Talk Talk 01: Spirit of Eden (the Use of Lyrics)

When people talk about music, quite often they talk about lyrics.  Most of the time you can’t satisfy anyone.  You get comments like:  “The lyrics make no sense,” “They’re too intellectual or pretentious,”  “They’re stupid,” “I can’t understand the words,”  “The lyrics don’t need to say anything, I just like the melody or beat” or “I can’t believe they sang about that.”  Sometimes all these comments are uttered by the same person.

One shouldn’t expect much from lyrics except that they should be appropriate to the song.  Most lyrics don’t stand on their own but certain parts stick with you.  Most of the time the lyrics only make sense with the music.  You may disagree with the sentiment but the “message” got across.  Most reactions like the ones I listed before are just that – reactions.  They are not critiques.

The idea Mark Hollis had for the vocals and , indeed, the lyrics was that they were parts of the songs, just like any other instrument.  “Spirit of Eden” is a big shift from something like “It’s my Life” but has the same philosophy about the vocal.  It’s just carried further (even more so on the album “Laughing Stock”).  It’s less of a pop album and more from the same family as early to mid-seventies Miles Davis.  It’s one of those albums that just washes over you.  It can be background or not.  A lot of really good music functions the same way as Brian Eno’s explanation of Ambient music.  It is music that can be listened to in the background but has enough elements to draw you in, making you listen more carefully at times.  These things that wake you out of the flow of whatever you’re doing changes from day to day.  This can be the same piece every time!  What calls your attention Tuesday will be different than what calls your attention Thursday.

“Spirit of Eden” is an album worth seeking out.  Let it wash over you on a hot summer night with the windows open and air conditioning off.  Sounds insane but believe me, it is a great experience!

It’s helpful to have the lyrics handy but most of time it’s better just to concentrate on the totality.  Groove to it wherever it takes you.  People tend to go to extremes too much and miss the point.   Either they think about it too much or they switch off their minds entirely.  A lot of your typical pop is mindless not because of the lyrics but because it is designed to be a jingle.  Compare you biggest hits with commercials and you will find little difference.  That’s because it’s marketing not expression.

Side note: It’s funny how some people who claim they can’t understand the lyrics of music nowadays will listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

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