Home Video are Collin Ruffino and David Gross, transplants from the misunde… Read Full Bio ↴Home Video are Collin Ruffino and David Gross, transplants from the misunderstood landscape of New Orleans, now living in the brooding brownstones of Brooklyn, New York. Here they revel in a self-created world of references to Edward Gorey, Massive Attack, The Brothers Quay, Smashing Pumpkins, and a dusting of Chopin, references that they have been collecting for nearly ten years.

They connected in high school art class in 1997. Under the instruction of an eccentric painter, who claimed to have been raised in a Louisiana chateau where servants peeled grapes for him to eat, they spent hours drawing still lives of twisted vegetables and rendering the chiaroscuro of adolescent self portraits. Outside of art class, they made a short narrative video starring David, and directed by Collin, a collaborative set up that continues still and perhaps an influence for their band name.

At the time Collin wore all black, listened to Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins, and was in a band called The Great and Secret Show. David, a classical pianist in training and the son of two classical musicians, had been sheltered from the Top 40, or anything composed after 1900. It wasn't until Collin played him a cassette tape of The Great and Secret Show that David realized pop music had the potential to be as emotionally impacting as classical. Collin continued pulling him into the 20th century, introducing him to albums like Mezzanine, Dummy, and OK Computer. David started playing keyboards for the band.

College scattered the members of the Great and Secret Show, David in Boston studying music and philosophy, Collin in New York studying film, but they remained in touch and created music together during summer breaks. Once the distraction of higher education was out of the way, they reconvened with New York as home and soon discovered a new sound as their latest incarnation, Home Video. The first Home Video song came to them in the dead of winter, the blizzard of 2003. As the piling snow erased the landscape outside his window, David huddled over the warm vibrations of an analog synthesizer creating the simple loop that first inspired their minimalist sound. The fear and anxiety of New York's atmosphere at the time had eaten its way onto the pages of Collin's tattered notebooks and became their confessional style of lyrics. Underlined by a thumping, bass-rich beat, the pairing of the two worked well and the song evolved into "Melon," the first Home Video song created and the closing track on the album. Inspired by their new philosophy, other songs quickly followed and the band sent out demos.

Originally discovered by Warp Records, the label released Home Video's first two EPs in 2004, both packaged in sleeves illustrated by Collin's dark, Gorey-esque drawings. "That You Might", a 10" single, immediately picked up considerable attention in Britain from BBC Radio 1 and the NME, while the five song Citizen EP earned the band a feature in Rolling Stone. In 2006, New York based Defend Music released their debut full length, No Certain Night Or Morning. Grammy-nominated DJ Sasha picked two of the songs from this album to remix for his most recent release, Involver 2, which also included songs from Thom Yorke, Ladytron, M83, and Apparat. Home Video themselves have recently taken to the role of remixer, reworking songs for bands like Bear in Heaven, Wave Machines, Faunts, Bang Gang, and friends Naked Hearts.

As electronic-rock producers and performers, they record everything themselves, then adapt it live into a full on rock show with live drums and hypnotic visual projections. After sharing a bill in London at the start of Home Video's first European tour, Blonde Redhead were so impressed that they invited the band to support them for three weeks of shows in North America. Since then they have opened for such diverse acts as Justice, Yeasayer, Flying Lotus, Pinback, DJ Krush, Colder, and Radio 4. Taking advantage of Ruffino's film education, the band has also made several of their own music videos. The band's video for "I Can Make You Feel It" premiered on MTV2's Subterranean, and had over 200,000 views after being featured for a week on the front page of YouTube.com.

With their new album, The Automatic Process, the band layers samples, synthesizers, piano, guitar, and live drums to build an electro-tinted minimalist rock that drives steadily towards the sublime -- a spacious soundtrack evocative of a fractured dream.

Submarine
Home Video Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can't breath
I can't see enough
I want a revolution
It's too slow, the shifting weights
I want to know everything

Keep quiet, It will come
I can hear the rattle of the hull

Tear it up
Bring it down
I want to see it happening
Subtle fights, with little drama
I'm so bored, I'm going blind
Change you life, one by one
Water rushing through a canyon

Keep quiet, it will come
I can hear the rattle of the hull

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Home Video's "In a Submarine" portray a sense of frustration and restlessness. The singer expresses his desire for change and progress, but finds himself in a slow-moving vessel that feels suffocating. He repeats that he can't breathe, and he can't see enough, conveying a sense of being trapped and in need of something more. The line "I want a revolution" encapsulates this desire for upheaval and transformation.

The singer's frustration is further expressed in lines such as "It's too slow, the shifting weights" and "Subtle fights, with little drama". He seems to be stuck in a mundane routine that isn't satisfying him. However, he's also hopeful for change, as he declares "I want to see it happening" and "Change your life, one by one". The metaphor of "Water rushing through a canyon" also suggests that change can come powerfully and rapidly.

Throughout these lyrics, there's a sense of urgency and anticipation. The line "Keep quiet, it will come" suggests that the singer is waiting for something to happen, and can already hear the signs of it approaching. The repeated phrase "I can hear the rattle of the hull" emphasizes this, as though the singer is attuned to every move the vessel is making - perhaps waiting for it to crash, so that he can finally break free.

Line by Line Meaning

I can't breath
I feel suffocated or overwhelmed by my current situation.

I can't see enough
I am lacking clarity or understanding in my life.

I want a revolution
I desire significant change to occur in society or myself.

It's too slow, the shifting weights
Change is happening too slowly, and progress is not being made fast enough.

I want to know everything
I have a strong desire for knowledge and understanding of the world.

Keep quiet, It will come
Be patient and wait for change to occur naturally.

I can hear the rattle of the hull
I am aware of the turmoil or turbulence happening beneath the surface.

Tear it up
Destroy the current system or structure in order to create something new.

Bring it down
Destroy the current status quo or establishment.

I want to see it happening
I desire to witness change occurring in real time.

Subtle fights, with little drama
Small conflicts with minimal consequences or impact.