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.
Simeon's Dilemma
Why? Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and if I get caught, I'll
deny, deny, deny.
Today you're twenty-five
I made you something fine,
it's in the palm of my new hand.
It's out: you're mostly
I'm proud, I've been coasting
on this single's route.
But I still hear your name
in wedding bells.
Will I look better or
will I look the same
rotting in hell?
You're the only
proper noun I need. Hurry,
My copper crown's gone green.
Pull me out of this tree;
I'm stuck up a branch waiting,
clearly caught between
two things unclear to me:
Are you a female young messiah
for a stowaways in dugouts? And
are you what church-folk
mean by 'The Good News',
pulling plastic bags off heads?
Or are you giving me a
dirty look in the rear view,
clicking the button
on your U'Haul pen?
Don't pretend you didn't
see me coming 'round the bend,
on my fixie with the chopped
horns turned in, trailing
behind your biodiesel Benz.
Stalker's my whole style,
and if I get caught, I'll
deny, deny, deny.
'25' Carved with a butter knife
on the palm of my new hand.
It's out: you're mostly
what I think about.
The lyrics to Why?'s song Simeon's Dilemma are complex and difficult to decipher, but upon closer inspection, it seems to be a reflection on obsession, longing, and the dangers of unrequited love. The opening line, "Stalker's my whole style, and if I get caught, I'll deny, deny, deny," sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is confessing to being a stalker, but he's also acknowledging that he would never admit to it if caught.
The next few lines are addressed to someone who is turning twenty-five. The singer has made them something "fine," which is now in the palm of his new hand. It's unclear what this object is, but it seems to be a symbol of his devotion to this person. He goes on to say that they're mostly what he thinks about, and he's been "coasting on this single's route." This implies that the singer is single and that his obsession with this person prevents him from pursuing other romantic interests.
The lines "But I still hear your name in wedding bells. Will I look better or will I look the same rotting in hell?" suggest that the singer is aware that his feelings for this person are not reciprocated, and he may be deluding himself by imagining a future with them. The singer then poses a series of questions to this person, asking if they are a "female young messiah for stowaways in dugouts" or "what church-folk mean by 'The Good News'." These questions are cryptic and seem to suggest that the singer is trying to understand this person's motivations and beliefs.
The final lines "Don't pretend you didn't see me coming 'round the bend, on my fixie with the chopped horns turned in, trailing behind your biodiesel Benz," seem to imply that the singer is following this person and that they are aware of it. The song ends with the repetition of the opening line, "Stalker's my whole style, and if I get caught, I'll deny, deny, deny." This line reinforces the idea that the singer is aware of the danger of his obsession and would never admit to it if caught.
Line by Line Meaning
Stalker's my whole style, and if I get caught, I'll deny, deny, deny.
I enjoy stalking you and if I am caught, I will deny it.
Today you're twenty-five, I made you something fine, it's in the palm of my new hand.
You have turned 25 today and I have made something nice for you, it's on my palm that was replaced.
It's out: you're mostly what I think about, and I'm proud, I've been coasting on this single's route.
I confess, I mostly think about you and I'm happy with just maintaining the same relationship.
But I still hear your name in wedding bells. Will I look better or will I look the same rotting in hell?
I still think of you getting married someday. I question if it would be any better than my current situation of obsessing over you.
You're the only proper noun I need. Hurry, my copper crown's gone green.
You are the only person I care about. I need you to save me from my deteriorating mental state.
Pull me out of this tree; I'm stuck up a branch waiting, clearly caught between two things unclear to me:
Rescue me from my current state of confusion, trapped and caught between two unclear options.
Are you a female young messiah for a stowaways in dugouts? And are you what church-folk mean by 'The Good News', pulling plastic bags off heads?
Are you someone who saves those who are captured by helping them escape? Are you the 'good news' that the church talks about that rescues people from their captors?
Or are you giving me a dirty look in the rear view, clicking the button on your U'Haul pen?
Or are you expressing your dislike towards me through a look in your car's rearview mirror while clicking your pen.
Don't pretend you didn't see me coming 'round the bend, on my fixie with the chopped horns turned in, trailing behind your biodiesel Benz.
Don't act like you didn't see me following you on my bicycle with the horns turned in, trailing behind your bio-diesel vehicle.
Stalker's my whole style, and if I get caught, I'll deny, deny, deny.
I still enjoy stalking you and if caught, I will continue to deny it.
Contributed by Matthew C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Oloff
one of the best tunes off one of the most underrated albums ever
dielawn
Stalker's my whole style
And if I get caught, I'll
Deny, deny, deny
Today you're twenty-five
I made you something fine
It's in the palm of my new hand
It's out
You're mostly what I think about and
I'm proud
I've been coasting on this singles route
But I still hear your name
In wedding bells, will I look better or will I look the same?
Rotting in hell
You're the only proper noun I need, hurry
My copper crown's gone green
Pull me
Pull me on out of this tree, I'm stuck up a branch waiting
Clearly caught between two things unclear to me
Are you a female young messiah?
For stow aways and dugouts
And are you, what church folk mean by the good news
Pulling plastic bags off heads
Or are you giving me a dirty look in the rearview
Clicking the button on your U-Haul pen
Don't pretend you didn't see me coming 'round the bend
On my fixie with the chopped horns turned in
Trailing behind your biodiesel Benz
Stalker's my whole style and if I get caught I'll
Deny, deny, deny
Deny, deny, deny
Deny, deny, deny
Twenty-five carved with a butter knife
On the palm of my new hand
It's out, you're mostly what I think about
Cosmic Billy
You're mostly what I think about and
I'm proud
I've been coasting on this singles route
But I still hear your name
In wedding bells,
will I look better or will I look the same?
Rotting in hell
You're the only proper noun I need,
hurry
My copper crown's gone green
Pull me
Pull me on out of this tree,
I'm stuck up a branch waiting
Woodbaby
Takes me back to my poppops house. I will always love this song.
Salivating Salamander
Simeon
Agnieszka C
Hahhahaha did the label misspell it?
dielawn
@Agnieszka C Probably just a simple autocorrect mistake lol. Shit gets me all the time but they def should've double checked lol.
JinxedXKarma sA
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