Once upon a time, in a small village nestled in the green valleys of India, lived a young and courageous boy named Chhota Bhefn. He was known for his adventurous spirit and his willingness to help those in need. One day, news spread throughout the village about a mysterious curse that had befallen the nearby town of Damkaan. Legend had it that the curse was placed upon Damkaan by an angered witch who had been scorned by the villagers. The once thriving and prosperous town was now plagued by misfortune and despair. Crops failed, water sources dried up, and the villagers lived in constant fear.
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
While our lives are often shielded, we re in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. she obviously is goodlooking and she is not only mean but maybe she is a slut and has no self esteem just not on the inside and my heart is on the floor why dont you step on it obviously means she has broken crushed his heart that had all the love in the world for her When I think of all the things you ve done Boardwalks and breaking waves Made our Saturdays I d buy you lemonade right now if you were here But then I d throw it in your face And I d listen to you cry he loves her so much but hates her at the same time becauase of all she has put him through.
Crops failed, water sources dried up, and the villagers lived in constant fear. No one dared to enter Damkaan, for it was said that whoever stepped foot in the cursed town would be met with unimaginable misery. But Chhota Bhefn was not one to be deterred by hearsay or superstitions.
ONE WEEK // ONE BAND
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“And if not I’ll take my spoons, dig out your blue eyes, swallow them down to my colon, they’re gonna burn like hell tonight.”
While Can’t Slow Down garnered Saves some local attention, it was their sophomore album, 1999’s Through Being Cool, that served as their breakthrough, the release that made them a major name within the scene. Listening to it even now, it’s easy to see why – Saves’ musical skill had grown significantly in the year since Can’t Slow Down, incorporating a more varied range of sounds and tones, and even Conley’s voice had grown more distinct and confident after a year of practice. And while Can’t Slow Down was surprisingly fully-formed when it came to many of the themes that would come to define Saves’ career, there’s one signature technique that didn’t emerge until Through Being Cool – the use of grotesquely violent, often hyperbolic imagery.
Nowhere is this more clear than in “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic” [embedded above]. Although it’s technically about the tumultuous relationship between the narrator and an ex-girlfriend, the spark that powers the song is violence. Tonally it’s one of the heaviest songs on the album, opening on a riff so angry it practically growls and closing with a driving, pulsating outro. Conley’s layered, almost choral chant of “You and I are like when fire and the ocean floor collide” gives the outro an especially epic feel, not just sonically, but in the sense that it’s equating the narrator and his ex’s relationship to a natural disaster, making them forces of nature who can’t even meet without causing major damage to each other and everyone around them. In every sense this is a violent song.
Despite the force of nature comparison, though, the narrator mostly just comes across as unstable, still hung up on his ex even as he hates her with an incomparable passion. He fondly reminisces of Saturdays they spent on the boardwalk, yet says if they were there now he’d throw lemonade in her face and watch her cry; he opens the song essentially saying that he wants to hurt her with a saw, but also carry a piece of her with him always. The narrator implies that his ex was a real piece of work, but I also can’t blame her for wanting to leave him/not going back.
I have an uncomfortable relationship with this song’s use of violence that I’ve always had a difficult time articulating. Other Saves the Day songs (such as “My Sweet Fracture” or “Through Being Cool,” which we discussed yesterday) fantasize about violent revenge but then rise above, or use violence as a metaphor for painful emotions, but “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic” plays its violence completely straight. I don’t think Saves is condoning hurting others (and the violence in this song would be almost impossible for a normal person to replicate in the first place), and I actually quite like plenty of songs featuring harmful actions and attitudes (“Factories,” “Desert,” “No One Else”), but those songs all also make it fairly clear that their narrator is in the wrong, while “Rocks’” narrator is a bit too close to the narrator of any other Saves the Day song for comfort.
There’s also the fact that the violence in “Rocks” is specifically directed towards a woman. Again, I do not for a moment think Saves has ever advocated for or condoned violence against women, but playing “Rocks’” violence so straight in a scene that already has a fraught relationship with women’s safety in the first place is a risky move. Even just within the past few months, there’s been stories of male “fans” trying to force themselves on female musicians on stage, or bands within the scene making inappropriate advances towards women or even drop-kicking female fans off the stage, and I’m sure things were even worse in 1999.
Thankfully, Saves the Day seemed to realize that they may have made a misstep here. “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic” is one of their more popular songs and still sees regular play at live shows, but Conley has been known to sometimes begin the song with a speech about how the violence in his songs is never meant to be taken literally and how Saves doesn’t condone violence. More importantly, they’ve since avoided making more songs in this vein, directing their violent lyrics back towards themselves instead of towards women.* The best example of this on Through Being Cool comes from “You Vandal.”
As far as I’m concerned, Conley’s penchant for poetically violent imagery hits harder when directed back at himself anyway. In “You Vandal” it’s used to represent the narrator’s pain, the emptiness he feels while his girlfriend is gone on a long trip overseas. His loneliness is so painful that it’s metaphorically manifesting as open wounds; his ribs part, no longer willing to protect his heart. “I hope that you’re okay, even though I’m dying,” he tells her, saying that her absence is so profound that it might as well be killing him.
Yet, despite his own pain, the narrator still wants her to have a killer time on her trip. “Go see the volcanoes, go see the rainforests, I’ll be fine by myself, yeah I’ll be fine without these bones,” sings Conley, without a hint of sarcasm. By building up the narrator’s pain so acutely through gorey imagery, Conley has made his kindness and love for his girlfriend all the more powerful. It’s the sweetest song about organs dripping from open wounds that I’ve ever heard in my life.
Personally, though, my favorite “violent” Saves the Day song came a few years later.
“Bones” (from 2006’s Sound the Alarm, which we’ll dig more into on Thursday) starts off with jagged, off-kilter notes, becomes oddly happy in its middle (complete with beautiful harmonies), and concludes with a blistering outro – the almost schizophrenic nature of the music echoes the scattered, pained headspace of the narrator, whose paranoia is outlined more clearly in the lyrics.
The narrative does this, not by telling a literal story, but a metaphorical one. This is a story that takes place completely within the narrator’s head, a situation where the actions of the townspeople are meant to be horrific, because the narrator is afraid that this is what everyone around him is really like: violent, hateful, and out to get him. Their grotesque actions show the toll the narrator’s paranoia is taking on him – he’s afraid that this dark fate awaits him, but his own paranoid reactions may be negatively affecting the people around him in the first place. This is quite possibly the apex of violent imagery as a storytelling device in a Saves the Day song; Conley doesn’t tell us a single detail about the narrator’s life, but we’re able to learn so much about what he’s going through just because of this one dark fantasy.
Although Saves the Day have mostly shied away from violent imagery in their most recent albums, these kind of lyrics have still become one of the most well-known trademarks of the band. It makes sense – Saves have made it their mission to talk about the pain they feel and the pain they share with their fans, and violence and pain go hand-in-hand. When used properly, a few grotesque lyrics can convey the kind of pain, fear, and longing that might take another band an entire album to hash out.
*The only real exception to this is “As Your Ghost Takes Flight,” from 2001’s Stay What You Are. “Ghost” is, in some ways, an even more violent song than “Magic,” but it’s also a much less popular one that rarely, if ever, sees live play. Other than that, though, Saves has never returned to writing songs like “Magic,” and have outgrown or largely avoided altogether the kind of misogyny that’s sadly come to define many of their contemporaries.
As far as I’m concerned, Conley’s penchant for poetically violent imagery hits harder when directed back at himself anyway. In “You Vandal” it’s used to represent the narrator’s pain, the emptiness he feels while his girlfriend is gone on a long trip overseas. His loneliness is so painful that it’s metaphorically manifesting as open wounds; his ribs part, no longer willing to protect his heart. “I hope that you’re okay, even though I’m dying,” he tells her, saying that her absence is so profound that it might as well be killing him.
He believed that there was a logical explanation behind every problem, and he was determined to help the villagers of Damkaan. Armed with his intelligence and bravery, he set out on a mission to break the curse. As Chhota Bhefn entered Damkaan, he couldn't help but notice the despair on the faces of the villagers. They had lost all hope and were resigned to their fate. Undeterred, Chhota Bhefn began to investigate the source of the curse. He searched through ancient texts, listened to the stories of the elders, and explored the town's surroundings. After days of research, Chhota Bhefn discovered that the curse of Damkaan was not supernatural, but rather man-made. It turned out that a group of greedy landlords had been exploiting the resources of the town for their own selfish gains. They had manipulated the villagers and caused the curse to prevail. Armed with this knowledge, Chhota Bhefn rallied the villagers of Damkaan together. He encouraged them to stand up against the landlords and take back control of their town. The villagers, who had regained their faith in Chhota Bhefn, followed his lead. With unity and determination, the villagers confronted the selfish landlords and exposed their deceit. The curse that had plagued Damkaan for so long was finally broken. The town flourished once again, and the villagers rejoiced at their newfound freedom and prosperity. Chhota Bhefn became a hero in the eyes of the villagers. His bravery and intelligence had saved them from the clutches of the curse. From that day forward, Chhota Bhefn's name was etched in the history of Damkaan, as a symbol of hope and resilience. The story of Chhota Bhefn and the curse of Damkaan teaches us the importance of standing up against injustice and fighting for what is right. It reminds us that sometimes, the solutions to our problems lie not in superstitions and fear, but in logic and courage. And above all, it shows us the power of unity and how it can overcome even the most daunting challenges..
Reviews for "Chhota Bhefn: The Chosen One against the Curse of Damkaan"
1. Name: Rajesh - Rating: 2/5
Review: I was really looking forward to watching "Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damkaan", but I was quite disappointed with the outcome. The plot felt weak and predictable, and the animation quality was subpar compared to previous Chhota Bheem movies. The villain's character was one-dimensional and lacked the depth we usually see in such animated films. Overall, it felt like a rushed production, and I wouldn't recommend it to fans of the series.
2. Name: Priya - Rating: 2.5/5
Review: As a fan of the Chhota Bheem series, I had high hopes for "Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damkaan," but it fell short of my expectations. The storyline felt disjointed and lacked the charm and excitement we usually associate with the franchise. The humor also felt forced, and the jokes were often repetitive, failing to elicit genuine laughter. While the animation was decent, it didn't compensate for the weak plot. Overall, it's not a terrible movie, but it definitely didn't live up to the standards set by previous installments.
3. Name: Ravi - Rating: 1/5
Review: "Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damkaan" was a complete letdown for me. The animation quality was extremely poor, with characters appearing stiff and lifeless on screen. The plot lacked originality and felt like a recycled version of previous Chhota Bheem movies. The voice acting also left much to be desired, with performances that lacked enthusiasm and emotion. Overall, it felt like a cash grab rather than a genuine effort to entertain the audience. I would advise skipping this one and revisiting the earlier Chhota Bheem adventures instead.