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2 ton hoss
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I GOT THIS FROM THE SAME SITE I GOT THE STAR WARS REVIEW. IT WAS ACTUALLY WRITTEN BY THE SAME GUY.
SOMEONE WAS RAVING ABOUT THE BEATLES AND POSTED A LINK TO A SITE THAT CONTAINED A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BEATLES LYRICS, AND SAID "NO BOY BAND COULD INSPIRE THIS"
HEHEHE, READ ON:
Gladly. I will refer for my exposition, to As Long As You Love Me, by the Backstreet Boys.
The Backstreet Boys' As Long As You Love Me is not only a piercing and satirical critique of the extrarational (in the sense of extra meaning outside) impulses we as human beings are wont to succumb to, but also of a harrowing and emotional depiction of descent into obsession.
To expand upon the latter point, it would be instructive to re-read the lyrics and note that not once does the song actually refer to a physical woman (as we assume it does). No, the references to the object of obsession are always clouded in more or less ambiguous words like "love" or "baby" - and when the author could have used a name, a depiction of a woman, or something more tangible, we as the audience must come to the conclusion that this nebulous obsession and love was meant in a much more general sense.
Once one thinks about this, it becomes quite a bit more clear. This is not necessarily a song about love between a man and a woman. This is not necessarily a song about love between a man and a man. This is a a song about an obsession - about an idea, a feeling, a person, or even a substance. One, of course, must extrapolate the "love me" lyrics to their converse as well, but this interpretation is clear. Taking such quotes as "I've tried to hide it so that no one knows", "Don't care what you did", and "Feels like it's deep within me" all lend credence to this view. An idea, perhaps? Perhaps something societally ahorrent and universally condemned that the subject can't seem to shake, and that he truly believes is right? Like a mentally ill criminal who knows what he does is wrong yet still finds relief and passion in its doing, the subject sings his mournful song. Or perhaps some sort of substance addiction - an almost universal vice among the leaders of the music industry? One can imagine a doped up artist writing this, anticipating the horrid pain and emotional incontinence of the next morning's post-binge hangover yet reveling in the sweetest feelings of the moment. The repetitions in the refrain add strength to this feeling of obsession.
Truly, this song is not just about love in the traditional sense - it depicts pursuit and obsession in all its forms.
To expand upon the former point of the thesis, one must consider a different set of quotes. These quotes mean little to the consideration of the other point, but they are powerful in the context of this one. Human beings are not always rational - we succumb to feelings and impulses that we don't understand or that, rationally, we should not have even considered. The song is an exposition about this. The lines supporting this the most strongly are these:
The Backstreet Boys are a brilliant group, philosophically far ahead of their time. When most groups are still singing about relative drivel, they have taken music to a new dimension: the realms of philosophy and epistemology. There is more to their music than meets the casual eye.
SOMEONE WAS RAVING ABOUT THE BEATLES AND POSTED A LINK TO A SITE THAT CONTAINED A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BEATLES LYRICS, AND SAID "NO BOY BAND COULD INSPIRE THIS"
HEHEHE, READ ON:
Gladly. I will refer for my exposition, to As Long As You Love Me, by the Backstreet Boys.
The Backstreet Boys' As Long As You Love Me is not only a piercing and satirical critique of the extrarational (in the sense of extra meaning outside) impulses we as human beings are wont to succumb to, but also of a harrowing and emotional depiction of descent into obsession.
To expand upon the latter point, it would be instructive to re-read the lyrics and note that not once does the song actually refer to a physical woman (as we assume it does). No, the references to the object of obsession are always clouded in more or less ambiguous words like "love" or "baby" - and when the author could have used a name, a depiction of a woman, or something more tangible, we as the audience must come to the conclusion that this nebulous obsession and love was meant in a much more general sense.
Once one thinks about this, it becomes quite a bit more clear. This is not necessarily a song about love between a man and a woman. This is not necessarily a song about love between a man and a man. This is a a song about an obsession - about an idea, a feeling, a person, or even a substance. One, of course, must extrapolate the "love me" lyrics to their converse as well, but this interpretation is clear. Taking such quotes as "I've tried to hide it so that no one knows", "Don't care what you did", and "Feels like it's deep within me" all lend credence to this view. An idea, perhaps? Perhaps something societally ahorrent and universally condemned that the subject can't seem to shake, and that he truly believes is right? Like a mentally ill criminal who knows what he does is wrong yet still finds relief and passion in its doing, the subject sings his mournful song. Or perhaps some sort of substance addiction - an almost universal vice among the leaders of the music industry? One can imagine a doped up artist writing this, anticipating the horrid pain and emotional incontinence of the next morning's post-binge hangover yet reveling in the sweetest feelings of the moment. The repetitions in the refrain add strength to this feeling of obsession.
Truly, this song is not just about love in the traditional sense - it depicts pursuit and obsession in all its forms.
To expand upon the former point of the thesis, one must consider a different set of quotes. These quotes mean little to the consideration of the other point, but they are powerful in the context of this one. Human beings are not always rational - we succumb to feelings and impulses that we don't understand or that, rationally, we should not have even considered. The song is an exposition about this. The lines supporting this the most strongly are these:
These lines ooze power - the speaker has been drawn in, irrationally, to becoming beholden of a person or idea. It is apparent that all it took was one glance (or episode of contact, to generalize) for the subject to enter the state he is now in. If that isn't a commentary on the futility of man's rationality in the world, I do not know what is. And, now, in his current state, rationality and logic has no place - he does not care about history, he does not care about the "trap" or mysterious way in which he was smitten - all he wants is to revel in his obsession. Love at first sight this is not - this is far more than that; it is an obsession at first thought, a growing insanity on the part of the subject, all the more appealing to the writer of critical analysis because he (the subject) appreciates and is able to look back upon his descent with a semblance of logic, but doesn't care! (in the sense of trying to change or modify what he duly perceives to be a somewhat scary and irrational transition) And is this not the human condition in a nutshell? Strong and often immutable attractions to people, ideas, and things, on a whim, cause problems worldwide!
The Backstreet Boys are a brilliant group, philosophically far ahead of their time. When most groups are still singing about relative drivel, they have taken music to a new dimension: the realms of philosophy and epistemology. There is more to their music than meets the casual eye.
