tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post2688993655859576226..comments2010-01-18T21:00:40.183-05:00Inverarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-35875926015105272382010-01-18T21:00:40.183-05:002010-01-18T21:00:40.183-05:00As for the &quot;political incorrectness,&quot; I&#39;d observe that <br /><br />1. the voice is not Cale&#39;s, it&#39;s the voice of a character, someone in deep pain. The pain comes across, certainly.<br /><br />2. &quot;Shylock&quot; is a slang term for a loan shark.<br /><br />3. The &quot;Nigger&quot; referred to seems clearly someone remembered with great affection and loyalty.IGotYerBloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13917695112090433668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-85657348230112155942009-07-12T11:44:13.215-04:002009-07-12T11:44:13.215-04:00One of my top 5 John Cale songs. There is just something incredibly powerful/unsettling about it.Thomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-63263676148157254292007-11-25T11:07:00.000-05:002007-11-25T11:07:00.000-05:00Always liked this one. The reverberating guitar has a lot to do with it. And the drums, of course. All the drum parts on Honi Soit are very powerful, muscular, violent.<BR/><BR/>As far as the lyrics goes, I think it makes some sense as the stream-of-consciousness of a mercenary in Biafra, Bataan, Beirut or whatever. The words and the music (especially the repetitive patterns) evokes a highly nightmarish world, yet it has a strange, almost lyrical beauty to it. That is the song great achievement. But then again, this could be said of a lot of Cale´s best work, e.g. Cordoba and Casablanca.Onohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03721309568996520469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-90164540833330082942007-11-23T13:50:00.000-05:002007-11-23T13:50:00.000-05:00The Joliet in Illinois is home to the state penitentiary, so there's that - especially in relation to "blasting [one's] way out"...Jack Feerickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06957899718721006732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-90258475410430105372007-11-22T03:23:00.000-05:002007-11-22T03:23:00.000-05:00It's hard to imagine this song amusing anyone! As confrontational as the man's career has been, this is his most malignant work by some degree. Hence it's doubly frustrating to not be able to interpret it. <BR/><BR/>There's a city in Illinois called Joliet, after the French Canadian explorer Jolliet, but, well, so what?Inverarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-86733783622710029112007-11-22T01:24:00.000-05:002007-11-22T01:24:00.000-05:00I have no idea, but it's good to have you back. I dated a Joliat once; I doubt she'd be amused by this song.Ianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05740401073988507304noreply@blogger.com