submissions
| Sonic Youth – Hits of Sunshine (For Allen Ginsberg) Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
Members of the band were at Allen Ginsburg's deathbed when he died. I don't know for fact, but I think it was Lee, Steve, Thurston, and Jim O. This is a beautiful tribute to the beat poet that inspired Lee as much as any other single person. |
submissions
| Sonic Youth – Mote Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
SY is famous for publishing lyrics they never perform or record live (: I for one think it's "Put me in the equation it's all right." I've seen them perform this song 3 or 4 times and it's the same vocal Lee sings. I haven't checked out the YouTubes, but I'd bet they confirm it, too. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Orange Crush Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
the drug experiments (amphetamine, LSD, and others) were definitely carried out. But I think your prof has her dates wrong. Amphetamine was first synthesized and used militarily in the first World War (1916). It was SOP (standard operating procedure) for US pilots in WWII to be dosed with amphetamines before missions. This continued until the 1990's with the Strategic Air Command in charge of dropping nuclear bombs from aircraft refueled in-flight for indefinite endurance and range.
The LSD story is a bit more complex because all the military footage we've been able to find today suggests it was a total failure for the military (lol no surprise!) However, there was continued interest in using atomized LSD to subdue an enemy due to its unpredictable effects.
Popular American culture references have lauded "Jacob's Ladder" as a somewhat authentic account of the 1950's Army playing around with LSD. There are also a few easily findable videos on YouTube etc. on the official Army films of maneuvers testing the LSD on soldiers. Pretty funny to watch the commanders collapse into laughing fits and climbing trees to look for the enemy.
Easily begs the question: "Was the Army begging up the wrong tree?"
Yeah, most probably had too many $5 bills to handle....
|
submissions
| R.E.M. – Orange Crush Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
Conscientious reminiscences to the helicopter/infantry beach attack scene in Apocalypse Now? Probably. It's really a close fit if you watch the movie scene and listen to this song simultaneously. I don't know. I'm an Academy of Art San Francisco MFA Fine Arts & Design student... and so all my interpretations are automatically elitist and liberal. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Orange Crush Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
color me don't color me is a reference to the then-newly-minted idea that drafted recruits (esp. african americans) would serve as frontline infantry pawns in a meaningless war. Or as the story goes.
at any rate, the "color me" reference is surely a statement about mistreatment (or at least abject super-aggressive recruitment) of african americans in the unpopular Vietnam conflict up until about 1973. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Orange Crush Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
you're wrong, I'm afraid. It is about about Agent Orange -- but it's referring to use in the Vietnam Conflict up until about 1973. This song was written long before the first Irag war. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – 1,000,000 Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
It's about the Georgia Guidestones. I can't believe how off you sheeple are... This reference is common knowledge among the REM illuminati. Also.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones
|
submissions
| R.E.M. – Gardening At Night Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
are you aware this song was written and performed circa 1982+? Hydroponics were dream theory. You're stoned, man. Go to bed. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Shaking Through Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
"In my life...." has to be one of R.E.M.s finest moments. That refrain fractures and bifurcates into a million cinematic images. Truly, in an artistic sense, this is one of post-punk/pre-alternative rock's most surreal sounds. |
submissions
| Ween – Light Me Up Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
It's the follow-up / homage to Buenos Tardes. Also, to Bananas & Blow. I think LMU isn't as strong as either previous bossa nova song, but it's still a great tune. It works perfectly on the Friends EP, which is on many levels (aside from being too short -- an EP) one of their best albums in years. Anyone who's listened to their catalogue can clearly see transcendence unfolding here. |
submissions
| Ween – I Got To Put The Hammer Down Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
I think this song is just a romp through an urban jungle of prostitution and drug abuse. The first line: I lost my cherry on a side street... might be a double énténdre: the colloquial loss of virginity sexually, slash, the first time using dope.
Overall it's just another sublime Ween parody with mood, timing, and visual reference fine-tuned to perfection. |
submissions
| Dinosaur Jr. – Forget the Swan Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
|
I think it is simply about a swan. A swan in the form of a drug-induced hallucination. The swan is a metaphor for the hallucinogenic trip he's on. He is bordering more and more on insanity from his experience in his own mind, and finally the dystopic, "Forget the swan, the dreams are gone / The pain goes on, they fly at dawn" After the high has gone, the real pain of everyday life is back. |
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.
