Friday, October 26, 2012

Pugsly's 2012 Halloween: Special Review


Soylent Green Double Review

 

Part One: The song









It is that time of year again; time to pull out my slightly more Gothic music and my paranormal stuff for reviewing. This year, I am reviewing a movie that has a song loosely based off of it. I will get to the movie later since I have to watch it but I can review the song “Soylent Green” by Wumpscut.
“Soylent Green” comes from the album “Music for a Slaughtering Tribe” originally released in 1993. The song has become a frequently played song at events and clubs in the Goth and industrial subcultures, in Germany, United States, and the UK. "Soylent Grün” is the German version of the song that I don’t feel like reviewing because it is the same song but “the German Version is more dramatic on words,” a quote from Rudy Ratzinger.
“Soylent Green” contains audio samples from the German dubbed version of Soylent Green (known as 2022 — Die Überleben Wollen in Germany) and contains samples from some of Charlton Heston aka Detective Robert Thorn’s lines from the movie. “Soylent Green” is indeed loosely based off the movie of the same name. Rudy confirmed it via Facebook.




The song has an acquired taste. You'll either love it or hate it and if you love it, the vocal distortion might drive you away. At first I never really cared for the song but over time I've warmed up to it. The opening is the best part of the song. That was the hook for me, I heard that first minute of the song and I loved it then the vocals happened and it confused me. I'll elaborate more later... Oh and the song is also six minutes long...

Verse one:
Welcome to the worlds of dreams
Where people have to satisfy the need to sell their means
Don't look back in anger
You're not the only one
To choke on all this madness,
Cause all you get is none
All you get is none

I have to say the more I listen to this song it gets better and better every time. However the vocal distortion still annoys me but it isn’t terrible in this verse. I get the feeling I should have watched the movie before reviewing the song but it’s not heavily based off of the movie. I know the basic plot of the movie and I did spoil it for myself by reading Wikipedia’s plot synopsis for the movie. That happened a while ago though so I don’t remember every little detail it mentioned. This verse sort of sums up the movie and the themes inside the movie, which the Wikipedia article sums up the plot as:
The film overlays the police procedural and science fiction genres as it depicts the investigation into the murder of a wealthy businessman in a dystopian future suffering from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty, dying oceans, and a hot climate due to the greenhouse effect. Much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green"

Verse two:
All you get is none
Don't look back in anger
You´re not the only one
Live for, die for
the substance of your life.
You cannot chain your misery
Just seal it in your life
moving in circles, the anger emanates
the madness all around you
the healing hands of Fate.

Verse two contains very muddy vocals. It starts out clear and then somewhere towards the middle the music and the vocals just collide and melt. As awesome as the music playing behind the vocals it’s awkward when they are randomly drowned out.

Chorus:
“Soylent!
This is right.
This is the truth you prayed for
This is the fruit you die for
Can't get away
Can't get away
Can't get away
Can't get away
Can't get away
Can't get away
Can't get away
Can't get away
Get your anger
Can’t get
Get your anger away"

Soylent green seems to be a really big deal if people are legitimately dying for it, I don’t think it sounds like the good thing it might have intended to be. I’m guessing it was marketed as something good but it can’t be all that great since it is the title of the movie and said movie seems to revolve around it.

Random German Verse 1:
(Translated by Aaron because he’s awesome and knows German)
"Rindfleisch, miss shirl"
"Haben Sie ein Solches stück schon mal gesehn?"
"Wie oft kann ich denn schon einmal meiner Kundschaft etwas anbieten, was derart Phantastisch ist?"
"Nun ist es also soweit"
"Richtig ist es nicht doch, notwendig"
"Für Gott"
"Für Gott"
"Für Gott"
"Für Gott"
"Für Gott"
"Geh mit Gott"

What this translates to:
(The first verse of German)
“Beef Miss shrill?
You seen this cut before
how often can I offer costumers something so posh (fancy)
Now the time has come
right, but is it not necessary
for god
for god
for god
for god
for god
go with god”

Verse Three:
“Run!
Soylent Green
Soylent Green
Soylent Green
Soylent Green
Soylent Green
Soylent - this is the way to resurrect
The hope, the fear
The bodies are littered”

Screaming and repeating one word tends to get really annoying really fast. Especially when you have to backtrack to certain verses of songs because you haven’t formed an opinion or thought of anything coherent to say about a verse.

Verse Four:
“God and religion,
Religious in vain
Religious in vain
Religious in vain
God is Religion, religious imprisonment!”

The irritating screaming and heavy distortion is hard to listen to one time let alone constant repeating due to how I go about reviewing songs. The lyrics aren’t muddled in with the audio but the distortion and the range make my brain malfunction and deciphering it by ear was impossible so I was rather shocked to find out that verse six is yelling about religion being terrible. Okay not shocked that it’s saying religion is terrible but I wasn’t even sure if it was in English at first.

Random German Verse 2:
 “Ich kann ihnen nicht helfen, leider verzeihen sie mir”
"Was hat er gebeichtet?"
"Gott möge uns schützen"

"Ich hab gesehn was sich dort abspielt"
"Die Ozeane sind leer, das Plankton geht zugrunde"
"Es dauert nicht lange und sie werden Menschen züchten zur ernährung, wie vieh"
"Die menschheit muss es wissen"

"Es ist Menschenfleisch"
"Soylent grün ist ein Produkt aus Menschenfleisch"

Translation:
(Also translated by Aaron and it contains spoilers which I didnt know about until he translated it)
              
I can't help you, they forgive me unfortunately
"what did they confess?"
"god bless us"
"I've seen what there happens"
The oceans are empty the plankton rot"
"it does not take long they breed people like cattle"
Mankind must know this"
it is man flesh (human meat?)
soylent green is a product of man flesh (soylent green is people)
RUN
god bless us
soylent green is man flesh

Well I guess that ruined the movie for me I knew I should have watched it before listening to the song Oh well, too late now since I already know what the whole mystery of the movie will be about. And Im not shocked in a dystopian future the dealing with overpopulation issues turned to turning people into food and selling it to the rest of the world. Im not shocked in the least bit at all. Have you seen how stupid politicians are now! What do you think theyd be like if the world turned into the state the world from the movie Soylent Green?
Well thats the last verse of the song, if it counts as a verse since it is technically dialogue from the movie. It doesnt sound like its being sung either and that kind of sucks because theres a quote from Citizen Kane in the song Fear In Your Eyes and it sounds like someone is singing it even though no one is actually singing. Maybe some quotes are more rhythmic than other quotes. The ending would have been amazing if it ended with just the major movie spoiler part repeating to a fade after the last what sounds like 32nd notes. I might be wrong my musical knowledge isnt that great anyways that last bit right before the Soylent grün ist ein Produkt aus Menschenfleisch, the little awesome part happens muscially and then the line happens and fades. Thats how the song should have ended, that scream is torture and it feels like it lasts forever. Also this might be a nitpick and completely pointless to mention because you have to end a song somehow but I feel like once the dialogue happens some of the momentum dies and it flatlines and then a loud scream that lasts forever.

Overall I think this song is decent, Im not exactly sure how or why it is super popular in industrial cubs but I wont complain about it gaining popularity as well as maintaining it. Now to watch the movie, thats already been spoiled for me... as well as anyone else who hasnt seen it yet.

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