Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
I am a prisoner in the sunlight
You are my cellmate in the darkness
There's a box full of mix tapes with titles you came up with
They can show us where we came from but not how to get back there
Listening to the songs can't heal my broken fingers
It's just weight for the anchor to keep your ship here
Goldfish crackers in a zip-lock bag
In a gas station garbage can
I'm filling up this evening so I won't have to at 6am
On my way into work but that could have been me
Working behind that counter on the curb there smoking
We're really not that different just a few steps from exploding
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
To go back to the place where we started from
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
Baby I swear one day we'll get the money straight
I am a prisoner in the sunlight
You are my cellmate in the darkness
I just hope I wake up before this streetlight changes
You know this world is eating him alive
But you just can't find the metaphor to describe
The bottle of pills and the emptiness in the soft light
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
To go back to the place where we started from
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
Baby I swear one day we'll get the money straight
You are my cellmate in the darkness
There's a box full of mix tapes with titles you came up with
They can show us where we came from but not how to get back there
Listening to the songs can't heal my broken fingers
It's just weight for the anchor to keep your ship here
Goldfish crackers in a zip-lock bag
In a gas station garbage can
I'm filling up this evening so I won't have to at 6am
On my way into work but that could have been me
Working behind that counter on the curb there smoking
We're really not that different just a few steps from exploding
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
To go back to the place where we started from
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
Baby I swear one day we'll get the money straight
I am a prisoner in the sunlight
You are my cellmate in the darkness
I just hope I wake up before this streetlight changes
You know this world is eating him alive
But you just can't find the metaphor to describe
The bottle of pills and the emptiness in the soft light
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
To go back to the place where we started from
Now I'm serving time
'Till I've earned the right
Baby I swear one day we'll get the money straight
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Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
great song... for me, it's hard to really distinguish whether its optimistic or pessimistic, but I love listening to it... it always reminds me of coming home to friends and family after time away from them
This song connects true with me more than any other song out there right now. It's about a guy driving, on his way into work the night shift. He gives voice to the desperate feeling of working hard all the time, and still hardly getting by. This is woven into his feelings of self disapointment that he has for not being able to provide enough for his woman("Baby I swear one day we'll get the money straight"). Its about the hoplessnes we all feel from going through the daily grind and never being able to get ahead. But he knows this realilty won't last forever, because he's know's somday he'll "get back to this place where we started from"(Heaven). Until then he's just "serving time, till I've earned the right".
-That's what it means to me.
we're really not that different just a few steps from exploding. this song is beautiful.
this song is amazing,
This song is so beautiful. "I am a prisoner in the sunlight/you are my cellmate in the darkness" is one of my favorite lines from Rocky.