From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V5 #165 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Tuesday, July 4 2000 Volume 05 : Number 165 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics ["Trevor James Blagg" ] Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics [Brian Clayton ] Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics [Elaine Linstruth ] Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics [Robin Thurlow ] Alloy: Song of the Week: Cloudburst at Shingle Street [Robin Thurlow Subject: Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics Robin thanks for this, Such well thought out lyrics. This is what I love about Thomas, the fact that he's actually considered what he's writing for more than a fleeting second. I'm endlessly bored of "darling I love you" "You're mine" blah blah that infests most commercial stuff today. Thomas excels with his imagination and unusual subject matter. I also find that by talking to others who have taken an interest in his music that they usually have more than half a brain themselves and that this is one of the main reasons for their attraction towards his music. I simply can't imagine anyone else putting out something like this. Trev... P.S. I would still like to know if Radio Silence concerned Radio Caroline (So would my Dad).......anybody? - ----- Original Message ----- From: Robin Thurlow To: Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2000 12:54 AM Subject: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics > > Urges > > recorded February 1980 > lyrics as printed in Retrospectacle > > Early evening he get these urges > Skin tension under leatherette > A back bar somewhere in clubland > Cigarello and the scene is set > See the bodies - now things are moving > Little twitches people can't explain > Young bodies, listen to them talking > New languagism in their veins > Same face in a new situation > The mirrorball holds mesmerised - > He looks around, he's the new Clark Gable... > > Urges, urges - he get these urges > he don't want to talk about - > Heartfelt urges - he get these urges > He's not supposed to talk about > Urges, urges - these restless urges > He don't want to talk about > Urges, urges - can't stop the urges > Lock them out. > > She's here, the heat is rising > He move slowly she's a china doll > By degrees, he'll loosen her composure - > She knows he knows she knows he knows. > One word to the man in the pulpit > She start twitching and she can't sit still > Seven inches of a black star liner... > > Try to contain the stuff that's in your body > Bit silly when you're head's no good > When you're ashamed of things about your body > You keep drinking like you knew you would. > In the footlight the ape in motion > Spins circles all across the floor - > Mouth the words, assume the positions > For a second you can fool them all > Girl this time it's a new sensation > It's never been this way before. > I look at you and I feel half human... > > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 12:09:08 -0400 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics What intrigues me so much about Thomas is that he is not 'simply'(!!) a musician, writer, composer, producer, designer, filmmaker, technology developer/visionary, etc, though he is already world-renowned at all of these - and Trev, I couldn't agree more about the integrity of his lyrics/compositions! - - there's something far more going on within him as an artist that makes me feel like he's only just getting started. It's almost scary. Robin T listening to Siouxie's 'The Sweetest Chill' - very coincidentally! > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 09:35:00 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian Clayton Subject: Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics A few notes about the lyrics themselves, after listening through the song again... > Urges > > recorded February 1980 > lyrics as printed in Retrospectacle > > Early evening he get these urges > Skin tension under leatherette > A back bar somewhere in clubland > Cigarillo and the scene is set > See the bodies - now things are moving > Little twitches people can't explain > Young bodies, listen to them talking > New languagism in their veins "New languages're in their veins" sounds closer to what is being sung here. I'm trying to recall if this line is printed on the sleeve of the original 45, as there were some differences between the two sets of lyrics, I believe. I seem to remember seeing "new languages" in print somewhere.... > Same face in a new situation > The mirrorball holds mesmerised - > He looks around, he's the new Clark Gable... "He look around, he's the new Clark Gable..." This fits with the constant use of the third-person verb in serveral other lines ("he get these urges", "He move slowly...", "She start twitching...") Why did Thomas do this? > Urges, urges - he get these urges > he don't want to talk about - > Heartfelt urges - he get these urges > He's not supposed to talk about > Urges, urges - these restless urges > He don't want to talk about > Urges, urges - can't stop the urges > Lock them out. "...lock them out now..." > She's here, the heat is rising > He move slowly she's a china doll > By degrees, he'll loosen her composure - > She knows he knows she knows he knows. > One word to the man in the pulpit > She start twitching and she can't sit still "She start twitching and she can't keep still" > Seven inches of a black star liner... The chorus is repeated here, but the subject of the verse has changed: Urges, urges - She get these urges She don't want to talk about - Heartfelt urges - she get these urges She's not supposed to talk about Urges, urges - these restless urges She don't want to talk about Urges, urges - can't stop the urges Lock them out...lock them out now... > Try to contain the stuff that's in your body > Bit silly when you're head's no good > When you're ashamed of things about your body I've heard this as: "When you're ashamed the things about your body" which makes less grammatical sense, I know (not that that matters!) but the word between "ashamed" and "things" is sufficiently vague to be heard either way. Again, I think I read this differently elsewhere (Does anyone have the single on-hand? Mine's in storage. :) > You keep drinking like you knew you would. "Keep drinking like you knew you would." Perhaps an imperative rather than a simple statement? (as is "Try to contain...") Either way, I don't hear "You" here. > In the footlight the ape in motion > Spins circles all across the floor - Likely "Spin circles..." given what's gone before, but impossible to distiguish from "Spins circles" when sung. > Mouth the words, assume the positions > For a second you can fool them all > Girl this time it's a new sensation > It's never been this way before. > I look at you and I feel half human... and finally, the chorus becomes more personal: Urges, urges - I get these urges I don't want to talk about - Heartfelt urges - I get these urges I'm not supposed to talk about Urges, urges - these restless urges I don't want to talk about Urges, urges - can't stop the urges Lock them out...lock them out now... Locking out those urges...yeah, yeah...urges... Locking out those urges...yeah, yeah...urges... Locking out those urges...yeah, yeah...urges... Locking out those urges...yeah, yeah...urges... Also, one other possible mistranslation: Urges, urges - can't stop the urges is correct (as far as I can tell) but could be read: Urges, urges - cast off the urges which I think fits better with the following line, since in order to lock out the urges, one must cast them off first. My $0.02, BC ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 10:53:53 -0700 (PDT) From: Elaine Linstruth Subject: Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics On Mon, 3 Jul 2000, Trevor James Blagg wrote: > I'm endlessly bored of "darling I love you" "You're mine" blah blah that > infests most commercial stuff today. Thomas excels with his imagination and > unusual subject matter. I also find that by talking to others who have taken > an interest in his music that they usually have more than half a brain > themselves and that this is one of the main reasons for their attraction > towards his music. > > I simply can't imagine anyone else putting out something like this. I couldn't agree more. Who else could put "spam tins" and "sinking like a bug in a peach" into a love song, and get away with it? :) But seriously, being that we all agree on the lyrical content.. I still have to say: "Urges" has never sounded like a sexual song to me. I'm intrigued by all of your reactions, because the general context of this song nearly sounds ominous to me. Like, there are urges of a sexual nature, but there are also bad urges that we SHOULD cast off. Every human has morbid thoughts, for example, and it's a matter of ability to NOT act on them, that makes the "normal" people different from the psychopaths or whatever. I'm sure I'm overanalyzing, but I just wanted to make the point that the song doesn't connote anything especially sexual for me. Now, when we get to "Pulp Culture," now THAT'S a sexual song. Before lambasting me , keep in mind that I feel as though I grew up with a lot of Thomas' songs, but "Urges" is relatively new to me. Also, I would like to throw out that perhaps I'm accustomed to later songs' sometimes relying on subtlety to get their points across, and thus am suspicious of "Urges" meaning what it says point blank on the surface. Overanalyst contains the word "anal," Elaine :) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 15:54:21 -0400 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Re: Alloy: 'Urges' lyrics I wrote the lyrics out as I see them printed in 'Retrospectacle', as I said in my original lyrics post. The sung version is a bit different here and there though, as is often the case with printed lyrics versus a performance of the piece. However these differences may change the meaning of the song for certain individuals, as you point out, so thank you Brian for specifying the ones that caught your attention. Robin T Brian Clayton wrote: > A few notes about the lyrics themselves, after listening through the song > again... > > "New languages're in their veins" sounds closer to what is being sung > here. I'm trying to recall if this line is printed on the sleeve of the > original 45, as there were some differences between the two sets of > lyrics, I believe. I seem to remember seeing "new languages" in print > somewhere.... > > ::snip:: > > Urges, urges - can't stop the urges > > Lock them out. > > "...lock them out now..." > > > She's here, the heat is rising > > He move slowly she's a china doll > > By degrees, he'll loosen her composure - > > She knows he knows she knows he knows. > > One word to the man in the pulpit > > She start twitching and she can't sit still > > "She start twitching and she can't keep still" > > > You keep drinking like you knew you would. > > "Keep drinking like you knew you would." > > Perhaps an imperative rather than a simple statement? (as is "Try to > contain...") Either way, I don't hear "You" here. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Jul 2000 16:47:25 -0400 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Alloy: Song of the Week: Cloudburst at Shingle Street Here are the lyrics to 'Cloudburst at Shingle Street' - one of the most beautiful and enigmatic of Thomas' works I think - as printed in Golden Age of Wireless. For those instances where the sung lyrics don't match the written ones exactly, I'll put the sung line next to the written one in parentheses. If I don't catch them all, everyone, please write in to correct me! Please everyone, post in and let us know how you personally feel about this song, what it has meant to you, how it's impacted your life etc. I love this song & it's always been rich in personal meaning for me. More on that in a post yet to come! Cloudburst at Shingle Street recorded September 1981 We climb the cliffs and hang from trees wrap the rocks and pave the beach state of shock at flick of switch (mindless) into the cloudburst overhead I wanna get my face wet been buried in the sand for years *(it's been buried in the sand for years) (headlong) into the cloudburst naked there's really no escaping it there's gonna be a cloudburst here. come out of your shell and look at the sea *(look at the sea) it may be just as well you stayed here with me *(you stay in here with me) or *(you're staying here with me) private hell at turn of key (blindly) into the cloudburst overhead I wanna get my face wet been buried in these hands for years (mindless) into the cloudburst naked there's really no escaping it there's gonna be a cloudburst here (headlong) into the cloudburst overhead I wanna get my face wet it's been buried in these hands for years (blindly) into the cloudburst naked there's really no escaping it there's gonna be a cloudburst here And it's dawning on me I've been a cork in the ocean, been bobbing in the North Sea then take this vest of plaster, these boots of concrete and mark them down as surplus, return to Mulberry... Cloudburst Cloudburst at Shingle Street (repeat) When I was small I was in love in love with everything now there's only you now there's only you ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V5 #165 ***************************