Kristin Hersh spent more than a decade previously playing with Throwing Muses, releasing several solo albums as well. Her solo tours in the late 1990s and early 2000s focused on acoustic guitar playing. In 2003, she launched the more electric guitar-oriented 50 Foot Wave.
The band was designed as a power trio, with a lineup including former Chalk FarM drummer Rob Ahlers and Throwing Muses bassist Bernard Georges. Hersh contributes guitar, lyrics, and vocals to this project. The band's first live performance was recorded in Burbank in October 2003 and released on a very limited basis as an official bootleg. Among other live appearances internationally in 2004, 50 Foot Wave performed a month-long residency of shows in January that year at the Silverlake Lounge, while the group was based in the Los Angeles area. The group's self-titled studio mini-album was co-released in March 2004 by the band's ThrowingMusic label and 4AD Records.
Hersh has described 50 Foot Wave's music as "having a lot of math in it," while also calling it less emotionally and musically "tangled" than some of her past Throwing Muses work. Others have described some of the new songs as having "confrontational" lyrics.
In March 2005, the group released its long-planned, full-length album, Golden Ocean, on ThrowingMusic, in partnership with 4AD.
The group toured Europe and the United States in 2005, while Hersh simultaneously continued her solo concerts in alternating parts of the year.
In December 2005, the band released a new EP called Free Music! available via free FLAC and mp3 downloads at their website and several download partner sites. The downloads reserved some rights though Creative Commons licenses.
In December 2008, the band released their new EP Power + Light as a stream. In early March 2009, the band released all their previous albums along with a selection of live tracks, an Instrumental EP and the upcoming Power+Light album for download at their website. As before the tracks were available in FLAC and mp3 format and the band reserved some rights though Creative Commons licenses.
Animal
50 Foot Wave Lyrics
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And you flip somebody off
See, this is anarchy
What did I do
To get this from you?
And your Tourette's
You and your static
You animal, you animal
Can you cry salty tears?
Can you?
Jello on toothpicks, drinking Tang
Thanking Jesus for their Rice Krispies
What did I do
To get this from you?
And your Tourette's
You and your static
You animal, you animal
Can you cry salty tears?
Can you?
You animal, you animal
Can you dry salty tears?
Can you?
The lyrics to "Animal" by 50 Foot Wave seem to capture a feeling of chaos and frustration. The first two lines mention a road and someone flipping somebody off, which sets the tone for the idea that everything seems to be a bit uncontrollable and disordered. The next line includes the word "anarchy," which reinforces this idea. The chorus is a repetition of the phrase "you animal," which could be seen as a way of expressing anger or exasperation at someone, possibly the person the singer of the song is speaking to. The line "Can you cry salty tears?" adds to this, as if they are questioning whether this person is capable of showing any sort of emotion or empathy.
The following verse includes the lines "Jello on toothpicks, drinking Tang / Thanking Jesus for their Rice Krispies." This could be interpreted as being sarcastic, as if the singer is commenting on the ridiculousness of these actions in the face of the chaos around them. The second chorus repeats the same lines as the first, further emphasizing the frustration the singer is feeling.
Overall, the lyrics of "Animal" convey a sense of disorder and frustration with the situation around the singer. The repeated phrase "you animal" emphasizes this frustration and anger at someone, possibly someone who is not responding appropriately to the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
The road spits out a cross
As you drive along the road, you encounter a cross that abruptly emerges in your path.
And you flip somebody off
You express your frustration or anger towards another person by making an obscene gesture with your hand.
See, this is anarchy
This behavior embodies the principles of anarchy - a society without government, control or authority where actions are driven by one's own impulses and desires.
What did I do
To get this from you?
You are confused and questioning what you did to deserve the negative reaction from the other person.
And your Tourette's
You and your static
You are frustrated with the other person's unpredictable and erratic behavior and communication.
You animal, you animal
Can you cry salty tears?
Can you?
You are likening the other person to an animal, questioning their ability to express human emotions such as crying.
Jello on toothpicks, drinking Tang
Thanking Jesus for their Rice Krispies
The scene described is one of kitschy, suburban Americana where people engage in childish or nostalgic behavior and justify it through religious belief.
You animal, you animal
Can you cry salty tears?
Can you?
You repeat the refrain, emphasizing your question of whether the other person is truly capable of human emotions.
Contributed by Mackenzie M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.