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.
Dumb Hummer
Why? Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through a cigarette filter
Or unwittingly taylored your style
After the war footing
Of your nation's leaders
Or wore fatigues in a civilian's way
Or fit a hummer
Through the narrower streets
On a friday night,
Getting lodged in the metal wake,
Then that's you.
But if you can dance like i do
With no grid or arthur
Something numbered footprints,
If you can walk right out
The bike gate of the mccarther bart
Like parting leaves to make a path
And don't look back
Or feel bad
Or speed up when they call after you,
Then we
Share a foam fist
In the nose bleeds
At the freaking circus.
If you've ever sipped guinness
Through a cigarette filter
Or wore fatigues
In a civilian's way
If you've got a chain around
Your license plate
Or cosmetic gold teeth,
I don't know you.
If you wear first hand clothes
And get your hair cut
By somebody you don't know,
I'm below you.
The lyrics of the song "Dumb Hummer" by Why? delve into the topic of conformity and societal norms. The first verse talks about how people unconsciously adopt certain behaviors or styles based on their nation's leaders or past experiences. This verse also mentions fitting a Hummer through narrower streets which can be interpreted as an audacious act of showing off one's wealth and status despite the inconvenience that it may cause to others. The second verse speaks about individuality and breaking free from society's expectations. The lyrics suggest that if one is able to dance or walk the way they want without caring about others' opinions or conforming to a certain set of rules and regulations, then they share a certain "foam fist" or sense of camaraderie with the singer.
The chorus of the song repeats the lines "If you've ever sipped Guiness through a cigarette filter" and "If you wear first-hand clothes and get your hair cut by somebody you don't know". These lines can be seen as metaphors for people trying to fit in or pretending to be something they are not. The song is basically an introspective look at society and how people sometimes blindly follow social conventions without being true to themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
If you've ever sipped guinness Through a cigarette filter
If you've experienced trying to make something work in a way that it wasn't intended, or settling for something less than ideal.
Or unwittingly taylored your style After the war footing Of your nation's leaders
Or if you find yourself conforming to societal expectations without realizing it, or as a result of external influences.
Or wore fatigues in a civilian's way
Or if you're trying to look like someone you're not, or if you're wearing something just for show without any real meaning or purpose.
Or fit a hummer Through the narrower streets Downtown, seeking parking On a friday night, Getting lodged in the metal wake, Then that's you.
Or if you're trying to force something that doesn't fit or isn't practical, like driving a large vehicle in a small space or trying to fit in where you don't belong.
But if you can dance like i do With no grid or arthur Something numbered footprints,
But if you can be confident and comfortable in yourself, without trying to follow a specific path or conform to someone else's expectations.
If you can walk right out The bike gate of the mccarther bart Like parting leaves to make a path And don't look back Or feel bad Or speed up when they call after you,
If you can be brave enough to make your own way and not look back or feel guilty or ashamed, even when others try to hold you back or bring you down.
Then we Share a foam fist In the nose bleeds At the freaking circus.
Then we can connect and be allies in our shared experiences of navigating life and breaking free from societal expectations.
If you've got a chain around Your license plate Or cosmetic gold teeth, I don't know you.
If you're trying to put on a show or impress others with superficial things, or if you're hiding behind a facade, I don't really know who you are.
If you wear first hand clothes And get your hair cut By somebody you don't know, I'm below you.
If you have the means and privilege to always have the newest, best things, or to have someone else take care of your appearance, then I feel inferior to you.
Contributed by Thomas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
TAMMpON
Colleen Marlow you are voted most soul in the energy of life! The music could life up a billion as well and with the two of you joining forces I feeling I found the answer to the question we all seek! keep up the greatness if at all possible! Peace outy! TAMMpON
purpletraitor
this piece always stuck with me...I don’t know, really, there’s just so much heart in Yoni’s voice and the backing instruments, and her dancing, too, just building and building and...yeah, this resonates with me.
flytrappedinajar1
Two things. 1) I wish I could dance like her. 2) What an amazing song.
harharhar1994
I watch this when I'm sad or in a bad mood and it makes me feel better. I love it.
boastybo
Wonderful! Expressive, joyful, I had fun watching her. She was speaking with her movement, very cool.
Dbou79
This video will haunt me for the rest of my life. I don't think there will be anyway not to think of it everytime I will hear this song and why would I. It is amazing and will eternally bring a smile to my face. Colleen Marlowm you are Amazing!!
visualguerillaFILMs
this is one of anticons best videos, idea and music = beautiful :)
iamjezuzchrist
So genuine. I cant get over how genuine this music is... its sensitivity, sadness, rawness... nothing to hide.
Nathaivel
Amazing video, every time I dance it's a little like this, I can only hope to get closer. and I love WHY? by the way.
Anton Watson
i don't think i've ever wanted to dance before i saw this video. It's changed my opinion of dancing in general. I loved it.