Stench of the Unburied
Lyrics
Incoherent but functional
Speeding like a dead comet[1]
Purple crushed-velvet waistcoat
Flecked with Maalox[2]
and bits of dried vomit
Say what you will for the effort
You can't fault the technique
Still conscious at sunrise
For the third time this week
But when the blue lights flash
I know we're going to crash
And outside it's 92 degrees[3]
And KROQ[4]
is playing Siouxsie and the Banshees[5]
Blaupunkt[6]
in the dashboard
Cracks in the cylinder block[7]
Heading up the Golden State Freeway[8]
Toward Eagle Rock[9]
Ice chest full of Corona[10]
And Pineapple Crush[11]
It'll take 20 years
For the toxins to flush[12]
And when the sirens wail[13]
I know we're going to jail
And outside it's 92 degrees
And KROQ is playing Siouxsie and the Banshees
Follow the flame to freedom
The flickering lights of armageddon
Find the foot of the ladder way down in the pit
Keep climbing forever
Try to keep the torch lit
And outside it's 92 degrees
And KROQ, the Roq of the 80s,[14]
is playing Siouxsie and the Banshees
Banter
Live Performances
Footnotes
1. Comets “die” when they no longer have a tail (formed by ice vaporising) and appear as a rocky asteroid, or when they are completely sublimated into nothing by the heat of the sun if their perihelion is low enough. ↩
2. Maalox is an over the counter brand of liquid antacid that contains aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide, with the occasional addition of simethicone, an anti-gas compound. It clearly did not prevent the narrator from hurling. ↩
3. The title of a song by Siouxsie and the Banshees, released in 1986. It’s a pretty cool song with sick synths and goth guitars but also some kind of symphonic-metal-ish vocals. I’m into it.↩
4. Radio station in Southern California that is known for playing alternative/subculture-specific music.↩
5. Extremely influential English goth band formed in 1976, known for the distinctive timbre of lead vocalist Siouxsie Sioux, who sang about themes considered pretty dark even for goth bands. ↩
6. A German-made type of car radio with a cool name.↩
7. My dad says this is a part of the car you don’t want to break. The internet tells me it’s the bit that holds the engine. This seems important to not crack.↩
8. Local name for I-5 in LA; I-5 is the main north-south corridor on the West Coast and stretches from Mexico to the Canadian border.↩
9. Part of LA that has a big rock shaped like an eagle, in the 80s a working-class neighborhood, now pretty rich but what’s new, gentrification ↩
10. Relatively affordable beer.↩
11. Soda that is good but should not be mixed with beer, hopefully the narrator is making better choices than this. Based on the other choices that the narrator is making, I do not have faith in this dude.↩
12. It takes about 15-20 years after quitting for the stroke/heart attack/etc risk incurred by smoking to go as close to normal as it’ll ever be.↩
13. Referencing the Sisters of Mercy “Vision Thing”, also a quality song you should check out.↩
14. The tagline of the station, apropos spelling and all. ↩