"Clem Snide" is a character in several novels by William S. Burroughs, including Naked Lunch, The Ticket That Exploded, and Exterminator!. The band formed in 1991, when Barzelay wanted an outlet for his songwriting, but separated in 1994 after releasing a couple of 7" singles. A few years later, Barzelay met back up with Glasser and began writing songs again, performing under the name Fruit Key. After adding a bassist and drummer, they reclaimed the name Clem Snide, recorded songs, continued performing, and, in 1998, issued their first album, You Were a Diamond (produced by Adam Lasus) on Tractor Beam Records. This album received some short-term major label attention, enough for Clem Snide to release their second album, Your Favorite Music, on Sire Records, before being dropped prior to the album's release.
In 2001, Clem Snide released the album The Ghost of Fashion, which received some extra press due to the song "Moment in the Sun" being featured as the theme song for the second season of the NBC program Ed, after the show lost the rights to the Foo Fighters' "Next Year". Fans were allegedly distraught by the change, and Ed went back to the Foo Fighters for the third season; "Moment in the Sun" continued to be used as the theme song outside the U.S.
At this time, then-bassist Jeff Marshall left the band citing the touring schedule, as the band had performed a number of world tours in support of Fashion. He did, however, stay with the band to help record their fourth album, Soft Spot.
Clem Snide released their fifth album in 2005, End of Love, and in February 2006 Barzelay released his first solo album, Bitter Honey, on spinART Records. Barzelay' s latest solo record, Lose Big was released on June 17th 2008, on 429 Records. Barzelay confirmed that the band broke up during the proceedings, and that another record was completed around the same time, the newer recording set to be released first.
A live, tour-only, CD is also planned in conjunction with a fall tour by Barzelay.
In 2008, Eef Barzelay announced that Clem Snide has reformed and will release a full-length; "Hungry Bird" as well as an EP entitled "I Need You Now". They will support these releases with a tour.
Lights
Clem Snide Lyrics
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The gold that we found buried in her teeth
For wigs her hair was sold
To drunken soldiers, stumbling down the street
Let us burn the light
And all that's good and right
Inside our hearts
The chemicals that caught
The rainbow colored shapes to fill our eyes
Made powder from her bones
Dissolving it with sugar as prescribed
Let us burn the light
And all that's good and right
Inside our hearts
With victory declared
Gently spread her feathers on the wall
Then dosing in the sleigh
We woke to see the stadium at dawn
Let us burn the light
And all that's good and right
Inside our hearts
We melted down the gold
The gold she wore when she had been a wife
Her secrets then were told
By drunken poets, tired of their lives
The lyrics of Clem Snide's song "Lights" create a disturbing and surreal image of a group of people who are engaged in a grotesque and macabre ritual. The first verse describes how they have found gold that was buried in someone's teeth, and after melting it down, they have sold the hair of the same person to drunken soldiers. The second verse talks about how they have created powder from the bones of the same person, dissolving it with sugar, and the chemicals used have created a rainbow of colors in their eyes. The chorus of the song asks to burn the light (which could be interpreted as destroying the evidence of their actions), and all that's good and right inside their hearts.
The third verse describes how they have displayed feathers on the wall after victoriously achieving something (possibly a reference to a war or a battle). The final verse describes the gold that had been worn by the person when they had been married, and how their secrets had been told by drunken poets tired of their lives. The song overall creates a sense of unease and disgust, as the actions described are deeply disturbing.
Line by Line Meaning
We melted down the gold
We destroyed everything good and pure
The gold that we found buried in her teeth
The only valuable things were taken from her, even her teeth
For wigs her hair was sold
Her hair was sold for profit, taken without regard for her dignity
To drunken soldiers, stumbling down the street
Her hair was used to entertain and please men who had no respect for her
Let us burn the light
Let us destroy everything good
And all that's good and right
Let us destroy any good in the world and leave nothing but darkness
Inside our hearts
Within ourselves
The chemicals that caught
The drugs that we took
The rainbow colored shapes to fill our eyes
The illusions that we used to distract ourselves
Made powder from her bones
We ground up her bones (likely metaphorically) to create something we could use to distract ourselves
Dissolving it with sugar as prescribed
We further masked our problems with substances that made us feel good temporarily
With victory declared
Having achieved our goal
Gently spread her feathers on the wall
Claiming victory over someone weaker than us, like displaying a defeated animal's feathers
Then dosing in the sleigh
Then immersing ourselves in the luxurious life
We woke to see the stadium at dawn
We lived in a bubble of privilege and entertainment, ignorant of the real world outside
Her secrets then were told
Her innermost thoughts and feelings were exposed
By drunken poets, tired of their lives
By men who had wasted their own potential and were now fascinated by someone else's pain
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EEF BARZELAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind