J. S quotes

[bunnyben]

from filter mag 2004

'he doesen't really want to talk politics. SPZ recently contributed a version of the song hold on...to a charity record supporting iraqi children. "if you ask me where i stand on the war, i'm kind of where any sane individual stands, which is like as far away from the bullets as you can. away from where they're dropping the bombs" '

[jadams501]

I've always really appreciated J's reluctance to take on politics in his material. The truth is that most musicians and creative people are too busy doing their thing to be informed enough to add anything to the discourse, so I really like that J has stuck to writing about music and his own experience.

Plenty of artists, like Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen, have thoroughly embarrassed themselves by prioritizing trendy politicking over such mundane concerns like melody and lyrics, so it's refreshing that J has stuck with what he does best.

[bunnyben]

yes, what struck me about the quote, that no one seems to have picked up on is that his quote is nearly exactly what the lyrics are in 'sweet talk' which most of the people on this board have gone along with as being a song about sonic boom which still doesn't make sense to me. a) is he one to hold a pointless grudge for so long and b) it would be very topical given his work on palistine concert etc.

[jack white]

^^ what?

i'm p sure i've seen toomilk or someone mention that quote/interview & Sweet Talk in the same sentence once upon a time on here
& i don't recall any discussion about it being re: sonic
can you elaborate on where you're coming from bb??
i don't think he's touched much on sonic since Take Your Time tbh..

[angelsighs]

I remember pointing out that lyric and that J had used it in an interview in the past. think it might be on the original A&E thread

the angle of Sweet Talk being 'about' Sonic has been mentioned before but only in passing. pure bs i think.

[radioshack]

I'd argue that he used that line in the interview to quote himself from a song that no-one had yet heard, like a personal in-joke. I'd say it's about the Iraq war and the Bush regime, and put it down as being written anywhere between 2001 and 2003.

I get the impression he left Sonic Boom back in 1990, when he last saw him. Although saying that, didn't he in one interview (around 2001) say if he met him he'd be willing to pose for a photo with him? According to the journalist writing the piece, their paths were close to crossing and he put it to Jason that it was likely they might bump into one another and if they did, how he would react?

[toomilk]

I remember people talking about it being about Sonic, since the lyrics sound critical/accusatory.

He's being critical of himself?

[jadams501]

I've always linked Sweet Talk and I Gotta Fire together as somewhat oblique anti-war songs. I find it unlikely that J would still be writing about Sonic all these years later.

[toomilk]

To me, the lyrics to Sweet Talk are directed at someone and saying "you stand...as far from the bullets and bombs as they fall" is calling them a coward. That's why I find him saying that this is his stance on war ironic. Maybe I was just misreading the song. Anyone else feel the same way?

[SpaceLine]

i always thought it was an antiwar song and that he is talking about people who are supporting the war far from the action. sitting on their couches and hollering for saddam from thousands of miles away.

seems like a pretty clear insult and very well done imho.


And you stand there and fight for it all
But you don't own a gun
And when the shells start to fall all around
You don't have to run


then again i also think that the sweet talk in the song is a politician telling us lies and i don't get the sonic angle at all...

[bunnyben]

^^ what?

i'm p sure i've seen toomilk or someone mention that quote/interview & Sweet Talk in the same sentence once upon a time on here
& i don't recall any discussion about it being re: sonic
can you elaborate on where you're coming from bb??
i don't think he's touched much on sonic since Take Your Time tbh..

when the song was discussed before there was mention of iraq but that was lambasted as being lazy journalism. if anyone wants the filter mag iunterview i can photocopy it and send it to someone who can upload it onto here?

[jadams501]

i always thought it was an antiwar song and that he is talking about people who are supporting the war far from the action. sitting on their couches and hollering for saddam from thousands of miles away.

seems like a pretty clear insult and very well done imho.

I generally agree with this interpretation but the lyrics to this song have always seemed unfinished and ambiguous to me. The production and recording are some of the best on the album, but compositionally the song could have used a little more work imho.

[jack white]

agree with Spaceline's interpretation
defo an anti-war/anti-bush song (tho dubya never really sweet talked, tho he tried he usually stumbled over his metaphors didn't he?) (& there's a fair chance it was written a long time before A&E was released)
it reminded me a lot of B.Dylans Master's of War, & especially the lines about "you've thrown the worst fear that can ever be hurled.."/ "i can't take care of my baby" tho perhaps that'a reading a little too explicitly into it.

i do see where it can work on a more personal, individual level as well (& by extension could refer to Sonic but i really don't think it's in relation to Sonic at all, i'm sure there's a few people have pissed J off since then that the more spiteful parts could be in reference to.)


tom edwards has left the band now has he??

[bunnyben]

http://ideensynthese.de/spiritualized/v ... alk#p55504

Re: Jasons Lyrics, "BABY BABY BABY"

Postby bunnyben » Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:02 pm
i have a slight problem with some of the lyrics on this album that are about 'the war' he's never had overtly political songs before but due to the growth of the media everyone has an opinion and a song and a blah blah
“Without music, life would be an error.”- Friedrich Nietzsche


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Re: Jasons Lyrics, "BABY BABY BABY"

Postby sunny » Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:31 pm
Hmm, well I don't think that having a reaction to a war and having something to say about it is necessarily the same as writing a political song...

For instance; I am not politically active in any way but now and again there are social issues that really affect me emotionally. I don't usually incorporate my political views in my own poetry /writing (ugh, that's too embarrassing to even mention, but never mind). However, back in the late 90's there was a period of time when Belgrade in Serbia was being bombed. I still have family there, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces... that sort of thing. Anyway, I ended up so deeply affected by what was happening to them on a human level I had to write about it. It was what was going on in my mind and life at that particular time. It was just unavoidable really, there was no way not to mention it because it had become such a huge aspect of my emotional life. I had to say something or I wouldn't have felt human.

I also don't believe in pigeonholing - I don't think any topic should be off limits to anyone, no matter what they've done in the past. My only concern is if it's done well or not and if it's believable or not. In this case I think it is (that's my personal opinion though).



Re: Jasons Lyrics, "BABY BABY BABY"

Postby bunnyben » Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:35 pm

dselevan2 wrote:I guess some reviewer somewhere thought Jason Spaceman would say George Bush would sweet talk like an Angel? I don't think that is what the song is about at all. I assumed sweet talk was about sonic boom. He had an album called Angel, a song called Revolution, etc. Maybe, "driving this blind" refers to the Spacemen 3 catalog. I don't have any problem with Sonic Boom, but I've finally read the Spacemen 3 book and I wouldn't be surprised if Sweet Talk was about his relationship with Sonic Boom (could be described as a war) rather than George Bush. Why would Jason write a song about George Bush????



i assumed that he was refering to mr blair- 'the sweet talking spin doctor', a man whom i have a great deal of personal respect for for certain things, and less for others. there's also the lyric about bombs falling and fighting without a gun while people die etc, so yeah i think it's about his pet hamster 'mainline'
“Without music, life would be an error.”- Friedrich Nietzsche



Re: Jasons Lyrics, "BABY BABY BABY"

Postby dselevan2 » Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:04 pm
I hadn't thought of Tony Blair, you would say he, "sweet talks like an angel?" And does he have parents who he talks like? When he says that he can't feed his baby, I always think about the interviews where he would say he wasn't getting a cent off the Spacemen 3 re-issues. Maybe I'm off base here, I was kind of excited that Spaceman finally covered the topic in a song.


Re: Jasons Lyrics, "BABY BABY BABY"

Postby jack white » Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:37 pm
i think it's already been covered in song. i know john did how do yo sleep at night? i think jason did take your time.

the war line is a good, fun analogy that has been misconstrued by lazy journalism. i wouldn't like to say it doesn't reference iraq (and that we know it stems from an interview) but it's there to detail other things. it's a good song, sweet angel.


etc