| Fugazi – Waiting Room Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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This is one of the better emo bands out there in my opinion. They basically invented the genre. Waiting Room was first released in 1988, when Reagan was still president in Fugazi's hometown of Washington DC. The song is clearly an endorsement of Reagan's Cold War strategy of brinkmanship - an Arms race rather than a war. Reagan knew he could outspend the Soviets. "I am a patient boy / I wait I wait I wait." THis is why the singer (speaking as Reagan) says "I don't want the news." The people "outside of town" (in USSR rather than DC) "can't get up" because they are repressed by the authoritative communist government. At the time lesser minds questioned Reagan's continued procurement of arms coupled with inaction. However Reagan didn't "wait idly." This is an interesting piece of emo music because it demonstrates a nuanced understanding of foreign policy and game theory. Fugazi are well known for their capitalism (i.e. their entreprenuerial DIY approach to doing things) so their endorsement of Reagan, while not intuitive, shouldn't be too surprising. |
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| A Great Big World – Say Something Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Without a doubt, this is about a guy in the Army starting boot camp. He is speaking as his new, higher ranking tough self talking to his old, lower ranking weak self. His lower-ranking weak self is learning to crawl (which is what they do in boot camp - crawl through the mud). His new tough guy higher ranking self is saying, "say something" because his old self is weak. In the Army the strong tell the weak when they can talk. "I"m giving up on you" - shedding the old weak self to be a strong, tough Army guy. The fact that he is singing the song means that he is actually saying something. In the Army, senior ranking tough guys say stuff and weak new recruits don't say anything unless commanded to. So he is transitioning from Private to Seargent. Because of this there can be no doubt. This song is a portrait of the kind of character development and thickening of the skin that can ONLY happen in the Armed Forces. |
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| Real Estate – Talking Backwards Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Without a doubt, this is about Crimea. Obama and Putin talked on the phone about it, but never in person. No face to face meetings between leaders Kissinger said this was a huge diplomatic mistake because body language and tone are such significant components of communication. "We can talk for hours and the line is still engaged. We're not getting any closer. You're too many miles away." This is Obama - he's on the phone. Too lazy or scared to talk about it face to face. "And I might as well be talking backwards. Am I making any sense to you? And the only thing that really matters is the one thing I can't seem to do." Obama is too scared to be a hawk. He just wants to talk on the phone, which is a waste of time. He might as well be talking backwards. |
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