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Re: Reply to Lisa's Reply

Good morning, kids!

Cygnet <sswans83 at calvin_edu> waited lifetimes, said this to you:
>> >     OTR on the
>> >>>otherhand has the gift of presenting the ideas of scripture in ways that
>> >>>surpass the non believer and believer alike.  It's sort of like Christianity
>> >>>itself, you either hear it or you don't.    
>> >
>> >Obviously Chris doesn't understand either you get it or you don't.  
>> 
>> Hey, guys!   I have a club, and OTR are big supporters of my club.
>> All their songs and lyrics tell me that, and I *know* it.   What's
>> that?   You don't get the same meaning from it?   Well, obviously it's
>> because you're not in the club, and that means you'll never see it the
>> way I do unless you join my club.
>
>Trust me.  Most of the people in the "club" don't get it either.  It's all
>in interpretation.

And, as Trish so astutely pointed out in another post,
"interpretation" is the key word.   If you (as an example) listen to
OTR, and the songs speak to you in that manner, and your
'interpretation' of the songs gives you some sort of the validation
that Zena was talking about above, then that's fabulous.   If I listen
to the same songs, and they give me validation in the teachings of
J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius (for example), then
it works for me, too.   The problem I have is when people make a
blanket statement about what a song, or body of music means or "is
about".    

>> Sounds kinda silly when you look at it that way, doesn't it?
>
>Not really.  It's a pretty common idea.  Take a nickname for instance.  My
>friends call me Tank, Bear, or Shaggy, but if you'd never seen me that
>really wouldn't mean much.  What if you had never seen the Simpsons, and I
>went "D'oh" when I did something stupid.  You wouldn't get it.  It's not a
>bash to say that you might not "get" some of the nuiances.  This is why
>OtR doesn't wnt to be a "christian band"  They want people to like their
>music on their personal level, not some standard that the artist sets.

I agree.  This is pretty much what I was touching on above.   What it
essentially boils down to is that meaning and interpretation are
*inherently* subjective to each individual listener.  Seal doesn't put
lyrics in his liner notes for this reason - says he wants as little
concreteness to his music as possible.  (or something to that effect,
IIRC)  

>Everybody, just chill a little.  I enjoy talking about this, but some
>people get way too defensive when the topic arises.

I'm cool.   How 'bout you?   ;-)

>> >I'll be glad to give my interpretations of some lyrics, give me a little 
>> >time.  Does your open mind close as soon as the name Christ enters the
>> >picture?  
>> 
>> Not at all.   If it did, would I be talking about it?  I'm testing the
>> waters to see how open *your* minds are.   ;-)
>
>Good point, Chris.  It seems that some people think that every one of
>OtR's songs has some hidden deeper meaning.  They don't, but I have to say
>that some of them do serious soul searching and come out with an answer
>that sounds a lot to me like Christ.  Buy, hey, I'm not the be all, end
>all of music, so it doesn't really matter.

But you're the be-all end-all of music for *you*.   Have you noticed
that I have so far refrained from offering my own interpretations?
Wanna know why?  It's not relevant.  Occasionally it's fun to compare
song interpretations, etc, but in the end, it's a personal, subjective
thing.

I'm not telling you that the meaning that you find is invalid or wrong
in any way.  But, in the start of this discussion I was told that "I
*know* it's about Christ" and that "you get it or you don't".
Blanket statements and sweeping generalizations bother me when they're
not thought through.  

>> >And by the way Mister Emery I'm not trying to convert you, but have you 
>> >ever heard of conviction?  
>> 
>> Yes, I have.   Is it relevant?   I don't think so.
>
>Come on, Chris.  Lighten up.  

;-)   Me?   I'm light, bay-bee!

>Don't you have things that you're passionate about?  

Yes.

>Things you like to tell others about?  

Yes.

>Maybe the approach wasn't the most diplomatic, but our Moody friend sounds fairly willing to listen
>to your side of the matter.

Funny, I got the opposite impression, since the Moody one didn't deign
to touch/answer/refute any of my points, merely toss out that:
 "Obviously Chris doesn't understand either you get it or you don't."

Anyway, thanks for the exchange of thoughts, Senor Swanson.   It's
always fun.   ;-)

--NP: Roxy Music - _Siren_
ICQ #: 1388556  ***    AIM: ChrisEmery
"I've got your Polish DJ right *here*!"
    -- Bruce Lachey
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