davidbeauy
380
Points
380
Points
Beau Phillips is one half of the production team electro/funk/disco group Juxxtaposed. He was the frontman of the indie rock band The Strangelights, a psychedelic tinged new wave outfit from Vacaville, CA.
| Juxxtaposed – Flight of the Humunculus Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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The lyrics for "Flight of the Homunculus" are a dark, dense, and highly symbolic narrative that explores themes of jealousy, betrayal, revenge, and the occult/alchemical creation of a destructive agent. It is a bizarre, tragicomic horror story that descends into a cycle of retribution. Here is an analysis of the key elements, themes, and devices in the song: 1. The Inciting Incident: Jealousy and Occult Betrayal The song begins with a wife's fury sparked by a dream her husband had, tying his infidelity to the mythological figure of Lilith. * Lilith and the "Incantation Bowl": "Her man woke up wet from a frolic with Lilith." Lilith, in Jewish folklore, is a demonic figure, often representing female sexual liberation or promiscuity. This immediately frames the infidelity not just as a human mistake but as a spiritual or occult attack. The wife's initial action—burying the bowl—is an attempt at counter-magic. * Worship and Malice: The wife's view of her husband is paradoxical: she worships his "monolithic phallus" but with "malice." Her love is fused with resentment and possessiveness. * The Murderous Epimyth: She contemplates killing him ("serve Garrett with a garrotte") but is deterred from the immediate act of murder, fearing it would involve "taking two lives," acknowledging that the act would destroy her as well. 2. The Pact and the Journey to the Alchemist Seeking a less direct, more magical form of revenge, the wife turns to a powerful, dangerous occult figure. * The Alchemist's Power: The alchemist/local mystic is a sinister figure who demands ritualistic components: "animal blood," "ground sunstone," and "sulfur magnet." These ingredients are essential to alchemical creation, often associated with the creation of the Homunculus (a small, artificially created man). * Trauma and Motivation: The wife is driven by a desire for permanent freedom from suffering, evidenced by the lines describing the alchemist's strangling hands that nearly drowned her. She is not just seeking revenge; she is seeking an end to the feeling of being victimized: "She'd never be tortured again." * Hikikomori and Psychological Decay: The strange phrase "a rendering of hikikomori" refers to extreme social withdrawal. This suggests the alchemist's lab is a place of psychological breakdown and isolation, where the wife's despair and "debasement" are allowed to fester. 3. The Creation and The Homunculus's Mission The "Homunculus" is born in a chaotic scene of fire, blending myth with a grotesque, almost cartoonish violence. * The Birth: The Homunculus is born in an "explosion of smoke," appearing as a "2 foot man on a pyre." This is the ultimate, literalization of her dark desire: a tiny assassin created through fire and forbidden science. * Disturbing Imagery: The little man is disturbing but oddly charismatic ("born with the moves of Bojangles," a reference to a famous tap dancer). The tapping and the "disturbing spark in his eyes" suggests a malicious, preternaturally energetic life force. * The Treacherous Sojourn: The wife and the Homunculus fly off in a tricked-out "casket like bike" on Samhain (Halloween, the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest). Their destination is a "lecherous height" for the "man of her life." The Homunculus is sent to complete the wife's fantasy: "to slit eat and spit into chasms / The meat of her man tenderized with salt." The revenge is not just death, but ritualistic consumption. 4. The Final Irony: Eternal Punishment The song concludes with a swift, brutal, and deeply ironic twist—the wife is not freed by her revenge; she is punished for it, finding herself eternally bound to the very person she sought to escape. * The Alchemist's Betrayal: The alchemist, admiring his creation's work, immediately turns on the wife and ignites a fire to "off the wife and exalt / His fiery master." The alchemist was merely a tool of a higher, demonic power (likely the Devil). The Homunculus was not a solution for the wife but a necessary ingredient for her damnation. * Two Wrongs Never Righted: The wife is forced to burn in the embers, "forever in fiery lakes" where she is "chained to his bones" (presumably the husband's). The final, chilling line provides the punchline: "But at least she'll never be alone." She is eternally reunited with the person who tortured her, realizing that her murderous act of revenge did not sever the tie but forged an unbreakable chain in Hell. The song is a cautionary tale about the corrosive power of revenge and jealousy, suggesting that in pursuing absolute destruction, the protagonist forfeits her own soul and finds her freedom replaced by a dark, eternal bondage. |
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| Juxxtaposed – Memories of the Apocalypse Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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This is a sprawling, epic track that uses the backdrop of a societal and nuclear apocalypse to explore themes of misplaced priorities, enduring love, and spiritual transcendence. The song is less about the end of the world and more about the search for meaning in the face of absolute chaos. Here is an analysis of the lyrics for "Memories of An Apocalypse: What did she last say." 1. The Context of Collapse: The "Third Saturday" The opening verses set a scene of political and social decay that precedes a final, destructive "melee." * The Ignored Warning: The speaker focuses on the question, "What did she last say / On that third Saturday / Before the melee?" This personal, specific detail grounds the universal cataclysm in a single, missed moment of human connection. * Political Decay and Control: The lyrics provide the reason for the disaster: "cults of personality loom" (referencing totalitarian leaders or influential figures), and a "poison pill we're forced to swallow it all" (a metaphor for political despair, forced compliance, or systemic toxicity). * Esoteric Warning: Phrases like "panacea ascend to St. Gabe" and "Nummers of the numbers, and the comers are enslaved" inject an esoteric, almost conspiracy-theory tone. "St. Gabe" (Saint Gabriel, the messenger angel) suggests a false prophecy or an engineered salvation. The "nummers of the numbers" and "comers" implies that the masses are controlled or hypnotized by statistics, propaganda, or a system of enforced belief, leading to their ultimate enslavement. 2. Love as the Ultimate Priority The central emotional core of the song immediately subverts the grand apocalyptic drama. When the speaker finally answers the repeated question, the answer is a rejection of words and chaos. * Silence Over Sound: The speaker admits, "But I heard no words / Just her embrace sent me to the moon." This is a powerful statement: what the woman actually said is irrelevant or forgotten in the face of political hysteria. Her physical presence and connection—her embrace—was the only thing that mattered and provided true escape ("sent me to the moon"). * Shared Fate: They both miss the warning to "take cover" because they are absorbed in the moment. The final question in the shelter scene is poignant: "Is it me is it me locked out of the bomb shelter with her." The danger of being outside is negated by the joy of being with her. The external threat forces the realization that true safety is found in connection, not in a physical bunker. 3. Transcendence Through Destruction The most radical section of the song is the speaker's embrace of nuclear death, transforming the ultimate horror into an ultimate union. * The Vows of Apocalypse: "To die via nuclear warfare with you by my side / There'd be no other I'd want in my arms..." This line reframes death as the highest form of romantic commitment. * Shedding the Vessel: The destruction is necessary: "as the radiation charrs the vessel of our skin / All that's left is what's within." The physical body, the "vessel," is seen as temporary and confining. The nuclear fire is the ultimate purification, burning away the superficial to release the eternal, spiritual core of their connection. * The Post-Life: They become conscious, liberated spirits, choosing to "haunt this reptilian world" and "Fly in the sky over volcanoes and such." This suggests the earth itself is the "reptilian world"—a corrupt, material existence they are now free from. The final, reflective question—"did we miss the earth much?"—suggests the answer is likely no. 4. Rebirth and the "Club Seventh Heaven" The song concludes with a final, surreal vision of the afterlife that merges spiritual rapture with a hedonistic club scene. * The Shift in Dimension: The speaker opens their eyes and asks, "Are we in another dimension?" The apocalyptic events are now a hazy memory ("yesterday was the war and the journey to the badlands"). The desert, once a place of earthly entrapment (as noted in "Mondegreen"), is now the landscape of transition. * The River Crossing: The vision of others holding hands and "wading into the water / Crossing oer the river" is a classical allusion to crossing the mythical rivers of the underworld (like the River Styx). When the speaker is left alone after saying "goodnight" and "the water became the sky," it marks their personal passage from earthly reality into a celestial plane. * Club Seventh Heaven: The final scene is the most unexpected: Heaven is a nightclub. "Jesus waves you in," the "club is bopping, it's a cloudy crowded den," and the music is the "most heavenly mix." This playful, sacrilegious imagery suggests that the ultimate reward is a joyous, communal, and liberated existence where the soul can finally enjoy the "fix" of pure, unbridled energy—a stark contrast to the stifling, enslaved world they left behind. In essence, "Memories of An Apocalypse" argues that while political manipulation and societal decay are inevitable and lead to destruction, the only thing that remains true is radical human connection. The apocalypse becomes the necessary mechanism for shedding the corrupt physical world and achieving a transcendent, eternally bopping union. |
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| Juxxtaposed – Memories of the Apocalypse Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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This is a sprawling, epic track that uses the backdrop of a societal and nuclear apocalypse to explore themes of misplaced priorities, enduring love, and spiritual transcendence. The song is less about the end of the world and more about the search for meaning in the face of absolute chaos. Here is an analysis of the lyrics for "Memories of An Apocalypse: What did she last say." 1. The Context of Collapse: The "Third Saturday" The opening verses set a scene of political and social decay that precedes a final, destructive "melee." * The Ignored Warning: The speaker focuses on the question, "What did she last say / On that third Saturday / Before the melee?" This personal, specific detail grounds the universal cataclysm in a single, missed moment of human connection. * Political Decay and Control: The lyrics provide the reason for the disaster: "cults of personality loom" (referencing totalitarian leaders or influential figures), and a "poison pill we're forced to swallow it all" (a metaphor for political despair, forced compliance, or systemic toxicity). * Esoteric Warning: Phrases like "panacea ascend to St. Gabe" and "Nummers of the numbers, and the comers are enslaved" inject an esoteric, almost conspiracy-theory tone. "St. Gabe" (Saint Gabriel, the messenger angel) suggests a false prophecy or an engineered salvation. The "nummers of the numbers" and "comers" implies that the masses are controlled or hypnotized by statistics, propaganda, or a system of enforced belief, leading to their ultimate enslavement. 2. Love as the Ultimate Priority The central emotional core of the song immediately subverts the grand apocalyptic drama. When the speaker finally answers the repeated question, the answer is a rejection of words and chaos. * Silence Over Sound: The speaker admits, "But I heard no words / Just her embrace sent me to the moon." This is a powerful statement: what the woman actually said is irrelevant or forgotten in the face of political hysteria. Her physical presence and connection—her embrace—was the only thing that mattered and provided true escape ("sent me to the moon"). * Shared Fate: They both miss the warning to "take cover" because they are absorbed in the moment. The final question in the shelter scene is poignant: "Is it me is it me locked out of the bomb shelter with her." The danger of being outside is negated by the joy of being with her. The external threat forces the realization that true safety is found in connection, not in a physical bunker. 3. Transcendence Through Destruction The most radical section of the song is the speaker's embrace of nuclear death, transforming the ultimate horror into an ultimate union. * The Vows of Apocalypse: "To die via nuclear warfare with you by my side / There'd be no other I'd want in my arms..." This line reframes death as the highest form of romantic commitment. * Shedding the Vessel: The destruction is necessary: "as the radiation charrs the vessel of our skin / All that's left is what's within." The physical body, the "vessel," is seen as temporary and confining. The nuclear fire is the ultimate purification, burning away the superficial to release the eternal, spiritual core of their connection. * The Post-Life: They become conscious, liberated spirits, choosing to "haunt this reptilian world" and "Fly in the sky over volcanoes and such." This suggests the earth itself is the "reptilian world"—a corrupt, material existence they are now free from. The final, reflective question—"did we miss the earth much?"—suggests the answer is likely no. 4. Rebirth and the "Club Seventh Heaven" The song concludes with a final, surreal vision of the afterlife that merges spiritual rapture with a hedonistic club scene. * The Shift in Dimension: The speaker opens their eyes and asks, "Are we in another dimension?" The apocalyptic events are now a hazy memory ("yesterday was the war and the journey to the badlands"). The desert, once a place of earthly entrapment (as noted in "Mondegreen"), is now the landscape of transition. * The River Crossing: The vision of others holding hands and "wading into the water / Crossing oer the river" is a classical allusion to crossing the mythical rivers of the underworld (like the River Styx). When the speaker is left alone after saying "goodnight" and "the water became the sky," it marks their personal passage from earthly reality into a celestial plane. * Club Seventh Heaven: The final scene is the most unexpected: Heaven is a nightclub. "Jesus waves you in," the "club is bopping, it's a cloudy crowded den," and the music is the "most heavenly mix." This playful, sacrilegious imagery suggests that the ultimate reward is a joyous, communal, and liberated existence where the soul can finally enjoy the "fix" of pure, unbridled energy—a stark contrast to the stifling, enslaved world they left behind. In essence, "Memories of An Apocalypse" argues that while political manipulation and societal decay are inevitable and lead to destruction, the only thing that remains true is radical human connection. The apocalypse becomes the necessary mechanism for shedding the corrupt physical world and achieving a transcendent, eternally bopping union. |
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| Juxxtaposed – Mt Shasta Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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The lyrics to juxxtaposed's "Mt Shasta" are a meditative, esoteric journey that blends geographic pilgrimage with themes of ancient mystery, spiritual entrapment, and a search for transcendence. The song focuses on the idea that the answers to life's mysteries are encoded in specific, sacred locations. Journey and Esoteric Geography 🗺️ The song is structured as a literal and symbolic road trip, guiding the listener along a path of known spiritual or mythical sites. * The Path of Power: The opening lines, "Point me in the direction / Follow the ley lines," immediately establish an esoteric framework. Ley lines are imaginary alignments thought to connect ancient sites and spiritual energy points. The journey moves through real, myth-laden locations: * Sedona: Famous for its vortexes and New Age spiritual draw. * Rachel, Nevada: Near Area 51, linking the journey to UFOs and conspiracy theories. * Mt Shasta: The ultimate destination, a real volcano in California associated with legends of hidden cities (like Telos) and various mystical entities. * The Symbolic Road: References like "Point Arena to Booneville mountain view drive" and "3:33 in the morning" ground the journey in a specific, almost hallucinatory reality. The number 3:33 is significant in numerology, often symbolizing spiritual guidance, alignment, and awakening, reinforcing the quest's higher purpose. * Nature's Design: The phrase "Nature's alleys are contrived / To show us the way" suggests that the seemingly random paths of the natural world (cirques and hanging valleys) are actually deliberately laid out to guide the seeking traveler. The Weight of the Past and Mystery ⛰️ The recurring chorus reveals the true nature of the destination: Mt Shasta is not just a mountain, but a locus of profound, possibly dangerous, historical energy. * Tartaria and Catacombs: The "whisper of tartariatic catacombs" references the conspiracy theory of Tartaria, an alleged lost civilization believed to have been erased from history. This suggests the speaker feels connected to a vast, suppressed past at this site. The catacombs imply hidden structures and buried secrets. * Volcanic Fortress: The "volcanic fortresses erupting" gives the setting a sense of immense, contained power that is barely stable. The past is not peaceful; it's a volatile, active force. * The Fluid of Entrapment: The key image is a "fluid that has trapped us in our minds." This is a powerful metaphor for inherited trauma, historical lies, or collective ignorance—a pervasive, invisible substance that prevents true spiritual or intellectual freedom. The journey to Mt Shasta makes this mental prison feel physically real. The Quest for Transcendence 🕊️ The final, conclusive line of the chorus expresses a deep, spiritual longing that will only be fulfilled outside of earthly existence. * The Ultimate Peace: "One day we will find peace but not on this earth" is a resignation to the fact that the profound historical baggage and mental limits ("the fluid") that bind humanity cannot be overcome in this life. Even arriving at a place of immense spiritual power like Mt Shasta does not offer instant salvation. * The Nature of the Quest: The journey, therefore, is not about finding an answer or a place to settle, but about gaining the realization that ultimate peace lies in transcendence. The spiritual sites merely serve as catalysts to recognize this truth. |
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| Juxxtaposed – Mondegreen Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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The song beautifully explores themes of misunderstanding, unrealized dreams, and a stifling relationship, all set against a backdrop of the California desert. 1. The Central Theme of "Mondegreen" 🎶 The title, "Mondegreen," is the most significant clue to the song's meaning. A mondegreen is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase or word, typically in a song lyric, which results in the listener hearing something else that makes some kind of sense. * Lyrical Connection: The core conflict is explicitly stated: "Like words misunderstood lines from my favorite band / I guess I missheard didn't understand." The relationship, or perhaps the protagonist's entire pursuit of a dream, was built on a foundational misunderstanding, a "mondegreen" of intentions between the two people. 2. Setting and Atmosphere: The Desert's Dual Role 🏜️ The physical setting of the California desert is a crucial character in the story, serving as both a place of escape and a source of entrapment. * The Lure of the Desert: The speaker initially seeks to escape, running "from California born away from deserts." However, the "heat it beckoned me to sandstorms and sojourns through lonely canyon corridors." The desert represents a dangerous, isolating, yet magnetic destination, perhaps symbolizing a relationship that promised excitement but delivered hardship and solitude. * A Failed Escape: The desert becomes the place where the dream dies: "but then suddenly a spell came down. In the desert." This suggests the environment itself is hostile to their plans, or that the isolation of the desert revealed the fatal flaw in their relationship. * The Quick Sand: The final lines, "I'm going to escape it / Pack my suitcase and drive out of the quick sand," transform the desert from a dry landscape into a suffocating trap, symbolizing the relationship itself as something that is slowly consuming them. 3. The Unfulfilled Dream and Chemistry 💔 The second verse sets up a specific, contemporary, and rather poignant dream that fails to materialize. * The "Big Stars" Fantasy: "I came to you we were going to be big stars on the strip chat circuit." This detail grounds the ambition in a modern, digital context, linking their shared aspirations to online fame, intimacy, and performance. * Initial Success and Crash: The relationship began with intense energy—"chemistry was flowing," "followers were adoring," and "temperatures were soaring." The sudden collapse ("a spell came down") contrasts sharply with the initial heat, suggesting an intense, volatile, and ultimately unsustainable connection. 4. Emotional and Physical Entrapment 😵 The chorus and the emotional climax of the song detail the physical and mental anguish caused by the relationship. * Stifling and Mangling: The imagery here is violent and suffocating: * "my heart was mangled" * "my throat was tangled and i couldn't breath couldn't breathe" * "Squeeze the life away with your bare hands" This suggests that the partner's actions (or the stress of the situation) felt like a literal physical assault, choking the speaker's voice and will. * The Unattainable "Bigger Thing": The speaker desperately longs for a lasting, meaningful connection, repeated in the almost incantatory line: "Mondegreen I need something to last a gleam a stream a beam a bigger thing bigger thing." The current reality (the relationship/dream) is fleeting and small, and they are seeking something substantial. 5. Key Literary Devices | Device | Example/Line | Analysis | |---|---|---| | Mondegreen (Title/Theme) | "Like words misunderstood lines from my favorite band / I guess I missheard didn't understand" | The core metaphor for the entire failed relationship—a fundamental miscommunication of who the partners were or what they wanted. | | Metaphor/Symbolism | "sandstorms and sojourns through lonely canyon corridors" | The long, winding, and solitary journey is a metaphor for the difficult, isolating path of the relationship. | | Alliteration | "sandstorms and sojourns," "sing the strains of strange" | The repetition of 's' sounds creates a sibilant, almost whispering, uneasy tone, suggesting the secret, strange nature of the relationship. | | Repetition | "lonely canyon corridors lonely canyon corridors," "bigger things bigger things" | Used for emphasis, highlighting both the isolation and the speaker's desperate longing. | | Juxtaposition | "I came to you with my best intentions" vs. "Squeeze the life away with your bare hands" | The contrast between the speaker's pure start and the partner's destructive actions. | The song concludes with a decisive declaration of independence and escape ("I'm going to make it... I'm going to escape it"), suggesting a protagonist who has finally understood the "mondegreen" of the relationship and is choosing to drive away from the quicksand before it's too late. |
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| Juxxtaposed – When I Think Of You And Your Skin Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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It explores themes of escape, sanctuary, and the overwhelming power of love as a retreat from a bleak reality. Here is an analysis of the song's key themes and structure: Analysis of "when I think of you and your skin" 1. The Search for Knowledge and Reality vs. Idealism The first lines establish a quest for truth, but one that immediately leads the speaker away from reality and toward an idealized vision. * The Mythic Tree: > "He told me about the tree where all the knowledge was kept / So i crawled under it and i read the leaves" > This references the biblical Tree of Knowledge, but the act of reading the leaves suggests an attempt to find destiny or foresight outside of formal systems. The speaker finds not universal truth, but a specific, personal vision of love. > * Vision of the Beloved: The future the speaker sees is defined by the person they love: > "And i saw the future as it seems, as it reads, as she was by / fallen by the rain" > The vision is not political or global; it is intimate, centered on the "she," who is possibly vulnerable or purified ("fallen by the rain"). The realization is that the only knowledge worth having is the knowledge of this person. > * Abandoning the Quest: The immediate shift to the core desire is a dismissal of the outside world: > "I don't care where we go all i know is all I want is you all I want is you" > This repeated line is the song's thesis: Love is the ultimate destination and the only truth that matters. > 2. The Power of Shared Dreams and Connection The first stanza concludes with abstract imagery that blends the shared experience of the couple with the very structure of the universe. * Abstract Harmony: > "So we dream, so it seems, so we sing the tune, a gloom, a groom, a room," > The listing of words that rhyme and share a similar emotional space ("dream," "gloom," "room," "soul") creates a sense of intimate, inescapable fate. Their love is the tune they sing, regardless of the darkness ("gloom") outside. > * The Faint Beginning: > "The start of a fainted cylo of your heart" > A "cylo" likely refers to a silo (a structure for storage) or possibly a cycle. The "faintness" suggests the love is either a fragile beginning or a hidden truth yet to be fully realized—a faint memory or an echo of destiny stored in the heart. > 3. Escape into Intimacy and the Dream World The second stanza starkly contrasts the physical world with the emotional reality of the relationship. * The Inevitable Dance: > "And when the inevitable occurs / And we take off our shirts and our pants" > The removal of clothing is framed as an inescapable, destined act—a moment where they shed the uniforms of their "fake lives." The "mind dances" not just to the act itself, but to the potential and imagination of two souls meeting. > * The Fake Life: > "And then back to our dreary fake lives / Days are long, nights longer without you in my arms" > This is the core conflict: The outside world is "dreary" and "fake," a burden endured only to return to the moments of genuine connection. The love becomes a necessary suspension of reality. > * The Dream Sanctuary: The speaker is unable to fully sustain this connection in the waking world, so the relationship retreats to the subconscious: > "I'll meet you when we sleep and then I'll feel your skin" > The dream world becomes the designated, reliable sanctuary—the only place where the two can truly meet and feel safe. > * Transcendence: The final, beautiful line is the climax of the song: > "And then I'll be within your skin your beautiful skin" > This goes beyond simple physical union. It expresses a desire for complete emotional and spiritual absorption, an ultimate blurring of identity where the speaker is literally contained within the safety and beauty of the beloved. The relationship described in this song is the anti-rabbit hole: a space of certainty, intimacy, and ultimate truth that can only be fully accessed when the world is shut out, specifically in the darkness, and most reliably, in dreams. The song is a poignant, passionate ode to love as the ultimate form of escape and personal salvation. |
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| Juxxtaposed – Revelation of the Method Lyrics | 1 month ago |
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The song is a fiery critique of perceived elite manipulation, societal control, and a call to awaken to these hidden agendas, perfectly embodying the "rabbit hole" theme. Here is an analysis of the key themes, concepts, and literary devices in the lyrics: Analysis of "Revelation of the Method" by Juxxtaposed 1. The Core Theme: Revelation of the Method The central concept, repeated in the chorus, is the "Revelation of the Method." This term, popular in conspiracy culture, is the belief that a hidden elite (the "sick fucks") openly displays its sinister plans or "methods" to the public, often through media, symbols, or ritualistic events. * The Chorus as a Declaration: The repeated lines: > "We knew we knew / Do you think you tricked us / You sick fuck / We knew how you do / In the playbook there's always a revelation of the method" > ...serve as an aggressive declaration of defiance. The speaker claims to have broken free from the illusion and is now challenging the perceived manipulators, asserting that their tactics are predictable and now exposed. > * Contrast of Wretchedness: The line "An elevation of the wretched" suggests that the exposure of the method is not just about revelation, but about the subsequent moral decay or the ascent of those who practice the evil deeds. 2. Political and Societal Critique The first verse directly targets political control and media manipulation, emphasizing the concept of blind obedience. * Political Illusion: > "Elections are just a selection a ritual to show we asked for their subjection" > This reframes democracy as a mere ceremony ("ritual") designed to give the illusion of choice, when in reality, it's just a mechanism for the populace to consent to their own enslavement ("subjection"). > * Mind Control (The "Bread"): > "And so the bread has gone to your head / Feeding you yeast so you can feast on doors of perception" > "Bread" is a symbol of sustenance and, here, a metaphor for mainstream information or media. The manipulators are "feeding" the public a false narrative ("yeast") that inflates their ego or distorts their reality ("doors of perception"), preventing them from seeing the actual truth. > * Blind Obedience: > "Obey orders like your masters instruct / Blind obedience and now we re fuckt" > This critiques the uncritical following of authority, arguing that this unquestioning faith is what has led society to a disastrous state. > 3. Hollywood, Occultism, and Moral Decay The second verse introduces themes of moral corruption, particularly in the entertainment industry, using cryptic and dark imagery. * Decadence and Ritual: > "Climbing the vine to the giants sky tower / Losing your virginity upon every hour" > This section uses surreal, almost occult imagery—like a dark fairy tale or a symbolic descent into depravity—to suggest a price paid for fame or power. The mention of "number 9" and the climbing of a "sky tower" may be references to specific esoteric or conspiratorial symbols. > * The "Baby Mill" Diva: > "They pay you, make you procreate / Baby mill divas your daughter maybe she ll be ya" > This is a particularly scathing and dark accusation, implying that fame and success are tied to forced procreation or a cyclical exploitation of families, turning celebrity into a machine for continuous output ("baby mill"). > * The Trap of "Woke Shit": > "Think you'll get by on all the woke shit / Then you spoke shit into existence" > The speaker dismisses modern social movements as another distraction or a new form of falsehood, suggesting that focusing on these issues is another way to avoid the "prison of your mind" and the deeper truths. > 4. Predictive Programming and False Flags The final stanza shifts focus to specific, major world events, employing the idea of "Predictive Programming"—a core element of the "Revelation of the Method" theory. * The "Run Drills": > "Riddle Me this prey tell how they / run drills magic spells the same day" > This refers to the common conspiracy claim that major terrorist or disaster events were preceded by, or even occurred simultaneously with, government or military "drills" simulating the exact same scenarios. > * Referencing Major Events: The lyrics explicitly link several significant events as examples of this "method": * The 9/11 attacks ("The radar confusion on the 911 screen"). * The COVID-19 pandemic ("The simulation days before COVID 19"). * A coming national disaster ("the black start military exercise when the grid goes down"). * The Simpsons Prophecy: > "just watch the Simpsons for prophecy / Revelation of the method with baby maggie" > This is a direct and famous example of the "Revelation of the Method" belief. The animated show The Simpsons is often cited by conspiracy theorists for having seemingly predicted real-world events years in advance. The song posits this as proof that the elite is using the show ("baby maggie" being a symbolic figure) to reveal their plans through entertainment media. > Summary "Revelation of the Method" is a powerful, aggressive anthem for the disillusioned, railing against a perceived pervasive, dark conspiracy. It mixes political and social commentary with occult and surreal imagery to convey the anger and frustration of an individual who believes they have finally seen the hidden levers of global control. The overall message is a defiant "We know your game." |
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| Crystal Castles – Year of Silence Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I love this song - its so primal. Thanks for the translation - cool lyrics too!! | |
| The Chameleons – Intrigue In Tangiers Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This song is so amazing. I feel like it describes my life to a T | |
| Tori Amos – Professional Widow Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I find the Courtney Love interpretation fascinating. Further evidence supporting this include the "Mother Mary, china white... Brown may be sweeter, may be sweeter..." section, she's obviously referring to the Heroin that Courtney and Kurt did together - just as Yoko was responsible for dosing John's heroin so to was Courtney - basically they handled the supply of drugs fed to the men (partly as a means of control I imagine) She will supply, she will supply, she will supply, she will supply, supply, supply." section |
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| Tori Amos – Toodles Mr. Jim Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Illinois Joe, I completely agree with your analysis and to add that the girl character Tori is singing despite mostly sarcastic, there is an element of a certain love/lust she has for Mr. Jim, a feeling that he has made her a woman. | |
| Blonde Redhead – Silently Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I love this beautiful song! On an analytical note I think there is a certain homoerotic tone to this song - specifically how she takes the more masculine role in the beginning ('I wish to sail into your port, I am your sailor Quietly, I drop my weight into your sea, I drop my anchor') and the refrain 'I realize now you're not to be blamed my love You didn't choose your name my love You never crossed the seven seas' has an almost Smithian quality - us against the world, the love that dare not speak it's name |
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| Blonde Redhead – Spring And By Summer Fall Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I think he is signing to his alter-ego in this song ('I look in your eyes and can only see my own complexion'), the voice in his head that comes and goes - perhaps self-doubt or his self-destructive side. On a musical side - this song is amazing! For sure the most catchy-pop moment of my favorite 2007 album 23 (23 is even moreso my favorite then Neon Bible or In Rainbows which is saying ALOT) | |
| Blonde Redhead – Spring And By Summer Fall Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I think he is signing to his alter-ego in this song ('I look in your eyes and can only see my own complexion'), the voice in his head that comes and goes - perhaps self-doubt or his self-destructive side. On a musical side - this song is amazing! For sure the most catchy-pop moment of my favorite 2007 album 23 (23 is even moreso my favorite then Neon Bible or In Rainbows which is saying ALOT) | |
| Blonde Redhead – The Dress Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think he's in love with drugs more then her - hence the reference to Horse, slang for heroin | |
| Morrissey – Hairdresser On Fire Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is about a psychic and how he, as a Rock Star, can relate to to the profession - in terms of performing a task that potentially saves people and thus leaves you in high demand but can also lead you open to criticism of your other worldy ways | |
| Morrissey – Late Night, Maudlin Street Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think this song perfectly sums up the era of adolescence. Also worth noting, as many biographers point out "Viva Hate" as an entity largely takes place in the 70's - Morrissey's adolescent era - so much of the lyrics are colored by the British Northern 70's vibe. The album was orginally to be titled Education In Reverse which I find interesting - upon The Smiths break-up, Moz could have changed direction and went more mature with his lyrical content but instead he smartly harkens back to the meat and potatoes of The Smiths which is the Essence of being a Teenager. "Late Night, Maudlin Street" is the chrystalization of this. | |
| Morrissey – Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Dear Nightandday, I actually think I provided a very text book analysis of the song - not going out on a limb whatsoever in terms of interpretting Morrissey's character in the song - he does not identify with the girl whatsoever - wants to see her death through to get closer to the guy and that's clear not only in his vocal stylings which make illustrate his disdain for this "nobody's nothing" but throughout the lyrics, which include the rather straightforward bitchiness of "She deserves all she gets." Not to come across as conceited but I would put my interpretion to the test with any English professor, who would most likely agree with my literary thoughts which simply recognize the voice/character/perspective of Morrissey's character in the song (which certainly harkens back to Sal Mineo in Rebel Without A Cause) as well as the very obvious plot - an almost Shakespearean manipulation leading to death for the sake of one's love/obsession. SO there! |
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| Morrissey – Born To Hang Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Yes, I adore this song as well! I lump it with "Oh Phoney" in terms of being rare and not having been produced/mixed "properly" but still being a joy to hear in it's joviality and cheerful resignation to accepting oneself as an outsider. This song is specifically referencing the fact that in centuries past, Morrissey would be grouped with the Witches, the Seers, and the "Other Sex's" that most often succumbed to the hangings provided by villages intolerant of unique individuals who just so happened to transcend the trappings of everyday existence. | |
| Morrissey – Friday Mourning Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I've always adored this song. It's bleak funereal lyrics - one's letting go of all they know in this life and preparing for the unknown - though set to the most glorious hymn-like chord progression which allows the words to transcend their typical Morrissey self-loathing and refusal to succumbness to approach a resigned but reverant acceptance of an end to something and the beginning of something else. On a musical note, "Friday Mourning" features some of Moz's most gorgeous vocal improvs/yodels towards the end of the song -- approaching "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" in their floating loveliness that just completes this song with a caress. | |
| Morrissey – I Am Two People Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| As Morrissey is a total Gemini this song makes alot of sense - the duality of his nature (which we can all relate to I'm sure) is addressed - his public persona that he has crafted and then the secret soul that probably few people have ever met. He is also alluding to The Jekyl and Hyde in all of us - the end-all excuse for one's bad behavior -- an inexplicable part of our soul that enables us to do things that sabotage our loves, friendships and lives - probably rooted in a certain nihilistic inevitably that nothing really matters in this small moment in the grand scheme of eternity. | |
| Morrissey – The Slum Mums Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is a polar opposite to many of Morrissey's earlier musings that hint at racism (which he did, not as one himself but rather illustrating the fullfillment of the need in most people to seek refuge from alienation by singling out other "wierdos" - an us vs. them mentality). In direct oppostion to his earlier flirtations with a nihilistic regard for minorities and such - a la Bengali in Platforms -- he now pens a song that mourns the young colored single mother's lot in life - written from the poisonous perspective of a conservative bigot lamenting the audacity this young mother has to recieve any help at all from the state, Morrissey illuminates the very inhumanity of such words and in true Moz fashion culminates the tale with the inevitable Manchausen syndrome by proxy-esque infanticide committed by the despairing mother who thinks her children will be better off - with her - in a place far removed from their glum life. | |
| Morrissey – Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I've always adored this song. When Morrissey floats the "I Am So Young" section he sounds so melancholy and sexy and self-conscious and glam, all at the same. Very fascinating. A possible interpretation of the lyrics is he's a shy, reclusive young man writing a telegram to a call boy requesting his sexual experience to escort him out of his loneliness. | |
| Morrissey – Teenage Dad On His Estate Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Another of the lovely B-Sides from You ArE The Quarry, "Teenage Dad On His Estater" is a simple song, defending a young penurious guy's lifestyle from the jealous didain of an unfullfilled yuppie. The song may perhaps actually be sung from the perspective of the Teenage Dad (albeit singing in third person) himself, since the title is "Teenage Dad on His Estate." He is intoning his defense of his happy poverty, his methadone-induced high, and his young fathering in response to the scorning envy of society. | |
| The Stranglers – Dagenham Dave Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I thought this was a song by Morrissey! :) | |
| The Stranglers – Don't Bring Harry Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| The music for the song is lovely and strangely intoxicating, "Don't Bring Harry" is one of The Stranglers' most psychedelic moments. Harry, I'm assuming, is a personification of Heroin and the singer is singing from the perspective of a recovering junkie. | |
| David Bowie – The Width of a Circle Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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What an epic way to open "The Man Who Sold The World." Partially a faustian tale -- the singer appears to have sold his soul to the devil for rock and roll stardom, partially a metaphysical cautionary -- he hints at the retribution that takes place when one sides with the dark side ("And the moral of this magic spell Negotiates my hide When God did take my logic for a ride.") In regards to the above comment, I agree with everything except "Shame about the second half of the song." What? The guitar work is at it's psychedelic best then and the psuedo-folk outro is lovely in it's near religiousness. I think all of the elements lend themself to creating what is one of Bowie's greatest opening numbers. Also worth noting is the similarity in the opening riff to the patriotic song "This Land Is Your Land" as well as the subtle homoeroticism in his description of his "dance with the devil" -- as well as his general disinterest in the "young bordello." |
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| David Bowie – Win Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| This is Bowie at his sultirest. I adore his Plastic Soul phase. I'm so bummed they didn't release a 30th Anniversary Edition of Young Americans as they did Ziggy, Alladin, and Diamond Dogs. | |
| David Bowie – Suffragette City Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I agree JShatterskull -- that makes alot more sense! | |
| Morrissey – Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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This song is Morrissey at his deliriously campy best. The character singing is an almost Sal Mineo-esque lad jealous of the relationship between a Lifeguard and some girl. He is jealous to the point of highly-manipulative homicide as he dares the girl to swim in the treacherous ocean (or perhaps he suggests to her privately that the best way to impress him is to swim as far out as possible). As the girl swims further out, the singer sings the lifeguard to sleep -- siren-like and oh-so restrained with the joy his nefarious plan is giving him. Then comes my favorite line, one which is so vivid you can almost see an animated dream sequence unfolding -- "The sky became marked with stars As an out-stretched arm slowly Disappears" The refrain of "What's your name" adds a certain intrigue to the story -- is the Sal Mineo-type, such an obsessive stalker that he doesn't he even know the name of the man he has just killed for, or is the object of his affection asking what his name is -- almost as if after all that had just happened, the guy doesn't even know who he is. |
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| Morrissey – Oh Phoney Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| This is one of my favorite rare Morrissey songs. I might be reaching a little bit on this interpretation but I wonder if some of the song is directed towards David Bowie. Obviously, Moz has been greatly influenced and is acquaintences with David Bowie. There seems to be a certain unease in their relationship, however, perhaps jealousy of each other. The tone of the song I think befits their relationship and the Hitler reference could perhaps be a nod to Bowie's infamous "Heil Hitler" moment during his Thin White Duke phase. A subtle kick under the table to Bowie, mentioning a low point of his career. And then "You Sing a lovely song to a scale and the words spell out my name" could be a reference to the joy Moz felt when Bowie covered "It's Gonna Happen Someday" -- quickly followed by the "kick me down below," Morrissey's inevitiable feeling of ineptitude towards his Idol. The two men are my favorite Pop icons so I'm probabely living in a fantasy world with this analysis...what do you think? | |
| Morrissey – The Slum Mums Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| "Slum Mums" is a brilliant piece of writing. I love how Morrissey writes in a condescending fashion, attempting to show the inhumanity that many people possess towards those less fortunate. His hopeless words are like a dagger -- no understanding, no love for this Slum Mum. And the effect on the listener is perhaps sorrow for the Slum Mums of the world. Morrissey, of course, isn't that simple though. The near-delight he has while intoning this damnation is so vivid it almost makes one question whether this is a "let's play the bad guy to show the pure-heartedness of the good guy, all the while, subliminally degrading the good guy to truly convey my real feelings" -- a la Bengali in Platforms. While you may not agree with this interpretation, you still must aknowledge Morrissey's brilliance, in painting all these subtle colors and suggestions. The final verse of the song is the most deceptivally impressive part of all. The narrator's encouragement and or/ description of the Slum Mum's infanticide leaves more questions than answers -- is this a case of manchausen syndrome by proxy (i.e. is she crazy?) or is she saving her brood from the indignities of a life in the slums? "Which may render you elsewhere..." | |
| Joy Division – A Means To An End Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| This is in my Top-5 of Joy Division songs. The beat is so amazing I even mashed it with a Dr. Dre song -- check it out at my website: http://www.ourmedia.org/user/63851 -- It's called "Let's Get High Joy Division Style" | |
| David Bowie – Suffragette City Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I'm surprised that none of the previous posts address what is the most likely more specific meaning behind the song. Henry is used as a slang word for Heroin. He's basically having a conversation with his dealer -- trying to explain that he's happy pursuing this girl, his "Suffraggette City" and does not want to give into temptation. He's taking sexual refuge with this woman to avoid the Heroin pratfall . It seems like he slips up briefly upon th eline "Hit Me" buut then he counmters that , while Henry is shootinh him up, I'm sure with the remindeer trhat this a one-last-time -- he's leaving with Suffraggette Cify | |
| David Bowie – Station to Station Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| While I know the Thin White Duke is Bowie's Station to Station Era persona -- I think in this song itself the "Thin White Duke" is partially a symbol of the cocaine itself, or religion, or witchcraft itself -- whatever people use to get by and that subsequently may bloack the possibility of love and or happiness (Hence "Throwing Darts In lover's eyes." The sure white stains can be the trail of a coke line or semen stains on a sheet in other words, the remnants of whatever device was used to get the individual from station to station. Of course with the religious implications of the stations of the cross, Bowie is essentially connecting the acceptance of spirituality and the journey one may go through in pursuing that as a means by which to escape from his troubles. Station to Station, my favorite Bowie album -- despite it's mere 6 songs -- is a bittersweet triumph in that it essentially addresses How Humans Deal With Pain. Golden Years is an olive branch offered from jilted lover to lover -- Word On A Wing is an aknowledgement of guilt and a prayer to seek refuge from one's own devices, TVC15 is a parable on the escape that TV and the media provides and how TVs can nearly be compared to humans in terms of the supposed solace that they offer. The final song "Wild is the Wind" reaches the conclusion that life is like the wind -- meant to be wild and unpredictable and instead of seeking tangibles to cure one's pain, one should look within. It's remarkable that Bowie waxs so forgone when he recorded this album that doesn't remember it and yet it is imbued with a message that he was obviously trying to send himself. Station to Station the song is one of the pinnacles of Bowie. The music is exhilerating, and excuse the cliche but epic. It is a song about the quest -- living in the moment, shunning self doubt and relying on oneself. But at the same time seeking yet another external out -- the European Cannon -- which I presume is either a reference to the Christian faith of which their is a large European cannon or perhaps it is a preclude to his sobering up in Europe, obviously only achievable by the firing of him out a cannon. In the end, the singer is able to reach a peace with himself and learn not to have guilt but to move on to the future. Also a note about the "sideeffects of the cocaine" line -- he is in a way aknowleging that cocaine IS actually a factor in his newfound outlook -- why else would he say that line which in the present tense implies that he is on it right now. The unravelling obfuscation that drugs supplied Mr. Bowie could potetnially have been the neccessary trigger for him to confront his greater issues of control and/or letting go of oneself. | |
| David Bowie – Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| Scary Monsters is a warning, if you will, advising against falling in love with mentally ill people. He sings of the slippery situation whereby he realizes the neccessity of escaping her potentially dangerous life all the while aknowledging that it was he that falled in love with her to begin with . Of course the girl could be drugs or it could be his ex-manager but I personally think it's another Angela song. | |
| David Bowie – Sweet Thing Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I very much agree with your posts. Mr. bOWIE was simply in a genius moment when he created the Diamond Dogs album. It's almost as if, in response to the disallowing of his Orwellian adaptation, he took it upon himself, in the paranoid and barren state that he was in, to compose an epic work that makes it's own mark in the expression of our most dark and apocolyptic thoughts. Bowie is again singing from the perspective of a young male hustler being preyed upon by the seedy city and at the same time using his sexual prowess (and in the process selling his soul) to help himself feel better about his lot in life. The overall suite of Sweet Thing and Candidate seems to be about how far people will go when they are at their darkest hour, approaching animalism in a tortured city landscape. | |
| David Bowie – Red Sails Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I never thought of it that way but that is certainly supported by "Boy, I really get around" "And a mast so tall" "Red sail action" and "Action Boy...struggle with a neon tounge." Just as Lodger is most obviously an album about travel and transcendance it is certainly one that hints at homoeroticism moreso than his previous 4 or 5 albums. But I guess in a way that could be seen as a motif within the greater theme of travel/escape and seeking refuge/transcendance. I always loved the music to this song and the Far part is fun to sing along to. | |
| David Bowie – Quicksand Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| This song is definately a reenactment of the basic tenets of existentensialism - - denial of God, the reliance of Choice by the individual, that isolation will be felt by those who choose to pursue independance fom society and that are basic quest as humans is to give life meaning so as to greater understand the bigger picture. Essentially, Bowie is singing with quiet resignation to the fact that life is a downward spiral (or a vat of quicksand) culminating in the ultimate realization upon one's death that it was all pointless. Probabley one of his bleakest works, I still do adore it because he is asking profound questions and setting it to such a cascading melody. When he signs "Don't believe in yourself" he almost makes doomful resignation sound gentle and lovely. Obviously Bowie was reading lots of Nietsche at the time. | |
| David Bowie – Queen Bitch Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I've heard that this song is Bowie's ode to Lou Reed -- I see him standing up in his metaphorical apartment looking down at the seedy going-ons that his vision of Lou is engraining himself in and looking at him with a certain bitchy longingness -- envious of Lou and his willingness to particiapte in the streets all the while covering up his admiration with a seering haughtiness often found in presumptious queen who await eagerly for the dirty wotk to be done and their drugs delivered to them fresh and ready to be consumed. | |
| David Bowie – Joe the Lion Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| "You get up and sleep" sums up this song -- sleeping though life wityhout truly living -- only in his death will he know all. A nice compliment to the previous track, the drug debate "Beauty and The Beast" -- HEROES is definaetly an album about conflict between two ideas that one is dealing with on an epic level. That and disillusionment coupled with seperation brought on my artificial means, like governments (As in Heroes or Secret Life Of ArABIA) | |
| David Bowie – Hang On to Yourself Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think this song is a simile for masturbation and the self-gratifying experience of being a Star. He's like saying that the Glamourous life is so fab that he might as well "Hang on to himself" because nobody else is worthy in a way. Very cocaine trendy! | |
| David Bowie – Fascination Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| Yeah this is one of Bowie's sexiest moments -- that Bass note he hits isquiverable though. I think the deeper meaning is an analysis of his relationship with on-again off-again wife Angela -- he is considering what kept him with her -- fascination | |
| David Bowie – Cracked Actor Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I adore this song because it reminds me when I first moved to SoCal for college -- picking up my buddy who lived a block from "Sunset and Vine" -- out for a night of vice. I felt like this was one of our theme songs. Despite the trashy glamour of the song, the lyrics seem to actually be from the perspective of an old, sleazy Hollywood talent agent or former Star. An interesting juxtaposition though and the tune just fucking rocks. Bless Bowie!! | |
| David Bowie – Candidate Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think DIAMOND DOGS is one of the most underrated albums of all time. Because it was surrounded by such brilliance in Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory and Station to Station it seems like critics have disregarded this album. I think that is unfairly dismissive because not only are the songs amazingly creative (plus he played all the guitar parts and produced it himself) but the overall album evokes a conceptual unity that would have been considered genius by any other 70's artist. CANDIDATE perfectly encapsules the album's motif with it's decadant words that just drip with the sense of chaotic hedonism. The song seems to be an almost Day-in-the-Life of a street hustler. There's an air of political corruption laced with sexual depraviation. It's all very apocolyptic (going with the proposed 1984 adaptation) and rem,inds me alot of the work of William S. Burroughs. I think it's also worth noting his without shame mention of the word "Drugs" -- it's almost as if the ineveitability of the situation that he is in has led him to abandon all codewords and metaphors. And the line is utterly suicidal-glam "We'll buy some drugs and watch a band. We'll jump in a river holding hands" | |
| David Bowie – Breaking Glass Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I don't know if they called Speed glass back then but if they did the lyrics seem to astutely albeit vaguely characterize a night among friends locked in a bedroom, tweaking away. Of course on the level that LOW was an extremely experimental album I suppose Bowie could be references the destructionist composer Phillip Glass -- as in the activities being described are the wacky things Bowie and Eno did in the studio at the time with atonality and randomness. The drug theme goes with his overall canon better though. | |
| David Bowie – Beauty and the Beast Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think this song is definately an ode to the love/hate relationship many people have with drugs. I guess that's kind of obvious but I love the way that Bowie is seemingly ambivalent in his approach. It's more realistic than his "Ashes to Ashes" theme -- I guess at that time of his life, while he was supposedly mainly drug free and in an alcoholic daze in Germany. Allegedly he was still dabbeling in Coke so I guess that would explain the inevitability tone that he enforces in this tune. I think "B & T B " is a great album opener and I love how it's manic spirit befits the album. I lvoe driving with the top down blasting this song -- no one knows who or what it is -- except the cool people. | |
| The Smiths – That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think that this song is actually a preview of THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT -- he and his lover -- whom he is singing to (and seems to be quite impressionable) are planning a double suicide where they are to murder each other. They are strangely united by their individual lives of rejection and loneliness and after a final straw ("That Joke") they decide to really show their protagonists by allowing "time's tide to smother (them). The reason I think that Morrissey is actually singing to his lover, not a the actual enemy (the jokesters) as most assume, is the tone in which he is singing in the first verse. It is an almost suggestive tone, a speech someone would give to another who they are attempting to manipulate into agreeance (and susequently suicide). After all, for this weak and sad individual (the voice of the song) killing oneself with another person isn't quite as scary and alone. "Driving the point home" and "It suddenly struck me" are the acts of murder and suicide, commitetd by the lovers to each other in his car. The two parting images are totally opposite and suggestive of the chemical effect one might experience when dying of a complete and sudden dichotomy painlessness ecstacy crossed with fear amid fatl acceptance: "I just might die with a smile on my face...I've seen this happen in other people's life and now it's happening in mine." Morrissey is so brilliant. | |
| The Smiths – Shakespeare's Sister Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| In The Glass Menagerie, Shakespeare's sister is Laura, an invalid girl removed from any possibility of attempting a normal life, as her Mother (Amanda) has trapped her into an artificial world. One of the climaxes of the play is when Laura finally tries to go out on a date with a "Gentleman Caller" and she is faced with the reality that she can't function in the real world (partially because of her mother's psychological grip). In this song, the singer (and metaphorically Laura from Glass Menagerie) is dancing a delicate balance act of the contemplation of suicide (and/or the possibility of to live in a fake GLASS world, which is basically suicide or he could simply be referencing loneliness) with a giddy mantra that "I'm going to meet the one I love." The song can be seen as a comment on the extreme manic-depressive way in which we toggle between hope and despair. The "acoustic guitar meant that you were a protest singer" line is like saying "just because you have a lover that means you are normal" -- he saying to himself (or Laura) -- go ahead you can try all you want, you will still be a loner teetering on the edge of sanity and desolation. | |
| The Smiths – Never Had No One Ever Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| In reference to the above comment, Morrissey uses the stalker reference to illustrate how someone drowning in the depths of loneliness might feel -- always peering in longingly, but keeping one's shadowy distance. I love how Morrissey puts a deranged yet sadly truthful spin on a song that could essentially be "poor me." It is in Morrissey's solemn insightfulness and honesty that make it impossible to characterize The SMiths work as being simply depressing, maudlin, or doomful. Although these feelings are addressed, Morrissey always says something deeper about the human experience that goes beyond happy, sad. I love how this most inaccessible song (compared to the rest of THE QUEEN IS DEAD which is obviously extremely catchy) was plunged in the middle THE QUEEN IS DEAD, almost as if to say " we are the smiths and we do as we may." True artists. It is a song that grows on you so that after you've listened to THE QUEEN IS DEAD 200 times you can have a moment of deep reverence for this forgotten gem among alternative rock Diamonds. | |
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