BOC: Re: Heaven Forbid, I'm back!

[Stephen Swann]

Joseph Brooks writes:
>
> I had forgotten the fact that JS was doing the lyrics (in large part). Still
> sounds to me as if he (JS) was trying for a certain image and failing. I've
> never read his fiction either and, well, I don't believe
> I ever will if this album is indicative of his writing style. Besides, just
> being adept at writing fiction does not mean you know how to write rock
> lyrics.

He's not adept at writing fiction, or even passable sentences.  I
skimmed one of his "splatterpunk" novels back when he first cropped as
a BOC lyrics contributor.  I hadn't heard any of his lyrics yet, and
approached the book with pretty positive expectations, thinking that
BOC would have chosen to collaborate with someone with a level of
talent comparable to Sandy or Richard Meltzer.  "Diappointed" isn't
really an adequate description of my reaction.  The more I read, the
more I came to the conclusion that he's just an idiot with a
typewriter and a connection in the publishing biz.

> >such vivid pictures, and have such cool and intelligent play on words,
> >that Heaven Forbid seems to lack in the most part. I agree with you in
> >saying that lyrically it is no Secret Treaties, or Tyranny or S/T or
> >Agents or Specter's or Cultosaurus or Fire of Unknown Origin. . . :-).
>
> I've missed that writing style since CE or FoUO I guess...

Even _RbN_ had some pretty decent lyrics.  Shadow of California, which
is actually part of the Imaginos cycle, is one of my favorites (not
just on that album, but overall).  Dragon Lady's chorus is too
repetitious and sing-song, but the rest of the song has some great
imagery in it.  Veins was pretty cool, if you ignore the electric
drums.  ;-) Feel the Thunder is too silly  for me, but at least it's
in keeping with the hell-driven biker mythology that BOC has
promulgated since the early days.

_HF_ just doesn't have much of the mystical/mythical resonance that
attracted me to BOC in the first place.  Some of the music is pretty
good, but I liked the "old" BOC just as much for the poetic weirdness
of it as for the innovative sound.  I could go for songs with music
like X-Ray Eyes, Damaged, etc, if only they had decent lyrics.

> I don't want to have to face the fact that what I love about this band faded
> along with the Bouchards and Pearlman. I ain't giving up yet.

We never entirely give up.  :-)

Steve
swann at plutonia.com