Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Welcome back to the Nathan's and Ron cast. This is one of your hosts, Michael G. Ronstadt. And I want to talk about two songs that probably no one in their right mind would put together. But I see a connection. And one is a very popular song called Subterranean Homesick Alien by Radiohead. And the other one is a song called Life with the Sound turned Down by Craig Bickhart.
Now, the main connection with these two songs is that it's a song thinking about those who might see Earth from above and just observe these images. And, you know, presumably it would be silent. So if you were watching from above, what would your takeaway be of humanity? And you know, this topic gets talked about through all of sci fi. You know, talk about Star Trek and them observing cultures from above and then secretly going down and meeting people. But what if all you could do was just view from above? I think that these two songs talk about two different perspectives from a very different mindset. So let's talk about Radiohead's song Subterranean Homesick Alien. I'm going to read the lyrics to you. The breath of the morning, I keep forgetting the smell of the warm summer air. I live in a town where you can't smell a thing. You watch your feet for cracks in the pavement. Up above, aliens hover, making home movies for the folks back home. Of all these weird creatures who lock up their spirits, drill holes in themselves and live for their secrets. They're all uptight, uptight, uptight and they repeat uptight. I wish they'd swoop down in a country lane late at night while I'm driving. Take me on board of their beautiful ship, show me the world as I'd love to see it. I'd tell all of my friends but they'd never believe me. They'd think that I finally lost it completely. I'd show them the stars and the meaning of life. They'd shut me away, but I'd be alright, alright, I'm just uptight, uptight, uptight. So the takeaway, I guess, is that these aliens that this narrator is imagining hovering above, making silent home movies, sees that we're uptight, that we lock up our spirits, that we're not free roaming. We. We haven't really figured it out yet. Now if we look at Craig Vicart's song Life With a Sound Turned down, he's imagining what the angels might see when they look down at us. He starts out with a very classic American snapshot. In my big old ltd, nothing but time and the road and me on a Week long Sunday drive Little flashes of life go by Saw denim shirts and cotton fields out of the corners of my windshield Old folks sitting in trailer parks with pink flamingos in their front yards Watching life with the sound turned down oh, you know this must be how the angels see when they look at you and me Watching life with the sound turned down after that it goes into the angel's perspective Sitting up on heaven's clouds and what they see and what they don't see. So I really love the simplicity of this too. And it's a little more, I guess, quaint compared to the radio head pessimism, but that's kind of par for the course with these two different artists. So without any discussion delay, I'm gonna play Life with the sound Turned Down. I hope you enjoy the song and thank you so much for listening to my thoughts on these two songs that should usually never go together. Thanks.
[00:03:56] Speaker A: In my big old LTD Nothing but time in the road and on a week long Sunday drive Little flashes of life go by Sock denim shirts and cotton fields out of the corners of my windshield Old folks sitting in trailer parks Pink flamingos in their front yards Watching light with the sound turned down Whoa, you know this must be how the angels see when they look at you and me Watching light with the sound turning with the sound turned down Setting up on heaven's clouds they ought to be laughing and crying out loud Staring at this picture sure Little movies of us below can they see us through the night as we dance in the kitchen Light in the silence as we sway Rest of the world just goes away Watching live With the sound turned down Know this must be how the angels see when they look at you and me Watching light with the sound Turn the sound turned down Whoa, you know this must be how the angels see when they look at you and me Watching light with the sound turned on with the sound turned down.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Thank you so much for listening to the Nathan's and Ron cast. If you want to come catch Aaron Nathans and Michael G. Ronstadt live, please come to Columbus, Ohio on the 29th of March for the first UU of Columbus Concert Series. That's going to be a 7:30pm concert in Ohio. Then you can go to a house concert on 30 March where Serenity Fisher, Aaron Nathans and Michael G. Ronstadt will do a Nashville style songwriter round. And if that's not enough for you, please come out to Boston, Massachusetts to Temple Emmanuel for a 2 o'clock concert in Wakefield, Massachusetts. So in the Boston area, but please come out. Thank you again. We appreciate you and have a nice day.
