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Neko Case — Middle Cyclone
Album: Middle Cyclone
Avg rating:
7.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 544









Released: 2009
Length: 3:04
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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Okay we're rolling
One two three, two two three

Oh baby, why am I worried now?
Did someone make a fool of me before I could show them
how it's done?

Na na na na na
Na na na

I can't give up acting tough
It's all that I'm made of
Can't scrape together quite enough
To ride the bus to the outskirts of the fact that I need love

There were times
That I tried
One for every glass of water that I spilled
Next to the bed
Retching pennies in a boiling well
In a dream
That at once becomes a foundry of mute and heavy bells
They shake me deaf and dumb
Say someone made a fool of me
'fore I could show them how it's done

It was so clear to me
That it was almost invisible
I lie across the path waiting
Just for a chance to be
A spider web trapped in your lashes
For that, I would trade you my empire for ashes
But I choke it back, how much I need love

Na na na na na
Na na na
Comments (127)add comment
 oldfart48 wrote:
and they got the car correct too...........{#Dancingbanana}{#Guitarist} cougar


Crazy about her Mercury...
Posted 2 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
Neko Case is playing in Athens tonight at the GA Theatre...

love this song...


Posted 10 years ago by Lazarus    [ Reply ]
and they got the car correct too...........{#Dancingbanana}{#Guitarist} cougar
Posted 11 years ago by oldfart48    [ Reply ]

TORNADO
by Dorothea Lasky

I remember he was bent down
Like a whirlpool 
I was yelling at him
He looked scared and backed away
Another time, I squinted my eyes to see
And he said I looked ugly
The funny part was when 
My sister asked me where he went to
And I just didn't know
He just disappeared one day into nothing
I am rotting and rancid
Each day, rotting, but I am water, too
I am a watery nymph that is hot and wet
Like a wetted beast
I saw the man walking, hunched over
And thought it was him
"Father!" I yelled after the man
Who was hunched, he was going somewhere
He turned but the face was green
It is a black life, but I don't want to die
I don't want to die, I don't ever want to die
God damn you, don't you shoot me in my sleep
Let me rot on this earth forever
Like a carrot I will be everything God can't see
Oh, what do I mean
God can see everything 
I mean the angels, I mean the half-gods
I mean the flowers, don't ever let them see me live forever
Don't you ever let them see 
That I am all root here in the ground


Posted 11 years ago by Lazarus    [ Reply ]
It was so clear to me that it was almost invisible - I do love her lyrics
Posted 11 years ago by Sloggydog    [ Reply ]
❀❀❀❀❀❀❀
Posted 11 years ago by jessi1126    [ Reply ]
My cuppa tea!
Posted 11 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
My heart aches for her....
Posted 12 years ago by salide    [ Reply ]
I like her stuff...never heard this...what a great song!
Posted 12 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
love her voice and the MUSIC BOX!
Posted 12 years ago by Pyro    [ Reply ]

Baby, why'm I worried now,
did someone make a fool of me
'fore I could show 'em how it's done?
Can't give up actin' tough,
it's all that I'm made of.
Can't scrape together quite enough
to ride the bus to the outskirts
of the fact that I need love.

There were times that I tried,
one for every glass of water
that I spilled next to the bed,
wretching pennies in a boiling well
in a dream that it once becomes
a foundry of mute and heavy bells.
They shake me deaf and dumb
say, "Someone made a fool of me
'fore I could show 'em how it's done."

It was so clear to me
that it was almost invisible.
I lie across the path waiting,
just for a chance to be a spiderweb
trapped in your lashes.
For that, I would trade you my empire for ashes.
But I choke it back, how much I need love...


Posted 12 years ago by TJS    [ Reply ]
brilliant
Posted 12 years ago by oldsaxon    [ Reply ]
I don't think romeotuma likes this song or artist very much. I do though.
Posted 12 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
 romeotuma wrote:


Everything about this song is perfect...  my heart gets all warm when I hear it...  sigh...

 
 

could not say it better
Posted 12 years ago by jktravl    [ Reply ]
magnifique voie douce et suave, {#Bounce}
Posted 12 years ago by pierpod    [ Reply ]
Sounds wonderful on the 128aac feed.  What a voice!!!

 
Posted 13 years ago by msymmes    [ Reply ]
Tricky guitar....{#Undecided}
Posted 13 years ago by HazzeSwede    [ Reply ]
brilliant song-writing.  just brilliant.
Posted 13 years ago by ploba    [ Reply ]
 TJS wrote:
It was so clear to me
That it was almost invisible...

I love this song.
 
And it only gets better:

...I lie across the path waiting
just for a chance to be a spider web trapped in your lashes
for that, I would trade you my empire for ashes
but I choke it back, how much I need love

 
Posted 13 years ago by panlad    [ Reply ]
I like Neko...posing on a Cougar

Posted 13 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
 TerryS wrote:


Proportionately, most guys might have a higher purpose in mind than her foot.

 
Well, not necessarily a "higher" purpose. {#Curtain}

Posted 13 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
 romeotuma wrote:


This song squeezes my gizzards...  love it...

 
 

My innards love it as well.

If only it was a bit longer.

Posted 13 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
 crockydile wrote:
Wow, an Niko case I don't hate? Whoda thunk it?
 
my thoughts too. no reverb. no being just a tad flat. huh.

Posted 13 years ago by BlueHeronDruid    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

Well, you can only really see one entire foot, and it looks proportionate to me.
 

Proportionately, most guys might have a higher purpose in mind than her foot.

Posted 13 years ago by TerryS    [ Reply ]
It was so clear to me
That it was almost invisible...

I love this song.
Posted 14 years ago by TJS    [ Reply ]
{#Puke}{#Puke}{#Puke}
Posted 14 years ago by nicolewe    [ Reply ]
I don't normally warm up to literate mellow singer songwriters - unless I know they can also rock.  Neko can - occasionally.  And I like her more typical mellow story teller mode.
Posted 14 years ago by lemmoth    [ Reply ]
Wow, an Niko case I don't hate? Whoda thunk it?
Posted 14 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
 Dave_Mack wrote:
I dig the music box.  I wonder how that sound was created. 

She was a guest artist on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion a while ago and performed this song.  They talked about the music box after the song.  They call it the "Shigbee" (sp?), named after a couple of her musicians who cobbled it together from an old music box and some electronics.

Here's a link to the show that includes "Middle Cyclone" live on the air: https://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2010/03/13/
Play "Segment 2" and skip to time mark 46:10 for the Neko Case part.  Listen to Garrison Keillor's introduction of Neko.  Good stuff.  First she sings "People Got a Lotta Nerve", then "Middle Cyclone."


Posted 14 years ago by mread    [ Reply ]
 Hannio wrote:


About to harpoon the great white land whale?

Does anyone else think that picture makes her feet look huge?
 
Well, you can only really see one entire foot, and it looks proportionate to me.


Posted 14 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Extremely dissapointed in this whole album, I was really looking forward to hearing it when it first came out, but it is not near as good as her earlier work.{#No}
Posted 14 years ago by sirdroseph    [ Reply ]
 romeotuma wrote:


I must say I disagree with you...  it is just a matter of subjective taste, but the emotive power in this song melts me into a large wax deposit...  I think the song has a lot of feeling in it...  I love it...


 
{#Yes}

Posted 14 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
 romeotuma wrote:
This song is good for the whole body... sigh...  love it...
 
I'm actually feeling slightly nauseated...I think the singing in this song has gone bad.

Posted 14 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
 martinc wrote:

Sounds like this song make romeo's ears turn red

 
He's just excited about the feet.

Posted 14 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
 HilaryM wrote:
My favorite off this album right now :)  Can't wait to see her in Pontiac!
 
They quit making those years ago.
And if they haven't... they should quit now. {#Cheesygrin}
Obviously, she's a Mercury woman.


Posted 14 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
 Dave_Mack wrote:
I dig the music box.  I wonder how that sound was created.
 
She talked about it on the  NPR World Cafe program when she was a guest


Posted 14 years ago by BigTimber    [ Reply ]
 romeotuma wrote:

She is beautiful...  and this song is so emotive it is fantastic...  I want to be with her...
 
Sounds like this song make romeo's ears turn red

Posted 14 years ago by martinc    [ Reply ]
Cool cover art.
Posted 14 years ago by DDB61    [ Reply ]
 philinnz wrote:


perhaps she has huge feet
 
You know what they say about big feet.

No. Not that!

To make a strong building... you need a good foundation.

Posted 14 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
philinnz wrote:


perhaps she has huge feet

Her feet are so big she can lean right over and back without falling....she needs a car that size just to fit them in.

Posted 14 years ago by EssexTex    [ Reply ]
Going to see her again 11/18!!! Im so excited!!! I love her!!!!{#Hearteyes}
Posted 14 years ago by salide    [ Reply ]
 Hannio wrote:


About to harpoon the great white land whale?

Does anyone else think that picture makes her feet look huge?
 

perhaps she has huge feet
Posted 15 years ago by philinnz    [ Reply ]
Terrific song!
Posted 15 years ago by Bridieboo    [ Reply ]
I love this song....mmmm
Posted 15 years ago by usernameshateme    [ Reply ]
 martinc wrote:
Now that is a twisted Album cover. What does that symobolize, mean?
 
That's a Cougar on the cover...subliminal message? {#Ask}
Posted 15 years ago by crockydile    [ Reply ]
 karlaanne wrote:
Sometimes I wonder if this station shouldn't be called neko case paradise. I will hear 3 or 4 songs a day.
 

Oh no, not 9 minutes out of 1440!  That's almost .65% - clearly, overrepresented...
Posted 15 years ago by dave216j    [ Reply ]
 PeorgieTirebiter wrote:
Neko will smoke your goat.
 
Mmm.  Smoked goat.

I dig the music box.  I wonder how that sound was created.

Posted 15 years ago by Dave_Mack    [ Reply ]
 martinc wrote:
Now that is a twisted Album cover. What does that symobolize, mean?
 

About to harpoon the great white land whale?

Does anyone else think that picture makes her feet look huge?
Posted 15 years ago by Hannio    [ Reply ]
 stewliscious wrote:
Back in the breathy chicks whispering set.  I prescribe 10 cc's of Black Sabbath.
 
{#Stupid} She's not breathy or whispering, either in this or other numbers played on RP - I think you're confusing her with someone else. Neither is she a "chick" - try 'woman'.

A shame about the ice-cream van on this one....

Posted 15 years ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
 karlaanne wrote:
Sometimes I wonder if this station shouldn't be called neko case paradise. I will hear 3 or 4 songs a day.
 
I hear you, I hear you.  But do you think Bill would go for it?


Posted 15 years ago by papaman    [ Reply ]
 gandalfbmg wrote:
I would actually submit this song as evidence to disprove all the folks that say she's screachy and overproduced...
 
{#High-five} Rock solid evidence! Case dismissed.

Posted 15 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
 Papernapkin wrote:
Needs a little more reverb.
 

I would actually submit this song as evidence to disprove all the folks that say she's screachy and overproduced...
Posted 15 years ago by gandalfbmg    [ Reply ]
Sometimes I wonder if this station shouldn't be called neko case paradise. I will hear 3 or 4 songs a day.
Posted 15 years ago by karlaanne    [ Reply ]
=melts away, smiling=
Posted 15 years ago by Bone    [ Reply ]
Just saw her last night in Atlanta.  What a great show!!!

She sounded exactly the same as the recording, amazing voice.
Posted 15 years ago by jbtidwell    [ Reply ]
I am seeing her in concert this Wednesday! {#Dancingbanana_2}
Posted 15 years ago by melmel    [ Reply ]
 Papernapkin wrote:
Needs a little more reverb.
 
The whole album is messed up like that. Too much reverb in her live performances too. This is a voice you want to hear clearly. Its either a misguided "stylistic" statement or someone's not paying attention. Check out the New Pornographers if you want to actually hear her.
Posted 15 years ago by Kevon    [ Reply ]
 Droidac wrote:
Can someone PLEASE upload a clear image of the album cover? It's a travesty to see Neko so fuzzy!

 
Try this one.  https://www.senbaltimore.com/bm~pix/86973-2_20081203_153201.jpg

It's also in the comments for her song 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Nature', (https://www.radioparadise.com/content.php?name=songinfo&song_id=41070).  I got sucked up into the running discussion about her being "photoshoped".

Posted 15 years ago by AvoidingWork    [ Reply ]
Very excited to see Neko tomorrow night at Massey Hall in Toronto!!! Can't wait!
Posted 15 years ago by slugore    [ Reply ]
Back in the breathy chicks whispering set.  I prescribe 10 cc's of Black Sabbath.
Posted 15 years ago by stewliscious    [ Reply ]
Next week in Grand Rapids I can't wait!

Neko in Grand Rapids

Posted 15 years ago by stratrjb    [ Reply ]
 HilaryM wrote:
My favorite off this album right now :)  Can't wait to see her in Pontiac!
 

She's coming to MI? Awesome!!
Posted 15 years ago by coolpeople_rule    [ Reply ]
My favorite off this album right now :)  Can't wait to see her in Pontiac!
Posted 15 years ago by HilaryM    [ Reply ]
Just saw here here in Portland last night.  Great show but I like to think Portland brings out the best in all of us.
Posted 15 years ago by carpwall    [ Reply ]
I'm sorry to hear the Denver show was just OK - I saw her in Boulder at the Chautauqua barn the night before, and it was freaking crazy good. One of the top 5 shows I've ever seen. That amazing stage set (the owl with glowing eyes) and videos, the crisp night air coming in, her powerful voice blended with Kelly Hogan's - it was all just magical. Dark, creepy and wonderful. Oh, and she loved the dogs outside on the grass piping up every once in a while. They prompted some choice comments. In fact someone posted a great rundown of all their stage banter here:

https://www.uncommonmusic.org/2009/concert/neko-case-chautauqua-co/#more-1105

Posted 15 years ago by Exene    [ Reply ]
I just saw a Neko show at the Ogden in Denver on 5/30, and left hungry.  The performance and her vocals were nice, but did not blow me away at all... bummer.  Great to see her in person, but I would have rather listened to the Austin City Limits live album.

Posted 15 years ago by rdaugherty    [ Reply ]
Neko will smoke your goat.
Posted 15 years ago by PeorgieTirebiter    [ Reply ]
Now that is a twisted Album cover. What does that symobolize, mean?
Posted 15 years ago by martinc    [ Reply ]
Needs a little more reverb.
Posted 15 years ago by Papernapkin    [ Reply ]
"Can't scrape together quite enough
to ride the bus to the outskirts
of the fact that I need love."

Beautiful!!!


Posted 15 years ago by salide    [ Reply ]

I like the way she says "boiling" BOOILING WELL.


Posted 15 years ago by Mandible    [ Reply ]
 jnhashmi wrote:

So there is no setting where they are off but open? (I'm pretty sure Miata's used to have a setting where the headlights are raised but not on.) Just wonderin'.
 
Naw, Ford used vacuum motors to operate the headlight doors, and when the motors failed most people never replaced them.

I used to have a '69 T-Bird that did the same thing.

BTW, I think this is Neko's personal car. She said she was restoring an old Cyclone in a recent Rolling Stone interview. {#Wave}
Posted 15 years ago by toterola    [ Reply ]
 DaveJohnson600 wrote:

OK, the cougar headlights are broken; I know because I am old enough to have owned one of these babies and sadly sold it during a "recession" like this one. The covers should be down when the car is "off".  Great songs and great cars live on!

 
So there is no setting where they are off but open? (I'm pretty sure Miata's used to have a setting where the headlights are raised but not on.) Just wonderin'.
Posted 15 years ago by jnhashmi    [ Reply ]
My cat's name is Neko. Neko means "cat" in Japanese.
Posted 15 years ago by Mandible    [ Reply ]
Definitely a high 8 for me! Lets hear more from this album.

Posted 15 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
Second time I've heard this one - the lyrics just blow me away! 8 > 9
Posted 15 years ago by casey1024    [ Reply ]
For whatever reason, this song really speaks to me.
Not sure if it's just the mood I'm in today, or if I'm going to remain to feel this way about the song, but I know that today I really enjoyed it.
Posted 15 years ago by newwavegurly    [ Reply ]
I think I prefer Neko as an "animal". {#Twisted}
Posted 15 years ago by sirrus    [ Reply ]
So far, not a real fan of this album.
Posted 15 years ago by smdeeg    [ Reply ]

OK, the cougar headlights are broken; I know because I am old enough to have owned one of these babies and sadly sold it during a "recession" like this one. The covers should be down when the car is "off".  Great songs and great cars live on!


Posted 15 years ago by DaveJohnson600    [ Reply ]
 Droidac wrote:
Can someone PLEASE upload a clear image of the album cover? It's a travesty to see Neko so fuzzy!

How cool would it be to have a chrome Neko cast and mounted on one's Cougar...a nice wallpaper on my linux box anyway.

https://www.senbaltimore.com/bm~pi/86973-2_20081203_153201.jpg

Posted 15 years ago by sqqqrly    [ Reply ]
 jnhashmi wrote:
 
I don't think they are busted. They are just folded in.
 
When the headlights are off, the covers should be covering the headlights. I think that's what was meant by "busted".

Posted 15 years ago by Droidac    [ Reply ]
 diazo wrote:

busted headlight covers...
  
I don't think they are busted. They are just folded in.


Posted 15 years ago by jnhashmi    [ Reply ]
"Can't scrape together enough to ride the bus to the outskirts of the fact that I need love."

Wow. 

BTW, this album is amazing.
Posted 15 years ago by panlad    [ Reply ]
Can someone PLEASE upload a clear image of the album cover? It's a travesty to see Neko so fuzzy!
Posted 15 years ago by Droidac    [ Reply ]
Lovely lovely song.  This will put to shame those commenters who claimed her voice was crap without reverb.  Her voice is AMAZING!
Posted 15 years ago by Bridieboo    [ Reply ]
I don't know. It might just be my mood, but a little too mellow and monotone for me. I guess I need some upbeat music. I will listen to it again in a different mood.
Posted 15 years ago by JaeRae    [ Reply ]
I just have to add, that as far as covers go, this is the ULTIMATE record period. 

Posted 15 years ago by Shamsiel    [ Reply ]
Thought provoking, as usual.

And, as usual, have to wait to let it all sink in before making an evaluation. 

In other words, she is on a plane (car?) above that of my own and I need to ascend.

Posted 15 years ago by steeler    [ Reply ]
I like Neko music
Posted 15 years ago by 1wolfy    [ Reply ]
I thought Fox Confessioner was going to be her zenith, but this album is making me second guess myself. (Although "Hold On, Hold On" is still my favorite song by her)
Posted 15 years ago by chirpie    [ Reply ]
 peter_james_bond wrote:

Sorry holborne, she said in a recent interview that she will never get married {#Cry} Apparently she's seen too many marriages in her family go under. On the bright side she didn't rule out living with someone.
 

DAMMIT!!!

Well, at least I know it's not just me.
Posted 15 years ago by holborne    [ Reply ]
 holborne wrote:
I cannot believe that she still has not responded to my marriage proposal. What's she waiting for, already?
 
Sorry holborne, she said in a recent interview that she will never get married {#Cry} Apparently she's seen too many marriages in her family go under. On the bright side she didn't rule out living with someone.
Posted 15 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
 diazo wrote:

It's a '67.  And I'd say the hood ornament more than makes up for the busted headlight covers...
 
Barefoot and holding a saber. That's how I like 'em.
Posted 15 years ago by miahfost    [ Reply ]
 wenatchee wrote:
Need to hear this one a few more times - 69 Cougar?  Doors up in the day?  Needs a new headlight door gear.
 
It's a '67.  And I'd say the hood ornament more than makes up for the busted headlight covers...

Posted 15 years ago by diazo    [ Reply ]
Yeah, New Neko!
Posted 15 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
I cannot believe that she still has not responded to my marriage proposal. What's she waiting for, already?
Posted 15 years ago by holborne    [ Reply ]
 wenatchee wrote:
Need to hear this one a few more times - 69 Cougar?  Doors up in the day?  Needs a new headlight door gear.
 
You'd think she would have used a Mercury Cyclone instead.

Posted 15 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
 Frater_Kork wrote:
The Cover image quality is dire however.


It matches the performance quality.


Posted 15 years ago by RadioDoc    [ Reply ]
 Frater_Kork wrote:
Ooh, new album. Shiny!
The Cover image quality is dire however.
Bill, time to look for a proper resize function for your web engine. Most all cover photos on RP have jaggies. :P
 
Really, she'd look much better in leather on the back of a 52 Vincent...

Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme
And he pulled her on behind
And down to Box Hill they did ride

Says James, in my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl

{#Motor}

Posted 15 years ago by spigolli    [ Reply ]
Need to hear this one a few more times - 69 Cougar?  Doors up in the day?  Needs a new headlight door gear.
Posted 15 years ago by wenatchee    [ Reply ]
Came in the mail yesterday. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.
Posted 15 years ago by Darlington    [ Reply ]
Ooh, new album. Shiny!
The Cover image quality is dire however.
Bill, time to look for a proper resize function for your web engine. Most all cover photos on RP have jaggies. :P
Posted 15 years ago by Frater_Kork    [ Reply ]
First in line to praise Neko!!
Posted 15 years ago by xkolibuul    [ Reply ]