Belle & Sebastian – I Don't Love Anyone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
its obviously a very proud song. This makes a good mantra. |
Bright Eyes – Four Winds Lyrics | 16 years ago |
I don't understand how the fucking guy can compare himself to "a newly orphaned refugee" and say that he's abusing a company jet and a rented cadillac in the same breath. He could use that money to HELP people instead of just bitching about how bad it must be to feel like them. Conor Oberst is pathetically selfish. |
Nine Inch Nails – Capital G Lyrics | 16 years ago |
I thinks its pretty clear that its a political criticism, but he's also warning everyone... on a certain level (by no means just red neck republicans) that we are totally buying into everything that the government does. The government is the will of hte people, and unless we change, we can't change the government. Be the Change you want to see in the world. Lines like Have some personal accountability The biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is The more we let you have the less that I'll be keeping for me Most people aren't even aware of how selfish they are. Every dollar you spend on yourself is one less that you can use to help someone who is dying in a poor country. If you're spending your money on luxury goods, then stop spending and give it away. You are causing the deaths of 10 million people every day. This is about you, not the "government." Don't you understand? we live in a democracy. You ARE the government. |
Eels – Efils' God Lyrics | 16 years ago |
Um, I meant to say Lott's wife. My bad. |
Eels – Efils' God Lyrics | 16 years ago |
this song is really amazing because the key line has more double meanings that you can shake a stick at. Before I get into all of them though, lets talk about what the song means a little bit. We know that this album was made after E's mom died of cancer, and his sister committed suicide, so the meaning gets a lot more clear when you look at it in that light. This song is pretty clearly E putting himself in his mother's shoes when she is dying, and thinking about what it must have been like for her. Now, E being his own mom, he sees how stupid all of his concerns must have been to him. She clearly doesn't care about the money, and she's not going to listen to him when he tells her that she can't die. Don't close your eyes as they turn into dust is in reference to the story of when sodom and gomorrah are being destroyed. Saul's wife is allowed to leave the city, but is told that she can't look back or she'll be turned into dust. She'll be turned into dust because she has sinned as much as the people in the city, and it would be hypocritical for her to look back. I"m going to go out on a limb here and say that his mother was religious (in fact I'm fairly certain he was raised catholic, as evidenced by other songs)... so it would be apt for him to make a religious comment about hypocrisy if he has placed himself directly into his mother's mindset. So essentially that comment is saying "If you really want all this money, you're a greedy sinful hypocrite and you'll turn to dust for it." Now lets get to the fun part of the song, the double meanings. First, lets lay them all out. In the song E sings "E feels good" The song is called "efil's God" or "Evil's God." this gives us a lot of little derivations. when we mix the two. "E feels good." "Evil's good." "E feels God" and "evil's God" The first is saying "I feel good to be in this place and all of these drugs. On a deeper level it is saying "I feel good about dying right now. I think this is the right thing for me to do. Stop telling me that I can't die because I feel good." Then next meaning is saying "All of the evil of my cancer not going into remission is really a good thing because at least now I can finally die and not be involved in all of this suffering anymore." The next meaning is saying "I feel God. I am nearly dead. Why would I want to stay on your earth and worry about your material worries when I am so close to God that I can nearly feel him?" and the final meaning, the title meaning, is E's take on things when he is no longer able to roleplay as his mother anymore and it is him saying "I can't believe this is happening to you. None of this makes sense at all, clearly the only God of this world is evil because only a terrible evil could take you away from me." This meaning gets the title because it is from E's POV and not from his roleplay POV, and therefore it is the one that is on the outside looking in. Then finally, there is "Dog's life" which is "Efil's God" backwards. It is true that samples from "A Dog's life" are played backward through this song, but really what this is saying is that his mother has been forced to live a Dog's life and it isn't fair what is happening to her. Unlike the happy "A Dog's Life" where E imagines how nice it would be to be a dog, this has an antithetical meaning. Thats why it is backwards. Its really the antithesis of that song. |
The Unicorns – Ready to Die Lyrics | 16 years ago |
Not to disagree with everyone, but I"m almost positive this song is about war. Its filled with subtle war references. Lets break it down: First of all, the speaker of the song is on a desert island in the dead sea. Where is the dead sea? the middle east. Its a desert, kind of like the one we are fighting a war in. Oh maker has a beautiful little double meaning. Obviously its sounds like its to God, but who is it really to? Its to the maker, the person who convinced this guy to join the army. Thats why he says "Don't pardon me" instead of "pardon me, but." because he's saying "don't pardon me from the army because I want to die out here I am ready to die." The death threat provides a thrill fits perfect in an army setting. Thats how a lot of people view the concept of joining the armed forced. Ever read an old navy advertisement? Seen the slogan "Join the army and see the world" ever before. Thats what the second to last line is in reference to. I've kissed all the pretty girls is an illustration of the romanticized concept of leaving your lover, the one pretty girl in the world, behind to wait for you to return so you can marry her. ----- This has nothing to do with the army, but there is a great little double meaning in the song the alludes to biggie smalls The first meaning is what is printed. As the character is dying, the ghosts get big all around them and he hears weird little sounds like a drill. The other one is in reference to a rapper whose only non-posthumous release was called "ready to die", biggie smalls, and its a comment that "biggie smalls sounds like a drill." This is interesting when you look at the first song the Island's album "return to the sea", which is in many ways a sequel to this album, is called Swans (Life After Death) Life After Death is of course the posthumous release of rapper Biggie Smalls. I hope that brings some light to this song. |
The Unicorns – Tuff Ghost Lyrics | 16 years ago |
First, a note to those who seem to think that there is no deeper meaning to this song. Not every Unicorns song has a deep meaning invoked into it, in fact some are just plain silly (take the knife fight b-side). But this one certainly does. It’s not really a "deep" or "hidden" meaning, it’s actually quite simple once you understand the key concept. The key line that gives away the meaning of the rest of the song is "Tuff Ghost disappears for three days." Jesus, who died, and three days later rose from the dead, is clearly the tough ghost in this song. Now here is the meaning of the song. It is essentially an argument between those who have been disillusioned from the church (played by Nick) and Jesus Christ, representing Christianity, (played by Alden) Now lets look at it line by line: tuff ghost, tuff crowd, tuff love sit down, sit down, sit down tuff ghost, tuff crowd, tuff love sit down, sit down, sit down say something now say something now This part is the people who have been jaded to Christianity, the renegades and hippies and counter-culture kids that make up the general fan-base for the unicorns (from now on known as Nick’s faction) taunting Jesus into biting back and essentially arguing with them. They do this by mocking Christianity. The first lines in the song are intentionally chant-like, and are meant to resemble the liturgy of a church session. The repeated line "sit down" is referencing a church session where you are told to stand up or sit down throughout the service, for no real reason. The tuff ghost tuff luff tuff crowd has two meanings: One is simply mocking the repetitive nature of church sermons that talk constantly about the "ghost", Jesus, who represents modern Christianity, and his "love." (now on referred to as Jesus’ faction) The next part is essentially saying that these people view Christianity as a tough crowd that they don't feel welcome in it Next, Nick’s faction says "say something now" to taunt Jesus’ faction to argue back and respond to his taunting. When the tough ghost just stands there, ignoring Nick’s faction and their complaints, Nick’ faction continues his taunting to try to get a response from Jesus’ faction. He says the tuff ghost disappears for 3 days the tuff ghost is set in his ways i don't want to hurt you This is pretty straight-forward. The first line is put there to help the listener ascertain what is going on. From that line, they can tell that this is an argument with Jesus, a complaint against God. After the setting is established, Nick’s faction begins their formal complaint. They say that Christianity is set in its ways, and not accepting of other people’s views, and then complain that this isn't really fair because they are not really trying to hurt the church, they are simply trying to live their life their own way. Jesus’ faction, who have been stoically standing by thus far, finally get angry enough to childishly retort: well you can't, 'cuz i'm already dead Glad to get a response from the Ghost, Nick’s faction goes on to jeer "the tuff ghost is invincible no guts came out when he bled" which is really an interesting little statement. What I think they are saying is a critique on the fact that Jesus supposedly "died for our sins," and how that doesn't really make sense because Jesus was supposed to be God and therefore he knew he was going to be just fine in heaven after he died anyway, and if Jesus was really God then how do we even know that he even felt pain on the cross? (a little note here: I'm not pushing these views, just explaining what I read out of the song.) To this, Jesus replies: well i lift weights, but i don't sweat. i go for a swim, but i don't get wet i don't care about anyone else i'm a strong dead man, looking out for himself At this point, it’s important to understand that although it is Jesus speaking, he is really speaking as a representative for the modern institution of Christianity rather than as Jesus the man (or God or whatever you would like to call him.) What he is saying here is that Christianity is billions strong, and it doesn't really matter what a small group of little rebels think because they are never going to be as strong as the institution of Christianity, which controls many of their friends, parents and people around them. In this respect, he doesn't care what other people are saying about his religion being outmoded because there are plenty of people who still believe. Christianity is looking out for number one, and it is more concerned with making sure these vagrants don't screw with Christianity than thinking about changing their approach to a way that Nick's faction might be more accepting of. It’s also important to know that when he says "I go for a swim but I don't get wet" it’s another clear reference to Christ, who had faith so strong that he could walk over water, and effectively swim without getting wet. When Nick's faction hears this haughty retort, they soften a bit and begin to feel pity for the ghost of Christ because he has so clearly deviated from the views that once defined him (loving others, being accepting and ect) and so they say this: i think you're suffering, that's why you're so mean you're already dead i can't see right through you The obvious irony here is supposed to point to the true meaning of the song. He is a tough ghost, so he should be transparent, yet Nick "can't see through you" ... and by this he is saying that he really just doesn't understand Christianity, and he never will. To this the Tough Ghost chimes in the same thing saying I can't see through you Meaning that he can't see how anyone would live a life without faith like the one that Nick's faction has decided to live. They end up shouting that they don't understand each other, making absolutely no headway in either direction in their argument. At the end of the song, they are exactly where they started, jaded to each other and misunderstanding each other. Now here are some interesting little themes, just for kicks (because I haven’t written enough already.) Jesus is portrayed as a Ghost, partially because he was portrayed as a ghost in the bible (in acts), but also because of what Christianity has done to him. The Unicorns are implying that Christianity today is only a ghost of what Jesus wanted it to be, and it is tough when it should love. Words are spelled wrong in the lyric booklet, not just because the person who printed this couldn’t spell. This is intentional. The words tuff luff are misspelled to imply that the concept of tough love that Christianity is trying to push on Nick’s faction doesn’t work, and that there is something wrong with it. Although the song is obviously biased towards Nick’s faction, it does not give them complete credo. It portrays Nick’s faction as being just as childish as Jesus’ faction. This theme of childish arguing is actually present throughout the album, most obvious in Child Star. It seems to be a part of the Unicorn’s view that we live in a world where the big players are acting more like kids than reasoning adults. If you like my wordy reviews, then I give you this bit of advice. Go to college, and you’ll be able to think and write like this someday too. If you’ve already gone to college, but still you can’t write like this, then go to college again and major in English the second time around. It’s fun, I swear! |
Weezer – Beverly Hills Lyrics | 16 years ago |
Well, I sent the personal version of this comment that I emailed to my friend, but the concept is the same. Feel free to disagree to your heart's content. |
Weezer – Beverly Hills Lyrics | 16 years ago |
Hey Taylor, I originally sent this message to Justinhafner Nickwood, but I decided afterward that you'd be pretty interested in it too. Its written to Justin, but there isn't anything terribly personal that you wouldn't be able to understand. So please do read, its not as long as facebook makes it look I promise ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- College has taught me a lot of things (about worshipping Jesus) so far, but I had no idea it would give me this crazy theory about the Weezer Make Believe album. Recently in my intro to philosophy class, we read an article by Peter Singer that uses these two principles: 1) that suffering by lack of food shelter or medical care is bad 2) That if you can offer any form of help to people suffering from lack of food shelter or medical care, you are morally obligated to do so. The argument then progresses to raise these two somewhat more controversial implications: 1) it does not matter how far away the person is because of global trade organizations that can wire your money to the poor easier than you can bike to the local soup kitchen and write them a check. 2) it does not matter what other people in your situation are doing. (for instance, if you see a boy drowning in a pond, and there are 100 people standing around the pond pointing and laughing at the boy's death, you are still morally obligated to jump in the pond and save him.) Based on this argument, it follows that everyone should have a moral duty to give all of their money to overseas poverty relief funds to the point that if you gave one more penny you'd be suffering as much as the people you are trying to help. ANYWAY, you're probably thinking "What the fuck does this have to do with Weezer?" As you (justin) probably know (from wikipedia), Rivers Cuomo sold his mansion shortly after releasing Maladroit in 2002, and moved into a small house. Since then, Rivers has given an overwhelming majority of all of the money he makes to charities. Now, I was previously under the impression that Rivers did this to atone for the atrocity of an album that Maladroit was. Now I look at it from a new perspective: Maybe Rivers Cuomo (who has been going to college off and on since the Pinkerton Album), read a similar argument to the Peter Singer argument that I read. After reading this argument, he decided that he was indeed (as Singer implies) morally obligated to follow it as best he could. Now here is the controversial implication of THIS theory: Maybe Rivers (probably after realizing that he was burned out on drugs and could no longer make the great music that he made before 2000's green album rolled around), felt that he was morally obligated to make another Weezer album in order to make more money so that he could give as much money as possible to the poverty relief foundations. And maybe not only that, but Rivers felt like he should make the album as glossy and poppy and sold-out sounding as possible, so that it would sell more records. (Note, when people complain that the band U2 lost its edgy sound early on in their career, the band replies that they purposefully took on a more mainstream sound to A) make more money for their charities and B) reach more people in their attempt to be a voice for social change, so this concept is not unheard of) Now, here is the fun part. Maybe Rivers' song "Beverly Hills" is about living a life of intentional poverty, and how he wishes that he could be rich again and live a glossy life that is ultimate selfish and empty (but addictive and something that everyone wants). Note: the song is still fucking idiotic, but this is possibly because Rivers wanted it to sound as glossy and overproduced as possible because he wanted to make more money and therefore save more lives. One more thing. MAYBE, when Rivers purportedly said that he considered Beverly Hills his greatest accomplishment, maybe he said it in the context of beverly hills being his most successful song to make money and save lives... Now, this could all be bullshit, but if it is even slightly true, it raises an important question, (and one that holds a lot of relevance to my life.) What is more important? Saving the lives of people who are dying every day, or the pursuit of high art? Is it an adequate use of your money if you spend it on patronizing artists, or going to shows, or buying vinyls... OR is this ultimately a selfish use of our money when taken in light of the fact that we should be giving all of our money away? This is especially important to me as I battle with what God really wants for me in my life. I know that he wants me to be a voice for social change, and to write about this concept brought up in Peter Singer's essay. I know he wants me to live a life of intentional poverty, giving away all of the money that I've earned to relief foundations, but when I bring the question of art onto the table it gets fuzzy. God made me a talented artist, and an incredibly acute appreciator of art. Does he want me to pursue a career in the arts, or does he want me to go the route of business, where ultimately I'd be making the most money and therefore doing the most good for the world (even if some of this good I am doing is also benefiting an evil corporation.) These are interesting questions, and ones that I may never be able to answer. Just some food for thought for you guys, in case you didn't have enough already. I do know one thing: I CAN buy weezer albums, because that money will be leading to charity eventually anyway. Too bad there never will be another good Weezer album. |
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