|
Narrative
|
Working Title: Lyrical Dissonance: From YKTTW
The list of examples is extremely long. Might it be appropriate to segregate them by musical genre?
Anyone think that the opera segment of Bohemian Rhapsody should be listed here? It always sounded fun and sorta-cheerful to me. J Random User: I dunno...I've listened to Good Riddance several times, and read the lyrics just to be sure. It may be about a break-up, but the title aside, it just isn't that scathing at all. It says 'it was a great ride, and I'm glad for the time we had together, but it's time for us to go our own way.' Maybe Green Day intended it be ironic, but in practice, it's actually quite appropriate for its usages. DomaDoma: I'd say the Carol of the Bells wasn't that creepy, but I have a high tolerance for minor key. (Also, I just realized I really, really don't want to hear again about bells in the context of the number 25.) 32_Footsteps: My God, Carol of the Bells is pure Nightmare Fuel to me. I swear, I always think someone is about to hit me in the back with an axe every time I hear it. Also, as a native of New Jersey, I always thought Born To Run was a perfect state anthem. Of course, I moved. Kalle: I was gonna put this in, but since it wasn't really music, I refrained — but I came across a doujinshi website that featured all the artist's works named after Oingo Boingo songs. The catch was that EVERY LAST ONE of the works were horrific guro hentai. I will never be able to listen to "Dead Man's Party" without thinking of girls getting tortured, ever again. Roger: I'd like to add MASH, whose theme song ("Suicide is Painless") was SO lyrically-dissonant that they took the lyrics right out for the TV series. I'm not sure if this trope should be constrained to lyric-music dissonance, though, or if this sort of lyric-series dissonance is fitting. If it is, there are some commercial advertisements that have also used songs that seem dissonant with their purpose. —- Torri How about Dresden Dolls songs 'Bad Habit' about self mutilation and 'Backstabber' which is self explanatory. I'm not sure whether they fit or not since DD have a style that is a mix of happyness/aggression and plain crazy at times —- Liz I don't know what the theme from "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" is actually about, but if it has the lyrics I think it does (listed [[ http://www.lyricsdepot.com/polaris/hey-sandy.html here]]), it fits this trope. They include" Could you settle to shoot me/ Or have you picked your target yet?"
Bardic Feline: Quoting the Other Wiki for this: "On the DVD set, the subtitles render the third line as "Can you settle to shoot me?", but are not claimed to be an official interpretation of the song's lyrics.
On the DVD commentary for season 2 of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, one of the show's creators, Chris Viscardi, mentions the missing lyric and says, "I've actually become very passionate about keeping that line a secret." There has been a lot of speculation about the missing line, and most people guess that it was originally kept a secret because Pete & Pete was a family show."
From here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Sandy
So, while it is conceivable that this is an example of that trope, it really is impossible to prove for sure unless somebody gives us official confirmation of the official lyrics. And even then it still wouldn't necessarily be about Kent State. Assuming that line is correct, the singer is addressing a shooter named Sandy; Kent State's Sandy was a victim of the gunfire.
Whitewings I have to disagree about Scarborough Faire. The song was originally sung by a woman, not to one, and is simply the last commonly known example of an entire class of "Demon Lover" ballads, in which a woman can save her soul from the lover in question only by finding a sufficient number of tasks that he cannot perform, even with his vast powers. Daibhid C: I didn't get that; I thought it was just a list of imposible tasks given to an unwanted ex, but either way it's a beautifully melancholy tune with beautiful and sad lyrics, and hence doesn't belong here. Shay Guy: "Very sorrowful ballad?" Which Caramelldansen was THAT troper listening to? mr_rubino: Someone's taking the piss, I'd say. Looney Toons: This is, essentially, irrelevant, but I now have the strongest urge to come up with something to make use of the title Magical Girl Lyrical Dissonance... Looney Toons: Chopped this:
Nebula: Anyone else think that the dance music act Basshunter fits here? Specifically "Now You're Gone" (an upbeat tune about a guy's feelings after a breakup) and "All I Ever Wanted" (a similar kind of tune). 32_Footsteps: I cut this line following the Mother 3 example:
Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: Cut this and put it here. Are you sure these lyrics are cheery?
Sean Tucker: Nuked the bit about A Cruel Angel's Thesis being an example, because frankly, it's not. It's saying that the "young boy, like a cruel angel's thesis" (most likely referring to Shinji) will live to be a legend and hold the sky in his arms. Maybe it's Soundtrack Dissonance, but it's FAR from being Lyrical Dissonance. Devils Advocate: I'd like to nominate a few entries for deletion here, because I don't think the music is actually as described. But I realize that's largely subjective, and also possibly colored by the fact that I know the lyrics, so I thought I'd put them up for discussion first in case I'm way off base. 1. "'Synchronicity II' sounds like a pretty typically energetic '80s pop ditty..." Energetic, yes. Pop, no—it's quite a bit less pop and a harder song than most of the Police's hits. I think the music fits the lyrics.
2. "'Ohio' by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young has a nice catchy beat to it..." The music never came off that way to me—the music itself seems rather melancholy.
Antheia: Nobody seems to know for sure about this song. Moving discussion here:
"Do You Hear What I Hear," if you realize that the king must be Herod. I disagree with this - the king doesn't have to be Herod at all, and in fact that doesn't add up. In the final verse, the king declares that the child (Jesus) "will bring us goodness and light" - does this sound like Herod, who wanted Jesus dead? Surely the king is meant to be one of the Magi. Keyboarder: took out something about Safety Dance being about nuclear war. According to the band, it's not. http://matadorlounge.com/features/mwh.shtml
What about Afroman (Because I got high)? The song sounds nice and upbeat and happy, but the lyrics describe a lot of bad stuff happening to the character in the song.
Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: Cut this and put it here, for now. It's famous, but it appears to be wrong!
Trouser Wearing Barbarian: Holy crap, this has to be one of the longest pages on this wiki. Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: Yes. This and Ear Worm. The worst is, how do we even sort this? Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: Cut this and put it here.
Thebobmaster: Um, can anyone provide any proof of "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand being based on the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife? I've heard the song often, have played it on Rock Band, and know the lyrics, but it's always seemed to be more of a "hopeless love" type of song, where the singer wants a girl he knows he can't have. bluepenguin: Regarding Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment," I am pretty sure Word Of God says that the singer's not supposed to be abusive at all and he and his girlfriend are supposed to be perfectly happy together. I can't remember where I read that or if they said it at a concert or something, but I distinctly remember them refuting the idea that the singer is abusive (since it's a very common misconception). Jackalope: Took out my own statement:
Houdini: I don't think the "Cat's in the Cradle" example is a good one... that song isn't dissonant from its lyrics at all... CA Lieber: I took out the statement that "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was about bombed-out London, but considering it was written in 1944 for an American musical set at the turn of the century I'm curious as to how the claim got in there in the first place. |
This wiki is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.