[amehoubFomo]

I just realized the Angie Dickenson part, after how many years? (from personal experience)

Angie Dickenson is a detective.
When you find out your exlover is with someone else, you want to find out all the details, snoop around, know exactly what's going on and figure out all the clues about them and why. It's sick, that's why she's "got to worry"

[tpJKhY8Z]

Do you guys remember the Twilight Mix? It added these sparkly background vocals, " take it high, hi-I-high" I think right before the ghost passing through bridge.

I loved that mix but don't know where to find it now. I doubt she owns the rights to rerelease it. It was released on a RAINN promo or single.

[anfuckinggs]

Some kindly soul put it on a bootleg of mine years ago. I need to find it and re-listen.

[Pa33anger]

No other song, by anyone, captures the feeling of surrender at the end of a love affair that has finally breathed its last, than Damage does for me. After the fighting and the collapse and the anger.

The perfection of the brass is unbelievable. Lyrically after all the torment and fury and despair through the album, it has such a calm mourning acceptance that for all the invocations of she-deities from the dawn of time, ferocious feminism and sassy southern liquors, it boils down to "oh... you really are going". 'Her skinny legs could use sun' is like a tired soldier firing a little volley after the battle is lost, when compared to the viciousness earlier in the album. 'I've got a ticket to your late show' feels to me like that last kernel of doubt (will we meet again in 5, 10, 20 years?). And such a perfect pairing with Twinkle as its epilogue.

[maliboia]

Around christmas this year I went back to my hometown and passed my first love on the street (a couple of times actually). Our relationship was brief and very flawed. I had been in love with him for a very long time when I finally confessed that to him and we decided to give it a go. I didn't function at all. Not ever. It destroyed so much in my life - he was one of my best friends and when I couldn't handle the breakup him and almost all our common friends disappeared. It was very painful.

Anyway, we smiled, said hi, and passed each other. I hadn't seen him for years. Yet my heart-rate went up immediately and I was still shaking half an hour later. I couldn't believe that I still recognized him directly. Everything was still the same.

I have a completely different life now, friends I'm much more comfortable with and a new boyfriend that makes me very happy - yet I reacted that strongly to seeing my ex. That to me is the "trying not to move. it's just you're ghost passing through" part to me. The ghost isn't him, I don't even know him anymore, he is not relevant in my life. The ghost is my own reaction and I was trying no to move on it - i e not letting that reaction make me feel uncertain about my new relationship.

It was the first time I came face to face with such emotional baggage and did not run away from it and that is what Damage is for me. He still looks pretty, he always will but I don't have to be bound by that. Some feelings can be there and I can still move on. Perhaps that is moving on - accepting that you never will, entirely.

About that "light in your platoon", I'm not a native English speaker so I might be getting it wrong, but I've always imagined a WW1 soldier in the trenches seeing someone smoking on the other side and not shooting at him. For me that means, again, being reminded of an old love, that he is still a person that's out there, living and feeling and perhaps remembering you too. You'll acknowledge that you've "never seen a light move" like it moves you but, in the end, that's okay.

God, Boys for Pele is so perfect.

[aburva.org]

About that "light in your platoon", I'm not a native English speaker so I might be getting it wrong, but I've always imagined a WW1 soldier in the trenches seeing someone smoking on the other side and not shooting at him. For me that means, again, being reminded of an old love, that he is still a person that's out there, living and feeling and perhaps remembering you too. You'll acknowledge that you've "never seen a light move" like it moves you but, in the end, that's okay.

i agree with this interpretation and totally felt that way whenever i'd go over to my friend's house. I had been in love with her brother, and when i'd see his light on in his room from the outside when i was dropping her off at night i was always FELT that line. it's so weird to remember that now. but this song helped me so much during that time because i DID still have to see him a lot. bringing girls over, seeing his new girlfriends. he "still looked pretty" even though he was putting the damage on.

[r5YOPDyk]

Do you guys remember the Twilight Mix? It added these sparkly background vocals, " take it high, hi-I-high" I think right before the ghost passing through bridge.

I loved that mix but don't know where to find it now. I doubt she owns the rights to rerelease it. It was released on a RAINN promo or single.

Yes! I love it! I think it would have made a great alternative promotional single. And she performed those vocals on the Plugged tour!

[Pa33anger]

II remember C, early promo posters for BFP said "Featuring Caught A Lite Sneeze, Talula, Hey Jupiter and Putting The Damage On" so I guess it really was a contender for single release in the early plans.

[77chawzence]

Why Angie Dickinson?

Because Angie is

and she even got her legs insured in the 60's.

i say her skinny legs could use sun
but now i’m wishing
for my best impression
of my best angie dickinson It's my favorite part of the song actually, it's such a subtle way of expressing her jealousy and insecurity.

[panholio]

Because Angie is

and she even got her legs insured in the 60's.



It's my favorite part of the song actually, it's such a subtle way of expressing her jealousy and insecurity.

Yes, I believe her legs were insured for quite a bit..? It's basically the same as "Do I hate what she is, or do I want to be her?" Picking the most perfect part of his new squeeze and finding fault with it: Sure she's got great legs, but they're pale as all gettout - and then trying to copy her anyway. I lvoe this song for it's classic references. Despite being stripped back it's got a really old Hollywood vide to it, both musically and lyrically.

[aburva.org]

Why Angie Dickinson?

for the longest time, i thought the angie dickinson reference was to her character as a cop. like she was trying to pretend to be strong, tough, like angie dickson's character. but reading this thread, maybe she wanted to emulate angie dickinson the person- a beautiful, confident, seemingly secure person herself - someone maybe tori admired? angie dickinson may have been someone tori looked at and thought "i wish i could be like that" - hence wishing for her best impression of her.

[provigil]

I overplayed Damage when I was younger, so it's one of those songs that when I hear mentioned I'm a bit 'meh' about until it actually starts playing and I remember how beautiful it is and I love the lyrics.

Here's the Indy '99 performance; it's gorgeous.

[tpJKhY8Z]

Here's the Indy '99 performance; it's gorgeous.

This is lovely, thanks so much. Her voice sounds great & it's nice to hear that Twilight Mix addition live.

Her addition of the Phoebe interlude after the "Ghost passing through" takes the song into a whole other realm. Same intensity of saddness, but directed at an entirely different situation.

"Now I think that sometimes/When Phoebe you're on my mind
I try every way I can/To reach ... where
You can see ...???...
And you & I know the truth, what I would do for you
But now I just have to see that
You still look oh, so pretty
When you're putting the damage on..."

It spins the lyric so that it sounds like the damage line is directed at a lost baby, rather than a nasty old boyfriend. To me, that's an unexpected voice to take on for that subject. Almost accusatory. It's a little gut-wrenching.

I know the emotional quality of her work has been brought up many times, but I think this is a notable example of why much of her music holds up so well across time and experiences.