| Cannibal Corpse – I Cum Blood Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I mean, my problem with it is that it's shallow. | |
| Bon Iver – Creature Fear Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Can I just point out how gorgeously ironic it is that you misspelled "alliteration" as "illiteration" while complaining about the relative illiteracy of people here? Man. Anyways, I think the song is mostly self-explanatory, and what you feel when you hear it is what it was written to mean. |
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| Dizzy Balloon – Raise a Glass Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Isn't this the one they almost didn't put on the album? So of course it ended up being one of their most popular songs, haha. Anyways, I love this song (is it just me or is it a little bit Tokyo Police Club, too?), and the lyrics are fairly self-explanatory. The "I've lost my mind" is perfect, though! |
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| Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Yeah, probably... Anyways, because the story takes place mostly in flashback, the beginning of the book is really near the end of the story, so most of you are technically correct. Also, the only way Wuthering Heights (the book) is actually romantic is if you're into physical and emotional abuse, unhealthy obsessions, and sociopathic behavioral tendencies. Or if you believed what Twilight said about it. I mean, it's an extraordinary piece of literature with a compelling story (and it's even of the Romantic era!), but it's not... no. That's all. |
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| Bob Dylan – You're Gonna Quit Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Yeah, I was gonna say... this isn't nearly obscure and twisted enough to be an original Dylan... | |
| Owl City – West Coast Friendship Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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As far as I'm concerned, this is a song about my Very Best Friends who live on the East Coast and who are soon visiting us in California (YESSSSSS!). I couldn't care less about alternate interpretations-- there's none that could make me happier than this one. :] |
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| St. Vincent – Jesus Saves, I Spend Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Doesn't it seem a little unfair to base expertise in interpretation of art on knowledge of the life of the artist? It's not to say that personal experience doesn't factor into art or that it's not something that should be considered, but it's hardly the only thing. Anyways. The first thing I thought of when I considered "the other absentee" of Christmas was Satan, which... might be a little obvious, considering, you know, the title and all that jazz, but then she's also "scultpting saints" (which... how would people become saints without something to preach against or others to martyr them for it?). You could argue that the garden (with the gray pallor) is a reference to Adam and Eve's fallen paradise. And along the lines of color symbolism, the first stanza doesn't mention any (although everything's portrayed as divinely good rather than bad), the next mentions gray (purgatory? And she's "sitting and scultping"-- she's not as inactive as in the first stanza where it's a still life, but she's still definitely not doing much, which is within the concept of purgatory, yes?), and the final stanza has lots and lots of red (Hell, if I needed to tell you. She's finally both involved and active here, too). I can't say that I'm sure what I think this means, but... I grew up Catholic and have taken any number of lit courses; it's in my blood to point out religious references, alright? Haha. Anyways... it does seem to be tracing her from being in the background in something divine, to just being present in something neutral (I guess regular people could be said to create saints, too, with their wickenesses and potential to be saved and tendencies to persecution), to finally being front and center in something entirely removed from grace but adored (even though by now she's a bit disparaging of it-- it's not a grand finale but "a mess we've made"). Then they exit the stage. Which would be dying. All in a metaphor for life or showbiz, where as soon as you've "made it" you're disenchanted with the whole thing and just leave? I dunno. It seems too obvious... but I definitely don't see how the Sufjan connection is anything but an association-based leap. |
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| Mickey Avalon – So rich, So pretty Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I'd like to know who the girl doing the female vocal part is, too-- I'm pretty sure it's not Uffie because I'm pretty familiar with her work, and the first time I heard this song I started thinking about how pissed Uffie probably is that she didn't come up with the "best piece of ass in the whole damn city" before Mickey Avalon did, haha. And she's got that funky almost-Euro fake accent, too. (Or is that just the brattiness? Not that I don't still think she's kind of fab, and I'd love to see what might happen if she and Mickey made music together.) | |
| MGMT – The Youth Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I always thought that the nicest thing was choosing for yourself. Music only has the influence that you allow it to have. Anyways: Yeah, I basically agree with the hippie interpretation, only I see it as maybe a little sadder and less hopeful for now... because, I mean, are you? But I'd say it's the "twist and shout" line that gives away the inspiring era. I mean, if we were to pretend that they just happened to have similar sentiments and feels. It was a clever little way to direct peoples thoughts, though. :) |
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| Regina Spektor – 2.99 Cent Blues Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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So, funny story. I was working on notes for Ethan From for school, listening to Regina Spektor-- this comes on. Cool. (Mind you, I hadn't listened closely to the lyrics at that point. Or read Ethan Frome before that day.) So I'm writing. And Regina Spektor name-drops Mr. Frome. WHAT IS THIS? Naturally I had to go back and check on the song, then check here... I like that book so much more now! |
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| The Killers – Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I thought it was pretty obvious from the lyrics and from the delivery that he's being sort of ironic... I think so, anyways. He's mocking the hipsters, but cleverly, which doesn't happen much. And they're earnest, I'm kind of sad that such a talented band is so derivative and pretentious in their personal lives and tastes, but whatever. |
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| The Killers – Andy, You're a Star Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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You know how straight girls get girl crushes? Yeah. The narrator of the song is a guy with a boy crush on Andy. He's straight, but he still sort of fancies him. My interpretation, anyways. |
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| Franz Ferdinand – Michael Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I actually love that he's singing to a guy. It means that I can enjoy the song, which makes me think about hot guys, without being subconsciously resentful of the person being sung to (like I occasionally do when the subject is a girl, and it's a sexy song, not a love song. There is a difference). | |
| Death Cab for Cutie – Why You'd Want to Live Here Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Yeah, I'd say that the song is more about him trying to stop someone from moving to Los Angeles (or trying to get him or her to move back) rather than trying to stop anyone from moving there. It's got some fairly accurate moments, though-- I don't have anything against L.A., though I'm not a frequent visitor, but seriously, you cannot breathe there and people are a little bit too fond of their cars. It's a love song about L.A. in that he loves her and wants her to move away from the city. It seems fairly straightforward to me... And proefound: The thing with a city is that it really is the people it attracts... I mean, isn't it? Very little of New York City's population was actually born there, but the sort of people who are attracted to the city are the ones that create its character. The locusts from the Greyhound are among the ones who shape the city's identity, and peoples' perception of this identity is typically a reflection on those locusty types that occasionally achieve notoriety or even fame rather than on natives. Oh! "i hate california, EXCEPT sanfran. because its the least "california esque" god i love this song totally criticizes california's morals, image, style its great it needs to be said, the place is a shit hole." You know what? You're right. The county whose trash bins were downsized because they're recycling so much-- what a shithole. And the town near Sacramento (not even San Francisco!) that holds the largest environmental film festival in the world is so shallow. No morals whatsoever. All the Californians happy about the legalization of gay marriage-- they're doing nothing for the image of their state! It's all so wrong. I can't speak for southern California, but San Francisco might possibly be the most NorCal-esque city in California (except possibly Santa Cruz. I'm probably obligated to mention Sacramento since it's the capital and all that jazz, but most of us don't consider it to really be a city). I mean, you might still hate California, but if you love San Francisco so much yet manage to so thoroughly loathe the rest, you're either a filthy hypocrite, going mindlessly along with whatever your counterculture media sources tell you too, or just sadly ignorant. |
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| Beck – Girl Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Why can't it be both "sun-eyed" and "cyanide"? Anyways. This is my current interpretation of the song, although I keep on changing my mind about it. "I saw her, yeah I saw her with her black tongue tied round the roses" She's not the best person in the world (she's a little dangerous, a little dark), but she's intertwined with romance-- maybe she's always involved in it and it's just a part of her, or because of his immediate infatuation with her. "fists pounding on a vending machine toy diamond ring stuck on her finger" Um. She's trapped in the materialism of the world? "with a noose she could hang from the sun and put it out with her dark sunglasses" She can do anything that's impossible... it's just that with her personality and the world that she's caught in, that "anything" ends up being a little morbid. "walking crooked down the beach she spits in the sand where their bones are bleaching" Honestly, she seems sort of drunk and derisive here. And that's just how she is sometimes. "and I know I'm gonna steal her eye" He's going to catch her eye, and maybe her heart. "she doesn't even know what's wrong" Even though she does wrong all the time, she's still innocent. "and I know I'm gonna make her die take her where her soul belongs" Not literally make her die (at least I don't think so-- I mean, I do see that interpretation; I just don't agree with it). I see the "make her die" in a sexual way, honestly. But he's going to completely change her world-- make it better, maybe, but certainly different. He thinks it's the world that she belongs in. "and I know I'm gonna steal her eye nothing that I wouldn't try" A little obsessed over catching her eye. "hey my sun-eyed/cyanide girl hey my sun-eyed/cyanide girl" She's poison to him, too. His fixation with her, and the type of person that she is despite her inherent innocence, makes her cyanide to him. But she's still his sun-eyed girl-- I mean, there has to be some sort of reason for him to be so obsessed. She's special to him. "I saw her, yeah I saw her with her hands tied back and her rags were burning" He sees her as a martyr, a victim of this world. "crawling out from a landfilled life scrawling her name upon the ceiling" She wants to be remembered, and her previous life (presumably the one before him)... wasn't that great. And he wants to save her. "throw a coin in a fountain of dust white noise, her ears are ringing" Making a wish, but everything she's used to is gone. It's not entirely unpleasant now, just thoroughly disorienting. "got a ticket for a midnight hanging" That reminds me of how she could be hung from the sun-- her life is entirely different now, but somehow he doesn't save her like he wanted to, he just changed it? I'm not sure. "throw a bullet from a freight train leaving" He bails on her, or vice versa. "and I know I'm gonna steal her eye she doesn't even know what's wrong and I know I'm gonna make her die take her where her soul belongs and I know I'm gonna steal her eye nothing that I wouldn't try" He's still enchanted by her, and he's remembering the possibilities of before their relationship happened and fell apart. This is such an ambiguous song, though. |
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| The Decemberists – On the Bus Mall Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I always thought that this was about a pair of gay teenage lovers running away together and becoming prostitutes to survive. They lose their innocence, but "will not mourn". It's the whole question of whether it was worth it for them, and they won't admit that maybe it wasn't. It goes from them being in love to something even deeper (maybe even to something more brotherly, since they need families to survive and that's what they are to each other?). But they ran away to be with each other, and now all they have is each other. It's amazing how they can make such a tragic topic into such a tragic, pretty song. |
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| Louis XIV – Pledge Of Allegiance Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I know what this song is about: sex! Haha. |
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| Scissor Sisters – Might Tell You Tonight Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| booty call evolving into love.... aww =] | |
| Feist – Sea Lion Woman Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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stages, maybe? seductress --> jaded --> bridal --> mother --> old&depressed? or just different kinds of women. or a woman who changes all the time trying to be happy, being all different kinds of women, but it still doesn't work. |
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| Paolo Nutini – Autumn Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| this is exquisite. and I must agree with the above definitions. | |
| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I think that you guys are reading a bit much into it, hmm? I do agree with the general gist of your interpretations, I suppose. just.... not the depth of narrative. maybe the depth of deeper meaning [god that's awkward phrasing, but I can't be bothered to change it], but not the fidgety little details in the story. of course I'm still wondering precisely what a flathead is. to think that I always thought that it was a screwdriver, californians for you. |
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| The Shins – Turn On Me Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| ah, what about the music video for this though? it absolutely freaks me out. which is sad, because generally I like music videos of the shins. | |
| The Beatles – Blackbird Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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isn't "bird" britslang for girl or woman, not man? oh well, I suppose that it easily could've been forty years ago. this song is so beautiful in that you can delve into deeper meanings, but you don't have to in order to appreciate the lyrical and emotional aspects of this song. |
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| The Beatles – Drive My Car Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I can't quite remember but I seem to recall reading somewhere that initially the lyrics were more sexually explicit [it might've had "ride" instead of "drive", I can't remember] and then they were changed to remain appropriate, and I love the double-meanings that ensued. anyways, yeah, it's literally talking about, a girl who wants to be famous and lets a boy drive her car for her even though she doesn't have one, and sex. | |
| The Beatles – Baby You're a Rich Man Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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actually, john, while fond of epstein, could be rather cruel about brian's homosexuality [like making lots of jokes about him being queer-- somebody already mentioned the proposed biography name-- but still beating up people who made fun of epstein] and the "beautiful people" part was supposedly written about the hippie movement and the hypocrisy in it, and the "rich fag jew" line just a cruel joke done on a take of it, presumably in brian's presence. and I believe that "sexy sadie" was inspired when john felt betrayed because the maharishi allegedly screwed a young american nurse while they were at his retreat, or something? it could easily have had to do with his materialism too, if the cars deal is true. the money in a zoo line is, I think, simply a reference to materialism, immaterialism, and the ridiculousness of some people who prescribe to extremes of those. or something. |
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