posted September 04, 2007 01:30 AM         

here a link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPeSbITit5U

here's about televators and the meaning of the song.
here's some album artwork

Televators

“Against a sandpapered kiss, bidding for the farewell bet, was lost the soul of Cerpin Taxt”

Televators is a solemn, mournful elegy for the deceased Cerpin Taxt. The entire atmosphere of the song is weighted and heavy hearted. As a side note, this is the only song where an acoustic bass is used over an electric bass to give the song an earthly, authentic feel. The word “televators” is derived from the parts “tele” (to see, from a distance) and “vate” (to rise). Melding these two components together, this tells us “[Cerpin’s] essence [has] unglued itself from the asphalt” and is now “rising up in the distance”.
The bird-like sounds in the beginning of the piece are actually made by monkey-like creatures know as “tarsiers”. This helps to create a peaceful setting immersed in the presence of Mother Nature.
An interesting side note: tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress of being caged up like an animal (obvious connection with Cerpin and Julio…the “cage” for them is society itself). A diverse array of guitar effects gradually fades in to the scene.
The guitar that strikes a note every couple of downbeats sounds edgy and steely. This creates a tension between concrete sounds (the guitar) and natural sounds (the tarsiers) and strongly reflects a theme of man vs. nature.
Taking this idea further, it illustrates that Cerpin is dying an unnatural death (hitting the concrete and being stuffed in a coffin) rather than dying a natural death (being withered by old age and decomposing back into the Earth’s soil).
The acoustic guitar in the background is repeating the ambulance motif found back in “Son et Lumiere” and “Eriatarka”. This represents that the story has come full circle, however the motif is being played at a reduced energy or tempo to symbolize Cerpin’s death. The third guitar effect is spacey, ethereal, and flighty; it represents Cerpin’s spirit floating through the air and “[stalking] the ground”. The first verse begins by describing Cerpin’s death from a retrospective point of view. “Stuck in his neck to the gills” is a very obscure lyric; the best I can make of it is that Cerpin’s breathing apparatuses (neck/gills) have been damaged, therefore stifling his ability to breathe. “Fragments of sobriquets” is an analogy to the intimate relationships Cerpin had with a few very close people. Sobriquets are nicknames given to people that usually indicate familiarity or affection. However, these relationships have long since fallen apart (“fragments”) and exist only as dim memories. I can almost envision people in a funeral home making small talk and wistfully sharing stories about Cerpin Taxt. “Three half eaten corneas” refers to Cerpin’s three eyes (corneas are a part of the eye) and him losing his ability to view the “past, present, and future tense” as discussed back in “Son et Lumiere”. An aureole is the radiant halo that surrounds a person, often in religious paintings. “Who hit the aureole” gives Cerpin an angel-like status as he is ascending into heaven. However, he is about to find a nasty surprise when he “[hits] the aureole” and is ‘reflected’ back from the gates of heaven as we’ll see in “Take the Veil”. The lyrics “stalk the ground” and later on “one day this chalk outline will circle this city” (chalk outline calls to mind a homicide police scene) are both sinister messages warning people that Cerpin’s spirit or ghost will still have a presence in the city.
This builds up to the chorus, which features a heavy layer of synthesizer (which almost has the timber of a fully orchestrated string section) under a set of grave, gloomy lyrics. There are lots of references to the color red here (“stain walks”, “capillary hint of red”) as well as a direct reference to Cerpin’s death (“page of concrete”). It seems that Cerpin has narrowly avoided some sort of evil presence (“the curse that flew right by you”). Although this curse is somewhat wounded (“crutch in hobbled sway”), its tainted presence still lingers (“stain walks”) and is waiting to take Cerpin into the underworld (again, as we’ll see in “Take the Veil”). “Auto-da-fe” (which is a ritual involving the Inquisition) could have a dual meaning here; it could be referring to society frowning upon Cerpin and treating him unjustly, or it could be referring to the Tremulants putting Cerpin on trial in “Inertiatic”. Or, since “auto-da-fe” literally means “act of faith” in Spanish, Cerpin trusts the Tremulants and hopes that his death was not in vein. “Only this manupod, crescent in shape has escaped” is one of the most disputed set of lyrics in the whole album.
To me, this lyric makes me visualize a crescent moon. The dichotomy between the light and dark halves of the moon represent two halves of Cerpin’s soul. The lighter side of Cerpin’s spirit (the “manupod”) has transcended the Earth and has risen up above into the celestial heavens. The “manupod” is obviously derived from the words “man” and “pod”; Cerpin’s spirit serves as a sort of vessel (or pod) that is meant to carry itself above the confines or limitations of mankind. In other words, Cerpin’s spirit is the ultimate paradigm for being individualistic, following one’s own destiny, and defying the rules of a corrupt society (more on this later). The darker side of Cerpin’s spirit, however, is very vulnerable to this lingering curse (“curse that flew right by you”) because he is being weighted down by his self-defacing drug practices and his sinful suicide. In summary, although a crescent of Cerpin’s spirit has escaped in the form of a manupod, the rest is being slowly pulled down into a future of strife and despair. As the first chorus ends, a brief instrumental interlude provides a pause in the elegy and gives the listener an opportunity to silently grieve and meditate over the death of Cerpin Taxt. The second verse is a gloomy omen that recounts Cerpin’s death (“split both his lips, mark these words”) and his curse (“one day this chalk outline will circle this city”). A possible reference to Cerpin’s future is also made. “The house half the way” is a reversal of the term “halfway house”, which is describing Cerpin’s descent into the afterlife (purgatory is halfway between heaven and hell). The next line (“Was he robbed of the asphalt”) is sung in a high pitched wail of misery and anguish, while the line following (“A room colored charlatan”) disintegrates into a hushed whisper of hopelessness and sorrow. The fact that the asphalt “cushioned his face” is a euphemism designed to ease the pain of Cerpin’s passing. A “charlatan hid in the safe” refers to the frauds in society that wear a façade of deceit and illusion.
They try to shrug off Cerpin as just a troubled or scarred individual with suicidal tendencies, therefore hiding their own insecurities “in the safe”. In actuality, Cerpin’s death exploits the heavy handedness of an oppressive society and begs the question, “Was it everybody else who had already died?” The next lyrics are repetitious and help to create a vicious circle of thematic material. It is a commentary that says to shed your charlatan ways (“pull the pins”), spare your false concern for Cerpin’s untimely death (“save your grace”), understand Cerpin’s mindset, and learn from Cerpin’s long journey through his subconscious world (“mark these words”). Otherwise, one could be driven to the same fate as Cerpin (“on his grave”) because of the pressures in society. The song closes with a final message regarding Cerpin’s isolation and detachment from the world (“everyone knows the last toes are always the coldest to go”). This could also be an allusion to Dante’s Inferno; the 9th circle (lowest level) of hell is not fire and brimstone, but rather a lake of ice that is so cold that it actually burns as if it were fire. The song fades out and gives way to a noise that almost resembles the sound of a jet plane falling from the sky, representing Cerpin’s spirit falling from heaven towards the depths of hell. The cacophony of chaotic sounds creates a brewing storm of apprehension that swells right in to…

If you want to hear the whole album about this story: The Mars Volta-Deloused in the Comatorium.

posted September 04, 2007 05:46 AM         

This song reminds me of the daughter I thought I lost. My ex's relative told me I lost my kid when my ex was in labor. I felt like giveing up on life. When I found out that they both survived I felt happy. This year my ex died and felt fake. Where is my daughter gonna go? Well, I lost my bro and when I found about my ex I felt Bad. I should've been there.

My ex's name is Melvina Sharpfish. She's on bebo pictures. I miss her and my brother David Smith from Bismarck N.Dak. I wish life would be less pain.

posted September 04, 2007 05:50 AM         

If you could only see the way she loves me
Then maybe you would understand
Why I feel this way about our love
And what I must do
If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says
When she says she loves me

Well you got your reasons
And you got your lies
And you got your manipulations
They cut me down to size

Sayin' you love but you don't
You give your love but you won't

If you could only see the way she loves me
Then maybe you would understand
Why I feel this way about our love
And what I must do
If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says
When she says she loves me

Seems the road less traveled
Show's happiness unraveled
And you got to take a little dirt
To keep what you love
That's what you gotta do

Sayin' you love but you don't
You give your love but you won't
You're stretching out your arms to something that's just not there
Sayin' you love where you stand
Give your heart when you can

If you could only see the way she loves me
Then maybe you would understand
Why I feel this way about our love
And what I must do
If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says
When she says she loves me

Sayin' you love but you don't
You give your love but you won't
Sayin' you love where you stand
Give your heart when you can

If you could only see the way she loves me
Then maybe you would understand
Why I feel this way about or love
And what I must do
If you could only see how blue her eyes can be when she says
When she says she loves me

posted September 04, 2007 05:28 PM         

quote:

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IF YOU COULD ONLY SEE

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posted September 04, 2007 05:45 PM         

Thanks for posting it, it really gave me the chills. When I have time tonight, I'll listen to it all.

Nice to see you here.
Take care.
Peace,
GG

posted September 04, 2007 09:23 PM         

Furthermore, that review without paragraphs struck me as the standard gibberish of critics trying to bluff those who read their reviews as thinking they understood the art they pontificate about.

And to nitpick, "tele" doesn't mean to "see from a distance" (that would be "tele-vision"), it comes from the Greek meaning "far off." Think like telepathy and telekinesis and teleport and telephone ("sound at a distance").

Plus, the reference to the "act of faith" of the Spanish Inquisition could have plenty of other meanings, such as society, acting in perfect faith that it was doing the right thing, burned his soul until he could no longer live with himself. Once the soul was dead, why would the body stick around? That is, it wasn't suicide, it was murder. This strikes me as a much more likely interpretation (overlooking that I think it was written under the influence of hard drugs).

But if you like that stuff, then you might also like Crimes Against Nature by Lydia Lunch (you can find stuff by her on YT, too). It's less poetic (but not less artistic), but IMO makes the point far stronger. That one Amazon review there was done by me, btw.

'course, if you're just into depressing, then look into Dolly Parton (I don't see why country, especially by her, isn't blamed for suicides!). Johnny Cash is said to have taken the tragic NIN song, Hurt, and made it his. Here, if you want to get REAL depressed, see a country singer, once again, outdo NIN, along with gothic and emo bands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

While on YT, you might want to try looking up Evanescence, too. Bring Me to Life and My Immortal are just 2 you might particularly like.

Now, here are 2 vids for YOU:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwChhqsJvi8

Not an official video, someone put a game to the song Eye of the Storm by CXS. The effect reminds me somewhat of the vid you started this thread off on. And I personally love it.

And another one, an official vid by the same band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09m2D7up13Y

You should think about it. What do you want to do?

posted September 04, 2007 10:06 PM         

1. Signifying at, over, or to, a distance.

Example: telegram
2. Signifying television.

Example: teletext
3. Signifying telephone.

Example: telesales

tele just means from a distance.
vater- just means up.

so televators just means from a distance you see an image going up.

this song is for a friend who died.

The song hurt was by NIN
so when Johnny Cash remade it, he felt it was for his life and how he used to use the needle. He was also in prison.
I love that song.

My favorite band is Alice in Chains.
after Johnny Cash made that song or video he passed away and that was last time Johnny Cash ever made a video oe song. That song must've help him out.