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Would you like to play a game?


Do you want to read or listen to music for fun? I understand perfectly. After all, what's the point otherwise?

We ask too little of our art these days. We want it to give us a few laughs. We like to be entertained, maybe excited or even frightened. We don't often ask that it teach us anything and that's a shame. That's what art is for. It's supposed to challenge you, disturb you, open your eyes, expand your consciousness and understanding.

There is another level to reading and listening. Stuff that burns a little. Might leave a mark or cuts you a little. Things at the edge that are heavy and scary and might be uncomfortable to look at. There are things that tickle your fancy and things that stretch your soul. If you are curious or adventurous enough, you might hear the call.

What's over that next hill? Is it dangerous? Will it hurt?

YES.

You grow through discomfort. You understand by observation and experience. You learn by pain.

Afraid?

YES. Everyone is afraid. It defines our times.

The challenge: Listen to the song. Read the lyrics. Understand- even if it's uncomfortable.

There is stuff and there is art. Stuff doesn't teach you a damned thing. Art opens your eyes and expands your consciousness. This is an exercise in seeing the difference.

The challenge is behind the spoiler. Are you up for it? BE WARNED. Here there be dragons.

 

Spoiler

 

Porcupine Tree

"Fear Of A Blank Planet"
 

Sunlight coming through the haze
No gaps in the blinds
To let it inside
The bed is unmade,
Some music still plays

TV, yeah it's always on
The flicker on the screen
A movie actress screams
I'm basking the shit flowing out of it

I'm stoned in the mall again
Terminally bored
Shuffling round the stores
And shoplifting is getting so last year's thing

X-Box is a god to me
A finger on the switch
My mother is a bitch
My father gave up ever trying to talk to me

Don't try engaging me
The vaguest of shrugs
The prescription drugs
You'll never find a person inside

My face is Mogadon
Curiosity has given up on me
I'm tuning out desires
The pills are on the rise

How can I be sure I'm here?
The pills that I've been taking confuse me
I need to know that someone sees that
There's nothing left, I simply am not here

I'm through with pornography
The acting is lame
The action is tame
Explicitly dull
Arousal annulled

Your mouth should be boarded up
Talking all day with nothing to say
Your shallow proclamations
All misinformation

My friend says he wants to die
He's in a band, they sound like Pearl Jam
Their clothes are all black
The music is crap

In school I don't concentrate
And sex is kinda fun, but just another one
Of all the empty ways of using up the day

How can I be sure I'm here?
The pills that I've been taking confuse me
I need to know that someone sees that
There's nothing left, I simply am not here

Bipolar disorder
Can't deal with this boredom
Bipolar disorder
Can't deal with this boredom

You don't try to be liked
You don't mind
You feel no sun
You steal a gun
To kill time

You're somewhere
You're nowhere
You don't care
You catch the breeze
You still the leaves
So now where?

 

 

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MichaelS36

Posted

Interesting.  Many of us are tired, xbox is god, our 'entertainment' bores us, we need pills to cure us, yet nothing satisfies or fixes.  Too much time is wasted in front of a box that shoves information at us. 

Humans need work and they need to create and be social. 

We're killing ourselves. No gun required. 

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