Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
It's yet to be determined
But the air is thick
And my hope is feeling worn
I'm missing home
And I'm glad you're not a part of this
There's parts of me that will be missed
And the phone is always dead to me
So I can't tell you the temperature is dropping
And it feels like
It's colder than it oughta be in March
And I've still got a day or two ahead of me
Till I'll be heading home into your arms again
And the people here are asking after you
It doesn't make it easier
It doesn't make it easier to be away
I'd like to hire a plane
And see you in the morning
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
Coming home again
Coming home again
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
It's warmer where you're waiting
It feels more like July
There's pillows in their cases
And one of those is mine
She wrote the words I love you
And sprayed it with perfume
It's better than the fire is
To heat this lonely room
It's warmer where you're waiting
It feels more like July
It feels more like July
And it's yet to be determined
But the air is thick
And my hope is feeling worn
I'm missing home
And I'm glad you're not a part of this
There's parts of me that will be missed
And the phone is always dead to me
So I can't tell you the temperature is dropping
And it feels like
It's colder than it oughta be in March
And I've still got a day or two ahead of me
Till I'll be heading home into your arms again
And the people here are asking after you
It doesn't make it easier
It doesn't make it easier to be away
I'd like to hire a plane
And see you in the morning
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
I'm coming home again
I'm coming home again
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
But the air is thick
And my hope is feeling worn
I'm missing home
And I'm glad you're not a part of this
There's parts of me that will be missed
And the phone is always dead to me
So I can't tell you the temperature is dropping
And it feels like
It's colder than it oughta be in March
And I've still got a day or two ahead of me
Till I'll be heading home into your arms again
And the people here are asking after you
It doesn't make it easier
It doesn't make it easier to be away
I'd like to hire a plane
And see you in the morning
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
Coming home again
Coming home again
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
It's warmer where you're waiting
It feels more like July
There's pillows in their cases
And one of those is mine
She wrote the words I love you
And sprayed it with perfume
It's better than the fire is
To heat this lonely room
It's warmer where you're waiting
It feels more like July
It feels more like July
And it's yet to be determined
But the air is thick
And my hope is feeling worn
I'm missing home
And I'm glad you're not a part of this
There's parts of me that will be missed
And the phone is always dead to me
So I can't tell you the temperature is dropping
And it feels like
It's colder than it oughta be in March
And I've still got a day or two ahead of me
Till I'll be heading home into your arms again
And the people here are asking after you
It doesn't make it easier
It doesn't make it easier to be away
I'd like to hire a plane
And see you in the morning
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
I'm coming home again
I'm coming home again
When the day is fresh I'm coming home again
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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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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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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.
I wish I could smile when I listen to this song, but I just can't. Don't get me wrong I love this song, but the person I went home to recently hadn't been waiting for me like Chris'. I hope one day I can come home from school, or something to see my girl just as happy to see me as I am her.