Death Aflame
voice of dissent
- Feb 1, 2004
- 2,504
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- 38
I don't see how this helps your case. Exactly what lyrical form do those Buried Inside lyrics exemplify? If I think such a form is crap then what is so wrong with me criticizing it by pointing out that it fails to exemplify a form that I think is potentially good? I like certain documentary films, though I would never judge the quality of a documentary film with exactly the same standards I would employ in judging, for instance, a fictional drama (though some standards might overlap). However, if I thought that the very idea of a documentary film was crap, then I would not be out of line in criticizing a documentary film for failing to be something it was not intended to be and which I think would be preferable.
Sorry, I did not mean to imply that you could not despise an entire genre or mode of cultural production (of course you can), I was simply trying to point out that if you despise the lyrics based on qualities generally attributed to that particular mode of practice then your issues with the band's lyrics in particular are merely symptomatic about what you dislike about the genre/mode as a whole. I say 'merely' because your position would be akin to rejecting all documentary film, which is a generally unreasonable position to hold that would result in me dismissing your criticisms as being unconvincing (unless you have sufficient justification for rejecting an entire genre or style and I have yet to see convincing arguments of this sort for why the lyrics are awful, beyond your own impressionistic observations--for instance you simply use a negative tone to point out that the lyrics are tirade-like, how or why is this a bad thing, in your view? [Note: I am looking for something more substantial than "I don't like tirade-esque lyrics"])
I really do not see what artistic merit can be found in a bunch of tirades interspersed with half-baked "profundities".
Obviously I disagree with your assessment--their lyrics take on the form of a political polemic (I suspect they are anarchist in origin, but I cannot be sure) that I find are well reasoned and argued. This is what I value in them. Again, the topics are well researched (complete with an overarching thesis) and thought out which can be seen if you have the opportunity to read through the lyrical booklet accompanying the cd.
For instance, the argument that the fallacy of wildlife conservation is positing is an anti-human-centric approach to ecological issues, which is in contrast to the human centric policies currently enacted to 'protect' wildlife for us, from us. This is the contradiction which I think is an important one to highlight, though clearly it is but a smaller issue in a larger political landscape.
However, as you say, whether or not you find value in this message (in content or form, or both) is up to you.
I don't recall denying anything artistic status, but if I suggested such a thing I didn't mean to.
Well you did say that they were "totally artless", so unless I took that the wrong way you did seem to suggest this initially.