Sinister: The State That I Am In

[duke of harringay]

Matrix wrote:

> How do you explain that his brother coming out
> "takes the heat" off of the
> narrator in this song?  Does that mean he is
> closeted?  Just curious what
> people think...

there's always the 'problem' that you read songs
as autobiographical.  Same goes for stories, but
maybe songs especially.  it's important to realise
that a (song)writer might be employing techniques
such as writing from the point of view of another
(fictional) character, and the 'i' is not always
the character of the singer/writer.  Malcolm Eden
was always doing this with McCarthy lyrics, to
great effect, although he too confused people
(intentionally) because of this.  i think Stuart
has commented on this before, that 'State' is not
autobiographical, and that one of the most
'truthful' songs is 'Seeing Other People'.  i know
that 'you made me forget my dreams' is to a large
extent autobiography, or at least is about 'real'
people, as obviously is 'String Bean Jean'.  But
you should never automatically assume that the 'i'
is who you think it is...

the duke, who constantly has to defend himself
from criticism from friends who think they are
characters in his stories.... or even strangers
who think they are characters in his stories,
which is even more bizarre :-)

Tangents On-Line
http://www.virtual-pc.com/tangent/
Tangents On-Paper: PO Box 102, Exeter, EX2 4YL, UK

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