Earth Oddity
In Radiohead’s song “Subterranean Homesick Alien”, Thom Yorke expresses his feelings of isolation from a uniform human society. This song chronicles a man’s plea to be taken from his rigid community to a more accepting one. Through tone and imagery, his dissatisfaction with the unaccepting monotony of his community becomes apparent.
Yorke’s diction contributes to the wistful and melancholy tone of the song. Phrases such as “I keep forgetting”, “Never believe me”, and “shut me away” represent the narrator’s ache for a more accepting world, not one where “they’re all uptight”. Pressure to conform puts a definite stress that will eventually cause the narrator to emotionally collapse. The poem leads to his eventual breakdown; the point where he hopes the aliens “take [him] on board their beautiful ship”. He believes he would fit in with these non human beings as he considers himself an …show more content…
The speaker finds life dreary and monotonous living “in a town where you can’t smell a thing”. This olfactory image actually symbolizes how the town’s smothering aura blankets the senses to the point of numbness. “Forgetting the smell of the warm summer air” further supports this idea.world’s apathy pushes aside the beauty of life. Even the citizens“watch your feet for cracks in the pavement” to avoid seeing others and having to stray from their own perfunctory routine. The bleak imagery sets a scene of a town bland and devoid of any individuality. From afar, the strangeness of humans who “lock up their spirits,drill holes in themselves ” is observed. human nature causes people to hide their true selves in order to conform to norms, despite the fact that it may be hurting them. Their inability to share true emotions leaves them to “live for their secrets.” The irony of this is that although we love to gossip and blather, we less frequently express genuine thoughts and
In Radiohead’s song “Subterranean Homesick Alien”, Thom Yorke expresses his feelings of isolation from a uniform human society. This song chronicles a man’s plea to be taken from his rigid community to a more accepting one. Through tone and imagery, his dissatisfaction with the unaccepting monotony of his community becomes apparent.
Yorke’s diction contributes to the wistful and melancholy tone of the song. Phrases such as “I keep forgetting”, “Never believe me”, and “shut me away” represent the narrator’s ache for a more accepting world, not one where “they’re all uptight”. Pressure to conform puts a definite stress that will eventually cause the narrator to emotionally collapse. The poem leads to his eventual breakdown; the point where he hopes the aliens “take [him] on board their beautiful ship”. He believes he would fit in with these non human beings as he considers himself an …show more content…
The speaker finds life dreary and monotonous living “in a town where you can’t smell a thing”. This olfactory image actually symbolizes how the town’s smothering aura blankets the senses to the point of numbness. “Forgetting the smell of the warm summer air” further supports this idea.world’s apathy pushes aside the beauty of life. Even the citizens“watch your feet for cracks in the pavement” to avoid seeing others and having to stray from their own perfunctory routine. The bleak imagery sets a scene of a town bland and devoid of any individuality. From afar, the strangeness of humans who “lock up their spirits,drill holes in themselves ” is observed. human nature causes people to hide their true selves in order to conform to norms, despite the fact that it may be hurting them. Their inability to share true emotions leaves them to “live for their secrets.” The irony of this is that although we love to gossip and blather, we less frequently express genuine thoughts and