--- Gordon Mackie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dear all...esp those commenting on the'Elecrticity' thread.
>
> I wondered, given Joni's predilection for word accuracy, whether
> masking tape was indeed a pun and intentional. Spoken masking,
> intent, masquing. Like Shades of Scarlett as opposed to
> Scarlet...though the latter is spelled a la 'Gone with the Wind' on
> the album. Ok I've flipped.. but it is possible ....isnt it? Get back
>
>
>and now the alien shiksa:
I am enjoying this thread so much. I love Electricity, one of my
favourites on For The Roses, (which is in fact, one of my favourite
CDs, for the record), a real powerhouse of a song. So much going on.
Have learned a lot from the interpretations put forth. Joni often
deflects that question about what her lyrics are all about by asking
what we think...Ive always liked that.
Gordon, I agree with your idea about the "masking" tape ... good call.
This song is yet another example of Joni's ability to paint with words.
Brilliant.
Some of my rambling thoughts...when discussing electricity the subject,
references are made to parts as being female and male? (Male plugs into
female outlet...that sort of thing).
When I went back to the lyrics and read the first line, The Minus is
loveless...it made me think that Minus is some mythical creature, alone
on a hill, and yes I realize that this has no bearing on the rest of
the song... . (my mind works in wondrous ways at 5:30 a.m.
Reading through the lyrics, without the music, something I like to do,
I find that the imagery in this piece outstanding...and I swear I
recognize a couple of people I know. I cannot help but think how
desperate she seems, she's the one who doesnt understand the system,
she's the one with all the wrong fuses and splices, she's not going to
fix that up to easy, or is that just my interpretation speaking?
(rhetorical question, of course it is). :-)
I especially love this image:
we once loved-together
and we floodlit that time
input-output-electricity
but the lines overloaded
and the sparks started flying
and the loose wires
were lashing out at me
can't you just see those wild wires flying? *sizzle* can't you feel the
heat of those initial days of new love? Then fear grabs you by the
throat and what you believed was 'real' love/passion turns into that
awful place of overload/burnout. Once the blackout occurs, she holds
out her candle and she shines it in, which is just what happens. At
that point, the sparks have certainly stopped flying.
Who is holding that flashlight and why isnt that same 'she' holding the
candle.
and as a Canadian, I am always delighted when I recognize, with no need
to explain, things like Proud headed Queen Lizzie's and javex bottles.
enough already.
Mags
nib (now inspired by): Margaret Atwood's Negotiating With the Dead a
writer on writing.
np: silence
=====
You open my heart, you do.
Yes you do.
- JM
LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
http://launch.yahoo.com
