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The Science of Things

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The Science of Things

THE SCIENCE OF THINGS has finally arrived! The waiting has been hard..but finally we've got it clutched in our little hands or maybe large hands....whatever..(Go to this link for a great interview with Gavin: (http://www.wallofsound.go.com/features/bush_1.html)

"looks like they're back on the street again.."

On this page I will combine my concert review of 9/23/99 (crazy and idiotic as it is..), and following my review is a special review of The Science of Things.
It will have each song's explanation by the members of Bush, definitions of words you might not know, and a fan interpretation of each song. Enjoy....


Here's my concert review of 9/23/99...

Well I guess I'll start from the beginning: It was about a 3 1/2 hr. drive. Next thing was... I bought a disposable camera that cost about $15 freaking dollars!! (that's a little steep but heck I didn't care!) on the way there I listened to BUSH (of course) and then I turned on the radio and heard (the chemicals...new song at that time) and almost made my mom wreck the car! (that wouldn't have been good) it was some commercial for the concert 'Beaner and Ken's 1 yr. b-day bash'. then we finally got there @ 5pm...[thank God b/c we took a wrong turn and had to wait in traffic!! I was freaking!] (I waited 5 1/2 hr.s to see BUSH!)
So i bought a shirt and while in line I thought please don't let these two ppl infront of me have a seat near me but of course you'll see what kind of luck I had.
Then 1/2 of Sponge came out and did a couple of songs. Which I thought the lead singer was quite amusing..banging on his 'little drum'. But they're good. Then Oleander which were good and then Virgos Merlot (which is a cool name since I'm a Virgo..haha..stupid reason). Meanwhile in between the songs they have a 15/30 min. break and they play cd's and the dj's come out and talk. Well by then I start feeling shaky b/c BUSH is on in 15 min. and I've waited about 4 or 5 years to see them!! so I'm content with my crappy seats and just waiting and screaming (cos their crew is putting out their gear!) and this guy comes up to me asking my name. well he's def. drunk as hell and disturbed so I try and be calm and I just want him to leave me the hell alone b/c I'm waiting to see BUSH!! so he's cursing his freaking head off (sounding very intelligent...uh huh!). and he keeps asking me these obscene q. and I'm getting mad b/c he's nasty! [I laugh now but that was the worst night of my life!!!...well that part]. Anyway he leaves after he's made me angry and feeling weird and the next thing I know something zooms straight past my face!! I was like what in the hell! then I knew it was that guy...he was pissed at me b/c i ignored him. Oh my mom was so mad! I was about to cry I was so angry. so she's like no way! we're getting somebody up here NOW! So the time is counting down and about 5 more min. till Bush comes out. we went down and the guards don't do crap! so we both agree to not to return to our seats....good choice. But what makes it very shitty is that I didn't have a seat when they came out! I was waiting by the rail and this old fart says 'you have to move, you can't stay here (over and over)..blah, blah, blah...oh I was so mad! anyway when we were walking they came out! I saw them come out and really couldn't believe that they were here in AL, up on the stage, and I'm seeing them in person! I mean I was almost crying (you're prob. saying get a life you baby!..but all these emotions were coming out.) 1. b/c i didn't have a seat, 2. Bush was all ready playing Machinehead and I wasn't ready!, 3.that demented guy was after me! But when we found seats it was in the middle of the amphitheater. and in the middle of Machinehead!. So I was having a great time screaming and singing and taking pics. All of the songs were great! In swallowed and i think comedown gavin let us sing the lyrics and i just think that's awesome!! comedown is my fav. live! and they did a cover of 'the one I love' and I wasn't expecting it...it was awesome!! Gavin said "Hey Alabama" and it was so funny! the band acted really into it greatful to us for being so loud I guess..hehe. The ppl infront of me were there just blocking my view b/c I don't rem. them singing. and they're in all of my pics.!! haha [you can see tiny dots of andy and robin and i think one of Gavin. also you can see lighters in the crowd from glycerine] i have a horrible memory and that's why I want the bootleg so bad!
but of course I couldn't have a fun time for the rest of the concert! no....
the last song of the encore was 'little things' and there spotted in the row ahead of me was the demented lunatic that wanted to kill me! what luck I had! :) well mom was like 'we've got to leave before the concert is over'. I was like 'WHAT!'
you're nuts I'm not leaving till it's all done with. but she dragged me outta there and I was having a fit!
You know that really sucks cos I didn't get to hear the 'stone cold..dead' thing Gavin does! I'm not even going to say what I would have done to that psycho or wish I had done!!!! But I try and remember the good things. Next concert I'm gonna have a kick ass time and meet some kick ass bush fans! yeah!
setlist is below with some quotes and more of my ramblings....
** ** I SAW B*U*S*H SEPTEMBER 23, 1999 in Birmingham, AL at the Amphitheatre!!!!!!! THEY WERE EXCELLENT!!!!! GAV JUMPED IN THE CROWD ABOUT 3 TIMES, BUT OF COURSE I WASN'T UP THAT CLOSE!!!!!!! Here's the setlist (not in order): Machinehead, Disease of the Dancing Cats, Greedy Fly, Everything zen, The Chemicals Between Us, Warm Machine, Glycerine, Comedown, Insect Kin, Swallowed....encore: THE ONE I LOVE!!!!, Little Things. It was just amazing b/c EVERYBODY was standing up and singing (in the whole entire stadium). They came back out and gavin says something like this 'We're gonna play this song for you guys and Andy probably has never f*cking played it before in his life". Then he introduced Andy Cohen (Silkworm) for filling in for Nigel. He even looked liked Nigel. Robin was standing up playing, and Dave even was getting into it! He stood on the platform for the drums playing. I couldn't see him much though....too many tall ppl in front of me!! All I can say is that they are AWESOME....AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE NEW SONGS!!!!!!!!!! ** ** **

On the rest of this page I will combine the meanings of the songs straight from the mouths of BUSH, some definitions of words you might not know, and interpretations by fans all into each seperate song. The fan interpretation is provided by Kristjan Ragnarsson.

** Gavin explains 'The Science of Things': "Science really is about how formulaic we are for the most part. How we operate around people, how we have levels of getting ourselves in situations that we may not wish to be in, or we don't understand why we're there, but we can look through it and understand. And it's just about how things work and sometimes don't work".

WARM MACHINE:
Definitions: (none)....if I do not have definitions and you would like to add some e-mail me at bollweaver@webtv.net
Gavin says: "Warm Machine is a savior. Sometimes you want a chariot, a way out. 'I memorize the basics' is the opening line and that's just an attempt to operate in the standard ways so you don't step out of line b/c you fear how you are. But sometimes it's difficult to fit in, and you want to escape from a certain situation you've gotten yourself in. You just wish something could come and lift you away and make you free".
Fan says: This is the most emotional song for me. Why? Because after yars of waiting for a new BUSH cd this was the frst thing I heard in my stereo , and I just got chills down my back...I still get the chills because this song rocks.....

JESUS ONLINE:
Definitions: 1. apathy- lack of feeling. absence of emotion. 2. invincible- unconquerable.
Gavin says: "Tyring to accept yourself and find something spiritual in this technological age. The whole society is obsessed about how we're not good enough but sometimes we should just shut up and accept ourselves".
"Jesus Online is a song, in point, for trying to keep a hand on something spiritual and human and people oriented in the face of technology. For a world that's moving ahead, there's an incredible lack of self-confidence".
Fan says: WOW! I can totally relate to this song. I've tried a few relationships like that myself and now this sing has become somewhat of an anthem for me. Eveytime I'm having trouble with some girl I subconsciously start humming......'Jesus Online to be perfect just like you'.

THE CHEMICALS BETWEEN US:
Definitions:
Gavin says: "The difference between ppl and how the mistake I've often made is, I'll see a situation and I'll have an understanding of it. And it will be perfectly clear to me but it's not necessarily how the other person's seeing it".
"And I was thinking the chemicals between us would be when things aren't going so good and you're in that lonely bed with that person and you're not communicating".
Fan says: Gavin is thanking his lovers. This is perhaps the strangest song on the album, and if you ask me, it's the only song that ever comes close to being a let-down for me. Why? Because it was suppose to be the "Swallowed" type of song for this album, but it ultimately wasn't. Still the song is great and it's been a part of my life for sometime now. So I remember the summer and Woodstock when I hear it.

ENGLISH FIRE:
Definitions:
Gavin says:
Fan says: I acually wrote a song myself about a year ago with the line 'why shoot myself for your sins'. It's kinda freaky to hear it in a BUSH song but it's brilliant. I get so angry when I hear this song, I've been treated bad just like Gavin and I feel his pain when I hear this song.

SPACETRAVEL:
Definitions: 1. tenements- a mult. dwelling; especially of inferior class.
Gavin says:
Fan says: Gavin sang that one with his g/f Gwen. That's why I feel romantic when I listen to this, and the part where the couple sings "the futures lies". It floors me, I get a bit emotional when I hear that. Probably b/c I'm single right now.

40 MILES FROM THE SUN:
Definitions:
Gavin says: "The first song I wrote was 40 Miles. I wanted to do a song that was like you were walking at the end of the world. There seems to be the fear of the apocalypse, fear of the change we're undergoing".
Fan says: Yeah I love this one. It's probably my fav. on the album. It's so dreamy and it's got those out there guitars that the rest of us can only dream of making. Actually this song makes me jealous over the ability Nigel and Gavin posses. I don't believe in Doomsday, though.......

PRIZEFIGHTER:
Definitions:
Gavin says:
Fan says: I can't help but getting this feeling of melancoly and death when I hear this. It's probaba'y somewhat like I'll feel on the eve of my death. I'll look back at my life and this to all my lost friends and lovers.......

THE DISEASE OF THE DANCING CATS:
Definitions: 1. cerebellum- the rear lobe of the brain.
Gavin says: "Disease deals with a Japanese Mercury poisoning that ocurred in 1957. They'd dump 80 tons of mercury into the bay and later all these cats started foaming at the mouth and spinning around in circles". "I mixed that with my take on my favorite animals, orangutans, and their being taken out of their natural habitat." "The shout out is about how their habitat is being lost in pursuit of money and greed and the usual capitalist ventures".
Fan says: Pollution, death, orangutans. I understand the story and I can see where Gavin's coming from here, but this song doesn't do anything for me lyrically. What I like about this song is the musical point; it rocks and then there's this surprise trip-hop part in the middle..... great guitar work too.

ALTERED STATES:
Definitions: 1. nostalgia- homesick; sentimental recollection of the past.
Gavin says:
Fan says: Well, I don't feel anything but good when I listen to this one. It;s so upbeat, it's the kind of song we want to hear in a nightclub where the alcohol is flowing and everybody looking fine......"talkin' about states we've been through".

DEAD MEAT:
Definitions: 1. asbestos- a mineral used for fire-proofing. 2. formaldehyde- a gas used in solution as a preservative and disinfectant.
3. lament- express sorrow (for); mourn.
Gavin says: "Deals with the subject of revenge. I was inspired by a film entitled 'Star 80'. It was based on Dorothy Stratton. It's about a girl who comes back down to earth to make someone pay for what's she's been through".
Fan says: In my opinion the best song on the album. Dororthy died and Gavin wrote a song. I feel this song because I've often felt dead and dreamt about revenge, this is the song for me. I just love the 'hidden' solo guitar in the choruses here.....

LETTING THE CABLES SLEEP:
Definitions:
Gavin says: " It's about a very close friend of mine who discovered he was HIV positive. And it was very hard for him to tell us as friends about that. The communication".
Fan says: Crashing! Eyeballing! It's a one-on-one, no escape, self inspection beauty. It's such a vulnerable song that you can't help but feel emotional when you hear it..probably the first song ever since Glycerine that brought tears to my eyes.

MINDCHANGER:
Definitions:
Gavin says:
Fan says: Once again, lost loves, I understand it, and it's another bush anthem that I can relate to and i love singing and playing it on my guitar. It's also so upbeat, which is great but an unusual song to end an album with.

BUSH: rockers that span my whole list of emotions!

Jessica Andrea Weaver