no-one ever said it was boring in jordan... the reference is (of course) not to the country but to jordan, minnesota, immortalised by big black for all the wrong reasons; but neil fallon seems to have mistakenly assumed that atomiser was a straightforward concept album, all set in one town... it isn't (except inasmuch as albini's stories could take place in almost any small, impoverished, come-here-to-die american backwater). the idea of boredom comes from "kerosene" on the same album, in which the narrator's mundane life is so dull that he exhorts his partner to set him on fire just to break the monotony (sounds ridiculous, but albini will again have based this on a true story - or rather a news snippet, which may well have been exaggerated). but there was never any suggestion that the inhabitants of jordan took to child abuse because they were bored. never mind neil, it still makes for a good opening line :)
bebop-alu-mop yadda-yadda: clever. half gene vincent and half little richard, thus hinting at two of fallon's forebears and possible early influences. it also sums up nicely his alchemical ability to take nonsensical elements and turn them into rock poetry, a talent which is displayed wonderfully in the second verse (a lyrical obstacle course that not all singers could negotiate with any confidence).
finally - even after all these years and plays i can't be certain, but i think the line is "hari kari and carbines", not "combines", although it could be either. (there is no such thing as hari kari of course... he means hara kiri, but this is a very common mistake and may even be deliberate here..?)
no-one ever said it was boring in jordan... the reference is (of course) not to the country but to jordan, minnesota, immortalised by big black for all the wrong reasons; but neil fallon seems to have mistakenly assumed that atomiser was a straightforward concept album, all set in one town... it isn't (except inasmuch as albini's stories could take place in almost any small, impoverished, come-here-to-die american backwater). the idea of boredom comes from "kerosene" on the same album, in which the narrator's mundane life is so dull that he exhorts his partner to set him on fire just to break the monotony (sounds ridiculous, but albini will again have based this on a true story - or rather a news snippet, which may well have been exaggerated). but there was never any suggestion that the inhabitants of jordan took to child abuse because they were bored. never mind neil, it still makes for a good opening line :)
bebop-alu-mop yadda-yadda: clever. half gene vincent and half little richard, thus hinting at two of fallon's forebears and possible early influences. it also sums up nicely his alchemical ability to take nonsensical elements and turn them into rock poetry, a talent which is displayed wonderfully in the second verse (a lyrical obstacle course that not all singers could negotiate with any confidence).
finally - even after all these years and plays i can't be certain, but i think the line is "hari kari and carbines", not "combines", although it could be either. (there is no such thing as hari kari of course... he means hara kiri, but this is a very common mistake and may even be deliberate here..?)
great song!