Now, with July 4th right around the corner, I could stop there. I’d have a perfectly good PSA, the judge would be satisfied and I would be one step closer to having that unfortunate Easter Sunday incident expunged from my record. But I have a reason for telling you this. As part of Ken’s physical therapy, he sat down at a piano for the first time in his life and learned to play. Today, Ken’s a pretty damn good barrelhouse player, despite the fact that he has a very unorthodox style and can only play in C, owing to those missing fingers. And go figure, Django Reinhardt, Tony Iommi and Jerry Garcia all overcame similar challenges by approaching their instruments differently.
I have no idea if Marco Mahler has all his appendages (I may actually be a tad disappointed if he does), but he’s clearly doing the guitar thing a little differently than the majority of the singer-songwriter flock. A sculptor by trade, I will leave the “guitar as paintbrush” metaphors to Adrian Belew and simply say Mahler hears the world a little differently than you or I. On June 29th, he will release Laptop Campfire Speed , the next step in his ongoing process of rethinking (or is that unthinking?) guitar. His 2007 debut, Design In Quick Rotation , was the work of a man with a singular, perhaps obsessive, vision, and may be the best record you’ve never heard from that year. If you’re not prepared to take my word for it, take advantage of Mahler’s generosity and join his weekly free song club, which doles out free alternate and demo versions of songs from the new record each week.
I’m not sure if calling his music math-folk is accurate, but Marco Mahler is what I imagine a collaboration of Nick Drake, Fugazi and Kraftwerk on Unplugged would sound like. Rarely have such complex and contrarian melodies united with such deceptive simplicity. Eschewing anything as pedestrian as a chord, Mahler’s guitars bubble, buzz and briefly dance at the edge of the frame before drifting off into the corners of your consciousness. Focus on any one instrument, any one riff, and you may wonder if the man has all of his faculties, but step back and the effect is often breathtaking. Add his impressionistic lyrics, rarely delivered above a whisper, and Laptop Campfire Speed is one of those rare and wonderful releases capable of cutting through the noise by hardly making a sound. Very highly recommended.
- My Old Kentucky Blog (June 22 2010)
Orange Chinese Car
Marco Mahler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a green chinese beer
I remember you
Swimming in concrete
You were trying to look so neat
Flip my hand and listen tightly
To people's breath nightly
It's time to get back to it
Smog dogs running
Smog dogs in the fog
Like a confused groundhog
They just fill up blogs
The lyrics of Marco Mahler's song Orange Chinese Car talk about the singer's memories of someone swimming in concrete, trying to look neat, and the presence of an orange Chinese car and green Chinese beer. The first two lines give us the idea that the song is set in China, with the car and beer being distinctly Chinese. Swimming in concrete is a peculiar image that seems to reflect the struggles of living in a highly urbanized environment, as if the person is trying to make the best of things despite their surroundings.
The next lines seem to indicate a desire to listen to people's breath at night, possibly indicating a desire for intimacy and connection amidst the noise and confusion of urban life. The singer then encourages themselves or someone else to get back to something, which is left open to interpretation. Maybe they want to return to a simpler time, to reconnect with their roots, or to reconnect with people they have lost touch with. The song's final lines describe "smog dogs" running in the fog, filling up blogs. This seems to be a commentary on the prevalence of pollution and the harmful effects it has on the environment and people's health, with the "smog dogs" symbolizing both the people affected by it and the entities making it happen.
Overall, the song Orange Chinese Car is a contemplative piece that reflects on the complexities of modern urban life, the desire for connection and intimacy, and the damaging effects of pollution. Its lyrics encourage listeners to reflect on their own experiences and the ways in which they are affected by their surroundings.
Line by Line Meaning
It's an orange chinese car
I see a car that is orange and made in China
And a green chinese beer
There is also beer that is green and made in China
I remember you
I have a memory of you in my mind
Swimming in concrete
You were attempting to navigate through a space that is covered in concrete
You were trying to look so neat
You made an effort to maintain a clean and tidy appearance
Flip my hand and listen tightly
I move my hand and pay close attention to the sounds around me
To people's breath nightly
I hear the sound of people exhaling during the night
You can bet on it
I am confident in what I am saying
It's time to get back to it
It is now necessary to return to the task at hand
Smog dogs running
There are dogs that are visible through the smog and they are moving
Smog dogs in the fog
The dogs are in a misty and polluted air
Like a confused groundhog
They are like small animals that are disorientated
They just fill up blogs
They are the inspiration for online articles and posts
Contributed by Arianna J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.