"We Belong..." In A Storage Facility?!?!

In light of yesterday's post where I praised the new Def Leppard single "We Belong," HIM provides this commentary. He doesn't like the song nearly as much as I do! 

Let’s start with something very simple: lyrics.

 

"We Belong"

Sometimes I feel I don’t belong here
Sometimes I just don’t feel

I feel so uninvited
A wound that never heals

I need a little shelter
Just for a little while

Sometimes I hide the sadness
Behind a painted smile

If you cast the first stone
I will roll it away
I will kneel at your throne
Hold my hands up and pray
I will hold back the tide
Push the oceans aside
Save the day
But I can be stronger

You’re all that I am
You’re all that I see
The keys to the kingdom
Are waiting for me
So don’t hold me back
Don’t hold me down
Just hold me and don’t let go
You’re all that I am
You’re all that I do
The end of the rainbow
Is waiting for you
So tell me I’m right
Cause this can’t move on
Not if we belong

Whatever happened to forgiveness
Are the words too hard to say

What happened to the answers
They disappeared along the way

I hide behind the madness
Still looking for the clues

And there’s nothing left to chance
When there’s nothing left to lose

And the voice in my head
Screams the words I believe
And the light in the dark
Is the air that I breathe

(Chorus, last line now: Back where we belong)

As you cast the first stone
And I roll it away
And I kneel at your throne
These words that I say

(Chorus)

The keys to the kingdom
Are waiting for me

 

This is fairly standard fare. Ambiguous enough to be about love, loneliness, and loss, and redemption, and other stuff. You set it to mid-tempo music, cue some strained (read: heartfelt) vocals, and you have yourself a hit on the Golden Oldies Rock station in your town (you know the one, named after some sort of animal: The Fox, The Eagle, The Bear, or what have you).

 

So let’s do that: here’s the actual song as performed for those of you who don’t already have it in heavy rotation.

The “switching singers” thing is a nice touch (even if Collen sounds like an evil-robot super villain, especially after the first pause in the lines he sings). Campbell and the rest all have nice sets of (some more and some less processed) pipes. Pretty chill and mellow, like the ballads on Hysteria turned down a notch so you don’t wake the kids up. This version of the band is clearly not my cup of Earl Grey. But, hey, a lot of people enjoyed 2015’s Def Leppard.  So raise your fist and whisper; rock softly. It’s better to fade out than burn away?!

But let’s push it a bit further: the official—not fan—video meant to serve as a visual accompaniment to said lyrics and said performance.

 

Hmm. I am not sure where to start. I will put aside the current fascination with slightly retro looking computer animation (a trend that Iron Maiden has helped to champion). I get it. That is a cost effective way to tell a story. I also understand that every song has multiple meanings, hits different tonal pulse points, and leads different listeners down different paths depending on the time of day, mood, or events with which they associate a song.

I also know that there is a thing called rhetoric. I think that traditionally applied to written and spoken words (like, say, lyrics or songs) and attempts therewith to persuade. I hear that rhetoric now applies to visuals as well. Don’t worry. I am not going to start pondering the significance of pasta advertisements (Roland Barthes, “The Rhetoric of the Image,” 1968) or ask you to question the stability of textual meaning (Jacque Derrida, “Signature Event Context,” 1971). I mean, what do I know? I am a humble mushroom forager from a non-descript part of the Northwest.

 

What I do know is that this video presents an unsettlingly (at least for me) picture of who Def Leppard officially are presenting themselves to be. To wit, they are dirty and tattered sheets wavering in a dimly lit storage facility (a la Raiders of the Lost Ark). Oh, and they morph into and out of each other. And the storage facility also relates to space crafts and other sci-fiey schematics (on screens that are not tattered sheets, though colored the same). There are also graphics of women in suits. And robots.

 

The big reveal is that there is a space station, from which (one assumes) came—spoiler alert one—the giant pod (which occasionally glows from within with bright light) that is being carried around the storage facility on a forklift during portions of the video. Said space station is—spoiler alert two—found to finally be resting on some sort of barren surface, a tangle of jagged rocks partially submerged in mirrored liquid.

 

Phew! It finally makes sense. No it doesn’t. Why are the members of Def Leppard consigned to soiled bedsheets waving in the breeze of a storage facility? Why are they also part of a computer read-out that involves robots and women and a dog (or is it a leopard)? What does any of this have to do with “casting stones” or “looking for clues”?

 

I know this is a bit of overkill when it comes to metal, when it comes to elder statesmen like Def Leppard. I can’t help but think, however, that the band thinks this means something. So, in the spirit of closure, I ask you all to tell me: what does it mean to you? To me? Well, I think it means that they are tired vestige of who they once were. And they, like countless other bands I love, have just decided to say: “You know what? It doesn’t matter that much anymore. Sing it. Sell it. Tour it. We can afford to release whatever we want in the name of art. And we will puff it and fluff it and turn it every which way. But, at the end of the day, we are a greatest hits machine that tours for the sake of touring and the money that it generates.” Thing is, I don’t think a band like Def Leppard would ever actually say that . . . to the press or the fans. Funny thing is, this video said it for them and likely in spite of them. Ah, rhetoric. I guess it does betray us, providing stable enough meanings in spite of what we hope to suggest or obscure.

 

Now, clean your palette: here is Helix’s “Rock You” (warning: there is nudity!):

 

Wait a sec! Do they mean “rock,” like the music or like the physical object for which one must dig? Ugh. I am done thinking about metal. Too damn difficult.

Comments

[Gallogs]

I agree. This is a perfect example of what Def Leppard has become. The last few releases have been light rock/pop rock. They are stale and tired. That is why Vivian Campbell is loving his time with Last in Line.

[Gogmagog]

I'm with HIM on this one. We Belong was even worse than I expected, and I didn't expect anything at all.

On the bright side, Rock You is the perfect song to cleanse any palate. Reminded me that "I'm not giving anyone a f**king R" is one of the best lines in television history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRwjTCC3Pyo

[Jeff]

Def Lep are slipping right into the light pop radio friendly music (note I did not say ROCK) that has engulfed Bon Jovi since their last decent record, Have a Nice Day. It wouldn't surprise me to see them turn up at a country music awards show in the near future as the backing band for Carrie Underwood. It's a shame considering that the band is still together after all these years and now selling out. I just wish that that they would say screw the radio, screw the critics, and just ROCK. We need them to come back and come back STRONG. What I wouldn't give for a new record of up tempo rock songs from Def Lep and Bon Jovi. Sad to say, it ain't gonna happen. At least we have YouTube, and the promise of Phil and Tracii to keep Rock alive.

[Metalboy!]

Thank you, Allyson and HIM for this fresh "co-analytical" approach to ROCK Criticism...

"We Belong" marks the continuation of a trend Def Leppard started with "Two Steps Behind", an ultra sappy AOR power ballad, way more comatose than those they previously served up. But as if they could push that formula further into the realm of suspended animation, they have succeeded. "We Belong" is far worse!

And, to Jeff's point, it's not like they don't have it in them to ROCK. On the same album from which "We Belong" comes, is it's superlative track, "Dangerous", which is SO good it sounds like it could have been right at home on "Pyromania" or "Hysteria" because of all it's "Photograph"ic qualities.

It took them decades to finally "hit" with something on that level, let's hope they don't take so long to do it again, because I'll be near death by the time they do!

I should end it here, but I cannot resist trashing what has to be one of THE corniest most stupid and unintentionally hilarious videos in recent memory, the second one featured here showing the "singing heads" of our heroes.

Though the gimmick of a hack CGI version of a technique first displayed by Led Zeppelin in a video promoting their first remastered box set back in the 90's is an effective way to focus attention on each individual member, it backfires because it systematically highlights completely unflattering traits of each one as follows:

1) Joe Elliott looks like a 65-year-old Brooklyn deli owner caught cross dressing with his wife's wig.

2) Phil Collen may just have a second career with a smash hit one man Broadway show portraying the recently deceased Leonard Cohen.

3) Rick Savage sings and looks like a chipmunk.

4) Rick Allen sings like a chipmunk but doesn't look like one as much as Rick Savage.

5) Vivian Campbell also sings like a chipmunk but not as much as Savage and Allen, but looks like a junkyard night watchman.

[Bkallday]

Wow...nailed it. Well done, sir. Bravo! \m/

[Badland]

I loved it! Great song and video. This is exactly what all the fans have been waiting for! They are by far the best cover band touring right now.

[TheCheapSeats]

This will probably come off as a rant, and it may very well be, but it's just my observations.

As much as I love "Bring Back Glam", I read it everyday, do we really need to bring back glam or bring glam forward? And, really, when we're talking about glam here, we're really talking about 80s hard rock, right?

I'm as guilty as anyone else about wanting to hear the rock heroes of my youth still put out viable music. I've pretty much come to grips with the fact that, for the most part, the creative wells have gone dry. This pap by Def Leppard is kinda the icing on the cake.

Maybe it's just me. I've grown weary of the soap operas surrounding bands such as L.A. Guns, RATT, Great White, etc. I'm really not that enthralled with post projects such as SIXX A.M.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not disparaging this site or Allyson or HIM or anybody else. Hell, I want to know what's going on with these bands as much as anyone. However, we all know current bands that are carrying the banner.

Maybe I should be banished from the site for these thoughts, but as I type this listening to Dorothy, I can't help but think "Bring Glam Forward".

[Rokkett]

It's funny how years ago people were complaining about how bands don't stick to their roots and make the kind of music they used to that we all here craved (hence the web sites name) and instead tried to be more modern.. and now that they've finaly listened to our prayers, people are still complaining? Heck there are even people who complain about the GnR reunion and how they should mix the setlist more often instead of just being overjoyed about the magical phenomenon that this is all finaly happening?

Does anybody feel the way I do or am I missing something? I'm personaly amazed about the way things are going in the rock world. What a time to be alive! (Yes I'm 24 years old yes I missed out on the legendary days of old but I've been along for the ride since Whitesnake reunited in the early 2000's)

[Him]

Some hilarious comments! Gogmagog, that video clip had me giggling (reminded me of seeing Helix in a conference room in Montana back in the 80s). Badland, you had me doing a spit take. Glad Allyson and I were able to engender a bit of discussion.

Metalboy!, I almost mentioned Savage's look . . . then I remembered why he looks that way. Felt too easy (this coming from a guy who makes Lita Ford divorce jokes!).

TheCheapSeats, I hear you. And, no, in my opinion, you should not be banished for expressing one of your own. As you so eloquently put it, there are bands who have run dry and there are ones that are carrying the banner. Thing is, those distinctions are really a matter of personal preference (case in point: Allyson and I listened to the same song and watched the same video and we had decidedly different takes). So I think discussions like this will go on, debates will ensue, and opinions will differ . . . for at least another decade (oh no, there is that dark cloud I occasionally seed). Then, well, there won't be many classic 80s and 70s bands around to laud or kick around. What then? We listen to the old stuff, occasionally find something new that gets us going, and then listen to to the old stuff again. Like our forefathers and mothers before us. At a certain point, there will be nothing to bring back and, likely for some of us, very little to push forward.

Rokkett, good to get a fresher perspective on all this. But, if I understand your point, this new slab of Lep isn't really a return to form (though other songs on the album might, as Metalboy! suggests, be closer to the source code). It's a fax of a copy of a Post-It of a handwritten note. Which isn't to say there aren't examples of old school bands doing their level best to keep the flame going: Ryche seems to be trying; Saxon too. Megadeth and 'Tallica (see my more recent post) are getting grief for versions of same. We have a fairly recharged Accept and a fairly consistent UDO. You get my point. And the whole GnR thing is a matter of degrees (at least for me); ditto AC/DC. But then you get to Whitesnake. Yes, in 2000 things still had a bit of shine to them. Now? Not so much. That was nearly 17 years ago and Coverdale is showing his age, even while trying to replicate a shtick that he had trouble pulling off then. I don't begrudge you the magic you see and hear. And I hope I understood your post. I just think there is room for a few positions (which differ from person to person): we stand in awe of bands that still seem to have it (or most of it); we question and critique those that seem to be running on fumes; and we occasionally turn a blind eye to a band on fumes because we still feel the magic they once had and could care less what they sound like now. Not at all consistent. But neither are we, as fans or as humans.

Discussions like this make me fall in love with BBG! all over again. I am going to go out and buy a nice bottle of Lancers and some flowers. Need to treat this site right!

[Metalboy!]

HIM! Hahaha!!! You had me 'til you showed up with the bottle of Lancers!

[Rokkett]

Ahh Him sorry for not being too clear about what I meant, I see it now (I was hungover when I wrote it). Thank you, this is why I love BBG too!

What I meant to say was that the new Leppard record kicks gluteus maximus! My point was that years ago people were complaining about how our beloved bands tried to sound "modern" and now, it seems, when they've finally gotten back to making songs that could potentially have fitted in their classic albums, people are complaining again for whatever reason. Didn't really enjoy Songs From the Sparkle Lounge but this one's a fantastic mix of every Leppard ingredient so far.

The Whitesnake comment was just to clarify that I haven't just jumped aboard the glam-train yesterday and that I've observed this happening. Peace!

[Metalboy!]

HIM, thanks for bringing Savage's health issues to my attention. I researched and now realize I should have confined my comments regarding his chimpmunkian similarities to his singing and not his appearance. My apologies to Savage and anyone else I may have offended.

That said, I thought he looked like a chipmunk BEFORE he contracted his disease which I am happy to say is an illness from which he is now cured.

[Him]

Yeah, Metalboy!, Savage went through some crap a few years back. Glad to see he made a near complete recovery and is still doing what he loves. As much as I don't like what they are now peddling, I would never wish ill will on a man or the band that created so many awesome musical memories for me.

Thanks for the clarification Rokkett (hangovers can make the world cloudy!). And you certainly aren't alone in hearing the 'classic' sound in Lep's latest release. For me, though, and particularly the song that was in question, it is all a bit muted. Again, I don't expect the greats--the Halfords, Dickinsons, and so on--to sound just like they did back in the day. Nor would I place Lep in a category where they shouldn't adapt as they see fit. Hell, it is their career, not mine. I guess it is just a case where they have grown past me and I have grown out of liking what they now sound like. Which is fine. I mean, what do I know? I still like Dokken and DLR?!!?