Never was a name so appropriate...
I'm compelled to write this entry, having actually listened to the lyrics of Hinder's "Lips of an Angel" for the first time on my drive home today.
Frankly, I'm rather disgusted by this ode to infidelity. While I fully recognize that, artistically, infidelity is as good a topic as any, as most all human emotions are wrapped up in it, the fact that a cheater's anthem would receive such far and wide radio exposure with such positive reviews leads me to question the current state of the music business.
After all, Hinder isn't exactly a novelty in the music business. Vocally, they're a Nickleback clone; musically, they're the same "modern rock" band that's put together for a one-hit wonder every couple years. Lyrically, the song is only special in how uncreative it is -- symbolism be damned, this boy wants to bang his ex, and he hopes his current girl doesn't hear the call! Considering how little the band does to improve rock music, perhaps "Hinder" was a preternaturally appropriate naming choice.
My initial hopes that Hinder's radio popularity was due solely to their hailing from Oklahoma City were dashed when "Lips of an Angel" turned into a nationwide hit, further bolstering the industry's case that repeatedly trotting out the same formulaic bands time and time again will inevitably result in platinum sales.
What it all boils down to is that there's just nothing redeeming to this song -- the vocals are overdone and boring, the music unoriginal and uninspiring, and the lyrics downright offensive -- though not in any artistic exploration of offensiveness, but merely in promoting hurting those that you ostensibly care about for no good reason other than carnal personal gratification.
It's not like infidelity doesn't happen. And, honestly, it's not like it doesn't happen often. But, frankly, it's really not a subject most of us want to think about, especially when presented so inartfully. When this is combined with the cookie-cutter approach Hinder takes to rock, the result puts us, as listeners, in the same boat as the unfortunate girlfriend in the song: we just wish they'd never phoned it in.
Frankly, I'm rather disgusted by this ode to infidelity. While I fully recognize that, artistically, infidelity is as good a topic as any, as most all human emotions are wrapped up in it, the fact that a cheater's anthem would receive such far and wide radio exposure with such positive reviews leads me to question the current state of the music business.
After all, Hinder isn't exactly a novelty in the music business. Vocally, they're a Nickleback clone; musically, they're the same "modern rock" band that's put together for a one-hit wonder every couple years. Lyrically, the song is only special in how uncreative it is -- symbolism be damned, this boy wants to bang his ex, and he hopes his current girl doesn't hear the call! Considering how little the band does to improve rock music, perhaps "Hinder" was a preternaturally appropriate naming choice.
My initial hopes that Hinder's radio popularity was due solely to their hailing from Oklahoma City were dashed when "Lips of an Angel" turned into a nationwide hit, further bolstering the industry's case that repeatedly trotting out the same formulaic bands time and time again will inevitably result in platinum sales.
What it all boils down to is that there's just nothing redeeming to this song -- the vocals are overdone and boring, the music unoriginal and uninspiring, and the lyrics downright offensive -- though not in any artistic exploration of offensiveness, but merely in promoting hurting those that you ostensibly care about for no good reason other than carnal personal gratification.
It's not like infidelity doesn't happen. And, honestly, it's not like it doesn't happen often. But, frankly, it's really not a subject most of us want to think about, especially when presented so inartfully. When this is combined with the cookie-cutter approach Hinder takes to rock, the result puts us, as listeners, in the same boat as the unfortunate girlfriend in the song: we just wish they'd never phoned it in.