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| Song score |
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| Rhythm | :  10.0 |
| Melody | : 10.0 |
| Instruments | : 10.0 |
| Lyrics | : 10.0 |
| Vocal | : 10.0 |
| This song has been reviewed 4 times. Overall score for this song, 10.0. |
| Showing reactions 1-10 of 10 | Page 1 of 1 |
| Song reviews |
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 0  @ 16-07-2004 06:38 lo_fi_noise | 1 posts
| was this song in a commercial?? | | 0 @ 13-09-2004 01:31 redfordrox | 74 posts
| Yeah penguins! lol. This is the 1st song i heard by the shins and instantly fell in love with them. | | 0 @ 13-10-2004 20:10 mycaesar | 6 posts
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can some one please explain to me what this song means?  | | 0 @ 20-11-2004 22:55 Mien | 1,324 posts
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This song is a critique of modern life as well as human nature. The second verse sums it up best: "...our lust for life had gone away with the rent we hated/and because it made no money nobody saved no one's life..."
This is why another verse mentions we should "burn all our uniforms" and revert to a simpler form of living. Still, as James Mercer sings, "We are of a brutal kind."
The melody is deceptively bright and upbeat for a song about disillusionment...
| | 0 @ 05-01-2005 02:55 gsf2223506 | 5 posts
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Close, but no cigar. This song is about the flaws inherant in all human systems- focusing on capitalism and communism- and how all of our efforts to find a utopia have proved utterly futile.
"An address to the golden door
I was strumming on a stone again
pulling teeth from the pimps of gore when hatched
a tragic opera in my mind...
and it told of a new design
in which every soul is duty bound
to uphold all the statues of boredom therein lies
the fatal flaw of the red age"
The first few lines introduce Communism, calling it a tragic opera. It says that in Communism (the "Red Age," red is the color adopted by Communists and some socialists) every soul must do exactly this or that, "duty bound to uphold all the statues of boredom," without any freedom.
"Because it was nothing like we'd ever dreamt"
We didn't expect the bad stuff to happen that did because of it... i.e. the boredom and loss of lust for life, and the lack of contribution.
"our lust for life had gone away with the rent we hated "
Under Communism, there's no rent. Economic poverty and oppression are the primary reasons people rise up and make a communist revolution. The song critiques Communism, the system of mindless obedience, perfect order, and no freedom as taking away man's lust for life.
"and because it made no money nobody saved no one's life."
People can't get rich, or accrue a large amount of reward of any kind under Communism. So, they don't work as hard, they lack inititive.
"So we burned all our uniforms"
In some Communist nations, like China, in the early years, civilians were made to wear uniforms. The uniforms here are also symbolic, the "mental furniture" of all the years of propaganda.
"and let nature take its course again
and the big ones just eat all the little ones"
Describing Capitalism. Unchecked capitalism is referred to as "law of the jungle economics" because, literally, only the strong survive, the rich survive, and the poor die.
"that send us back to the drawing board"
Oops... this doesn't work so well either.
"In our darkest hours
we have all asked for some
angel to come
sprinkle his dust all around
but all our crying voices they can't turn it around
and you've had some crazy conversations of your own."
We've proved utterly incapable at making a society that works. No matter how hard we try, we just can't do it.
"We've got rules"
We have codified systems of laws, values, ethics, and morality
"and maps"
We've made all this scientific progress
"and guns in our backs"
This lyric can be taken two ways, and likely has both meanings. First, it could be taken that we have the means to enforce the rules. Second, it could mean we can destroy ourselves easily. As said, it was probably intended to have both.
"but we still can't just behave ourselves"
And yet, despite laws, ethics, values, and morality, we still can't get out #%*! together.
"even if to save our own lives"
The future of humanity depends on us getting our #%*! together.
"so, says I, we are a brutal kind."
Human nature sucks. Badly. We can't stop hurting others and ourselves because of human nature.
"Cuz this is nothing like we'd ever dreamt"
Now, talking about Capitalism the same way the earlier saying of this lyric talked about Communism.
"tell Sir Thomas More"
Sir Thomas More wrote a book called Utopia, which invented the word.
"we've got another failed attempt "
This try isn't working either.
"cuz if it makes them money they might just give you life this time."
In Capitalism, unless the powers that be decide you will have money, you most likely won't.
| | 0 @ 11-01-2005 03:04 chado | 21 posts
| "Close, but no cigar. This song is about the flaws inherant in all human systems- focusing on capitalism and communism- and how all of our efforts to find a utopia have proved utterly futile.
"
---WTF DID HE SAY...??? | | 0 @ 19-01-2005 22:17 mtf1979_1 | 2 posts
| funny. but i think gsf2223506 is right on. maybe we should all go back to watching garden state before we end up thinking too much. christ. | | 0 @ 20-02-2005 08:52 RubyTuesday36 | 14 posts
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lol. Cause who needs to think, pssh. 
* offtopic :
And I'd just like to say, I don't think Garden State is devoid of intelligence, there is a lot of philosophical depth to the whole thing, with all the absurd crap the main character goes through, but it all somehow works out to mean something really touching and important
The analysis by gsf was quite correct, and thorough, I mean watch the music video - Communist penguins? Allegory on par with Animal Farm? That is freakin' awesome.
The Shins are a literate band. Crazy idea! People who actually use words that have more than two syllables in their songs, and make references to Renaissance Era philosophers in their songs, and discuss the inherent flaws in human nature.
Oh Good Lord they've made me rant, this song is so good. Anywho,  | | 0 @ 31-03-2005 06:52 bribbanyhin2 | 4 posts
| have to agree w/ the communist one as well.. sry
but music and lyric can mean different hting to different ppl just cuz that not the song writter was thinkin doesnt mean that how u interprited the song is wrong music is the universal laungue dont over analyze its beauty | | 0 @ 31-03-2005 06:55 bribbanyhin2 | 4 posts
| i really need to learn to typ well sry for all the typos in that i think u get the main jist of what i was sayin i just fordot some s's on the ends of some words... |
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