Man, It's So Loud in Here

TMBG are usually pretty straight forward on their lyrics. Seems to me to be about underground disco/techno night clubs. TMBG are from New York and there are a number of clubs that pop up in unusual places; since the stores or buildings are not meant to be clubs it can be frustrating, there's usually no tables or lockers to place your things; since it's not a permanent establishment there's no uniforms for the employees running the club; often the sound levels are off and there's no way to hear anything.

At first the lyrics state: "Baby check this out I've got something to say" "When they stop the drum machine and I can think again"

But change to "Baby check this out I've got something to say" "When they start the love machine and I can laugh again"

Perhaps what he has to say is that he loves the person he's going out with?

I hate pretentious interpretations that don’t allow any flexibility in musical poetry, but I am looking forward to hearing someone’s opinion on this, close minded or no.

My take on this (and I am probably off target)

I get the imagery that the speaker lacks the courage to tell the listener that he loves her and keeps referring to distractions that don’t really exist to keep from putting his feelings out there. Comparing ordinary places to a night club and the chaos that goes in one allows form him to not speak, even though the speaker halfway has the courage to at least begin to say it “Baby, check this out I’ve got something to say”

Other than that I like the song as a whole. Very “Pet Shop Boys” feel to it.

Interesting take, but I get the impression it's about how flashy, loud, sexy, and MTV-ish our society is becomming.

Um, I'm pretty sure it's about how loud it is in dance clubs.

i love tmbg. this song is so true, both about nightclubs and our society. 2 birds with one song.

I guess you could grope for greater meanings, but it's pretty obvious that it's a song about how hard it is to intimately communicate, or even think clearly, in a noisy and crowded dance club.

The riffs the song is built on appear to be very thinly-veiled rip-offs of "Funkytown" and "Bizzarre Love Triangle", and the Johns have gone so far as admitting to it (without naming the songs in question) on their web site in the past.

I have to agree with FLYING TREEMONKEY and Erisian. To me its a sort of vague social commentary bout how in the 80s everything started going disco and how you couldn't hear anything when you wanted to talk in night clubs because it was too damn loud! Randyisnot might be onto something because it does seem as though he is trying to say something which has to do with the love machine. who knows? The funniest line is... They revamped the airport completely now it looks just like a nightclub. Everyone's excited and confused.

Its about mall stores. Think about it you walk into an abercombie or a hollister store or even hot topic and its cramped with clothes and stuff with loud music blaring. And in stores like those you cant tell who the employees are and who the customers are cause theyre all dressed the same.

this song sums up going out on the town so perfectly. I go with my friends who seem to love it and get so excited, but to me its just confusing, noisy and i can't put my things anywhere! When you try to talk rather than dance like an idiot no one can hear you so even though you've been begged to come out, you might as well not be there!

Oh and the rest opf the song is implying that the whole world is becoming like night clubs and conversation is going down the pan.