Experimentation in rock started emerging in the mid-1960s, thanks to developing recording technology, such as mixing consoles and multitracking's popularization. The Mothers of Invention featured a mix of orchestral instrumentation, quirky, satirical humor, avant-garde influences, and styles such as Jazz-Rock, Rhythm & Blues, and Psychedelic Rock. Though initially a Blues Rock act, Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band utilized unconventional composing processes, clusters of polyrhythms, and complex interplay. The Velvet Underground blended raw production, feedback, drones, drug culture-inspired deadpan vocals, and popularized the ostrich guitar tuning, while Silver Apples and The United States of America discarded guitars and utilized oscillators, keyboards, strings, and primitive synthesizers.
In the late 1960s, German social movements developed Krautrock in revolt against foreign commercial music. Bands such as Can, Amon Düül II, Faust, and NEU! incorporated electronic instrumentation, tape manipulation, and repetitive compositions. Meanwhile, some Western European groups, like Henry Cow and Univers Zéro, adopted more sophisticated influences from Avant-Garde Jazz, Modern Classical, and Frank Zappa's work, which resulted in the creation of Avant-Prog. Also notably, Magma developed Zeuhl, a style that utilized Jazz instrumentation, choirs, expressive vocals, and featured usage of an artificial language.
In the mid-1970s, Post-Punk emerged, adopting Punk Rock's DIY ethos but quickly separating sound-wise. Many bands from the initial wave integrated influences outside of rock and experimented with complex rhythms and intricate songwriting, with groups like Public Image Ltd, The Pop Group, and This Heat incorporating Dub, Funk, Free Jazz, and Industrial influences. In the late 1970s, the No Wave scene emerged in downtown New York, where acts such as DNA, Contortions, and Glenn Branca discarded melodicism and relished in dissonance, atonality, and skronk.
In the late 1980s and the 1990s, many Japanese groups morphed rock unto their liking, integrating various influences. Ruins developed Brutal Prog using raw production and dense usage of dissonance and uncommon time signatures. Boredoms combined volatile rhythmic sections, often utilizing numerous drummers, with glitchy, psychedelic post-production, while Ground-Zero incorporated heavy sample usage, turntables, omnichords, and traditional Japanese instruments. Though no particular movements emerged in the 2000s and 2010s, swaths of individual bands pushed the envelope.musical instruments.
Change
Deftones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Into a fly
I looked away
You're on fire
Yeah, I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
And you feel so alive
I have watched you change
I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
Yeah, I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
I look at the cross
Then I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I have watched you change
How you feel alive
You feel alive
You feel alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
You've changed
You've changed
You've changed
Into a fly
The lyrics of Deftones's song Change may seem confusing and dark at first. However, The song was written after Deftones frontman Chino Moreno's friend committed suicide. The song is about watching someone change so drastically and lose themselves to the point they no longer resemble the person they once were. In the opening verse, Chino describes watching the person transform into a fly, representing a significant change that takes away who they used to be. He watched the transformation, but when he looked away, the person was in trouble, representing how others often miss the signs of mental illness or suicidal tendencies until it's too late.
In the second verse, Chino talks about the aftermath of the change, where he took the person home and removed their wings before laughing. This reflects a sense of powerlessness and the inability to help someone in such an extreme situation. In the final verse, he looks at the cross, a Christian symbol of redemption and salvation, before giving the person a gun and being blown away. This represents his feeling of guilt and regret for not being able to help the person despite trying.
In summary, Change is a poignant song about the impact of suicide on loved ones and the guilt and powerlessness that comes with it. The transformation into a fly, removal of wings, and use of symbols such as the cross and the gun highlight the desperation and sense of lostness that lead to suicide.
Line by Line Meaning
I watched you change
I observed you go through a transformation
Into a fly
Metaphorically, you became trivial and insignificant
I looked away
I disengaged from the transformation I observed
You're on fire
You're consumed by emotion
Yeah, I watched a change in you
Indeed, I saw a noticeable transformation within you
It's like you never had wings
Metaphorically, you were never truly free before
And you feel so alive
You now experience a new level of freedom or vitality
I have watched you change
I have been paying attention to how you've grown or transformed
I took you home
Metaphorically, I brought you into my life
Set you on the glass
I put you on display for all to see
I pulled off your wings
I hindered your growth or progress
Then I laughed
I took pleasure in your pain or suffering
It's like you never had wings
Metaphorically, you're held back in life
I look at the cross
I contemplate the significance of faith or spirituality in life
Then I look away
I'm distracted or disinterested in spirituality
Give you the gun
I give up control or my life to you
Blow me away
Take me out of my misery, kill me
How you feel alive
I can sense your new-found vitality
You've changed
You're different than before
Into a fly
Metaphorically, you're insignificant or unimportant
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Abe Cunningham, Chi Cheng, Chino Camilo Moreno, Stephen Carpenter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Jenellllll
I watched you change
Into a fly
I looked away
You were on fire
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now, you feel so alive
I've watched you change
I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now, you feel so alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah
I look at the cross
Then I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now, you feel so alive
I've watched you change
Now, you feel alive
You feel alive
You feel alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah
You've changed
You've changed
You've changed
@eussii9195
i'm 17 and i've only found their music literally a week ago. lifes hard for me right now, and when I tell you this has already changed my life. crazy
update: my dad is abusive and i've finally left him and have moved in with my boyfriend; we met over deftones <3 so yea, deftones helped save me from my dad too, wow.
another edit: some people are saying this is fake, and that i’ve made it up, yes i had to have finished high school but i didn’t, i’ve had a hard life of sexual abuse, homelessness and loss. i’m not like others my age. i grew up listening to muse and linkin park but found deftones by myself while with my dad. i’m so glad so many of you have connected with what i said. but i assure you this is not fake. i’ve recently been diagnosed with BPD and anorexia too, so things haven’t gotten much easier. but i’m trying, don’t judge what you cannot see please. thank you.
@goticonorteno7359
"Change (In The House Of Flies)"
I've watched you change
Into a fly
I looked away
You were on fire
I watched a change
In you
It's like you never
Had wings
Now you feel
So Alive
I've watched you change
I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
I watched a change
In you
It's like you never
Had wings
Now you feel
So alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never
Had wings ahhh ahh ahhh
I look at the cross
Then I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away
I've watched a change
In you
It's like you never
Had wings
Now you feel
So Alive
I've watched you change.
Now you feel Alive
You Feel Alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never
Had wings ahhh ahh ahhh
@slowedaudiosvenus
Lyrics here:
I watched you change
Into a fly
I looked away
You're on fire
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
And you feel so alive
I have watched you change
I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I have watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
I look at the cross
And I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I have watched you change
And you feel alive
You feel alive
You feel alive
I have watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
Anh, ahah
You change
You change
You change
@fernandowong8838
"Change (In the House of Flies)"
I've watched you change
Into a fly
I looked away
You were on fire
I watched a change
In you
It's like you never
Had wings
Now you feel
So Alive
I've watched you change
I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
I watched a change
In you
It's like you never
Had wings
Now you feel
So alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never
Had wings ahhh ahh ahhh
I look at the cross
Then I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away
I've watched a change
In you
It's like you never
Had wings
Now you feel
So Alive
I've watched you change.
Now you feel Alive
You Feel Alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never
Had wings ahhh ahh ahhh
@nick_neverknowsbest
Lyrics:
I watched you change
Into a fly
I looked away
You were on fire
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now, you feel so alive
I've watched you change
I took you home
Set you on the glass
I pulled off your wings
Then I laughed
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now, you feel so alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah
I look at the cross
Then I look away
Give you the gun
Blow me away
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now, you feel so alive
I've watched you change
Now, you feel alive
You feel alive
You feel alive
I've watched you change
Now, you feel alive
You feel alive
You feel alive
I've watched you change
It's like you never had wings
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah, aah, aah
Aah, aah
You've changed
You've changed
You've changed
Into a fly
@deadroses19
The song is simply about watching a loved one (whether it be a romantic partner, friend, or family member) change negatively and how it's one of the most heartbreaking things you'll ever see in your life.
@emohuman9898
You described it well
@warriorrob1
Could be about yourself and you changing, that’s how I think of it…
@-._.-KRiS-._.-
Or being a 28 year old predator taking the wings off of a 17 year old, as in my experience.
@nightowl6393
Yes, I agree. This song reminds me of her.
@yuripiIIed
yeah it’s about drugs
@Osneedsmorenapalm
I love how this song is interpreted differently to everyone. People think it’s seductive, sad, etc. I love this song so much
@Wulfzz
I think it's about abuse. His abuse of a loved one. And the sadness and guilt he feels upon watching the fruits of his labour.
@BeersAndBeatsPDX
Going off the video it makes think of that feeling when the sun's coming up and everyone is strung out. The drugs are wearing off and the hangover is kicking in. It's not a fun feeling.
@SimbaTheGreat
It being seductive probably has something to do with Queen Of the Damned.