INCINERATE, in depth lyrics... gotcha, Mr. Moore!
 

Well, INCINERATE is probably my very fave tune off the whole SY discography right now... I love the song so much. And the lyrics are just WONDERFUL.

So I was surfing the net and came thru the famous "Thurston Story" once again, and read carefully this time around...

there you go:

"I met this girl and became obsessed with being in love with her. She was fucking this older writer poet guy who lived in my building on the top floor.
I would hang out my window from afternoon to evening hoping and waiting for her to turn the corner.
One day she knocked, came in and I knew we were gonna have to be together forever. Five minutes later the writer guy knocked and walked in all innocent and smiling and I realized the two of them had plans that day and she said "OK, see ya later!' and I was like, "OK" and then I blanked out. It wasn't so tragic cuz I did eventually score some quality time with her (she was Swedish!) but too many stupid hours were spent walking from the East Village to Tribeca, back and forth, chanting punker mantras of unrequited desire, hoping to run into this incredible on- the-loose girl.

[...]

I spent a glorious March week end with the Swedish girl I was obsessed with and I figured she would just stay in my apartment forever from that moment on but she left Monday morning wear- ing my overcoat. She actually said she'd be right back but she never returned. I ran into her a couple of weeks later and she refused to address the issue and I told her I needed my coat back. I actually almonst cried in front of her and told her I loved her and all I wanted was a girlfriend to live with and all the while a fire engine was screaming past us. She knew what I was saying and just kind of smiled compassionately because of all the noise around us. We were both a little embarrassed."

Well, not only this story touched me deep inside the very first time I read it (I went thru something like this too...) but right now I think it adds to these lyrics (pay close attention!):

incinerate
i ripped yr heart out from yr chest
replaced it with a grenade blast
incinerate x4
firefighters hose me down
i don't care i'll burn out anyhow
it's 4 alarm girl nothing to see
hear the sirens come for me
you dosed my soul with gasoline
you flicked a match into my brain
incinerate x 4
the firefighters are so nice
i remember you so cold as ice
now flames are licking at yr feet
sirens come to put me out of misery
you wave yr torch into my eyes
flamethrower lover burning mind
incinerate x 8

words: thurston moore / 2006

If this is it, well Thurston... carry on man. You've got my total support.
Ciao all...

that's cool. do you have a link to the page?

well it's really out there, i found it on the old forum a while ago and i recently refound it at the TM fansite here: http://www.leeranaldo.net/starfieldroad/Pages/about.htm

you know what's weird, this is the song i had in mind - and kept playing - when i finally decided to go on and tell the girl i was obsessed with that i liked her.

what a ruin man...

aw, wow.

Ha, now the lyrics don't seem quite as stupid. Thanks.

you're welcome! but the lyrics never sounded stupid to me. there's a lot of... love in those words. sheer love. passion.

and this is just a personal humble interpretation of the whole thing...

bumpee!

Cool, I always liked that story.

re bumpee!

thats awesome, I'm glad I randomly opened this thread on page 54 and read this.

Nice work.

"Incinerate" is nowhere near my favorite Sonic Youth song, but, like most, it's a good one.
And, although some of the song's imagery does seem to loosely fit the "Thurston story," I think the song has much more to do with being sort of a corollary or follow-up to some of his best lyrics.

On "Candle," Thurston sings:
I can't stay a candle
Gotta change my mind before it burns out

On "Incinerate," Thurston sings:
firefighters hose me down
i don't care i'll burn out anyhow

Now these songs and lyrics may have absolutely nil to do with each other. There certainly is no reasonable proof that they do have anything to do with one another other than the specific words "burn out."
I, however, think differently. I think the songs have everything to do with one another.

Thurston used to really care; now he really doesn't give a fuck
(or at least not like he used to).
lyrics explained...
RATHER RIPPED, baby!

excellent!!!

Love posts like this!

INCINERATE!

IN SIN AERATE!

So, he has now resigned himself more, but not neccessarily in a terribly bad way. For all of its rather apparent sense of detachment, the song still praises art and love...ecstatic peace.
"Incinerate" is a reflection of stages on life's way, like max inferred, but it's also an expression of an eventual realization whereby one becomes conscious of their limitations now that they are more wise and mature.

In this way, it's also a "continuation" of "Rain on Tin"'s meditation mantra of what one can do (when the world is runnin' down/you make the best of what's still around) and what is the perhaps the proper response to this world:

We all hope
To signal kin
Rays of gold
Now rain on tin
Gather round
Gather friends
Never fear
Never again

I always perceived T's lyrics as being very well conscious of the state of feelings that surround him. In my mind, it's almost ALWAYS very clear what he is trying to communicate... and that - to me at least - is the point... I mean, that's music, gotta reach your heart + mind. :)

and those are very wise words, my friends...

excellent. as someone jus said, the lyrics dont seem half as dumb now......

thanx peeps, i'm kinda blushing...! props to Thurston anyway, he did it all himself.. :)
i'm quite sure there's a "key" to unlock almost all of his tunes. sometimes it's just a matter of perception.

There's a good Guitar Pro tab of Incinerate: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/...guitar_pro.htm

If you don't have Guitar Pro, the demo is there (it actually still works after the 15 days of trial): http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php?pg=download

I'm jealous of this. I am hardly ever even aware of my emotional state at anytime, let alone in a position where I could actually put it into words.