submissions
| MGMT – James Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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This one is quite straightforward: it's a love song for a friend, specifically James Richardson, a long-time touring member of MGMT (as a vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist). Ben and Andrew must really appreciate his friendship to craft a song in his name :-) |
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| The Decemberists – When the War Came Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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Based on an amazing book called "Hunger" (it's really short...just go read it!!), this is one of The Decemberists best songs, if only because its "harder" than most of their songs :-P |
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| Keane – Strangeland Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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Lyrically...one of their more profound songs (bonus track? cmon!!). It sounds like a mental version of hell to me...any place where the "sweetest thoughts get twisted" is a truly terrible place to be. The references to "sand" make it even more pointed.
And the worst part (always): "you get no time to put things right" :-/ |
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| Coldplay – 42 Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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It's a simple song: the very concept of "Death" and "Dying" is an illusion of our minds. It's one of Coldplay's more profound songs because it's so explicit in its message. Those you have lost are only lost to your Mind: they still exist "somewhere out there", just in a different form. They have been "lost" in your universe because that was how you perceived it in the past. They could very well be perfectly fine and healthy in a different universe (and in the form you knew them by)...just not here.
In short...it's a very hopeful song :-) much like the rest of Coldplay's catalog. |
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| Steven Wilson – Drive Home Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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Downvotes for the lousy formatting, but otherwise thanks so much for this description. Fix the garbage characters for an upvote :-) |
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| Feist – Anti-Pioneer (When the Month Changes Numbers) Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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It's the seeming inevitability of relationships: the ebb and flow, and finally the eclipse. It's the narrator speaking about intuition, those feelings that are associated with the recognition that there are seasons in life and the changing of the seasons are difficult, but inevitable. |
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| Feist – I Feel It All Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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This one is really fun to interpret, and it's a song that I only came to understand recently, after a very difficult time in my life (for many many reasons). This is also (imo) Feist's very best song, lyrically.
The song is about a person have the life epiphany about the balance of life: of people, of relationships, of foilables of others, the weaknesses, the strengths, the love, the hate, and everything in between. In short, it's the recognization that one has the tools to see the very inner workings of another and be able to shape and manipulate people seemingly at will. However, Feist also recognizes (thank goodness!) the evil in forcing people to do things against their nature and also sees that only through the use of truth and good will towards others can you bring about positive change that won't leave good people angry in your wake.
It's a remarkably mature and breathtaking lyric, when Feist recognizes that in the end, the only one who can really destroy her is herself, through her own actions ("I'll be the one to hold the gun"). |
submissions
| Feist – I Feel It All Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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This one is really fun to interpret, and it's a song that I only came to understand recently, after a very difficult time in my life (for many many reasons). This is also (imo) Feist's very best song, lyrically.
The song is about a person have the life epiphany about the balance of life: of people, of relationships, of foilables of others, the weaknesses, the strengths, the love, the hate, and everything in between. In short, it's the recognization that one has the tools to see the very inner workings of another and be able to shape and manipulate people seemingly at will. However, Feist also recognizes (thank goodness!) the evil in forcing people to do things against their nature and also sees that only through the use of truth and good will towards others can you bring about positive change that won't leave good people angry in your wake.
It's a remarkably mature and breathtaking lyric, when Feist recognizes that in the end, the only one who can really destroy her is herself, through her own actions ("I'll be the one to hold the gun"). |
submissions
| Foo Fighters – I Should Have Known Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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Sounds most explicitly about Kurt. I see others here are pushing back on that, but it just fits. You can't forgive someone for taking their own life: it's the most selfish thing someone can do (particularly when you have a child).
"Damn my heart gone deaf" Neither him nor Krist ever really thought he would actually go through with it, he had been depressed back and forth for quite some time, but I don't think they ever suspected it would ever reach the place it finally did. I think he was simply too screwed up from his upbringing (aren't we all?) to find his place, and all that god-forsaken fame didn't help things. Kurt failed to "see the light" of his life, and let the darkness and despair overtake him. It felt particularly tragic, not because of his incredible success (that was likely his primary downfall), but because of the loss of what might have been. I suspect he would have caved the angry, bitter music of Nirvana and went to a better, softer place. He never gave himself the chance though, and I think this song is about frustration more than anything else, frustration about so many things. |
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| Passion Pit – Constant Conversations Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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The looped "that you'll never leave" voice in the backround I find particular devastating: I imagine it's his wife crying out to him to never let his demons take him away from her. It's amazing how pretty this song can be, yet the lyrics are very dark. |
submissions
| Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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Really like the music video, something a bit different from the usual junk on MTV. Interesting to have the lyric reflect both sides of the breakup: it's never a one-sided affair. |
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| R.E.M. – Let Me In Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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When I found out the lyrics were about Kurt, it gets a lot harder to read them: I think anyone who knows R.E.M and Stipe knows how hard he tried to pull Cobain out of the depression that took him down, but he failed, as everyone else did: Cobain just wouldn't allow himself to be saved. Very sad song. |
submissions
| Nirvana – Lithium Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Yeah, clearly the mind of someone who's bi-polar: constantly going back and forth, but mostly down, not up (as is usually the case with bi-polar) Some of Cobain's best lyrics here. |
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| R.E.M. – Airportman Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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The primary inspiration for Radiohead's Kid A, and it's a doozy...R.E.M. really nails the mood "melancholy" with this song. Stipe is watching a man who's life moves through other people, but who otherwise is completely invisible...a very sad place to be indeed. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Blue Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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It's their last song...and the title is apt. It's unlikely I will listen to this song very often, because it simply makes me sad that we won't be hearing any more albums from this group (for now at least...I hope in the future they will feel the compulsion to come back) It paints all of today's music just a bit bluer. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Shiny Happy People Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This song has always been a bit over-analyzed: it certainly seems like an observation of Japanese culture (which has a tendency to ignore suffering and try to gloss over it with a cutsie culture), but there's no indication that R.E.M. is making any judgments are whether this is "good" or "bad", they're just fascinated by it, as they are about life itself. There's something to be said on the positive side of their culture: they are really good at coping with devastation: we saw that in the recent, terrible earthquake. I think the criticism that they ignore problems is way overblown: they're an incredibly resilient people, and that is a strength, not a weakness. The U.S. couldn't even handle a hurricane in a small portion of our country...our morale would be destroyed with an event on the scale of the 2011 earthquakes and tsunami: they just keep on keeping on. |
submissions
| Paramore – Ignorance Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Not possible, because one of the main reasons for them leaving the group was disputes over the lyrics: they didn't like the message and tone the lyrics conveyed. And by "they" I mean the Farro brothers. |
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| Paramore – Ignorance Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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I find it very ironic when someone named "paramoreprincess23" tries to pretend they aren't horribly biased :-)
It's about Josh, anyone who pays any attention to what's happened to the the band (and the underlying flaws, parents/manager/etc.) would see that. It's best to stay away from this band for now, let Haley grow up and recognize that she was lied to, tricked, and used for her parent's own glory. They're those parents who mimic all the moves at fashion contests, and dress their kids up like whores, while simultaneously looking like total garbage themselves. It's just as bad as neglect, imo, because you're injecting your own dreams and beliefs into your kids, because of your own failures in life. |
submissions
| Paramore – Ignorance Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Yeah...this song upsets me above all else, because it's very clear and very hateful. So much for being a Christian (or just being a person with integrity and love first). Her parents are those annoying types, probably: the kind who tell their kids they're the best thing since sliced bread and destroy anything that tries to point out any flaws (or, god forbid, the fact that we're all human and make mistakes). To put it mildly, she has shitty parents and doesn't realize it. Everything falls apart from there, because whenever there's conflict, she probably runs to them when all else fails, and they will never give her wisdom: just their opinion motivated by their own self-righteous desire to have what's "best" for Haley. When her next album sells poorly and the label gets upset, I'll be curious to see what happens next: hopefully at the point she'll recognize that she made the wrong choice, and finally fire her parents/manager (whoever is controlling things right now) and demand that her band-mates are added to the contract. In other words, grow up and become an adult her makes her own decisions, not through the lens of her parents and other authority figures. |
submissions
| Paramore – Ignorance Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Loved it when it first came out...then they broke up :-/ (no matter what Haley says, Paramore is only existing now in name only for the purposes of selling records)
Like most songs on the album, the lyrics here are directed at Josh Farro (her ex-boyfriend and ex-bandmate and ex-everything-else). Doesn't need a whole lot of interpretation really, but the overall tone is heart-wrenchingly bitter and hateful. I enjoy it musically, but this is a tone I don't like at all: where's the love, Haley? Your parents blew lots of hot air in you (and guarded your interested above everyone else, combined), and instead of recognizing that you turned against your best friends (real friends) and put all the blame on them. Just sad. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Uberlin Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Their lyrics become more clear as the years go by, but the depth remains the same, and it's really powerful. They're specifically talking about Germany, but it could refer to any place you go where it feels like there's no deep connection to be found: it's particularly clear in that European country (where so much has been lost) |
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| Paramore – Ignorance Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Damn...I listened to this album 2 years ago and tapped my toes to it, and coming back to it now (after my own personal struggles) it comes across as very very bitter, and quite hateful too. This wasn't the Paramore that released "Everything We Know Is Falling" (or was it?), but maybe it was just a slow descent into hate that nobody (even her own band-mates) saw until it was too late. So, in the end, Haley let fame get to head and never learned how to combat that, and has lost half her band in the process. It's nice that two of them remained at her side, but it's only a matter of time before that partnership also dissolves. I expect Paramore to be no more (pardon the pun) within the new few years, although it'll be interesting to see if their label will force them to stay...how far are they willing to push an artist? To the point where she loses her mind completely? She won't be able to make much money for them if she has to be carted out in a strait jacket. |
submissions
| Paramore – Playing God Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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She is the lyricist for Paramore, as far as I know, although Wikipedia shows that she shared writing credit with the Farro brothers (which I find very interesting). My suspicion is that the song is written by Haley and directed at the brothers, but that would mean the writing credit is very odd. Then again, they did finish the album and then leave shortly afterward (their last concert just happened to be the very one I saw them live), so maybe it was just one final "harrah" before then went their separate ways. That was a really terrible breakup that really got swept under the rug by the record label. Fortunately the internet allowed the brothers to speak out for themselves, so that we have a full picture of the truth. |
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| Paramore – Playing God Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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I believe Haley is suffering from a superiority complex (i.e. narcissism), which I find highly interesting. You see it in the fact that both Farro brothers have now left the band and going to Paramore concerts at this point feels like going to a sports game (brought to you by [insert corporate sponsor here]) Very disappointing, a band can't sell out any more than this. She's accusing people in this song of "playing God", but it's truly a baseless claim since she, herself, is God (in her mind). So much for Christianity...that tattoo should be burning painfully at this point. The line "you say I've been changing, that I'm not simply aging" is particularly damning: it was almost certainly the Farro brothers that pointed this out to her, and instead of acknowledging it she says they're "cramming ideas down her throat". No, honey: pointing out your own weaknesses can never be called "cramming" Hopefully her bandmates will remain with her as Paramore dwindles into obscurity (which has already begun). |
submissions
| Coldplay – We Never Change Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This song has really been speaking to me recently (relationship issues, but then I realized it wasn't me, but I guess it wasn't the other person either? lol) I think a lot of us have a tendency to see past the faults of others and try to accept them as they are, but if you go to far down that road, you're bound to get hurt. What I get form this song is that being a "fixer" really is a hopefully endeavor: people can hide who they really are for a long time, but in the end their true self will come out, and it's not always what you expect :-/ |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Radio Free Europe Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Only issue I have with this song is that it's sentiment was highly overused in the 80s...far too many bands commented on the state of radio in the 80s. It's not a fair criticism since REM was (as was almost always the case) usually the first to come out with this statement, but it's nearly impossible to look back at this song without it being crowded by other works like "Video killed the Radio Star" which in this actually did beat REM to the chase. As the start of Murmur, though (which I consider one of their finest efforts) this is all very weak complaining. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Harborcoat Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Stipe has always had a fixation on Russia, especially that time during the Russian Revolution: people rising up against a failing monarchy. It really is one of the more interesting times in history, and he sees the reflections of that time in other parts of history: McCarthyism, Reganism, Bushism, etc. Men who may have had good intentions but who were totally co-opted by evil, self-serving people (although I'm not so sure about McCarthy, but that's just because I haven't read up on him as much as the other two). Obviously, this was before Reganism and Bushism, but they would come later on... |
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| R.E.M. – 9-9 Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Michael Stipe would have fallen within the autistic spectrum if he had been diagnosed as a child, so if you want to understand the arc of their career, you see it as a long arc of Stipe trying to make sense of the world with the mind of a high-functioning autistic (high-functioning because he knew how to speak english, even though he was awful at it for a long time, not to mention he had terrible social skills)
androgybunny already put it succinctly: the song is about being awful in social situations, having so many potentially bright and brilliantly things to say and yet being totally tongue tied and unable to put it out there. Beautifully enough, though, through this song he did put it out there. Music is really good in this song as well: Sonic Youth totally borrowed from this palette. |
submissions
| Pavement – Spit On A Stranger Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Pretty song, but you can really feel the narcissist in Malkmus come out in this lyric. It's simple: he thinks he's right for a girl, because they're both assholes :-P He really digs that bitterness of humanity, and that is what he desires in another person. Those are relationships that are hard as hell to maintain, but he feels very confident that he can pull it off (after all, he has the confidence to spin on someone he doesn't even know). |
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| R.E.M. – Losing My Religion Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Could be one of their strongest lyrics: it could have many meanings, but one interpretation is that he was losing his faith in the very decency of people, although I doubt that he actually ever reached that point. In the end he says "that was just a dream", so it's all just rumination without any conclusions on what they mean. You either ignore those ruminations or you let them consume you (to the point of madness/suicide), and he chose to ignore them. |
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| R.E.M. – Talk About The Passion Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Gorgeous, even though "Losing My Religion" came much later in his career, it's clear that he already questioned the motives of some religious people at this point. I think that's all the song is about: he doubted the motives of the faithful. |
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| R.E.M. – Pilgrimage Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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It's an unusual and indeed that sounds distinctive from their first album, hearing this sound first the first time and they're instantly recognizable, very cool :-) Good song too, btw. |
submissions
| Feist – I Feel It All Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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I love this song so much...she means she REALLY feels it all: literally the balance between good an evil, and how they measure out in difference people, as well as entire categories (i.e. good people, bad corporation, good country, bad state) When you can literally see the how balanced (between the two sides) things in life are, and in knowing this feeling a bit off balance yourself, because it's a bit too powerful. |
submissions
| Radiohead – Nice Dream Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Easily my favorite Radiohead song, because the lyrics describe exactly how I felt for a very long time. It's a very simple message: Thom is talking about his thought process here. People would treat him kindly, but he would deny their kindness in his head and treat it as a "nice dream", but a dream nevertheless. Meanwhile, the people that he himself loved and cared for would allow the same thing to happen in their own heads: "I'd love to come help, but the sea would electrocute us all" (in your mind, thinking up an outrageous excuse in order to be OK with denying someone you love attention. |
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| Arcade Fire – My Body Is a Cage Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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It hits me really hard, because this is exactly how I felt in my own life until recently. The song is fairly simple: the speaker is simply describing what it's like to struggle with your own internal voices telling you not to go after what feels right. Either that, or I don't even know what lyrics are for :-P |
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| Portishead – Half Day Closing Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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It's devastating, I think of the title as half of your life has closed...the happy, childlike part, and now you've enter the money-counting, constant-fears-and-complaints half becomes everything you have ("Time, life itself goes on"). |
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| Seal – Colour Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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In a performance I saw on Youtube, Seal mentioned that the song was the idea that you wake up one more, and all the color was gone. I think this refers to the differences between different people: he's wishing for a world where people don't use their different "colors" against each other. Fantastic song, one of Seal's best. |
submissions
| Porcupine Tree – Where We Would Be Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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So beautiful and sad, there should be a lot more comments for this song, I think that's the biggest tragedy. A story of two people who use to care for each other, have (for one reason or another) lost contact, and the narrator remembering how they use to dream of how life would be when they got older, and how it ended up totally different. |
submissions
| Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out) Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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It doesn't make me feel better for sure, but I'm not consumed by the song, because I've never let my demons get the best of me for too long. When people do that, they oftentimes commit suicide: I think that's what the song is really about, the absolute desolation life can be at times...random, yet persistent. The black void of death sucks us all in, but meanwhile we diminish towards that inevitability. It's as dark as a song can get. |
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