Starblind

How good is Starblind on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    11
Invader, that's actually one of the reasons I think the lyrics transcend a critique to the notion of wasting your life because of religion. It's a common Maiden allegory, as you mentioned, and it's a much stronger statement: life is too precious and short to let go to waste for any reason, religion being the culprit or not notwithstanding.

I agree that the song is very critical of religion and, like I said, feel LC's interpretation of the song as a whole was very inspired; that particular bit, however, flew a bit off the handle in my opinion, perhaps due to his own personal beliefs (or lack thereof) being echoed by some portions of the lyrics. Maiden has criticized religion and its many errors without criticizing belief in a deity in the same breath, though -- Holy Smoke and For The Greater Good Of God are prime examples of this.

Cheers,
Cobra.
 
Cobra said:
Maiden has criticized religion and its many errors without criticizing belief in a deity in the same breath, though -- Holy Smoke and For The Greater Good Of God are prime examples of this.
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True, but remember Maiden are not one lyrical entity.  They are a band of six different persons, all with their own beliefs.  Steve has always come across to me as more religious than Bruce, and you can see this for example on FTGGOG, and in general Steve mentions god more.  I don't know whether Steve or Bruce wrote the lyrics to Holy Smoke, but I'd be inclined to believe it's Bruce.

Cobra said:
Invader, that's actually one of the reasons I think the lyrics transcend a critique to the notion of wasting your life because of religion. It's a common Maiden allegory, as you mentioned, and it's a much stronger statement: life is too precious and short to let go to waste for any reason, religion being the culprit or not notwithstanding.
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That's a valid interpretation and I could agree with you, but I still think that in the context of the song Bruce meant religion specifically. 
 
I'm curious as to what parts of the music Adrian wrote in this song (aside from all the leads, obviously). That 7/8 riff in the middle is awesome, but the main riff does get a bit stale. Luckily the lyrics and the vocal delivery over it makes up for it. Bruce sounds great as he wails away! Some people don't like it when he constantly sings in his higher register, but I think it adds more dramatics.
 
That's it?  No justification?  I know people don't always say why they dislike TAATG, Quest for Fire, or The Apparition, but surely some reasons could be given when discussing a near-universally loved track?
 
Something about Starblind doesn't sit with me. I think it's a good song, a solid 7/10 but I can't quite agree with the (near) universal admiration of it. Now I've fully 'got' Isle of Avalon it's my least favourite long song on the album.
 
Yep, nearly a month later, this is easily my favorite song off the new album and probably my favorite reunion era song.  Fantastic lyrics, a somewhat unique song structure, great melodies and a great performance by Bruce.  It's all here.  Fantastic.
 
The riff after the solos is so, so Maiden, and that is what I love about the band. They can pull off a proggy song yet upon hearing it you immediately know its Maiden. They are always true to their own unique sound no matter where their music takes them.

That riff oozes influences from NOTB, SSOASS or even TXF. Consistent for 30 years...bring it on!!
And I love how during Adrian's solo he plays two separate, single notes that just stand out all alone...
 
The song is very unique, as Adrian is soling in the background almost the entire time. To my knowledge they've never done a post-reunion song like that; it really makes use of all three guitars.
 
Okay. I think I have the time right now.

Firstly, a lot of people have been discussing the song as being from an agnostic point of view - I humbly suggest those people aren't aware of what the term agnostic means. An agnostic believes that there is no way to know whether or not a god and the associated claims exist. Atheism means the belief that a diety does not exist. No gods. The two are not mutually exclusive. For instance, you can be an agnostic atheist. For reference, I am a gnostic atheist. The existence of god is knowable, but we do not know it. Therefore, there isn't one. But that's just an example.

Bruce's lyrics do not suggest that god is not knowable. They make references that get more and more clear as the song evolves to life ending at the point of death.

The song is also, and more overtly, about organized religion, but not so much so. There are some very clear lines: "In your once and future grave you'll fall endlessly decieved". Bruce is firmly saying that once you're in your grave, you stay there. Game. Fucking. Over.

"I see your past and future, all the same and it cannot be bought." Your past, pre-birth, and future, death, are the same: knowledgeless oblivion. There's nothing you can do to change this face. What it was like not being born is what it is like not being dead. Certainly an anti-theist point of view.

The rest of the song works very hard to convince you to not be religious at all. I suppose deism is a possible point of view, but to be fair, it is also a very outmoded point of view. Deism is usually just a step towards atheism in this day and age, rather than a destination point like it was in the 1700s. Yes, it is about organized religion's specific evils, but it is also about the folly of believing at all. Because when you believe, you harm yourself. You are free, after all, to choose a life to live - or one that's left to lose.
 
I remember seeing an interview with Bruce about whether or not he believed in God.  (anyone else remember seeing it?) He answers straightforwardly that he believes in God, but his intellect forces him to acknowledge that he is probably just deceiving himself. 

I wish I had the direct quote, but this is the gist of his answer.  This dichotomy and exploration of how religions attempt to reconcile human knowledge with the spiritual (and how religion in general shapes human experience and history) are a large part of the filter through which he lives his life, in my opinion.  To me, this may explain his apparent facination with Alistair Crowley.  Crowley is a recent example (and a fellow Englishman) who broke with the societal convention of his time and his upbringing to form a new religious iconography,  lived his life to the full and on his own terms, and influenced history.  No wonder Bruce has so many interests and jobs.  Any of this make sense to anyone else?

Anyway, for this reason, I respectfully disagree, LooseCannon, that this song is from an Atheistic point of view.  Unless he has changed his mind lately,  Bruce claimes to believe in God, whatever form he takes to Bruce himself.  To me, this song is about the quest itself, and not letting organized religion blind yourself to your own insight and keep you from living your life to its full potential. We all have the potential to burn brightly (we all are one, with sun....) if we just unshackle ourselves from "religion's cruel device". 
 
Thanks for your opinions.  I still think the chorus stands out from the rest of the song a bit ("Whatever god you know..."), but other than that, I'm inclined to agree with you. 

And, of course, the song has grown to be my favourite on the album, which it wasn't when I last posted in this thread.
 
LooseCannon said:
The rest of the song works very hard to convince you to not be religious at all. I suppose deism is a possible point of view, but to be fair, it is also a very outmoded point of view. Deism is usually just a step towards atheism in this day and age, rather than a destination point like it was in the 1700s. Yes, it is about organized religion's specific evils, but it is also about the folly of believing at all. Because when you believe, you harm yourself. You are free, after all, to choose a life to live - or one that's left to lose.
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I think this is the central point of the lyrics, but I disagree with "because when you believe, you harm yourself". I think it's more along the lines of "don't let your beliefs harm you". That is, don't let anything stand in the way of living your life to the full. Believe or don't; just make sure you enjoy what little time you have in life by living it, instead of longing for the mythical stage that supposedly exists beyond it.

Cheers,
Cobra.
 
I like the way you worded that, Cobra. 

BTW, I found the interview I was talking about:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eij4mrEW0Jo.  So either Bruce was just giving a simplistic answer to the Swedish magazine interviewer, or it was at a later date than this youtube clip and he has since decided he is an atheist. 

In any case these lyrics show once again what a crafter of imagery Bruce is and how complexly his mind works!
 
The song is now in my Top 10 Songs From Maiden list. Best on TFF, second best of 2000s Maiden. (first is Dance of Death)
 
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