18
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning behind *THE NAME* of "Bohemian Rhapsody"?
"Bohemian" in the title doesn't refer to the region in the Czech Republic, but rather to what is known as the the bohemian lifestyle.
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, ...
- 6,025
16
votes
The meaning of "Uptown Funk"
This song is an example of what one might call "effectively instrumental" in that the song has no lyrics that are particularly meaningful. The vocal elements are, for the most part, just another ...
- 626
9
votes
The meaning of "Uptown Funk"
The literal meaning of uptown is usually the more northward part of the center city, but it has connotations (via New York City) of an urban area that is more "upscale", wealthy, classy and ...
- 14.9k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the 'Slight Return' In Voodoo Child referring to?
On the album Electric Ladyland, there's a track called Voodoo Child, around 15 minutes long. There's a sort of reprise later, called Voodoo Child (Slight Return), which is far shorter, at around 5 ...
- 431
7
votes
Accepted
Bands With Eponymous Album and Song
The first answer I can think of is Iron Maiden's Iron Maiden in the album Iron Maiden in 1980 so after Black Sabbath in 1970.
- 7,373
7
votes
Accepted
Is there symbolism in the word "train" that is particular to rock music culture?
The existence of many blues, gospel, and rock songs featuring trains is indisputable. The correlation you see to rock band's first albums is probably some kind of selection bias.
Trains were a major ...
- 1,636
6
votes
Accepted
What does "clean" mean at the end of the title of an instrumental jazz song on Amazon Music?
According to a discussion here, these are probably censored versions of the songs.
EDIT: Answer from the Amazon support :
The Clean version you see next to some of the Music titles means that the ...
- 7,373
5
votes
Bands With Eponymous Album and Song
Bad Company did the same on their 1974 eponymous album. Can’t think of any others at the moment....
...After looking through my music a second time, I found a few ‘almosts’: Gentle Giant has a song ...
- 71
5
votes
What is "Uma Thurman" in the Fall Out Boy song?
Uma Thurman is an actress. She was in the film Pulp Fiction.
Google is your friend.
- 226
5
votes
Weather Report song title "Dara Factor One" – What is “Dara Factor”?
This detailed website Weather Report: the annotated discography describes the two Dara songs like this - both quotes are from Brian Glasser's "In a Silent Way" (shortened to IASW below), Sanctuary ...
- 4,315
4
votes
How did the song "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots get its name?
The song was apparently inspired by the true story of a girl who was kidnapped & murdered, but the lyric was instead turned into a metaphor for a failed obsessive relationship.
So… pure ...
- 7,521
4
votes
The meaning of "Uptown Funk"
The Michelle Pfeiffer reference is important... white gold i.e. cocaine in Scar Face! Uptown Funk = screwed up by drugs purchased by inexperienced uptowners who don't know what they're buying!
- 41
4
votes
Why are pianists included in The Carnival of the Animals?
Movement 11 doesn't just portray pianists. It portrays beginning pianists playing elementary scales and thirds, badly (the score explicitly says to include errors in execution). So the image is of an ...
- 221
4
votes
Why are pianists included in The Carnival of the Animals?
Carnival was intended to be a whimsical and satirical piece (Saint-Saëns didn't want it published in his lifetime because he thought it was silly). I conjecture that including pianists is his way of ...
- 141
4
votes
Bands With Eponymous Album and Song
One such example is Motörhead (though the song title is sometimes written without an Umlaut.)
- 659
4
votes
Accepted
Knife Party - Destroy Them With.. Lasers or Lazers?
Knife Partys official YouTube channel lists the song name as "Destroy Them With Lazers" making Last.FM the correct spelling.
- 56
4
votes
Different artists - same song titles?
This has to be coincidence. Both titles "This Love" and "Daylight" are very generic titles. There are probably dozens of songs with each of these titles.
- 6,025
4
votes
Accepted
Why is "Für Elise" called "La Lettre à Elise" in French?
When Ludwig Nohl discovered "Für Elise" he included the work in his 1867 publication "New Beethoven Letters" (Neue Briefe Beethovens) (pages 28-33). "Für Elise" merely ...
- 416
3
votes
What does "High C's" by Two Steps From Hell have to do with the ocean?
I can't make out the lyrics but the beginning riff is a hornpipe melody. The hornpipe is a country dance that is danced on a single spot, excellent style of dance for sailors looking for recreation. ...
- 1,814
3
votes
What does "clean" mean at the end of the title of an instrumental jazz song on Amazon Music?
Hypothetically, and without doing a careful listen to the album...
It's not unusual for music recordings to pick up studio chatter or other unplanned voices. For example, the Kingsmen's classic ...
- 131
3
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of the song "9-29-045" by Green Carnation?
Just a quick look-up points to it being the date 9/29/1945, which was right around the time WWII ended. Looking through the lyrics seems to hold this up.
All the violence a man can take
...
- 782
3
votes
Is there symbolism in the word "train" that is particular to rock music culture?
Blues has its root in slavery and its economic low-wage equivalents, and reliable mass transports for plantage workers were basically train and steamboat. And they often implied being separated, ...
- 31
3
votes
Is there symbolism in the word "train" that is particular to rock music culture?
There are traditional spirituals that use the word and image of a train, for example "Same train," "Mary Had a Baby," "Gambler, Get Up Off A Yo Knees." You can find even more at http://www....
- 253
3
votes
Bands With Eponymous Album and Song
I know of Valkeat, a folk metal band from Finland. They released their debut album, named Valkeat, in 2017 and one of the songs in this album is called Valkeat.
- 251
3
votes
Bands With Eponymous Album and Song
You know the three obvious ones: Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden
I've been at this question for a long time. I often ask it around parties, camp fires, or when people look bored. Another four ...
- 31
3
votes
Bands With Eponymous Album and Song
The closing track ‘The Good, the Bad & the Queen’, on the 2007 album ‘The Good, the Bad & the Queen’ by Damon Albarn led supergroup ‘The Good, the Bad & the Queen’.
Wikipedia
3
votes
Weather Report song title "Dara Factor One" – What is “Dara Factor”?
Great News --- Obtained the answer from (Weather Report drummer) Peter Erskine himself ----
“Dara” was a made-up word for something in the band, I don’t remember what exactly … Jaco, and then Joe, ...
- 31
3
votes
Traditional(?) Italian(?) accordion instrumental waltz
This is the opening and ending theme of "بچههای مدرسه والت" / "Bachehaye Madrese Walt" ("Walt School Kids"), formerly titled "مدرسه عشق: قصهٔ دل" ("School ...
- 501
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible