Song of the Moment: My Father's Son

[Mike]

This is how I want modern Ed to sound on a hard rock number.

[harmless]

Nobody needs to be told again that the lyrics of Supersonic kill that song dead for me, but there it is.

I really don't know what the problem is with these ones; they're certainly not bad, and at least they have a harsher, almost experimental vibe to them. Ed said in one of the interviews (Mark Richards?) that MFS is not autobiographical.

[dimejinky99]

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

[Heathen]

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

There's some great white supremacist music out there.

[harmless]

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

There's some great white supremacist music out there.

I keep saying Ed should write a song about a shark attack.

[Heathen]

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

There's some great white supremacist music out there.

I keep saying Ed should write a song about a shark attack.

Swallowed Whole

[stupidmop]

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

There's some great white supremacist music out there.

I keep saying Ed should write a song about a shark attack.

Swallowed Whole

Im still bummed that song isnt about the earth being swallowed by a metaphorical global warming whale like the picture told me it would.

[stip]

I'm really surprised at the issue people have with these lyrics, especially given some of EV's other clunkers from recent years. Do people get that's he's writing in character? (a la Johnny Guitar)

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

I tend to agree. The only song I've ever liked less after knowing the lyrics was Roland by Interpol.

the meaning of words are part of the song. That's kind of the point of words, and why singers don't just hum or go la la over the track. And the lyrics in johnny guitar were pretty clever. I'm not sure that's the case here. I haven't looked at any lyrics carefully, and won't until we get the liner notes, but I'm not liking a lot of what I do hear.

[McParadigm]

Unless lyrics are about, I don't know, white supremacy or something, I really can't fathom how they could ruin a song that sounds good to your ear. The actual words themselves are of neglible importance to me, it's the pure sound of the vocal (the musical effect of the choices of vowels, consonants and syllables, the phrasing, etc.) that really matters.

Good for you.

I really can't fathom how any aspect of a song could be deemed irrelevant to the final product, myself. So there you have it. We disagree.

There isn't really anything internal to a song that doesn't affect it to some degree, in my mind. If it's a part of the song, then it's a part of the song. And not only do the various parts matter, but how they interact matters. The way the instruments sounded, and were played, matters. The way they were captured or changed in the studio matters.

Having said that, lyrics are possibly the most important quality in a song, for me. Words are important. They're full of magic. They are the purest vessel through which we share ourselves with the world. Lives are changed by words every day. There are words still growing today that were first planted thousands of years ago. They don't even need water to survive.

A gifted writer can make old words seem new. A great writer can take those same words, and make the whole world seem new.

That's not to say that I'll like a musically disastrous song that happens to have great lines in it (again, if it's a part of the song, then it's a part of the song), but junk lyrics do weaken a song to a greater degree than any other element.

And it doesn't mean they have to be the most brilliant words ever, either. Simplicity is acceptable, and can even be preferred under the right conditions. "She loves you yeah yeah yeah" is stupid-simple, but it matches the jubilant energy of that song to a T. Mick Jagger can sing "shake your hips" over a dirty groove, and it's a fantastic moment. "I should have known there was someone else" is an explosively powerful opening moment to a song.

This song doesn't go for simple. It goes for decorated, populous emotional expression...and instead it comes out unremarkable save for a recurrent sense of rhyme scheme awkwardness. And the thing about emotional expression is, if you shoot for decorated and end up with unremarkable, it creates a chasm-wide sense of disconnection that a spitting, primal snarl like "I'd rather be with an animal" does not.

[stip]

yup. It's why the lyrics to go don't matter that much, but the lyrics here do. My Father's Son is clearly telling a story/describing a relationship. It is asking you to listen. Go only wants you to feel.

[harmless]

Good post, McP. I don't find the lyrics to MFS that bad at all, but it's clearly using DNA / insemination / spunk as metaphors to tell a story about a father-son relationship. Which is pretty cool, dark and / or awkward, depending on how you look at it. For me it creates some necessary darkness on this album. As an irrelevant aside: my one prevailing thought about BoB and Pearl Jam's collaboration is that one is definitely not complimenting the other. That jarring disconnect between the two styles and tastes might one day create a really strange magic. It's not happened yet, but they're closer to it here than they were on Backspacer.

[stip]

I don't mind the story or the idea, it's the execution, I think

[harmless]

Yup. We might be surprised when the lyrics are printed, we'll see.

[bucketfinck]

This MIGHT be the best song on the album! It grows With each listen..

The Chorus now reminds me a bit of a Chili Peppers song from One hot minute (My favourite Chili-record)

[harmless]

"That scream, "Naaaaaaaaa now you're dead and gone..." is really awesome.

[EJ]

I love everything about this song.

[stip]

This song had a good chorus

[stupidmop]

Yeah I really like this one. I find this one sing alongable!

[Jorge]

THIS SONG IS GREAT

I have no idea what the lyrics are about and I don't care. Something about a genius's son, and Beethoven. Whatever.

[harmless]

THIS SONG IS GREAT

I have no idea what the lyrics are about and I don't care. Something about a genius's son, and Beethoven. Whatever.

I take it this means you'll be paring back your wordy-but-lush writing style from now on, Jorge? (A.K.A: when did you stop caring about lyrics?)