| Tenacious D – The Government Totally Sucks Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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To add to this, their treatment of really common aspects to political songs, like claims that the founding fathers would agree with the authors' sentiments and have a lot in common with them, are hilariously perfect. Since the author of this song happens to be Tenacious D, of course Benjamin Franklin was into getting naked and smokin weed. I almost wish they had used an even more nonspecific and uninspired issue to inaccurately represent than the environment, although it's still funny. I also like how they parody the pseduo-punk sound and then switch tracks thematically to parody excruciatingly saccharine patriotic ballads. Both types of songs rely on drumming up emotions around some vague political ideals or oversimplifying issues because for a lot of people seem to think just mentioning them is poignant songwriting, even if the writer fails to make a worthwhile point or if the lyrics are artistically vapid. Either case is a tried and true songwriting formula and the result is naive, insincere and meaningless drivel. |
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| John Prine – Hello In There Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This really is a deeply sad and human song. Not just that people work hard their whole lives and then can't even expect acknowledgement of their existence once their greatest accomplishments are behind them, but that time numbs us to life. Even a cut as deep as losing a son eventually is just worn away by the tides of time... I work in a public library, and we get a lot of lonely older people who just wander in because they have nothing to do and nowhere else to go. One day a cute and spirited 4-year old girl and one of our regular elderly men were waiting to check out. The man leaned down to talk to her, asking how old she was, what books she was getting, telling her how darling she looked, etc. and told her to "never grow up." He then stood up and repeated to nobody, "Never grow up. Growing up is terrible and growing old is horrible." I will never forget the look he gave and the way he said that as long as I live. |
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| Dead Kennedys – Kill The Poor Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song is a sarcastic rip on how the upper class views the working poor as a problem or a blemish on their pristine society, instead of victims of a fucked up system that is insensitive to their needs, but it also has a more specific point about the neutron bomb. From what I understand about the design of the bomb, it has a small blast range with a lot less heat and "explosion" than other types of bombs. It still emits powerful radiation, however, which passes through solid materials and kills living cells- essentially, if dropped on a city it would kill people but leave minimal damage on buildings. First of all, the very idea of something so clearly designed to maximize death counts while minimizing costs is sadistic and disgusting. But beyond that, the point that Jello is making is that this is not a bomb intended to be used in a war, because there isn't any real strategic use of something with a limited range and small effect on structures. The only possible use for this bomb seems to be on small, densely populated areas- for example, urban areas with a lot of low-income residents. Jello is suggesting the disturbing notion that the bomb was built with eliminating America's own impoverished people in mind, at the request of the wealthiest who see the poor as nothing more than an impediment to the development of America into one giant, glamorous, exclusive country club. daycare_abortion's quote illustrates this very well. |
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| Dead Kennedys – Forest Fire Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Destroying the bastions that the incredibly rich elite insulate themselves from the world in; breaking down the material manifestation of the escapist isolation of wealth. And deep down we feel almost more sorry for these rich people than resentful, because seeing all their material shit go up in flames must be a sobering revelation for them on how badly they missed what is really important in life, and how trapped they are by their own paranoia and greed... so we laugh at them. I came across the video searching for live footage on daily motion one day, and it was labeled as an event for swedish TV or something like that. I wasn't paying close attention, and suddenly Jello was in his underwear. I did a complete double-take, but it was one of the most bleeding hilarious things I'd ever seen. I highly recommend watching it, in fact, I'm gonna watch it again because I need a laugh :P |
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| Dead Kennedys – Rawhide Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Wow, it's interesting that they didn't alter any lyrics. I assumed that the lines "Don't try to understand them" through "Though they're disapprovin'" were added in to make a point. That only cements the disturbing nature of the song- I can see why they chose to perform it! I think the DKs are commenting on the "leadership" in our country- instead of real leaders, we get people who want to drive the public like cattle. Comparing groups of people to sheep is nothing new, but I think using cattle is a more interesting metaphor because cowboys have a much different image than shepherds, who are usually associated with protection and gentleness. Instead of working on the behalf of the people they should be leading, the 'cowboys' think their job is to push people towards their own goals, roping in anyone who goes against the flow or shows signs of disobedience. People are branded as products of America, and this brand is narrowly defined by the cowboys who create it. They don't try to understand who they are leading and what interests are important to them; if those goals don't match up with their own, then they are to be disregarded or put down. With this kind of control, eventually everyone kneels to them, even if deep down they disagree or harbor discontentment. The mythical western cowboy is a tough as nails, "brave," shoot first ask questions later kind of "leader." He is glorified in American culture- and his machismo and power are valued, desired, and ultimately emulated by power-holders who think that they can apply the same rough cowboy principles to everything. And of course, the cowboys expect great rewards at the end of the drive- good food, women, and especially money. The cattle can expect to be slaughtered. Figuratively, people end up repressed and leading lives of quiet desperation, or literally if the wanna-be cowboy decides to lead the country to war. I think, as usual, the DKs are dead right: a lot of leaders probably really do feel this way. I bet they view people as statistics, or temporary commodities, instead of human beings, just as cowboys see cows as objects that they can make money off of for their meat and hides, instead of living, breathing creatures. And they didn't even have to change any of the words to the fucking song, amazing. |
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| Dead Kennedys – Rambozo The Clown Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Once again, the Dead Kennedys remain as relevant as they did when they wrote this song. They managed to pinpoint a disturbing aspect of our culture that still runs strong today, and sarcastically tear it to pieces. The most commonly portrayed image of a "hero" is the man who is tough and rugged- physically enough to kill anybody, and mentally enough to have no qualms with killing anybody or watching his friends be killed. Violent war movies and video games, designed for young adults who are just the right age to join the army, then fail to show some of the more horrific aspects of war, and because they are impersonal and "fake," people begin to disassociate killing with the feelings of disgust and terror that they should feel. And with video games in their infancy when this song was released, Jello really did show incredible insight by mentioning them- I'm not saying he predicted the future or anything, but realizing then the implications of their illusoriness really was brilliant. In Don Quixote, one of the most well-known scenes is when Don Quixote attacks a field of windmills, thinking they are giants (throughout the story he performs dozens of brave and heroic acts against mundane objects, thinking they are "enemies.") What is probably meant in the song is that wars and enemy combatants don't exist in the way that people think they do- they enter war with an idea that they are fighting inept, nameless, evil henchmen, when those enemies exist only as much as Quixote's giants did. And of course, we habituate children to the "normality" of war by bombarding them with toys and images glorifying it. In the end, the people who lose are the people who buy into it and become cannon fodder- a tool used to push militaristic strategy. Actually, we all lose... And yes, "bullshitter in an Indochina shop" is one of the most ingenious play on words I've ever heard. |
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| Andrew Bird – Gotholympians Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Emo-er than thou :P | |
| Andrew Bird – Waiting to Talk Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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During all the social interactions between people everyday, no one really gives a shit about what the other person is saying and is just looking for an opportunity to interject their own opinion. People don't talk in order to learn about whoever they're talking to, or to reach some mutual understanding, they just want to go off on their own tangent, like two lines going infinitely in opposite directions, or parallel lines that are similar to each other but will never cross and "agree" at a point. In the end, we just seem like machines designed to propagate our own opinions (and this is going beyond the song, but our genes as well.) The subject of this song sees this, and quietly keeps to himself. Other people don't understand this (he seems "kinda creepy") and he is something of a loner ("he's not really linking himself with the rest"). He certainly is so much more intriguing than most other people to me... living in his mind, avoiding the endless loop of blabbering people are locked into... this song is so unbelievably brilliant. This website is a perfect example of what Andrew's talking about, which means it's time for me to stop writing and go do some more reading :P. |
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| The White Stripes – Black Math Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I think nanometer hit the nail on the head, and in fact I think it would be totally redundant for me to explain much further than he has. The emphasis we place on impersonal standardized testing, the misplaced value on grades and scores over actual learning- are we really teaching children or making them pointlessly memorize facts ("is it the fingers or the brain that we're teaching a lesson)? Have we let something as invaluable as education become nothing more than just another job for somebody (undeniably earning your wage)? I love the deeply bitter sarcasm of "I can't tell you how proud I am, I'm writing down things that I don't understand." (And as far as the other interpretations go, perhaps I am an elitist jerk, but I'm coming to the depressing conclusion that the brilliance of the Stripes is totally lost on the majority of their audience.) |
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| The White Stripes – Sugar Never Tasted So Good Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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also I just would like to add that I think the tone of the music is very important to me for understanding the meaning of a song. The melody is simple and sweet, much like the new world the narrator enters by meeting this person, without a trace of the bitterness one would expect with a controlling relationship or one that ended badly. It also just seems too lighthearted overall to be about cocaine, and there really isn't anything in the song that suggests that anyway other than an extremely superficial similarity with "sugar." |
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| The White Stripes – Sugar Never Tasted So Good Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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My preferred interpretation of this song is about someone who naively believes he knows and understands his world and doesn't see anything great about it, until he meets someone who gives him a whole new perspective simply from the way she makes him feel. He perhaps held a cynical view of the world, but it changed after meeting the person he loves. First they see each other, and become acquainted (her eyes crossing in his direction), then they become friends (her mind accepting him as a friend), and then they fall in love (their souls are together.) He never appreciated simpler things in life, like the taste of sugar and water, before he met this person. In fact, you probably could expand this to mean that he never appreciated anything in life until now, as sugars and water are some of the most basic needs for sustaining existence. By not seeing the value and significance of these things, he was a sort of empty person, but she's slowly bringing him to life (she's "pulling on [his] puppet strings," the way a puppeteer makes a lifeless wood carving into a real character.) He also never saw the world from a perspective other than his own before- he thought he felt dependent, weak, helpless, or innocent like an infant, until he saw what true dependence, helplessness, innocence, etc. were in a real baby. I think the line is "what a fool this boy can be," which describes how he starts seeing how blind and silly he was before. In fact she has brought to him an altogether brighter, more delicate and beautiful view of the world (like a daisy) and he finally realizes how crazy of him it was not to see this in the first place. All of this because of someone he loves, and if you agree with my interpretation, you can see why I think this is just one of the loveliest songs :) |
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| Phil Ochs – Talking Cuban Crisis Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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The Cuban Missile Crisis and our current political situation isn't exactly a historic parallel, but I swear if you changed the words in several of these stanzas I would never have known it wasn't written today. The endless driving of the idea that the average american is in imminent danger, the bizarre acceptance of war as part of everyday life (so much that it is as normal as advertising, which we also have a weird acceptance of if you think about it), the rest of the rational world being left wishing they could leave the planet. What particularly strikes me are the lines "Let's sink Cuba into the sea- and bring them back democracy!" They're the same contrasting values in Republicans regarding Iraq- many say their support for the war is so we can "bring freedom" to the country, and others clearly just want to bomb the crap out of it to kill the "terrorists" there. |
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| Phil Ochs – Basket In The Pool Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I don't remember the details of the story, but I read that phil is referring to a real incident at a party, where he threw a prize basket he won into a pool to make a political point. I think that he is making fun of all the people who used some parts of the "hippie" mentality in the 60's as an excuse to party and get high a lot. Instead of spreading peace and freedom they lived in a "groovy" escapist world, which he attempted to shatter by bringing the disturbing realities of the era to their attention. Of course instead, they just see it as someone trying to "bring them down." The line "how can I go swimming now?" always makes me laugh. |
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| Phil Ochs – Love Me, I'm A Liberal Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song lampoons the "leftist elite," similar to what the Dead Kennedys do later on with Holiday in Cambodia (which I admit is much more awesome, but less humorous and clear-cut). ahisma kinda beat me to that point, but anyway, seems to me it's about the people who lean left until it conflicts with their interests as members of a higher social class, and ultimately end up as hypocrites. | |
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