submissions
| Can – The Thief Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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Society sets up the crime and waits for the criminal to commit it. |
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| Gang of Four – Not Great Men Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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It seems to be more of a rant against the Great Man Metanarrative, which is the claim that history is made by great men who come around and revolutionize everything. The idea is silly, of course, because it doesn't take into account the social factors, material conditions, and blind chance that led these men to their positions of power. It also tends to ignore the poverty of the masses in favor of glorifying a guy who did nothing more than tell his troops to charge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_man#Criticisms |
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| A Silver Mt. Zion – Teddy Roosevelt's Guns Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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"Kanada, oh, Kanada, I ain't ever been your son...
Kanada, oh, Kanada, I have always been your son"
He's trying to say that, no matter how much he disowns his country and the awful things that happen in it, Canada has still made an indelible impression on him. It's how I feel about America, too... |
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| Big Black – Steelworker Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This song seems like it's about vigilante justice. A guy, who can no longer "stand the hatred and the lies" is taking matters into his own hands. |
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| Nico – No One Is There Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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"This song I wrote for Richard Nixon on Halloween. I want to dedicate it to Ronald Reagan." |
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| Fugees – Family Business Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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I think it's supposed to be "Shaitan" instead of "Shaton." Shaitan is the Islamic version of Satan (the names obviously being derived from the same root word.) |
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| Muscles – Ice Cream Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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Sometimes, after a terrible day, our only consolation is "Well, at least I got some Ice Cream." |
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| The Smiths – Back to the Old House Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I don't understand how anyone could prefer the HoH version. It's nice and all, but the LTB version has a doo-wop feel that better suits the subject of the song. It sounds like something a teenager would listen to while driving a chrome Cadillac up to make-out point. |
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| Burial – In McDonalds Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I remember reading an interview with Burial where he mentions he spends many of his nights/early mornings sitting in a 24 hour McDonalds by himself, not answering his cellphone... |
submissions
| Modest Mouse – Dramamine Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I always thought this song was relatively straightforward:
The narrator is taking a car trip with someone he's not on good terms (possibly a girlfriend with whom the relationship has gone sour.) He takes Dramamine to alleviate his road sickness, but the hallucinogenic side effects only serve to exacerbate the situation. |
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| Modest Mouse – The Waydown Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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I didn't catch anything about drugs in this song. I think it's obviously about the vapidity of modern existence, people caught in the grind of everyday life, wondering how they got to where they are, etc etc. |
submissions
| Big Black – Tiny, King Of The Jews Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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I love the line:
"I start out hating myself
And when I'm through
I've gotta have someone to hate
And I guess it's you"
And all it's variations. It just goes to show how those with the most hate in their hearts turn out to hate themselves even more. |
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| Modest Mouse – Cowboy Dan Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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This is one of the best character portraits through song since the work of Big Black, or even since "Fool on the Hill" by The Beatles. |
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| Broken Social Scene – Cause = Time Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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This song is destined to be a zeitgeist anthem, in the tradition of "Purple Haze" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Twenty years from now, in movies taking place during the first decade of the 21st century, don't be surprised if you hear this song played during a montage. |
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| Joy Division – She's Lost Control Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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It is about epilepsy, but you all have to take a step back and look at the larger theme of it all: losing control in general. Whether it's yourself or another, whether it's through epilepsy or drugs or panic attacks, seeing someone completely lose control of themselves is one of the most terrifying things ever.
How can you help this person? Besides staying by their side and protecting them, the only thing that can really be done is to wait for their control to slowly return. That, in turn, betrays our own lack of control. For that matter, how close are any of us to a complete loss of control? "There but for the grace of god go I," as the expression goes. |
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| The Smiths – You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I interpret it as the subject of the song having to work hard and long to find love and admiration to ultimately no avail while everyone else he knows receives it without even trying. These other people, however, still have the nerve to say he "hasn't earned it yet." |
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| Joy Division – Day of the Lords Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I definitely get the feeling the lyrics are about how his childhood was an unpleasant one due to the other children making fun of him or goading him into doing the wrong things. |
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| Xiu Xiu – Save Me Save Me Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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It's about a person who hates and self-injures them self. Somebody else takes advantage of this fact sexually. |
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| Talk Talk – Wealth Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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He wants to be bound and shackled by love, because remaining free is nowhere near as good as it sounds if it means being without love.
I wouldn't be surprised if he's referring to God, considering the spiritual themes present in later Talk Talk releases. |
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| Jens Lekman – Another Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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My theory:
The first song ("A Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill") is Jens looking back at his youth in 93/94. He went to a summer carnival thats at a local landmark called Hammer Hill. He had so much fun with his friends and all the music playing, his heart kept racing in all the excitement.
In this song, jens returns to Hammer Hill in his adulthood (since this song was released in 04, one might assume he's returning a decade after the carnival.) There's no carnival there; it's just a memory in the past. Without the carnival to distract him, he remembers that, for several people he knew, their childhoods won't be fondly remembered as his was. This, of course, makes him sad. However, he can't think about the subject for long, because Hammer Hill is a beautiful place that will always hold a special place in his heart. |
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| The Smiths – I Know It's Over Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I myself wouldn't classify this as a break-up song. For it to be a break-up song, a relationship had to exist beforehand. This song is about someone who never even got that far; it "never really began." |
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| Talk Talk – I Believe In You Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Even the title of this song is packed with so much emotion.
"I believe in you..." It's as if he's trying to console someone. |
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| Talk Talk – After The Flood Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I know this is a big cliche on this website, but I seriously can't believe no one has commented on this song. I mean, I understand it might be a little difficult to understand what he's singing about, but we could all at least take a crack at it.
The chorus seems to be about reincarnation and respecting the dead. Maybe in the line "To respect to be born" he's talking about karma and the only way to be born again is to lead a good life in the previous one.
I dunno. You guys give it a try. |
submissions
| Can – Vitamin C Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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It seems to be about a girl brought up in a rich family. By growing up in such a lifestyle, she's been sheltered from how the world really is, thus she's "living in and out of tune" and is losing her "vitamin C."
That's the best I could come up with. |
submissions
| Slint – Good Morning, Captain Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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An addeneum to my previous post:
Perhaps the child represents the captain when he was younger. In his quest to return to his carefree, simpler youth, the captain has to be granted it's permission before he can go back. However, his youth doesn't want let him in because the captain's been stained by all the wrong deeds he's done. The final stanza is the captain trying to apologize to his youth about the terrible things he's done. |
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| Modest Mouse – Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"A bad tempered prom queen at a homecoming dance" is someone who's mad that they're not the center of attention at a homecoming dance, but shouldn't be complaining because they're the queen of the prom.
It ties in with the whole 'don't appreciate what you got' theme of the song. |
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| Modest Mouse – Polar Opposites Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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My guess on that whole primer gray line is this:
When we die, our skin, no matter what color it was originally, eventually turns gray. Maybe he's talking about how we're all the same in the end or something. I dunno. |
submissions
| A Silver Mt. Zion – Pretty Little Lightning Paw Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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It is by the Silver Mountain Reveries, but all their songs are grouped under A Silver Mount Zion so as to avoid confusion. (You do know they're the same band, right?)
Anyway, I'm curious as to who Lightning Paw is. Judging from the cover of the EP, it's a character from a book. Which book is it? And why did they write a song about him? |
submissions
| Slint – Kent Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I always thought it was "I've got a bed" rather than "I've got a pet." Oh well. Still a fantastic song. |
submissions
| Robert Johnson – Love in Vain Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Yeah, why has no one else commented? This guy totally rules!
The best part of this song is the last verse. It makes me feel like he was actually there, and he saw the lights on the back of the train. God, this is great. |
submissions
| Slint – Darlene Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think the speaker is looking for the couple.
When he starts asking the questions at the end of the song, it seems like he's asking them rhetorically, as if to make an example of them.
But then he keeps asking the questions over and over again, and it becomes increasingly clear that he doesn't know what happened to them. He's asking you in hopes that you can tell him. |
submissions
| Radiohead – Go to Sleep. (Little Man Being Erased.) Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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There is this watchdog gaurding everything, making sure nothing goes wrong and the "loonies" don't take over. Like every living creature, the watchdog has to eventually rest and go to sleep. When this happens, all the evil men in the world walk around the dog and tie him down (kind of like Gullivers Travels.)
Kind of like the media. |
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