Re: The Ninth Wave discussion

[Jennifer Wallenfels <jwallen@wdni.com>]

krys.thomas@wmcmail.wmc.ac.uk wrote:
> 
> I have been reading the mail regarding "The Ninth Wave" and find it interesting.
> My own theory about it is that it does not necessarily need to be interpreted in
> a literal sense, i.e that it is about a drowning person.  I prefer to read it as
> situation about the emotional/psychological "drowning" a person may experience
> at times of great trauma in one's life.  

[snip]

> Krys


I'm with you there, Kris.  I myself am overanalytical at times, but for some reason, I spare art 
from my tedious analysis.  Not that I found this discussion tedious, just amusing.

But it reminded me of something I wanted to mention.  Years ago a fellow Kate fan pointed out to me 
a possible interpretation of "Under Ice."  One *could* look at it as  (you all are going to hate me 
for this, I know!)  a rude personal awakening at the end of a cocaine binge.  Witness the lines:

I'm speeding...
Cutting out little lines, in the ice...
Spitting snow...

This could be the protagonist cutting and doing lines on a mirror  (looks like ice)... speeding is 
slang for being high on stimulants... snow is slang for coke.  Then the end of the song where she 
sees first something moving, then someone under the ice and then suddenly realizes "It's meeeeeee!" 
 is that she sees her own face in the mirror and sees what she's doing to herself.

See, I told you y'all were going to hate me for bringing this up.  I don't necessarily think this is 
what she meant, but I thought it was a particularly clever interpretation.  

Ok, flame away!  (You've got to admit, that on that picture of her in the HOL lyrics pages on the No 
Dead Trees page... her eyes look pretty glassy...)

Jenn