back when I was a strapping young lad...
Back when I was about 17 or 18 or some such number I hung out with my cousin Ben a lot. My cousin's a hell of a guy, I love him to death. He's always had a way of making me look at things in a different light. Not just changing my opinion, mind you, but a way of pointing things out that I'd never noticed before. Back then I was heavily into the band Tool. They were one of the very few bands where I not only liked their music, but I also really enjoyed the lyrics. I've always kept lyrics and song separate for the most part, because I tend to hate 99% of lyrics out there. I was having a discussion with my cousin about some of Tool's lyrics, and I got started on what I thought about the song Stinkfist. I told him all about how I thought it was this big metaphor for the desensitization of society. My cousin then responded with something along the lines of, "What if it's just about sticking your arm up someone's ass?" This blew my mind. It may not seem like a huge deal to any of you who bothered to read this, but it changed the way I look at lyrics. What's the use in hiding behind metaphors all the time? Once in a while it's fine, but really... if you want to say something, say it. There is much beauty in simplicity! I don't know where I'm going with this anymore, I just wanted to remember that fun little anecdote(or is it!?).