Post subject: SOTM #76: A scratching voice all alone...
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:36 pm
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Nothing As It Seems
Don't feel like home,.. he's a little out... And all these words elope,.. it's nothing like your poem... Putting in,.. inputting in,.. don't feel like methadone... Scratching voice.. all alone,.. it's nothing like your baritone It's nothing as it seems,.. the little that he needs,. it's home The little that he sees,.. is nothing. He concedes,.. it's home
One uninvited chromosome,.. a blanket like the ozone. It's nothing as it seems, all that he needs,. it's home... The little that he frees,.. is nothing, he believes...
Saving up a sunny day,.. something maybe two tone... Anything to call his own,.. a chip off the cornerstone... Who's kidding, rainy day,...one way ticket headstone... Occupations overthrown,.. a whisper thru a megaphone...
It's nothing as it seems,... the little that he needs,... it's home The little that he sees, ..is nothing. He concedes,. it's home... And all that he frees,... a little bittersweet,.. it's home... It's nothing as it seems,.. the little that you see,.. it's home...
_________________ "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
For the record, I love Jeff as a songwriter, as long as we are talking musically. While Jeff songs should not be chosen to be singles, they are almost always challenging and musically interesting, and NAIS is no exception. It is a slow, mournful dirge, and creates a wonderful melancholy atmosphere, punctuated by Mike’s brilliant guitar work (some of his best ever), lonely cries of despair in a cold void. It’s interesting that the catharsis in this song doesn’t come from Ed, who is perhaps a bit too understated here. He never manages to escape, nor can he even articulate for himself what is wrong, or what the subject needs. Instead the pain comes from the music, unable to be put into words or even directly expressed. This song also has some great subdued drumming by Matt. On some of the slower songs (TMY, for instance) Matt gets a bit too busy, but everything he does here is necessary. And the bass here is so rich and full. Musically I just love everything about this one from top to bottom.
Not a good song to get live, since no one goes to a concert to hear a dirge (same problem with Sleight of Hand) and it is a tempo killer, but it usually sounds good when they do it.
Lyrically this one is a bit tricky. It’s got the same problem as pilate and lowlight. Musically they are great, and it sounds like Jeff is trying to say something deep amidst his abstractions, but they never really fully come together in a compelling fashion. Some pretty great individual lyrics (a scratching voice, all alone, it’s nothing like your baritone/a whisper through a megaphone) (he’s certainly better than Matt, who couldn’t write his way out of a paper bag) but they only work as a whole because the band is firing on all cylinders here.
This is a 3.5 star song. 5 for atmosphere, but a 2 in terms of actually feeling affected by it (mostly due to the lyrics and Ed's delivery, which fits the song but doesn't take it anywhere) . The love I have for it is more a rational appreciation than a real tangible connection to it. But since 3.5 isn’t really an option I’ll give it a 4, but barely.
_________________ "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 Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
great song, but kills the energy in a concert. it would work great as an opener or in the first encore, but it pretty much sucks anywhere else on the setlist.
i heard it on the radio over the weekend and forgot how awesome it is. great tune
_________________ Feel the path of every day,... Which road you taking?,...
4.5 stars, as a song itself its amazing, i love the solo as an intro. But like warehouse points out its a major show stopper. Much like TMW and Wishlist. this song should only be played as an opener (encore opener if anything) but never in the middle of a set, it sorta kills it.
It reminds me of a Pink Floyd song and I enjoy hearing PJ go into depths often not heard from the band. I have a Binaural tape in my car (since my CD broke, it's the only tape I have) and I listen to it quite a bit.
Similar to what has already been said, I wish Ed would go somewhere with the vocals. The vocals are boring. I also wish Stone did something else besides the most boring chord progression in the PJ catalog.
Definetly kills momentum. If you aren't really INTO the song, then itll feel like 10 minutes and you wonder what just happened to the show you were enjoying.
One of those slow songs that lacks tempo, even for a slow song.
_________________ "Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." -- John Steinbeck
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