| The Wrens – Hopeless Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I guess at face value this looks like a song about a relationship, but I really don't feel like that's it at all... it's almost certainly about their departure from their "big record deal" following the shit their former label (Wind Up Records) put them through. Wind Up (formerly known as Grass) was bought out by a guy named Alan Melzter, who took the label in a very "radio rock" direction, and horribly mistreated bands who wouldn't get on board. According to band mythos, The Wrens were on tour and Europe, and Melzter faxed them a new (and glaringly unfair) contract in the dead of night. When they refused to sign it, they were immediately fired and left stranded in Europe. Another famous legend has it that Alan Melzter was livid when The Wrens refused to sign, and swore he would make the next band through his door superstars "at any cost". Creed was the next band through his doors, and they became famous at any cost. |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Jellybelly Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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I've always thought this song was about the grunge movement. The first verse reminds me a lot of an old U2 lyric: "I don't believe in the 60's in the golden age of pop You glorify the past when the future dries up". I think the song is satirizing the state of music back in the early 90's where bands like Bush and Candlebox were popping up all over the place. "down in the belly of the beast" is key to the second verse. The Beast is traditionally a supremely evil figure in religious myth (specifically Satan or Hades spring to mind), but "The Beast" is also slang in some circles for the media, which is what I think Billy was leaning towards here. It's not just that he's "so sick", it's a level of disgust with his surroundings (which I say is the media). |
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| Semisonic – Closing Time Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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Interesting concept, but there are an awful lot of lines which don't fit that at ALL. "So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits - I hope you have found a friend." and "one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer" being prime examples. You'd be hard-pressed to find any corrolation between those lines and a newborn in a hospital. I will admit, bits and pieces fit very well though. Also, kudos on a well written explaination of your theory, It's nice seeing a post here that's made of sentences and not just "omfg just wow i love this song!!1". ;) |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – X.Y.U. Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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Hate to be cliché, but in two words: Courtney Love. Billy used to write her long sappy love letters, and go to great lengths to promote Hole as a group. He also contributed a great deal of writing to the band. This strikes me as what he felt in the aftermath of their relationship. He gave her a LOT, and all he got out of it was Courtney the psycho bitch. A lot of verses could refer to Love's drug abuse, the battles surrounding her custody of her daughter, and Kurt's untimely death. Others seem like Billy's bitterness about being the 'other man'. "I am never enough, I am the forgotten child" illustrates this very well. |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Thirty Three Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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This has been explored in depth at http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/9278/33.txt , and there's really nothing I could add that the original author didn't. Billy, you may have figured by now, frequently lies about the meanings of his songs. ^_^;; |
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| Semisonic – Singing In My Sleep Lyrics | 22 years ago |
| Another theme I pick up on here... I don't think it's a healthy relationship. "Now I'm falling in love to fast with you, or the songs you chose" leads me to suspect that he's more in love with his notion of the girl than the girl herself. He may be reading "in between the lines" and seeing feelings and intentions which aren't there. The lines "Living in your cassette" and "pray to Sony my soul to keep" indicate an unhealthy obsession as well. "Were you ever so bright and sweet, did you ever look so nice?", again, is more about his ideal than the real person. I think this song is brilliantly crafted. | |
| Semisonic – Closing Time Lyrics | 22 years ago |
| I don't think there's really a deeper meaning here. If you've ever been to a bar, you've probably heard a barkeep say at least part of the phrases in this song. "You don't have to go home, but ya can't stay here" is a classic barkeeper quote, said to people drinking off problems who don't want to go home to face the 'missus' (or other personal problems). At the end of the night they turn all the lights on to kill the atmosphere and so people can see through the smoke and crowds to the exits. Finding a friend usually means looking someone sober enough to drive home. The only line here that is even slightly out of place with a plain ol' song about the bar closing is "This room won't be open...". I don't think there's anything else that lends to a highschool at all. I think it's a straighforward, simple song. | |
| The Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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I'd suggest taking a look at the song as a piece of a bigger whole. It's a prelude to the Mellon Collie album as a collective work. The passing of time is a key theme throughout MCIS, and I think "Tonight, Tonight" is the explaination of that. It's sort of the band's way (well... Billy's way) of saying "This is where we are, this is what we feel, and this is what tonight is about". They "crucify the insincere" through Zero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, An Ode, etc.. In other songs, Corgan "make[s] things right" with personal messages about his childhood and relationships. And finally, he "finds a way to offer up the night" in the twilight of the album, the closing tracks of the second disc. The "indescribable moments" are simple the feelings conveyed by the music. Ain't that a nice interpertation? :) |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – 1979 Lyrics | 22 years ago |
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I always thought the 'It's about teenagers' explaination was too shallow, especially when Corgan himself has hinted there's more to it. So here's a theory I cooked up. Take it with as many grains of salt as you need. In 1979, at a The Who concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, 11 young adults were killed and many more were injured during a stampede at a concert. The cause of the incident was a combination of lax security, intoxication, and poor planning on the parts of the concert organizers. Several lines of the song could be taken as passing references to the so called "'79 tragedy". The opening lines indicate a gathering (groups of teenagers getting together and heading for the concert). The line "we were sure we'd never..." indicates that the 'change' implied in the song came as a surprise, and a concert riot would certainly come as a shock. The chorus indicates apathy or a lack of understanding, and witnesses to the 79 tragedy said that most of the crowd had no idea what was going on (due mostly to consumption of various mood-altering drugs before the show, it was a The Who concert!), and that some of those being trampled didn't even cry out for help. The second verse simply reenforces feelings of surprise or confusion ("They're not sure just what we have in store"), as well as intoxication or drug use ("Morphine, the city-slippin..."). The bridge could be taken to indicate death, as they passed on, their spirits went "faster than they thought [they'd] go" from the drug use. Numerous lines indicate the presence of music ("faster than the speed of sound", "beneath the sound of hope"). The last lines hint at chaos and confusion (the "urgency"), and ultimately solitude ("but as you see, there's no-one around."). Just my take. Think about it. :) |
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