Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[hlniv]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

[stip]

Most people on the serious/populist left don't like being democrats. But we sure do despise the alternative. And politics is about responding to and shaping reality. Moralizing is about the consistent principled stand. It's not a question of giving a shit or not. Clearly he cares. He played a fundraiser for Obama. But (not knowing, just reading the general temperament of people who share eds politics back onto him) I suspect that had less to do with love for Obama than the realization that everything he doesn't like, and then some, will be 10fold worse with the other guys.

We have ideological parties. For a person with political principles the alternative is almost always too horrible to contemplate.

[IlluminEddie]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

Don't kid yourself. He gives a shit. He wouldn't have polluted our ears years and done as much fundraising for his boy, if he didn't give a shit.

[VinylGuy]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

Don't kid yourself. He gives a shit. He wouldn't have polluted our ears years and done as much fundraising for his boy, if he didn't give a shit.

You seem to hate Obama, is that right?

[IlluminEddie]

Most people on the serious/populist left don't like being democrats. But we sure do despise the alternative.

Hate to remind you of this, stip, but Ed's not a politician. He's a rock singer.

He can be "democrat" or "serious/populist left" and vocally disagree with the President on an issue.

And politics is about responding to and shaping reality. Moralizing is about the consistent principled stand. It's not a question of giving a shit or not. Clearly he cares. He played a fundraiser for Obama. But (not knowing, just reading the general temperament of people who share eds politics back onto him) I suspect that had less to do with love for Obama than the realization that everything he doesn't like, and then some, will be 10fold worse with the other guys.

So, the NSA scandal would be 10 fold worse with the other guys? Seriously? It got worse under Obama. How would you know it would be "worser" under Romney or someone else? You don't.

You and I both know, Ed's doing a disservice to all the political rhetoric and soapbox style preaching he's done for years by not at least acknowledging Obama's faults there on that single issue. Ed's silence on singular issues, the likes of which he would have been outspoken on if a R was in the white house, is deafening.

We have ideological parties. For a person with political principles the alternative is almost always too horrible to contemplate.

Once again, Ed's not a politician. He's not running for anything. He can be Democrat or Socialist or whatever and vocally disagree with a Democratic administration on A SINGULAR issue. Particularly, one's that are touched on in his very lyrical catalog (Grievance). You act like every human is running for office and therefore can't disagree with party line. Most aren't, Ed's not. People can label themselves R or D or whatever, but disagree with the R stance here or D stance there. It's called not being a sheep.

Does Ed's lack of voice today really matter? No. It doesn't. I'd prefer he write non-political songs anyway. Yet, for his own legacy, his muted approach (with the guy he likes today, Barry O) seems hypocritical due to his outspoken approach (about the guy beforehand, Mr. Bush). Bush sucked and sure, there was plenty to pick on. But, Obama sucks too. And, yes, there's plenty to pick on. Anyone trying to pretend there's vast differences in the output from the two is seriously delusional. Yet, my point all along is sure, everyone's entitled to a preference. Yet, let's atleast be real about issues that fall in line with party ideology (privacy) and yet are being broken by the commander of that party (NSA). It's not like it's in the Democratic party platform that "we should spy on both citizens and non-citizens". Hollywood hates it. Grievance says Ed hates the idea back in the Binaural era. Why doesn't current day Ed?

[IlluminEddie]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

Don't kid yourself. He gives a shit. He wouldn't have polluted our ears years and done as much fundraising for his boy, if he didn't give a shit.

You seem to hate Obama, is that right?

Honestly, no. I don't. He's done some good things, in my opinion.

I simply acknowledge that he's not that much different than Bush because I'm looking at the issues without team logos.

[harmless]

Obama is pretty different from Bush. Yeah, he's a long way from perfect but it's perfectly reasonable to consider his presidency a million miles away from that of George W. Bush.

[harmless]

And also perfectly reasonable to not make his presidency the raison d'etre of your song-writing. I for one wish he was attacking David Cameron or Vladimir Putin but we can't have everything. The real problem is that his songs aren't all that good now, not their subject matter.

[VinylGuy]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

Don't kid yourself. He gives a shit. He wouldn't have polluted our ears years and done as much fundraising for his boy, if he didn't give a shit.

You seem to hate Obama, is that right?

Honestly, no. I don't. He's done some good things, in my opinion.

I simply acknowledge that he's not that much different than Bush because I'm looking at the issues without team logos.

Well, but that´s your opinion. Why do you think Ed should feel the same?

[bada]

I haven't looked at the Getaway lyric sheet but from listening it seems Ed is looking at things from both sides. Some of the lines don't make sense to me otherwise.

[guitar_davey]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

Don't kid yourself. He gives a shit. He wouldn't have polluted our ears years and done as much fundraising for his boy, if he didn't give a shit.

His "boy?" Not a great choice of words there buddy.

[IlluminEddie]

Obama is pretty different from Bush. Yeah, he's a long way from perfect but it's perfectly reasonable to consider his presidency a million miles away from that of George W. Bush.

Obviously, I would not agree. I think, outside of a few areas (like healthcare), the trends would be very similar. Wars still going - check. Violations of privacy across the board - check. Spending out of control - check. Dramatic increase in debt - check. Nice stock market increases due to governmental assistance (in varied forms) - check - actually that's been better for Obama than Bush. That sort of thing. The difference is in how they go about these things and their verbal rationals, but the end results are pretty damn similar.

[IlluminEddie]

And also perfectly reasonable to not make his presidency the raison d'etre of your song-writing. I for one wish he was attacking David Cameron or Vladimir Putin but we can't have everything. The real problem is that his songs aren't all that good now, not their subject matter.

Of course it's reasonable to not make politics the raison d'etre of one's songwriting. But, if one can't acknowledge the glaring fact that Ed wrote political songs on "political issues" and is now seemingly steering clear of that (for some reason) and trying to focus on religion and other more personal (non-gov't) issues, I can't help you. Then, even if you don't completely agree with that and try to come up with half-hearted violations, we of course, could get into the soap box preaching about politics at concerts and so on. Which from what I've heard, still aligns with the infallibility of the current administration.

No one is saying Ed needs to directly bash Obama. I'm certainly not. What I am saying, is... Ed is for privacy rights, right? He's said he was in the past. If so, why isn't he saying anything about the glaring violations of privacy rights via the NSA? I mean it's out of character for him NOT to! I mean all it would take is a quick intro to Grievance at a concert talking about the NSA for one minute to change my mind. Yet, I've heard nothing so far. Maybe someone can show me otherwise? That's one issue, there are others.

Like the other poster said, it's obvious that Ed is purposefully trying to direct his attention to other issues. But, of course, the irony is, he doesn't all the time. He still occassionally talks politics, like his slip up about wanting to harm people who don't agree with gun control, but never a bad word towards the infallible actions of the man in the giant white house.

[IlluminEddie]

Getaway's stab (really like a misdirected haymaker flailing around) at organised religion just feels like Ed grandstanding against something but he cant use the Obama administration because he is so entrenched with the idea the current Pres was the victory for suffering 2 Terms of Bush (Isnt Ed angry about the NSA? I wonder if they had a Republican president at the moment would there be a song about that on the latest album?)

I've been saying this since before the album was released (upon hearing MYM). Ed is clearly trying to find something to talk about, and purposefully steering clear of politics, so his logical backup was religion. He knows any mention of more direct politics in his songs will seem like an accusation towards President Obama, who he's been fundraising for. Since he can't talk politics (because of his infatuation with the Pres) we got the Backspacer and LB themes. Obvious facts like this are not very popular round these parts. When you wear a team's colors and someone is talking bad about said team, you stand up for your team (that's the logic).

Anyway, the part on the NSA and if this was a Republican president is dead on. If that was the case, Ed's songwriting and preachiness would be over...

...whelming. At the end of the day, Ed's a incredibly large, quite douche..y, hypocrite when it comes to politics. But, I guess, it doesn't really matter because in aggregate, I'd prefer to have him write non-political songs regardless of who or what party he'd be attacking. Then again, admittedly, it would simply be nice to see current day Ed write a song about a political issue that wasn't inspired by whether his team was in the white house.

I mean Grievance seems to fit the NSA issue pretty well. But, Ed wouldn't mention that, would he? Bush is still Ed's satan and Obama is now Ed's god. Just like Sherman is San Fran's satan and Kaepernick is their god. It's what happens when you're too busy waving pom-poms to look at the underlying issues with no sense of allegiance to a party/team.

While I think this has some truth in it, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Ed regarding politics-

When asked why he was clearly campaigning for Kerry in 2004 and not Nader as he had previously, he answered with this:

"It doesn't make sense to remodel the basement if the kitchen is on fire"

I don't think Ed really likes being a democrat, and I doubt he identifies himself as one. Once bush got the 2nd term in 04, they all just sort of said "fuck it" lets live our lives and not get sucked into more failure on the political level.

It's just easier to pick the side you hate the least, Obama seemed fresh, and they wanted to do something with their fame to fight back the re pubs. At this point in his life, he just probably doesn't give a shit

Don't kid yourself. He gives a shit. He wouldn't have polluted our ears years and done as much fundraising for his boy, if he didn't give a shit.

You seem to hate Obama, is that right?

Honestly, no. I don't. He's done some good things, in my opinion.

I simply acknowledge that he's not that much different than Bush because I'm looking at the issues without team logos.

Well, but that´s your opinion. Why do you think Ed should feel the same?

Because of his words in the past (see Grievance or any of his rants on privacy). Does he now all of the sudden think privacy doesn't matter? Are you really trying to say that? Or his he simply focusing on issues that don't make the guy in the white house look bad? I think the latter. For example, name one time he's publicly disagreed with this administration one a singular issue (keeping in mind disagreeing on one issue publicly, doesn't mean one has lost support for that person's Presidency).

[harmless]

I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a president / prime minister that didn't keep wars going.

[harmless]

Anyway, boring.

[KurtLeon]

Anyway, boring.

Thats how you describe LB, harm?

[Lament]

Does Ed's lack of voice today really matter? No. It doesn't.

Your hundreds of posts complaining about his lack of a voice today would suggest that you feel otherwise...

[harmless]

Anyway, boring.

Thats how you describe LB, harm?

Not really, I meant IlluminEddie's need to talk about Ed's deficient politics. Lightning Bolt isn't the most exciting album in the world but it could be worse. (This will be interpreted by somebody as me changing my mind again...)

[KurtLeon]

Anyway, boring.

Thats how you describe LB, harm?

Not really, I meant IlluminEddie's need to talk about Ed's deficient politics. Lightning Bolt isn't the most exciting album in the world but it could be worse. (This will be interpreted by somebody as me changing my mind again...)

I hear ya, how's life, buddy?