submissions
| My Morning Jacket – Off the Record Lyrics
| 4 years ago
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I think the songs about the difficulty of interpreting the world as a static thing when we are always changing, and I think he’s using the idea of translating a song,s meaning/lyrics to make this point. As Roland Barthes said, “the author is dead”. Even the the writer of the tune is sometimes not the “authority” on meaning, be it Jim James or...God? There’s nobody to turn to for truth, just keep an open mind and the world will be translated in different ways at different times, just like a song. You’ve got to keep it off the record...as in this record, the one you’re playing (or any of the writers albums). May be by a jukebox, may be in a car...
I could translate every line by this logic but, that’s just my interpretation today. You’ve got to know that my story could change, so don’t quote me, keep it off the record.
It’s really the perfect song for songmeanings. |
submissions
| Pearl Jam – Brain of J. Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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I thought the song was about the folly of conspiracy theorizing. That is, obsessing about things like a president's brain is just a way to avoid real problems, and true action. Everybody assumes that the government, the Russians--someone--is behind the assassination. If we find out tomorrow that it was LBJ, or a grand government conspiracy, what then? Nothing. By focusing on things like the lost brain of a dead pres., maybe we should be considering and taking responsibility for our own malfunctions, hence the remainder of the album. |
submissions
| MGMT – Weekend Wars Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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It feels like the song is about being unhappy with our present situation and not having the time or energy to change it. We work all week and can't do anything but sputter for 2 days in between. Most people end up drunk/high instead of fighting/warring for what they believe in. The singer flashes forward into a future and is coming to terms with living hand to mouth, which is easier than making things better. My generation carries this burden and most of us end up taking the easy way out, idealizing the break down of civilization instead of being creative and caring. All we have are predictions--which says something about our lack of volition and our disenfranchisement--and when all we do is talk about change we are cursed. We should fight the weekend wars and make the rest of the week bearable, but we have to work tomorrow. |
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