tragabigzanda wrote:stip wrote:tragabigzanda wrote:stip wrote:tragabigzanda wrote:stip wrote:i love QE so much. And while it blames trump, in the end it also blames the subjects for scapegoating and externalizing and distancing yourself from your responsibility. it literally goes to mars to make that point.
musically it is fucking awesome
Eddie’s lyrics are much smarter than people often give them credit for. Folks stop at fairly superficial levels because they dont think there are extra layers to imbue with meaning, and Eddie is not a showy writer
Imbue is such a weird word choice here. Are you suggesting some listeners are lazier than others because they don’t inject their own meanings into the song?
Well first off, as you know, there is an element of subjectivity in all but the most basic level of engaging with any piece of art. people will find their own meaning. But any text gives you more or less raw material to work with. I don't think people are lazy in regards to Eddie and his writing. But I think people sometimes stop short of fully of interacting with the levels that a set of lyrics might have because they make the assumption they won't find anything.
i.e. - reducing QE to a song about Trump messing up the world.
I see. In any event, I don't view this read is even remotely reductive:
Quick Escape is about escaping a place that has fallen into systemic disrepair, with the subjects going so far as Mars to find respite, because everywhere else they tried had been ruined by Donald Trump. But once there, the escapers realize they've neglected their responsibilities back home.
Any read above and beyond that would, in my view,
be unnecessarily generous to both Ed and the band. It's not that I have a problem with simple lyrics, but I do have a problem with dumb lyrics, especially when they're on top of annoying music. All the Zanzibar/Marrakesh stuff is Kiedis-levels of goofy, but delivered with a sense of foreboding that is tough to stomach.
The underlying composition is a locomotive of dogshit, the lyrics the carriage. The Trump reference is just the caboose.
and that is exactly my point
Why on earth would anyone consume a piece of art, and upon concluding that the seasoned creator’s intention was insufficient, then try to imbue greater significance into the art? That’s like when I tell my five year old that her crappy drawings are awesome.
you wouldn't. And my point was, and remains, and feels well illustrated, that many Pearl Jam fans who shit on Eddie's lyrics often have literal and ungenerous interpretations of what he is doing, and are inclined to look superficially and then conclude that they were unable to find what they did not look for. And it seemed to me that your dismissal of the QE lyrics are a great example of this.
You don't have to like it. You don't have to find it meaningful. But I think the prevailing wisdom among many fans here is that Eddie isn't that good at this, and stumbles accidentally into decent lyrics. And I think there is a lot more going on in much of his writing than first appears.
It is, of course, possible that I am wrong and Eddie usually sucks as a lyricist.
If anything, I think the QE lyrics are notably better than the Bushleaguer lyrics. At least the verses. BL is an example of something seeming smarter than it is, whereas QE is the opposite
