| The Smiths – Girlfriend in a Coma Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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So many people who think this is figurative. What if it's to be taken at face value? A man whose girlfriend is in a coma, his life put on hold. He really doesn't want her to die but he wants to move on. He can't just start seeing someone else because he'll be judged. He has the doctors pull the plug. |
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| Television – Venus de Milo Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Nobody seems to have picked up on the gag in this song. Venus de Milo is a famous statue, one that has no arms. "I fell right into the arms of Venus De Milo." Interpret that as you will. |
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| Television – Venus de Milo Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Damn, I'm fourteen now, and Television are one of my favourites. May your legacy live on. | |
| The Fall – Lie Dream of a Casino Soul Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Weird that there are no comments on a song with the lyrics "I think I'll cut my dick off!". | |
| The Fall – The Classical Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Here in England, The Fall are more popular / well known than Pavement, so I still don't know why Pavement get so much shit? They're sound-alikes, I know, but Pavement have developed away from this sound. Anyway, The Fall > Pavement any day. | |
| Television – Friction Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| You complain of my dic-... tiooon.... | |
| Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Since I don't feel that the story is in the same order as the lyrics, this explanation will change a few things around. 'Come on Alex, you can do it Come on Alex, there's nothing to it If you want something, don't ask for nothing If you want nothing, don't ask for something' I think that Alex suffers from some sort of mental illness (bipolar disorder, depression, autism etc.) Alex is being encouraged by his family, told that he can achieve things if he tries hard enough. He's being treated as an equal, which sounds like the right thing to do, but he doesn't receive enough special attention. They are angry at him for his indecisiveness, insensitive towards his condition. 'When daddy comes home you always start a fight So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights The police disco lights Now the neighbors can dance Look at them dance' Alex doesn't get along with his father, constantly fighting with him, and the neighbors relish the drama, pretending to be supportive, but actually just cherishing the gossip. 'Our older brother bit by a vampire For a year we caught his tears in a cup And now we're going to make him drink it Come on Alex, don't die or dry up' Triemsma really hit the nail on the head for this one. The vampire bite is a metaphor for his condition. Although his family tried to support him for years, catching his tears, they've been strung out and are now taking it out on him. They turf him out, with the simple and very unhelpful advice 'don't die or dry up'. 'Our mother should have just named you Laika! It's for your own good It's for the neighborhood' Just like Laika the dog, Alex has been sent out into the great unknown without a fool's chance in Hell. Laika died within four hours, and Alex's chances don't look much better. The family lie to themselves, trying to say that it's for Alex's own good, and not because they couldn't cope. 'Alexander, our older brother Set out for a great adventure He tore our images out of his pictures He scratched our names out of all his letters' And so this is what they tell themselves. Alex went off for a big fun adventure. The reason he hasn't contacted them is not because he's dead or lost, but because he chose to. They sugar coat the entire story because they know that they have done wrong. |
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| Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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'I woke up with the power out Not really something to shout about Ice has covered up my parents' hands Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans' I think this song is based around the metaphor of 'keeping people in the dark'. The narrator wakes up (is born) with the power out. Many things are hidden from him, or sugar coated. Not really something to shout about, since almost every kid grows up like this. Now that he's older, his parents aren't so sensitive towards him. They've let him find somewhere else to live, despite the fact he is still a child inside, with no real dreams or ambitions. 'I went out into the night I went out to find some light Kids are swinging from the power lines Nobody's home, so nobody minds' So he goes out into the darkness, a big world never explained to him. Nobody's shed any light on how society works. The kids swing on the power lines. They are dangerously close to the electricity (the light, the truth), but the terrible truths in life have not been taught to them and so they naively play in the dangerous world outside. Their parents aren't home, so they aren't there to explain to them what they are doing wrong. 'I woke up on the darkest night Neighbors all were shouting that they found the light ("We found the light!") Shadows jumping all over my walls Some of them big, some of them small'' The narrator had to learn about the light (the truth) from overhearing the 'neigbours'. His parents would never reveal these truths to him. He's still very much in the dark, but he can now see the distinction between the truth and lies, hence the shadows. 'I went out into the night I went out to pick a fight with anyone Light a candle for the kids Jesus Christ, don't keep it hid!' And so he goes back out into the darkness, bold and ready to fight for what he thinks is right, having found out about these truths, and yet he doesn't know who or what he's fighting. Then, the recurring two lines urge us not to keep our kids in the dark, not to hide the truth from them. 'Ice has covered up my parents' hands Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans Growing up in some strange storm Nobody's cold, nobody's warm' The narrator grew up in 'some strange storm', the horrific world events that he is still a stranger to. His parents gave him a metaphorical blanket so that none of these would affect him. Therefore he is never cold and never warm. 'I went out into the night I went out to find some light Kids are dying out in the snow Look at them go, look at them go!' The kids aren't ready for real life, and its harsh cold. Their parents' hands are just as cold and alien to them as the world outside now, and they can't live for themselves. 'And the power's out in the heart of man Take it from your heart, put in your hand' The power (the light, the knowledge) is useless when kept inside. The narrator urges you to give it to others. 'Is it a dream? Is it a lie? I think I'll let you decide Just light a candle for the kids Jesus Christ, don't keep it hid!' This is the parents' attitude towards their children. The kids have heard something through the news, and yet their parents won't confirm it to them, making the information meaningless to them. Is it a dream? Is it a lie? 'Because nothing's hid, from us kids! You ain't fooling nobody with the lights out!' But in the end, the kids will work it out anyway, and they won't thank you for hiding the light from them. |
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| Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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'I am waiting until I don't know when Because I'm sure it's going to happen then Time keeps creeping through the neighborhood Killing old folks, waking up babies just like we knew it would' This verse is self-explanatory. The narrator is waiting for something that he is not even sure will happen. He's been waiting long enough for many old people to pass away. 'All the neighbors are starting up a fire Burning all the old folks the witches and the liars My eyes are covered by the hands of my unborn kids But my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids' This verse is very similar to a phrase in The Suburbs: 'So can you understand? Why I want a daughter while I'm still young I wanna hold her hand And show her some beauty Before this damage is done' Society in the 'Neighbourhood' is devolving into the days of witch hunts. The narrator can't bear this, as he wants to bring a child into the world before it's too late for him / her to live a good life. His eyes are covered, meaning he is blind to everything else, his heart focused on this one objective. 'They say a watched pot won't ever boil Well I closed my eyes and nothing changed Just some water getting hotter in the flames' If he becomes obsessed with having a child, the wait will feel longer. He tried living a different path but this has not fulfilled him either. 'It's not a lover I want no more And it's not heaven I'm pining for But there's some spirit I used to know That's been drowned out by the radio!'' Having a single want, a single aim has made his desire almost meaningless. It was once about his child, but it's now about him. Less about getting a good life for his baby than fulfilling his life goal. 'They say a watched pot won't ever boil You can't raise a baby on motor oil Just like a seed down in the soil, you've got to give it time' The planet is dying, and he is worried that his child will have to grow in the thick smog of motor oil. He knows that he must wait, but it's killing him. This is just my interpretation, and I've seen a few that outmatch mine. |
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| Arcade Fire – Reflektor Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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'Trapped in a prism, in a prism of light Alone in the darkness, darkness of white We fell in love, alone on a stage In the reflective age' The first verse refers to the relationship between the narrator and his lover. It's trapped in technology, and doesn't translate into the real world. Maybe they speak freely on social networks, and are too shy in real life. Darkness of white represents how dull it is to announce your love on the series of flashing lights that is your monitor. 'I thought I found a way to enter It’s just a Reflektor (It's just a Reflektor) I thought I found the connector It’s just a Reflektor (It's just a Reflektor)' The chorus is the most fascinating part of the song. The narrator thought that if he used social networking, he could form a relationship without the risk of humiliation or embarrassment. He was wrong though. The Reflektor represents how alone he really is. His computer may give the illusion that he is talking to someone, but he is actually just sending them little Facebook messages. He is alone with his *reflection* in the monitor. 'Now, the signals we send, are deflected again We're still connected, but are we even friends? We fell in love when I was nineteen And now we're staring at a screen' Real love is not subject to glitches, and bugs. Facebook, however, is (the signals they send are deflected again). They're communicating, (connected), but does this count as friendship? How do we define friendship in the 'Reflective Age'. The last two lines of this verse back this up. 'Will I see you on the other side? We all got things to hide' Behind your monitor, you don't have to be you. Is his lover who she is in real life, or just who she wants to be? The advantage of talking online is that you are not you, just a tiny square picture and a group of sentences. You can hide what you want. 'All right, let's go back Our song escapes on little silver discs Our love is plastic, we'll break it to bits I want to break free, but will they break me? Down, down, down Don't mess around' Couples talk about 'our song' as something significant to them, and who they are together. The concept has been downsized to something you can burn to a CD and play it anywhere. Does this mean it loses all importance? Their love is plastic, like their computers. Such a finite and replaceable substance. It's not indefinite, it only survives as long as they both have a computer. (I want to break free, but will they break me?) Of course, he knows that their's more to love than sending cute instant-messages, but he's devolved to be a person behind a screen, scared of the real world breaking him. I'm sad to say I can't explain the part about 'the Resurrector'. As for the video, this fits nicely with my interpretation. At the start we see the band don their masks, the masks obviously showing themselves but bigger. These masks represent how they want to be seen by people communicating with them via social networks. Throughout the video, the band members are heading towards reflective surfaces such as the lake. I think these shiny objects represent the Reflektor, or the computer. One thing I find interesting, but is probably meaningless, is the disco ball attached to the front of the car. As we know, the band members are constantly hunting down reflective surfaces. Maybe the disco ball shows that they are constantly driving forwards, trying to achieve true love via the 'Reflektor'. At some point in the video they find the huge shiny disco ball that is the Reflektor, worshipping it. They send their signals with huge mirrors, and the reflective man sends them via a satellite dish. They are finally happy. They have found the connector. But then they see it. Their reflection in the monitor. Not the person they have been online, but the real them, and they have to come to terms with how alone they are, and how dishonest they have been to themselves. They bury the real them, the people they grew up as (the baby dolls), the people they have been for their entire lives in a reflective coffin. And they become happy to lie to themselves, devoting themselves to the Reflektor. They even visit the Reflektor at night by torchlight. They do not leave it alone for a second. An interesting part is when the Reflektor is brought towards the camera, reminding the viewer that right now, they are using the Reflektor. The final shot shows how artificial they have made themselves. |
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| Arcade Fire – Culture War Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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'Now the future's staring at me like a vision from the past,' Now that we are on the cusp of environmental / political / economic disaster, it's reminiscent of all the times in the past we thought idly about how terrible humanity's future will be. 'and I know these crumbs they sold me, they're never gonna last.' With such a disaster ahead, we now know that all our worldly possessions aren't going to help us. 'Though we know the culture war, we don't know what it's for' Although we are fed politics through the media, and everyone has conflicting opinions on how the world should be run, with such tragedy ahead, what does this all mean? It's not like choosing the right political party will save us. 'we've lived the southern strategy. You know it's never gonna last, so keep it in the past.' The Southern Strategy is the policy of the Republican Party in the United States to gain political support in the Southern section of the country. This means that although government fights for our approval, this no longer matters, and we are in our own hands now. 'These are different times that we're living in. These are different times.' We live in different times. We can no longer coast through life achieving personal goals, oblivious to the problems in the world. 'Now the kids are growing up so fast. Paying for our crimes.' The first line can have more than one meaning. My preferred meaning is that the narrator feels that life is moving by him too quickly. He is disturbed that it felt like only yesterday 'the kids' were babies, and he lived in simpler times. However, the more obvious meaning is that the new generation live in times of such turmoil that they have to grow up faster to survive. The second line seems more obvious. The narrator's generation and those before it have screwed up the planet, and now the children will have to deal with it. 'You left while I was sleepin'. You said, "It's down to me". Oh I've read a little Bible. You see what you want to see.' The narrator regrets his actions in the past. The Bible may or may not be a metaphor, depending on your religious beliefs. The narrator's former lover left him, because he / she wasn't content to sit around and let the world die ('You said, "It's down to me"). However, the narrator relied on the comfort of the 'Bible' (may represent some other form of comfort) firmly believing that God would never forsake him. But now that the world is screwed up, he realises he is deluded, just seeing what he wanted to see. 'The dominos they never fell but bodies they still burn. Throw my hand into the fire but still I never learn, will I ever learn?' I agree with Fatzers that this is a reference to the Vietnam War. The dominos they never fell, meaning that South-East Asia was not dominated by communism. But then he goes on to say that the bodies still burn. Even though communism didn't consume SEA, this is not enough of a victory to distract us from the atrocities of the war. The bodies are still burning, and even if our hands our thrown in to the fire (our eyes are opened to just how bad the war was), we are still capable of turning a blind eye. We never learn. 'We'll be soldiers for you, mommy and daddy, in your culture war. We'll be soldiers for you, mommy and daddy, but we don't know what it's for.' Mommy and Daddy represent government / political power. They are shown as 'mommy and daddy' as we are so submissive and accepting of their indefinite control over us. We are but little children being spoon-fed by the media. We are also depicted as soldiers, another reference to how submissive we are towards our leaders. This is just my opinion, but I think the meaning in this song is much less cryptic in this than other Arcade Fire songs. |
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