The Cutter

Ok, the 7th floor is referencing this Broadcasting building in London, where BBC recordings take place (or used to anyway). Cello tape I believe was used in recording to create a certain sound with a microphone, or maybe just taping mics together, and for other various purposes. So, the way I look at it, they were a struggling band, putting together instruments or setting up their stuff in a studio as best they could, trying to make an impression, and hoping they would be spared from the "cutter" or the critical minds of the music industry who have little patience for experimental, creative music. They're hoping that the industry people on the 7th floor who control their destiny are "brewing alternatives" which would allow their music (the stuff the music industry might put in the bottom drawer initially) to actually see the light of day.

"Say we can, say we will, not just another drop in the ocean." He's saying they are not just another flash in the pan, that they have something to give.

A parallel to all of this (my own interpretation of course) is the idea of the cutting itself. Cutting- as in the way a person with psychological issues might cut into their own skin. This is done for many reasons, and in some cultures the cutting is done as purification rituals (others call it bleeding, and this practice used to go on all the time). In this case, I think he might be referring to the fact that the industry sort of takes chunks out of you when you become part of it, and he is wondering if he will still have the raw emotion that he had before he got into all of this, that the industry doesn't numb him to all of this manipulation. "Will I still be soiled when the dirt is off" to me is another reference to trying to wash away guilt, and that ties in with the cross/religious reference as well as the sacrifice in "figurative" blood he is making to become an artist. He has to make some artistic sacrifices if he want to "escape our lives" of starving artists, or he could just be referencing the art itself as an escape. Also, there is always figurative blood spilled when an artist produces something.

I also really love the line about "happy loss" this really meant to me the true nature of being an artist. There is some bit of a masochistic tendency I think in really good artists. They sort of enjoy suffering for their art (or cutting for that matter), as it can be a wealthy source for creative ideas. It's a necessary evil, so to speak. The pain (the cutting) creates the art (the release, or rush...but also the loss of blood...hence, the "happy loss".... sorry, I just love the metaphor) Lots of great artists have always been somewhat self-destructive, so I think there's something to that in here as well.

Also, along those lines, "will I still be soiled" means that if he is accepted as an artist in the industry, he will have some means, so he won't be as much of a "soiled," starving artist, but will that mean that he will be worthy still of making great art? Will his art be viable if he's not struggling, since that what spawned his desire to become an artist in the first place (by spawned I don't necessarily mean he was driven by money, but rather that he really developed his artistic eye as a struggling outsider)? Additionally, this could also have to do with his worries about failure. When the blinders are off, when everything is tripped away and he is exposed, will he still be shite?

And when he says "watch the fingers close, when the hands are cold," I see this as meaning that he needs to remind himself to keep it together. He needs to stay away from getting caught up in the release, and focus on the art. The release that the actual cutter receives can be too much of a good thing if too much blood leaves the body. Just as the release of emotion in art must be tamed as well, because ultimately an artist wants to harness the emotion and articulate the experience with an objective, critical eye. The risk is dropping into a self-destructive vortex.

So all of the good stuff: self-doubt, stuggle, anxiety, fear of success, fear of failure, overcoming personal hurdles, maintaining integrity- it’s all in here, a great great song as far as I'm concerned. And I didn't even get into the power of the cutting, ripping guitar chords and the sounds of the climactic chorus! Oh well, there's always next time!!!