So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Don't look, just keep your eyes peeled
Thoughtless, trapped in my minefield
Shotgun, never behind the wheel anymore
Danger, monsters of smoke and mirror
Slowly, can one so lost be found?
And I know, you will never believe
I play as though I'm alright
If life is but a dream, then
Wake me up
Fallen leaves realize they are no friend of autumn
The view from Hell is blue sky
So ominously blue
Daydream until all the blue is gone
And I know you'll never believe
I play as though I'm alright
If life is but a dream,
Wake me
Underwater is another life
Disregarding every myth we write
Rag doll churning
Eagerly alive
Big smile, really a show of teeth
Without a care in a world of fear
Lonely, you don't know how I feel
Praise God, nothing is as it seems
Thoughtless, trapped in my minefield
Shotgun, never behind the wheel anymore
Danger, monsters of smoke and mirror
Slowly, can one so lost be found?
And I know, you will never believe
I play as though I'm alright
If life is but a dream, then
Wake me up
Fallen leaves realize they are no friend of autumn
The view from Hell is blue sky
So ominously blue
Daydream until all the blue is gone
And I know you'll never believe
I play as though I'm alright
If life is but a dream,
Wake me
Underwater is another life
Disregarding every myth we write
Rag doll churning
Eagerly alive
Big smile, really a show of teeth
Without a care in a world of fear
Lonely, you don't know how I feel
Praise God, nothing is as it seems
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by victormds, Cassabian, MilkManMike, november6
Keep Your Eyes Peeled Lyrics as written by Josh Homme Dean Anthony Fertita
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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Love in a Vacuum
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Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Light Up The Sky
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The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
This song seems to deal with the feelings that come from being trapped in mental negativity/hell, feeling unable to escape but continuing to blend in with the rest of the world
Verse 1 Don’t look, just keep your eyes peeled - Be aware (the world is an evil place) Thoughtless, trapped in my minefield - Mentally trapped by bad thoughts that can lead to self destructing Shotgun, never behind the wheel anymore - Feeling a loss of control over your own life and feelings as the shit has taken a level of control Danger, monsters of smoke and mirror - The monsters aren't real, but they're in the head (and they're powerful) Slowly, can one so lost be found? - Feeling hopeless in such a low place
Chorus And I know, you will never believe I play as though I’m alright - I wear this smile and fit in, but underneath I'm losing it If life is but a dream, then Wake me up - If this is reality than I do not want to live it
The rest of the lyrics build on those ideas with different concepts of struggling. Really powerful stuff relating to such an intense emotional state.
100% correct lyrics from the ...Like Clockwork LP:
Don't look, just keep your eyes peeled Thoughtless, traipsing my mind's field Shotgun, never behind the wheel anymore Danger, monsters of smoke and mirror Slowly, can one so lost be found?
And I know you will never believe I play it as though I'm alright If life is but a dream, then Wake me up
Fallen leaves realise they are no friend of autumn
The view from hell is blue sky So ominously blue I daydream until all the blue is gone
And I know you will never believe I play it as though I'm alright If life is but a dream, then Wake me
Underwater is another life Disregarding every myth we write
Rag doll churning Over and over, gasping in horror So breathless you surface And just as the next wave is…
Big smile, really a show of teeth Without a care in the world of fear Lonely, you don't know how I feel Praise God, nothing is as it seems
I think this is about how everyone, no matter how "fine" they seem, is hiding things and suppressing feelings or desires that they don't want anyone to see.
I think the title is basically saying: keep your eyes peeled because you don't know what others are hiding... watch out because people hide some dark stuff just like you hide yours.
I, very superficially, think that this song is about realizing you're headed down a bad path. You know, living your version of the dream, not giving a shit about anything? You realize that and would like a way out, that leads to the "wake me". Also to clarify: I think "the dream" is, of course, some sort of "dark temptation". The thoughtlessly "traipsing my minds field". You never carry your shotgun around anymore, so you're basically exposing yourself to this darkness, not really watching after yourself. The hell part is also interesting. Thinking about the stuff you want to do makes the blue sky go away. So you are in hell entirely. You just walk about with a big smile on your face, don't feel fear. It possibly sounds very appealing, but if you are really aiming towards self-destruction, you'll pretty much be on your own.
Variation of Devo's "Mr. B's Ballroom" in which a gang of delinquents drink and act idiotic while destroying everything around them in a dystopic arcade only to succumb to police control in the end. Most of this is buried in euphemisms. The promo video further validates the theme.
I think the key is in the line "I play this as though I'm all right." Josh Homme is, to the public, a suave hedonist. But this album sort of pulls away the curtain and you see his vulnerabilities.
Try listening to this at night before you go to bed, I've found that when I do it makes me kind of paranoid, I start seeing things in the corner of my eye and I get all panicky. I think it's a song about living in a nightmare where you can't tell the difference between what's a monster of smoke ad mirror and what's really going to hurt you. And you're not in control either.
People who are depressed or in a bad place, more often than not, cover it up and put on a big smile in public, but really no one knows how they feel. That is what this song is about.
"Don't look, just keep your eyes peeled." ~ You can gaze at something for hours and never understand it. Like being in school and not retaining a single thing the teacher says. Further shown with the next lyric "Thoughtless"
To me it's like the trance that television puts people in. "Shotgun, never behind the wheel.. anymore" You're sitting bitch, you're not in control.
After the 2nd chorus, when "underwater is another life" kicks in - the music makes me think of a puppeteer pulling the strings of a puppet.. and then "ragdoll churning eagerly alive"
"Big smile, really a show of teeth" When a dog shows its teeth it's not something that is pleasing typically..
"Without a care in a world of fear" Detachment exclaimed..
Its about the "Otherside of Life". The place that some of us ( the very unlucky few, like very fucking unlucky) can remember from a time that doesn't exist anymore or maybe never existed.