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."
Today I want to bring an album to the table that I think has not gotten quite the credit it deserves even though it's certainly not gone unnoticed by the press. The album came out a couple years back and it's entitled 'Foiled'. The band who brought it to us hails from Houston, Texas. They're called Blue October, not to be confused with a British band who go by the same name.
Blue October features the brothers Furstenfeld, Jeremy on drums and Justin on rhythm guitar and lead vocals. CB Hudson handles lead guitar, Matt Novesky wrangles the bass and Ryan Delahoussaye provides violin and piano, though probably not both at the same time. All the band members lend their voices to tracks, a factor that gives their sound quite a bit of depth. Justin's unusual vocal style gives a unique quality that seems to polarize those who I've played this album for: either they love his singing or they hate it, very few people fell in between. His personal style choices evoke similar reactions, as well.
We'll start with the big guns. If you've heard any of the tracks off this album, chances are good that you've heard 'Into the Ocean' or 'Hate Me' which received quite a bit of radio play, especially the latter song whose video also did quite well. While both songs deal with extremely intense personal struggles with topics like self loathing, suicidal fantasies and drug abuse, the tunes themselves have an upbeat quality. This produces an odd effect for me, but I appreciate the dichotomy. If you watch the video for 'Hate Me' you might find that helps the song make more sense, the singer's referencing (it's widely speculated) his mother and that is her voice on the answering machine at the beginning of the video from an actual message she left him during a difficult time in his life. It's probably one of the most agonizingly emotional music videos I've ever seen.
The rest of the CD contains a mixture of songs that tend to deal primarily with the subjects of love and/or friendship. I guess you could say this album's all about relationships. 'You Make Me Smile', 'She's My Ride Home' and '18th Floor Balcony' are all towards the romance angle, each offering a different spin. 'What If We Could' and 'Let It Go' have a more melancholy mood, focusing on broken romance. 'Overweight' and 'Everlasting Friend' are about friendships and two of my personal favorites on this album. 'Sound of Pulling Heaven Down' probably has the heaviest sound to it out of the whole CD, but 'Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek' contains darker masochistic lyrics that prove why it made a good choice for the soundtrack to Saw III, the movie.
I enjoy these guy's lyrics quite a lot and I think they blow away a lot of the indie/emo/alternative bands out there because they've got a unique combination of stylistic elements, though I do admit their subject matter could be more broad than what they showcase on this particular album. Overall, with 13 tracks (including a hidden track and a couple extra songs on more recent issues of the CD) I think it's a hell of a deal. It's easy to see why this sucker went platinum, if you ask me.
In case you were wondering why the album's titled Foiled, that's a name that the Furstenfeld brothers' dad came up with because it had trouble getting released due to record label hijinks.
One last thought. On the topic of bands with names incorporating colors, I believe every color's been covered now: Blue October, Black Sabbath, White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Silverchair, Agent Orange, Pink, Yellowcard, Deep Purple, Goldfinger, James Brown... did I miss any?
Blue October features the brothers Furstenfeld, Jeremy on drums and Justin on rhythm guitar and lead vocals. CB Hudson handles lead guitar, Matt Novesky wrangles the bass and Ryan Delahoussaye provides violin and piano, though probably not both at the same time. All the band members lend their voices to tracks, a factor that gives their sound quite a bit of depth. Justin's unusual vocal style gives a unique quality that seems to polarize those who I've played this album for: either they love his singing or they hate it, very few people fell in between. His personal style choices evoke similar reactions, as well.
We'll start with the big guns. If you've heard any of the tracks off this album, chances are good that you've heard 'Into the Ocean' or 'Hate Me' which received quite a bit of radio play, especially the latter song whose video also did quite well. While both songs deal with extremely intense personal struggles with topics like self loathing, suicidal fantasies and drug abuse, the tunes themselves have an upbeat quality. This produces an odd effect for me, but I appreciate the dichotomy. If you watch the video for 'Hate Me' you might find that helps the song make more sense, the singer's referencing (it's widely speculated) his mother and that is her voice on the answering machine at the beginning of the video from an actual message she left him during a difficult time in his life. It's probably one of the most agonizingly emotional music videos I've ever seen.
The rest of the CD contains a mixture of songs that tend to deal primarily with the subjects of love and/or friendship. I guess you could say this album's all about relationships. 'You Make Me Smile', 'She's My Ride Home' and '18th Floor Balcony' are all towards the romance angle, each offering a different spin. 'What If We Could' and 'Let It Go' have a more melancholy mood, focusing on broken romance. 'Overweight' and 'Everlasting Friend' are about friendships and two of my personal favorites on this album. 'Sound of Pulling Heaven Down' probably has the heaviest sound to it out of the whole CD, but 'Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek' contains darker masochistic lyrics that prove why it made a good choice for the soundtrack to Saw III, the movie.
I enjoy these guy's lyrics quite a lot and I think they blow away a lot of the indie/emo/alternative bands out there because they've got a unique combination of stylistic elements, though I do admit their subject matter could be more broad than what they showcase on this particular album. Overall, with 13 tracks (including a hidden track and a couple extra songs on more recent issues of the CD) I think it's a hell of a deal. It's easy to see why this sucker went platinum, if you ask me.
In case you were wondering why the album's titled Foiled, that's a name that the Furstenfeld brothers' dad came up with because it had trouble getting released due to record label hijinks.
One last thought. On the topic of bands with names incorporating colors, I believe every color's been covered now: Blue October, Black Sabbath, White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Silverchair, Agent Orange, Pink, Yellowcard, Deep Purple, Goldfinger, James Brown... did I miss any?
Lyrics submitted by mike
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
I definately agree...I've never heard lyrics be so thoughtful deep and universal while at the same time being personal and blunt. This album really makes me think. I give the band kudos because I've seen them live and own the CD, and they really play because this is their music. This is how they feel. This is how they play, and it's not just for fame in money. Well Done boys!