Lightning Bolt are known for their guerrilla-style live performances, where they typically play on the ground rather than a stage, with the crowd gathered around them. The band's sound is typically loud and aggressive, though the group cites composers Philip Glass and Sun Ra as compositional influences.
The band formed while Chippendale and Gibson attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, and Chippendale had heard about "a new kid who was a whiz on the bass guitar." The two formed Lightning Bolt, with Brian Chippendale on drums, Brian Gibson on bass guitar, and with Hisham Bharoocha on guitar and vocals joining the group after their first show. Bharoocha left the group in 1996 to continue with another RISD band that would eventually become Black Dice, and Chippendale took over vocal duties. The only officially-released music with Bharoocha was a track on the Repopulation Program compilation. For the first few years, Lightning Bolt was primarily an improvisational band, touring the United States for months at a time and "just playing". The concept of writing songs and recording an album didn't occur to the band until 1997, when Ben McOsker, founder of Load Records, approached the duo.
During these formative years, Chippendale and his freshman-year college roommate Matt Brinkman began to set up Fort Thunder, a disused warehouse space in the Olneyville district of Providence. The space eventually came to house a number of local avant-garde artists and musicians, including Brian Ralph as well as Lightning Bolt.
Bizarrozarro Land
Lightning Bolt Lyrics
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I'm trapped down here on bizarro land
Someone get my friends in Jupiter
Cause down here humans can't get stupider
In the song Bizarro Zarro Land by Lightning Bolt, the lyrics paint a picture of a parallel universe, a world that is the exact opposite of our own. The persona in the song is constantly moving, claiming to have been flying and being able to do superhuman feats. However, they find themselves stuck in this strange and ridiculous place called Bizarro Land, where everything seems upside down.
The persona's plea for their friends in Jupiter highlights the absurdity of the situation. While humans on Earth would typically ask for help from fellow humans, in this illogical place, the only chance of survival is to ask for the aid of extraterrestrial beings. The line "cause down here humans can't get stupider" adds to the overall irony and humor of the song.
Overall, the song explores the theme of being lost in an unfamiliar, bizarre world, where nothing seems to make sense. The lyrics are full of surreal imagery and metaphors, adding to the song's overall quirkiness and unique sound.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been flying, I've been superman
I've been feeling invincible and untouchable, like a superhero
I'm trapped down here on bizarro land
I feel stuck in a confusing and upside-down world where nothing makes sense
Someone get my friends in Jupiter
I wish I could reach out to someone who is far away and has a clearer perspective on things
Cause down here humans can't get stupider
Things are so absurd and ridiculous in this place that it seems impossible for people to become any dumber
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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