Ok this should be the final answer to this question. I've know tons of tweekers (meth users) and I live very near where this album "takes place". Here we go:
1.Holt blvd between gary and white - hooked up with some friends at the travel lodge set ourselves up for the night: Holt, Gary and White are three streets that go through the Ontario, rancho cucamonga and pomona area of Southern california (infact my methadone clinic is off holt blvd). There is currently no travel lodge exactly where he's saying but there IS a travelodge on East Holt in pomona. Tweekers often get together with their drugs and hold up in a room/house/motel for days at a time.
2.Carpenter ants in the kitchen flies in the screen it will be too late by the time we learn what these cryptic symbols mean: This line fits with John's intended "horror theme" of the entire album. The whole album is a "meth horror story". The carpenter ant and fly infestation in the motel they're held up in are like the settings of a horror movie that the audience notices before the characters in the movie do.
3.And I dreamt of a house haunted by all you tweekers with your hands out and the headstones climbed up the hills: He's looking back in a "dream" at all his old tweeker friends who didn't make it out of the (as he says) "calvalcade of monsters". Tweekers are known to always want things from other people "Hey Man you got five bucks?". The headstones part is about the impending doom of drug addiction.
4.Send somebody out for soda, comb through the carpet for clues. Reflective tape on our sweat pants, big holes in our shoes: Tweekers are known to guzzle large amounts of soda, one main reason (besides the corrosive nature of meth) that tweekers lose their teeth (i.e. "meth mouth"). "Comb through the carpet for clues" (a line only tweekers and coke heads would get) is about what tweekers/crack heads call "ghost hunting". Ghost hunting is when after you run out of your drugs your stimulant ridden, drug obsessed mind starts to believe that you dropped some dope somewhere. If you've seen the movie PARTY MONSTER when they smoke all of angels crack and bust open the radiator because they think they dropped a rock back there..Same thing. When they're on the floor they appear like they're a detective "Hunting for clues".
5.Every couple minutes someone says he cant stand it anymore laugh lines on our faces scale maps of the ocean floor: The first part is once again about the love/hate (the hate part) desperation of addiction. Im guessing the "scale maps of the ocean floor" part is about how tweekers all get obsessed on different quirks (reading, writing, drawing, playing video games, or in this case studying scale maps of the ocean floor)
6.And I dreamt of a camera pointing out from inside the television - and the amatures yawning and blinking and the headstones climbed up the hills: The camera part is about tweeker's paranoia that people are "watching them". The amatures yawning and blinking part is about how new speed users usually cant stay up nearly as long as the old heads can. And once again the impending doom of headstones.
7.If anybody comes to see me tell them they just missed me by a minute: Just like the line from another song on this album "We say we dont like the sunlight because it hurts our eyes but the real reason is because it makes us feel like we're dying" - When you've been up for three days on speed the last thing you want to do is see a sober person...mostly out of paranoia but also because you know you must look like a wreck.
8.If anybody comes into our room while we're asleep I hope they incinerate everybody in it: Just about the desperation one feels after either a long period of time being addicted to meth or a long "run" (run=a set of 2-7 days where you just stay up on meth). You just hope someone will burn you alive (the yajna reference - a sacrifice which is burned).
9.And I dreamt of a factory where they manufactured what I needed using shiny new machines and the headstones climbed up the hills: Him dreaming of this fantasy meth factory.
I am 95% sure of my analysis of this song. If I'm wrong let me know.
I agree with the majority of your analysis. I know someone already mentioned the amateur thing so I won't go into that. I mainly just wanted to second what you said about the travelodge, since I myself am also from the area. It is indeed a very seedy place.
I agree with the majority of your analysis. I know someone already mentioned the amateur thing so I won't go into that. I mainly just wanted to second what you said about the travelodge, since I myself am also from the area. It is indeed a very seedy place.
However, I think he his referring to Holt blvd between garey and white as a location where he made a buy and then took what he got there to the travelodge. I'm sure you're well aware of the types of people typically lurking around on Holt (my friends and I would play count the hookers when we were younger) and I'm sure John was aware as well from the time he spent in Claremont. I feel it's likely to be an area where you could easily find an array of meth dealers, however, I'm not a meth user so I'm just basing that off my own observations of the area.
If you happen to come back around and see this I'd love to hear what you think!
I think the majority of this is great as well, although one other quibble I'd raise is that the "scale maps of the ocean floor" is (I believe) just a word picture about how deep the laugh lines have become on their faces (possibly facial distortion from too much drug use?)
I think the majority of this is great as well, although one other quibble I'd raise is that the "scale maps of the ocean floor" is (I believe) just a word picture about how deep the laugh lines have become on their faces (possibly facial distortion from too much drug use?)
Generally I agree with everything in your analysis, except point 6 – he's talking about the camera "aperture" yawning and blinking (an example of personification). Do an image search for "camera aperture". A closeup of a camera aperture opening and is often used in movies to illustrate a sense of paranoia, of being watched. Ascribing human-like characteristics to the camera ("yawning and blinking") adds to the sense of paranoia.
Generally I agree with everything in your analysis, except point 6 – he's talking about the camera "aperture" yawning and blinking (an example of personification). Do an image search for "camera aperture". A closeup of a camera aperture opening and is often used in movies to illustrate a sense of paranoia, of being watched. Ascribing human-like characteristics to the camera ("yawning and blinking") adds to the sense of paranoia.
Ok this should be the final answer to this question. I've know tons of tweekers (meth users) and I live very near where this album "takes place". Here we go:
1.Holt blvd between gary and white - hooked up with some friends at the travel lodge set ourselves up for the night: Holt, Gary and White are three streets that go through the Ontario, rancho cucamonga and pomona area of Southern california (infact my methadone clinic is off holt blvd). There is currently no travel lodge exactly where he's saying but there IS a travelodge on East Holt in pomona. Tweekers often get together with their drugs and hold up in a room/house/motel for days at a time.
2.Carpenter ants in the kitchen flies in the screen it will be too late by the time we learn what these cryptic symbols mean: This line fits with John's intended "horror theme" of the entire album. The whole album is a "meth horror story". The carpenter ant and fly infestation in the motel they're held up in are like the settings of a horror movie that the audience notices before the characters in the movie do.
3.And I dreamt of a house haunted by all you tweekers with your hands out and the headstones climbed up the hills: He's looking back in a "dream" at all his old tweeker friends who didn't make it out of the (as he says) "calvalcade of monsters". Tweekers are known to always want things from other people "Hey Man you got five bucks?". The headstones part is about the impending doom of drug addiction.
4.Send somebody out for soda, comb through the carpet for clues. Reflective tape on our sweat pants, big holes in our shoes: Tweekers are known to guzzle large amounts of soda, one main reason (besides the corrosive nature of meth) that tweekers lose their teeth (i.e. "meth mouth"). "Comb through the carpet for clues" (a line only tweekers and coke heads would get) is about what tweekers/crack heads call "ghost hunting". Ghost hunting is when after you run out of your drugs your stimulant ridden, drug obsessed mind starts to believe that you dropped some dope somewhere. If you've seen the movie PARTY MONSTER when they smoke all of angels crack and bust open the radiator because they think they dropped a rock back there..Same thing. When they're on the floor they appear like they're a detective "Hunting for clues".
5.Every couple minutes someone says he cant stand it anymore laugh lines on our faces scale maps of the ocean floor: The first part is once again about the love/hate (the hate part) desperation of addiction. Im guessing the "scale maps of the ocean floor" part is about how tweekers all get obsessed on different quirks (reading, writing, drawing, playing video games, or in this case studying scale maps of the ocean floor)
6.And I dreamt of a camera pointing out from inside the television - and the amatures yawning and blinking and the headstones climbed up the hills: The camera part is about tweeker's paranoia that people are "watching them". The amatures yawning and blinking part is about how new speed users usually cant stay up nearly as long as the old heads can. And once again the impending doom of headstones.
7.If anybody comes to see me tell them they just missed me by a minute: Just like the line from another song on this album "We say we dont like the sunlight because it hurts our eyes but the real reason is because it makes us feel like we're dying" - When you've been up for three days on speed the last thing you want to do is see a sober person...mostly out of paranoia but also because you know you must look like a wreck.
8.If anybody comes into our room while we're asleep I hope they incinerate everybody in it: Just about the desperation one feels after either a long period of time being addicted to meth or a long "run" (run=a set of 2-7 days where you just stay up on meth). You just hope someone will burn you alive (the yajna reference - a sacrifice which is burned).
9.And I dreamt of a factory where they manufactured what I needed using shiny new machines and the headstones climbed up the hills: Him dreaming of this fantasy meth factory.
I am 95% sure of my analysis of this song. If I'm wrong let me know.
I agree with the majority of your analysis. I know someone already mentioned the amateur thing so I won't go into that. I mainly just wanted to second what you said about the travelodge, since I myself am also from the area. It is indeed a very seedy place.
I agree with the majority of your analysis. I know someone already mentioned the amateur thing so I won't go into that. I mainly just wanted to second what you said about the travelodge, since I myself am also from the area. It is indeed a very seedy place.
However, I think he his referring to Holt blvd between garey and white as a location where he made a buy and then took what he got there to the travelodge. I'm sure you're well aware of the types of people typically lurking around on Holt (my friends and I would play count the hookers when we were younger) and I'm sure John was aware as well from the time he spent in Claremont. I feel it's likely to be an area where you could easily find an array of meth dealers, however, I'm not a meth user so I'm just basing that off my own observations of the area.
If you happen to come back around and see this I'd love to hear what you think!
I think the majority of this is great as well, although one other quibble I'd raise is that the "scale maps of the ocean floor" is (I believe) just a word picture about how deep the laugh lines have become on their faces (possibly facial distortion from too much drug use?)
I think the majority of this is great as well, although one other quibble I'd raise is that the "scale maps of the ocean floor" is (I believe) just a word picture about how deep the laugh lines have become on their faces (possibly facial distortion from too much drug use?)
Generally I agree with everything in your analysis, except point 6 – he's talking about the camera "aperture" yawning and blinking (an example of personification). Do an image search for "camera aperture". A closeup of a camera aperture opening and is often used in movies to illustrate a sense of paranoia, of being watched. Ascribing human-like characteristics to the camera ("yawning and blinking") adds to the sense of paranoia.
Generally I agree with everything in your analysis, except point 6 – he's talking about the camera "aperture" yawning and blinking (an example of personification). Do an image search for "camera aperture". A closeup of a camera aperture opening and is often used in movies to illustrate a sense of paranoia, of being watched. Ascribing human-like characteristics to the camera ("yawning and blinking") adds to the sense of paranoia.