Skip to main content

The Posies - Definite Door

Definite Door is the Posies' final single from 1994's Frosting On The Beater. With it's psychedelic and fatalistic lyrics, matched with sugary sweet grunge guitars, the song stirs up a mix of somber, yet mystical bliss. It is the pinnacle of power-pop meets grunge.

The Posies, like Nirvana were part of the 90s Seattle music scene. Since Kurt Cobain died on April 8, 1994 and Definite Door was released shortly after (April 27), we can rule out the idea that the band was directly addressing Cobain's suicide. Music journalists at the time perceived the song as a statement of psychedelic escapism. Still, with lyrics like

"Say goodbye to your friends and family
Pack your promises silently
Funny how they forget to tell you
This is all you will ever be"

it's easy to interpret the song as a commentary on suicide's power to eclipse all of our memories of one's lifetime. Ultimately, there is no literal meaning provided for this tune. We are left to piece it together for ourselves.  

Comments

Trending Tracks

The Brains - Money Changes Everything

It's become undeniably evident that the president of the United States had a sexual fling with a porn star while his wife was pregnant. Right before the 2016 election, his lawyer paid Stormy Daniels off with $130,000. POTUS denies the whole thing. I'm so sick of money and the terrible things that it enables. It's pretty obvious no one in the GOP or Trump's base is going to bat an eye at this little hush money cover up. What it reveals about the soul of America is no surprise, but still troubling. Yeah, money changes everything. Even the core values of religious zealots and fiscally conservative nut jobs. But, we should have known that. The Brains called it back in '80. "You think you know what we're doing. We don't pull the strings. It's all in the past now. Money changes everything." The Brains were a hard rocking quartet from Atlanta, Georgia. For their 1980 debut, Steve Lillywhite stepped in to the production role, added a littl...

Jonathan Richman - I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar

Jonathan Richman 's I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar  reminds me of last night. Yesterday was my birthday. In typical fashion, after my responsibilities as husband and father were lovingly fulfilled and the sun had set on the quiet suburbs of Portland, I drove straight into the city for some karaoke. Throughout the evening I sang three songs and danced harder than I have in years. In Richman's song, the protagonist finds himself feeling like an outsider at a night club. The clientele is too cool to dance and less than welcoming. Soon he is invited to go dancing in a new spot by some kind strangers. They lead him to a lesbian bar that is the polar opposite of the first club. Everybody's dancing and having a good time. Richman has found a place of belonging in the most unlikely setting. That's how I felt at the karaoke club last night. I've been in literally hundreds of karaoke bars in a handful of countries. As a first-timer, singers can be met with indifference,...