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What is Totem about?

Segue Myles

By Segue Myles,
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Segue Myles

Segue Myles

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Is it about lack of faith, atheism, too many religions? The lyrics confuse me...does he (I presume its Peart) believe only in what he can see?
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Lerxster

Lerxster

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"I've always been curious about all religions, and the Totem idea came from the Freud book 'Totem And Taboo', which I ran across at the Chalet studio where we were working just in the bookshelf in the living room. I had been kind of rediscovering Freud by way of Jung and getting to understand the really deep stuff he was dealing with as opposed to some of the pop psychology that we were fed growing up, and I thought Totem And Taboo was such a beautiful title because it's what we fear and what we worship. Totem being what we worship and Taboo being what we fear. What a beautiful, embracing metaphor. At one time, the song Resist was called 'Taboo' because I wanted to have the two little set pieces of what we fear, and in 'Totem' I was just trying to appropriate all religions because that's what I found looking around at different religions and different systems, is that they all have something good. So I thought why not have them all? The 'Buddha smile' is a nice thing, and I'd like to have 12 Apostles...it's all great. It was really just a kind of tongue and cheek, all the good things of different religions." Neil Peart, Jam! Showbiz, October 16, 1996

 

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/main/RushInspirations.htm

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Segue Myles

Segue Myles

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I don't get the hate for T4E. Maybe it will get worse with repeated plays? Totem stood out as one of the better tracks!

 

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I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul

Vishnu and Gaia, Aztec and Maya

Dance around my totem pole

Totem pole...

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/thats_a_penis_reverse.gif

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OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan

OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan

Posted
Posted
I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul

Vishnu and Gaia, Aztec and Maya

Dance around my totem pole

Totem pole...

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/thats_a_penis_reverse.gif

 

Those lyrics really suck...and Neil must live in a vacuum if he didn't see how...phallic that sounds.

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Posted
Posted
I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul

Vishnu and Gaia, Aztec and Maya

Dance around my totem pole

Totem pole...

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/thats_a_penis_reverse.gif

 

Those lyrics really suck...and Neil must live in a vacuum if he didn't see how...phallic that sounds.

 

Well what else is Neil supposed to do with a pantheon of animals, Vishnu and Gaia? He obviously just wrote out what would come naturally.

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Lerxster

Lerxster

Posted
Posted
I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul

Vishnu and Gaia, Aztec and Maya

Dance around my totem pole

Totem pole...

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/thats_a_penis_reverse.gif

 

Those lyrics really suck...and Neil must live in a vacuum if he didn't see how...phallic that sounds.

I never considered it phallic until people on the internet told me it was. That gif's funny, but that's obviously not the intended meaning.

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goose

goose

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"I've always been curious about all religions, and the Totem idea came from the Freud book 'Totem And Taboo', which I ran across at the Chalet studio where we were working just in the bookshelf in the living room. I had been kind of rediscovering Freud by way of Jung and getting to understand the really deep stuff he was dealing with as opposed to some of the pop psychology that we were fed growing up, and I thought Totem And Taboo was such a beautiful title because it's what we fear and what we worship. Totem being what we worship and Taboo being what we fear. What a beautiful, embracing metaphor. At one time, the song Resist was called 'Taboo' because I wanted to have the two little set pieces of what we fear, and in 'Totem' I was just trying to appropriate all religions because that's what I found looking around at different religions and different systems, is that they all have something good. So I thought why not have them all? The 'Buddha smile' is a nice thing, and I'd like to have 12 Apostles...it's all great. It was really just a kind of tongue and cheek, all the good things of different religions." Neil Peart, Jam! Showbiz, October 16, 1996

 

http://www.2112.net/...nspirations.htm

A religious tour d' force. Much of T4E is pretty light hearted, playful even. That's the charm of Dog Years for me, though most don't seem to catch that wave (I just back-translated an idiom from Spanish there...weird)

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JARG

JARG

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I don't get the hate for T4E. Maybe it will get worse with repeated plays? Totem stood out as one of the better tracks!

 

Yes Totem is a real gem. One of Alex's best solos, imo.

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PolarizeMe

PolarizeMe

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I don't get the hate for T4E. Maybe it will get worse with repeated plays? Totem stood out as one of the better tracks!

 

Yes Totem is a real gem. One of Alex's best solos, imo.

Definitely an underrated song IMO. Maybe it should be brought into the set on the next tour they do. I can totally picture the song working well in a live setting.

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"I've always been curious about all religions, and the Totem idea came from the Freud book 'Totem And Taboo', which I ran across at the Chalet studio where we were working just in the bookshelf in the living room. I had been kind of rediscovering Freud by way of Jung and getting to understand the really deep stuff he was dealing with as opposed to some of the pop psychology that we were fed growing up, and I thought Totem And Taboo was such a beautiful title because it's what we fear and what we worship. Totem being what we worship and Taboo being what we fear. What a beautiful, embracing metaphor. At one time, the song Resist was called 'Taboo' because I wanted to have the two little set pieces of what we fear, and in 'Totem' I was just trying to appropriate all religions because that's what I found looking around at different religions and different systems, is that they all have something good. So I thought why not have them all? The 'Buddha smile' is a nice thing, and I'd like to have 12 Apostles...it's all great. It was really just a kind of tongue and cheek, all the good things of different religions." Neil Peart, Jam! Showbiz, October 16, 1996

 

http://www.2112.net/...nspirations.htm

A religious tour d' force. Much of T4E is pretty light hearted, playful even. That's the charm of Dog Years for me, though most don't seem to catch that wave (I just back-translated an idiom from Spanish there...weird)

 

I'm sure most get it. That still doesn't make the quality of the overall album any better. I like quite a few songs from the album. The tune is quite catchy in this song, but the lyrics just seem poorly written to me and it puts me off. I'm not sure if Neil's trying to be serious or I'm supposed to have an image of a cartoony Vishnu and Gaia playing ring around the rosy around a totem poll. The juxtaposition just doesn't work in the context of this song.

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goose

goose

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Posted

"I've always been curious about all religions, and the Totem idea came from the Freud book 'Totem And Taboo', which I ran across at the Chalet studio where we were working just in the bookshelf in the living room. I had been kind of rediscovering Freud by way of Jung and getting to understand the really deep stuff he was dealing with as opposed to some of the pop psychology that we were fed growing up, and I thought Totem And Taboo was such a beautiful title because it's what we fear and what we worship. Totem being what we worship and Taboo being what we fear. What a beautiful, embracing metaphor. At one time, the song Resist was called 'Taboo' because I wanted to have the two little set pieces of what we fear, and in 'Totem' I was just trying to appropriate all religions because that's what I found looking around at different religions and different systems, is that they all have something good. So I thought why not have them all? The 'Buddha smile' is a nice thing, and I'd like to have 12 Apostles...it's all great. It was really just a kind of tongue and cheek, all the good things of different religions." Neil Peart, Jam! Showbiz, October 16, 1996

 

http://www.2112.net/...nspirations.htm

A religious tour d' force. Much of T4E is pretty light hearted, playful even. That's the charm of Dog Years for me, though most don't seem to catch that wave (I just back-translated an idiom from Spanish there...weird)

 

I'm sure most get it. That still doesn't make the quality of the overall album any better. I like quite a few songs from the album. The tune is quite catchy in this song, but the lyrics just seem poorly written to me and it puts me off. I'm not sure if Neil's trying to be serious or I'm supposed to have an image of a cartoony Vishnu and Gaia playing ring around the rosy around a totem poll. The juxtaposition just doesn't work in the context of this song.

The whole thing seems a little smarmy, hidden behind playfulness. Paying homage to a breadth of religious icons, when no real feeling is there. I've got twelve disciples and a Buddha smile

Garden of Allah, Viking Valhalla

A miracle once in a while

 

I've got a pantheon of animals in a pagan soul

Vishnu and Gaia, Aztec and Maya

Dance around my totem pole

Totem pole...

 

I believe in what I see

I believe in what I hear

I believe that what I'm feeling

Changes how the world appears

 

Angels and demons dancing in my head

Lunatics and monsters underneath my bed

Media messiahs preying on my fears

Pop culture prophets playing in my ears

 

I've got celestial mechanics

To synchronize my stars

Seasonal migrations, daily variations

World of the unlikely and bizarre

 

I've got idols and icons, unspoken holy vows

Thoughts to keep well-hidden

Sacred and forbidden

Free to browse among the holy cows

 

That's why I believe

 

Angels and demons inside of me

Saviors and Satans all around me

 

Sweet chariot, swing low, coming for me

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Czarcasm

Czarcasm

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I don't get the hate for T4E. Maybe it will get worse with repeated plays? Totem stood out as one of the better tracks!

Thank you. I've never understood the hate it gets around here. The solo in totem is beautiful and the album is full of great moments.

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The Analog Grownup

The Analog Grownup

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Great...this song is forever ruined!

 

Thanks you guys! :'(

 

You asked what it was about. If you are afraid of the answers you're going to get, don't ask the question.

 

And seriously....our opinions ruined this song for you?! Grow a set dude.

 

I second that. If that's all it takes to ruin a song then someone's got sensibility issues. Just saying. :huh:

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Tombstone Mountain

Tombstone Mountain

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Great...this song is forever ruined!

 

Thanks you guys! :'(

 

You asked what it was about. If you are afraid of the answers you're going to get, don't ask the question.

 

And seriously....our opinions ruined this song for you?! Grow a set dude.

For real dude. Segue, how do you pronounce your name? Is it see—guh—ee?

 

I second that. If that's all it takes to ruin a song then someone's got sensibility issues. Just saying. :huh:

seems to be a bit pretentious as well
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