The following is obviously very incomplete and accordingly a work-in-process. Updates will be posted from time to time.
Waiting for the Sirens’ Call and The Odyssey
NOTE TO REVIEWERS OF WFSTC: If any person planning to write a review of WFTSC for publication finds any of the following material sufficiently persuasive that he or she wishes to refer to this material in that review, it is requested that any such reference give appropriate credit to NewOrderOnLine.com rather than simply presenting this material as the product of the reviewer’s own mental labor. If uncredited use of this material is made, it can be anticipated that editors at the reviewer’s publication will be notified of the prior publication of this material at NewOrderOnLine.com. Reviewers should be aware that NewOrderOnLine.com has members all over the world, so that it can be expected that any uncredited use of this material will be brought to the attention of the moderators and members of NewOrderOnLine.com. Of course, any reviewer who presents ideas similar to the following but actually developed those ideas independently has no reason to be concerned.
Introduction
The title of New Order’s album Waiting for the Sirens’ Call contains an unmistakable allusion to the best-known incident in The Odyssey, when Odysseus (“O” from now on) has himself bound to his ship’s mast and puts wax in the ears of his men so that he can safely hear the song of the sirens, which, without these precautions, would have meant certain death for all.
More generally, WFTSC and The Odyssey are both filled with numerous wondrous journeys to exotic lands.
As has been discussed before, the parallels between WFTSC and The Odyssey do not stop there.
The following is an attempt to identify some of the additional parallels between these two illustrious works of world literature.
Track 1 (Who’s Joe):
Since this is the opening track of the album, it would be expected that this track would be important for any thematic interpretation of the album. That expectation is amply fulfilled.
a. The initial click.
Many listeners hear what sounds like a click at the beginning of track 1. Among those who hear this click, most probably consider it to be an unfortunate production error. An alternative interpretation has been proposed by the NewOrderOnLine.com member who calls himself BIGINOIL, also known as Big, who is responsible for many of the insights we will be discussing here. Big proposes that the click is intended, and has thematic meaning. He suggests various possible meanings for this click: a light being switched on, fingers being snapped, a twig snapping in a forest. A light being switched on or fingers being snapped would be conventional signifiers of a starting moment. A twig snapping in a forest is not such a conventional signifier of a beginning, but in light of the convention in ancient epic poems of beginning the story “in medias res,” in the middle of things, that view as well would be very apt.
b. The bell.
This track begins (0:15 to 0:45) with the sound of a bell. An initial possible interpretation was that this was a funeral bell, announcing the funeral of the hero, and I continue to believe this aspect is one element of the bell. However, it was at this point that Big stepped in and made the invaluable contribution of suggesting that this bell was in fact a ship’s bell. This was obviously an earthshaking insight and revelation on the part of Big, for which he is deserving of the warmest thanks and gratitude from us all. How could one dispute the proposition that a poem about voyaging would begin with a ship’s bell? Then H stepped in and suggested that the ship’s bell was summoning O and his men from on-shore carousing to the start of their long journeying. Likely correct, I’d say. In addition, of course, this bell summons all of the rest of us to the start of the journey all of us enjoy in listening to WFTSC.
c. Who IS Joe? And who is speaking to him on this track?
At least one review has noted a possible homoerotic aspect to this track, in light of the fact that the male singer addresses a male character with love and a caring, protective attitude. Although New Order’s many gay fans would undoubtedly be pleased with such an interpretation, it is probably not correct. The more genuinely gay moments on the album come on later tracks.
At the start of The Odyssey, O’s son Telemachus goes in search of his long-absent father. The most likely speaker on this track is thus Telemachus, addressing the father that he is searching for. Another possibility is that the speaker is Athena, O’s protector among the gods. If Athena is the speaker on this track, this would not be the first time that Bernard Sumner has adopted a female persona in a New Order track; the other obvious example is 1963.
Bernard Sumner has made the statement that Who’s Joe is about a tramp. O in fact repeatedly disguises himself as an aged beggar.
[Much more to come on Who’s Joe, including the sea-monster at the end.]
Track 2: [To come.]
Track 3: (Waiting for the Sirens’ Call)
This is the album’s title track, and is also considered by many to be one of the two most successful tracks on the album (along with track 10, Turn). Accordingly, one would expect this track to be particularly resonant to any thematic interpretation of the album.
“Gotta catch the midnight train”: Of course there are no railroad trains in The Odyssey, but the reference to a “midnight train” suggests dangerous and surreptitious journeys, of which there are many in The Odyssey.
“How many times must I lose my way”: Another one of Big’s many contributions is to identify this line as being important, a reference to the tasks or labors that are typically set for epic heroes to perform. This line is certainly descriptive of O’s lengthy wanderings.
Track 4 (Krafty):
“Looking at the stars from underneath a tree.” In the Nausicaa episode, O spends a night sleeping in a tree. Thus, one can imagine O “looking at the stars from underneath a tree” during this experience.
O is commonly referred to as “wily,” in other words “crafty” or “krafty.” The Trojan horse was his idea, for example.
Track 5 (I Told You So):
“It’s been ten long years since I’ve been home”: This line is one of the more strikingly clear allusions to The Odyssey on WFTSC. The reference is to the length of time O has been away from home.
“You conned me with your feline tricks”: A reference to Calypso and/or Circe.
Track 6 (Morning Night and Day):
Lotus-eaters. Details to follow.
Track 7 (Dracula's Castle):
Dracula’s Castle may be a reference to Cyclops’ cave. Cyclops is in fact a man-eater. He devours several of O’s comrades.
Track 8 (Jetstream):
It has been suggested that tracks 7 and 8, Jetstream and Guilt Is A Useless Emotion, represent the Scylla and Charibdis that a listener must get past in order to reach the reward of track 10, Turn. This suggestion was obviously presented by one of those listeners who does not care for the style of these two tracks.
Track 9 (Guilt Is A Useless Emotion): [To come]
Track 10 (Turn): [To come]
Track 11 (Working Overtime): [To come]
:D
