Unlike "Kidney Bingos", which does indeed have a rather pointed meaning, this song, possibly quite literally, is about nothing, as has been attested to by Colin Newman various times; the title refers to how it was the fifteenth song written and demo-ed for 154. Still, it sounds oddly meaningful, especially considering that the title sounds suspiciously like a military regiment...
Why this song wasn't chosen for a single, I have no idea. It's superbly constructed, insanely catchy, and despite not being quite the masterpiece that "Map Ref. 41ºN 93ºW" is, it has a much easier-to-remember title (in the conventional sense) and even simpler (if ultimately weirder) lyrics.
I'm sure it has a meaning - it's not just a random selection of words, is it? It always seemed to me to be about the creative process. The title the 15th may have been specific to the recording but the lyrics, to me, apppear to be about the nebulous nature of ideas and creativity. The act of taking an idea (or theme) and trying to make it concrete in the form of a song, for example; also the way in which an idea plants itself like a seed, grows organically in the mind and when it...
I'm sure it has a meaning - it's not just a random selection of words, is it? It always seemed to me to be about the creative process. The title the 15th may have been specific to the recording but the lyrics, to me, apppear to be about the nebulous nature of ideas and creativity. The act of taking an idea (or theme) and trying to make it concrete in the form of a song, for example; also the way in which an idea plants itself like a seed, grows organically in the mind and when it is scrutinised and rationalised it loses something and in a way is there and is not there.
Unlike "Kidney Bingos", which does indeed have a rather pointed meaning, this song, possibly quite literally, is about nothing, as has been attested to by Colin Newman various times; the title refers to how it was the fifteenth song written and demo-ed for 154. Still, it sounds oddly meaningful, especially considering that the title sounds suspiciously like a military regiment...
Why this song wasn't chosen for a single, I have no idea. It's superbly constructed, insanely catchy, and despite not being quite the masterpiece that "Map Ref. 41ºN 93ºW" is, it has a much easier-to-remember title (in the conventional sense) and even simpler (if ultimately weirder) lyrics.
I'm sure it has a meaning - it's not just a random selection of words, is it? It always seemed to me to be about the creative process. The title the 15th may have been specific to the recording but the lyrics, to me, apppear to be about the nebulous nature of ideas and creativity. The act of taking an idea (or theme) and trying to make it concrete in the form of a song, for example; also the way in which an idea plants itself like a seed, grows organically in the mind and when it...
I'm sure it has a meaning - it's not just a random selection of words, is it? It always seemed to me to be about the creative process. The title the 15th may have been specific to the recording but the lyrics, to me, apppear to be about the nebulous nature of ideas and creativity. The act of taking an idea (or theme) and trying to make it concrete in the form of a song, for example; also the way in which an idea plants itself like a seed, grows organically in the mind and when it is scrutinised and rationalised it loses something and in a way is there and is not there.