Post subject: SOTM-: Indian summer and I hate the heat...
Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 1:37 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Once
I admit it...what's to say I'll relive it...without pain Backstreet lover on the side of the road I got a bomb in my temple that is gonna explode I got a sixteen gauge buried under my clothes, I play...
Once upon a time I could control myself Once upon a time I could lose myself
Oh, try and mimic what's insane... I am in it...where do I stand? Indian summer and I hate the heat I got a backstreet lover on the passenger seat I got my hand in my pocket, so determined, discreet...I pray...
Once upon a time I could control myself Once upon a time I could lose myself
You think I got my eyes closed But I'm lookin' at you the whole fuckin' time...
Once upon a time I could control myself... Once upon a time I could lose myself… Once, upon a time I could love myself… Once upon a time I could love you… Once…
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
It's a hot sticky day here, so this felt like a good time for once (plus it was requested a few months ago)
Once is a song about trauma, about the ways in which a particularly harrowing experience can leave you groundless, confused, hostile, and alone. It is one of the angstier songs on Ten, and while I’ve found that subject matter less appealing as I’ve gotten older, I found myself much more into Once than I used to be. The RVM remix of once really helped. It gave the song a tighter, more vicious focus. Less angst, more pain and anger.
It’s the middle part of the mamasan trilogy, but as I think I said in the Alive SOTM, Once works much better for me as a stand alone song. As far as a coherent narrative the whole trilogy is pretty weak. It’s exceedingly difficult to figure out the story of the song if eddie didn’t reveal it in an interview. But as a larger reflection of a state of mind, outside of the structure of the story, it works really well. As with most of Ten, there is a desperation in the vocals that really suck you in. This isn’t just a RAWK song. There is so much passion, fear, and anger in Eddie’s voice that you can’t help but take the experience he’s describing seriously. You’re right there with him.
The music makes it clear right off the bat that there is something emotionally at stake in Once. The first few lines try to belie the tension and pain—shrugging it off like it’s no big deal, that there is no pain in confronting whatever it is that’s bothering him (and excising Once from the mamasan arc means the listener can fill in whatever details are necessary to make the song their own). But immediately after its clear that he’s just fooling himself, and he’s not even doing that. He’s not coping, he’s about to explode—he’s in that state of mind where you just want to lash out at the rest of the world, to make others hurt to diminish your own pain, or at least make them feel the way you do. We all have those moments, but what makes us emotionally mature and stable is that we’re able to resist them. He’s not so sure he can do it anymore. He can’t control himself, and he can’t lose himself. He can’t forget. He can’t escape. Even when his eyes are closed he’s still forced to confront his trauma.
The final chorus is my favorite part of the song lyrically. The lines are fairly simple, but they’re delivered with such conviction that they carry extra weight. Once upon a time he was in control of his life. Once upon a time he could forget, he could pretend, he could imagine, and dream. But he can’t. He’s stuck in an ever present state of psychic distress, and as a result he’s lost the capacity to love—to love himself, and to love others. He’s trapped and alone, begging for the Release he’ll pray for at the end of the record (and the master/slave instrumental links the two songs—anger/fear/pain the master, and eddie the slave).
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
It's a hot sticky day here, so this felt like a good time for once (plus it was requested a few months ago)
Once is a song about trauma, about the ways in which a particularly harrowing experience can leave you groundless, confused, hostile, and alone. It is one of the angstier songs on Ten, and while I’ve found that subject matter less appealing as I’ve gotten older, I found myself much more into Once than I used to be. The RVM remix of once really helped. It gave the song a tighter, more vicious focus. Less angst, more pain and anger.
It’s the middle part of the mamasan trilogy, but as I think I said in the Alive SOTM, Once works much better for me as a stand alone song. As far as a coherent narrative the whole trilogy is pretty weak. It’s exceedingly difficult to figure out the story of the song if eddie didn’t reveal it in an interview. But as a larger reflection of a state of mind, outside of the structure of the story, it works really well. As with most of Ten, there is a desperation in the vocals that really suck you in. This isn’t just a RAWK song. There is so much passion, fear, and anger in Eddie’s voice that you can’t help but take the experience he’s describing seriously. You’re right there with him.
The music makes it clear right off the bat that there is something emotionally at stake in Once. The first few lines try to belie the tension and pain—shrugging it off like it’s no big deal, that there is no pain in confronting whatever it is that’s bothering him (and excising Once from the mamasan arc means the listener can fill in whatever details are necessary to make the song their own). But immediately after its clear that he’s just fooling himself, and he’s not even doing that. He’s not coping, he’s about to explode—he’s in that state of mind where you just want to lash out at the rest of the world, to make others hurt to diminish your own pain, or at least make them feel the way you do. We all have those moments, but what makes us emotionally mature and stable is that we’re able to resist them. He’s not so sure he can do it anymore. He can’t control himself, and he can’t lose himself. He can’t forget. He can’t escape. Even when his eyes are closed he’s still forced to confront his trauma.
The final chorus is my favorite part of the song lyrically. The lines are fairly simple, but they’re delivered with such conviction that they carry extra weight. Once upon a time he was in control of his life. Once upon a time he could forget, he could pretend, he could imagine, and dream. But he can’t. He’s stuck in an ever present state of psychic distress, and as a result he’s lost the capacity to love—to love himself, and to love others. He’s trapped and alone, begging for the Release he’ll pray for at the end of the record (and the master/slave instrumental links the two songs—anger/fear/pain the master, and eddie the slave).
I LOVE THIS SONG.
It is 4 * for me. The way it build up, the way it is deliver by Mr Vedder !!!!
AMAZING.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:50 am Posts: 1838 Location: Perth, Australia Gender: Male
this song is awesome.
im so glad it got revamped on RVM. it sounds heaps better.
_________________ a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively there's no such thing as death life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves
The RVM mix is so much better. The biggest difference being no reverb/backing vocals on Eddie and he sounds so much more intense. He doen't need them, he delivers the 'bigness" without them and it's much more real. This song is almost too melodramatic for me now but it's still great. I love the verses and the way they are delivered with such immediacy.
I too, think the Mamasan trilogy is not very tight as a narrative but does a much better job of describing a state of mind. I've always taken Once to be about simply losing control. The narrator seems to be preparing himself for doing something violent, so it works in relation other trilogy that way. I gave it 4.
i think i need to be in the mood when i listen to it -- but when it comes on - it doesn't take much for me to get into it
_________________ GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO GO LEAFS GO
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:53 am Posts: 1435 Location: in fashion, the soft drinks, expansion Gender: Male
3 stars.
Christ, Eddie really knew how to put out gigantic choruses back in the day and this is no exception. That being said, relative to the rest of Ten, it's in the lower half for me.
_________________ I like rhythmic things that butt up against each other in a cool kind of way.
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 8:52 pm Posts: 2647 Location: Where gila monsters meet you at the airport
This song never did much for me, but it was in the encore at Phoenix (?) in 2000 and really changed my mind about the song. Nothing special on the album, really (RVM mix is better but still not great), but a song I would never be disappointed to hear live.
And I agree strongly with Stip about the weakness of the Mamasan trilogy. Once and Footsteps are both much better songs when taken out of their supposed context.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
i like the master/slave music that comes before it on ten.
that is all.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Angus wrote:
average
Given to Fly > Once
be careful or bammer will sue you for gimmick infringement.
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:29 am Posts: 199 Location: US
Amazing song as a whole, weak, amateurish lyrics that show my biggest problem with parts of ten. The production I can get past because it's part of what Ten is, but some of the lyrics just show how young Eddie was. None of them are really awful, just immature compared to a lot of his later stuff.
Still, Once is a hard-ass-rock song that's hard not to get into.
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:43 am Posts: 18418 Location: Anytown, USA Gender: Male
haHA!! i love the 1 star option. but how can i be with myself?
_________________
stip wrote:
In five years, when you get laid and grow up, you should go back and read some of these posts and if you've turned into a decent person you'll realize how much of an asshole you sound like right now
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