Songs About Animals

[Lexi Darling]

^ Some more good calls on animal songs!

""Terrapin" is dreamy poetry in slow motion, like terrapins swimming in dark brackish waters.  "

That's very well-put, ribbons!
When they first came out, there was nothing like those solo albums of Syd's, afaik, but I fell in love with their low-fi, unambitious approach. I liked how the lyrics kind of worm their way past your consciousness and take up residence in some back-room of your brain. I wonder ifyou have other favourite tracks? Dominoes and Gigolo Aunt are two that spring to my mind.
I feel as if I found the spirit of Syd's music again decades later, in Neutral Milk Hotel and a style (thank you, Neapolitan) called "acoustic emo". This great, disturbing, track serves as an example and even mentions animals, so I don't have to worry about being accused of going off topic:-

That song is so poetic and tragic. It was inspired heavily by the murder of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was beaten to death for being gay back in 1998. It speaks so much to the horrifying reality of many people growing up queer. Still as relevant today as it was when it was recorded, thank you for posting.

[Meatwad]

Melt Banana - Lefty Dog

[Lisnaholic]

That song is so poetic and tragic. It was inspired heavily by the murder of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was beaten to death for being gay back in 1998. It speaks so much to the horrifying reality of many people growing up queer. Still as relevant today as it was when it was recorded, thank you for posting.

^ Thanks for that insight into the song, Mrs. Waffles ! Yes, it's clear something terrible is going on, but I had no idea that it was so closely connected to a real event.
Genuine R.I.P. for Matthew Shepard.

______________________________

Heroin is nasty ..................

The Dirty Three - Some Summers They Drop Like Flies

Hey ! Dirty Three !! About 10 years ago, I was hunting the internet for their songs and yet somehow they have completely slipped my mind since. Thanks for the reminder of how good they are, Meatwad

[ribbons]

These guys sound like they could be from Australia or UK. I like this a lot. Are you from Blighty yourself ?

Squeeze hailed from London.  I'm a 'Murican who wishes she were in Blighty. 

I have to credit my friend for the idea to post that song. Her name is Marian (because her parents saw the movie Robin and Marian in the theater the day before she was born), and when I mentioned we have an animal song thread here, she suggested I post "that mussels from a shell song".  I've often teasingly sung the "Maid Marian" line to her over the years.   

[Meatwad]

Squeeze hailed from London.  I'm a 'Murican who wishes she were in Blighty. 

I have to credit my friend for the idea to post that song. Her name is Marian (because her parents saw the movie Robin and Marian in the theater the day before she was born), and when I mentioned we have an animal song thread here, she suggested I post "that mussels from a shell song".  I've often teasingly sung the "Maid Marian" line to her over the years.   

Maid Marian from Requiem for a dream ? 

[Meatwad]

Live - Rattlesnake

[Meatwad]

^ Thanks for that insight into the song, Mrs. Waffles ! Yes, it's clear something terrible is going on, but I had no idea that it was so closely connected to a real event.
Genuine R.I.P. for Matthew Shepard.

______________________________

Hey ! Dirty Three !! About 10 years ago, I was hunting the internet for their songs and yet somehow they have completely slipped my mind since. Thanks for the reminder of how good they are, Meatwad

They are amazing live. Probably the best live gig I've seen besides the two times I've seen the Mars Volta...... 

[ribbons]

Maid Marian from Requiem for a dream ? 

No, not that one!  Poor Marian.  I'll never forget when Jared Leto's character was talking on the phone to Jennifer Connelly toward the end, and he said "I'm sorry, Marian" and started to cry.  So sad! 

[ribbons]

When they first came out, there was nothing like those solo albums of Syd's, afaik, but I fell in love with their low-fi, unambitious approach. I liked how the lyrics kind of worm their way past your consciousness and take up residence in some back-room of your brain. I wonder if you have other favourite tracks? Dominoes and Gigolo Aunt are two that spring to my mind.
I feel as if I found the spirit of Syd's music again decades later, in Neutral Milk Hotel and a style (thank you, Neapolitan) called "acoustic emo". This great, disturbing, track serves as an example and even mentions animals, so I don't have to worry about being accused of going off topic:-

@Lisnaholic - Beautifully stated by you, as always, i.e., "I liked how the lyrics kind of worm their way past your consciousness and take up residence in some back-room of your brain."  You not only have a way with words, but also in forming and articulating thoughts I wish I had thought of myself! (seriously)  In reply to your question about my favorite Syd solo tracks:  I love "Dominoes" and "Gigolo Aunt" as well, and also "Baby Lemonade", "Octopus", "Dark Globe", "Late Night" (so heartbreaking) and last but certainly not least – the darkly gorgeous "Opel".

That song is so poetic and tragic. It was inspired heavily by the murder of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was beaten to death for being gay back in 1998. It speaks so much to the horrifying reality of many people growing up queer. Still as relevant today as it was when it was recorded, thank you for posting.

@Mrs. Waffles, thank you for mentioning Matthew Shepard as he should never be forgotten.  I remember his tragic murder very well; and it was all the more disgraceful and shocking because he had seemed such a gentle soul.   

And here beneath the water
I can see how the light
Distorts so strange
And this is how
I would like to leave my body
And start again

[Lisnaholic]

@Lisnaholic - Beautifully stated by you, as always, i.e., "I liked how the lyrics kind of worm their way past your consciousness and take up residence in some back-room of your brain."  You not only have a way with words, but also in forming and articulating thoughts I wish I had thought of myself! (seriously)  In reply to your question about my favorite Syd solo tracks:  I love "Dominoes" and "Gigolo Aunt" as well, and also "Baby Lemonade", "Octopus", "Dark Globe", "Late Night" (so heartbreaking) and last but certainly not least – the darkly gorgeous "Opel".

That's extremely kind of you, ribbons. Thanks.   My comment benefited from (i) my first coffee of the day, and (ii) decades spent wondering why  I like Syd's songs so much. Yes all those tracks you mention are special to me too. It's really nice to know that you're also a fan of his solo stuff - from my experience, there are not that many of us.

@Mrs. Waffles, thank you for mentioning Matthew Shepard as he should never be forgotten.  I remember his tragic murder very well; and it was all the more disgraceful and shocking because he had seemed such a gentle soul.   

And here beneath the water
I can see how the light
Distorts so strange
And this is how
I would like to leave my body
And start again

That's a beautiful piece of poetry! I wonder where it's from?
____________________________________________

And here's another Syd Barrett animal song:

[ribbons]

@Lisnaholic, I wish my mindflows were as stimulated as yours from a cup of coffee!    Thanks for adding "Birdie Hop" to our menagerie of Syd songs.  It's interesting how his lyrics sometimes appear awkward in print but work well aurally with his music.  There is a sort of audiocollage/painterly aspect to them – maybe because Syd considered himself primarily a painter.

The verse I quoted is actually the last verse of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Little Birds" – although it works well poetically, I agree.

Thanks to your thread, Lisna, I am noticing and thinking about animals everywhere I go!  A short while ago I was in the elevator here, which has a digital media screen that was citing this Washington Post article on research concluding that starfishes don't actually have arms.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/01/starfish-study-evolution-gene-sequencing/

By the time I returned my desk, this song had come to mind.

Donovan – Starfish on the Toast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG8mQ4oYd78

[Lisnaholic]

@Lisnaholic, I wish my mindflows were as stimulated as yours from a cup of coffee!    Thanks for adding "Birdie Hop" to our menagerie of Syd songs.  It's interesting how his lyrics sometimes appear awkward in print but work well aurally with his music.  There is a sort of audiocollage/painterly aspect to them – maybe because Syd considered himself primarily a painter.

Well, you have your inspired moments too, ribbons !!
I've often thought the same about his painterly vision:"Jiving on down to the beach to see the blue and the grey" - that is just a perfect seascape and probably something we both did when we were down near Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch !

The verse I quoted is actually the last verse of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Little Birds" – although it works well poetically, I agree.

= oops,    I clearly need to listen to that song again, and more carefully too.

Thanks to your thread, Lisna, I am noticing and thinking about animals everywhere I go!  A short while ago I was in the elevator here, which has a digital media screen that was citing this Washington Post article on research concluding that starfishes don't actually have arms.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/01/starfish-study-evolution-gene-sequencing/

By the time I returned my desk, this song had come to mind.

Donovan – Starfish on the Toast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG8mQ4oYd78

Haha! That's interesting, ribbons. Your link didn't open, so I did some starfish research of my own, and they seem to be losing body parts at an alarming rate:-

Top stories:

The Guardian
Starfish 'arms' are actually extensions of their head, scientists say
1 day ago

CNN
Starfish bodies aren't bodies at all, study finds
1 day ago

Phys.org
Long presumed to have no heads at all, starfish may be nothing but...
2 days ago

Nice, very quirky song from Donovan. Those lyrics are also very evocative of the British seaside. Thanks for introducing me to it.  

[ribbons]

I've often thought the same about his painterly vision:"Jiving on down to the beach to see the blue and the grey" - that is just a perfect seascape and probably something we both did when we were down near Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch !

Yes, we did!  Imagine what painterly visions Syd would have come up with to evoke those sloping shingled salty seasides.

= oops,    I clearly need to listen to that song again, and more carefully too.

The only reason I knew those lyrics was because I looked them up!  And that last verse stuck with me in context of Mrs. Waffles mentioning the Matthew Shepard tragedy.  Btw, I really love that track, and thank you for posting it to begin with!

Haha! That's interesting, ribbons. Your link didn't open, so I did some starfish research of my own, and they seem to be losing body parts at an alarming rate:-

Ha ha - This thread has taken some very educational twists and turns, lol. 
Frankly, I suspect the starfish are just trying to get a head of the news.   

[Lisnaholic]

Yes, we did!  Imagine what painterly visions Syd would have come up with to evoke those sloping shingled salty seasides.

Yep, that's a nice thing to imagine: a windy walk over those marshes to the shingle, with maybe some of those details from Donovan's song to be seen as well.

Ha ha - This thread has taken some very educational twists and turns, lol. 
Frankly, I suspect the starfish are just trying to get a head of the news.   

^ Yes, thanks to you and the other contributors, this has turned into quite an informative thread !

At least there has never been any scientific dispute about the precise form that an Octafish takes:-

Lucid tentacles test and sleeved
And joined, and jointed, jade pointed diamond back patterns

[ribbons]

^ Good one, Lisna!  The Captain's dotty lyrics mirrored the instrumentation of his songs, or was it vice versa? 

Q:  When is a fish not a fish?
A:  When it's a surfboard.  (Octafish) 

***

Suede - Flytipping

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XCMltRzq48