The band tour the U.S. frequently in a renovated vintage Green Tortoise bus, and their live performances have featured puppet shows, pseudo-scientific scholarly presentations, and performances by members of the Butoh group inkBoat. SGM's music has been categorized as anything from avant-prog to art rock to experimental metal to RIO (Rock In Opposition). Many reviewers have remarked that the group is altogether unclassifiable.
The band uses many homemade devices as instruments, such as the viking row-boat and the spring-nail guitar. Rathbun plays a stringed bass instrument of his own construction called The Log which uses piano strings and is perhaps 7 feet long; it is played with two sticks: one in the left hand generally used as a fret, another in the right hand striking the strings. Mellender's percussion instruments consist of restaurant kitchen equipment, trash can lids, and other "found" metal objects, in addition to traditional percussion instruments.
They've announced their imminent end, as their last concerts will be held early April around California. But 2011 will still see a new album, a movie and a live DVD.
THE CREATURE
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It stops at nothing to fill its need.
The people live in gruesome squalor,
So that the creature may grow taller.
Those with nothing have to bleed,
To help the creature spread its seed.
They learn to dine on fecal matter,
So that the creature may grow fatter.
Coming to destroy our homes.
And trolls who come with gun and knife,
To threaten our way of life.
The creature has enslaved our town,
But no one thinks to bring it down.
Provided with so much distraction,
The people can't be moved to action.
And when the people are all dead,
Still the creature needs its bread.
When we've been sucked completely dry,
The creature needs its food supply
(A parasite cannot survive unless its host remains alive.)
It has amassed such awesome wealth,
Maybe it can eat itself.
The lyrics to Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's song "The Creature" speak to a society that is willing to sacrifice everything for the growth and sustenance of an unseen and possibly imaginary creature. The creature is a metaphor for any parasitic force that demands sacrifice and servitude from those who cannot afford it. The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song – "There is a creature. It has to feed. It stops at nothing to fill its need." The creature is insatiable, and it demands that the people of the society sacrifice everything, including their morality and dignity, to keep it fed.
The second stanza describes the horrific conditions that the people are expected to live in so that the creature can thrive. The people are forced to live in "gruesome squalor" and "learn to dine on fecal matter" to fill the creature's need to grow fatter. The chorus warns of the creature's ability to manipulate the people through fear, proclaiming that "the Creature tells of evil gnomes, coming to destroy our homes, and trolls who come with gun and knife, to threaten our way of life."
The third stanza implies that even when the people have been used up and are dead, the creature will still need them to survive. The people are too distracted to see the disastrous effect that the creature's need is having on their society, and they are willing to sacrifice everything to keep it alive. The final line - "Maybe it can eat itself" - suggests that the society and its creature are trapped in a never-ending cycle of parasitic dependence that can only end in self-destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a creature. It has to feed.
There's a parasitic creature driven by its survival needs.
It stops at nothing to fill its need.
It doesn't care about the consequences of its actions as long as it gets its food.
The people live in gruesome squalor,
The people are living in miserable conditions.
So that the creature may grow taller.
The creature is consuming resources that could have been better used to improve people's conditions.
Those with nothing have to bleed,
The poorest bear the brunt of the creature's demands.
To help the creature spread its seed.
The people are exploited to help the creature reproduce.
They learn to dine on fecal matter,
The people are forced to eat undesirable food to conserve resources for the creature.
So that the creature may grow fatter.
The creature is greedily consuming resources without concern for the people's well-being.
The creature tells of evil gnomes,
The creature uses fear tactics to control the people and maintain its power.
Coming to destroy our homes.
The gnomes are a fictional threat created by the creature.
And trolls who come with gun and knife,
The creature perpetuates fear by suggesting that other enemies are poised to attack the people.
To threaten our way of life.
The creature claims to be protecting the people from imaginary threats while exploiting them for food.
The creature has enslaved our town,
The creature has taken over and exerted control over the people in the town.
But no one thinks to bring it down.
The people are either too afraid or too preoccupied to rebel or fight back against the creature's tyranny.
Provided with so much distraction,
The people are given entertainment or other distractions to keep them from noticing or caring about their own oppression.
The people can't be moved to action.
The people are complacent and docile, unable to take action against the creature.
And when the people are all dead,
The creature will continue to exist and need food even if it has killed off all the people in the town.
Still the creature needs its bread.
The creature will continue to consume resources to survive.
When we've been sucked completely dry,
The people will have nothing left to give but the creature will continue to demand more.
The creature needs its food supply
The creature must have a steady supply of food in order to survive.
It has amassed such awesome wealth,
The creature has gained great power and resources at the expense of the people.
Maybe it can eat itself.
The creature has consumed so much that it may ultimately destroy itself.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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