| Pixies – Wave of Mutilation Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| a friend once asked me which song I'd play at my funeral. I immediately said 'Wave of mutilation' (UK surf version ofc). Something about the lyrics, 'You'll think I'm dead, but I sail away' sounds so cathartic, and paired with the chill, slowed chiming of the drums, has me imagine my own death in a softer, more friendly light, with the ocean in the background. The vagueness behind the confession 'I sail away' points at the uncertainty of what comes after, but the refrained 'wave of mutilation' is the driving force, overcoming any hesitations and fears of the unknown. | |
| Mazzy Star – Look On Down From The Bridge Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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I choose to, conciously, see this song as a tribute to a romance cut short, a romance sans conclusion. The bridge is a place where they would often meet, a favourite hangout spot, which also happens to embody the chasm between the speaker and her lover, the speaker and the greater world. She is isolated, cut off from 'everybody' who 'just wants to be free', dissociating from a world without any attachments, where nobody owes anything to anybody. For whatever reason, she's grown out of the people around her, can no longer connect with them, can no longer relate to them or pretend so that they can relate to her : 'I can't be the same thing to you now/ I'm just gone, just gone'. The theme of light, prevalent in many of Mazzy Star songs, in the form of 'there's a light in your eyes', may signify a hope for a reunion, also evident by the very last line, 'I'm still waiting for you.' This comes with a great contradiction with the previous verse where she bids her regretful 'Goodbye'. It seems like the romance has ended prematurely, and not due to the speaker's choice, highlighted also by the nostalgic undertone in the soft melody. |
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| Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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Where do I begin? This song has stuck with me for years now. I've played it at least once a day since I first appreciated its beauty, and it never gets old. It never fails to send chills down my spine, shake my spirit. It has got to be Curtis' chilling voice, the classic bassline around which the whole song is structured, the post punk lyrics laced with pure melancholy. 'Love will tear us apart, again.' I always pondered the true meaning of this paradox. The personification of love, or rather it's villainisation, is key in conveying the message to the listener. I figure, it has got to be about all relationships, platonic, familial, sensual. The more you get to know somebody, the more you repel them away. They find out your truth, your rights and your wrongs, and eventually grow out of you. The answer has been hiding in plain sight all along, in the last line of the last verse, 'Just that something so good, just can't function no more'. Love has grown dysfunctional, and now, like a clock ticking counter-clockwise, it regresses into the exact opposite of what it stood for, holding lovers back rather than propelling them forward. It used to act as the adhesive between two people, but is now an obstacle. It is important to emphasise the cause of such a shift. The song begins 'When routine bites hard and ambitions are low', because boredom, lacking ambition and monotony are the catalysts to Love's regression. ' What I love most is the repetitive 'again', which hints to something darker than the listener can dare to imagine. Love is a cycle of endless unions and seperations, pairs and tears, from which, according to Curtis, we will never break free from. |
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| Bruce Springsteen – I'm on Fire Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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Listening to the Chromatics cover of this song as I'm writing this. I must admit that it is not often when I find a song that speaks to my soul in such a way. It might be the chillling, atmospheric melody of the synths, or Springsteen's yearnful voice (especially in the live version) but it definitely has left a mark on me. To me it is about a forbidden romance, a man lost in deep desire for a woman he cannot have. The gruesome imagery in the bridge 'And a freight train running through the middle of my head', and verse, only intensifies this sense of longing for the one he shouldn't want but can't help it. The fire symbolises the physical need that cannot be put out by itself. The beautiful outro is reminiscent of the atmospheric intro, giving a cyclical structure to the song, and by extension the story. The fire still lives on, years after it had first been ignited. |
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