Interpretations:Meet James Ensor
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This song isnt about anything other than James ensor and how he lived with his mom and had no friends. TMBG once said that they could write a song called i wanna **** you and people would still try to find a deep meaning. Alot of the time the song is meant to be taken at face value and nothing more. Its about as deep as the kids section of the wave pool. If anybody wnats to discuss tmbg im finneganswake05 on aol. Its cool talkin to otha fans, so feel free to holler.
This is obviously telling you to meet James Ensor. Although you might have to dig him up (from his grave) to shake his hand. Not much to say. Although James lost all his friends, none of his paintings were junk (before there was junk).
Just a tribute to Jimmie Ensor. -BriGuyD
I think there's a tad more to it then just meeting him. I think TMBG use James Ensor as a representation of true art and it's immediate absence in our society. The truly good works must be sought (or "met" as it were) through all the common day junk.
I see this as TMBG's statement that the truly great artists of our past have been appreciated and forgotten ("he lost all his friends"). So James Ensor must be re-sought and appreciated for what he did.
And it's not as if James needed/needs the recognition ("he didn't need his friends"), it's that he deserved it, as do the true and few artists in the present and past.
Honestly, it's possible that TMBG's only intent was to write a funny little tune about some old painter. But it's certainly their signature style to write songs that are shallow on the surface. ~AJK
--- While this song is undeniably about James Ensor, there is definitely a bit more than that. "A crowd gathered 'round / Pressed against his window..." Remember, Ensor liked to paint crowd scenes, specifically those that portrayed the crowd as a bunch of idiots. He was rather agoraphobic ("he lived with his mother") and his paintings definitely reflected this. Ensor's crowds pressed against the viewer from all sides. "Before there was junk" is, as I see it, a rather pointed comment about modern art. There was no junk back in Ensor's day; all the art was good. -Mud Co
Is there any point linking to this page from the Religion entry if no-one actually thinks it's about Jesus?
- Yes, there is a point, seeing as the song isn't about Jesus, it simply mentions "the torments of Christ".
The Torments Of Christ was one of his works of art. So, he lived with his mother and "The Torments Of Christ".
ASL
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Actually, the "Torments of Christ" is a reference to his being influenced by such painters as Hieronymous Bosch. 24.215.166.135 00:00, 15 Jun 2006 (MDT)
Watching the original Halloween tonight for the first time in ages and noticed that Jamie Lee Curtis’ character Laurie has a James Ensor poster in her bedroom! Ha! --Steelopus (talk) 21:18, 26 October 2018 (EDT)
Nine Inch Nails?[edit]
I'm probably wrong, but at first I thought that this was a song about Nine Inch Nails. If you replace "James Ensor" with "Trent Reznor" a lot of this fits. NIN makes a lot of songs about feeling betrayed by god (torments of Christ).
Also, I felt after Downward Spiral that when he did Fragile, all of the interest was gone. It also wasn't very successful. NIN was a big deal once, but eventually, the world moved along to something else. But he should be appreciated for the work he did.
I suppose he still has many fans...
NIN and repeating oneself[edit]
Like Christ he lost all his friends, lived with his heavenly mother and yes, repeated himself in the second coming.
Eternal Recursion is a constant reference point in both NIN and TMBG, as well as philosophy as a whole.
To say that eternal recursion isn't deep is to totally misunderstand an integral part of TMBG MO.
In my very humble opinion of course. No disrespect.
See also "2082" from Join Us[edit]
See also 2082 from Join Us, which I'm convinced is a reference to James Ensor's 1888 self-portrait called "My Portrait in the Year 1960". Please see this interpretation for more. Hoarybat (talk) 16:27, 12 January 2022 (EST)
