I Could Be Dreaming

alf = half, ouch.

(Hey - this will put it on New Answers.)

Lyrically, I think the two halves of the songs are pretty distinct from each other and two different types of "dreams." The first seems to consider the detached propulsiveness and mundane repetitiveness of life and routine as a dream-like haze and/or Struan is having a little fantasy in order to dress up the mediocrity to this world of work, family, and little else (and does not leave room for any tangible hopes and dreams for his life?). If you allow yourself to dream about something more than you have, would you actually, y’know, go out and grasp it? The second half is this odd revenge fantasy and he wrestles with notions of whether your thoughts must be turned into action before they become defining, and so forth. The possible connection between the two is the "local boy wants to be a hero" – lack of options lead to violence and a blurring of thought and action — an idea that boy Skinner seems to have nicked! ("Geezers need excitement / If their lives don’t provide it / They incite violence") But seriously, that’s not probably true. Erm, I’ve never thought it long, always liked it, always loved the guitar/keyboard exchange – I can’t say what the weakest point of Tigermilk would be, maybe "You’re Just a Baby" — and always did like the spoken-word bit (and, at first, liked the Sessions version spoken word better, but now I imagine it would seem dated and grating). Gosh, I haven’t thought about these songs like this in such a long time, this probably isn't very lucid.

I think it's fantastic. This and 'My Wandering Days Are Over' and 'The State I Am In' are my favorite songs on Tigermilk. Stuart Murdoch should write more angry songs. The line about a family being like a pointed gun and the verse about the woman are fantastic.

Why do they mix together guitar and keyboard phrases the way they do?

I dunno, but they sound great together, the keyboard slightly loopy and the guitar really tight.

It's long the way all songs like this should be long. It takes that long to feel spent, with all those pent up feelings inside.

Nuts, it's been a while. Sorry. I hope this is more readable:

Lyrically, I think the two halves of the songs are pretty distinct from each other and two different types of "dreams." The first seems to consider the detached propulsiveness and mundane repetitiveness of life and routine as a dream-like haze and/or Struan is having a little fantasy in order to dress up the mediocrity to this world of work, family, and little else (and does not leave room for any tangible hopes and dreams for his life?). If you allow yourself to dream about something more than you have, would you actually, y’know, go out and grasp it?

The second half is this odd revenge fantasy and he wrestles with notions of whether your thoughts must be turned into action before they become defining, and so forth. The possible connection between the two is the "local boy wants to be a hero" – lack of options lead to violence and a blurring of thought and action — an idea that boy Skinner seems to have nicked! ("Geezers need excitement / If their lives don’t provide it / They incite violence") But seriously, that’s not probably true. Erm, I’ve never thought it long, always liked it, always loved the guitar/keyboard exchange – I can’t say what the weakest point of Tigermilk would be, maybe "You’re Just a Baby" — and always did like the spoken-word bit (and, at first, liked the Sessions version spoken word better, but now I imagine it would seem dated and grating).

Gosh, I haven’t thought about these songs like this in such a long time, this probably isn't very lucid.

BTW, that "family" line is nicked from Hal Hartley, right?

Is it? I agree that it's a good line.

I didn't mean that it *feels* long - but when you look at the timer on the CD you suddenly realize that it's something like 5:50 - no?

BTW, that "family" line is nicked from Hal Hartley, right?

Yeah, I think so, but even as quotation, I think it works.

What Scott wrote about the two dreams made me think of a way the spoken word stuff could work: Stuart's la la las (which he noted turns the crime into something else altogether) fade into Isobel reading: the desire for escape overtaken. She sounds so correct and proper.

Is it? I agree that it's a good line.

I think there is something very similar in Trust, but I couldn't say for sure.

What I want to know is, when is anyone going to stick up for "Electric Renaissance"?

"Electronic Renaissance" seems to be the one B&S that most irritates, according to my (very informal) experience.

I think it's about illusion and reality. Is she really getting beaten up? If so, why does she respond by reading a story about a man who goes to sleep for a long time? Really, I'm surprised this thread has gone quiet so soon, we could keep this discussion going for weeks. But seriously, I'd never paid any attention to the lyrics before, it's quite heavy. More importantly, what's this 'track 6' business? We real fans (a pathetic term) refer to it as the first track on side 2.

I love this song, but I prefer the Radcliffe Session version to the one on Tigermilk. They play it at twice the speed, for one thing. Instead of Isobel's story, she just witters odd non-sequitors like, "we all stuck our hands in and it told us loads of things about our life and our future", "We drove about in our big red A&K van!" and suchlike. And it has this fantastically chaotic ending with Stuart muttering, "They called us winsome, but we're just hopeless! We blew it, man! Should never've signed that record deal. We could've done it ourselves. We should just give up..."

>>> "the first track on side 2."

Yes, that's much better.

You have to remember that I'm not a real fan.

Tadeusz writes:
What I want to know is, when is anyone going to stick up for "Electric Renaissance"?
"Electronic Renaissance" seems to be the one B&S that most irritates, according to my (very informal) experience.

"electronic renaissance" (along with "i could be dreaming") is my favorite b+s song. it's great synth-pop... the weird edit of the last line dropped in before the first verse... plastic microwave sheen of casio warmth... if your first album contains a song this memorable let me know the name of your band, kay? :-D

i still love these two songs.