In last week’s OTR Column, I praised some of the lyrics from No Line on the Horizon and took issue with others.
The first issue I sited was the line in “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” that says:
Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
I found the “spitting” to be ridiculous, but was quickly corrected by a number of William Gibson fans (some more polite than others) that swear the phrase is in reference to his 1984 cyberpunk novel Neuromancer.
I obviously wouldn’t know if it is or it isn’t, as I’m not one for Sci-fi (unless you count Back to the Future), but trusting that the readers are correct and that it IS a literary reference, I’m sorry—but that still doesn’t make it good.
Song lyrics are their own beasts and to me part of them “working” is the ability to adapt them to your own world or life experience even if they are specifically borrowed from another work of art.
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“Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit”
definite reference, and appropriately used if you ask me.
Chapter 15
[ "How do you cry, Molly? I see your eyes are walled away. I'm
curious." His eyes were red-rimmed, his forehead gleaming with sweat. He was
very pale. Sick, Case decided. Or drugs. "I don't cry, much."
"But how would you cry, if someone made you cry?"
"I spit," she said. "The ducts are routed back into my mouth."]
Yes, and you can still interpret without the reference as crying or toughing it out, which may be better in public forums as the reference is a bit of spoiler. I know it made me flip back to the earlier parts of the book where she was spitting once I hit chapter 15.
That said this (in combination with the “baby baby baby”) also ties the song back to UltraViolet (Light My Way) which has both the surface echo of “Oh child, wipe the tears from your eyes / You know I need you to be strong” and the Neuromancer reference to the lightbulb over the bed.
I remember when atU2 could be counted on to break news and give thoughtful analysis ofall things U2. This junior-high level commentary on lyrics and news updates like the one on the Magnificent video (that making-of video has been up on the U2.com site for days. Where have you been?) make me realize that it’s just another mediocre fan site like U2log. Sad.
I don’t think it’s that bad, Joe.
I do take exception though to the statement that song lyrics are only effective if you can adapt them to your life experience. What about listening to something totally alien to you? I tend to think that’s more exciting. Art observation and experience shouldn’t be about you, it should be about the art, and this is not a judgment on you Tassoula, but it seems very narcissistic to judge a song lyric on how well it applies to your life. I live my life every single day, what’s the point in hearing about it again?
I guess it brings up the more basic question – what’s the function of art? Is art just a canvas that the observer can project themselves onto, or is it something with its own meaning and beauty, outside of yourself.
Thanks to Anita and Chris, who pointed out the specific references.
Joe – if you’ve been paying attention, the “Magnificent” video my colleagues are talking about this week is the actual video, not the making of. Perhaps you should take the time to read our posts before you throw daggers at our writers.
Jon – I appreciate your comments, but I have to disagree. I think we all tend to gravitate toward art that imitates our life experience in some way. Me being an apparent narcissist, I’ll use myself as an example: why do I think 30 Rock is funny? Probably because I’m a single thirtysomething Greek girl (like the star/creator of the show), who has been a professional writer all of her adult life. Why did I never find King of Queens funny? I’ve never been married.
Granted, those are very specific examples, and there are millions of exceptions (most who love Gone With the Wind, have never lived in the south or been in the middle of a war; I love the song Kite by U2 but I’m neither close to my father, nor is he dead ).
That said, I do think in general the art we read, view, listen to and watch has to be something we can understand or in some way make a connection with. That connection may be a sexy voice (Bono) or a lyric that resonates (Midnight is Where the Day Begins) or a video that we find visually gorgeous (Stay, Faraway So Close).
All I’m saying is that we need a connection, and elements that narrow the focus of the art can eliminate some from establishing one to it.
So, Joe, can we count on you not visiting and commenting anymore? Cool. Thanks for letting us know.
Should also mention we’re leaving out Acrobat here, but then again is that something everyone needs to see? Of course not. These are sparkles in the diamond, tints of colour, and sometimes they are shades of meaning. They allow for more perspectives, connections, and a broader audience, but sometimes they also increase the depth of the song (and somewhere after that you can argue text vs. intent). Now is this more than meets the eye? (illusion
) More to than mere allusion? For me there is, but who knows if there’s supposed to be, but accidental genius and masterpiece or intended, it’s still a masterpiece.
Anyway, interesting line, because, while I expected this album to get the same instantaneous complaints about lyrics we’ve seen for the past 15 years from people whose sense of the lyrics is just that: a sense, a sensory experience, it was also open to complaint from those who listen, process, and seek meaning. The cold, machine-like, tough spit versus the human, frail crying isn’t the easiest frame to see without the allusion, so it seems throw away.
What I see beyond that is more tenuous. Acrobat – I see a tie to the apocalyptic and warning tone of the album (No Line), and distraction from heeding such warning (getting a bit Python there
). I suppose that is something many don’t see, but despite the shades of grey in its packaging, this album is a swarm of bees to me. UltraViolet – it’s a silent alarm triggering a chorus of “light my way” as a counterpoint to Breathe and a tie to Moment of Surrender, it also apposes (not a typo) No Line with Achtung Baby — the “day is as dark as the night is long” for AB (and sadly the absence of darkness seems to be the basis of much complaint about the lyrics), but it’s the reverse, coming out into the daylight for No Line (with appropriate apocalyptic warnings attached 
). Simple, yet brilliant.
Whoops – that should have said “more to this than mere allusion”
This makes me want to read the book now. Is it good?
I like the lyric a lot. My uncle uses the expression “I’m so mad I could spit”. I believe it is a dated expression and he uses it to be funny (as do I). I think this kind of is where the lyric is going, but sans humour.
I take the lyric as everyone needs to cry or spit: to lose composure, just break down and express your sadness/anger/rage/disrespect. I believe spitting has traditionally been a sign of disrespect (think of spitting in someones face as well).
I think the lyric ties into the rest of the song which, to me, is about two very different personalities in a relationship who are working hard to make it work because of those differences. One person is the chaotic, loose cannon, the other is the rock solid one. (I would hazard a guess this is based on Bono’s relationship with his wife, Bono being the chaos of course). I know lots of couples like this. The attraction to the other person is in those differences: “there’s a part of me in the chaos that’s quiet, and there’s a part of you that wants me to riot.”
Unless Bono, or someone, has specifically said this is a Neuromancer reference, I don’t think it is at all. I would find it incredibly obscure and bizarre if it were. Please correct me if I am wrong.
My 2cents.
Anybody familiar with “spitting” as a synonym for rapping? Could be as simple as that. A reference to self-expression.
i like to think it is a neuromancer reference, but i believe it is most likely what iacrobat said…”I take the lyric as everyone needs to cry or spit: to lose composure, just break down and express your sadness/anger/rage/disrespect.”