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Length: 5:23
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I see a halo in the rain around the street light
I stop and look, and listen to the sound
As the raindrops penetrate the silence all around
Alone, I gaze into the glistening street
The distant thunder echoing my heartbeat
Urging me on to a secret goal
Away from the light from this lamp on a pole
So I turn, slip away into the rain
Drifting like a spirit through the shadows in the lane
Clutching the tools of my trade in my hand
An old box of matches and a gasoline can
Darkness envelopes the scene like a shroud
A veil of emptiness hangs from the clouds
Filling up the cracks in this desolate place
Cradled by the night in an icy embrace
Moving to the town like a ghost in the rain
A dim reflection in a dark window pane
Blackness beckons from every side
Creeping all around like an incoming tide
A broken window in an empty house
I slip inside and begin to douse
The whole place with the fuel that will feed the fire
And push back the night, taking me higher
On out of the darkness in a defeaning roar
The match in my hand is the key to the door
A simple turn of the wrist will suffice
To open a passage to paradise
I pause, I think about the past and the gloom
The smell of gasoline permiates the room
Everyone has a little secret he keeps
I light the fires while the city sleeps
(Like the 4th of July)
The match makes a graceful auk to the floor
And time stands still as I turn for the door
Which expoldes in a fireball and throws me to the street
I hit the ground running with the flames at my feet
Reaching for the night which encoils in the fire
The raindrops hiss like a devilish choir
Dying in the flames with a terrible sound
Calling all the names of the sleepers all around
But then in the arms of the night, they lay
Their dreams sprout wings and fly away
Out of the houses in a gathering flock
Swarming overhead as I hurry down the block
I make my escape with the greatest of ease
And savor the darkness, drop to my knees
And the lightless window, my hand on the latch
I reach in my pocket, and pull out a match
(Like the 4th of July)
'S all good.
I agree.
In reading some of the other comments, should we also ban all songs that mention heavy drug use, alcoholism, illicit sex, and anything else that is a challenge to society? Like anything else, just because we hear or read about something doesn't mean we go out and do it. Even as an impressionable teen (back then), I wouldn't have been inclined to become a serial arsonist because of song lyrics.
Excellently put.
(great song btw!)
People complain about this being "white rap" as something necessarily bad. That just seems like some weird prejudice to me. No, it's probably inspired by, but not too much similar to, rap or hip hop. It's closer to a lot of spoken lyric rock like Butthole Surfers or Cake. And the lyrics have to do with the crazy psychology behind the wacko social problem of arson. It's just an interesting song. It doesn't need to break down your boundaries betwees us and them. No one needs to freak out about who owns what kind of music. Get along people.
right on. and now for some reason i want to go find some soul coughing to listen to.
People complain about this being "white rap" as something necessarily bad. That just seems like some weird prejudice to me. No, it's probably inspired by, but not too much similar to, rap or hip hop. It's closer to a lot of spoken lyric rock like Butthole Surfers or Cake. And the lyrics have to do with the crazy psychology behind the wacko social problem of arson. It's just an interesting song. It doesn't need to break down your boundaries betwees us and them. No one needs to freak out about who owns what kind of music. Get along people.
Yes. Any musician has the right to make whatever type of music they wish.
| 47 Minutes | MC 900 FT JESUS Live at Moers New Jazz Festival 1992 | YT |
I've never liked this "tune".
Good to know.
I've always liked this tune
I've never liked this "tune".
Stop.
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Stop.
Ditto me, and I think the key is in the Wikipedia description 'a classically-trained American musician turned rapper and experimental musician.' I won't indulge in a discussion of the niceties between rap, hip-hop etc - to me they are all of the same root and usually 'not my thing'.
9+
OK. It's definitely mine.
This is no more deranged than "Smack my bitch up"by "Prodigy"!
I think it is simply great!
It is exactly as deranged as "Firestarter" by "Prodigy" tho.
Whatever you call it, this sucks.
sfyi2001 - Can you tell me who the author of this painting is? Please? Thanks!
The artist was a painter named Harry Anderson. It was painted around 1961.
sfyi2001 - Can you tell me who the author of this painting is? Please? Thanks!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Does he live in a hot place?
Spray pepper, not mace.
My suit fit no case.
Nice...underwear made of lace.
Oooh, just got to third base.
I'm a song writing genius! Now where's my mutha !@$%^& check?
I'm scared by a bee.
Shucks. I need to be free.
Ow, I banged my knee.
Too much coffee, I gotta pee.
If its big, can it be wee?
I'm a song writing genius!!!
Now where's my mutha @(*&%% check?
Uh, oh, oh, oh.
Is this the Kokomo?
Coffee, Joe?
Curly...there's Moe.
A boat, now row.
Just go with the flow.
I'm a song writing genius!!!!
Now where's my mutha $%8!) check!
Read the lyrics to this. A little deeper than most, yours included.
Uh, oh, oh, oh.
Is this the Kokomo?
Coffee, Joe?
Curly...there's Moe.
A boat, now row.
Just go with the flow.
I'm a song writing genius!!!!
Now where's my mutha $%8!) check!
I ve always loved the groove and the singer s rap on this song but not till today when I read the lyrics did I know the song is about the deranged mind of a pyromaniac.
Sick but I love it.
This is no more deranged than "Smack my bitch up"by "Prodigy"!
I think it is simply great!
Y'all want white rappers, Ole Skool, gotta be 3'd Bass, House of Pain or, of course, The Beastie Boys. That's all, folks.
Ha, say that the other way around and you'd be haunted by a whole lot of activist groups - 'black rap matters' .
Me, I'm no fan of rap in general but sometimes it works. This one is passable, it still follows the annoying tendency of rappers to glorify criminal behaviour but at least he's not poppin' any caps or some such.
I ve always loved the groove and the singer s rap on this song but not till today when I read the lyrics did I know the song is about the deranged mind of a pyromaniac.
Sick but I love it.
Y'all want white rappers, Ole Skool, gotta be 3'd Bass, House of Pain or, of course, The Beastie Boys. That's all, folks.
I was working in Oakland City Centre back when, commuting every day by rail from the Sierra foothills. When I hear this, I picture myself schlepping R. Crumb-style from the BART station to the CA government building, buds in and volume UP!
I swear Bill - it's like we've lived the same lives in music!
the love started years ago when he did a tune that sampled Miles Davis "On the Corner"
I really like this, and vote it 8. Lyrics are cool, and it is spoken poetry, like rap, and really not that far conceptually from Dylan's early spoken songs. I like trance, too, so maybe that influences my 8-vote here.
Most of the rap-haters are hating on hip-hop, which contains all the violent and misogynistic crapamundo.
Just noticed your signature—welcome to back to the States!
This isn't bad—amazed that it was recorded back in '91, according to another RPer. I know incredibly little about rap. It has a lot of potential power but often seems shackled by limited themes and rhyme schemes. I'm sure others said the same things about the blues, though.
I really like this, and vote it 8. Lyrics are cool, and it is spoken poetry, like rap, and really not that far conceptually from Dylan's early spoken songs. I like trance, too, so maybe that influences my 8-vote here.
Most of the rap-haters are hating on hip-hop, which contains all the violent and misogynistic crapamundo.
Don't know about the "Remix" resemblance, but R.E.M.'s "The Outsiders" seems to borrow quite a bit from this tune.
rtrt wrote:
I listen to RP bcs, for the most part, this musical genre is avoided.
At least there is PSD.
Edit: Even the "name my band" thread in the forum couldn't come w/a name this bad.
At some point, Oral Roberts saw a 400 ft Jesus, if I correctly recall, looming over the city skyline. Don't recall what city, probably Tulsa.
zepher wrote:
900ft Jesus - That's Huge, The world's tallest man-made structure is the 829.8 m (2,722 ft) - So maybe a 900m Jesus is in order.... Taking donations now....
It's not really rap, though is it. Just some spoken poetry over a nice hip hop beat. I like it.
Heh, that's what rap/hip hop is.
It's not really rap, though is it. Just some spoken poetry over a nice hip hop beat. I like it.
But maybe not for everybody i guess...
900ft Jesus - That's Huge, The world's tallest man-made structure is the 829.8 m (2,722 ft) - So maybe a 900m Jesus is in order.... Taking donations now....
Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local dialect: ) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is 30 metres (98 ft) tall, not including its 8 metres (26 ft) pedestal, and its arms stretch 28 metres (92 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tonnes (625 long, 700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Brazilian Christianity, the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1926 and 1931.
Wow - that's a lot of overgeneralizing there! That's like saying that "rock music is made by drug addicts" or "jazz is just too crazy & unstructured."
A whole genre of music that you obviously know little about described in a sentence. Shame. Why is rap the one genre that is still so maligned by good people who claim to "know good music?" There is a lot of poetry in a rap - even in those "macho ranting"s that you don't care for - a lot.
I'm sure that you dad, or grandfather depending on your age, said that rock music wasn't really even music. Of course we know that this is a stupid statement - same goes for rap.
Public Enemy are being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, BTW. Grandmaster Flash & Run DMC are already there.
I've wondered why Bill hasn't embraced much rap or hip hop. It can be a limiting factor here.
Yep, I'll second that. I can't bear rap normally (learn to feckin' sing, guys!) but this is intriguing. Perhaps what rap should be, poetry with music, not macho ranting with aggressive backbeats and mandatory misogyny.
Wow - that's a lot of overgeneralizing there! That's like saying that "rock music is made by drug addicts" or "jazz is just too crazy & unstructured."
A whole genre of music that you obviously know little about described in a sentence. Shame. Why is rap the one genre that is still so maligned by good people who claim to "know good music?" There is a lot of poetry in a rap - even in those "macho ranting"s that you don't care for - a lot.
I'm sure that you dad, or grandfather depending on your age, said that rock music wasn't really even music. Of course we know that this is a stupid statement - same goes for rap.
Public Enemy are being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, BTW. Grandmaster Flash & Run DMC are already there.
Reminds me of Paul Hardcastle's "19" and later Butthole Surfers
Yeah, no kidding. I'm surprised to see it goes back to 1991. I thought for sure it was influenced by Portishead and Beck.I totally see where you're coming from with Butthole Surfers too.
Reminds me of Paul Hardcastle's "19" and later Butthole Surfers
Yep, I'll second that. I can't bear rap normally (learn to feckin' sing, guys!) but this is intriguing. Perhaps what rap should be, poetry with music, not macho ranting with aggressive backbeats and mandatory misogyny.
Then by all means, please do. . .
Mclean and Mclean
I always liked this song, it's held up well over the years. Evocative and creepy.
Agreed! It's great to hear every now and again — takes me back. It was unique when it first came out, as compared to other songs out at the time.
Per Oral Robert's Obit - "Jesus, I'll even preach for you if you'll save my soul."Jesus took him up on it. Mr Roberts next saw Him, in 1980, as he stood praying by a giant unfinished skyscraper in Tulsa. This was his City of Faith Medical Centre, built on the Lord's instructions but running into financial delays. He was now a rich man, in an Italian silk suit and with solid gold bracelets on his wrists. His annual income from donations was $120m; he bought a new Mercedes every six months, and had a luxury home in Palm Springs. His inspirational shows were broadcast on hundreds of radio and TV stations. Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley had sought his spiritual counselling, as had millions of other hurting people. But Jesus towered over all this. He was 900 feet tall, with eyes that burned to the very pit of Mr Roberts's soul. He assured him the Centre would be finished and, just to show him how easy it would be, He picked it up." Economist 1/1/2010.
You summed up exactly what I was thinking! I'm liking this song..
Ick
Johnny Trash - I'm leaving now
Rosanne Cash - Burn down this town
mc 900 ft jesus - the city sleeps
it just keeps getting worse!
Appreciate this artist, but had not heard this cut. Makes me want to hear some Ken Nordine.
This sounds too much like many others...vocals from Butt Hole Surfers/Pepper, Tom Waits, LFeat as you mentioned.
Needs some work.
the_bink wrote:
FrankMc feels compels to add:
Little Feat??? (assuming that is LFeat.) I can't imagine any iteration of that fine band ever producing anything that sounds like this.
Actually like it better on second listening than on first (when I gave it a 2.) But I know Little Feat and this is no Little Feat.
Ok, hobby horse dismounted...
flatpicker wrote:
But not as good.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wyyVh3uc5Y
I always liked this song, it's held up well over the years. Evocative and creepy.
Completely agree. He had a very interesting musical vision ... hip-hop, jazz, electronica, spoken word, humor, story telling ... what ever you call it, great grooves with interesting lyrics ranging from the creepy (like this one) to the downright silly. Maybe the best band of the 90s that no one's ever heard of.
For anyone out there who likes this, do check out his other stuff. Both Welcome to my Dream (the middle album) and One Step Ahead of the Spider (his third/last) are fantastic.
But not as good.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wyyVh3uc5Y
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