tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3508293003737956258.post799646244926451938..comments2024-03-17T04:17:30.905-05:00Comments on PostConsumer Reports: Record Review: Waterdeep's Self-titled Double LPPostConsumer Reportshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04382150335755928153noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3508293003737956258.post-78583501515491179472015-08-10T15:40:52.542-05:002015-08-10T15:40:52.542-05:00Rich Duval, I really appreciate your comment. I to...Rich Duval, I really appreciate your comment. I too am glad I'm not the only one who was confused by Don's songs. <br /><br />I think James Hunt's comment is illuminating on where Don is coming from in his writing. Thanks contributing that.<br /><br />With that said, I see Don's writing and those who attempt to write in a similarly metaphorically abstract way (or whatever we want to call it) as a great experiment that sometimes fails but has the potential to succeed gloriously. I think what Don is attempting to do is admirable, but he runs the risk of the songs falling on deaf ears, so to speak. Personally, they kind of leave me cold, because there isn't a signpost pointing me to something I can grasp on to. On the flip side, I have cried to Sufjan Steven's new album like 4 times since it came out. Maybe I will have to listen to his album again with my imagination on full blast and I can interpret it any way I like. I guess in that sense his art can be a true collaboration with the listener.PostConsumer Reportshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04382150335755928153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3508293003737956258.post-86940204280621812152015-08-10T14:25:48.669-05:002015-08-10T14:25:48.669-05:00Admittedly, I've been a Waterdeep fan since I ...Admittedly, I've been a Waterdeep fan since I discovered music so I'm always a little biased. I think you're right when you say the "supposed strength of a song of this kind lies in its ambiguity, leaving it open to many interpretations."<br /><br />I don't know what "The Darkness..." or "...Flying Machine" are about, but that's been true with a lot of their work over the last few years. And I think it's on purpose. Around 2008 Don started writing and speaking a lot about "mythic language." He used this term to describe stories and images that were non-literal. He talked about telling stories and telling the truth in ways that didn't correlate to precise realities. This allows them to tell the truth about multiple situations. Since most people seem to take songs to mean whatever they feel when they first hear them anyway, this is a pretty honest way to write music. Or poetry. Or scripture. <br /><br />Plus, I'm a huge fan. James Hunthttp://www.jastheless.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3508293003737956258.post-86715131199017684012015-08-08T00:36:45.596-05:002015-08-08T00:36:45.596-05:00I Love this album. I find it interesting that you...I Love this album. I find it interesting that your take on song meanings and metaphorical lyrics lines up with mine, so much so that the reason I stumbled upon this review is because I am trying to figure out just what the heck The Darkness Doesn't Have a Name is about. I like to know songs have a specific, comprehensible, meaning. True, one always reads a certain bit of themselves into any song they hear, and may even relate to it in a different way than the writer might expect, but I like to be able to understand what the writer is getting at as well. This song makes me fear perhaps I am becoming daft as I get older. Am I clueless, has my thinking becomes so muddled that I can no longer grasp subtleties and metaphor, or am I just out of touch? I love the song, I just wish I knew what I might be saying as I sing along. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674562772269212811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3508293003737956258.post-58339298486778480482015-08-08T00:35:26.558-05:002015-08-08T00:35:26.558-05:00I Love this album. I find it interesting that you...I Love this album. I find it interesting that your take on song meanings and metaphorical lyrics lines up with mine, so much so that the reason I stumbled upon this review is because I am trying to figure out just what the heck The Darkness Doesn't Have a Name is about. I like to know songs have a specific, comprehensible, meaning. True, one always reads a certain bit of themselves into any song they hear, and may even relate to it in a different way than the writer might expect, but I like to be able to understand what the writer is getting at as well. This song makes me fear perhaps I am becoming daft as I get older. Am I clueless, has my thinking becomes so muddled that I can no longer grasp subtleties and metaphor, or am I just out of touch? I love the song, I just wish I knew what I might be saying as I sing along. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15674562772269212811noreply@blogger.com