Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
It was not posed
It messed me up
It was her recording herself
Whisper.
"What is it worth to me?"
Thinking one thought
The advice to be okay.
Break into children's hospital
Cry it out.
"don't fuck with me, don't fuck with me"
And I broke up
Without a note
And I broke up
Its a mess
Go go go go go
Away from here.
Food color poured out all over her shorts mixed with
I'll make a gate you cannot pass
Taped to there loinclothes
A sign that says "Why us?"
Flip yourself off but erase it when someone sees you.
"This, this is the worst vacation ever, I am going to cut open your
Forehead with a roofing shingle, Ohh Ohh"
And I broke up
Without a note
And I broke up
And I broke up
Behind your house
And I broke up
It messed me up
It was her recording herself
Whisper.
"What is it worth to me?"
Thinking one thought
The advice to be okay.
Break into children's hospital
Cry it out.
"don't fuck with me, don't fuck with me"
And I broke up
Without a note
And I broke up
Its a mess
Go go go go go
Away from here.
Food color poured out all over her shorts mixed with
I'll make a gate you cannot pass
Taped to there loinclothes
A sign that says "Why us?"
Flip yourself off but erase it when someone sees you.
"This, this is the worst vacation ever, I am going to cut open your
Forehead with a roofing shingle, Ohh Ohh"
And I broke up
Without a note
And I broke up
And I broke up
Behind your house
And I broke up
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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High life
this song makes me feel like i'm in a mental institution.. i can't tell if i love it or hate it.
what's interesting about this song is that the worlds don't really make sense themselves, but together and with the music you get this urgent vibe of breaking down. the guy is defeated, crumpling, it's a cry for help.
I think it's "I'll make a gate you cannont pass," not cake.
Kick ass song though
I think it's cake :) and "Penguins in a dress" as opposed to engines are a mess. But I hear what I want to... Discovered these guys...who knows exactly where, but they have provided satiation in the "insane-gothic experimental death-ballad" category of my record collection. God bless inaudible background sreaming.
its "i will make a gate you cannot pass" source? from the band itself
you're my hero, yeff.
my favorite of the three xiu xiu songs i could find on kazaa (the others being poe poe and hives hives), though I don't like it as much as sad pony guerrila girl or the cover of tracy chapman's fast car.
I've listened to this song atleast twice a day in the last week.
I'm am absolutely in love with the song. One of Xiu Xiu's best. It's pretty self explanatory, it's obviously about a complete mental breakdown.
love this song. i especially dig the line...
"Food color poured out over her shorts mixed with I will make a gate you cannot pass "
the acoustic/live version on the new cd "Life and Live" is really awesome and reopened my mind to this song.
this song is one of my favourite xiu xiu songs.
it displays a fine ability to express oneself verbally.
how promising is that.