Re: X4 lyric mystery revived!

[teda.eda.teradyne.com!ames!claris!dll (Dan Liddell)]

In article <279@devnull.mpd.tandem.com> steve@devnull.mpd.tandem.com (Steve Williams) writes:
>
>Several months ago, back when we spent our time here in proper activities
>like arguing interminably about trivial shades of meaning in song lyrics
>and such, Ryan McGuire, IED and I tried to start a fight over our varying
>interpretations of a line of mystery text buried within _Experiment IV_. 
>...
>So, once again:  About halfway through X4, there's a choppy vocal line
>buried deep beneath great amounts of wonderful noise.

>(Official Love-Hounds Map to Buried Lyrics: They closely follow the line
>"It could sing you to sleep" in the standard version of the song. Harder
>to define the location in the extended mix, which lacks that indicator line.)
>
>Ryan heard:
>     I think I must thank you for listening to my tune.
>
>While IED heard:
>     I bet my mum's gonna buy me a little toy instrument.
>
>And John Relph now hears:
>     I think the outline was they're making an [unphonetic] instrument.
>
>While I continue to hear some variation on:
>     I've got my/mine muzzle(d) and they came in tune(d) to destruct/destroy.
>


Using classic methods of discerning obscured lyrics, I hear

"Back- Back- Back- Back-slapping in between the instruments."

This phrase seems consistent with the chronology of the song.  The
words of the song at that point seem to describe "low power testing,"
or nonlethal operation of the machine:

It could feel like falling in love.
It could feel so bad.
It could feel so good.
It could sing you to sleep...

These would be the first concrete results that the researchers had
seen from their machine, and they would be quite pleased with
themselves, congratulating each other amidst the instruments of their
labor.

I was heartened to see that two other entries (this is a contest, isn't
it :) ended with the word instruments. Some of the other entries had
a similar count of syllables.
-- 
Dan Liddell    UUCP decwrl!teda!dll       TELEPHONE 4089805200 USA
curb your dogma.       The opinions and views expressed are Dan's.