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.
Distance
Why? Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Each hair a filament of glass formed while heated
Assumed you'd see bright blooms and fruit trees
With the root things weeded
What your new scene needed
So that's what we did
What was unclean was played and sung
Then framed and hung till lame and numb
Cause that's when the fame will come
And the game is won
And your name is rung in every ear like a secret
I gotta keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
When you're not there to listen to listen to this nonsense
Keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
When you're not there
Now I'm pushing past 30
If I bow out as the years close in
Abandon my sound man and band and them
I'll give no blushing curtsey
To the proud shouts of close kin
I ground it into ground and then some, friends
Just drop a dusty curtain on the loud crowd when the show ends
And end the whole thing where no men found me
I'm so f*****g thirsty
In a cold cloud only of my own
And lonely worsens, surrounds me
I gotta keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
When you're not there to listen to listen to this nonsense
Keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
When you're not there
Men and women might yet quote his modicum of the truth
But never will they get right close to Jonathan Avram Wolf
Cause I gotta keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
When you're not there to listen to listen to this nonsense
Keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
When you're not there
The lyrics to Why?'s song "Distance" explore how the desire for fame and success can compromise one's authenticity and creative vision. The first stanza describes the pressure to conform to a certain image or sound in order to achieve success in the music industry. The singer compares himself to an "effigy" that is crafted to meet these expectations, with every detail carefully designed to appeal to the audience. However, this image and sound is ultimately unsustainable and unfulfilling, as the performer becomes "lame and numb" from repeating the same messages and sounds in order to maintain their fame.
In the second stanza, the singer expresses a fear of aging and losing relevance as an artist. He acknowledges the sacrifices he has made in order to pursue his craft, but wonders if it is worth it in the end. He imagines bowing out of the music scene and walking away from his fans and supporters without a word of gratitude, feeling both isolated and unquenched. The final stanza reflects on the fleeting nature of fame and the impossibility of truly being known as an artist, even if people appreciate his work or acknowledge its truth.
Overall, the lyrics to "Distance" convey a sense of existential anxiety and ambivalence towards the music industry. The desire for success and recognition is weighed against the cost of compromise and the possibility of losing oneself in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
You wanted an effigy of me so true it bleeded
You desired a perfect representation of me, down to the smallest detail, even if it meant causing pain.
Each hair a filament of glass formed while heated
The effort to create this representation was meticulous and painful, like shaping glass.
Assumed you'd see bright blooms and fruit trees
You thought that this representation would bring positivity and growth into your life.
With the root things weeded
By removing negative elements, you hoped to create a better environment for this representation and yourself.
What your new scene needed
The ideal image you had in mind required this representation to exist in your life.
So that's what we did
You went to great lengths to make this perfect representation a reality.
What was unclean was played and sung
Even unsavory aspects of yourself were celebrated and emphasized in this representation.
Then framed and hung till lame and numb
This representation eventually became stagnant and lifeless, despite the effort put into creating it.
And then repeated
You continued to use this representation, even though it was no longer effective or meaningful.
Cause that's when the fame will come
You believed that by continuing to use this representation, you would become famous and successful.
And the game is won
You thought that by achieving fame, you would have successfully navigated the difficult journey of life.
And your name is rung in every ear like a secret
Once you attained fame, your name would be celebrated and whispered about by the masses.
I gotta keep my distance to withstand the silence of you missing
In order to cope with the absence of a loved one, I need to stay emotionally detached.
When you're not there to listen to listen to this nonsense
When you are not around, I am left to wallow in my own self-pity and trivial thoughts.
Now I'm pushing past 30
I am getting older and feeling the pressure to achieve things before it's too late.
If I bow out as the years close in
If I give up or fail to achieve my goals as I get older.
Abandon my sound man and band and them
If I quit my music career and leave my band behind.
I'll give no blushing curtsey
I will not feel embarrassed or ashamed for walking away from my career.
To the proud shouts of close kin
Even if my family is proud of me, it won't be enough to keep me going.
I ground it into ground and then some, friends
I have worked tirelessly to make my music career a success.
Just drop a dusty curtain on the loud crowd when the show ends
At the end of my career, I will quietly step away from the spotlight without fanfare.
And end the whole thing where no men found me
I will disappear from public view and live a quiet life away from the limelight.
I'm so f*****g thirsty
I am desperate for success and validation in my career.
In a cold cloud only of my own
I am alone with my thoughts and feelings, with no one to turn to for comfort.
And lonely worsens, surrounds me
I am becoming increasingly isolated and lonely, with no end in sight.
Men and women might yet quote his modicum of the truth
People may remember small pieces of the truth that I have tried to convey in my music.
But never will they get right close to Jonathan Avram Wolf
No one can truly understand me or the struggles I have faced in my life.
Contributed by Jayce K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.