| Radiohead – Lotus Flower Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I totally agree. I believe this song's themes are temptation, desire, and addiction. The song also comes after the interval of "Feral," (defined as "Resembling a wild animal.") which sends the listener into the second half of the album which is characterized by more aesthetic, or spiritual/nature based songs. In my opinion, "Lotus Flower" is one of the more darker songs on the album, and musically, it gives one the impression of nighttime. That bassline is pretty sinister too. :P The first two verses are perhaps references to drug use. "I will shrink and I will disappear/ I will slip into the groove and cut me up" seems to be an allusion towards Alice in Wonderland's cookies that make her shrink or get taller. "Slipping into the groove" describes the high, or perhaps even partying and dancing. haha. "There's an empty space inside my heart/ Where the weeds take root/ And now I'll set you free." The narrator now uses to drugs as a form of escape from everyday suffering or that "empty space space inside the heart." The weeds of addiction and dependency are taking hold of the narrator. "Slowly we unfurl/ As lotus flowers" is the false sense of epiphany or spiritual insight one gets while doing certain drugs. "All I want is the moon upon a stick/ Just to see what is." This is the childish desire to experience happiness through the drug. "I can't kick your habit/ Just to fill your fast ballooning head." Blatant reference to a drug habit. C'mon peoples. "We will shrink and we'll be quiet as mice/ And while the cat is away/ Do what we want." This seems to refer to the cat and mouse chase between the subversive, rebellious drug users (the mice) and the government or cops (the cat). It doesn't matter that drugs are illegal, they'll "do what they want" regardless. "Birds that float into my room" is the sense of euphoria you get from drugs. "I dance around the pit/ The darkness is beneath." This is one of my favorite lines in the whole song. "The pit" is probably the narrator's soul which encompasses all the deeper and darker problems which are covered up with the addiction. "Listen to your heart" is a plea to save the narrator's soul from the chains of addiction and desire. There are other ways to gain spiritual insight and happiness without drugs. Spiritual enlightenment can be found within you. Bleh...I know someone is going to give me flac for saying that this song is about drugs. I'm not saying that it's specifically about drugs...it's about desire and addiction. So everyone chilllll. |
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| Radiohead – Weird Fishes/Arpeggi Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I love the arpeggios in this song...it makes me feel like I'm swimming in the water. Kind of like Sufjan Stevens' "Tahquamenon Falls". Honestly, I think this was intentional on Radiohead's part. I saw this documentary once about how this guy was trying to make the movement of fish underwater "seeable" to blind people. He would have a bunch of notes that would go to a higher pitch as the fish swam higher and lower for lower swimming. It's almost as if they notes themselves were swimming, no? I did a shotty job at explaining this but..yeah--it's sort of like Impressionist stuff, like Debussy's "Sunken Cathedral". I love the ascending part for when Thom sings "I hit the bottom and escaped"...sure makes me feel like I'm being carried away by weird fishes to the heavens, indeed. :D I love blasting this song on my stereo in my room. It makes my bedroom feel magical for about 5 minutes [/cheesy] |
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| Owen Pallett – Lewis Takes Action Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Is "No-Face" a reference to that movie, Spirited Away? If it is...Owen Pallett just gained a million awesome points. | |
| David Bowie – She'll Drive the Big Car Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I freakin love this song! It reminds me of "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead...same themes, I guess. I especially like the chorus. David Bowie is the most soulful skinny, white guy I know of. I remember how I saved up my lunch money for a month to buy this CD (I was a wee one...maybe 12?) DEFINATELY WORTH IT! | |
| Grizzly Bear – Southern Point Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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hmm...I think the song is about the location where the band recorded this album. Veckatimest is a small, secluded island that's part of Massachusetts. According to Wikipedia, it registered as uninhabited by the 2000 census. The lyrics do give a sense of seclusion: "In the end (You'll never find me now)" or "Avert your eyes from all of this" And the lyrics do seem to imply that they band enjoyed it there, since they refer to it as a haven. At the same time, it seems like they're wondering how they'll readjust to society once they leave: "In regards to the last word/It's not the last you'll hear" I think it's a great opener for the album...it's expansive and intricate, and at times it's slightly eerie...much like the rest of the songs on the album. |
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| Radiohead – Let Down Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I remember when I first really figured out this song, something clicked for me about my whole understanding of music in general. There's a lot of symbolism in the music alone...almost like classical program music. I bought the book, "Back to Save the Universe" which basically disects every Radiohead album up to Hail to the Theif. I legit recommend it. But hey...I aint advertising here. So yeah...this interpretaion is kind of based off that book. Supposedly Thom Yorke once said in an interview: "Sentimentality is being emotional for the sake of it. We're bombarded with sentimentality, people emoting. That's the let down. You end up feeling every emotion is fake, or rather every emotion is on the same plane, whether it's a car advert or a pop song." This feeling of monotony is clearly reflected in the Ed's riff...the constant repeating of the same notes. In fact, that whole entire phrase doesn't really change throughout the entire song. The chorus and verses are practically the same. Thom's vocals are also quite monotonous too. Thom has said, too that the whole listing of different modes of transportation is a process of "purging" excess emotion. It's almost as if througout the entire song, he's revving up for the finale. And then there's the fantastical climax at the end, with the round of Thom's voices taking flight, "One day I am going to grow wings, a chemical reaction." This, to me, symbolizes how Thom has broken free of that "emotional plane" (both lyrically and musically) OoOo…it really hits you in the gut, right? It’s all quite uplifting. Finally, at the end of the song, you hear a sort of electronic midi sound that trys to mimic the interplay of Johnny and Ed (which is nearly impossible, because like someone mentioned before, they play in different time signatures). This is interesting…perhaps it’s a sort of musical/poetic metaphor of man’s power over machine? I dunno…I’d love to hear other people’s opinions about this one. |
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| Radiohead – Reckoner Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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oh...and also too: I'm guessing church and religion is something that's considered to be very stereotypically bourgeois, which is why this song fits in well with the album. |
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| Radiohead – Reckoner Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I had to write what this song was about for one of my friends who was doing a paper on george bolster's installation that is based off this song. I'm gonna look into that guy's whole project but as for now, this is what I came up with: Well the whole album, In Rainbows, is known for being Radiohead's only "love" album. It mostly deals with topics of suburbia, or bourgeois topics such as relationships, the stresses of day- to-day, etc. etc. (this is a big deal for Radiohead...they're more of a political band, and usually sing about how messed up society is...very depressing. This album is almost hopeful and romantic.) The song, Reckoner, was a highlight on the album...in fact the band was considering using it as the title of the album. It's starts out with a number of different drums, symbols, maraccas, tambourines etc....to give the illusion of an almost old-school gospel/spiritual song (y'know...like slaves sitting around a fire, clapping and singing their soulful Spirituals.) In fact, the whole echo-ey and high pitched vocals of Thom Yorke give the listener the feeling of being in a church with very high walls...ha ha. The song's lyrics tho, are quite cryptic...I'm pretty sure the "Reckoner" however, is God and/or some spiritual entity. The lyrics, "Dare not speak its name/Dedicated to all human beings" is a clear allusion to God, in my opinion. And then "Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore/In rainbows/Because we separate like ripples on a blank shore" seems to suggest the idea that only God will be the great "reckoner" of society...Difficult to explain, but I hope you catch my drift. And if it's any help at all, the album's name, "In rainbows" (which appears in the lyrics of Reckoner) seems to be alluding to the song, "somewhere over the rainbow." I can't find the exact quote by thom yorke explaining the title...but it deals with the whole concept of finding that theoretical pot of gold at the end of a rainbow...y'know...a sense of happiness and completion in life. Thom Yorke is getting older, has a family of his own and this is undoubtly reflected in his music. I think the lyrics, "in rainbows" appear in Reckoner because religion is a staple in bourgeois life, and must give people a certain amount of happiness in life...although I wouldn't know because I'm so morbidly sadistic and not religious at all. Also, in the song "somewhere over the rainbow" the lyrics deal with going to an almost perfect reality: "there's a land that I once heard in a lullabye/Somwhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly/And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true." Almost sounds like heaven, right? And hey!...heaven...God....the Reckoner. It all adds up, right? And considering how the entire album deals with the topic of love...God/the Reckoner is represented as this benevolent, loving, and all knowing force in this song. Reckoner's title used to be, "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses". In fact, Radiohead recently recorded a song under this title. The lyrics paint a picture of a really messed up society. "Feeling pulled apart by horses" is probably the feeling that the author gets from the world we live in today and the song in genereal gives you a strange sense of paranoia. It's interesting that Radiohead used this as a title for Reckoner at first. Once again, it deals with the whole "seperation" concept and suggests how God or spirituality will be humanity's only saving grace and will unite us all in peace and harmony. Pfft...like that'll ever happen! |
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