Pixies "Tame," : an analysis.
Dave Savarese
Frank Black is very much into movies and books, since he wrote a song
about "Un Chien Andalou."
But, I think the song "Tame" is about the novel "Silence of the Lambs."
Not the movie, mind you, since the movie came out after the album did.
"Got Hips like Cindarella
Must be having a good shame
Talking sweet about nothing
Cookie I think you're tame"
Detective Starling is attractive, hiding something from her past, and when
she "talks sweet about nothing," it could be that empty promise that she
promises Dr. Lector, about his analysis in exchange for the new prison
location.
"I'm making good friends with you
When you're shaking your good frame
Fall on your face on those bad shoes
Lying there like you're tame"
Not much here, except the "bad shoes" comment, which occurs in the film,
and probably the book. It's just too close a quote.
That's my great analysis. I'm sure he's publicly said it means something
else, something with far greater impact, but hey, I haven't heard it.
Dave Savarese
sava...@genesis.nred.ma.us
William G. Sacks
: that much. Not that I don't think there OK or anything.
: Its just that the smart fat guy who sings and writes the lyrics claims that
: they are just for effect. He's, according to himself, a non biker non
: surfer who makes music that surfers and bikers would find cool. The
: gortesque lyrics arn't the product of some cool neurosis that a lot of the
: people I know who love the pixis hope they are. The pixis the way I
: see them and the way they came accross in interviews were just a bunch of
: people fucking around and having as much fun as say the guys in a band like
: madness. Anyway even if I'm totally of the track here they've make really
: funny vidios which really irritate the fuck out of the stupid
: bastard alternative/metal surfers and sisters of mercy fans you so
: frequently find in Durban.
First, it doesn't really strike me that Francis' comments about
bikers & surfers really amounts to much more than a jab at whoever came
looking for the quote in the first place.
Second, it seems to me that a tune like "Debaser" might actually
refer to something other than "fucking around"...the fun they're poking
at academic cultural theories (see "debaser," "UMass," "Hey" for all
sorts of sarcastic fun directed at collegiate pomposity, Kristeva, Derrida,
etc.) and the contempt that a tune like "Gigantic" expresses about American race
ideology might actually add up to something.
BTW, none of this is meant as a flame, really; what I'm trying to
get across is a sense of the context in which the Pixies not only came
together, but made a name for themselves as a band. In some fundamental
way, their music contains commentaries on their scene as surely as Minor
Threat's or Husker Du's does, only with slightly more inuendo mixed in
with the bile.
The Winter of MALcontent
> bikers & surfers really amounts to much more than a jab at whoever came
> looking for the quote in the first place.
> Second, it seems to me that a tune like "Debaser" might actually
> refer to something other than "fucking around"...the fun they're poking
> at academic cultural theories (see "debaser," "UMass," "Hey" for all
> sorts of sarcastic fun directed at collegiate pomposity, Kristeva, Derrida,
> etc.) and the contempt that a tune like "Gigantic" expresses about American race
> ideology might actually add up to something.
> BTW, none of this is meant as a flame, really; what I'm trying to
> get across is a sense of the context in which the Pixies not only came
> together, but made a name for themselves as a band. In some fundamental
> way, their music contains commentaries on their scene as surely as Minor
> Threat's or Husker Du's does, only with slightly more inuendo mixed in
> with the bile.
I alsolutely agree with what you say... just that, are we overanalysing Pixies?? I do think there are people out there who are interested in Pixies simply for the whackiness of the band... sometimes lyrics don't concern as much because it seems to me this is not the main focus of the band, but rather it's the whole process of making music. I remember in a TV interview Frank Black (Black Francis then) couldn't came up with anything when asked about his lyrics... Besides what's so wrong with having some fu
n with writing lyrics which make no sense at all? ;-P
Vivian Johann
vyct...@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca
Benjamin John Sisario
> Second, it seems to me that a tune like "Debaser" might actually
> refer to something other than "fucking around"...the fun they're poking
> at academic cultural theories (see "debaser," "UMass," "Hey" for all
> sorts of sarcastic fun directed at collegiate pomposity, Kristeva, Derrida,
> etc.) and the contempt that a tune like "Gigantic" expresses about American race
> ideology might actually add up to something.
college pricks, yes; american race ideology, maybe (maybe not);
derrida and kristeva, NO.
Robert A. Mason
She's my fave
Undressing in the sun
Return to sea
Forgetting everyone
Eleven high
Ride a wave
Well, I might have the lyrics slightly off, but take the first
letter of each line, and what does it spell? Pretty cool, eh?
Chriz
>From: dn...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Robert A. Mason)
>Subject: Re: Pixies "Tame," : an analysis.
>Date: 9 Jun 1994 09:17:21 GMT
Very cool but you'll find the songs called ana.
(which could be short for anal I suppose)
Jady Wallis
The only song I'll comment on is Gigantic. My friends and I for some
reason already discussed this song. ..."Walk into a shady place... he's
dark and I want him... gigantic... a big, big love..." Is it not obvious?
This song is about black, male sexual anatomy! (Any of you may
from Montreal may remember the movie poster that was in most metro
stations. The film was in French, and if I remember correctly, the film
title was 'How to Satisfy a Black Man in Bed', or something along those
lines. It was a picture of a black man lying in bed [well, gee did ya
figure that one out, yet? ;o)] on his back with the sheets over him, only
the sheets make a huge tent due to his manhood. I'll never forget this
poster. What was even more entertaining was seeing little old ladies
walk by this poster... It really was a great poster, it got a lot of
attention, a lot of write-ups in the paper and such. Anyway, 'nuff said.
jady
Antony Nicholas Dodd
what a "boxcar" is, as in Here comes your Man,
"Outside theres a boxcar waiting
Outside the families too"
Being British, I don't know whether it's an "americanism" for something- it
presumably doesn't just refer to the *shape* of a car does it?? Help!!!!
Ant.
Jady Wallis
I could be wrong, but I believe it's those old cars that had to be
cranked up. (My dictionary is packed away, so I can't verify
this - sorry).
- jady
david jabson
(Robert A. Mason) wrote:
Not Bad, not bad, but the song is called "Ana"...remember from Bossanova,
ya dipshit!
--
Timo
Darrel...@magic-bbs.corp.apple.com
Emerick Rogul
On Fri, 10 Jun 94 22:02:35 GMT, jwa...@borg.citi.doc.ca (Jady Wallis) said:
: - jady
_I_ could be wrong, but isn't it just a train car? Even webster backs
me up on this.
-emerick
--
Emerick Rogul =|= Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth
eme...@cs.bu.edu =|= it to gnaw through the leather straps.
(617) 262-6745 =|= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Finger me for PGP decoder ring =|= ObShaggy: Zooooiks, Scoob!
Robert A. Mason
Somebody asked what a "boxcar" (from "here comes your man") is...
It's a train car.
klahn matthew scott
>In <1994Jun10.1...@ucl.ac.uk>, ycr...@ucl.ac.uk (Antony Nicholas Dodd) writes:
>>While we're on the subject of Pixies lyrics, can someone enlighten me as to
>>what a "boxcar" is, as in Here comes your Man,
>>"Outside theres a boxcar waiting
>>Outside the families too"
>>
>>Being British, I don't know whether it's an "americanism" for something- it
>>presumably doesn't just refer to the *shape* of a car does it?? Help!!!!
>I could be wrong, but I believe it's those old cars that had to be
>cranked up. (My dictionary is packed away, so I can't verify
>this - sorry).
No, a boxcar is a car of a train, i.e. a railroad car. A boxcar is a cargo carrying car that derives it's name from the fact that it looks and functions as
a box. Now, what Frank meant by there's a boxcar waiting? I have no idea...
Like all Pixies lyrics, it's more of a matter of word play and creative writing than a matter of meaning. Or so I feel....
--
Matthew S. Klahn || "The difference between the right word and the
msk4...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu || almost right word is the difference between
- All opinions expressed || lightning and the lightning bug."
are actually facts.... || -Mark Twain
William Hull
|>
|> On Fri, 10 Jun 94 22:02:35 GMT, jwa...@borg.citi.doc.ca (Jady Wallis) said:
|>
|> : In <1994Jun10.1...@ucl.ac.uk>, ycr...@ucl.ac.uk (Antony Nicholas Dodd) writes:
|> :>While we're on the subject of Pixies lyrics, can someone enlighten me as to
|> :>what a "boxcar" is, as in Here comes your Man,
|> :>"Outside theres a boxcar waiting
|> :>Outside the families too"
|> :>
|> :>Being British, I don't know whether it's an "americanism" for something- it
|> :>presumably doesn't just refer to the *shape* of a car does it?? Help!!!!
|> :>
|> :>Ant.
|>
|> : I could be wrong, but I believe it's those old cars that had to be
|> : cranked up. (My dictionary is packed away, so I can't verify
|> : this - sorry).
|>
|> : - jady
|>
|> _I_ could be wrong, but isn't it just a train car? Even webster backs
|> me up on this.
|>
I seem to remember a novel or short story (or maybe it was the news in this day of so-called infotainment) where a couple of people got trapped inside a
boxcar on a hot day and suffocated.
BTW: since this is a Pixies thread, I'll do a little star/name dropping. I sat next to
Kim Deal's mother at a Pixies show in Columbus, OH, back in 1988(?). My memory is a little fuzzy about the date.
--
bill hull
structural dynamics research corporation
2000 eastman drive, milford, oh 45150-2789
willia...@sdrc.com
/***the reflections and/or comments above reflect
/***my own free thinking and are in no way
/***associated with my employer, sdrc.
Antony Nicholas Dodd
network apart from passenger trains so I'd never really seen one until someone
told me they were the sort of cars you get in western movies....
Someone on this newsgroup ummm I think Dave Saverese {sp?} reckons that the
song is about some book you all read in the States when you're a kid at
school? MY GOD A PIXIES SONG NOT ABOUT ALIENS!!!
Ant.
Benjamin John Sisario
it refers to the boxcars used by the nazis to transport jews
and others into concentration camps. yes, that's right: the
song is about NAZIS. and 'monkey gone to heaven' is about
POLLUTION. and 'debaser' is about A MOVIE. and you thought
r.e.m. were the only people that did shit like that.
Benjamin John Sisario
and it's
OUTSIDE THE FAMILY STEW
Matthew L. Reid
I'm listening to "here comes your man" right now, and I can see the
point about the NAZIS. Is 'debaser' about a specific movie or just a
type of movie?
BTW I just wanted to add that this is one of the most interesting
threads I've seen on this newsgroup in a long time.
--
Robert A. Mason
>>Is 'debaser' about a specific movie or just a
type of movie? <<
It is a specific film. A friend was telling me about it, but
I can't for the life of me remember the title. I'm sorry. Maybe
somebody else knows more.
As for some Frank Black lyrics: CZAR is about John Denver. He
tried to buy a ticket from NASA and the USSR to get into space,
but was sadly denied. The gas tanks refer to a John Denver
controversy when he put gas tanks on his property during an
oil crisis or something.
Kirsten Gaarder
>
>Is 'debaser' about a specific movie or just a
>type of movie?
>
Bunuel (sp?) called "Un Chien Andalou" (An Andalusian Dog). Apparently, there's
a famous scene of an eyeball being sliced by a straight razor. There was a
thread about this film in alt.cult-movies a while back.
Kirsten
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c...@waikato.ac.nz
Nazis? Where did you get that from. There is no other Nazi reference in the
song. I always presumed it was a about scoring Herion in the genre of the
Velvet Undergrounds - Here Comes Your Man. e.g., "you never wait so long":
references to waiting on the street, "I see the nervous walking" (or something)
refering the anxiety driven world of deling drugs.
But Nazism ... were you joking (I can never tell over the net)?
______________________________________________________________________________
"Internet discussion is so vicious because the issues are so small".
(Kissenger - originally)
Chris Kubiak,
University of Waikato.
______________________________________________________________________________
RCoppinger
Okay, so WHO is Benjamin John Sisario? I mean, that kind of insight
doesn't come from listening to the album too many time. Either Ben
is making this up, or he know someone in the band. Or someone in the
band (RIP) was using Ben's account. Let's see if he replies...