Midnight Oil

[Powderworks] androporosphere

Kate Parker Adams kate@dnki.net
Wed, 24 Sep 2003 17:22:04 -0400


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VERILY the official website sayeth unto the Powderworking cistern and 
brethren with regard to Albums 7:7

Girls are not smiling
The stars have gone out
The man with the landslide
Got his head in the ground
Like an unopened letter
Left under the door
He says I am the answer you're looking for

Whoah - oh
Don't wanna see you back here again

Above we dream in Andropovosphere
Who maintains the drunken machinery
Below we dream of a time
When those men come from West Point

http://www.midnightoil.com/music/album-diesel.html#whoa

It all comes together if you consider:

The man with the landslide = Ronald Reagan and his friends referred to his 
1984 victory as a landslide because they won the elections in nearly all 50 
states.  The reality was that Reagan was elected by a small plurality of 
half of the eligible voters, but very evenly so across the 
country.  Slightly more than 50% of 50% thus meant nearly 100% of the electors.

When those men come from West Point = West Point is the US Military Academy 
at West Point, New York. West Point is the source of much of the officer 
corps and all the elite officers in the US Army.  Probably symbolic of 
Reagan's saber-rattling "gunboat diplomacy" based on the projection of US 
military might around the world.  Sound familiar?

Within this context, "Andropovosphere" holds up the Soviet component of the 
sort of on-the-brink-of-nuclear-war and escalating arms race madness which 
characterized the early and mid-1980s segment of the cold war era.

This is the background material - the *real* meaning of whole or of the 
rest is up to you *scary* folks to figure out, with electronic brickbats if 
necessary.  Anyone know why it is the seventh song of the seventh 
album?  Must be symbolic of something! ;-)

I love this place!

Best,
Kate


At 02:32 PM 9/24/03 -0400, Bruce Robertson wrote:
>Greetings Scholarly Workers!
>
>I guess you do learn something new every day. In a classic case of 
>mis-heard lyrics, I thought this term was 'Anthropodosphere' and read it 
>as a reference to the earth, as a sphere inhabited and dominated by 
>creatures roughly resembling human beings. I'm intrigued by the reference 
>to Andropov, and fear now I have probably misunderstood this song from the 
>get-go. Time to give it another listen.
>
>bruce in calgary
>
>Kate Parker Adams <kate@dnki.net> wrote:
>It's "Andropovosphere" and it refers to a Yuri Andropov, very briefly the
>leader of the Soviet Union in the 1980s prior to the Glasnost of Gorbachev
>and the collapse of communist rule. As I recall, Andropov was very
>reclusive and very possibly murdered, given the length of his tenure.
>
>At 12:31 PM 9/24/03 -1000, you wrote:
>
> >i am loathe to ask, because i know somewhere in the powdies deep dark past
> >this subject was covered, but does anyone know to what the
> >"androporosphere" refers?
> >
> >cheers,
> >joffa
> >http://www.jeack.com.au
> >_______________________________________________
> >Powderworks mailing list
> >Powderworks@cs.colorado.edu
> >http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Kate Parker Adams
>kate@dnki.net
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>"She's gonna dream up the world she wants to live in,
>She's gonna dream out loud" - U2 (Zooropa)
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>go Out Of Mind ... http://www.dnki.net/blog
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>Powderworks mailing list
>Powderworks@cs.colorado.edu
>http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks
>
>
>
>Post your free ad now! <http://ca.personals.yahoo.com/>Yahoo! Canada Personals

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kate Parker Adams
kate@dnki.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"She's gonna dream up the world she wants to live in,
She's gonna dream out loud" - U2 (Zooropa)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
go Out Of Mind ... http://www.dnki.net/blog
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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<html>
VERILY the official website sayeth unto the Powderworking cistern and
brethren with regard to <i>Albums 7:7</i> <br>
<br>
Girls are not smiling <br>
The stars have gone out <br>
The man with the landslide<br>
Got his head in the ground <br>
Like an unopened letter <br>
Left under the door <br>
He says I am the answer you're looking for <br>
<br>
Whoah - oh <br>
Don't wanna see you back here again <br>
<br>
Above we dream in <b><i>Andropovosphere <br>
</i></b>Who maintains the drunken machinery <br>
Below we dream of a time <br>
When those men come from West Point <br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.midnightoil.com/music/album-diesel.html#whoa" eudora="autourl">http://www.midnightoil.com/music/album-diesel.html#whoa</a><br>
<br>
It all comes together if you consider:<br>
<br>
<i>The man with the landslide =</i> Ronald Reagan and his friends
referred to his 1984 victory as a <i>landslide</i> because they won the
elections in nearly all 50 states.&nbsp; The reality was that Reagan was
elected by a small plurality of half of the eligible voters, but very
evenly so across the country.&nbsp; Slightly more than 50% of 50% thus
meant nearly 100% of the electors.<br>
<br>
<i>When those men come from West Point = </i>West Point is the US
Military Academy at West Point, New York. West Point is the source of
much of the officer corps and all the elite officers in the US
Army.&nbsp; Probably symbolic of Reagan's saber-rattling &quot;gunboat
diplomacy&quot; based on the projection of US military might around the
world.&nbsp; Sound familiar?<br>
<br>
Within this context, &quot;Andropovosphere&quot; holds up the Soviet
component of the sort of on-the-brink-of-nuclear-war and escalating arms
race madness which characterized the early and mid-1980s segment of the
cold war era.<br>
<br>
This is the background material - the *real* meaning of whole or of the
rest is up to you *scary* folks to figure out, with electronic brickbats
if necessary.&nbsp; Anyone know why it is the seventh song of the seventh
album?&nbsp; Must be symbolic of something! ;-)<br>
<br>
I love this place!<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
Kate<br>
<br>
<br>
At 02:32 PM 9/24/03 -0400, Bruce Robertson wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Greetings Scholarly Workers!<br>
&nbsp;<br>
I guess you do learn something new every day. In a classic case of
mis-heard lyrics, I thought this term was 'Anthropodosphere' and read it
as a reference to the earth, as a sphere inhabited and dominated by
creatures roughly resembling human beings. I'm intrigued by the reference
to Andropov, and fear now I have probably misunderstood this song from
the get-go. Time to give it another listen.<br>
&nbsp;<br>
bruce in calgary<br>
<br>
<b><i>Kate Parker Adams &lt;kate@dnki.net&gt;</i></b> wrote:
<dl>
<dd>It's &quot;Andropovosphere&quot; and it refers to a Yuri Andropov,
very briefly the 
<dd>leader of the Soviet Union in the 1980s prior to the Glasnost of
Gorbachev 
<dd>and the collapse of communist rule. As I recall, Andropov was very 
<dd>reclusive and very possibly murdered, given the length of his
tenure.<br>
<br>

<dd>At 12:31 PM 9/24/03 -1000, you wrote:<br>
<br>

<dd>&gt;i am loathe to ask, because i know somewhere in the powdies deep
dark past
<dd>&gt;this subject was covered, but does anyone know to what the
<dd>&gt;&quot;androporosphere&quot; refers?
<dd>&gt;
<dd>&gt;cheers,
<dd>&gt;joffa
<dd>&gt;<a href="http://www.jeack.com.au/" eudora="autourl">http://www.jeack.com.au</a>
<dd>&gt;_______________________________________________
<dd>&gt;Powderworks mailing list
<dd>&gt;Powderworks@cs.colorado.edu
<dd>&gt;<a href="http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks" eudora="autourl">http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks</a><br>
<br>

<dd>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<dd>Kate Parker Adams
<dd>kate@dnki.net
<dd>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<dd>&quot;She's gonna dream up the world she wants to live in,
<dd>She's gonna dream out loud&quot; - U2 (Zooropa)
<dd>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<dd>go Out Of Mind ...
<a href="http://www.dnki.net/blog" eudora="autourl">http://www.dnki.net/blog</a>
<dd>----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>

<dd>_______________________________________________
<dd>Powderworks mailing list
<dd>Powderworks@cs.colorado.edu
<dd><a href="http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks" eudora="autourl">http://www.cs.colorado.edu/mailman/listinfo/powderworks</a><br>
<br>

</dl><br>
<br>
Post your free ad now! <a href="http://ca.personals.yahoo.com/">Yahoo!
Canada Personals</a></b></blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Kate Parker Adams<br>
kate@dnki.net<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
&quot;She's gonna dream up the world she wants to live in,<br>
She's gonna dream out loud&quot; - U2 (Zooropa)<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
go Out Of Mind ...
<a href="http://www.dnki.net/blog" eudora="autourl">http</a>://www.dnki.net/<a href="http://www.dnki.net/blog" eudora="autourl">blog<br>
</a>----------------------------------------------------------------------------</html>

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