1) An American indie roc… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) An American indie rock and hip hop band
2) A British folk-pop band
1) A trio of Cincinnati-born men who fiddle with skins, strings, bells and microphones and present their findings to the listening public. Singer Yoni Wolf grew up the second son to an art book editor and a rabbi. He got his start recording bad poems and sloppy beats on the family synagogue’s 4-track. In junior high he discovered hip-hop. At art school, he learned how to drop out. Yoni’s brother Josiah played drums at Rabbi Wolf’s worship service as a kid, became a band geek as a teen, and fell in love with Thelonious Monk on his way to study music at University of Cincinnati. Doug McDiarmid would eventually get expelled from that same school for carrying a stun gun, but first he was raised by two French teachers and taught piano while in kindergarten. He also went to high school with the Wolfs, where he played in Steve Miller cover bands.
In various permutations together and with other now-notables (i.e. Doseone, Odd Nosdam, Mr. Dibbs, Atmosphere’s Slug), these three created and/or contributed to several freewheeling rap and lo-fi rock-related projects including Greenthink, Miss Ohio’s Nameless, Reaching Quiet, and the seminal cLOUDDEAD outfit. Their wildest dreams were achieved when they relocated to Oakland to make pop-inflected psychedelic folk-hop.
For four years, two EPs and 2003’s cult classic LP, Oaklandazulasylum, WHY? comprised Yoni Wolf alone. He honed his trademark delivery – a sickly sweet, half-rapped, singsong style – shined up his wry, picturesque poetry, and developed a clip-and-collage aesthetic using keyboards, toys, guitars, samplers and anything worth banging on. When Doug and Josiah moved west to join Yoni, they brought with them a hoard of instruments and the ability to wail on every last one. By chops and imagination, WHY? grew into a thing of flesh, bones and fully fledged songs, resulting in 2005’s Elephant Eyelash album. Critics swooned; ladies lauded; WHY? neither resisted nor rested. They toured – with Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, and Islands. They collaborated – with Danielson Family, Department Of Eagles, and Subtle (Yoni also recorded with Fog’s Andrew Broder as “Hymie’s Basement”). They put out yet more music.
The brand new album Eskimo Snow is something of a companion piece to last year’s celebrated Alopecia LP. In February of 2007, the WHY? trio temporarily relocated to Minneapolis and officially inducted Fog players Andrew Broder and Mark Erickson. Recording live as a five-piece, WHY? created two distinct albums from those sessions: Alopecia, with its taut rhythms and biting wit, and Eskimo Snow, a shadowy and sprawling set that finds Yoni resigned to and ever-awed by those infinite erring bits of existence that make WHY? what it is.
2) Also an English folk-pop band active during the 90s. They released nine albums between '91 & '99, including the curiously-titled Pinnenstripeensuitenwearenfoddergeburnenclippenclopen.
Act Five
Why? Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Only the nerves, insect-like twitches
Involuntary bowel movements, and confusion
A snail in salt doesn't fall asleep
With a half-smile
Like Grandma from the after-school special
It twists and contorts
It jerks and writhes for some time
All the people who taught me card tricks are dying
I've been trying
To get my pop-pop's good looks from old snapshots
And all the people who taught me crad tricks are dying
I've been trying
To steal my grandfather's handsome from old photographs
Even if the world is saved
And the couples kiss before the credits list
There will be more than a lifetime of death
In the scrambled signal snow that's left
When the black intake runs out
The invisible frame's death tacked to your movie reel
Far outweigh the reel itself
All the people who taught me card tricks are dying
I've been trying
To get my poppa's good looks from old snapshots
And all the people who taught me crad tricks are dying
I've been trying
To steal my grandfather's handsome from old photographs
There is no grace in act five
A circus tent and all the folding chairs fit in an old coffin for travel
A circus tent and all the folding chairs fit in an old coffin for travel
The lyrics to Why?'s song Act Five address the lack of grace present in the final act of life, often referred to as the dying process. The imagery of insect-like twitches and involuntary bodily functions creates a jarring and uncomfortable image, emphasizing the loss of control that occurs in this stage. The comparison of a snail in salt and the image of a living, severed limb on fire further emphasize this lack of control and the pain that is associated with it. The singer then reflects on the passing of those who have taught them card tricks and tries to salvage the physical remnants of their loved ones in old photographs. The mention of “scrambled signal snow” and “invisible frame’s death” further emphasizes the chaotic and confusing experience of death, persisting even after the “world is saved” and the “couples kiss before the credits list”. The final line of the song, “There is no grace in act five,” reiterates the brutal and difficult nature of the process of dying and its lasting impact.
Line by Line Meaning
There is no grace in act five
Act five is characterized by the absence of elegance or composure.
Only the nerves, insect-like twitches
The human body responds with involuntary convulsions and jerks during this phase.
Involuntary bowel movements, and confusion
Aside from physical disturbances, the mind is also in disarray, causing loss of control of bodily functions and mental instability.
A snail in salt doesn't fall asleep
A metaphor to illustrate the inevitability of pain and suffering, where even a snail can't escape agony when in a vulnerable situation.
With a half-smile / Like Grandma from the after-school special
This line is a reference to a common archetype found in after-school specials, where a grandmotherly figure presents simple truths that would guide children.
It twists and contorts / It jerks and writhes for some time / Like a living severed limb on fire
A vivid portrayal of violent movements of the body to convey the agony and torture that one experiences during Act Five.
All the people who taught me card tricks are dying / I've been trying / To get my pop-pop's good looks from old snapshots / And all the people who taught me crad tricks are dying / I've been trying / To steal my grandfather's handsome from old photographs
The singer reflects on the realization that time waits for no one as he tries to immortalize his family members and their special talents by attaining visual reminders of their past.
Even if the world is saved / And the couples kiss before the credits list / There will be more than a lifetime of death / In the scrambled signal snow that's left / When the black intake runs out / The invisible frame's death tacked to your movie reel / Far outweigh the reel itself
The finality of death is presented as an inevitable force, even after a heroic feat might have been accomplished. The weight of mortality is something that lingers long after everything else fades away.
A circus tent and all the folding chairs fit in an old coffin for travel
A metaphorical image that connotes the idea of the transience of life while highlighting the fact that everything is temporary, just like a circus tent that is there for a brief moment before disappearing into oblivion.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dennis Baribeau
"A snail in salt doesn't fall asleep with a half smile like grandma from the afterschool special. It twists and contorts and jerks and writhes for some time like a living severed limb on fire"
Wolf Rose
"A snail in salt doesn't fall asleep with a half smile like grandma from those after-school special... It twists and contorts and jerks and drives for some time like a severed living limb on fire.."
Alex Wiles
ALEX WILES LOVES THIS SONG.
Tub Wai Yan
Thamks Alex wiles!
Charles Larson
ok
izm scriven
this song is fucking epic! masterpiece
megadesu
@667NeghborOfTheBeast While it is not my personal favorite. i do feel that this is perhaps Yoni's most beautifully realized work.
Hallel Av
one of the best
megadesu
A circus tent and all the folding chairs fit in an old coffin for travel.
DJ
How the fuck did Yoni come up with this stuff? It's too good...