| Arcade Fire – No Cars Go Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I agree with ohsailorr, I like the EP version a little better. I get visions of national parks when I listen to this. I see this song as questioning the value of industrialization and its encroachment on the natural beauty of this world. Its a song about Realizing that life shouldn't be some grid plan and pining for the unexplored. |
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| Radiohead – Karma Police Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| to me, this song's about the fear of causality and risk and how we're all just cogs in this deterministic machine known as the universe and how our inhibitions are a product of chemicals and interactions we can't control....yup, did some wikireading up on karma and determinism. i read the "i lost myself" as some parallel universe he didn't go down and now he's where he's at and only has the laws of the universe to blame....yup, i've been getting into sci fi novels lately. | |
| Kings of Leon – The Bucket Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i think all the previous comments got erased when they renovated the website. | |
| Pixies – Debaser Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i like how it almost sounds like he's screaming slicing up "bibles" not eyeballs. don't know if that was intentional or subconscious lyrical ambiguity. | |
| Beck – Nausea Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| At first, I thought it was "Nasdaq" ruin instead of Aztec ruin. Kinda made sense in the sense that I think the song has something to do with greed and hyperconsumerism. | |
| Chad Vangaalen – Molten Light Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| yeah, she basically floats back up, don't know if that necessarily makes her a ghost. i think the priest basically says that they can't kill her ghost. | |
| Grandaddy – So You'll Aim Toward The Sky Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| this song kind of reminds me of wish you were here | |
| Andrew Bird – Plasticities Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| yeah, i think overall, it's really a giant question of how much control we really have over our lives and our beliefs. is it nature or nurture? what would we be like without media or government to influence our thinking? | |
| Andrew Bird – Plasticities Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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what i really get from this song is a sense of desperation...the idea that you can grow old without fighting for what you believe in because many have resigned to the fact that we live in a world with boundaries set by government, society, and media-ingrained conformism. the lines "You're gonna grow old, you're gonna to grow cold Before the sun can deliver you" and "Think life is too long, to be a whale in a cubicle Nails under your cuticle" kind of remind me of pink floyd's "time." i get a carpe diem idea from some of bird's songs, notably "fiery crash," "armchairs," "tables and chairs." |
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| Pink Floyd – Time Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| the line "hanging on in quiet desperation" reminds me of thoreau's quote that "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." I guess this song just goes to show that even if you can let the song all out, you'll still be just as desperate as you started as a youth to be alive. maybe we all have to experience some form of death to feel alive, whether it be the death of fearing what other people perceive you or some other spiritually numb part of ourselves. i think it all ties into the idea of trying to reach a side of ourselves we never saw when we're young. but by then it's too late. | |
| Chad Vangaalen – Molten Light Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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judging from the video, i get a sense that this song is not autobiographical. i interpret this female figure as symbolizing gaia, the earth goddess. eventually mankind will pay for harming the ecosystem with nature's wrath. interesting how he uses the priest as a sort of oracle or adviser, when it should be a scientist perhaps? i really like chad vangaalen's songs for the sort of primordial atmosphere they create. this is my favorite song off of soft airplane thus far. are there any other artists similar in this respect? pink floyd? i haven't listened to much pink floyd. |
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| Andrew Bird – Sovay Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| At first, when I heard this song, I thought he was singing "so vague," which would tie into the public's perception of the reasons Bush used to go into Iraq. | |
| Elliott Smith – Say Yes Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I noticed how Elliott Smith ends on an unresolved chord at the end...really fits into the whole optimistic yet out-of-your-hands idea. You don't know if the girl will choose him or not, which makes it all the more bittersweet. Awesome stuff. | |
| Grandaddy – Protected From The Rain Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Yet another great song about lost love/nostalgia. I really like the atmosphere of this song--really conveys this image of rain falling onto a windshield and a poem wrapped in plastic, nice unique image. |
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| Grandaddy – Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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R.I.P. Bender R.I.P. Grandaddy. Unless someone resurrects its zombie. I never realized until just now how much this reminds me of the story of Frankenstein. Made from "odd parts" like Frankenstein's monster. Same theme of technology gone awry. I forget if the monster dies in the end of that... |
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| Beach House – Tokyo Witch Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| it kind of sounds like "cavalry" instead of "camery" | |
| The National – Racing Like a Pro Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song reminds me of Rufus Wainwright's Art Teacher. Just the gender perspectives and the disillusionment at growing up and losing a spark of love you had before. You end up working where uniforms sterilize identity and passion. You start doing things without caring about them or wondering if it really means anything to you. | |
| Orba Squara – Perfect Timing (This Morning) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Awesome, the first time I get to post the first comment. To me, this song is about feeling content with your life. Despite whatever shit brought you down the day or night before, you can still look forward to the next day. Life's a cyclical process. People are a mix of optimism and pessimism, and sometimes you just have to think about how you get to breathe some fresh air in the morning to get rid of the pessimism. There is no serious downside to feeling hopeful for a new day to come. Life is bittersweet. You can't have the sweet without the bitter. Sometimes you just have to lie down in the grass or go for a walk and realize how happy it is that you came into this world and what you can do with your life. |
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| Andrew Bird – Armchairs Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It's incredible on how many levels the "crooked bow" line can work. It could be referring to a violin bow or the bow of a bow and arrow. At first I thought he was saying "boat." But personally, I think he's referring to the arrow of time, how we perceive it as linear and in one direction. Ultimately, I take from this song the message that life's really a fleeting thing. It's precious, and you shouldn't go through it alone and silent and keeping your thoughts inside or else it'll spell the destruction of your own personal universe--spiritual or eventually physical. You could also see it as the world on the verge of destruction, and everyone regrets not breaking the silence and letting go of their inhibitions. |
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| Wilco – Summer Teeth Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I think it's about an unexplainable emptiness in a person's life. You may not be lonely or sick, but you may question why you're where you're at right now, why you live the life you do. But I guess it all makes sense when you wake up. | |
| Nick Drake – Northern Sky Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Yeah, I think the person earlier was referring to "Is It Wicked Not To Care?": But if there was a sequel Would you love me as an equal? Would you love me until I'm dead? or a song from Boy with the Arab Strap. I think some songs on that album have a Nick Drake influence. |
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| Nick Drake – Fly Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| what instrument is in the background? i know there's cello guitar, some sort of keyboard instrument too? | |
| Built to Spill – Made-Up Dreams Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Love how it builds from cynicism to optimism to realization | |
| Nick Drake – Northern Sky Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I can't believe no one recognized the beauty of Nick Drake's work during his time--or at least that he didn't gain a popular following so that he could at least continue to make music. I also can't believe that no one saved him from his loneliness. There's an immense sense of humility in this song and an innocent sincerity about it. I basically hear a plea for friendship in this so that he could actually have a reason to feel hopeful and happy about life even if his musical career wasn't enough to support him. I dunno. His voice sounds so frail and sort of desperate for an escape. |
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| Modest Mouse – People as Places as People Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I interpret this song as a sort of existential musing. We are islands unto ourselves. I think this quote applies well: Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow We're all searching for an escape...an it usually involves other people. It's kind of absurd when you think about it: we are all made of matter, we don't choose whether or not we come into existence, so we might as well make the most of it by seeking the company of others. We have to learn to be comfortable in our own skins and heads before we can even seek out other islands, let alone head out in the world by ourselves. Friendship is probably the one thing humans can't live without. Who and where do you go when you're feeling lost? Either people or nature. I don't really detect a sort of ironic or sarcastic tone in this. To me, it's about learning all there is to know about yourself, trusting your feelings, trusting yourself enough to trust and know other people. What's the point of existence if you can't even understand yourself and the people around you? We all have amazing capabilities we never knew we had....we exist. |
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| The Flaming Lips – Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Yeah, and I really get the romantic vibe from the lyrics too, along with the music. Sort of Romeo & Julietesque that they have a choice until fate and human impulse wins out in the very end. | |
| The Flaming Lips – Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I see a parallel between this song and "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate." The thought of something totally ending, disappearing from existence, the thought of your own mortality, and the seemingly random nature of the very existence of the universe and of just living in general. | |
| Devendra Banhart – Mama Wolf Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think this is about how you can find truths--especially of love, while you're in nature's haven. I guess you learn to appreciate things more--things like a mother's love. There's a clarity about losing yourself in the wilderness--you become closer to yourself perhaps, more aware of your origins. Don't really know exactly what a female wolf represents exactly in this song, but it could be referencing Roman mythology--the twin sons of a Mother Wolf - Romulus and Remus? Though I doubt it. Don't feel like overanalyzing something like this since I feel like my first feeling defines it for me. |
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| Devendra Banhart – Long Haired Child Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I'm gonna want that child to be a long-haired child I'm gonna want that child to be a long-haired child My head looked like a globe Ain't no hair on it at all Do I buy a wig me in ~ twenty years :\ Maybe it's sort of poking fun at himself, considering he isn't even close to bald...a comic look at the rebellion of growing your hair out? Yeah, it's not rebellion...it's just smart...my dang head's cold! So maybe parents' advice isn't that smart. They tell you to wear a jacket in the cold and tell you to get a crew cut when it's snowing outside...what logic! |
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| Grandaddy – Miner At The Dial-A-View Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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good point, Proximity. I see this as nostalgia in general. I hadn't even left high school yet when I listened to this song, and it still made me feel the same way, about living a life above ground, seeing how it all looks from a satellite or a bird's eye view. A repressed man, living underground, can only sustain himself through thinking about home. Is finding a new home the ultimate dream? Is it possible to truly feel "at home" when everything disappears with time and places are so far away, and you have technology to remind you how truly removed from it all--the people you love, your dreams, nature--you really are? I definitely get the feeling of technology's alienation in this song and the whole album. |
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| Grandaddy – So You'll Aim Toward The Sky Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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i see this as a look back at unfulfilled potential, thoughts that your best simply isn't good enough. you think about space and all the things you want to do with it, and it never really materializes. i see how it works in the point of view of modern man also though. |
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| Wolf Parade – Dinner Bells Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I see the connection between this song and Dear Sons and Daughters--the concept of hunger for something intangible, not just food or material things. This song makes me feel nostalgic for something that hasn't completely disappeared yet. Maybe eventually this hunger will die completely--people will become completely numb because they no longer have to do things for themselves because technology can do it for them like in Modern World. Will there be a time when music completely disappears from the earth? Hopefully, it'll be when the earth crashes into the sun or humans bring about their own extinction, not because humans choose not to make music anymore. | |
| Radiohead – Let Down Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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sweatersdotcom pretty much summed it up for me. To me, it's also about coping with the disappointment of not living up to your full potential. We could be so many things in this life. We could "grow wings" and undergo "chemical reactions." We could step outside our boundaries of comfort and strive for something that we can find meaning and happiness in. I think this song goes well with "Fake Plastic Trees" in that they're both about the insane expectations you or society put on yourself. It's about how dreams can be lost among these expectations. Sometimes life seems like this giant fucking beauty contest and who's better. Who has more money, who has the most skills, the most talent. And it shouldn't be that at all. It' a fear of not only letting yourself down, but other people down--when you shouldn't really give a fuck. You should do your best. But sometimes your best isn't good enough because you don't know what you want to be best in and that's where you screw yourself over and blame things on yourself. |
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| Grandaddy – The Warming Sun Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| It's amazing how well Grandaddy's songs can make you feel like how you felt at other points in your life. | |
| Wolf Parade – Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I really agree with JMoneyNJ and artworkbyeddy. Just to add to that, I think the water and holes thing is tying back to the olive trees in "I'll Believe in Anything." The idea that possibilities are endless with patience and a dream that's above yourself. You have to dig holes and need water to make things grow. The only way to make your dreams come true is if you take the initiative, plant the seed. What I really take from this song is that you have to continually strive for something greater. I think self-improvement and self-reliance are really problems in this generation. Sometimes the culture of dependence and materialism keep us from seeing what's really important--what we perceive as true progress. I interpret the song as referring to the second generation of immigrant families. Parents go to other lands striving to give their children bright futures. That kind of attitude is kind of lost in the next generation when things are taken for granted. Slackers and procrastination are really the hallmarks of the modern era. And it's probably not frowned upon as much as it should be. Look at the problem of global warming. That's the biggest challenge of our generation. We won't be able to solve it if we keep on putting things off for the next tomorrow, because that tomorrow will be for our kids. So I guess these "hungry ghosts" is kind of a cyclical thing. With each progressive generation, the quality of life improves, but with it more existential questions of what we should be and what we should do--chase carbon copy dreams of materialism or be steady like our parents in thinking of future generations? With each progressive generation, dependence on technology grows along with a greater sense of alienation and apathy. I guess the easier things get, the harder it is for young people to exert themselves--figure out their true potential and figure out what they love. I think that first generation immigrants really sacrificed a lot and had a really noble goal--provide a better life for their offspring. I guess that really disappeared with all of these improvements of lifestyle--now it's more about what kind of TV can I get with X amount of money and what job I can get to make the most money to use some gadget in my free time. I'm being really general here, but it's just the feeling I get. I think that this ties really well with the Buddhism idea--the idea of self-improvement, figuring about what the hell you love to do, and figuring out how you can find some peace of mind free of "how can I get ahead of other people?" and "how much money can I make?" It's about figuring out what makes you happy and taking steps in finding that calling that was always there but you never saw. |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Rhinoceros Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Yeah, the horn of the rhinoceros is supposed to be a symbol of purity I think. | |
| Ben Kweller – Penny on the Train Track Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I like the 70s? vibe of this song. Makes me wanna just drive away from here and get lost somewhere and scream at random strangers on the way. | |
| Radiohead – True Love Waits Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Hm, sometimes I listen to this and think it's supposed to be a biting and sarcastic view of love --"dress like your niece??" But then other times I listen to it and just feel all the raw emotion and say screw it, it's a beautiful song. It doesn't really have to mean anything in particular to be a love song. I mean, I'd probably listen to it even if he just lala'ed his way through it. |
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| Kings of Leon – The Bucket Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I think it's also about the alienation and loneliness associated with fame and traveling all the time, how it can get awkward and overwhelming at the same time. | |
| Kings of Leon – The Bucket Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I actually think this is about how things happening too soon, like death, stardom, and how it's hard to cope with the confusion and stay the same person you were before. Great song to freewheel and freeload to. |
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| Modest Mouse – The World at Large Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Someone Noone summed it up pretty well for me. To me, it's about getting tired of staying in one place and just wanting to live life like you've never lived it before. I definitely relate to the theme of just wanting change, wanting everything to turn out okay and the need for reassurance from the world and your peers. |
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| Wolf Parade – Shine a Light Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| As for the meaning, I think it's about having dreams but being so unsure of yourself that you just think about it day and night, not sleeping or doing anything about them. And in the end it can kill you. | |
| Wolf Parade – Shine a Light Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Or I guess Beck and Spencer have the same kind of vocal delivery. | |
| Wolf Parade – Shine a Light Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I can see why someone said that they heard Beck in this. Anyone else think Spencer's voice kind of sounds like Beck's? Just the parts where he kind of howls out the lyrics. I don't see how this is a rip-off of Arcade Fire's Rebellion. Anyways, my favorite Wolf Parade song at the moment. |
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| Belle & Sebastian – Desperation Made a Fool of Me Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| the suffering/happiness interfolly matrix | |
| The Smashing Pumpkins – Drown Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I also see this as the dreamer getting discouraged by a putdown or a letdown: "Is it something someone said? Was it something someone said ?" and starting to let a lifelong dream slip away. Then the dreamer's friend realizes that maybe he's not cut out for this dream, but doesn't want to lie to him: "I wish, I wish I could lie" |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Rhinoceros Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Or both. He stares at the animals and sees himself as a rhino and her as some gazelle or beautiful bird. | |
| The Smashing Pumpkins – Drown Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Yeah, I think it's about just trying to strive for a dream and needing someone to help you get there, like a dream of becoming a musician in a band, perhaps. Or trying to carry on the pursuit of happiness without someone helping you reach the dream or once they have helped you get to where you wanted to go. | |
| The Decemberists – Cocoon Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| What does he mean by "quarterback's room?" | |
| Pink Floyd – Keep Talking Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Really pertinent song, even today. I wonder what percentage of conflict is started just by people avoiding each other. | |
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