Jump to content
Prometheon

Does Anyone Else Hate Specificity In Music?

By Prometheon, in Music In General: David Bowie Appreciation Station

Recommended Posts

PsychoLamb

PsychoLamb

Posted
Posted
I dunno if I'm just weird, but when the material of a song gets too specific, it just kind of ruins the song for me. Examples are individual dates, names, or numbers.

 

Like, in Sort of a Protest he talks about how he can't remember 1989. Why 1989? Why not any other year? I just don't get it.

 

And the BNL song Jane, why write it about Jane? who the hell is Jane? I don't know anyone named Jane and can't relate the song to anything.

 

A final example is the Bush song "40 Miles from the Sun." Why 40 Miles? It's jsut an arbitrary number and it bugs me.

 

All the songs I listed I love a lot, but I dunno. Am I just crazy or does this bug anyone else too?

Definatly crazy

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ecnarf

ecnarf

Posted
Posted
I dunno if I'm just weird, but when the material of a song gets too specific, it just kind of ruins the song for me. Examples are individual dates, names, or numbers.

 

Like, in Sort of a Protest he talks about how he can't remember 1989. Why 1989? Why not any other year? I just don't get it.

 

And the BNL song Jane, why write it about Jane? who the hell is Jane? I don't know anyone named Jane and can't relate the song to anything.

 

A final example is the Bush song "40 Miles from the Sun." Why 40 Miles? It's jsut an arbitrary number and it bugs me.

 

All the songs I listed I love a lot, but I dunno. Am I just crazy or does this bug anyone else too?

I read somewhere that he graduated high school in 1989... or there was some huge fight on new year's eve of that year, and he wrote a poem about it and it was split up into indestructible and giant (in the manifesto where he posted a bunch of poetry).

 

But I think you're going a bit too semantic. I mean, think about it. What's with hello time bomb? Why a time bomb? or near fantastica - why can't he be near something else? Yikes.

 

But you've got a point, though. I kinda like the abstract. The example of the xbox cointelpro from black helicopter is perfect - there's just no ambiguity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Prometheon

Prometheon

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Well, a Timebomb is symbolic as something ticking down to an eventual and inevetable explosion. Much like a person living a certain type of lifestlye has an eventual (usually midlife) breakdown. So that doesn't bug me too much.

 

And yeah, the Xbox reference really does piss me off. And the COINTELPRO rhyme is just weak.

Edited by Prometheon
Link to comment
Share on other sites
borntohula

borntohula

Posted
Posted

your argument is weak.

 

i dont understand why people don't like the COINTELPRO reference. i thought it was clever.

 

you might not like specificity in music, but you could say the same for metaphor, because no, your love is not actually a rose.

 

if you don't like the specificity solely because you can't catch the references (re: your comment about jove and drucilla), you're supposed to look these things up. not everything comes to you at once. even if he addresses bush, the song doesn't lose its relevance once bush isn't the president anymore. what's matt supposed to do? encompass each and every president? not all of them have been as bad as bush.

 

you must hate allen ginsberg.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Disestabulistic

Disestabulistic

Posted
Posted
your argument is weak.

 

i dont understand why people don't like the COINTELPRO reference. i thought it was clever.

 

you might not like specificity in music, but you could say the same for metaphor, because no, your love is not actually a rose.

 

if you don't like the specificity solely because you can't catch the references (re: your comment about jove and drucilla), you're supposed to look these things up. not everything comes to you at once. even if he addresses bush, the song doesn't lose its relevance once bush isn't the president anymore. what's matt supposed to do? encompass each and every president? not all of them have been as bad as bush.

 

you must hate allen ginsberg.

Thank you for saying all the things that I was too lazy to say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dan #2

Dan #2

Posted
Posted
I dunno if I'm just weird, but when the material of a song gets too specific, it just kind of ruins the song for me. Examples are individual dates, names, or numbers.

 

Like, in Sort of a Protest he talks about how he can't remember 1989. Why 1989? Why not any other year? I just don't get it.

 

And the BNL song Jane, why write it about Jane? who the hell is Jane? I don't know anyone named Jane and can't relate the song to anything.

 

A final example is the Bush song "40 Miles from the Sun." Why 40 Miles? It's jsut an arbitrary number and it bugs me.

 

All the songs I listed I love a lot, but I dunno. Am I just crazy or does this bug anyone else too?

Note: I didn't read any one else's posts.

 

 

1989? He was dimed all of 1989, that's why he doesn't remember it.

 

 

Jane? Because Jane had an impact on the writer.

 

40? who knows, could be a refernce to something obscure.

 

Yes, you are crazy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
beautiful_midnight

beautiful_midnight

Posted
Posted

Yeah, a little crazy, but I sort of see your point. I guess that makes me crazy too. It bugs me, but not to the extent as with you, I don't think. For me, it's just the general content of the lyrics, not specific words or numbers. I like lyrics to be sort of vague, so I can kind of make them mean whatever I want, that way, the songs mean something more to me, and remind me of my own experiences. I can't put my thoughts into lyrics like some people can, so I kind of borrow them from others, I guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ecnarf

ecnarf

Posted
Posted
While we're on the topic of metaphors, I have something to say.

 

The next time a musician writes a song in which they refer to "losing" a "game", I'm going to personally kick their ass.

Can I help?

No. Find your own cause.

 

PS Has anyone seen the music video for Crazy by Simple Plan? I was at my cousin's house when I was watching it, and when they showed that fat chick writing in her journal, I said, "Wow, she's fat." This did not go over well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pennies

pennies

Posted
Posted

i personally like the sp and agree with everyone who said there's too much generalism out there. whether the artist addresses it or not and gives you a specific name, usually when they're writing a song they have something some event someone specific in mind. whether or not YOU know doesn't really make a difference. i think i can feel related to music without being that person. i like 1989 it feels right, and jane and 40 miles those in particular really don't bother me at all.

but the whole mystery of being able to interpret yourself without being TOLD all the time, having to think...that's nice too. you don't want all the mystery taken away but you want some room to grow if you will.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
matrix

matrix

Posted
Posted

Although this thread is from a year ago, I have no problem posting in it. Well some of the points in this post I don't agree with, one thing I really hate is when rappers yell out the year in the song. Like Puff Daddy, and he'll yell out 2004 in the middle of the song. That's retarded, because when I listen to that song in 2007, it sounds stupid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Prometheon

Prometheon

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah, exactly. It's the same reason as me hating the George Bush reference in North American for Life.

 

There are tons of ways to blatantly say "we have a shitty leader" other than "George is teachin` the kids to fight."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
marx marvelous

marx marvelous

Posted
Posted

I didn't read past the first page of the thread, but as shade probably already said on 2 or 3, you're placing too much importance on lyrics. "American Pie" is a good example. Everyone's familiar with the song, but no one knows/cares what the hell it's about (Buddy Holly's death.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

  I accept