Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I stand alone in this desolate space
In death, they are truly alive
Massacred innocence, evil took place
The angels were burning inside
Centuries later I wonder why
What secret they took to their grave
Still burning heretics under our skies
Religion's still burning inside
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
As we kill them all, so God will know his own
The innocents died for the Pope on his throne
Catholic greed and its paranoid zeal
Curse of the grail and the blood of the cross
Templar believers with blood on their hands
Joined in the chorus to kill on demand
Burned at the stake for their soul's liberty
To stand with the Cathars, to die and be free
The book of Old Testament, crippled and black
Satan, his weapon is lust
Leaving this evil damnation of flesh
Back to the torture of lies
The perfect ones willingly died at the stake
And all of their followers slain
As for the knowledge of God they had claimed
Religion's still burning inside
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
As we kill them all, so God will know his own
The innocents died for the Pope on his throne
Catholic greed and its paranoid zeal
Curse of the grail and the blood of the cross
Templar believers with blood on their hands
Joined in the chorus to kill on command
Burned at the stake for their soul's liberty
Still running heretics under our skies
As we kill them all, so God will know his own
Laugh at the darkness and in god we trust
The eye in the triangle smiling with sin
No Passover feast for the cursed within
Facing the sun as they went to their grave
Burn like a dog or you live like a slave
Death is the price for your soul's liberty
To stand with the Cathars and to die and be free
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
In death, they are truly alive
Massacred innocence, evil took place
The angels were burning inside
Centuries later I wonder why
What secret they took to their grave
Still burning heretics under our skies
Religion's still burning inside
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
As we kill them all, so God will know his own
The innocents died for the Pope on his throne
Catholic greed and its paranoid zeal
Curse of the grail and the blood of the cross
Templar believers with blood on their hands
Joined in the chorus to kill on demand
Burned at the stake for their soul's liberty
To stand with the Cathars, to die and be free
The book of Old Testament, crippled and black
Satan, his weapon is lust
Leaving this evil damnation of flesh
Back to the torture of lies
The perfect ones willingly died at the stake
And all of their followers slain
As for the knowledge of God they had claimed
Religion's still burning inside
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
As we kill them all, so God will know his own
The innocents died for the Pope on his throne
Catholic greed and its paranoid zeal
Curse of the grail and the blood of the cross
Templar believers with blood on their hands
Joined in the chorus to kill on command
Burned at the stake for their soul's liberty
Still running heretics under our skies
As we kill them all, so God will know his own
Laugh at the darkness and in god we trust
The eye in the triangle smiling with sin
No Passover feast for the cursed within
Facing the sun as they went to their grave
Burn like a dog or you live like a slave
Death is the price for your soul's liberty
To stand with the Cathars and to die and be free
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
At the gates and the walls of Montségur
Blood on the stones of the citadel
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
It's about the Catholic army that destroyed the Cathars, a sect that broke away from Catholicism. They fled to the top of a hill called Montségur, in France, where they were beseiged until they surrendered. They were all burned alive (about 250 men, women, and children) on a giant pyre. One of Maiden's heaviest numbers.