Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Addendum to "Misc. Monday Song (12.26.05)"


Artist: Talking Heads
Song: (Nothing But) Flowers
Album: Naked









Briefly: While I don't especially like to ride on Rob's coattails, I am equally enraptured with the Talking Heads right now. I'm not saying they're my favorite band, but, my love for their music has been growing over the years and it is at an all time high right now. I recently heard "Road To Nowhere" and "(Nothing But) Flowers" for the first time in my life (yeah, I know my cred is slipping through the cracks right now). Since Rob has already got "Road To Nowhere" covered, I wanted to praise "(Nothing But) Flowers."

Why?: "(Nothing But) Flowers" sounds very much like a brilliant outtake from Paul Simon's Graceland while still retaining a uniquely Talking Heads vibe. Lyrically, it is the utopian flipside to Modest Mouse's dystopian "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine." I make this point mainly because Isaac Brock has gone on record as being a devout Talking Heads fan ("Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" anyone?) and because Isaac Brock's songs are frequently preoccupied with fear and anxiety over the ongoing commodification of America, urban sprawl, etc. Converse to Brock's bleak outlook, Davd Byrne's "(Nothing But) Flowers" imagines an Eden where strip malls and restaurant chains are replaced by flowers, streams, and cornfields. It also helps that Byrne's lyrics are bouncing alongside one of his most immortal melodies.

Lyrics:
Here we stand
Like an Adam and an Eve
Waterfalls
The Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
The birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs
Cars have run on gasoline
Where, where have they gone?
Now, it's nothing but flowers
There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
you got it, you got it
We caught a rattlesnake
Now we got something for dinner
we got it, we got it
There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
you've got it, you've got it
If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawnmower
you've got it, you've got it
Years ago
I was an angry young man
I'd pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town
Now, it's nothing but flowers
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over
But I guess I was wrong
Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it
I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it
And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
you got it, you got it
I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it
We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it
This was a discount store,
Now it's turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it
Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle

1 Comments:

At 1:30 pm GMT-6, Blogger rob said...

well, i don't mind coattail riding

 

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