Blows Against The Empire

[amyarizona]

I just listened to Blows Against the Empire for the first time in ---- oh say about 20 years, and certainly the first time I ever listened to it straight and am really surprised how well that starship piece stands the test of time.

I can't get the words and music (most of which I still knew by heart) out of my head. I enjoyed it so much I have replayed it a couple of times since and found it was good music to make love to then and still is now. I don't get those flashbacks they promised us but found this music could take me on a bit of a trip.

I don't know who reads this forum but if any of the Airplane/Starship who made that album read this, I just wanted to say: thanks for the music and the memories. .

[baronvonjack]

way to go girl


go ride the music

[liltawen]

I listen to it frequently.Just love the whole thing especially "Starship" but tend to add "House on Pooniel Corners"to it in my head.

[Guest]

So did you guys here how people think that in the song "A Child Is Coming" there is satanic masking? It seems that in the song when he is saying "Its Getting Better" backwards its saying "Son of Satan". So I guess you can conclude that the "child" that is coming is the child of satan. It also explains why the song starts off all happy but then gets really dark. Though Paul repeatedly told the press that the song was not intentionally made to have backwards masking and he himself could not hear it when he played it backwards on his next album he spoofed some messages. In one song he says "devils food cake".

And thats my two cents

[BlackCladLizard]

by the way that was me again! i really should log in then type it in

[Don Rico]

Wow...

I dunno... Guest, I guess that is the most wacked-out shit I have heard in a long time...

And here, dumb ol' foolishly naive me always jus' figgered that the "child" that was "coming" referred to "god" a/k/a China Slick-Kantner...

[JPPMcStepBBlues]

I dont think that is what that song means, I just think the slow part is more of an ending to the A side of the record and leaving open space for the B side. The song talks about two lovers being in the park and her telling him that "a child is coming" and what they are going to do about it, as not tell Uncle Sam that he exists. Seems to be the ending is sort of a prelude to the B side which deals with getting the starship and leaving the earth. Which is probably the "its getting better" part. If you listen to the lyrics they are not at all satanic just the music is more slow. Crosby, Slick, and Kantner say stuff like "it's getting better", "being together", "it getting better to be born to be alive", doesn't sound very satanic to me.

[noelpne]

I think the people that were bitchin' were the original Ultra-Right-Wing
Christianity Group-type people. The same kind who used to make
bonfires out of Beatle, Jerry Lee Lewis & Little Richard Records, and also
alleged some 80's Rock Groups made music that incited suicide.

I simply thought it was about Paul & Graces baby - and how they were
considering bringing her up 'out-of-the-system'. That;s not nieve of me,
was it?

Love the key change in the middle of that song from 'Happy-happy' to
'Very Serious' . It makes it.

[psychhead]

Yeah, come to think of it, it IS good music to make love to!!!!

Rob

I just listened to Blows Against the Empire for the first time in ---- oh say about 20 years, and certainly the first time I ever listened to it straight and am really surprised how well that starship piece stands the test of time.

I can't get the words and music (most of which I still knew by heart) out of my head. I enjoyed it so much I have replayed it a couple of times since and found it was good music to make love to then and still is now. I don't get those flashbacks they promised us but found this music could take me on a bit of a trip.

I don't know who reads this forum but if any of the Airplane/Starship who made that album read this, I just wanted to say: thanks for the music and the memories. .

[Guest]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that Grace & Paul didn't know they were expecting China when that track was written - a litlle ESP maybe?
Back in 1970 it would have suited a lot of people to suggest the popular leaders of the counterculture were satanists - seems a rather unoriginal ploy, but it seems to have stuck for 35 years!

[whterabbit51]

is about change....and making life better...its a classic...so pro peace and love.......up to this year i would still get the high as promised.....only to be replaced by a milder one......

[Pooniel]

I dont think that is what that song means, I just think the slow part is more of an ending to the A side of the record and leaving open space for the B side. The song talks about two lovers being in the park and her telling him that "a child is coming" and what they are going to do about it, as not tell Uncle Sam that he exists. Seems to be the ending is sort of a prelude to the B side which deals with getting the starship and leaving the earth. Which is probably the "its getting better" part. If you listen to the lyrics they are not at all satanic just the music is more slow. Crosby, Slick, and Kantner say stuff like "it's getting better", "being together", "it getting better to be born to be alive", doesn't sound very satanic to me.

ya...this is my favorite album ever. Its a concept album before the creation of the term "concept album".....and u are right JPPMcStepBBlues... its preface to the hijacking of the starship. There is a fantastic song about China though on Sunfighter, an album that goes hand in hand with Blows.

[hojucandy]

it's one of my favourite ever albums too. i bought the record back in 1970 or so when it first came out. then i bought the cd when it became available.

when i moved to korea 4 years ago i mp3 encoded all my cd's onto a big external hard drive. well, earlier this year that HD crashed and i lost it all. no big problem as i have the original back in australia, but i decided to download another copy of this album coz i missed it so much. this was just last week.

imagine my surprise when listening to the familiar song "let's go together" on my downloaded mp3 copy and i found that the lyrics are totally different...

anyone know anything about this??? there are two different versions of this song?

excuse my ignorance. i actually searched round a bit and could find no reference to this. that is why i joined this forum...

[Box Of Rain]

When I bought Blows off of amazon.com, there was this review on there where some guy stated there had been altered lyrics in "Let's Go Together" and encouraged everyone to buy vinyl to hear the original. I don't know what the changes were - I've only ever heard the "Edited version" I guess. What are the changed lyrics, anyway?

[JPPMcStepBBlues]

I would be interested to hear what the lyrical chages were, since I have it on vinyl and there is a booklet with all the lyrics, here is the old version:

Wherever I go I see you people
I see you people just like me
And whatever ever I do I want to do
And the Pooh and you and me together make three
Lets Go Together
Lets Go Together
Lets Go Together
Wave goodbye to Amerika
Say hello to the garden

You know I see - I see the way you feel
And I know that your life is real
Pioneer searcher refugee
I follow you and you follow me
Lets Go Together....ooooo
Wave goodbye....
Say Hello

......now someone has to put the lyrics for the newer version so we can compare. I am glad that I copied the vinyl to a CD instead of buying the CD because I would have not liked the change.