Lyrics
This one, I'm fairly certain, started life in an improvised jam session in the middle of the live performance of "This Strange Engine" at the 2003 Marillion Weekend; the line in question ("There's no such thing as a winnable war"") doesn't actually appear in this song's list of many things in which Hogarth reportedly does not believe, but nonetheless seems to have been the inspiration for the structure of this song.
To be perfectly honest, I'm really not sure why "winnable war" didn't make the cut; it's not an astonishingly profound sentiment, certainly, but... well, let's just say it wouldn't stick out for that. Some of the grim, atheistic statements ("no such thing as an ordered world", "no such thing as a perfect day") are reasonable enough if you don't have a problem with grim, atheistic statements in and of themselves, and I don't, but then you get head scratchers like "There's no such thing as the ozone layer". Science or religion, Steve, you've got to pick a side! Also, there is, apparently, "no such thing as a faithful wife", which is probably the most telling line here, as well as being patently ridiculous, however you're choosing to interpret the word 'faithful'.
If you're noticing a fairly repetitive tone here, it's not just you. The lyrical structure is extremely monotonous, and the music's not a great deal better; it mostly consists of one chilled out guitar groove repeated ad infinitum. Ian Mosley injects a little life into proceedings towards the end with some drumming that can't really be described as energetic, but is at least not totally devoid of vitality, but it's a pretty cursory gesture. I realise that it's meant to be lethargic, but when you're dealing with those kind of moods, there's such a thing as creating too authentic an atmosphere, and it's a pitfall that this song dives headfirst into. Wait, no, that's far too energetic a description. It's a pitfall this song wearily stumbles into without any particular enthusiasm, just because it was there.
Video: No Such Thing
IT IS A GOOD THING WE ESCAPED FROM THE OZONE LAYER!!!!!!!
Showing posts with label Somewhere Else. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somewhere Else. Show all posts
Monday, 30 July 2007
Friday, 29 June 2007
Somewhere Else
Lyrics
I can't find the exact quote, but Steve Hogarth has said something along the lines of the latest Marillion album, and this title track in particular, being the most open and personal he's ever been in his songwriting. Now, he's certainly not one to shy away from hyperbole, but I think it's probably true. The song begins reasonably enough on that front, questioning the worth of his choice of career, "Better to be a doctor, or a man who walks the Earth", but soon descends into clichés like "Such a thin line between love and hate" and some sort of lunatic nursery rhyme riddle; "Mr. Taurus/Ate a thesaurus/Made the girls cry and skipped straight to the chorus". Honestly, what on Earth is that? I mean, minimal research reveals that Mr. Hogarth was indeed born on the cusp of Taurus, so I guess he is still talking about himself, but this is still pretty far removed from 'open and personal', as far as I can see.
Anyway, the song meanders along for a good six minutes in search of a purpose, with its vague strands of something that, if you were feeling generous, you might describe as 'narrative', all loosely tied together with a repeated refrain of "Look at myself, look at myself...". I've mentioned nothing about the other four members of the band yet, because the instrumentation here is really so sparse as to go unnoticed, and yet at the same time it manages to carry across a constant feeling just outside of your peripheral vision of building anticipation, like there's something big coming, and we're all just holding our breath, waiting for it to happen.
And then, of course, it does happen; Hogarth quietly slips in an echoing falsetto that's pretty hard to decipher if you don't know what you're listening for; "Everyone I love... lives somewhere else...". And that's the signal, the cue for Ian Mosley to crash in on the drums, and Steve Rothery to break out a classic Floydian guitar solo, and all the power they've been storing up throughout the song is finally unleashed. Hogarth completes the thought that had been Bad Wolfing it's way through the verses; "I have time to look at myself", and then twists it around and completes it again; "And I have seen enough." Because all the meandering, and the clichés and the nursery rhymes were really just Hogarth attempting to obfuscate this simple fact; trying to find a false song, a mask to wear or a character to play to avoid admitting the raw truth of it. I have time to look at myself and I have seen enough. Now, maybe we're talking literally, and everyone you love lives somewhere else geographically, or maybe we're talking metaphorically and everyone you know lives somewhere else spiritually, but either way, I think it's quite likely that you've been there too.
And then, as suddenly as it burst forth from the speakers, the climax is gone again, fading almost apologetically into an electronic beep, quite possibly that of an answerphone, as if embarrassed to have let out such raw and intense self-expression.
Video: Somehwere Else
The song, set to some live photography.
I can't find the exact quote, but Steve Hogarth has said something along the lines of the latest Marillion album, and this title track in particular, being the most open and personal he's ever been in his songwriting. Now, he's certainly not one to shy away from hyperbole, but I think it's probably true. The song begins reasonably enough on that front, questioning the worth of his choice of career, "Better to be a doctor, or a man who walks the Earth", but soon descends into clichés like "Such a thin line between love and hate" and some sort of lunatic nursery rhyme riddle; "Mr. Taurus/Ate a thesaurus/Made the girls cry and skipped straight to the chorus". Honestly, what on Earth is that? I mean, minimal research reveals that Mr. Hogarth was indeed born on the cusp of Taurus, so I guess he is still talking about himself, but this is still pretty far removed from 'open and personal', as far as I can see.
Anyway, the song meanders along for a good six minutes in search of a purpose, with its vague strands of something that, if you were feeling generous, you might describe as 'narrative', all loosely tied together with a repeated refrain of "Look at myself, look at myself...". I've mentioned nothing about the other four members of the band yet, because the instrumentation here is really so sparse as to go unnoticed, and yet at the same time it manages to carry across a constant feeling just outside of your peripheral vision of building anticipation, like there's something big coming, and we're all just holding our breath, waiting for it to happen.
And then, of course, it does happen; Hogarth quietly slips in an echoing falsetto that's pretty hard to decipher if you don't know what you're listening for; "Everyone I love... lives somewhere else...". And that's the signal, the cue for Ian Mosley to crash in on the drums, and Steve Rothery to break out a classic Floydian guitar solo, and all the power they've been storing up throughout the song is finally unleashed. Hogarth completes the thought that had been Bad Wolfing it's way through the verses; "I have time to look at myself", and then twists it around and completes it again; "And I have seen enough." Because all the meandering, and the clichés and the nursery rhymes were really just Hogarth attempting to obfuscate this simple fact; trying to find a false song, a mask to wear or a character to play to avoid admitting the raw truth of it. I have time to look at myself and I have seen enough. Now, maybe we're talking literally, and everyone you love lives somewhere else geographically, or maybe we're talking metaphorically and everyone you know lives somewhere else spiritually, but either way, I think it's quite likely that you've been there too.
And then, as suddenly as it burst forth from the speakers, the climax is gone again, fading almost apologetically into an electronic beep, quite possibly that of an answerphone, as if embarrassed to have let out such raw and intense self-expression.
Video: Somehwere Else
The song, set to some live photography.
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