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By
Kineto
Now this interp is a work in progress and i want to get some other
people's feed back on this, but i think this song is about the advance
of the human race into the technological age. i think when thom
sings ice age comming this is what he is reffering to. also note
the picture of the people in the cd booklet facing a giant wall
of ice.
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By
Mikael Seppala
The world is interconnected and yet interconnected. Information can
be aquired from anywhere and at any time. We are drowning in information
that supercedes the individual. It seems like the individual is powerless
in front of it - one can't but "laugh until one's head comes off"
and "swallow till one bursts". There are two new truths to every truth
published. What are we to believe? We are safe in a bunker of our
own blindness which we have created by trying to be "everything all
of the time" with the free flow of information which can be called
entertainment ("I have seen too much, I haven't seen enough"). There
is really vital and truthful information ("this is really happening")
out there, but how can we distinguish it in the black waters of information?
We are just partying in our "Idioteque" when we should be freeing
ourselves from this iron cage of information which supresses us from
seeing the world and the issues related to it "an sich". Only this
can help us think and decide for ourselves. Save the "women and the
children first", the first of our children. |
By
Chemi
To me, this song seemed to make perfect sense and I'm surprised that
other people havent come to this conclusion. Undoubtedly, my favourite
of the fantastic new album, Idioteque focuses on the mania of nuclear
war, in particular the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962, during the Cold
War between USA & the Soviet Union.
"Who's
in a bunker?
Who's in a bunker?"
When the crisis occurred, a huge number of Americans decided to
make preparations to survive what they saw as the beginning of the
end of mankind. So, bunkers were set up under or near houses for
shelter.
"Women
and children first
And the children first
And the children
I'll laugh until my head comes off
I'll swallow till I burst
Until I burst"
These lines focus on the sheer stupidity which many people resorted
to. There was a complete lack of respect for others as many thought
about their own safety above others. Therefore, the idea of "women
and children first" is a ridiculous idea, hence the "laugh
until my head comes off". The sheer concept of waiting for
women & children first, to them, was a matter of life and death.
You could be sitting there waiting or laughing and the missile would
hit and in a trivial manner your "head comes off".
"Here
I'm alive
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time"
The
sheer safety which many Americans believed they held while in the
bunkers is demonstrated in these lines. They were happy to be alive
amongst "everything all of the time".
"Ice
age coming
Ice age coming"
This is the belief that once the world had been destroyed, there
would be another ice age as we descended back in the sense of evolution.
"Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both sides"
An interesting line, possible referring to the two sides of the
potential war. Many people were unsure as to who to trust and there
was some debate as to who were the good and bad sides of the argument.
People were so concerned for their safety, they were willing to
"hear both sides" despite clear prejudice against the
other side. The line demonstrates the desperation of the time.
"We're not scared, we're under here
This is really happening, happening"
Another reference to the bunker. There was constant false alarms,
people fled to their bunkers believing they were safe as it was
"really happening" (referring to the missile).
"Mobiles skwrking
Mobiles chirping"
Perhaps a reference to the modern world today. We always see mobile
phones "chirping" and it's probably a reminder that if
the missile had hit and destroyed the world, we wouldn't see any
of the modern appliances today.
This song seems to focus on the sheer mania which the Cuban Missile
Crisis caused amongst people in America and also on the way it changed
people. It poses the question of what we are really like when we
are faced with our own mortality and how much we actually respect
each other's wants and safety, compared to our own.
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By
not so cute boy with blonde hair
My interpretation of "Idioteque" is when you kiss somebody you love
you never know if it`s gonna come back, but its so stunning that you
will remember it for the rest of your life. That was only for the
music, not for the lyrics since all the colors of the day is different.
Schemes for life are bad for THE OWN BRAIN. And an old cliche: Dont
be anyone else, be yourself. Besides, stay out at night! I dont mean
like drinking in clubs or something, just lay there watching the stars
with the love of your life... |
By
2can Sam
I think Idioteque is about trying to figure out what the people running
for a political office are talking about. Too many issues are entangled
and convoluted and you can't make any sense out of it all so in the
end you just decide to throw it in the fire, I guess. Its kinda like
the situation going on over here in the U.S. Which incompetent freak
do you vote for? The guy who invented the internet or the Daddy's
boy? Its hard to figure out each side and you wonder exactly what
the hell happened that makes people wonder which is the lesser of
two evils to stick in office.... Ice age coming, what the hell are
they going to do when they get in office? In closing, I interpret
the song to be confusion at what you see going on around you in your
country and the crappy leadership that is being produced for you.
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By
Jacob
I think that there is more to the song 'idioteque'
than you say in your description. While it may be a
dance song (and a darn good one) Thom Yorke also tries
to paint a picture.
In
the lyrics he says 'ice age coming' after 'who's in
a bunker' and this, to me, seems idiotic. If you think
about it, an ice age is a huge problem for the planet.
So if everyone is in a bunker they are still on earth,
and that does not help the population at all. It is
like ducking under your dinner table because a bomb is
in your basement. It just doesn't make sense. This
part of the song is idiotic.
It
also seems fairly obvious. So why, then does the
character being portrayed not notice the big flaw in
his safety plans? He is too busy getting people in
bunkers. He is too busy even to think. So, he is
trying so hard to save people he does not revise his
plan at all. This part of the song is genius.
Idiotique
may just be a play on words because when you
act in a certain manner, the word describing that can
end in 'que'. So you go from idiotic to idioteque
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By
Kitrich
the song is a blatant farce of techno music. the song captures peoples
fascination of techno music, and thom's fear of the music destroying
what is right. the lyric ice age coming, let me hear both sides, ice
age coming, throw it in the fire, were not scaremongering. techno
is rising, lets take a look at it, we don't like it, get rid of it,
rock will always live on. the first to go are the weak.....women and
children...first...IDIOTEQUE IDIOT-adj.stupid/worthless TECHNO-nou.worthless
pop rantings. IDIOTEQUE-ty |
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idioteque