Category Archives: Music

The Grudge

The Grudge

Saturn Comes Back Around

“Saturn ascends

Choose one or ten

Hang on or be

Humbled again”

In astrology, planets “ascending” means one of two things, either entering the “ascendant” (or “rising sign”), or coming close to another planet. In this case it would be Saturn coming back around to it’s original place in the birth chart.

Choose one or ten is a reference to the sephiroth of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. One is Kether, the first emanation and the “higher” path, while ten is Malkuth, the last sephiroth and considered the “lower” path.

Saturn is generally feared because it’s the most “misery” inducing planet due to it often bringing hardship and difficult trials into one’s life. However, what most people don’t realize is that Saturn is there to show you what your limits are, currently, but it’s also going to teach you how to work within as well as how to break free of them. In a sense, you have to learn to crawl before you can walk.

You can essentially choose to “hang on”, by taking the higher path and trying to find purpose and reason in the events of your life, or you can be humbled again because Saturn will keep pushing you down until you learn the lesson.

Much of what Saturn teaches during this period is about letting go of the illusions of our fractured psyche which is why we see this interplay of dragging down/lifting up so much throughout the song.

You can lose yourself in the emotional tidal waves of pain, anger and frustration (drags you down), or you can let it all go (and regain your child-like innocence).

By shattering our ego-fueled illusions (generally constructed in childhood), Saturn actually brings us to a place of maturation and peace through acceptance, release, and letting go of the pain and trauma of our early years of life.

-Via Genius Lyrics Commentors

Pumpkins Reunion

When you read things like “Smashing Pumpkins ‘Reunion’ Record”, after first making sure that it’s not just a clickbait headline, you’d be forgiven for finding yourself with a musical hard-on. Alas, the bizkit is a bit limp now. Granted, this is not a full reunion – there’s no D’Arcy – but the other 3 dudes are there, so there was promise. For me this record wasn’t what I wanted it to be. Until track 4. Solara kicks ass. But that was the peak, and then everything went downhill again, and that was after pretty much forcing myself through the first 3 tracks to get there. I’ll come right out and say this is all on me. Understand, I have a serious psycho-musicalogical history with the first two Pumpkins records. I believe they may have altered my brain chemistry. Frankly I don’t know what to do with a modern-day Billy Corgan. He’s matured and so have I so logic says I shouldn’t be expecting ‘Gish’ from these guys again. Honestly, I wasn’t. But that’s what I wanted. I wanted ‘Gish’ with better production. Which admittedly is unrealistic. And selfish. Arguably, this is a good record. The production is on point, Jimmy back behind the kit is in excellent form and the songs are well composed and delivered (though I think some of them have too much synth/keyboards in ‘em, but whatevs.) I believe critics will call this a solid reunion record, and that’s probably a fair statement. For me, after listening to ‘Solara’ 6 times in a row (ok, and a few spins of ‘Marchin On’), I turned it off and put on ‘Gish’, basking fully in my retrogrouch status. They say you can never go home again, and that may be true, but it would seem you can still visit that trashed group house with the beer-soaked carpets where you lived for awhile any time you want. Don’t take it personally, it’s not you, Billy, it’s me.