An Object Lession in the Distracting Power of Literal Meaning

[packbat]

Listen to this track.

(If the embed fails, you can find the track here.)

Now, consider the question: if you didn't see the video or know the referents of the words, if it were a straight audio recording called "Fuval Unccl Crbcyr" and sung in a language you couldn't understand, how would you evaluate the emotional content of the track? (Yes, please, listen to it again. I'll wait.)

Would it be, perhaps, wistful? Or hopeful? Or even ... unhappy, in parts, however cheery in others?

Hm.

Comments

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

To the extent that anything as culturally based as the mood of music can be objective, I think that the ironic duality (which I'm pretty sure is intended) comes through with or without language, because while the vocal style has overtones of despair, cynicism, and sorrow, the instrumentation is completely happy and celebratory.

[packbat.livejournal.com]

...a keen observation! The instrumental sections (save, possibly, the introduction before the tempo change) and vocals do contrast thus, although I think the accompaniment for the verse is more similar in tone to the vocals than to the bridge and chorus instrumentation.

(It does seem likely the contrast is intentional - it's too perfect to be a credible accident.)

[chanlemur.livejournal.com]

"the vocal style has overtones of despair, cynicism, and sorrow..."

I think we may just be talking about Michael Stipe here. Guy does keening anguish better than pret' near anyone, but I am shaking my brain trying to actually think of a perky upbeat R.E.M. song that isn't in anyway longing or wistful or anything like that, and I'm failing. Is that the man's voice, his actual personality, his songwriting style, or some combination of these factors?

I have always felt terribly sad about this track. It's all sorts of longing about a state of affairs that seems as though it can never be.

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

"Stand" is a totally upbeat song about being aware of the great big awesome ball you live on and the relative positions of you and all the other stuff on it. The most potentially sad element is the cryptic lyric "if wishes were trees, the trees would be falling," and Stipe successfully makes this sound like it's probably a good thing, or at worst a silly bit of nonsense that you don't need to worry about because you know where you are and that's better than tree-wishes.

[chanlemur.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. I had forgotten that one. Okay, point there.