They Just Don't Write Em Like That Anymore RSS

Songs for that special time in your life.

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Nov
7th
Sat
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I Let Love In — Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Well I’ve been bound and gagged and I’ve been terrorized
And I’ve been castrated and I’ve been lobotomized
But never has my tormenter come in such a cunning
disguise

For all the times when you think maybe you could get through a break-up, this song is here to remind you it’s totally impossible. And also, you’re an idiot for letting yourself be deceived.

Nov
6th
Fri
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Black Kids - Hurricane Jane

It’s Friday night and I ain’t got nobody.
Oh, what’s the use of making a bed?
I took something and it feels like karate;
it’s kicked me down and left me for dead.

Our heart feels like karate. We posted the shitty version from the album for effect. You’re welcome. What time is bed time?

Nov
5th
Thu
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The Get Up Kids - Mass Pike

Because “Screaming Infidelities” was too long to type.

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Ode to Divorce — Regina Spektor

you’re eating something minty and you’re making that face that I love

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You’re gonna cry, cry, cry and you’ll want me there,
It’ll hurt when you think of the fool you’ve been.
You’re gonna cry, cry, cry.

It’s nice to believe, isn’t it?

Nov
3rd
Tue
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St. Vincent - The Party

But I sit transfixed by a hole in your t-shirt
I said much too much in the trying to speak up.

Preëmptive break-up song!

Hey St Vincent. I’m sitting here sprung out watching ‘You Dig a Pony’ meanwhile I just want to be digging your pony. I think you’re sexy as hell. I’ve been stalking you since back when you were just an mp3 blogger meme, back in 2006. But I saw your potential, and here we are almost four years later, rich and famous. And I’m just so proud. I see you wearing those black tights all the time underneath your skirts and shorts, and to me, that just make a nigga go buck wild. The locks of your hair curl to perfection. You got a slammin bod and my dick raise up like a scissor kick when you hit the high note. But all I wanna know is, can you shred on your guitar like that bent over? I like that you sing in two microphones, because then it’s like there’s two of you, and I always wished that God made two of you so that I could fuck you while you lick my ass. Your lips are sexy red and I want to rub the large space in between your eyes. I’m best friends with Grizzly Bear, and I just want all of us to be friends in Brooklyn, and maybe live in your house and sleep in your bed. And I hope that when you watch this vid, you fall in love with me, because when I turn my swagger on, no one got it like this, and I be in your mother fucking dreams tonight. Thank you for watching my youtube, St. Vincent. Thank you for your music. And I love you.

Nov
1st
Sun
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The National - Start A War

I promise that things will get better. They will.

Whatever went away I’ll get it over again.
I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again
Walk away now and you’re gonna start a war
Oct
30th
Fri
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Neutral Milk Hotel - Naomi

Please don’t leave me.

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Wilco - At Least That’s What You Said

You’re irresistible when you get mad.
Isn’t it sad, I’m immune?

The killer part of this line isn’t that the singer’s immune to his ex-lover’s sadness (our first reading). It’s that he’s immune to her irresistibly when she get’s mad. A kind of paradoxical feeling (immune to something he can’t resist?) that everyone can identify with. There’s only so much someone can take, you know?

Oct
29th
Thu
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Close Readings of Song Lyrics: "I Want It That Way," Backstreet Boys

katiecoyle:

Tales of love that can never be are staples of post-war popular music; presumably because before and during The Big One, Americans had a number of more pressing issues at hand (Nazis).  But it is rare today to find a song with a new take on this age-old theme, which is why the song “I Want It That Way” as performed by the Backstreet Boys (or BSB, to their friends), has forever tattooed its glorious lyrics on our hearts and minds.

The song opens quite postively: “Yeah.”  Then, the object of BSB’s collective desire is immediately established, as they sing, “You are my fire/ my one desire.”  Objectum sexuality is a real preference that exists in an innumerable amount of people.  While many find themselves aroused by couches or bridges, it is more rare to find those who will admit to sexual desire for an element.  BSB does just this, stating without hesitation their arousal at the sight of “[their] fire” and furthermore pledging dedication to the substance, admonishing fire to “believe, when [they] say that [they] want it that way.”

Note the ambiguity—what is “it?”  What is “that?”  Is “it” a room that BSB wants “that way,” i.e., warm?  Had BSB, during the penning of this ditty, secluded themselves in some sort of mountain villa without proper heating?  This might particularly be of concern to them considering Brian Littrell’s history of heart problems.  Without conclusive evidence, we can only assume that indeed, this was a song written at a time when the Backstreet Boys felt particularly, perhaps uncomfortably, chilly.

In the second verse, you’ll note that BSB acknowledges the difficulties of carrying on a relationship with fire, noting that they are “worlds apart,” and that it is impossible to “reach [the fire’s] heart;” indeed, because that would burn them.  “Tell [us] why!” they implore, perhaps not understanding the basic tenets of physics.  They call their lack of heating a “mistake;” one that we can only assume some peon was dramatically punished for, and then—mysteriously—they state, “[We] never want to hear [the fire] say, ‘I want it that way.’”  This is easy enough to understand: a talking fire would be extremely unexpected and frightening, and again, they have Brian’s heart condition to consider.

Needily, BSB now asks the fire if they, BSB, are “[the fire’s] fire.”  They observe that “it’s too late” to carry on this relationship—perhaps it is just at the end of winter and the fire-making season is about to pass—but still, still, BSB bravely pledges their desire for the room (“it”) to be warm (“that way”).  The song continues on this way for something like thirty to forty verses, capturing the agony of cold rooms and impossible love, while providing the listener with a danceable beat and harmonies that could melt your ears off.