Dear TOP Readers,
I'm switching over to wordpress, so you can now find my blog at this address.
Farewell, blogspot. It's been fun!
Jen
Saturday 26 September 2009
Wednesday 23 September 2009
A Critical Look at Some Pornographers
The New Pornographers, that is. So if I had to pick a favorite band, these Canadian Indie Rockers would be my go-to guys. However, whenever I pause to seriously consider the meaning of their song lyrics, my reaction is something along the lines of, "What the hell?"
I mean, not all their lyrics are so nonsensical; It seems that "Challengers" speaks of two people who are attracted to one another, but who both have families to whom they've committed their lives. And "Go Places" is a love song with poignant lines such as, "yes a heart will always go one step too far," which captures the nature of love, beautifully.
But then... then you've got songs like "Use It," on their album, Twin Cinema, and that's what this blog entry is going to focus on. Here's a link to the lyrics, although I will reference them throughout the post. It's a great song, with some awesome one liners, but what's really going on? I'm going to try and decode this. Wish me luck.
In the beginning of the song, we are outside and it is night. A cat calls and "two chicks in the parking lot crack wise at the price of fame they stood to gain." So I guess they want to be famous, and are making wisecracks about the height of its price? Let's move on...
Then, "the phonebook's been ripped off and two shapes in the dark across the way know the price of flight." Umm... what?
I'd like to know what it means for a phonebook to be ripped off. Has someone been copying it? Was it sold for an expensive price? OR was it physically ripped off of some surface or ripped apart? And who are these two shapes? We might still be looking at the two chicks or maybe there are two more characters that have just entered the stage. Whoever they are, it seems that they are discussing the price of running away from something. But what are they running from? Is it still fame? And why are they running? What is the price? So many questions!
Here's the next block of lyrics:
"If you've got something
That sheds some light
Use it tonight, tonight (chorus)
Heads down thumbs up (chorus)
Two sips from the cup of human kindness
And I'm shit faced, just laid to waste"
Hmm... maybe the narrator doesn't know what's going on either? If anyone's listening, please shed some light on this night scene! We could still be talking about fame and flight here. And then a game of seven-up begins- that wacky game that kids to sometimes play in elementary and middle school on substitute teacher days. It was fun, but why does it make an appearance in the song?
I love the last two lines; they seem to work really well as a stand alone quote. "Two sips from the cup of human kindness and I'm shit faced." What a great image. One can only do so many good deeds before they get fed up, OR after doing only a small number of good deeds, it's possible to become obsessed with your own kindness. "Just laid to waste" sounds like the said drinker has perhaps died after drinking from the cup. So maybe the cup of human kindness contains poison? I'm sure there are additional readings.
Skipping ahead a little bit:
"If you've got will and a little time
Use it tonight, tonight
You had to send a wrecking crew after me
I cant walk right"
This "wrecking crew" is mentioned many times, and it seems that the speaker is seeking death because... he or she can't walk right. I mean I'm assuming they are referencing a group of people that knock down buildings? And so this brings forth a slew of further questions: why does not walking right demand death? And why a wrecking crew? It's a cool (yet disturbing) image. Maybe "walking right" has a deeper meaning, and refers to the mishandling of some important life situation or a generally despicable manner of living?
Onto the last passage I'm going to examine, since the rest is just composed of random and repeated chorus lines:
"Phantom of the heart
Four beats from the parting lungs and mind
Since I was a child
Just grew there wild"
Not really sure where to begin. It seems that this person's heart has disappeared, and only a phantom of it remains. The "parting lungs and mind" line goes along with the image of dying, with the assumption that the mind lives on after the body dies. Not sure what the child part of it is about, because wanting to die since childhood is a very grim image.
Anyway, the song, or scene fades to black with a repetition of "use it tonight," and never fails to leave me baffled. Use what tonight? Why tonight? Maybe it's supposed to be nonsensical. In any case, it's a fun song. Give it a listen.
I mean, not all their lyrics are so nonsensical; It seems that "Challengers" speaks of two people who are attracted to one another, but who both have families to whom they've committed their lives. And "Go Places" is a love song with poignant lines such as, "yes a heart will always go one step too far," which captures the nature of love, beautifully.
But then... then you've got songs like "Use It," on their album, Twin Cinema, and that's what this blog entry is going to focus on. Here's a link to the lyrics, although I will reference them throughout the post. It's a great song, with some awesome one liners, but what's really going on? I'm going to try and decode this. Wish me luck.
In the beginning of the song, we are outside and it is night. A cat calls and "two chicks in the parking lot crack wise at the price of fame they stood to gain." So I guess they want to be famous, and are making wisecracks about the height of its price? Let's move on...
Then, "the phonebook's been ripped off and two shapes in the dark across the way know the price of flight." Umm... what?
I'd like to know what it means for a phonebook to be ripped off. Has someone been copying it? Was it sold for an expensive price? OR was it physically ripped off of some surface or ripped apart? And who are these two shapes? We might still be looking at the two chicks or maybe there are two more characters that have just entered the stage. Whoever they are, it seems that they are discussing the price of running away from something. But what are they running from? Is it still fame? And why are they running? What is the price? So many questions!
Here's the next block of lyrics:
"If you've got something
That sheds some light
Use it tonight, tonight (chorus)
Heads down thumbs up (chorus)
Two sips from the cup of human kindness
And I'm shit faced, just laid to waste"
Hmm... maybe the narrator doesn't know what's going on either? If anyone's listening, please shed some light on this night scene! We could still be talking about fame and flight here. And then a game of seven-up begins- that wacky game that kids to sometimes play in elementary and middle school on substitute teacher days. It was fun, but why does it make an appearance in the song?
I love the last two lines; they seem to work really well as a stand alone quote. "Two sips from the cup of human kindness and I'm shit faced." What a great image. One can only do so many good deeds before they get fed up, OR after doing only a small number of good deeds, it's possible to become obsessed with your own kindness. "Just laid to waste" sounds like the said drinker has perhaps died after drinking from the cup. So maybe the cup of human kindness contains poison? I'm sure there are additional readings.
Skipping ahead a little bit:
"If you've got will and a little time
Use it tonight, tonight
You had to send a wrecking crew after me
I cant walk right"
This "wrecking crew" is mentioned many times, and it seems that the speaker is seeking death because... he or she can't walk right. I mean I'm assuming they are referencing a group of people that knock down buildings? And so this brings forth a slew of further questions: why does not walking right demand death? And why a wrecking crew? It's a cool (yet disturbing) image. Maybe "walking right" has a deeper meaning, and refers to the mishandling of some important life situation or a generally despicable manner of living?
Onto the last passage I'm going to examine, since the rest is just composed of random and repeated chorus lines:
"Phantom of the heart
Four beats from the parting lungs and mind
Since I was a child
Just grew there wild"
Not really sure where to begin. It seems that this person's heart has disappeared, and only a phantom of it remains. The "parting lungs and mind" line goes along with the image of dying, with the assumption that the mind lives on after the body dies. Not sure what the child part of it is about, because wanting to die since childhood is a very grim image.
Anyway, the song, or scene fades to black with a repetition of "use it tonight," and never fails to leave me baffled. Use what tonight? Why tonight? Maybe it's supposed to be nonsensical. In any case, it's a fun song. Give it a listen.
Sunday 6 September 2009
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
As a part of my undergraduate program, I spent the last academic year in England studying at an English university, and I returned to the states this past June. I experienced a little bit of culture shock when I first got back, mainly in the form of being taken aback when someone would talk to me in the line at the grocery store, or wondering why there were no packages of Digestives (the best biscuit ever) down the cookie aisle of the grocery store. I was able to adjust quickly however, and my mourning period for the digestive was cut short by the realization that you can actually purchase them at specialty stores, like Wegman's. phew!
That is I thought I was able to adjust quickly, but not until I got back to college in America did I realize that there was a whole separate realm of culture shock that I was yet to face. And here I am, staring it in the face.
The Sunday.
In England these days didn't hold any weight at all, especially since during my second semester at the University of East Anglia I had no class on Mondays or Fridays. Sunday was just another day of the week whose night would probably be spent at the campus pub, hanging out with friends, or finding some tv show or movie online to watch. I did the latter a lot, thanks to the bbc iplayer, megavideo, etc.
Anyway, my point is that there was no rush to do homework on Sundays. In fact there wasn't really a great deal of work to do any day of the week, since the workload of most classes consisted of either two papers or one paper and one exam. So one week was incredibly busy, while the rest were completely devoid of homework. It's therefore strange that these 100 pages of readings have suddenly materialized in front of me and necessitate my attention. The whole idea of the weekend offering a break from the overwhelming week schedule has become alien to me, because the week schedule was never overwhelming. All in all I am enjoying this packed schedule as my mind finally feels perpetually stimulated again, but I think it's going to take a few of these bloody Sundays before I've conquered culture shock for good.
But for now...
That is I thought I was able to adjust quickly, but not until I got back to college in America did I realize that there was a whole separate realm of culture shock that I was yet to face. And here I am, staring it in the face.
The Sunday.
In England these days didn't hold any weight at all, especially since during my second semester at the University of East Anglia I had no class on Mondays or Fridays. Sunday was just another day of the week whose night would probably be spent at the campus pub, hanging out with friends, or finding some tv show or movie online to watch. I did the latter a lot, thanks to the bbc iplayer, megavideo, etc.
Anyway, my point is that there was no rush to do homework on Sundays. In fact there wasn't really a great deal of work to do any day of the week, since the workload of most classes consisted of either two papers or one paper and one exam. So one week was incredibly busy, while the rest were completely devoid of homework. It's therefore strange that these 100 pages of readings have suddenly materialized in front of me and necessitate my attention. The whole idea of the weekend offering a break from the overwhelming week schedule has become alien to me, because the week schedule was never overwhelming. All in all I am enjoying this packed schedule as my mind finally feels perpetually stimulated again, but I think it's going to take a few of these bloody Sundays before I've conquered culture shock for good.
But for now...
Saturday 5 September 2009
Flight of Subconsciousness
Last night, for the first time in a year or so, I dreamed that I was flying. These dreams don't come often, but when they do, they're usually a lot of fun, and when I wake up I always wonder when the next one will come along. This last dream was a bit different from others, because I was using this odd mechanism to get off the ground. It was sort of like a chair, but more malleable than a chair, and the way it worked was that I pushed down on the armrests to get higher in the air. Getting off the ground was always a little difficult; a couple of fruitless jumps always had to occur before I was finally airborne. For the majority of the dream I was flying through this large wooden tunnel, and I felt very proud and mighty as I zoomed past all the people who were just walking through. "They must all be amazed by the sight of me," I remember thinking. Then at one point there was another person, hovering just below the ceiling of the tunnel, strapped into a similar contraption to the one I was using, and when I went up to talk with them, I went a bit too high and nearly bumped my head on the wooden roof.
I did a bit of hasty research on a couple of dream sites about what flying symbolizes in dreams, because I was curious as to why these experiences have spaced themselves out throughout my subconscious life. One site said something about how flying symbolizes liberation from something that one has been struggling against, but if the dreamer finds it difficult to get off the ground, or finds his or her flight interrupted by some boundary, that means there is an actual boundary in real life, someone or something in the way of some sort of goal. Freud was of the opinion that flying represented sexual release, while the Greek myth of Icarus illustrated the repercussions of trying to fly too high. Icarus's father made Icarus a pair of wax wings, and warned his son not to go too high or too close to the ocean. Icarus became too absorbed with the exhilaration of flight and did both of these things; the wings were melted by the sun, and he fell into the ocean.
Based on this research, I'm assuming that something in my subconscious feels dually liberated and constricted, since I was able to fly above everyone else, but there were times when I had trouble with getting into the air, and there was the physical barrier of the tunnel roof. Perhaps the liberation could be the powerful feeling of being a senior in college, and the constriction the fear of next year? Who knows, but all I can think to do now is to wait for that wooden roof to lift, and when it does, stay a safe distance away from the sun.
I did a bit of hasty research on a couple of dream sites about what flying symbolizes in dreams, because I was curious as to why these experiences have spaced themselves out throughout my subconscious life. One site said something about how flying symbolizes liberation from something that one has been struggling against, but if the dreamer finds it difficult to get off the ground, or finds his or her flight interrupted by some boundary, that means there is an actual boundary in real life, someone or something in the way of some sort of goal. Freud was of the opinion that flying represented sexual release, while the Greek myth of Icarus illustrated the repercussions of trying to fly too high. Icarus's father made Icarus a pair of wax wings, and warned his son not to go too high or too close to the ocean. Icarus became too absorbed with the exhilaration of flight and did both of these things; the wings were melted by the sun, and he fell into the ocean.
Based on this research, I'm assuming that something in my subconscious feels dually liberated and constricted, since I was able to fly above everyone else, but there were times when I had trouble with getting into the air, and there was the physical barrier of the tunnel roof. Perhaps the liberation could be the powerful feeling of being a senior in college, and the constriction the fear of next year? Who knows, but all I can think to do now is to wait for that wooden roof to lift, and when it does, stay a safe distance away from the sun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)