Personally I just hate the objectivity angle because I go to school with a lot of people who look down on all "pop music" (read: anything that isn't considered "high art")
Hmm, maybe he has some links he could pass my way so I could do more reading about the subjectivity vs. objectivity argument? (@Jason Tate???) It's a topic that definitely interests me enough to read more about. I'm also really enjoying that article about artist intent that I liked to earlier. Not sure if you saw
"You're beside me on the seat Got your hand between my knees And you control how fast we go by just how hard you wanna squeeze It's hard to steer when you're breathing in my ear But I got both hands on the wheel while you got both hands on my gears" - Chad Kroeger
No real talk Fuck Nickelback that sexist garbage isn't for me But I will agree with Jake How You Remind Me and a couple others are p good
i thought we were discussing if nickelback is objectively good or bad which they are yes art is objective there i proved it
there used to be a website where you could upload your own photo into the photograph and we did it for a cwhit photo once
I get you. On the CCM point, you're right that a LOT of "Christian" songs can be so vaguely romantic that many listeners, not knowing the "genre" of the song, could misunderstand and misappropriate the songs for human-to-human relationships. In a world where the listener's intent matters more than the artist's intent, then sure. Go ahead. But I doubt the artist would feel too happy about that. But you could also argue that if the artist wanted the song to be interpreted in a specific way, they should have written better lyrics. If you meant Jesus, THEN SAY JESUS. It's funny how we use rules in music that don't really jive with all the other art forms. I can't interpret whatever I want from a creative nonfiction essay. I can't say that, in my opinion, Harry Potter wasn't actually a wizard. If I could jump off the Christian point, it's not a stretch to say that the Bible is art; it utilizes storytelling, poetry, song, parable. And if the Bible isn't true or God isn't real, then sure, interpret the Bible however you want. But if the Judeo-Christian God actually did inspire the Bible to reveal Himself through it, then the "authorial intent" should be the only desired interpretation while reading it. While obviously the stakes of a JEW album are much lower than the stakes of the existence/non-existence of God, there's still a gaping difference between really trying to use proper literary analysis to understand the song meaning versus going with whatever you haphazardly think the song is about.
I mean I'm sure people aren't just pulling theories out of the air, I think most people have their reasons for thinking songs are about whatever they think
most artists i pay attention to are completely 100% cool with their fans coming up with their own meanings for their songs and actively encourage it.
Back on topic, here is a review that is very uninformed about the fact the band did take a year out before writing IB: REVIEW: Jimmy Eat World – Integrity Blues Still a shame he/she didn't like it. I wish he/she said which tracks were the standouts though.