04-23-12, 3:36 AM
Chiffon Capitalism: Dinosaurs, KGB, and Supernovas
"Dinosaurs came and wrecked the city
But then I ambushed
and attacked them with my psychic powers"
Those strange lyrics are the first thing you hear in this album -- in Japanese of course. What does that stanza mean? Putting your literary criticism hat on, you try to remember your poetry teacher's droning words on how to analyze. And then, you give up and try to analyze the rest of the lyrics in hope for better understanding:
"Soon, the Ice Age came
Bringing along its long winter
And me, feeling so weak in the morning,
I yawned.
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean
What the hell is "Pacific"...?
Memories of mine stolen
came back to me
The CIA, KGB, and FBI
The communists were spreading conspiracies to them!
Somebody,
please set me free!
A flying voyager ship
is wrecking the planet
You've lost your mind,
And turned into a psychopath
The roads are blocked and the destination's far
Sick and tired of waiting, I played with my Gameboy
Oh, North Star,
Supernova,
Please let there be a meteor storm...
Someone stop that girl
from suiciding!
Oh, bullet train, railroad tracks,
tracks of fate
Please tell her
When morning comes,
Where and how will I cope?
I yawned.
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean
What the hell is "Atlantic"...?
Memories of mine stolen came back to me
The CIA, KGB, and FBI
The communists were spreading conspiracies to them!
Someone,
please set me free!"
This is where you give up.
Welcome, readers, to lyrical nonsense verse. Like Alice, we have fallen into the rabbit hole and find ourselves humming along about the communists spreading conspiracies to the CIA, KGB, and FBI. The geniuses behind the album and this song, “Sumatra Guards” (don't ask), are the group, Soutaiseiriron -- which translates to "Theory of Relativity".
Einstein must be very proud. After all, he said, “I am content in my later years. I have kept my good humor and take neither myself nor the next person seriously.” I think today’s world is humorless; I’m not sure how we can live in a boring world, but we do. We take life too seriously and don’t want to make mistakes.
Thus, music has become boring and stale. Stereotypes of genres have sadly become pervasive these days: rock is a playground for hardcore angst and anger; hip-hop is all about the breasts and money; classical music is stiff and feels more like a machine; and let’s not even talk about pop. Are we that boring?
Apparently, yes.
We are so entrapped with cathartic lyrics that we think nothing else. Could the same be said with other media: literature, anime, films, and even life? The idea of literary criticism encourages critical thinking -- a good trait that we all agree -- but I think we have been disillusioned by its premise. Especially when we become artists.
So instead, let’s think in songwriter Yakushimaru Etsuko’s mind: gosh, what the hell is a “Pacific”?
It reminds me of a certain question: “why is a raven like a writing desk?” There is no answer and that absurdity makes us smile and laugh. In reality, we don’t want to be restrained by the written code known as law; we just want to laugh and sing.
And the song agrees; it makes a statement against the seriousness of lyrics: have some fun, jeez! Play with your lyrics instead: add in random references to Gameboys, intelligence agencies and bureaus, anime conventions, and old children’s shows. Nonsense verse combines random, incompatible images and ideas into one scene as if it’s normal to do so.
That’s why this song rules.
As artists, we don’t always think about the hero’s journey or other archetypes -- critics and readers do -- but the ability to express our honest, fun-loving feelings to the world. Yakushimaru’s “Sumatra Guards” is not only that, but it’s fun to listen and sing to. We can get something out of it, but it doesn’t have to be cathartic; it should make us imagine -- something Einstein argues is more important than knowledge.
And that is the essence of art.
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Source of lyrics (along with a different take on the song): http://sprigidigmusic.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-decided-to-take-break-from-usual.html
Posted by Yukariki | 04-23-12, 3:36 AM | Add a comment