This song is another one that’s just plain fun. I love the drum beat and the guitar work, and it just rocks. I know there’s more to it than that, but I’ll let my usual sources tackle that (as always, this is the internet, so I cannot verify the veracity of the statements):
And of course, the lyrics:
And I don’t want you and I don’t need you
Don’t bother to resist, or I’ll beat you
It’s not your fault that you’re always wrong
The weak ones are there to justify the strong
The beautiful people, the beautiful people
It’s all anatomic to the size of your steeple
You can’t see the forest for the trees
You can’t smell your own shit on your knees
There’s no time to discriminate,
Hate every motherfucker
That’s in your way
[Chorus]
Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful, something free?
Hey you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean
The worms will live in every host
It’s hard to pick which one they eat most
The horrible people, the horrible people
It’s as anatomic as the size of your steeple
Capitalism has made it this way,
Old-fashioned fascism will take it away
[Chorus]
Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful, something free?
Hey you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean
There’s no time to discriminate,
Hate every motherfucker
That’s in your way
The beautiful people
The beautiful people (aahh) [x4]
[Chorus x2]
The beautiful people [x8]
This is such a sad song, and one that pretty much anyone could relate to. What really makes it is Costello’s on-the-verge-of-tears vocals, as well as the quiet restraint of the instrumentation.
And of course, the lyrics:
It’s not open to discussion anymore
She’s out again tonight and I’m alone once more
She’s all I have worth waiting for
But baby plays around
And so it seems I’ve always been the last to know
To hold on to that girl, I had to let her go
I wish to God I didn’t love her so
‘Cos baby plays around
I try to be strong hold on to my pride
She doesn’t even know it’s wrong, how much
I hurt Inside
And heaven knows I’ve tried
But baby plays around. just a plaything
It’s hard to reconcile the facts I’m facing
It’s not open to discussion anymore
She walks those shiny streets
I walk the worn out floor
She’s all I have worth living for
Baby plays, baby plays around
I’d love to spend the next ten minutes telling you about the deep meaningful lyrics of this song, the aeolian modes used by the band, and how the song marries the soulfulness of Marvin Gaye with the brilliance of Mozart.
I’d love to tell you that, but I’d be lying. This is just a plain fun rocking tune. So shut up and dance.
And of course, the lyrics:
Well my baby and me went out late Saturday night
I had my hair piled high and my baby just looks so right
Well, pick you up at ten got to have you home by two,
Mama don’t know what I’ve got in store for you
Well that’s alright ’cause we’re looking as cool as can be
Well we found a little place that really didn’t look half bad
I’ll have a whiskey on the rocks and change of a dollar for the jukebox
Well, I put a quarter right into that can, but all it played was disco man
C’mon pretty baby, let’s get outta here right away.
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town, make ‘em scream and shout
Let’s rock, rock, rock man rock, rock
We’re gonna rock till we pop, we’re gonna roll till we drop
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
Well we’re having a ball just bopping on the big dance floor
Well there’s a real square cat he looks nineteen seventy four
Well, you look at me once, you look at me twice,
You look at me again there’s gonna be a fight
We’re gonna rock this town, we’re gonna rip this place apart
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town, make ‘em scream and shout
Let’s rock, rock, rock man rock, rock
We’re gonna rock till we pop, We’re gonna roll till we drop
We’re gonna rock this town, rock this place apart
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town, make ‘em scream and shout
Let’s rock, rock, rock man rock, rock
We’re gonna rock till we pop, We’re gonna roll till we drop
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
We’re gonna rock this town, rock it inside out
This is one of the sweetest love songs I’ve ever heard. Bloom’s quavering, heartfelt vocals, the guitar attack, and some wonderful lyrics:
Full of daydreams and cliches to please you
I’m such a novice at this
Forgive me, forgive me
To me, that perfectly sums up the uncertainty and insecurity of being in love and attempting to express it.
And of course, the lyrics:
You play safe
You loose the game
You keep your secrets
I wanna fly on a high trapeze
I get dizzy off my knees
Hope there is a dove waiting to fly with me
Because I know that shelf’s no place for me to be
Sometimes
Stranger to a kiss
Sometimes
Delirious
I played hide and seek and found you
I brought a small bouquet to give you
Full of daydreams and cliches to please you
I’m such a novice at this
Forgive me, forgive me
Sometimes
Stranger to a kiss
Sometimes
Delirious
Sometimes
Stranger to a kiss
Sometimes
Delirious, delirious
I’ll try a little harder every day, every day
To take in what you say to me
To give you what you want me to
To love you like I should do
Sometimes
Stranger to a kiss
Sometimes
Delirious
Sometimes
Stranger to a kiss
Sometimes
Delirious, delirious ..
Kalamazoo is a fairly unique song int he Primus lexicon in that it’s not as bass-centric as most other songs–and it’s a rap song. Personally I love the drums in the opening and it does have a nice, funky beat.
Over at SongMeanings there’s some speculation about the meaning of the song, including that it may be more about a state of mind rather than the city in Michigan. Additionally, the song is potentially based on an old Glenn Miller tune:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
I got a gal in Kalamazoo
Dont want to boast but I know
Shes the toast of Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
Years have gone by
My my how she grew
I liked her looks when I
Carried her books in Kalamazoo
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
I’m gonna send away, hoppin
On a plane, leavin today
Am I dreamin?
I can hear her screamin
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, Kalamazoo)
K (K)
A (A)
L-A-M-A-Z-O
(Oh, oh, oh, oh what a gal, a real pipperoo)
(Were goin to Michigan to see the sweetest in Kalamazoo)
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
(Kalamazoo!!)
Here’s a link to a fan video using footage from the anime FLCL
And of course, the lyrics:
A B C D E F G H I gotta’ gal wears her toenails long
Drives a red Barracuda, singin’ meat packer songs
And she ain’t from Kalamazoo
A B C D E F G H I gotta’ friend lived in a Mercedes-Benz
Then a 55 Chrysler where the trunk never ends
And the plates say Kalamazoo
He had a steady job and watched what he spent
He’d say I don’t believe in payin’ no goddamn rent
I’ll squirrel away every goddamn cent
And buy my own damn house in Kalamazoo
I knew a guy that mangled his hand
And he went from pipe fittin’ to a hot dog stand
They say last year he cleared fifty grand
Selling dogs round Kalamazoo
She turned to the world with a bastard child
Said, “I just can’t handle him he’s too damn wild”
But the years and the liquor have made him mild
And he lays around Kalamazoo
Two Swords is a pretty cool song about not fighting, about trying to settle differences peacefully, despite how reprehensible your enemy might be. It succeeds nicely, in my opinion, plus it’s a great song to two-step to.
And of course, the lyrics:
I’ve never been one for the punch-ups
But look I really hate those Nazis
A certain something starts to wind me up
How could I hate them oh so violently
When two swords slashing at each other
Only sharpen one another
And in the long run even he’s your brudda’
Said even though the cunt’s a Nazi.
Nazi
Always attack those things in someone else,
Reflections that you can’t face in yourself,
To make precious fascistic feeling gone
It makes you turn into a bigger one
Bigger…
When two swords slashing at each other
Only sharpen one another
And in the long run even he’s your brudda’
Said even though the cunt’s a Nazi.
Nazi
Are you fighting the Front,
or just fronting a fight
Sometimes it’s hard to see the left from the right
Are we angry, are we looking for peace
Or just tryin’ to win the war…
…by killing all the enemy off
Just to kill all the enemy off
Kill the enemy off
Kill the enemy off
I’ve never been one for the punch-ups
But look I really hate those Nazis
A certain something starts to wind me up
How could I hate them oh so violently
When two swords slashing at each other
Only sharpen one another
And in the long run even he’s your brudda’
said even though the cunt’s a Nazi.
Nazi
Even though the cunt’s a Nazi
Nazi
Why Don’t You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)? is one of those songs that pretty much anyone can relate to. A simple tale of love gone wrong–the type that Hank Williams did so well–it’s also got a good beat and you can dance to it.
There’s a cute video someone did using footage from the Our Gang comedies
And of course, the lyrics:
Well,Why Don’t You Love Me like you used to do
How come you treat me like a worn out shoe
My hair’s still curly and my eyes are still blue
Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Used To Do.
Ain’t had no lovin’ like a huggin’ and a kissin’
in a long, long while
We don’t get nearer or further or closer
than a country mile;
Why don’t you spark me like you used to do
And say sweet nothin’s like you used to coo
I’m the same old trouble that you’ve always been through
So, Why Don’t You Love Me like you used to do.
Well, why don’t you be just like you used to be
How come you find so many faults with me
Somebody’s changed so let me give you a clue
Why Don’t You Love Me like you used to do.
Ain’t had no lovin’ like a huggin’ and a kissin’
in a long, long while
We don’t get nearer or further or closer
than a country mile;
Why don’t you say the things you used to say
What makes you treat me like a piece of clay
My hair’s still curly and my eyes are still blue
Why Don’t You Love Me like you used to do.
This is pretty much my all-time favorite cover song. In fact, sometimes I prefer it to the original.
They put this arrangement together beautifully; the layered guitars, the quirky rhythm, Mark Mothersbaugh’s vocal delivery (I love the fact that he says “baby” 34 times in a row during the third verse…and yes, I counted). It all comes together nicely, in not so much a parody of the classic Rolling Stones hit, but rather as a complete re-imagining of the song, making it their own without destroying the spirit of the original.
And of course, the lyrics:
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get me no satisfaction and I try and I try and I try t-t-t-t-try try
I can’t get no I can’t get me no
When I’m riding in my car
And a man comes on the radio
He’s tellin’ me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can’t get no
uh no no no
hey hey hey
That’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get me no girly action
When I’m watchin’ my tv
And a man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts could be
But he can’t be a man ’cause he does not smoke
The same cigarettes as me
I can’t get no
uh no no no
And when I’m flying around the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m tryin’ that
And I’m trying to make some girl
Tells me baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby
Baby better come back later next week can’t you see I’m on a losing streak
I can’t get no
uh no no no
hey hey hey
That’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no
Someone Else’s Bell is just another in a long line of great songs by Squeeze. A sad tale of a couple who are cheating on one another, it’s got a nice mid-60’s R&B sound and sounds really good. There’s really not a whole lot else to say about the song, except that it’s extremely well-crafted.
And of course, the lyrics:
We talk about each other
On our wrap around couch,
And live out all the romance
In our little town house.
I never fit the shower
And she never sews the threads,
And so we find our feelings
In other people’s beds.
And if the grass seems greener,
But it turns out to be blue
The garden of Eden isn’t quite the place for you.
Don’t be surprised if I’m gone under the spell,
Of some other witches’ wand
Ringing someone else’s bell.
Meeting on the motorway
Your lover boy blue,
Steaming up the windows
With your last breath of youth.
Don’t you think I see it
Your handbag’s full of notes,
I’m feeling like the punch line
In someone’s private joke.
Our eyes don’t seem to contact
Never much to say,
Except perhaps excuse me
Or pass me the ashtray.
I see him waiting for you
As you go off to work,
I’m left to draw conclusions
While I button up my shirt.