In a career spanning around 30 years the group has undergone multiple changes in line-up, sound and philosophy. Beginning as a dada ‘no-core’ noise-punk outfit, transmuting into psychedelic krautrockers, their more recent records have been largely based around repetitive minimalism, ambient music, and tribal drumming, most recently appearing in a radically stripped down set-up featuring three drummers with singer Eye making interesting noises over the top.
The band has a vast and sometimes confusing discography. Many band members have rotated through the group over the years, often using a number of various stage names. Singer Yamantaka Eye is the closest the band has to a frontman; his style includes a range of baffling screams, babbling, electronic effects, and very heavy post-production. Drummer/singer/trumpeter Yoshimi P-We has also featured on most Boredoms recordings.
The group’s members have all taken part in myriad side-projects (Seiichi Yamamoto’s Rovo, Eye’s work with John Zorn and Yoshimi P-We’s OOIOO being the most notable) and the group itself divides it’s releases between ‘official’ Boredoms records and an experimental ‘Super Roots’ Series. Group members also soundtracked the notorious Miike film, "Ichi the Killer", using the name "Karera Musication". All of this makes a complete Boredoms discography nigh-on impossible. The one constant throughout is their virtually unclassifiable music and infectious sense of joy.
Boredoms were formed in early 1986 by Yamantaka Eye, who at the time acted as front man for the infamous and highly controversial dada-influenced noise/performance art act Hanatarash, locally notorious for its extremely dangerous live shows consisting entirely of on-stage destruction and complete disregard for the audience's safety (Live shows featured power-tools, industrial diggers, no-holds barred gymnastics and much yelping and screaming). The insane antics of Hanatarash would later be highly influential on the earliest incarnation of Boredoms, which was formed by the remaining members of a band Eye started with Hanatarash drummer Ikuo Taketani, as well as guitarist Tabata Mitsuru (known as Tabata Mara), bassist Hosoi Hisato, and vocalist Makki Sasarato, called Acid Makki & Combi and Zombie. The band's sound was characterized by violent, noisy punk rock/No Wave thrashings. They recorded a single track, "U.S.A.", for a compilation tape. Shortly after the release of their first song, Taketani was replaced on drums by Yoshikawa Toyohito, a friend of Eye's. The band officially changed their name to Boredoms after Hira replaced Hosoi on bass, and Sasarato left the band due to creative differences. The band's name comes from the Buzzcocks song "Boredom".
With the band finally reaching a level of stability, Eye and Tabata recorded their first official EP, Anal by Anal, in mid-1986. In early 1987, Tabata left the group to later join Zeni Geva and was replaced by Seiichi Yamamoto as guitar player. In March of 1988, the band released its first full-length, Osorezan no Stooges Kyo. Due to unhappiness over Yoshikawa's drumming, Yoshimi P-We from Eye's Hanatarash-related project UFO or Die was asked to serve as drummer, becoming the first female member of the band, with Yoshikawa switching to general percussion. Shortly after the change Yoshikawa left the group, to be replaced by Chew Hasegawa (now of Japanese funeral doom band Corrupted) and then by Kazuya Nishimura, known by his stage name Atari. The band's sound from this period was marked by harsh, dissonant punk edited extensively by Eye in the studio, citing Sonic Youth and Funkadelic as influences, among others. This style was seen by some as "pointlessly abrasive" without any underlying motive, making Boredoms nihlistic absolute music, according to some critics; however, the strangeness of the record increased the band's popularity in the musical underground.
Their absurdist, scatalogical obsessions got them lumped together US bands such as The Butthole Surfers (the Surfers’ Mark Kramer released the almighty ‘Soul Discharge’ on his Shimmy Disc Label) but in truth, Boredoms’ sound had as much in common at this stage with free jazz and improvisation as anything coming from the American alternative rock scene. They were aggressive, lo-fi and utterly spontaneous - the group changing pitch, volume, and tempo several times in the space of a minute while Eye burbled like a Tasmanian Devil on diet pills. Live shows were marked by an even freer approach, bizarre costumes and much hurtling about the stage.
With the endorsement of the noise-rock aristocracy (Sonic Youth), Boredoms inexplicably found themselves signed to Warner Bros - releasing two of the most uncompromising (and best!) cds ever put out by a major label. “Chocolate Synthesizer” and “Pop Tatari” blend hip-hop, noise, free jazz, speed-punk, funk, reggae and gagaku into a mind-boggling storm of extreme silliness. We shall never see their like again…....
"Super Roots 5" (1995) is seen by some as the pivotal "new" Boredoms sound cd. On paper, the prospect of an hour-long blast of white noise seems very much in keeping with their roots - but in practice Super Roots 5 is much warmer - a sort of psychedelic womb of sound, throbbing and expanding exponentially. It's still a raw and confrontational record, but it hints at a new space-rock direction.
Their subsequent releases - “Super æ" and “Vision Creation Newsun”, are slightly more approachable - if arguably, a little less inventive. By the time of the release of “Vision”, the group’s dissonant side has almost completely been expunged in favour of a a trance-rock sound that is obviously heavily influenced by 70’s German groups such as Can and Neu!.
Both albums also see the emergence of a new spiritual obsessions - particularly with the Sun and water. These obsessions possibly have their roots in Eye's family's religious affiliation with the Oomoto Shinto sect. Around this time the number '7' crops up again and again, both in song titles and in the music itself - again this can be linked to Eye's own private mythology, something he's described as "DNA".
In recent years their releases have been sporadic, though the group has toured extensively in their ‘V∞redoms’ incarnation. Eye suggests that the V∞redoms concept derives from his DJing experience, the “V” representing a needle dropping into an infinite (“∞”) groove.
The emphasis on rhythm is retained from their late-nineties albums, but the krautrock, motorik pulse has been replaced with an orchestrated, ritualistic, tribal three-way dialogue between drummers. t Super Roots 9 ('Livewe!') features a Christmas concert in which the group was augmented by a choir, chanting fragments from work by minimalist composers, Rhys Chatham and Jon Gibson, over a typical V∞redoms drum riot.
Even though some fans feel the group lost an essential element with the departure of guitarist, Seiichi Yamamoto, they show no signs of abandoning their relentlessly experimental journey. The V∞redoms drum rocket found it’s apogee in a New York live performance in which 77 drummers joined Eye to create “Boadrum 77”.
Eye has also started to perform with a Seven-necked guitar.
Up
Boredoms Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I sit myself in the same position every day
I list my lives
I watch them count down as I waste them all away
It's such a lonely feeling
Such a lonely feeling
So break your back
Rising up into the clouds and down beneath the cracks
Until I see you on your hands and knees crawling back
It's such a lonely feeling
Such a lonely feeling
Half-baked you roam the
Nights like they are your
Own, all the streets are
Vibrant and coloured
Oh how you miss the
Days when your friends were
All out
Oh it's such a lonely feeling
I'm not alone
In this feeling
The ground it is heaving
I'm old but I'm breathing
I'm dead but
I'm not alone
In this feeling
The ground it is heaving
I'm old but I'm breathing
I'm dead but
Half baked you roam
Half baked you roam the streets
You call your home
You call your home your
Half baked you roam
Half baked you roam the streets
You call your home
You call your home your
Half baked
I can tell you've been drinking again
I can tell that you put down the pen
And picked up some bad habits
Half baked
I can tell you're feeling the strain
I can tell that you put down the pen
And picked up some bad habits
Half baked you roam
Half baked you roam the streets
You call your home
You call your home your
The lyrics of "Up" by Boredoms convey a sense of loneliness and unfulfillment in life. The first verse describes the singer's routine and repetition, sitting in the same position every day, feeling like their lives are slowly slipping away. The repetition of the phrase "It's such a lonely feeling" emphasizes the emotional isolation and dissatisfaction the singer experiences.
The second verse suggests a desire for change and escape from this monotonous existence. The line "So break your back, rising up into the clouds and down beneath the cracks" suggests a need for a drastic shift, perhaps a metaphorical rebirth or transformation. The singer longs for a return of someone they have lost, counting the days until they can be reunited.
The third verse introduces the concept of being "half-baked," implying that the singer is not fully developed or complete. They wander the streets, reminiscing about the vibrant and colorful days when they had a vibrant social life and close friends. The repetition of "Oh it's such a lonely feeling" emphasizes their yearning for the past and the sense of isolation they currently feel.
The chorus reiterates the theme of loneliness but also acknowledges that the singer is not alone in feeling this way. Despite feeling old or dead inside, they are still breathing and sharing this common emotional experience with others. The line "The ground it is heaving" suggests that beneath the surface, there is a collective struggle and unrest.
The final verse suggests a recognition of self-destructive habits, such as drinking, and the consequences they have on the singer's emotional state. The repetition of "Half baked you roam the streets" suggests a lack of direction or purpose in their life, with their home becoming a symbol of their fragmented state of being.
Overall, "Up" by Boredoms explores themes of loneliness, yearning for change, and the consequences of self-destructive behavior. It captures a sense of emotional disconnection and the longing for something more meaningful and fulfilling in life.
Line by Line Meaning
I bide my time
I patiently wait for something to happen
I sit myself in the same position every day
I find comfort in routines and don't like change
I list my lives
I keep track of the different roles or identities I have
I watch them count down as I waste them all away
I see my opportunities diminishing as I waste them without taking action
It's such a lonely feeling
I feel isolated and alone
So break your back
Exert yourself to the point of exhaustion
Rising up into the clouds and down beneath the cracks
Striving for success but also experiencing setbacks and failures
I'll count the days
I will eagerly await the time
Until I see you on your hands and knees crawling back
I expect you to return humbly and in need of forgiveness
Half-baked you roam the nights like they are your own
You wander aimlessly through the night without a clear purpose or direction
All the streets are vibrant and coloured
The streets are lively and full of energy
Oh how you miss the days when your friends were all out
You long for the times when you were surrounded by friends and companionship
I'm not alone in this feeling
I know that others share the same sense of loneliness
The ground it is heaving
There is a significant upheaval or turmoil happening
I'm old but I'm breathing
Despite my age, I am still alive and have vitality
I'm dead but
Metaphorically speaking, I feel lifeless and empty
Half baked you roam
You wander aimlessly without direction or purpose
You call your home
You consider the streets as your place of belonging
I can tell you've been drinking again
I can perceive that you have been consuming alcohol once more
I can tell that you put down the pen
I notice that you have stopped writing or expressing yourself
And picked up some bad habits
You have acquired negative behaviors or addictions
I can tell you're feeling the strain
I can sense that you are experiencing stress or pressure
Half baked you roam the streets
You wander aimlessly through the streets without direction or purpose
You call your home your
You identify the streets as your place of belonging
Half baked
Metaphorically speaking, you are incomplete or lacking in substance
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Daniel Rimmer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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