Moby's Play
Welcome to my latest post in my song interpretations. This time around, I am going to be interpreting songs written and composed by Moby released on his album Play and one song from his album Moby. Both released in the 90s, Moby in 1992 and Play in 1999. Though he may not be as big as U2 or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moby’s music is some of my favourite and is up there with my favourite bands such as Linkin Park, Coldplay, and Depeche Mode. I think that Play is very creative and inspired as it is part instrumental and part lyrical. With that said, let’s get into it.
Porcelain
The first song we’ll be discussing is Porcelain which is Track 3 in Play. Looking at what genres Moby has been classified as, he apparently plays genres known as downtempo and ambient music. Downtempo makes me think of nature with a very calm and serene tone and this is exactly what Porcelain makes me feel as it’s classified as downtempo. It sounds dreamy, not of this world. Like an out-of-body spiritual/mental experience. It makes me feel like I’m going into an astral form and being taken on a tour of the planet’s natural beauty. Close-ups of the rain falling, snowy mountaintops, the sun shining, the dew on the leaves of trees and the tree’s unique shapes defined with their branches. Flying over oceans looking straight up at the clouds with the bright blue sky as the background. The soundtrack to Donkey Kong Country 2 for SNES would be considered downtempo/ambient since it sounds similar to this. I think anybody who can make music like this is a genius so yes, David Wise is a genius. This song also reminds me of Enigma’s Return to Innocence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJWlBfo5Oj0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk_sAHh9s08
Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad
We move onto Track 4. This is also classified as downtempo. The piano plays such a blues-y tune that’s sad and there’s a man actually asking “Why does my heart feel so bad?'“. It sounds introspective and retrospective. Moby even called the song mournful. I imagine a man looking at his reflection in a body of water whether it be a puddle or lake. It’s very melancholic. Whatever sounds the synth makes in the background starting at 0:42 just makes it even more soulful and then 1:38, another vocalist begins singing what sounds like “He doesn’t know” as if the man is lost. He is in somekind of heartache or soulache for whatever reason- a very allegorical song for one searching for his soul.
South Side
Track 5- South Side. You may remember a version of this being done with Gwen Stefani though this version is better. With her in it, it just sounds like pop music. I prefer the alternative rock sound that this song is classified as. I don’t think this song makes me feel anything, it’s just cool and funky with a hint of hip-hop. The guitar also helps. Say what you will, if you’ve listened to Micheal Jackson’s Beat It, The Eagles’ Hotel California, or Audioslave’s Like A Stone you’ll know they all have one thing in common- a sick-ass solo. This one is no different. At 2:10 you will hear a 20-second guitar solo.
Rushing
Track 6. Another downtempo though this one is much more on the chill side. This one is very relaxing and soothing and makes me feel like I’m swimming underwater with the creatures of the deep: the whales, sharks, dolphins etc. It also alternatively makes me think of just relaxing under the shade of a tree on a hill with mountains on the horizon on a very bright, sunny day.
Natural Blues
Track 8. The music video of this song shows Moby as an old man in a geriatric home. I think he dies in the video and is carried off by an angel portrayed by Christina Ricci. He then turns into a baby, perhaps symbolizing that he is starting life anew. The whole song we just hear an old man talking/singing which is a sample from the American folk song ‘Trouble So Hard’ by Vera Hall. The lyrics say “Oh Lordy, trouble so hard, don’t nobody know my troubles but God”. The music sounds very existential, as if a man who had lived all his years is lying on his deathbed reflecting and thinking about his life. Starting at 2:04 when the bridge begins, I think of the old man lying in the hospital, a century old, smiling and crying and thinking about all his achievements and regrets, but sadly having his lost his wife and siblings and parents but all is not absolutely despair as he is survived by his own children who are great-grandparents of their own, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. He closes his eyes and dreams at 2:40 and begins reaching for a bright, white light he sees. At 3:15, his soul departs his body as he begins ascending to the heavens taken in the arms of the angel. For the final 22 seconds, the old man’s eyes are closed as he passes away with a smile on his face and a tear from his left eye.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC6-TiN19uE
Everloving
We now jump to Track 14. Another instrumental like Rushing. When I first found this song on Youtube, I saw a video (not official), of a train driving through snow-covered land and mountains in the background. It’s quite fitting and calming. I never really put my mind to what this song makes me think and feel myself. Every time I hear this song I think to the video. I think I would probably think of the same thing. The beautiful whiteness of the snow encapsulates the music better than an ocean or desert or forest would plus the rhythm of the music is synonymous with something in motion hence in this case a train but I suppose a plane flying over the ocean would work just as well too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atyvdC15HFA
Inside
The last song I’ll be discussing from Play is Track 15- Inside. The 3rd instrumental on this list. When I hear this song, I think of being inside a computer or some kind of digital world. Travelling through the circuits and wires and IP address through the Internet. Or driving down a long neon-lit highway at night with 2-D neon buildings surrounding it but no people. There are no people. A city and world made of strictly polygonal shapes like stick people and stick figures but with colour. A 2-D world I guess.
Go
Last but not least is Go from Moby’s debut album Moby. Not entirely sure what I think when I hear this one but for some reason it makes me think of a big city at night and just watching the downtown area as lights are on from the many apartments inside the buildings and from the moving cars. But if you want me to be completely honest, I think of my home city Toronto as I look upon the great city from one of the many islands on Lake Ontario and see the reflection of the downtown core in the water and the CN Tower as it lights up with its different colours and the SkyDome right beside it as you can hear honks and the movement of the cars driving on the Gardiner Expressway just south of the tower. That and the many colours mixed within the city (red, yellow, purple, green, blue, orange, pink, white) are what this song defines to me.
