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September 8, 2007
what is it
that separates lyrical genius from boring, pedestrian fakery?
is it the makeup? the guitars? the tattoos and the heroin? the spandex? the skulls on the cover?
i don't know. both cases -- the genius and the fakery -- seem to be defined by resonance with my own experience/way of thinking. is it simply a matter of a-priori bias against some bands that make me not want to have shared experiences with them? if i knew what the hell Therion was saying, would i find their lyrics irritatingly close to home, or brilliantly insightful?
or is it that certain lyrics resonate with different parts of me, some parts that i like, some that i don't, and that the ones which associate positively, i conclude are "brilliant" and the ones which remind me of negatives, i label "boring" -- and that, mostly because i myself am bored of the relevant feeling?
whatever the case, "american idiot" isn't bad, but i find the lyrics irritating and pretentious, probably because they're so genuine.
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the mastering is nice, though. i know a guy who worked on the album (his name's on the back!) and with my poorly-trained ears and highly sensitive, i found only two faults on the album. since i had no pre-existing attachment to the album (though see above, re: a-priori bias), these didn't grate on me nearly as much as finding out how mind-boggling poorly Theli and Vovin were mastered.
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