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Topic: Altered State Lyrics< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
zilbanne Offline




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Posted: Feb. 12 2011, 16:52

I mean no disrespect to anybody here but the idea that  "virgil" is in the lyrics is  nonsensical.  The first time I lstened to " Altered States "  I plainly heard ...  " Who is that demon now?  " and  " Who is that demon ho?"  

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Ugo Offline




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Posted: Feb. 12 2011, 19:12

@ zilbanne: although some lyrics may appear to be sounding like words, all of the Caveman's shouted vocals are not supposed to make up any distinguishable words - they weren't even transcribed in the sheet music, which had ~ ~ ~ ~ in their place. They are meant as total nonsense. "Who is that demon now" is actually "Slush dush diddly buch hrr doe" - "buch" pronounced like the German word for "book". :)

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zilbanne Offline




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Posted: Feb. 12 2011, 22:42

Thanks Ugo!   I'll accept that the lyrics are written out as you said.     What my ears heard is their idea!

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wiga Offline




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Posted: Feb. 13 2011, 03:32

Quote (zilbanne @ Feb. 12 2011, 21:52)
the idea that  "virgil" is in the lyrics is  nonsensical.

Hi Zilbanne.

Glad you said that - because I've never HEARD "virgil" in the lyrics. :)


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zilbanne Offline




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Posted: Feb. 13 2011, 16:17

Quote (wiga @ Feb. 13 2011, 03:32)
Quote (zilbanne @ Feb. 12 2011, 21:52)
the idea that  "virgil" is in the lyrics is  nonsensical.

Hi Zilbanne.

Glad you said that - because I've never HEARD "virgil" in the lyrics. :)


Glad to  hear from you Wiga.

Part of the fun is the mystery of " Altered States "

However there doesn't seem to be anything reffering to a caveman or piltdown man in the Tubular bell II album notes?
...or am I wrong?

Of course we all compare " altered States " to the caveman section in Tubular Bells I .... still... could there be room for another interpretation....?

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Ugo Offline




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Posted: Feb. 13 2011, 17:32

@ ziibanne: the whole of Tubular Bells II is meant as a section-by-section copy of TB (1973). At the time, Mike O. said that he wanted to do the same thing as TB but with different notes - and he did. If you compare the secton of TB Part 2 commonly known as the Caveman section or Piltdown Man section with "Altered State", you will notice lots of things that are very similar, though not identical - TBII differs from TB not only in the melodies, but also in the overall style.

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wiga Offline




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Posted: Feb. 15 2011, 02:55

Quote (zilbanne @ Feb. 13 2011, 21:17)
Part of the fun is the mystery of " Altered States "

It's like a typical dialogue you get in families - centred around "where's mum?" Everyone's basically saying they don't know where she is, and one person's in there getting a bit irrate "how should I know", and a soothing female voice in there "don't know honey".... A very mysterious story line. And you never get to find out, "I don't know!!"

It's told like it's a dream as well - reminds me of Kate Bush "Waking the Witch" - snippets of voices. I wish there was more stuff around like this - more interesting to me than regular lyrics.


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Platinumpty Offline




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Posted: Aug. 28 2012, 10:57

Coming late to this discussion but I have to say I find it the single most excruciatingly embarrassing sequence on any Oldfield album and that includes "Amazing Grace", the chorus of Saved by a Bell, Lakme and the rawk horrors on Heaven's Open.  Nasty nasty nasty.

IMHO of course!
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GusFogle Offline




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Posted: Aug. 29 2012, 06:16

Quote (BornInTheUK @ Aug. 28 2012, 10:57)
Coming late to this discussion but I have to say I find it the single most excruciatingly embarrassing sequence on any Oldfield album and that includes "Amazing Grace", the chorus of Saved by a Bell, Lakme and the rawk horrors on Heaven's Open.  Nasty nasty nasty.

IMHO of course!

But it is intended as a joke, a very whimsical one at that. How could it be embarrassing?

I think "Shadow on the wall" is a lot more embarrassing.
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Platinumpty Offline




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Posted: Aug. 29 2012, 11:02

Quote (GusFogle @ Aug. 29 2012, 06:16)
Quote (BornInTheUK @ Aug. 28 2012, 10:57)
Coming late to this discussion but I have to say I find it the single most excruciatingly embarrassing sequence on any Oldfield album and that includes "Amazing Grace", the chorus of Saved by a Bell, Lakme and the rawk horrors on Heaven's Open.  Nasty nasty nasty.

IMHO of course!

But it is intended as a joke, a very whimsical one at that. How could it be embarrassing?

I think "Shadow on the wall" is a lot more embarrassing.

Hi Gus,

Humour in music is the only thing potentially more individual in terms of taste than beauty or music itself.  I have warmed to Janet Brown as Thatcher over the years (particularly the clog-dancing) but would still probably press pause if Altered States was playing and a friend walked in during the perplexing American cutesy kid voices.  Each to his own, I guess.
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Platinumpty Offline




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Posted: Aug. 29 2012, 11:04

Forgot to say I find Shadow on the Wall hilarious, albeit possibly not intentionally so!  Its just totally bonkers.  I can imagine it being used in a Reeves and Mortimer show.  "Oh no, here comes the SHADOW ON THE WALL!!!!"
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: Aug. 29 2012, 13:38

Quote (BornInTheUK @ Aug. 28 2012, 10:57)
Coming late to this discussion but I have to say I find it the single most excruciatingly embarrassing sequence on any Oldfield album and that includes "Amazing Grace", the chorus of Saved by a Bell, Lakme and the rawk horrors on Heaven's Open.  Nasty nasty nasty.

IMHO of course!

Agree 100%.  I can't listen to it. I'm not a big fan of the album but I can sit through most of it, but not "altered state". It's really hard to say exactly why, but to me it is just actuely embarrasing!

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Ugo Offline




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Posted: Aug. 29 2012, 20:37

@ lars & BornInTheUK: you guys have no (musical) sense of humour. :laugh: :D

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Platinumpty Offline




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Posted: Aug. 30 2012, 07:35

Humour and music go together like cookery and archery.
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GusFogle Offline




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Posted: Aug. 30 2012, 12:58

Quote (BornInTheUK @ Aug. 30 2012, 07:35)
Humour and music go together like cookery and archery.

Frank Zappa would STRONGLY disagree.

If sadness, anger, melancholy, etc. can be part of music then why not humor?
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zilbanne Offline




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Posted: Nov. 16 2012, 04:36

I haven't been here for quite awhile. I still find " Altered States " to be  singing about  demons. For heavens sake read "Changling " carefully and think about Mike's ties to  " The Exorcist ".  

" Altered States "  I find, is both touching and humorous.  Pardon to those who think otherwise but to me it's not embarassing at all.

 " Are you dat mummy? "...  " I don't think so! "

If you don't agree with me that fine. I respect your opinions. Truly I feel it's possible to miss something important though. :D
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Inkanta Offline




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Posted: Nov. 16 2012, 18:30

"Altered States" feels demonish to me, as well, and I haven't ever listened to it and thought, "oh...what a sense of humor that guy has." I find it intense, a battle between good and evil, and not embarrassing in the least if caught in traffic with the convertible top down (always my judge of "hmm...is this embarrassing??"). :D

Regarding "Shadow on the Wall," I thought it pertained to the Berlin Wall but in an interview Mike had indicated it was about the plight of the people of Poland. So in any case, it is about sadness, exasperation, abuse, and people in distress. Nothing very funny about that. http://tubular.net/discography/CrisesInterview.shtml

Of course humor is sprinkled throughout Mike's music, e.g., "Don Quixote," and even sarcasm, e.g. "On Horseback" (which is also humorous). I wouldn't have thought of OH as sarcastic, but a couple of years ago hearing about some of the escapades on Hergest Ridge from the guy who introduced Mike to horseback riding, I now think otherwise. He suggested that the "Hmrph...it's good to be on horseback" near the end of the song was stated sarcastically, if I heard him right. And...if you've ever had a horse runaway with you, step on you, get kicked in the ankle by the one next to you, unseat you, etc., "Yeah, it's great to be on horseback. Not." :)

Edited to add: Oh...those things (except the unseating) happened to me...not necessarily to Mike. :)


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