the answer

There's a lot of rage and bitterness in America as a result of the polarizing effects of today's political situation. That isn't news, we were all aware. Even if you think you're moderate or utterly apathetic towards politics, all it takes is one extremist's suffocating rhetoric to make you feel extreme as well.

Musically, I can think of few bands that are as politically extreme in idealogy as Bad Religion. Since 1982 they have refused to let up on their attack against organized religion and conservative politics. Their political standing is so blatantly liberally - their songs' subject matter ranges from anti-Christian, pro-choice, environmentalist, and anti-capitalist/socialist - that it boggles my mind how ultra-conservatives can listen to their stuff without their heads exploding (on facebook the majority of Bad Religion listeners I found were conservative. Not even moderate.... pure conservative. This phenomenon, however, will be reserved for a separate post.)

Amidst all their polarizing punk music, you can find Bad Religion has slipped in some songs that stray from the usual message. One such song is "The Answer," the perfect tune for times like these when we lack an understanding view of those that believe differently from us.

Long ago in a dusty village
full of hunger, pain and strife
a man came forth with a vision of truth
and the way to a better life
he was convinced he had the answer
and he compelled people to follow along
but the hunger never vanished
and the man was banished
and the village dried up and died.

In this first stanza we are told of a man who believed he found an answer... a solution to the troubles of the world. He went about convincing everyone that he was right, but of course he was not, and others became angry with him for this. One of the more pathetic elements of human nature is exposed here as the people of this town are so easily swayed into belief and out of belief based on their situation.

At a time when wise men peered
through glass tubes toward the sky
the heavens changed in predictable ways
and one man was able to find
that he had thought he found the answer
and he was quick to write his revelation
but as they were scutinized
in his colleagues eyes
he soon became a mockery

Yet another man believes he has found an answer only to have it become disproved. This time the answer wasn't a religious "vision of truth" as in the first stanza, but rather the individual was a man of science. The author has generously included faults of both seekers of knowledge and of spirituality.

Don’t tell me about the answer,
’cause then another one will come along soon,
I don’t believe you have the answer,
I’ve got ideas too,
But if you’ve got enough naivete,
And you’ve got conviction,
Then the answer is perfect for you

This is the most important stanza. We've already seen two examples of the answer being incorrect. The author has introduced this theme of life and here he reveals the point the introduction. The singer is tired of hearing these answers, because it's never the final answer. In fact, he's even got an answer, so he doesn't need yours.

And to me, the most revealing lines of the song are the final three in this stanza. The author lists the key ingredients for believing in an answer: naivete and conviction. Thinking that your answer is actually the right one requires a certain amount of naivete. And of course conviction is vital as well... without conviction you would never have an answer, you'd be beliefless. Then in the final line he states that the answer is perfect for you. That's what matters, that you are satisfied with your answer.

Whatever "wing" you're a part of, you're naive if you think you've got it right. But ultimately, if that's what gets you through the night, then good, believe it. You've found your answer and I respect it, but shut up now while I find mine. Because you know what? we're both wrong.

An urban sprawl sits choking on it’s discharge,
Overwhelmed by industry,
Searching for a modern-day
Savior from another place,
Inclined toward charity,
Everyone’s begging for an answer,
Without regard validity,
The searching never ends,
It goes on and on and on for eternity

Finally he creates an image of the world today as this creature diseased by industry. This sickly state is hardly the paradise we're looking for, so we as people continue searching for an answer, not caring if it's right or wrong. But ultimately it will be wrong, and the searching will proceed.

Though I maintain that the song has a message of understanding... there's an undeniable jab at Christianity towards the end here by mentioning "savior" and "without regard to validity." But this minor change of pace towards the conclusion does not alter the song's sympathetic nature. Earlier, not only did the author criticize self-assured scientists in addition to prophets, he had also established himself as someone "with ideas too," in the second to last stanza. So the author is indeed another one of these lost people looking for an answer.

No matter how different our political beliefs are, we're all just people looking for an answer, so try to love and understand one another for that.

Song that won't disappoint: I'm very close to recommending "Do What You Want" by Bad Religion because there's some spectacular lines, but I'm going to go with "Anesthesia" by BR.
Why? Brett Gurewitz, co-founder and guitarist for most of the albums, has a huge Beatles influence and tends to write songs that aren't so politically motivated and at times lyrically brilliant for a simple punk rock band. This song clearly shows this by referencing ... which Beatles song? Listen to it and tell me!

Like anyone's going to do that...

have you ever

This is one of the posts where a talk about a music-related phenomenon. Last time it was "one-liners," today it's the rediscovery.

The rediscovery is a bit like a double-take. The first time you listen to the artist you don't see anything special about it. In fact, you may hate it. But then later on in life you give it another listen and it triggers in you something that it hadn't the first time.

This can happen for different reasons. Maybe the first time you listened you were just not in the right mood. Perhaps you were up for some System of a Down intensity rather than a soothing musical treatment. You could have been pissed off or impatient, too distracted with other issues to give the music your full attention.

In most cases you probably weren't into the music because your taste hadn't matured to the point that you could appreciate it.

We all have a certain origin of taste in music... a sort of personally specialty. And whenever we reach out into a new style it's a confusing and tentative experience. You don't know what to look for, and it may seem like too much work trying to figure out what this new style is all about. Often it's uncomfortable, and you'd rather just retreat to artists you can trust.

Some types of music are easier to conquer than others based on your origin of taste. It's not much of a challenge to expand your tastes from punk rock to ska. While not so difficult, these types of taste-expansion also aren't as satisfying as a more daring one.

Whether all the stars were aligned and the situation was perfect, or you were simply incredibly persistent, you can dig a formerly foreign music genre and add that to your audio arsenal.

If you do attempt to expand your taste, you constanty musically mature. I think of it as filling in links between styles/artists. Example:

Offspring ---> Nirvana ----> Pixies ----> Radiohead ----> Clinic

Very small steps, but there's a huge difference between Offspring and Clinic.

Some of the bands that I've had to rediscover are Pavement, Radiohead, and Spoon.

When I first downloaded Radiohead on a recommendation from a friend, I thought they were shit. The guy sang like a pussy (which he does)... I just wasn't into it all at. Now there were a variety of forces at work to make me hate them. The song I downloaded (Fake Plastic Trees) was not a rocker, and Radiohead can rock quite well. If I had downloaded "Paranoid Android," I might have become a Radiohead fan then.

But I didn't, because at that point in time I wasn't musically mature enough to understand "Fake Plastic Trees." A year later I was playing random songs on my computer, "Fake Plastic Trees" came up, and I was completely under its spell. Why? My taste had expanded beyond hard rock.

I read about how Pavement was maybe the most important/best band of the nineties, so I listened to some of their stuff. However, the songs I chose to listen to were all off their low-recording-quality first album. I wasn't ready to make the jump from polished music to this lo-fi indie stuff, and forgot all about them.

One night around exam time last semester I'm studying at the coffee shop and these really great songs are on the radio, clearly by the same artist (they were playing a Pavement CD). First I thought to myself... "these guys are Weezer ripoffs, but they do sound good." When I got back to my room, I looked up the lyrics and was shocked to discover it was by this group I had discarded a long time ago. (Also turns out they didn't rip off Weezer, it was the other way around.) Once I got home I re-listened to the songs I obtained previously and wondered how the hell I didn't get into them.

So bust out that cd you hated the first time around and give it a listen, because it might be just what you're looking for a year later.

Song that won't disappoint: "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead.
Why?: They've described it as "Bohemian Rhapsody" meets The Pixies... and if that concept doesn't make you think "oh hell yes" then something is very, very wrong with you. (This is most definitely one of the greatest rock songs of all time.)

i can learn

As a very young person listening to music, I was clueless about a lot that was going on with it. Music can be enjoyed whether you understand it or not (I'll admit my hard drive has its share of strange J-Pop) and when you're young that is the case.

The summer hangout for my brother and I was this pool at the country club we belonged at. (How ironic that we ended up being ridiculously pale.) We'd spend all day at this place; do a little swimming, order some spicy curly fries and a sprite, it was heaven. One day my brother asked my mother what my dad's favorite band was. She hesitated for a moment and said it was probably the Doors.

Now when you're just a dumb little kid, your natural instinct is to imitate your parents, so suddenly I started playing Doors CD's all the time and memorizing the lyrics. A week or so later at the pool, my brother and I were heading into the shower together to wash the chlorine off ourselves. Walking on the way to bathroom I start crooning:

Show me the way
To the next whiskey bar
Oh, don’t ask why
Oh, don’t ask why

For if we don’t find
The next whiskey bar
I tell you we must die
I tell you we must die

My shocked mother instantly scolded me for saying such things. Her sweet little boy rambling on about whiskey and little girls. Of course I never took the time to examine the lyrics, it was all about the feeling given off by the rhythm.