So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We're what's happening
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We're an ice machine
We see people, brand-new people
They're something to see
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
Oh, isn't it wild?
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We're walking through town
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We walk like a ghost
We learn dances, brand-new dances
Like the nuclear bomb
When we're nightclubbing, bright-white clubbing
Oh, isn't it wild?
We're what's happening
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We're an ice machine
We see people, brand-new people
They're something to see
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
Oh, isn't it wild?
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We're walking through town
Nightclubbing, we're nightclubbing
We walk like a ghost
We learn dances, brand-new dances
Like the nuclear bomb
When we're nightclubbing, bright-white clubbing
Oh, isn't it wild?
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Nightclubbing Lyrics as written by James Newell Jr Osterberg David Bowie
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
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like a continuation of Bowie's "Fashion", this takes the piss out of 70's cocaine-induced, shallow, "look-at-me" disco nightlife. And all the while Bowie and Pop are both contributing their part... I love the zombie-ish, brainless, monotone voice Pop has here, especially the unenthusiastic "Oh isn't it wild?". Surely Berlin-inspired...
I'm pretty sure this song is about night clubbing. xD These lyrics hold absolutely no value, but... such a kickass song...
@Willboe Yup. Does sound a lot like a song about night clubbing. Particularly back when it was made. Which was probably a better time to be going out during, even if it was a bit infested with disco. <br /> <br /> That's the problem, people, me included, listen to the really good songs from an era and think about how great it must've been. Forgetting completely the awful shit that 99% of people listened to. The Osmonds must've sold a thousand records for every one Iggy did. And there was so much really, really awful also-ran disco music. <br /> <br /> And the same applies to today. Still some good music, and lots of awful music. <br />
great song... kind of makes me think of driving around late at night...
i love his vocals in this song.
Great great great song ! Iggy's vocals are really good, especially on the second half, when they're much more nasal... Is it Mick Ronson who played that stoned guitar part ? And what a perfect beat ! I particularly love the line : 'Night clubbing we're night clubbing / We're an ice machine'
lou reed doesn't sing on this or any other iggy pop song...all of those voices are iggy's. the "stoned guitar part" was played by david bowie, who ended up playing most of the instruments on the album. i like the story about how just the two of them recorded the song after the other musicians had left the studio, and while iggy said he was happy with it the way it was, david suggested real drums would sound better. iggy disagreed and defended the drum machine: "it kicks ass! it's better than a drummer!" and the rest, as they say, is a song that trent reznor sampled the kick drum from.
kinda funny considering iggy started off as a blues drummer, and has talked about having to "feel" every note you play.
i think it might be about the cold war. if you know where the idiot was recorded it kinda makes sence. but needless to say iggy was a bit of a party animal so it could be litral.
Love the feel, lyrics are average. Kinda predictable. Great in Trainspotting.
this is where trent got inspiration for closer.you can hear it in the intro
The second vocals are by the man himself Lou Reed- his entry is probably the sleaziest moment in music ever. genius.