submissions
| The Hold Steady – Two Handed Handshake Lyrics
| 15 years ago
|
|
@Gruber: Yeah Sapphire isn't a great song, I agree, but it IS a song that ties in with the wider THS mythology, and this one isn't. I prefer mythology songs on albums instead of songs like this one, which is good but nonessential. |
submissions
| XTC – Go Fuck Yourself With An Atom Bomb Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
The title comes from Alan Ginsberg's poem "America:"
...America, when will you end the human war?
Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb
I don't feel good don't bother me... |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Joke About Jamaica Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
|
You beat me to it, mariellb. While it's probable that another kid died other than the crucified kid (One for the Cutters suggests a stabbing), the first crucifiction in Both Crosses is literally Jesus. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – History Lesson Part II Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
This is, of course, technically a Minutemen cover, but the lyrics are markedly different from the original version--though the lines about Joe Strummer and Bob Dylan are in the Minutemen version too. I guess the most interesting thing about this song is how well the way THS presents themselves aligns with how the Minutemen did.
What else, uh... Westerburg and Pirner (whose name is misspelled in the lyrics) are the lead singers of The Replacements and Soul Asylum, respectively. And Craig Finn is from Edina, not Medina; so that's presumably an error as well. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? (Bob Dylan cover) Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
|
The repetition of "You've got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend/If you won't come out your window" (Which is only sung once in the original version) makes the narrator of this song seem a lot more unreliable. Dylan's version has always sounded, to me, like someone trying to save a friend/ex-girlfriend/whatever from a bad relationship, but this version... It almost seems like the narrator is misrepresenting his friend's relationship, trying to convince her to feel bad about it so he can have her for himself. |
submissions
| Jonathan Coulton – Creepy Doll Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
"I couldn’t keep a straight face though, somewhere in the middle of the song the doll just becomes not so much creepy as annoying."
That's one of the things I love about this song. The thing that finally makes the narrator snap isn't that the doll scares him out of his mind, but that it sort of calls him fat. |
submissions
| Jonathan Coulton – Creepy Doll Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
There's nothing wrong with NOT trying to attach some batshit deeper meaning to a straightforward horror movie parody song, DragonChild.
You can certainly say that the doll represents his conscience. I could say that the doll represents drugs, if I wanted, or that it represents his mother. But that doesn't mean either of us are right. Attempting to project profundity onto the lyrics doesn't make it a better song. |
submissions
| Dillinger Four – Doublewhiskeycokenoice Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
|
Does anyone know if "celebrate the ugly things" is a specific Algren quote? It's a pretty good summation of his philosophy, but I haven't read too much of his stuff, so I'm not sure if it's a direct quote or not. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
|
I agree with neonlights. To me, this song is, in both form and lyrics, the best summary of THS as a band. It's chock-full of intricate references to other music, Catholicism, and their own songs, and the second stanza could easily be the band's mission statement. This isn't my favorite THS song by any stretch, but it perfectly encapsulates what's so great about this band. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Slapped Actress Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
|
I think "skins" in the second stanza should be capitalized, as it's probably a (sneaky) reference to the Cityscape Skins, Gideon's gang. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Yeah Sapphire Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
|
"St. Paul" has a double meaning here. The first two times it's referenced, Finn is talking about the city, but the third time ("If St. Paul don't call"), St. Paul is the drug dealer from Sweet Payne. Gotta love such subtle self-reference. |
submissions
| Bauhaus – The Man with the X-Ray Eyes Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
|
I think you're right about the Ozy reference in that one line, but this song is more directly about the Roger Corman film "X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes," in which a scientist gives himself x-ray vision, which gradually deteriorates until he can't see normally any more, driving him crazy. Xavier (the title character) literally ends up tearing out his own eyes. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Stay Positive Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
@c0r1nth14n:
Actually, HaRRF is itself a reference to Stevie Nix earlier on that album: "she got strung out on the scene/and she got scared when it got druggy"
As far as I know, that's the earliest use of the phrase. |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Constructive Summer Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
|
The line "my friends that aren't dying are already dead" is a reference to Knuckles off Almost Killed Me: "It's hard to keep trying when half your friends are dying/it's hard to hold steady when half your friends are dead." |
submissions
| The Hold Steady – Both Crosses Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
I agree that this is probably 'bout Holly. Heck, aside from the fact that Finn's really singing here, this sounds like it could be a song from Seperation Sunday, right down to the fact that it doesn't have a chorus. I mean, granted, most HS songs with choruses are great, but I've always kind of had a soft spot for the old-style ones.
On a completely unrelated note, "transverberate" is apparently a real word. It means to pierce, which I assume is supposed to go with the line about the sword in Jesus' side.
Also, theremins are love. |
submissions
| Semisonic – Sculpture Garden Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
I think they're talking about a little more than making out. There's no "fabled few" of making out in the garden; people do that all the time, in broad daylight,
Also, I wanted to point out that "underneath the cherry moon" is a reference to a (terrible) Prince movie, Under the Cherry Moon. |
submissions
| Lifter Puller – Lake Street Is For Lovers Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
I have to admit, I'm disappointed that this song doesn't actually have anything to do with Lake Street. The title is depressingly misleading.
It's a fine song and everything, but goshdarnit, if a song presents itself as being about a sketchy Minneapolis street, it should BE about that street. |
submissions
| Bauhaus – The Man with the X-Ray Eyes Lyrics
| 17 years ago
|
No, I think you're right. The lyrics do specifically mention "Shelley's shoes," so the metaphor of Ozymandia's statue's giant feet is definitely applicable.
And on the nuclear theme, I think the point is that unlike the ancient Ozymandias, who was forgotten through time, the modern Ozzy (I am SO sick of typing the name) is destroyed much more quickly because of nuclear weapons. |
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.
