| The Modern Lovers – Roadrunner Lyrics | 23 days ago |
| @[emma111694:50830] I just noticed that lyric always has an apostrophe, and knew it wasn't a year. Being a map nerd and visiting my Newton grandparents in the 70's, I remembered the exit for Great Plain Ave in Needham where Johnathan grew up used to 57. | |
| Wire Train – Chamber Of Hellos Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I've been a huge fan of Wire Train's chiming guitars and lyrics since In a Chamber was released. Only recently I saw Allmusic claim this song's about a murder. The lyrics do fit that possibility. | |
| Passion Pit – Take a Walk Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Jets1, I appreciate that you think you've divined the true meaning of the song based on Micheal's interview, but your interpretation doesn't match his words, history, or reality. I'll repeat part of his words, which bbt does in full, that clearly contradict your take on the song as defense of capitalism against supposedly creeping socialism. He said "...they all came here for capitalism, and they all ended up kind of being prey to capitalism. And I'm not making any political statements or anything, but it's ironic and it's sad." For starters, the European immigrants who came here in the first part of the 20th Century were fleeing poverty, persecution and often mandatory military service. Some had their towns and families wiped out in religious based violence. Some had no opportunity to advance beyond serf's level, which was true for those who were educated and those who weren't. One thing they weren't fleeing was socialism, because that political system didn't take hold in Europe until after WWII. They were running from monarchies. I'm not sure what you mean by saying we are beginning to lose our capitalist mentality. Republicans said the exact same thing about FDR's New Deal programs, which probably prevented a socialist upheaval and saved our version of capitalism. The feds have been meddling in the market for years, not just with with regulations, but with trillions in cash to already wealthy industries. And just try suggesting that people should give up their "socialist" programs like Social Security and Medicare. The vast majority of Americans want these these to stay in place untouched. They like their socialism when it means help getting by. There has been been no recent drift towards socialism, unless you consider handing trillions to our wealthiest citizens and corporations evidence of socialism. There hasn't been a large scale expansion of any Federal program since the addition of prescription drug coverage to Medicare in 2006. Those oft-cited ACA is not a Federal takeover of medicine, but was developed by the Heritage Foundation to keep the costly, capitalist private insurers in business. Socialized medicine is single payer, government run, and provides universal coverage, none of which are part of which the ACA. Your final shot at socialism, that it "always leaves the next generation worse off than the one before," has no basis in fact. This year, the top two countries in terms of standard of living were Switzerland and Norway, both very socialist. The US ranked 3rd, a sizable jump from our 12th place finish the year before. So maybe you're right, and our new socialist policies are increasing our standard of living. There is also no evidence whatsoever that socialism drops a country's standard of living. The top standards of living are all in nations are that are to varying degrees socialist. Other than the US, you must drop to number 30 before a another non-socialist nation appears. So unless you wish to dismiss my facts, your reading of the song isn't there. The last verse is the most telling and easy to misinterpret if you decide what it means without listening to the lyrics. The story teller has "ripped apart these socialists and all their dead taxes," only to find he needs the help of the government he cursed when he's "down on both bad knees." Much like you, he uses socialist as an epithet without understanding what the word means. And I'm having trouble finding any, never mind "most" sites that have "taken that lyric out." Feel free to name them. As it's fairly obvious Micheal didn't mean what you think, you probably shouldn't be impressed by his politics. My guess is Micheal's politics are very much in line with his fellow residents of the People's Republic of Cambridge. |
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| The Big Pink – Hit the Ground (Superman) Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| The syth in this song is taken almost directly from Laurie Anderson's 1981 single O Superman. It's most noticeable when Robbie isn't singing. This explains why Anderson gets a songwriting credit. | |
| The Big Pink – Hit the Ground (Superman) Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| The syth in this song is taken almost directly from Laurie Anderson's 1981 single O Superman. It's most noticeable when Robbie isn't singing. This explains why Anderson gets a songwriting credit. | |
| Pixies – Alec Eiffel Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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As others have said, the song is a tribute to Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Eiffel first made his mark by designing massive steel viaducts for the French railroads. When the original designer of the structural framework for the Statue of Liberty died, Eiffel developed the innovative system that was used. The Eiffel Tower was built as the centerpiece of the 1889 Exposition Universelle. Its' design was extremely controversial, with critics complaining of its industrial appearance and saying it would look like a smokestack. The phallic nature of the design was discussed more privately. Despite some comments that the French still hate the tower, it is as much a symbol of France as the Statue of Liberty, which of course was a gift from France. After retiring from engineering, Eiffel began pioneering work in aerodynamics. He had become interested when he had to deal with the force wind on his structures. First, Eiffel would drop surfaces down the center of the Tower to determine their wind resistance. He built a lab adjacent to the tower, and installed a wind tunnel in 1909. As a result, he was able to discover that lift was caused by a reduction in air pressure above the wing, not an increase below as previously thought. His work in aerodynamics is considered as important as his civil engineering accomplishments. The song and video aren't as cryptic as some have said. Wind tunnel scenes in the video make more sense now too? |
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| Pixies – Monkey Gone to Heaven Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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When trying to figure out what Black Francis was talking about, it's important to erase your current knowledge and put yourself back in the late 80s. There are two environmental events specifically mentioned that were top issues at that time. The "10 million pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey" refers to what became known as "Syringe Tide." Medical waste that was dumped illegally in the Atlantic and escaped from a landfill on Staten island. It then washed up all in various places around New York and New Jersey, particularly the Jersey Shore. A 50 mile slick made it way to NJ shore towns in the summers of 1997 and 1998, ruining both vacation seasons. Hypodermic needles, blood vials and discarded medicine was found among the debris. As for the Creature in the Sky verse, it refers only to the hole in the ozone layer. That hole, which was found in the stratosphere over the Antarctic, was confirmed in 1985. There was widespread awareness of the hole and the effect if it spread to populated areas. The ozone layer absorbs UVB ultraviolet light from the sun. The cause was CFCs, which reacted with the sun to deplete the ozone. Without the layer, life on earth would be impossible. After the hole was discovered, many feared it could not be reversed, and that life on earth was under threat. A worldwide CFC ban was enacted in 1987. The Antarctic hole still develops every spring, and atmopsheric ozone levels aren't expected to return to pre-1980 levels till as late as 2075. As for this verse also being a warning about climate change, back in the late 80s, the consensus on the threat posed by rising temperatures was just beginning to form. The possibility that carbon emissions could unnaturally raise the earth's temperatures was first discovered in 1896. It was not until 2001 that scientific debate on the existence of climate change and that it was caused by man ended. Knowledge of the threat posed by climate change in the late 80s was out there, but not widespread. |
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