~~ happy brithday to elvis! ~~

dave matthews & his band create a relatively attractive brand of jangly music and i do like me some jangly music so i have tried to like ol' dave's creations but he's just all jammed up with this arrogance. it's as if his music is something he's struggled to bring forth, as if he's suffered for it somehow, and he can't just suffer and leave it alone. he's got to suffer and point it out. first, he can't suffer in silence, but then, he assumes we're so stupid we'll miss his suffering if he doesn't point it out.

not "suffering" as in pain & agony. not "suffering" as in deprivation. "suffering" as in being affected by the pain & agony & deprivation that the rest of the world has to deal with. all that suffering makes ol' dave sad. and, dave wants us to know he's saddened by the suffering of the world and also made wise by the suffering. dave wants us to know he'll share the wisdom with us but he doesn't believe we will understand. like, he has special insight that we cannot quite comprehend without his explaining it to us.

so he's presenting us with these creations and we damn sure better be appreciative b/c - as he could tell us - it's superior. he's not sharing with us, he's instructing us. he is not giving to us, he is requiring that we pay homage not only to his musical brilliance and but also to his inspired philosophical insights into this thing we call life.

gimme a break, dave. you're just a guy with a guitar.