After years playing violin as a session musician with the likes of John Mellencamp, Indigo Girls and Bob Dylan, Germano embarked on a solo career in 1991 with the understated but occasionally brilliant On The Way Down From The Moon Palace on her own label, which led to a deal with Capitol, who released her second album. Although Happiness was a massive step up in terms of confidence and songwriting, troubles at the label led to her buying back the rights. In 1994 4AD released a re-sequenced and remixed version of Happiness with a new sleeve and a few different tracks (including a gloomy version of the formerly scintillating ‘... Dresses’).
She turned out to be not just a great musician (she plays most of the instruments: piano, guitar, percussion and tape effects, as well as her trademark violin) and a wittily melancholy if kooky songwriter (‘I Love A Snot’, indeed), but a phenomenal arranger whose innovation and breadth of expression is comparable to PJ Harvey at her tape-mangling best.
As her style developed, so the music’s potential commercial appeal increased without compromising its uniqueness. Bright kaleidoscopes during an otherwise dark time in 4AD’s history, the following three albums, Geek The Girl, Excerpts From A Love Circus and Slide all won critical acclaim, but sadly failed to reach the wide audience they deserved; Germano was dropped in 1998, and announced her retirement from the music business.
(In 1997, she also released a collaboration with Giant Sand and future members of Calexico under the name OP8 Featuring The Ilk Of Lisa Germano).
Retirement didn’t suit her, and she was soon out on tour again, sessioning for David Bowie and Neil Finn, before, in 2003, releasing the self-funded Lullaby For Liquid Pig on ArtistDIRECT imprint Ineffable. A return to the woozy, after-the-carnival soundworld of ...Love Circus, the album was made with help from collaborators Finn, Johnny Marr and Wendy Melvoin.
Label-less again after Ineffable dissolved, Swans mainstay and longtime Germano fan Michael Gira snapped her up for his Young God label, which in 2007 released In The Maybe World, a stripped-down but ultimately hopeful reflection on mortality inspired by the death of, well, a cat, but also the imagined death of her Father. Young God subsequently reissued Liquid Pig with an extra CD of live recordings and demos, whose between-song banter highlighted Germano’s unique and cat-slanted take on life and death.
In September 2009 the album Magic Neighbor was released, again on Young God Records.
She also works with Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer
Official site: www.lisagermano.com
From A Shell
Lisa Germano Lyrics
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And the world stands still, not a sound, not a sound.
There is love, there is love to be found.
In the worst way, in the worst way, in the worst way.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, it's the buzz.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, I wish I was.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, it's the most fun.
From a little shell at the bottom of the sea,
With the Earth and the Moon and the Sun above me,
But the world fell down with some people still around,
There is love, there is love to be found.
With the gods all gone and the souls making sounds,
In the worst way, in the worst way, in the worst way.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, it's the buzz.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, I wish I was.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, it's the most fun.
From a little shell at the bottom of the sea,
With the Earth and the Moon and the Sun around me,
There is love, there is love, there is love.
It's a buzz, it's a buzz, it's a buzz.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, I wish I was.
It's a buzz, it's a buzz, it's a buzz.
The lyrics to Lisa Germano's song "From A Shell" depict a world in chaos as the earth spins, people fall down and the world stands still in silence. However, amidst the chaos, there is still love to be found. The song talks of a little shell at the bottom of the sea, with the Earth, Moon, and Sun above, representing a small safe space in a chaotic world. The song talks about how even without the presence of gods, love can be found in the worst ways possible. The repeated phrase "It's the buzz" seems to describe a fleeting sense of fun or excitement that the singer wishes they had.
The lyrics seem to convey a sense of helplessness amidst the chaos of the world, but the emphasis on the presence of love seems to suggest that hope still exists. The phrase "in the worst way" is repeated to emphasize the terrible nature of the events taking place. The song is quite enigmatic and could be open to several interpretations.
Line by Line Meaning
And the Earth spins 'round while the people fall down,
As the world turns and life goes on, people struggle and suffer in their daily lives.
And the world stands still, not a sound, not a sound.
Despite the chaos and turmoil of everyday existence, the world remains untouched and unchanging.
There is love, there is love to be found.
Despite the trials and tribulations of life, love and connection are still possible and waiting to be discovered.
In the worst way, in the worst way, in the worst way.
However, finding that love may mean going through difficult and painful experiences.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, it's the buzz.
The thrill and excitement of life can sometimes overshadow the deeper, more meaningful aspects of existence.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, I wish I was.
The allure of excitement and distraction can be so powerful that we long to escape from our daily lives to experience it.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, it's the most fun.
Despite its superficiality, the thrill of excitement is still undeniably enjoyable and tempting.
From a little shell at the bottom of the sea,
In the midst of life's turmoil, the singer finds herself in a place of solitude and reflection.
With the Earth and the Moon and the Sun above me,
Despite feeling alone, the singer is still connected to the vastness of the universe and the natural world.
But the world fell down with some people still around,
Despite the grandness of existence, the chaos and suffering of life is still present and affecting those around us.
With the gods all gone and the souls making sounds,
In the face of hardship and loss, the singer feels disconnected from any greater spiritual or cosmic forces.
There is love, there is love to be found.
Despite this despair, the possibility of finding love and connection remains.
It's a buzz, it's a buzz, it's a buzz.
Ultimately, life is a cycle of excitement and pain, and it is up to us to find meaning and love within that cycle.
It's the buzz, it's the buzz, I wish I was.
Yet the allure of excitement and distraction remains strong, and the singer longs to escape into it.
It's a buzz, it's a buzz, it's a buzz.
Despite its superficiality, the excitement and thrill of life remains a constant temptation and source of fascination.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LISA GERMANO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind