| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/13/2013 : 03:33:31
So I just got back from my morning jog. “I Gotta Move” was cranked to 11! See I was jogging while listening to “I Gotta Move” Get it??!! The endorphins are kicking in!
I know this has been done many times before but his lyrics are so brilliant we need to revisit awesome lines in Frank tunes!
“Got coffee
Got donuts
Got wasted
Erased head
And what do they say?”
Brilliant! The song is about Jack Nance who starred in ERASUREHEAD!
http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/47209/
everyone have a fantastic canadian thankgiving weekend eh!!
 "I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| 35 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Thomas |
Posted - 07/28/2014 : 15:53:40
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| Stevio10 |
Posted - 10/29/2013 : 05:36:09
I said, "I want to be a singer like lou reed."
"I like lou reed," she said, sticking her tongue in my ear.
"let's go, let's sit, let's talk, politics goes so good with beer.
"and while we're at it, baby, why don't you tell me one of your
Biggest fears?"
I said, "losing my penis to a whore with disease."
"just kidding," I said. "losing my life to a whore with disease."
She said, "excuse me, please?"
I said, "losing my life to a whore with disease."
She said, "please."
Well, I'm a humble guy with healthy desire
Don't give me no shit because
I've been tired
- Always liked the reference to Lou Reed in this song, when I first started listening to Pixies it gave them an added validation by namedropping another favourite of mine.
Great track and Im thrilled they are playing it live again with so much energy, kudos to Kim S on backing vox. |
| moonruler |
Posted - 10/24/2013 : 14:05:10
quote:
Originally posted by fumanbru
So I was having breakfast with my family this morning and we had "Pie In The Sky" cranked!
So stomp your feet
And clap your hands
Get out of your seat
And do a little dance
Stomp your feet and clap your hands,
everybody ready for a Barnyard Dance
The only book my daughter liked better than Barnyard Dance was The Foot Book.
I cannot count the number of times I read The Foot Book.
"Left foot, left foot. Right foot, right"
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!!
______________
make some room |
| Arm Arm Arm |
Posted - 10/24/2013 : 13:44:06
You're welcome, Peter.
The only Pixies book I've read is Fool The World, which I enjoyed. You've got a wide open field for a book on Frank's solo work and quite a wealth of topics. Regarding lyrics...
The other day at the potlatch, come visiting was a sasquatch
He said although I'm a mismatch, or could I stay just for a while?
'Cause the likes of us are few, yeah, and we still got nothing to do
I superabound, but I still got nothing to do
|
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/24/2013 : 05:22:20
So I was having breakfast with my family this morning and we had "Pie In The Sky" cranked!
So stomp your feet
And clap your hands
Get out of your seat
And do a little dance
Stomp your feet and clap your hands,
everybody ready for a Barnyard Dance
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/24/2013 : 00:18:58
quote:
Originally posted by fumanbru
mi aspekti al la cxielo por via reveni
mi aspekti cxe via mano al vidi la ringo
kaj ni will promeni kune al via cambro
nia ami will esti nova
nia ami will esti nova
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!!
http://aleceiffel.free.fr/titles.html
i just read this from the alexeiffel website and noticed "esperanto" referrenced back in the early pixies days.
"Songs like 'Bone Machine' or 'Break My Body' formed a kind of anatomical Esperanto, speaking in tongues to suggest a carnivorous lust." (Melody Maker)
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/24/2013 : 00:10:08
quote:
Originally posted by danjersey
oh Alexander I see you beneath the archway of aerodynamics
and...
sometimes people can be oh so dense
http://aleceiffel.free.fr/titles.html
i had forgotten about the aleceiffel.net website. awesome!
ALEC EIFFEL
"I thought it was important to speak about Gustave Alexandre Eiffel, as he is considered as the pioneer of aerodynamics. Fascinating subject" (BF)
"Because of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, but also because it's funny: in the USA and in Australia, you often day 'It's a smart Alec' from a guy who's nice but not very bright." (BF)
" According to Charles, the song started with Eiffel, then he started to singing the words Eiffel, riffle, trifle, and suddenly 'everything fell into place'. It's not certain whether lines like 'little Eiffel stands in the archway, even though it doesn't make no sense' are an observation of the lunacy of the architecture or the song itself, which features a Sixties' -style zither! " (Melody Maker)
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| Thomas |
Posted - 10/23/2013 : 06:40:59
Winner!!!
"Our love is rice and beans and horses lard."
"Our Love is Rice and Beans and Horses Lard" |
| danjersey |
Posted - 10/23/2013 : 03:25:20
oh Alexander I see you beneath the archway of aerodynamics
and...
sometimes people can be oh so dense |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/23/2013 : 00:04:54
I like that slinky little punky little bit funky
itty bitty chunky right there
little bit lippy a whipped cream hippie
zip and unzippy and I want her
make some room
what goes boom?
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/23/2013 : 00:00:59
mi aspekti al la cxielo por via reveni
mi aspekti cxe via mano al vidi la ringo
kaj ni will promeni kune al via cambro
nia ami will esti nova
nia ami will esti nova
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/22/2013 : 23:56:13
quote:
Originally posted by Idalgo Clandestino
how about:
There was this boy who had two
Children with his sisters
They were his daughters
They were his favourite lovers
?
you probably thought i'm a shy guy
I got a broken face
Uh-hu, uh-hu, uh-hu, uh-hu!
http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/43089/
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| peter radiator |
Posted - 10/22/2013 : 10:19:25
Thanks very much for your kind and encouraging sentiments, Arm Arm Arm.
(That's a very strange sentence to write.)
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder |
| floop |
Posted - 10/22/2013 : 09:44:20
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
Thanks very much, Fumanbru.
I actually had an idea for a fairly unique FBF-related long-form book a couple of years ago, but talked myself out of attempting it.
Maybe one day I will revisit that notion. However, I have zero interest in creating a commercially available document of that sort without the expressed blessing and input of Charles himself.
Part and parcel of any such effort would be my desire to craft something for posterity which he (and his close associates) could feel truly comfortable having attached -even indirectly- to his estimable body of work.
Hope this makes sense.
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder
it would be great to have something worthy out there; it's a shame that the only bio of Frank at this point is that waste of paper by John Mendelsohn
 green star member since 2006. smb? |
| Idalgo Clandestino |
Posted - 10/22/2013 : 06:55:15
how about:
There was this boy who had two
Children with his sisters
They were his daughters
They were his favourite lovers
?
you probably thought i'm a shy guy |
| Arm Arm Arm |
Posted - 10/22/2013 : 05:30:21
Peter Radiator,
I remember reading the original article years ago and thinking it was one of the best interviews with Frank I'd ever come across. You did a great job; it was so refreshing to read someone who knew what they were talking about and asked intelligent questions. I could tell Frank was enjoying the process. Thanks for sharing that bit about Living on Soul. I thnk you'd write a very informative book on Frank's solo work.
cheers |
| peter radiator |
Posted - 10/22/2013 : 05:14:22
Thanks very much, Fumanbru.
I actually had an idea for a fairly unique FBF-related long-form book a couple of years ago, but talked myself out of attempting it.
Maybe one day I will revisit that notion. However, I have zero interest in creating a commercially available document of that sort without the expressed blessing and input of Charles himself.
Part and parcel of any such effort would be my desire to craft something for posterity which he (and his close associates) could feel truly comfortable having attached -even indirectly- to his estimable body of work.
Hope this makes sense.
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/21/2013 : 23:43:49
Superb article! You really hit the mark and I applaud how you word your questions. You should think about writing a book on the man!
Connect Savannah: For those of us for whom your post-Pixies output is at least as important —if not more so— than your work with that band, it’s hard to imagine a world in which there’s no hope of you working with The Catholics again, and specifically under the regimented live-to-2-track tape method that you adhered to with that project. Do you have any interest in ever working with those folks again under similar circumstances, or is that gone forever?
Connect Savannah: I’ve always appreciated the relative unpretentious and self-deprecating way you conduct yourself at your solo shows. It remind me a lot of Jonathan Richman. There’s a high comfortability factor between you, your material and your audience. I think that has a great deal to do with the great affection you fanbase has for you. Are you surprised that more artists at your level don’t react to their own output and fame with what comes across in your case as good natured bemusement?
And Living on Soul is awesome! If you have a take on it I’d love to hear it someday.
http://forum.frankblack.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16983
http://forum.frankblack.net/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17558&SearchTerms=mantra.
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| peter radiator |
Posted - 10/21/2013 : 07:12:38
Fumanbru,
Thanks for your kind words.
Here is a link to the original piece, as published online:
http://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/cover-story-speaking-frankly/Content?oid=2154784
Sorry for the awkward formatting of that website. I quit my job as Entertainment Editor there several years ago in part because of the parent corporation's abysmal online efforts...
A truncated version of the piece also appeared in print (because the paper was limited in the space they could alot for such an article).
Some folks have mentioned that they wished I had gone on to ask FBF about the meanings/inspiration of specific songs.
As I recall, I did attempt that with one of my favorite (and for me at least, most thought provoking) of his tunes, the rather obscure "Living on Soul," but he seemed uninterested in divulging much of anything about its genesis or "meaning."
So, as quickly and politely as he demurred, I quickly and politely moved on (which is why that specific exchange was not included in the final piece).
It was a great surprise to learn that "Living on Soul" featured prominently near the start of most of the sets on the tour he launched later on the same day that we spoke.
I thought it was great that he had thought enough of the song to include it in what was being hyped as a "Best Of" his "solo years" tour (and which did indeed essentially prove to bookend his time as "Frank Black"), and yet adroitly parried my queries about it as though it was a minor work that did not warrant any serious interest or dissection.
I really do adore FBF's work and his unique brand of chutzpah and panache.
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder |
| Classic Masher |
Posted - 10/19/2013 : 16:37:32
I knew a guy named Lou
Who had a friend named Kady
And they were made in the shade
Cause they were shady shady shady shady shady
And Kady knows another dude
And that guy is buddies with nobody
He's in love with his truck
The wheels they always seem a little muddy
"Mixed messages from Sir Naff, please authenticate..." |
| Stevio10 |
Posted - 10/19/2013 : 03:22:56
Im sure its been said many times before, but Western Star has amazing lyrics.
"I get my freon bingo inside your cool soft sarong
Rolling on the moquette inside a cul-de-sac kampong"
"And now he's headed skyward standing up on piles of plywood
And all he thinks about is how he looks like heroes-period bowie
And his figure blocks the light
And he takes away the night
And he's dancing to the new bolero
You soy un pistolero I'm not shakin' in my boots
I'm ruler of this moon boy so if you move I shoots"
Makes me think of the movie Westworld, if Calistan is a time between now and Blade Runner, Western Star is its post apocalyptic desert wasteland cousin. |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/19/2013 : 00:44:57
GREAT INTERVIEW! thxs.
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| trobrianders |
Posted - 10/19/2013 : 00:38:03
Oft-referenced Bowie comments on Charles' writing (58sec - 1min42sec), particularly relating to imagination "understanding the affinities of something and have those affinities illuminate a subject" That's really well put.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7VhNjZXALU
_______________
Ed is the hoo hoo |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/19/2013 : 00:24:26
i was just reading some online reviews of dog in the sand.
i love this line from the pitchfork review.
"Often, though, Black's lyrics remain willfully obscure, as Frank eats dictionaries for breakfast."
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/781-dog-in-the-sand/
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/19/2013 : 00:04:38
Great interview peter. Is there a link out there of the full interview?
quote:
Originally posted by peter radiator
Frank Black: I believe it’s called a riddle. Yeah. (Laughs) Sure. I riddle.
Me: (Laughs) Do you find yourself coming up with a riddle and then constructing a song around it?
Frank Black: Well, when you’re a riddler, you just riddle. It doesn’t require extra time to riddle. You know? Trying to figure out what rhymes with elephant is a whimsical challenge. The whole process of songwriting as far as I’m concerned, is riddled with... You know... Games.
Me: Have you always felt that way?
Frank Black: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Always felt that way. Always worked that way.
I love that part of the interview! So there is a high probability there are more fbf songs that haven't yet been cracked!
I find it surprising that there aren’t more interviews (except for your’s Peter) articles, and reviews that reference his use of acrostics and other games in his songs. Whenever a review mentions his songwriting this is what typically comes up, “His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest and biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture.” True, but make an effort to uncover the layers! This is gold!! I googled frank black pixies acrostics and the main links that come up are from the fb.net forum.
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| sdon |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 23:07:16
silver snail ;)
--
"Aristophanes! (gong sounds)" |
| Classic Masher |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 17:51:23
"In a place for to hide,
at an orgy of grooms and brides,
at the scene of the suicides."
"Mixed messages from Sir Naff, please authenticate..." |
| peter radiator |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 09:32:02
Reading this thread reminded me of an exchange I had with FBF near the end of the last lengthy interview I was fortunate enough to conduct with him.
That was one afternoon in 2006, just a few hours before he kicked off his "Best Of" Tour (backed by EDF, Duane Jarvis and Billy Block) with the first of a couple of opening slots for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers before a lengthy cross-country run of headlining dates.
We had a really lovely and free-flowing conversation, which FBF kindly told me a few weeks later resulted in what he termed a "much more perceptive" article than usually comes from such telephone interviews.
I believe his positive reaction to the piece was due at least partly to the fact that I did my level best to portray our conversation in print exactly as it occurred in real life, without the kind of severe compression of questions and the editing and reorganization of answers that is far too commonplace in newspaper Q&A's of this sort.
The practice of taking journalistic liberties such as those almost always results in misleading articles which are annoying at best and rage-inducing at worst to the person being profiled. (In a recent post on these very forums, FBF spoke openly about dejectedly resigning himself to expecting as much whenever he agrees to such an interview).
It was a treat to speak with him under such circumstances, and to have the opportunity to preserve our conversation for posterity with a bare minimum of edits (for space and clarity only). Hopefully a similar situation will present itself again someday.
For those who may not have seen this particular interview before, here is the relevant section:
Me: You often draw on historical facts and references to religious doctrines and different types of mythologies in your lyrics, and some of your songs seem like these oblique constructions that challenge the patient listener to discover the true meaning of the song. Is it safe to say there’s a certain amount of playful obfuscation on your part when writing songs for a core audience that you know can sometimes obsess over stuff like that?
Frank Black: I believe it’s called a riddle. Yeah. (Laughs) Sure. I riddle.
Me: (Laughs) Do you find yourself coming up with a riddle and then constructing a song around it?
Frank Black: Well, when you’re a riddler, you just riddle. It doesn’t require extra time to riddle. You know? Trying to figure out what rhymes with elephant is a whimsical challenge. The whole process of songwriting as far as I’m concerned, is riddled with... You know... Games.
Me: Have you always felt that way?
Frank Black: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Always felt that way. Always worked that way.
Me: Who are some other artists whose work you might enjoy personally in the same manner that I have described your fans pouring over your own songs for clues and inspiration? Whose songs do you sit and wonder about?
Frank Black: The Beatles.
Me: Any particular songs that you are especially proud of, in terms of how you constructed the riddle, and which to your knowledge, no one has ever solved?
Frank Black: Oh, ahh...
Me: The songs of yours that I enjoy the most seem rather elliptical. They seem to have red herrings thrown in there to knock you off the track. They’re like written math questions which include erroneous or misleading information to confuse the reader. Is that a method that you find yourself applying when writing songs?
Frank Black: Yes.
Me: (Laughs) Well, I appreciate you being patient with me while I linger on this tangent!
Frank Black: No, no. It’s rare that someone would discuss things of this nature with me on this kind of a level. It’s usually like, (adopts a foolish voice) “So, Frank, you know. How do you write your songs?” I guess that’s kind of the same question, isn’t it? But it’s just obvious that they’re not clued in. They’re not even close to being on the same page.
Me: I don’t mean to seem like I’m trying to pry into your methods.
Frank Black: No, it’s cool. I’m egging you on. (Laughs) It’s rare that I would just answer a question with “Yes.” But, if the question is chock full of information, and upon analyzing the question I determine that the best answer would be yes, then I have to go with that. (Laughs)
Me: I have noticed similar refracted songwriting methods in a lot of Elvis Costello’s work, and over the past few years, he’s become much more open, penning liner notes and discussing a lot of the ideas behind his songs. Can you imagine a time when you might be more forthcoming, and perhaps aid people in cracking some of these codes and solving some of these riddles?
Frank Black: Well, the main thing is that most people don’t ask yet. You know, when someone is asking you questions from the angle of, “So Frank, your new album is called blah-bity blah blah blah. Uh, what’s the theme of this record? What’s it all about?” It’s like they don’t just want me to fill in the blanks, but they also want me to decide what the blank is.
Me: It’s like a "Mad Lib" interview. (Laughs)
Frank Black: Yeah! (Laughs) Most people don’t get that specific with their questions. They wanna ask about the Pixies and that whole “Kurt Cobain said ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was a rip-off of a Pixies song” thing. “How does that make you feel?”
Me: You should tell them that smells like they looked you up on Allmusic.com right before they called! (Laughs)
Frank Black: Exactly. (Laughs)
~ Peter Radiator
"Real music is out there and real people are making it." ~ Webb Wilder |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 23:27:12
in terms of pure songwriting, my opinion is that dog in the sand may be the best album out of frank's entire music catalogue including pixies material.
ok. now to Robert Onion. This if my favorite onion song! The first two lines of the song are great in terms of how they set the song up!
"Robert leads me into thought
Onion layers wait for you"
If that isn't a clue I don't know what is! Get ready to peel back the layers of this song! YEAH BABY!
***********SPOILER ALERT*****************
the acrostic has been discussed many times.
http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/47196/
"Each line's first letter spells out ROBERT THE CASE FOR MARS ZUBRIN.
Robert Zubrin wrote a book called "The Case for Mars" which proposes that humans colonize the red planet.
The actual lyrics of the song seem to express interest in the idea of human travel to Mars. The siren Diana is probably the moon, as Diana is the godess of the moon.
The first words of the last stanza combine to form FOUR THREE TWO ONE. A countdown for launch..."
my favorite part is the last stanza. for, three, to, one.......BLAST OFF!! plus there is another song on the album called "BLAST OFF"!
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 23:08:58
for the longest time i thought that frank made up "pelagic division" and choragic". these words actually exist! and they mean something!
i was wondering about thoughts on the actual meaning of the song? i have a theory....i'll post later.
this is from the fb discography:
Quotes:
[Question]: Is "The Swimmer" based on actual events or made up?
Frank Black: Actual events of course. The stuff is real man!
- Music Today online chat, January 28, 2001
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| trobrianders |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 20:28:16
A quick search gives this. Maybe it means something like you marshalled the resources of the sea. That might be in keeping with the earlier lyric "Finding all the edible prize of the sea"
pelagic division
noun
the biogeographic realm or zone that comprises the open seas and oceans, including water of all depths.
choragus
noun
1a. the leader of a dramatic chorus.
1b. a person who undertook the expense of providing for such a chorus.
2. any conductor of an entertainment or festival.
Related forms
choragic, adjective
_______________
Ed is the hoo hoo |
| Mickey |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 10:25:04
"in division pelagic you were choragic" = "you were very brave while out at sea"
-Mickey |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 02:07:49
just got back from my morning jog. I HAD THE SWIMMER CRANKED!
love that tune!
"You were so incredible Finding all the edible Prize of the sea Prize of the sea In the wake of his chariot You swam toward the latitudes Leaving for happier times Florida far behind In division pelagic You were choragic Will you never drown?"
thoughts/opinions/theories of what this one is about?
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| fumanbru |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 00:09:41
yes please do floop.
adda lee
"And away
I went away
Cause I wished I was away
I wished I was away
A wishing well
Of well wishing
And Adda waves away
Adda waves away"
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!! |
| floop |
Posted - 10/16/2013 : 14:40:35
i always like it when Pete Rad chimes in.
i was going to start a thread about use of alliteration and assonance in Frank songs. maybe those examples can go in here?
green star member since 2006. smb? |
