harmless wrote:But yeah, your overall point isn't one I'm disagreeing with. I forgive the LB chorus because the surrounding song is good. I just think it would be great if the chorus was also great. A better "simple chorus" would be one that has meaning, rather than just describing a bright yellow zigzag.
Yeah it's just such a cliche isn't it. Lightning Bolt. Cheese. And then they name the album Lighting Bolt as well. Of all the titles they could have used: Infallible (like it), Getaway (I'd go with it); Pendulum (possibly); etc etc
Maybe next album PJ will go full Jovi and they'll be singing about beds of nails and bleeding hearts and cheap perfume.
harmless wrote:"I'm still alive" means something emotionally potent, and is a great summation of the verses. Same with "I'd rather be with an animal." They're both defiant, balls-to-the-wall statements. "She's a lightning bolt" isn't really, and neither does it really drag you into the verses to find the depth therein. The problem is that on a casual listen, "Lightning Bolt!" is the kind of chorus that'll put someone off from delving deeper, and it's had that effect already for a lot of people on this forum. When Eddie sang "I'm still alive", we wanted to know why. When Eddie sang "I'd rather be with an animal", we wanted to know why.
You don't think you've looked for 'the depth therein' with LB? Seriously? You don't think (you, for example) wanted to know why he says "She's a lightning bolt"?
Me - I definitely have looked at this song deep within. I'm curious of what it means. I don't know who "she" is. It could be Mother Nature, a supreme being, a wave, his wife, his daughter... I have no clue.
But, I have a guess. And to me, I digged through the words and guessed much more on this song than on - Animal, for example.
We've talked about this song together, and we agree that it has lots of shades and layers if you look deep enough. We agree that it's very metaphorical and "she" is mother Earth and the song is about mortality and our time spent on Earth and everything else. And yet, no, I don't think the chorus intrigues or grabs the attention enough for that. When I first listened to the live version, that chorus (and the shoddy performance, but let's stick to the chorus) put me off entirely. I had to really work to listen to the rest of the song, but my reason for working at it was "There *must* be more to it, it can't possibly be as stupid as it sounds." And there was more to it, and it isn't as stupid as it sounds, but I really had to look past that chorus to find out. At the moment I find the chorus in the studio version quite insignificant, and luckily it's buried under several much more interesting parts. But that really is the song's saving grace, in my opinion. In itself, I really don't care that she's a lightning bolt.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
harmless wrote:But yeah, your overall point isn't one I'm disagreeing with. I forgive the LB chorus because the surrounding song is good. I just think it would be great if the chorus was also great. A better "simple chorus" would be one that has meaning, rather than just describing a bright yellow zigzag.
Yeah it's just such a cliche isn't it. Lightning Bolt. Cheese. And then they name the album Lighting Bolt as well. Of all the titles they could have used: Infallible (like it), Getaway (I'd go with it); Pendulum (possibly); etc etc
Maybe next album PJ will go full Jovi and they'll be singing about beds of nails and bleeding hearts and cheap perfume.
Jon Bongiovi would choke on his yellow mane before writing a song like Mind Your Manners.
You know what, I disagree with about 90% of what Release_Me says, but I appreciate that he's respectful and puts thought into his posts. We could all learn from him.
Anders wrote:I do not have a «neoliberal assessment of geopolitics», so please stop writing that I do.
theplatypus wrote:You know what, I disagree with about 90% of what Release_Me says, but I appreciate that he's respectful and puts thought into his posts. We could all learn from him.
Release_Me wrote:Ed's always merged simple sounding choruses with more complex verses. Wordy, intelligent parts are not reserved for choruses because it's kind of a no brainer to have the easier to sing along to part as the chorus. If you look at I'm still alive in isolation, or even Mind your Manners or She's a lightnint bolt, you can think it's simple and unintelligent. Context is what matters and gives these lyrics their meaning.
For years, it was playing word games and expressing those emotions, but doing it in such a way that was cryptic and where Mark Arm from Mudhoney would still have some modicum of respect for me. But nowadays, it's more like sitting down and writing a song, and whatever comes out, comes out.
Sounds to me like he's tiptoeing around the fact that he's gotten comfortable with the idea of dumbing down the lyrics.
Yeh, well, these lyrics are certainly not dumbed down, right?
"Nothing man, ohh nothing man... could've been something... nothing man"
"I'd rather be, I'd rather be, I'd rather be with an animal"
"drop the leash, drop the leash, get out of my fucking face"
to me, this doesn't seem too different from...
"She's a lightning bolt, she's your rock and roll, she's true."
...except on the surface there's "what seems to be" a positive vibe conveyed. People here hate when Ed does that sort of thing. It's not the lyrics. It's the underlying vibe of the lyrics.
The irony, of course, is the entire context within the song's lyrics are practically indecipherable and LB (the song) could actually have deep negative connotations at it's heart.
This might be IlluminEddie's one good post ever.
Seconded. Not that I think he doesn't post well but just that I agree with what he's saying here. It's the vibe, not the lyrics. Someone talked about feeling embarrassed singing along to Life Wasted. That's fine if you don't like the song, but if it's just the lyrics in the chrous, I don't get how they are anymore embarassing than some of PJ's most well known choruses. It's not even my favourite off S/T by any stretch.
It was me who said that. I also get embarrassed singing Lightning Boooooooooowlt because it's silly. I don't mind singing the rest of the song, however. Just to put this into some perspective, though, I'm also kind of embarrassed to sing the Alive chorus now. It doesn't mean I don't like the song. Life Wasted wasn't that great but most of it was better than the chorus. It's an age-old PJ issue; they often write great songs with less than great choruses.
Was only thinking precisely this myself the other day. I think they used to be very good at it (Ten and Vs are packed with great ones), but they have a tendency to write better bridges than choruses these days.
harmless wrote:But yeah, your overall point isn't one I'm disagreeing with. I forgive the LB chorus because the surrounding song is good. I just think it would be great if the chorus was also great. A better "simple chorus" would be one that has meaning, rather than just describing a bright yellow zigzag.
Yeah it's just such a cliche isn't it. Lightning Bolt. Cheese. And then they name the album Lighting Bolt as well. Of all the titles they could have used: Infallible (like it), Getaway (I'd go with it); Pendulum (possibly); etc etc
Maybe next album PJ will go full Jovi and they'll be singing about beds of nails and bleeding hearts and cheap perfume.
I've actually come to like the album title, but only because the art direction makes it much cooler. The cheesiness is acknowledged in the fact that they're using big yellow lightning bolts in videos etc. There's some irony there. And I think the "lightning bolt" as a symbol goes well with the lyrics about inspiration, divine intervention and religious ecstasy the album is critiquing. It's just the little chorus in the song that's an issue, but it's becoming less and less of an issue as the concept of the whole album unfolds.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
harmless wrote:But yeah, your overall point isn't one I'm disagreeing with. I forgive the LB chorus because the surrounding song is good. I just think it would be great if the chorus was also great. A better "simple chorus" would be one that has meaning, rather than just describing a bright yellow zigzag.
Yeah it's just such a cliche isn't it. Lightning Bolt. Cheese. And then they name the album Lighting Bolt as well. Of all the titles they could have used: Infallible (like it), Getaway (I'd go with it); Pendulum (possibly); etc etc
Maybe next album PJ will go full Jovi and they'll be singing about beds of nails and bleeding hearts and cheap perfume.
I've actually come to like the album title, but only because the art direction makes it much cooler. The cheesiness is acknowledged in the fact that they're using big yellow lightning bolts in videos etc. There's some irony there. And I think the "lightning bolt" as a symbol goes well with the lyrics about inspiration, divine intervention and religious ecstasy the album is critiquing. It's just the little chorus in the song that's an issue, but it's becoming less and less of an issue as the concept of the whole album unfolds.
I really didn't like the title at all and that started things off with an uh-oh whimper. But then the album art and lyrical concepts saved the day.
Actually, LB could even be about inspiration / ideas / philosophies / religions which attract, take root and then destroy.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
harmless wrote:But yeah, your overall point isn't one I'm disagreeing with. I forgive the LB chorus because the surrounding song is good. I just think it would be great if the chorus was also great. A better "simple chorus" would be one that has meaning, rather than just describing a bright yellow zigzag.
Yeah it's just such a cliche isn't it. Lightning Bolt. Cheese. And then they name the album Lighting Bolt as well. Of all the titles they could have used: Infallible (like it), Getaway (I'd go with it); Pendulum (possibly); etc etc
Maybe next album PJ will go full Jovi and they'll be singing about beds of nails and bleeding hearts and cheap perfume.
I've actually come to like the album title, but only because the art direction makes it much cooler. The cheesiness is acknowledged in the fact that they're using big yellow lightning bolts in videos etc. There's some irony there. And I think the "lightning bolt" as a symbol goes well with the lyrics about inspiration, divine intervention and religious ecstasy the album is critiquing. It's just the little chorus in the song that's an issue, but it's becoming less and less of an issue as the concept of the whole album unfolds.
One of the most enjoyable parts of their recent rollout is seeing a glimpse of what is coming and reading all the WTF? posts and then having people get on board as the images completed themselves. Overall this has been a really well crafted push by PJ's camp. (Though could have used about a month less)
harmless wrote:But yeah, your overall point isn't one I'm disagreeing with. I forgive the LB chorus because the surrounding song is good. I just think it would be great if the chorus was also great. A better "simple chorus" would be one that has meaning, rather than just describing a bright yellow zigzag.
Yeah it's just such a cliche isn't it. Lightning Bolt. Cheese. And then they name the album Lighting Bolt as well. Of all the titles they could have used: Infallible (like it), Getaway (I'd go with it); Pendulum (possibly); etc etc
Maybe next album PJ will go full Jovi and they'll be singing about beds of nails and bleeding hearts and cheap perfume.
I've actually come to like the album title, but only because the art direction makes it much cooler. The cheesiness is acknowledged in the fact that they're using big yellow lightning bolts in videos etc. There's some irony there. And I think the "lightning bolt" as a symbol goes well with the lyrics about inspiration, divine intervention and religious ecstasy the album is critiquing. It's just the little chorus in the song that's an issue, but it's becoming less and less of an issue as the concept of the whole album unfolds.
One of the most enjoyable parts of their recent rollout is seeing a glimpse of what is coming and reading all the WTF? posts and then having people get on board as the images completed themselves. Overall this has been a really well crafted push by PJ's camp. (Though could have used about a month less)
Totally agree. The amount of "WTF? Oooooh that's OK, actually" has been really funny.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
harmless wrote:Actually, LB could even be about inspiration / ideas / philosophies / religions which attract, take root and then destroy.
Actually, I know I'm blowing my own trumpet but this is really working as a theory. LB is like an anti-parable.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
harmless wrote:The Big Wave lyrics are terrible. If Lightning Bolt is a song about surfing (which it is, partly) it's miles and miles better than Big Wave. BW is a "You'd get it if you were a surfer" kind of song.
Love Big Wave. It's got a a great tempo and gets the listener rocking out and wanting to go back and hit repeat. You're clearly a stickler for lyrics, I'm only a stickler when the song draws attention to it. Big Wave is more about the melody and pace, and the lyrics supplement just fine w/ nice little rhyming patterns. Great way to move the album forward. Too bad Gone doesn't come through in a stronger way.
dimejinky99 wrote:Had he mentioned anyone else but mark arm you guys would be blaming that person on ruining the band. Fucking can't stand motherfuckin mark arm
