submissions
| Calexico – Quattro (World Drifts In) Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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it sure is a fantastic song. i think joey commented on the DVD, that he wanted to evoke a "constant feeling of pace & running", referring to some mexican tribe that had to do just that :-) |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Alice Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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the video is also a perfect mirror of howie beck's music - perfectly crafted & handmade, with meticulous attention to detail, and a happy and colourful look on the surface with many sad stories & messages underneath... |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Serves You Right Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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by the way, the 2nd verse contains some mistakes here, most significantly the 2nd line... since i can't edit gabby's lyrics, i'll just post them as a comment: the lyrics go "you turned out just like i thought you would, silk tie that chokes every passing word"... |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Watch out for the fuzz Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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another nice detail is the lyrical change in the last chorus (from "watch your back before you come" to "watch your back if you become (who you're dreaming of)". this is typical for his songs, and i like how it often adds another twist to the lyrics, in this case (maybe) implying that you shouldn't cheat and lie to somebody if you wanna become the person that you're dreaming of. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Watch out for the fuzz Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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i'm not sure what exactly the title "watch out for the fuzz" means, but it's pretty obvious that the song is about unfaithfulness, or more precisely: being cheated on and lied at. my favourite part is the bridge & following instrumental part, which actually uses quite a bit of "fuzz" guitar, maybe the title also refers to that... |
submissions
| Howie Beck – My low Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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not sure what this one is exactly about, maybe about things going wrong in a relationship. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – What you found Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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actually i could never quite figure this song out, but now i have an explanation that finally makes sense: it's a self-deprecating song and the line "i don't believe in what you found" actually means not believing in HIMSELF anymore.
it must be about somebody being interested in him ("fourteen days you wasted time") but him being neurotic and rejecting her ("don't be surprised if i act unkind") because HE doesn't believe in what SHE found (which is him). the reason for this is being disappointed himself ("you're so paralyzed when they let you down"), and the 2nd verse actually confirms that ("ok i guess i lied, it's been 2 years since i died"). he obviously can't get over a past relationship and thus has trouble to open up to somebody else.
as posted before, this song was my first contact with howie beck, and i quickly liked it for several reasons. it's short, upbeat & catchy and very quick to the point, and it always had a special value to me. even more so now, that i seem to have figured out the lyrics. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Zombie Girl Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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Howie compares his ideal girl to a Zombie, and what might seem like a joke at first, is actually a trademark Howie Beck lyric. Only girls that have been hurt & disappointed themselves, might qualify as potential partners for him ("all the pain she feels inside, all the pain from the daylight should bring her to me"), probably because for many other women he is just "mr. nice guy". especially the 2nd verse gets very personal - he admits that he tried to change his attitude many times, but never could. and the following line "maybe i lost my spine, but i know what's mine" actually makes him a zombie as well, thus looking for the perfect partner. a howie-beck-esque love story, you could say :-) |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Hollow Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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this short and bittersweet tune sets the tone for howie beck's second album of the same name, because as most of the album, this is all about disappointment, betrayal & false expectations. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – 10 flowers, 13 clouds and a string Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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there is a recurring image of "13 clouds" in howie beck's music, it is also the name of his own label where he published his first recordings. this song and its title seem like a personal anecdote to me, maybe the memory of an early (if not his first) love? the first stanza seems to be more recent (he still seems to have a lot of respect for that person) whereas the second stanza might describe the moment of seeing her for the first time.
i imagine this being about an early love, and 10 flowers, 13 clouds and a (broken?) string might have been involved in it at some point. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Baby plays around Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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pretty obvious song (the title says it all) about being cheated on and played around with. there is even a hint that this is not happening to the narrator for the first time ("prove it to me once again i'm stuck here by myself").
seeing the lyrics, you might immediately tag it as self-pitying "sad bastard music", however the music is very lush and almost uplifting. although not my favourite, one of the first howie beck tunes i caught up to. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Flashover Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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I find this new Howie Beck song is very much in the vein of his previous material, beautifully simple in its music & lyrically intriguing. I learned from wikipedia that a "flashover" describes a certain stage of a fire incident, and i think it is a metaphor for the tough(est) part of getting over a lost love. the pain "is burning down into the heart until the love is free" (= until you can let go of that person).
I probably didn't get all the lyrics right here, since the album is not released yet, and i'll have to wait for the liner notes to make some adjustments. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Everybody sold out Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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this, for a change, is not a breakup song, but maybe it describes the stages that precede a breakup. still it's howie confessing his insecurity, probably to a girlfriend... not 100% sure what he means by "selling out" but i think it could stand for being unfaithful and cheating on a partner. it sounds as if he wants to hang on to a relationship because it's very important for him, but feels that he is the weaker part ("i know that it's just up to you now"), and that his partner might just as well cheat on him like "everybody else does"... |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Serves You Right Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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actually, that second explanation seems quite likely, too, never thought about that. but the lyrics are so harsh that i stick to my interpretation... after all, would you really let somebody "drown in a minute" for fooling around with your girlfriend? |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Floating Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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i disagree with you, because sometimes artists may want to address something "real" that has happened to them (or others) in life, even if disguising it through symbolic language.
i doubt whether somebody that howie knew actually drowned him-/herself (which would be the obvious interpretation), but the song is quite clearly about suicide. it even addresses the fact that a suicide might often come unexpected to others ("through all those days no one ought to think that you were barely holding on") and damage the ones left behind ("you couldn't see the anger that would come from this").
personally i think, howie wrote a tune about suicide, but uses the drowning as a metaphor. the line "you couldn't see the land so you gave in" just refer to somebody giving up in life, not being able to solve his problems. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Condor Ave. Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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it's amazing that this is apparently one of his very first songs, because i think it is one of his best, too. it shows he really loved and was influenced very much by folk music cuz it's a great piece of storytelling in a haunting voice to fluent fingerpicking - a perfect folk song in that distinct own style that elliott had.
the lyrics (to me) are pretty straightforward, except for the last paragraph maybe. after an argument with his girlfriend she drives off, falls asleep behind the steering wheel for a few seconds, and gets into a deadly car crash, accidently also killing a homeless person on the side of the road.
i can imagine elliott changed his lyrics a lot on this one, because he has just nailed in in this final version, the selected words, the rhythm, the images he creates - you can see he's spent some time on this song, because everything is in the right place. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – I need light Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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as always, some beautiful subtleties in this song - the banjo & harp during the solo and the background lyrics by the wonderful leslie feist |
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| Howie Beck – We waited Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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hard to say what this one is exactly about, but it's for sure one of his catchies songs. the banjo and the reference to a "country road" give the song a nice country feel while still keeping a poppy appeal. |
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| Howie Beck – I need light Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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nice song that anybody can connect to. you go out, have a few drinks too much, walk home drunk and get lost in sentimental thoughts. |
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| Howie Beck – Floating Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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i could be meant literally, that means going out for a swim and never coming back, or just symbolic for drifting through life and then letting go - anyhow it's quite clear that it's about suicide. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – What you found Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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this was actually the first song i heard from howie beck. they used to play it on the radio early in the morning when i drove to work. it was a cold winter, and his warm voice and the full sound made me feel a little bit better. then i discovered "baby plays around" on a sampler and went to a record store to buy HOLLOW. they had exactly 1 copy there which i found kinda sweet. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – I Won't Be Sorry Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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well verse 1 seems to be about the world being a tough place and to function in it, it is essential to hide your true feelings behind a mask cause nobody gives a damn anyway.
same in verse 2, here it comes to relationships, and how opening up to somebody has a danger of being exposed.
i also like the reference that we are the product of our thoughts (the things inside our head - all in all that's all we are)
great guitar strumming on this one, and one of those simple, yet effective guitar solos (in this case emulating the melody of his vocals) |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Alice Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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this wonderful and simple tune is complimented by a great video by a canadian cartoon artist that tells the whole story of the song in beautifully colored drawings. it's about that sort of woman having trouble with commitment, and who would regularly turn guy's heads and break their hearts. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Please Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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i'd like to know what the expression "it's a go" means? anway this is another breakup tune, possibly after a time spent apart ("everything just went wrong inside your heart while you were gone")
as with every howie beck tune, wonderfully simple song, but beautifully complex arrangement at the same time - just listen to the strings and the vocal harmonies... |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Nothing at all Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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hm interesting lyrics, i feel he's talking about another artist, who's had some success and turned an arrogant person in the process, especially in the 2nd verse ("for you it came to soon").
the first verse sounds like critisizing the way this person writes his/her lyrics (you write your shit in your free time with a telephone in your free hand), sort of careless, and still assuming it to be superior to others. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Take it Away Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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such a wonderful song. the breezy voice in the chorus, along with the guitar lick, is what makes howie beck such a pleasure to listen to. he established his trademark sound here early on. |
submissions
| Morphine – Thursday Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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you'll have a lot of fun with the CD, i can tell you. probably it'll make you wanna get all the other morphine CD's. ;-) |
submissions
| Morphine – Super Sex Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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amazing song. the lyrics are sort of stream-of-consciousness, and together with the music the atmosphere is just awesome. |
submissions
| Quicksand – How Soon Is Now? (vinyl Only) Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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i agree, this is a cover which is better than an already great song. at the time i bought SLIP (i was maybe 16, 17 yrs old) i had no idea who the Smiths were, i think i didn't even notice that song was a cover (it was just labelled as extra track on the album) but it was on of my favourite songs of the album. of course i discovered the Smiths sooner or later, but it was a weird experience when i finally heard the original song just a few years ago (i'm now 31) |
submissions
| Quicksand – Too Official Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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i agree on what robotrock had to say - both, about the song, and about what a great album SLIP is. i don't own manic compression, but apparently it wasn't the same high quality, although the singles (thorn in my side & delusional & brown gargantuan) sound great. |
submissions
| The Finn Brothers – Won't Give In Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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basically, as most of the songs on the album it's about family (you're born with a name and you carry it on). he describes a situation where he comes home to a family celebration to speak up (i'll say a few words, but i'll try not to speak to long). i actually read that in some interview as well. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Wanted man Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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this one is a bit hard to figure out for me. the black-eyed dog (quoted from a nick drake song as far as i know) stands for death and it sounds like at times he is talking to somebody who's already deceased.
a friend of mine even said it might be a dissing of eric clapton (his fame, and the death of his son), based on some lines in the song and the guitar fill in the outro which resembles the "tears in heaven" lick, but i don't share that opinion. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – The chance is gone Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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lovely song by howie beck, especially the extensive use of strings fits it really nicely. i love his economy with lyrics, he's just finding the right amount of words. |
submissions
| Nada Surf – Do It Again Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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to me it sounds like he's been able to get over a depression or some sort of crisis which he's describing at the beginning of the song.
in the end it seems that overcoming it has made him stronger than before and he reflects on it in a positve way ("maybe this weight was a gift
like i could see what i could lift")
i think |
submissions
| Howie Beck – sometimes Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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as howie beck himself has said before, his lyrics are often self-explanatory which is why he doesn't tend to discuss them. the nice thing is - they are somehow obvious, yet still leave room for imagination - and you can always relate to them, because howie writes about things he has encountered. and these are things many of us know - for example a vulnerable, self-destructive girl as described in this song. |
submissions
| Howie Beck – Serves You Right Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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i always thought it was about a guy he knew from the neighbourhood, who maybe had been abusing/raping a girl downstairs in a basement (during a party maybe) and howie was one of the few (or maybe even the only one) who knew about it.
well howie has actually commented on that song during gigs, saying it's about "a guy that i grew up with, who was basically just an asshole. and when i ran into him years later, it turned out that he was still an asshole." he actually even described him as a friend, saying "sometimes you have friends who are assholes, because it's better than having no friends" |
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