and she's either an energetic substitute (presumably a prostitute), or perhaps just an eager girl trying to nudge a guy in a new (bisexual) direction with some friendly coaxing. Either way, she feels the need to keep reminding him to forget she's a woman just now, saying, over and over again, "I'm your man, baby, oh yeah, yes I am, I'm your man"... This kinda explains the constant references to getting it by hand, which is pretty much as androgynous as sex can get. Is there such a difference between the hand of a woman or man that it really matters? Whichever the case, I think the song is an oddly romantic, albeit ultra quirky and kinky, little number... It's beautifully constructed and passionately performed--simple and elegant--a real treasure from the early CBGB punk scene.

submissions

Everclear – Queen Of The Air Lyrics

9 years ago

I've known several people (including first cousins) who, in their teens or later, experienced some sort of stunning revelation about their parentage. This story is not really that unusual. Parents have been known to commit suicide in front of their children. Children are sometimes raised by non-biological parents, with the identity of their biological parents kept secret from them... What is unusual is the exquisite, succinct blending of music and language and vocal emotion by Alexakis, generating such vibrancy and clarity to the story. It's as beautiful and compelling a tale as any novel or film I can think of, and as a mere 3 minute rock song, just about as good as storytelling gets. A thorough and complete masterpiece.

submissions

Ned's Atomic Dustbin – Grey Cell Green Lyrics

10 years ago

I think he's expressing disdain for "magical thinking". He keeps hearing that "it" is in the trees, in the skies, all around, etc. Presumably that's in reference to "God" or whatever spiritual entity someone wants to believe in, pray to, tap into, or try to emulate in some way. In the end, he says, "Your desire, it's inside her, it has been found..." which I think means: instead of trying to find "Love" as a magical, spiritual experience, simply realize that consciousness is not magic, it only exists inside us, in our grey matter, which has it's own desires, and we can easily fulfill our desires with each other, and without looking for signs, consulting tea leaves, praying to the heavens, or other non-sensical behaviors.

submissions

T. Rex – Get It On (Bang A Gong) Lyrics

10 years ago

The words, "You've got a hub cap diamond star halo" always make me think of the Statue of Liberty's crown. I think there are other vague references to America. "Built like a car" ... "Untamed youth" ... "You've got the blues" ... "Cloak full of eagles" ... Back in the cold war, the eastern bloc of communist satellite nations were often depicted and described as a many-headed hydra... So the U.S. back then,could have been seen as having "The teeth of the hydra upon" it... Far from the non-sensical claim you often here in reference to Bolan lyrics, I think the singer is pretty clearly expressing a fascination with the United States. "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" -- is probably just a more slanted way of saying, "Sex and Drugs and Rock N Roll" which I think is a major component of the U.S. image.

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