Old songs with new meanings

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Låt den rätte komma in
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chuck_u._farley
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Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 8:15 pm
Location: Hungary, Budapest

Old songs with new meanings

Post by chuck_u._farley » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:46 pm

Wanna play a game? :D

Approximately 3 weeks have gone by since i got „infected” (what a good definition, it’s really like an infection) with LTROI, and unfortunately i cant get it out my head, which reaallly should be somewhere else… Almost everything makes me think of LTROI. I dont like my thoughts being narrowed this much in, but right now in cant help it, i guess sooner or later it will pass away.
But this has some funny side effects, like when i’m listening to songs which totally have nothing to do with LTROI, and now i find them as exact allusions or hints to LTROI.
I will share you three songs from different genres (varietas delectat, you know) I have known before the infection, but now they have a new meaning for me as well. I would like to ask, if anybody had something similar experience, and if yes, then i would like to encourage him to share that with me… My musical taste my improve this way. :) I am relly curiuos if there will be any reply, and if yes, what it will be.
First rule of… this game is that the songs must have a connection to LTROI, either in the lyric, or in the mood of the song. The second rule of this is to have fun by collecting sensations. :)

The „good”: Rhian Sheehan: Standing In Silence (Part 3)

This song represents Eli for me as and innocent child. This song is instrumental, so there is no lyric. I articulate this song into parts. In the first part i hear a music box, which is somehow broken and unsure, just like Eli. Then as the music advances (as Eli meets Oskar) the tune grows stronger and clearer, it becomes selfconfident and happy. At the end the music gets a bit fallen apart again, as our protagonists, since they dont know what their future will be like.



The „bad”: GNR: Rocket queen.

I attribute this song to Eli as a predator/lover (she is Axl), and her Rocket queen is Oskar. Let’s try not to get stuck at this gender-thing again. :) The song has two parts.
First starts with cold guitar riffs which suggest threat, or at least hostile neutrality. It gets faster, and Axl starts a game. He cites things that perfectly suit Eli. Like Eli is a predator and wants to play, but her game is dangerous she is the gamemaste, and you might get hurt when playing. She/Axl tells us cold facts about theirselves, in a mocking way.
And then in the second part everything is upside down. The song turns into a confession. In the first part of it Axl/Eli tries handle this confession like it would be between two equals, but in the end it becomes a begging. Just like when Eli offered herself to Oskar.

Here are the words:

If I say I don't need anyone
I can say these things to you
'Cause
I can turn on any one
Just like I turned on you
I've got a tongue like a razor
A sweet switchblade knife
And I can do you favors
But then you'll do whatever I like

Chorus:

Here I am
And you're a Rocket Queen
I might be a little young
But honey I ain't naive
Here I am
And you're a Rocket Queen oh yeah
I might be too much
But honey you're a bit obscene

I've seen everything imaginable
Pass before these eyes
I've had everything that's tangible
Honey you'd be surprised
I'm a sexual innuendo
In this burned out paradise
If you turn me on to anything
You better turn me on tonight

Chorus

I see you standing
Standing on your own
It's such a lonely place for you
For you to be
If you need a shoulder
Or if you need a friend
I'll bee here standing
Until the bitter end
No one needs the sorrow
No one needs the pain
I hate to see you
Walking out there
Out in the rain
So don't chastise me
Or think I, I mean you harm
Of those that take you
Leave you strung out
Much too far
Baby-yeah

Don't ever leave me
Say you'll always be there
All I ever wanted
Was for you
To know that I care



And the ugly: :) basement jaxx - good luck [featuring lisa kekaula]

If Eli would break up with Oskar i would want Oskar to send her this song (i find the lyric a total hit). I figure no explanation is required. Hello nasty! :D

Tell me tell me is life just a playground
Think you're the real deal honey
and someone'll always look after you

but wake up baby
you're so totally deluded
you'll end up old and lonely
if you don't get a bullet in your head

good luck good luck
good luck in your new bed
enjoy your nightmares honey
when you're resting your head

you sold me sold me
sold me down the river now
hope you're feeling happy now
now you'll always have a sneer in your smile

but wake up baby
you're so totally deluded
you'll end up old and lonely
if you don't get a bullet in your head

good luck good luck
good luck in your new bed
enjoy your nightmares honey
when you're resting your head

I hope i have awaken your interest. If not, lets forget this. :D

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moonvibe34
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Location: Sweet Home Alabama

Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by moonvibe34 » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:31 pm

chuck_u._farley wrote:
bThe „ad”: GNR: Rocket queen.

I attribute this song to Eli as a predator/lover (she is Axl), and her Rocket queen is Oskar. Let’s try not to get stuck at this gender-thing again. :) The song has two parts.
First starts with cold guitar riffs which suggest threat, or at least hostile neutrality. It gets faster, and Axl starts a game. He cites things that perfectly suit Eli. Like Eli is a predator and wants to play, but her game is dangerous she is the gamemaste, and you might get hurt when playing. She/Axl tells us cold facts about theirselves, in a mocking way.
And then in the second part everything is upside down. The song turns into a confession. In the first part of it Axl/Eli tries handle this confession like it would be between two equals, but in the end it becomes a begging. Just like when Eli offered herself to Oskar.

i must say i haven't had any LTROI song related experiences until now. i've been a huge GNR fan ever since they hit the mainstream in the 80's and now i'll never listen to rocket queen quite the same way again. :) thanks for helping my infection to spread even further into my life.
"But dreams come through stone walls, light up dark rooms, or darken light ones, and their persons make their exits and their entrances as they please, and laugh at locksmiths."
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

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Mr.Sample
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by Mr.Sample » Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:15 am

The Smiths - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

Good times for a change
See, the luck I've had
Can make a good man
Turn bad

So please please please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want
This time

Haven't had a dream in a long time
See, the life I've had
Can make a good man bad

So for once in my life
Let me get what I want
Lord knows, it would be the first time
Lord knows, it would be the first time


No need for explanation...
Otherwise, there are plenty songs by The Smiths that fit as a manifestation of Eli's and/or Oskar's desires and anxieties (concerning the lyrics), but this one beats them all. It's like it was written by Eli. And of course, there is the well-known (among infecteds) Morrissey song.
The atmosphere of the film is so unique that I can't think of any songs that bear a remarkable resemblance to it in their sounding.
Anyway, I'll notify it if I find any other matching song.

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pristidae
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by pristidae » Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:23 am

Mr.Sample wrote:The Smiths - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
I'd forgotten about that Smiths song -- a nice match in both tone and message, and it was released in 1984, just a few years after Oskar and Eli met -- they'll probably play it at they wedding reception...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMQbzLrvwlE
Last edited by pristidae on Thu Dec 31, 2009 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Hade du tyckt om mig ändå?"

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Microwave Jellyfish
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by Microwave Jellyfish » Thu Dec 31, 2009 12:46 pm

And we danced, on the brink of an unknown future, to an echo from a vanished past.

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Wolfchild
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by Wolfchild » Fri Jan 01, 2010 7:43 pm

This is a typical symptom of the Infection. Your imagination is no longer your own, and any gaps in your concentration get filled with thoughts of this story.

Your prognosis is not good.

Or maybe it is. :)
...the story derives a lot of its appeal from its sense of despair and a darkness in which the love of Eli and Oskar seems to shine with a strange and disturbing light.
-Lacenaire

Visit My LTROI fan page.

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[Shellshock]
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by [Shellshock] » Sat Jan 02, 2010 12:42 pm

I´m a huge fan of Movie Scores/OSTs and ever since I´ve seen LTROI and read the novel I started connecting songs to this world created by JAL.

"Shellshock" ( created by Clint Mansell ) from the Smokin Aces OST seemed to catch a lot of atmosphere from LTROI and represent it through audio :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ptl1UribVg

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drakkar
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by drakkar » Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:25 pm

Two, very different experiences:

A couple of months ago I stumbled over a old cd while driving, Kiruna's (Norwegian Jazz Rock band) homage to Miles Davis. Kiruna's Black Widow is not a nice tune; it has a relentless air over both melody and beat. I don't know if it was the title who reminded me of Eli's numerous long gone helpers, or if it was the tune reminding me of Eli's harsh life and yet superior survival skills - anyway the tune was instantly glued to my image of Eli's two centuries of killings and partings.

Opposite end of the stick; Sigur Rós (Icelandic Band) is frequently in my mind when thinking of Eli and Oskar. It is their tune Svo Hljótt (So Quietly) which is my image of the tenderness and beauty of their love story. Half of the text is translated below, the rest is in Vonlenska (Hopelandic), a language invented by the vocalist (Bjarni).. Also a live version from Reykjavik.


Svo Hljótt (So Quietly)

I lean against you, in calm
Everything stood still, and you

You sang to me so quietly
You sang to me so quietly

In the moonlight I see you, hunched over
In the moonlight you turn into blue dusk

I thank you for the hope you have gave me
I thank you for the hope...

(hopelandic)

-------------------
-------------------
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

chuck_u._farley
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Location: Hungary, Budapest

Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by chuck_u._farley » Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:34 am

Hi,

In last days was able not to think about the story for a while. Considering what has happened since 18th december (i guess it was that day when i saw the film), it’s a great achievement. :roll:
Sigur Rós was indeed a good suggestion, it helped me a lot, it brought me some serenity (especially „Svefn-g-englar”). I collected Smiths-songs as well, just had no time to listen to them. But sooner or later it cant be avoided i guess…
Offspring is not bad, but if we are talking about punk, than Green Day’s „Basket case” fits me right now… :D

Here are the words for it:

Do you have the time to listen to me whine
About nothing and everything all at once
I am on of those
Melodramatic fools
Neurotic to the bone no doubt about it

Sometimes i give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I'm cracking up
Am I just paranoid?
I'm just stoned

I went to a shrink
To analyze my dreams
She says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down
I went to a whore
He said my live's a bore
And quit no whining cause it's bringing her down

Grasping to control
So I better hold on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTwJo0HeNmU

Another impression: i guess Chemical Brother’s „Alive alone” would just perfectly fit for the scene when Eli seemingly leaves with the taxi:

No way of knowing if she's ever coming back
No way of knowing if I care or not
No way of knowing if she's right or if she's wrong
No way of knowing if I'll carry on

And I'm alive
And I'm alone
And I've never wanted to be either of those (X2)

And she shines
And she shines for me
she shines for me....

No way of knowing if she's ever coming back
No way of knowing if I care or not
No way of knowing if she's right or if she's wrong
No way of knowing if I'll carry on

And she shines
And she shines for me
she shines for me....

And I'm alive
And I'm alone
And I've never wanted to be either of those (X2)

I'm alive
I'm alone
And I never wanted to be either of those (X2)

And she shines
And she shines for me
She shines for me.... (X2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRCTyD3SzVA


And somewhere else we talked about a predator going again his/her nature… So i send this heart-warming video to those who do not already know it, and were thinkig about this… :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp6xUeGqJmw

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Mr.Sample
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Re: Old songs with new meanings

Post by Mr.Sample » Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:11 pm

Arcade Fire - My Body Is a Cage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyp34v6Lmcc

My body is a cage

That keeps me from dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key
My body is a cage
That keeps me from dancing with the one I love
But my mind holds the key

I’m standing on the stage
Of fear and self-doubt
It’s a hollow play
But they’ll clap anyway

I’m living in an age
That calls darkness light
Though my language is dead
Still the shapes fill my head

I’m living in an age
Whose name I don’t know
Though the fear keeps me moving
Still my heart beats so slow

My body is a cage
We take what we’re given
Just because you’ve forgotten
Doesn’t mean you’re forgiven

I’m living in an age
Still turning in the night
But when I get to the doorway
There’s no one in sight

I’m living in an age
Realizing I’m dancing
With the one I love
But my mind holds the key

Still next to me
My mind holds the key
Set my spirit free


How could I have forgotten about this one? :roll:

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