I'm going to go ahead and disagree with the very interesting interpretation by JonnyRamone. It's pretty cool, but I really don't think this song is about a relationship, I think it's about the current political climate. Allow me to break it down for you:
I was a lover before this war - obviously he's upset about the war, but I almost think this is written from the pov of Bush, "holed up in a luxury suite behind a barricaded door"..."cleaned up, gone legit, we liked to party" (reference to alleged cocaine use and drunk driving convictions prior to political office). The priest class is his newfound religion helping him justify things to himself.
The brown shirt is a soldier, and the seduction is the idea of convincing people that the war is just/noble/worth the sacrifice. But he won't look him in the eye b/c he knows it's bullshit. The slow dance with commerce is a nod towards his economic fascination, but it's a slow dance b/c the economy has been slow to recover since the recession of 2001.
"Talk to kill time" references the flailing admin. trying to worm their way out of commitment to the war, everyone keeps talking but no one's doing anything. "It's been a while since we went wild" alludes to diminishing patriotism, and the sleepwalking through the trial is that we went into the war blindly.
The bourbon and god this is a southern pride allusion, and how people who voted based on religion are running out of excuses. "It's really a crime," well...duh.
I didn't mean to go on a political rant, I just think TV on the Radio did.
I'm going to go ahead and disagree with the very interesting interpretation by JonnyRamone. It's pretty cool, but I really don't think this song is about a relationship, I think it's about the current political climate. Allow me to break it down for you:
I was a lover before this war - obviously he's upset about the war, but I almost think this is written from the pov of Bush, "holed up in a luxury suite behind a barricaded door"..."cleaned up, gone legit, we liked to party" (reference to alleged cocaine use and drunk driving convictions prior to political office). The priest class is his newfound religion helping him justify things to himself.
The brown shirt is a soldier, and the seduction is the idea of convincing people that the war is just/noble/worth the sacrifice. But he won't look him in the eye b/c he knows it's bullshit. The slow dance with commerce is a nod towards his economic fascination, but it's a slow dance b/c the economy has been slow to recover since the recession of 2001.
"Talk to kill time" references the flailing admin. trying to worm their way out of commitment to the war, everyone keeps talking but no one's doing anything. "It's been a while since we went wild" alludes to diminishing patriotism, and the sleepwalking through the trial is that we went into the war blindly.
The bourbon and god this is a southern pride allusion, and how people who voted based on religion are running out of excuses. "It's really a crime," well...duh.
I didn't mean to go on a political rant, I just think TV on the Radio did.
xoxox