Song of the Week, 2011-004 - The Fix, by Elbow

Elbow made some very interesting music, and their lyrics can be witty and playful, actually i think they deserves more attnetion from the public. So it is good that their latest album The Seldom Seen Kid won the 2008 Mercury Music Prize and made a commercial success. Last week I have chosen One Day Like This by them, this week I decided to pick another song by them, also in their awarded album.

As much as I always like to believe that meaning of any artwork is subjective to the audience, I love to know what the artist wants to say. The Fix by Elbow is one of those songs, that without local knowledge (in this case, it is horse racing in England) or the artist's explanation doesn't really make much sense. It's lyrics contain lots of slangs and In-jokes.

The Fix is a song literally talking about rigging a horse race.

Once you know that, the featuring of Richard Hawley in the song doesnt only make sense, but it is actually a brilliant magic touch of the song. Since a fix seldom happens without teamwork, and Corruption never appears through a single hand.

So when we are talking about a morbid society, we need to have a bunch of inhumane capitalists, an absurd government and a large amount of mindless citizen... Yes, I am always cynical. Yet I never deny that I am part of this morbid society, in fact I might just contribute to its morbidness.

Our world only makes sense in a nonsense way.
Rationality is just another form of stupidity.

p.s. Richard Hawley looks awfully like To Kit (陶傑)...

p.s.2.
Here is the lyrics and some of the interpretations I found out or made up, any other suggestions are welcome:

The Fix, by Elbow

The fix is in
There's a nag(1) gonna dance home at Epsom(2)
The fix is in
Can't wait to see how it upsets 'em

Too many times we've been postally pipped(3)
We've loaded the saddles, the mickeys are slipped(4)
We're swapping the turf for the sand and the surf and the sin
Cause the fix, the fix is in

The fix is in
The odds that I got were delicious
The fix is in
The jockey is cocky and vicious

The redoubtable beast has had pegasus pills(5)
We'll buy him the patch in the Tuscany hills
And the Vino di Vinci(6) will flow like a river in spring
Now the fix, the fix is in

The fix is in
The snaps of the steward so candid
The fix is in
Yes, our pigeons have finally landed

The Donahue sisters will meet us in France
In penguins and pearls, we'll drink and we'll dance
'Til the end of our days, cause it ain't left to chance
That we win
Cause the fix, the fix is in

(1) nag = a horse in old informal English;
(2) Epsom = Epsom Downs Racecouse near London;
(3) postally pipped = "pipped at the post", which means marginally lost in a race;
(4) mickeys are slipped = slipped someone drugs, in this case probably the jockey or the horse is drugged;
(5) pegasus pills = pegasus is a winged flying horse in Greek mythology, pegasus pills probably means drugs or steroid is given to one of the horses;
(6) Vino di Vinci = Wine of Victory

Song of the Week, 2011-003 - One Day Like This, by Elbow

I must say I find this MV strangely uplifting.

Occasionally I find myself in a good mood just like the happy banner man in the MV of this heartening song by Elbow. While I do not dance or sing, what I do in a good mood is walking. I simply love walking.

In fact I go for a walk when I am in both good and bad mood. When I am in a good mood, I am enjoying the scene, the atmosphere, the moment in the walk. When I am in a bad mood, I am thinking, reflecting and releasing through walking. Anytime is a good time for walking, but I espeically like walking at night and very early in the morning when the street are not so busy, though early morning walk is hard to come by as I sleep late and wake up late.


When I was studying in London, I walked to school most of the time. I lived around Paddington and my school is in Holborn, it is about 4km in distance and it took me about 45 minutes for a single trip. However it always took me more than 45 minutes, especially for the trip from school reuturning home where no time constrain presented. The extra time went to my exploration of other possible routes for the trip, and wandering in shops and parks. The trip would have me pass through the busy Oxford Street, the miscellaneous SoHo district, the extravagant Bond Street, and the beautiful Hyde Park. Sometimes I took a detour to Covent Garden for killing time or China Town for restocking on instant noodle. One of the regular stop of the trip is Charing Cross Road where many nice bookstores located. As a poor student, mostly I only "read-in" and seldom have any "take-away".

Those were some lonely but precious time that I will always remember and treasure.

I am happy that in 2011 there is a new light which ignite my passion in walking, and it is early morning walk that I am talking about, how great is that! I am very grateful about this new light, I sincerely hope that I can keep on walking and enjoy walking.

"Drinking in the morning sun
Blinking in the morning sun
Shaking off the heavy one
Heavy like a loaded gun"

p.s. next time when I am walking I will listen to this uplifting song, gotta be really nice~

Song of the Week, 2011-002 - Teardrop, by Massive Attack

I always think the greatness of art lies in their ambiguity and openness.

When the artist put their works out into the public, they can explain what they want to express through their works. But it won't just stop there, the work of art will be like a new born which takes on a life of its own. The artist's will might still remains as a way for people to read that work of art, just like a child living under the shadow of the parents. Yet as time goes, the will of the artist loses its strength, the meaning and value of the work of art will then depend on how people relate to it. Thus, the work of art lives.

Some people are arguing what this song, Teardrop, by Massive Attack is trying to say, some suggest it is about abortion, some say it is about infidelity, some say it is about futility. I would say what you see from it, is what you feel about parts of yourself. Whether it is "fearless on my breath" or "feathers on my breath" isn't really that important. What really matters is that, it resonate with your state of mind, your state of heart.

It is my song of the week because it strikes my current state of mind.

"Teardrop on the fire" does sounds futile in a way, but when it is put together with "fearless on my breath", what it means is not futility but an immense passion that has no fear. I have never been so resolute in a certain aspect of life. I also don't know if the passion will wither, but what I am doing now will be a test of that passion. It is just a "teardrop on the fire" now, but I am "fearless on my breath". Even if it doesnt work out in the end, I will live with no regret, and I would love to have a "Nine Nights" in the end.

p.s. hospital noise at the start of the MV and the heartbeats at the background, makes it a nice theme for the medical drama "House". The vagueness of the lyrics also makes it very open to relate to the drama.

Song of the Week, 2011-001 - Cayman Islands, by Kings of Convenience

In order to make a habit of writing something regularly, I decided to start with picking a song and writing something, no matter long or short, about it.



As the start, I picked Cayman Islands by one of my favourite groups, the Norwegian duo, Kings of Convenience.

There is really no particular reason why I picked it to start the "Song of the Week" section. Well... part of the lyrics is thinly related to something that I plan to do in coming week but it is not the reason. Yet I don't know why the song keep looping in my mind this week. I don't know how long this looping will last, but luckily it is not a bad song to loop in the mind, in fact it is a great one. It is Calm, quiet and soothing, so I am happy to have it as the song of the week, and as the first one.

The lyrics remind me of a trip in a town, Chartres, in France. For better or worse, there is not a special someone as my company like the song mentioned. I just went there alone, but it is one of the greatest trip I ever had.

Chartres is not the most famous tourist spot, but it maybe on the list of Christian visitors when they go to France, as its Gothic Cathedral is one of the finest and the preservation of it is brilliant, in addition, there is a sacred item, a Tunic which is said to have been worn by Virgin Mary. The Cathedral was the reason I went to this town, but I didn't went there for its magnificent facade, or the beautiful stained glass, or the holy tunic, I went there for its floor. I went there for the labyrinth built on the floor of the Cathedral. I wanted to walk on it!

Unfortunately, when I arrived, they were having some kind of ceremony, and chairs were laid out, covering the labyrinth on the floor. However, come to think about it now, it is not so bad, as I got more time to explore the beautiful town. Just like the first line of the song "through the alleyways to cool off in the shadows, then into the street following the water", I walked the old path, passed the stone bridges, entered the calm garden. Walking with my own pace, I enjoyed every bits of the joruney. It was calm, quiet and soothing. If there is any chance, I am definitely going to Chartres again!









"If only they could see, if only they had been here;
They would understand, how someone could have chosen;
To go the length I've gone, to spend just one day riding;
Holding on to you, I never thought it would be this clear."