Growing up in Malibu, California, she began learning the violin at the age of four and left regular school five years later with the goal of becoming a world-class violinist; she practiced eight or nine hours a day and read a wide range of literature. Progressing to writing her own music, she studied under various teachers and went to Indiana University, which she left over issues regarding the relationship between classical music and the appearance of the performer. Through her own independent label Traitor Records, Autumn debuted with her classical album On a Day: Music for Violin & Continuo, followed by the release in 2003 of her album Enchant.
She appeared in singer Courtney Love's backing band on her 2004 America's Sweetheart tour and returned to Europe. She released the 2006 album Opheliac with the German label Trisol Music Group. In 2007, she released Laced/Unlaced; the re-release of On a Day... appeared as Laced with songs on the electric violin as Unlaced. She later left Trisol to join New York-based The End Records in 2009 and release Opheliac in the United States, where previously it had only been available as an import. Currently she is on tour to promote her newest album Fight Like A Girl. She played the role of Painted Doll in Darren Lynn Bousman's 2012 film The Devil's Carnival.
Rant 1
Emilie Autumn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mindless
Walking sex-drives
Hearing nothing
But their own words
Reverberating inside their heads
So loud
They think they fill up the world
Imaginationless prating slaves
Corrupt with idleness
Looking for a quick laugh
Arrogant
Feebleminded
Wankers
Thinking they’re profound
And attractively opinionated
Brilliance skimmed from the back of a book
No longer in print
Two-faced whoring lying expletives
Shaming their profession
Self-impressed non-entities
Taking up space
Using up air
Fucking up dreams
Beautyless
Soulless
Mindless
Walking sex-drives
Emilie Autumn's song Rant 1 is a scathing critique of modern society's obsession with superficiality and lack of depth. The opening lines describe people as "Soulless, mindless, walking sex-drives" who are so focused on their own words that they cannot hear anything else. The repetition of the words "soulless" and "mindless" emphasizes the emptiness of the people being described and highlights the lack of substance in their lives.
The lyrics go on to describe these people as "imaginationless prating slaves" who are corrupt with idleness, looking for a quick laugh and thinking they are profound and opinionated. The alliteration of "prating slaves" and "thinking they're profound" emphasizes the hollowness of their words and the emptiness of their thoughts.
Line by Line Meaning
Soulless
Devoid of soul or genuine emotion
Mindless
Lacking in intelligence or thought
Walking sex-drives
Driven solely by sexual desire and nothing else
Hearing nothing
Deaf to the world and its troubles
But their own words
Only focused on their own voices and opinions
Reverberating inside their heads
Echoing internally, with no real world impact
So loud
Believing their own voices to be louder and more important than they are
They think they fill up the world
Erroneously believing they are more important than they truly are
With their wisdom
With their supposed knowledge and insight
Imaginationless prating slaves
Individuals lacking in creativity or original thought, who mindlessly repeat what they have been told
Corrupt with idleness
Having a sense of moral decay due to lack of activity or productivity
Looking for a quick laugh
Seeking to amuse themselves without any regard for others
Arrogant
Proud and haughty, believing themselves to be above others
Feebleminded
Lacking in intelligence, or having a mental deficiency
Wankers
Indulging in self-gratifying behavior without concern for others
Thinking they’re profound
Believing themselves to be deep, insightful, and significant
And attractively opinionated
Holding strong opinions that they believe others find attractive or compelling
Brilliance skimmed from the back of a book
Pretending to be intelligent by simply regurgitating information they found in a book
No longer in print
Outdated and irrelevant
Two-faced whoring lying expletives
Frequently engaging in deceitful behavior, and using vulgar and offensive language to express themselves
Shaming their profession
Bringing discredit to their chosen field or line of work
Self-impressed non-entities
Individuals who have an inflated sense of self-importance, despite having no real significance
Taking up space
Existing without adding value or contributing anything useful
Using up air
Being alive and breathing, without contributing anything positive or worthwhile to the world
Fucking up dreams
Ruining the possibility of something great happening or coming into existence
Beautyless
Lacking in physical attractiveness or grace
Soulless
Devoid of genuine emotion or human feeling
Mindless
Lacking in intelligence or thought
Walking sex-drives
Driven solely by sexual desire and nothing else
Contributed by Cameron W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.