The band was formed by Roger Miller (guitar), Clint Conley (bass), Peter Prescott (drums) and Martin Swope (tape manipulator/sound engineer). Miller, Conley and Prescott share singing and songwriting duties. Like many of their post-punk contemporaries, Mission of Burma's efforts are largely concerned with extending punk's original vocabulary without losing its essential rebellious spirit. Using rapid shifts in dynamics, unconventional time signatures and chord progressions along with tape effects, Mission of Burma challenges the prevailing idioms of punk while attempting to retain its power and immediacy.
In early years the band's audience was limited to the Boston area, with all their recordings released on the small Boston-based record label Ace of Hearts. Despite initial success, Mission of Burma disbanded in 1983 due to Miller's development of tinnitus caused by the volume of the band's live performances. The band released only one album in its original form, Vs.. Mission of Burma reformed in 2002, with Bob Weston replacing Swope, and has since recorded two more albums, ONoffON and The Obliterati.
Their wall-of-noise musical sound extended the vocabulary of punk while continuing to hold clear its sense of power and abandon. They used a number of tape effects, different chord progressions, and time shifts to highlight their formal training in music. Not only that but they are seen now as a highly influential band to both post-punk and experimental music to come after; many bands cite Burma as an inspiration, including Nirvana, Superchunk, Creed, The Grifters, R.E.M. (who regularly covered "Academy Fight Song" on their Green tour), Sonic Youth, Throwing Muses, Yo La Tengo, Soul Asylum, Pixies, Sugar, Catherine Wheel, Guided by Voices, Graham Coxon and Moby - the last two of which have covered ""That's When I Reach For My Revolver."
The band were due to tour in 1980 with Joy Division but the suicide of Ian Curtis, Joy Division's singer, canceled the tour. In 1983, after releasing their only full-length studio record Vs., the group disbanded due to Miller's worsening tinnitus.
The band found increasing relevance throughout the 90s, culminating in the publication of Michael Azzerad's essays Our Band Could Be Your Life which featured Mission of Burma. In 2002, they reunited and began playing reunion shows with Bob Weston of Shellac (and formerly Prescott's Volcano Suns bandmate) replacing Swope at the mixing board and tape manipulation. In an interview Miller relates that "when we approached Bob Weston to fill Martin's position, we told him he could use current digital technology which accomplishes Martin's antics in an easier fashion. However, Bob opted for maintaining the original integrity, and uses a tape deck."
A new album, ONoffON, was produced in 2004 by Weston with Rick Harte and the band, and released by Matador Records.
In 2009 the band recorded 14 tracks for their fourth full-length studio album, The Sound The Speed The Light. Matador released a two non-album songs on a 7″ single in August and the full album in October of that year.
In 2012 Mission of Burma parted ways with Matador and recorded their fifth full-length album, "Unsound", for Fire Records. The album saw release in July 2012, preceded by the single "Dust Devil".
In a 2019 Facebook post, it was revealed that the band has no plans to make further albums. As of June 2020, the band was officially finished.
See also:
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Volcano Suns
Kustomized
The Peer Group
Consonant
This is Not A Photograph
Mission of Burma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(This is not a photograph)
And these are not the Elysian Fields
(This is not a photograph)
This is not a bigot's head - no
(This is not a photograph)
This is just a perpendicular line to the grain
(This is not a photograph)
This wants to be outside the cage of the age
(This is not a photograph)
This is not a bigot's leg
(This is not a photograph)
(This is not a photograph)
(This is not a photograph)
...photograph
...photograph
...photograph
...photograph
...photograph
The lyrics of Mission of Burma's song "This is Not A Photograph" can be interpreted in many ways, but it mainly talks about the fact that what we perceive to be real and true may not be entirely so. The song's opening lines, "This is not a photograph," indicate that we shouldn't take things at face value, even if they appear that way. The following lines, "This is not the Elysian Fields," suggest that our ideas of paradise and perfect places may not actually exist. The repetition of "This is not a photograph" is reminiscent of a mantra, as if the band is trying to convince the listener that what they're hearing is indeed not what they think it is.
The line "This is not a bigot's head" may refer to the fact that prejudices and discrimination are not inherent qualities of individuals but rather taught behaviors. The repetition of "This is not a photograph" after each line in the refrain might work as a reminder that what people think they see often tends to be preconceptions or feelings, rather than facts or reality. The lines "This wants to be outside the cage of the age" suggest a yearning for something beyond today's current state of affairs, an interpretation that's bolstered by the final refrain, which fizzles out from a series of repeated "photographs."
Line by Line Meaning
This is not a photograph
The subject matter here does not simply revolve around images.
And these are not the Elysian Fields
The surroundings depicted are not some idyllic, heavenly location.
This is not a bigot's head - no
There is no sense of hatred or prejudice attached to the object of focus here.
This is just a perpendicular line to the grain
This is nothing but a perpendicular line amidst the grains, which is not an easy thing to notice.
This wants to be outside the cage of the age
The line seems to be breaking free of the limitations of the present era.
This is not a bigot's leg
Again reiterating that there is no bigotry or prejudice involved here.
...photograph
The repetition of the phrase emphasizes that this is not a photograph, but something more complex and deeper than that.
...photograph
...photograph
...photograph
...photograph
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind