Hi fans
Can anyone explain me the meaning of "Fugetive"Is it about terrorist's 9/11?
Sounds like two planes at the beginning of the track.
I don't understand the whole song.
Thank you guys
[/b]
Fundamentalism/Fugetive
-
Angelspirit
Fundamentalism/Fugetive
Hi fans Can anyone explain me the meaning of "Fugetive"Is it about terrorist's 9/11?
Sounds like two planes at the beginning of the track.
I don't understand the whole song.
Thank you guys
[/b]
-
DavePSB
- Posts: 978
- Joined: Wed 08 Jan 2003, 2:03 am
- Contact:
Hello Angelspirit,
Welcome to the forum
Have a read of this thread, which should answer your question: viewtopic.php?t=12296
Dave
Welcome to the forum
Have a read of this thread, which should answer your question: viewtopic.php?t=12296
Dave
Chris: "I don't really like MP3's. It's like having a 1 megapixel digital camera."
Click for PSB | Euphoric (rarely updated now)
Click for PSB | Euphoric (rarely updated now)
-
rabagast
- Posts: 1007
- Joined: Tue 25 Nov 2003, 12:57 pm
Allow me to quote Geowayne, from his brilliant site "PSB Song-by-song commentary"
http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm. Go visit!
This song was written in early 2005 and is included on the Fundamentalism bonus disc accompanying the limited-edition version of Fundamental. It was completed with the help of producer/remixer Richard Philips, who works under the alias Richard X.
Though it opens with slow, vaguely mournful synth-strings, this track quickly becomes a fast, powerful workout. Its simple chord structure suggests a perhaps higher-than-average degree of Chris's influence on the music, if not outright dominance. It's the lyrics, however, that are sure to raise eyebrows, though there's of course always room for multiple interpretations. There's also the very strong possibility of an "untrustworthy narrator"—a common literary device whereby the audience cannot necessarily take what the narrator says as "gospel truth," so to speak.
To be blunt, the words of this song virtually beg to be interpreted as being uttered by a terrorist on the eve of a planned attack. The recurring sound of a jet airplane makes it all the more ominous. As with the album Fundamental itself, the spectre of 9/11 hangs overhead.
Heaven is very much on the mind of the narrator, who utters such lines as "There's always a new way to heaven," "It's always forever in heaven," and "We'll all be together in heaven." He and the person to whom he's singing stand apart from society as a whole, each of them a "fugitive" of the title. His words indicate both questioning uncertainty and some measure of confidence gained from careful preparation for what lies ahead. (It's an established fact that Mohamed Ata and other 9/11 terrorists engaged in ritual cleansing and body-shaving before departing on their fateful mission.)
Where do we stand in this land?
We're invisible now
Clean and prepared to be led
Indivisible
The narrator is saying goodbye to his "brother" ("I'm really gonna miss you") while expressing anticipation for the impending event:
I know that it won't be that long until the hour
Free and released from the world
It feels like power
It's difficult to read these words in any way aside from coming from a terrorist. But even assuming this reading, we mustn't assume that the Pet Shop Boys are in sympathy with these terrorists except perhaps on the most raw, basic human level. In other words, the beliefs and motivations of these characters may be misguided and their anticipated actions reprehensible, but they're real. And they're a legitimate subject for exploration and depiction in art, including popular music. To put it another way, it's no worse for songwriters and singers to depict terrorists in a song than it is for actors to portray them in films or TV shows.
Terrorists may be figurative monsters, but they're not literal monsters. Literally, they're human beings who feel powerless but have been led to believe that they can achieve some measure of power by committing despicable acts that will, conversely, guarantee them a place in heaven. Even if you oppose them, understanding them and their viewpoints can only help. Remember the adage "Know thine enemy." This may be, on at least one level, what this remarkable track is about.
As a sidenote, I want to share something written by my favorite syndicated film critic, Mick LaSalle, who never fails to impress me with his broader cultural insight, which often extends well beyond the realm of film. Although in this case I don't agree 100% with what he says, I nevertheless think it bears relevance to the Pet Shop Boys' "Fugitive." Discussing the film United 93, LaSalle wrote (May 14, 2006):
I think the director was simply doing the time-honored thing of coming to grips with evil by presenting the terrorists as people like any of us, as versions of ourselves, in a sense. That approach is supposed to make us horrified at the depth of our own possible iniquity, but actually it's a comfort, a false definition of the limits of their iniquity. The reflexive mistake of conservatives is to define virtue in terms of themselves. But the reflexive mistake of liberals is to believe that evil doesn't exist—that people who do evil things are just people like themselves who aren't thinking clearly.
Are Chris and Neil simply making what LaSalle refers to as "the reflexive mistake of liberals" with regard to terrorists? For that matter, am I making this same mistake in my interpretation of the song? On the other hand, I don't know how "liberal" I am, at least as LaSalle might define it, since I do indeed believe that evil exists. I suppose that, ultimately, it's all a matter of perspective.
http://www.geowayne.com/psbhtml.htm. Go visit!
This song was written in early 2005 and is included on the Fundamentalism bonus disc accompanying the limited-edition version of Fundamental. It was completed with the help of producer/remixer Richard Philips, who works under the alias Richard X.
Though it opens with slow, vaguely mournful synth-strings, this track quickly becomes a fast, powerful workout. Its simple chord structure suggests a perhaps higher-than-average degree of Chris's influence on the music, if not outright dominance. It's the lyrics, however, that are sure to raise eyebrows, though there's of course always room for multiple interpretations. There's also the very strong possibility of an "untrustworthy narrator"—a common literary device whereby the audience cannot necessarily take what the narrator says as "gospel truth," so to speak.
To be blunt, the words of this song virtually beg to be interpreted as being uttered by a terrorist on the eve of a planned attack. The recurring sound of a jet airplane makes it all the more ominous. As with the album Fundamental itself, the spectre of 9/11 hangs overhead.
Heaven is very much on the mind of the narrator, who utters such lines as "There's always a new way to heaven," "It's always forever in heaven," and "We'll all be together in heaven." He and the person to whom he's singing stand apart from society as a whole, each of them a "fugitive" of the title. His words indicate both questioning uncertainty and some measure of confidence gained from careful preparation for what lies ahead. (It's an established fact that Mohamed Ata and other 9/11 terrorists engaged in ritual cleansing and body-shaving before departing on their fateful mission.)
Where do we stand in this land?
We're invisible now
Clean and prepared to be led
Indivisible
The narrator is saying goodbye to his "brother" ("I'm really gonna miss you") while expressing anticipation for the impending event:
I know that it won't be that long until the hour
Free and released from the world
It feels like power
It's difficult to read these words in any way aside from coming from a terrorist. But even assuming this reading, we mustn't assume that the Pet Shop Boys are in sympathy with these terrorists except perhaps on the most raw, basic human level. In other words, the beliefs and motivations of these characters may be misguided and their anticipated actions reprehensible, but they're real. And they're a legitimate subject for exploration and depiction in art, including popular music. To put it another way, it's no worse for songwriters and singers to depict terrorists in a song than it is for actors to portray them in films or TV shows.
Terrorists may be figurative monsters, but they're not literal monsters. Literally, they're human beings who feel powerless but have been led to believe that they can achieve some measure of power by committing despicable acts that will, conversely, guarantee them a place in heaven. Even if you oppose them, understanding them and their viewpoints can only help. Remember the adage "Know thine enemy." This may be, on at least one level, what this remarkable track is about.
As a sidenote, I want to share something written by my favorite syndicated film critic, Mick LaSalle, who never fails to impress me with his broader cultural insight, which often extends well beyond the realm of film. Although in this case I don't agree 100% with what he says, I nevertheless think it bears relevance to the Pet Shop Boys' "Fugitive." Discussing the film United 93, LaSalle wrote (May 14, 2006):
I think the director was simply doing the time-honored thing of coming to grips with evil by presenting the terrorists as people like any of us, as versions of ourselves, in a sense. That approach is supposed to make us horrified at the depth of our own possible iniquity, but actually it's a comfort, a false definition of the limits of their iniquity. The reflexive mistake of conservatives is to define virtue in terms of themselves. But the reflexive mistake of liberals is to believe that evil doesn't exist—that people who do evil things are just people like themselves who aren't thinking clearly.
Are Chris and Neil simply making what LaSalle refers to as "the reflexive mistake of liberals" with regard to terrorists? For that matter, am I making this same mistake in my interpretation of the song? On the other hand, I don't know how "liberal" I am, at least as LaSalle might define it, since I do indeed believe that evil exists. I suppose that, ultimately, it's all a matter of perspective.
-
Angelspirit
