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fred nagel - substance lyrics

perhaps one of the most important aspects of our journey is our ability to interpret. we extract meaning from observation and form substance from the immaterial. but with merely a secular frame of reference, meaning becomes self+referential and incestuous. to demonstrate this, we will have to break the fourth wall

i. irrelevant symbolism

it is january 15th in the year 2016
my hands and feet are sweating like they too can feel the heat
i’m glancing over at the gleaming of the guillotine
the fate that i’m engaged with, that i never thought i’d meet

my pulse becomes irregular closer to my time
traps are set around me over which i cannot climb
this acceleration troubles me within
now i’m guilty of no sin

you might be wondering + what the h+ll is going on?
now let me show you
i am tired and frustrated
and the point is missing

the reference to the guillotine is just a metaphor
irrelevant, i’ll admit, but that is what this song is for
see, i am just a boy, just a flaneur in this strange place
trying like the rest of you to keep up with the pace

before it is too late, let’s get one thing out the way
yes this song is metal, but that word you may never say
music, just like human beings should never be classified
and this is something that i personally don’t believe ever have been tried
first person perspective might sound clumsy in a song
but who would notice, to the lyrics you won’t listen
now the point is broken

ii. objectivity shmobjectivity

you are just a product of your very own surroundings
frame of reference grows
a sponge that is absorbing from a world that is quite boring
things already known

where does a new idea start?
where is the source?
every time that someone inspires somebody else their thinking transpires
but they must have been inspired themselves by a source
an external set of thoughts and ideas
but if source is ideas and ideas are inspired
a circular pattern is coming to light
the inspired idea can be traced upstream
and the source will be missing
that will lead us to see that
every idea, in one form or another
cannot be called a true unique creation
every idea is just a regurgitation
repackage and redeem the things we have already heard and seen
still stuck in this routine of a cycle that is closing endlessly

in metal it gets even worse
these bands and their fangirls
“hey man, whats up dude, i see you play guitar? well, i do too! and i know we just met, but can i play you this thing that i wrote, it’s like djent, but this one part is written in 6/4 and then it changes to 4/4 so it’s like, progressive and stuff, but it’s fast, and it’s loud, so actually it’s thrash, but it’s entirely new, bro! i’ve never heard anything like it! here, like let me play a bit on my phone, so you can hear this like h+lla sick tone, brah!”

my ears are offended in vain
i smile though the auditory pain
the standard decreases with each new release, and it all sounds exactly the same
but not for tom, d+ck and harry who plays in a band
they’ve been brave enough to record some stuff and they call it an album, isn’t that grand!
but the bit that so consistently bites me where i hate it most
is the praise attracted by the acts that go and shamelessly promote
their “brave new creation that is like a boat
that’s keeping the scene afloat”
driven by egos to bloat
still singing superficial music that is devoid of any substance
are you writing for the listener or the song?

iii. emotional subjectivity

who am i yelling at? will anybody care?
talking to myself, ranting into thin air
writing my songs about writing songs i’m writing when i write songs
a bitter old fool that’s bitter and foolish, writing my bitter fool songs
expecting an audience to sit through this montage of harsh accusations and blame
selfish, elitist, clearly defeatist, sour, judgemental and lame
(so lame.)

a hypocrite; i am guilty as i charge (then don’t you be so harsh)
and i’ve no honest expectation that i can do any better
(oddly, it’s not like you tried)
i’m just trying to gather what’s left of this old and worn+out heart
(stray from darkness into light)

i claim to be nothing, yes i am just bored
i’m lonely and have time to pass
i want to be angry, but nothing gets solved
through rage i have learned to relax

iv. the point

well this has been fun i’ll admit
not sure what the point is but here we are
at the end of the song, the last bit hanging on to a message so blunt and bizarre

if you made it this far, i’m impressed
in case you can read this, h+llo i am p+n+s
let’s recap this giant old postmodern mess
see, the point i’m trying to make is, it’s pointless

no! that just can’t be it?
not quite, there will always be a little bit left
it’s difficult keeping a message coherent in song
even more when it is twenty one minutes long
so here’s a summary of sorts, even written in a rhyme
good artists copy, the best artists steal
but at least make it look like you tried

take a minute to reflect on what you say
i am sorry if i offended anyone in any way
i apologise if i wasted your time, even if it is worth just a fraction of mine
but if everything is unique, doesn’t that mean that everything is the same?

take your time, take your time
i know i took mine

[instrumental]

v. the compulsory reprise

you might be wondering
what the h+ll is going on?
well, let me show you –
i am tired and frustrated
and this song is broken

you are just a product of your very own surroundings
frame of reference grows

repackage and redeem the things we have already heard and seen
still stuck in this routine of a cycle that is closing endlessly

- fred nagel lyrics

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