Tall Poppy Syndrome
2009 | Metal
""You shall not think that you ARE something. You shall not think that you are equal to US."
Trivia
- Tall Poppy Syndrome is the first full length release by Norweigan prog-metal group Leprous.
- The band's debut album has been praised for moving past the "staunchly pre-90s mentality" of contemporary progressive metal by blending the influence of Pink Floyd and King Crimson with alternative metal bands such as Tool.
- Einar Solberg, lead vocals & keyboards and Tor Oddmund Suhrke, guitars, backing vocals are the sole founding members.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
In a word, haunting. This one is rough around the edges in the best possible way, and it forces you to consider the elites as what they very likely are: contemptuous of their subjects. It's a reminder, too: If you should dare to think you can teach THEM anything, you are fighting an uphill battle. For me, the atmospheric side of this takes the lyrics to a whole new level. The lyrics feed back into the atmosphere and it becomes this positive feedback loop that gives birth to a track I could never forget after the first time I heard it.
Sherry Voluntary
This song is more of a stylized metal instrumental than anything, but there is a small section of very interesting lyrics. These lyrics discuss what is known in some parts of the world as “Tall Poppy Syndrome.” This is the idea that one should not grow too grand because those who do not will resent and target the ones who rise above the rest, the “tall poppies.” We see this in so many ways in our society. From exorbitant taxation of the rich in order to make them pay “their fair share,” to the removal of honor rolls in many public schools, and participation trophies just for showing up, in the name of “self esteem."" Ayn Rand wrote much about those who hate the productive, the entrepreneurs, the innovators. Those individuals who take risks in the hopes of greater rewards, those who dare to rise above the pack and work harder to achieve more. Those who speak out and are willing to stand alone if need be on their principles. A passage from her book The Age Of Envy puts it thus, “...the primary factor and distinguishing characteristic is an emotional mechanism set in reverse: a response of hatred, not toward human vices, but toward human virtues.”
Nicky P
Finally some nice techy prog on this list! You know the type of prog where there's not much in the way of lyrical content to be analyzed...but as I tell my wife good things come in small packages. I love that the lyrics alalogyze the idea with the idea of a religion. They lay out the :commandments" that society must uphold to keep it from eating itself by...eating itself. For me it reminds me of the fallacy of equality that Thomas Sowell points out. He posits that a man isnt even equal to himself from day to day let alone interpersonally. From a purely economical position, the minute equality would be acheived it would be traded away through voluntary action. It's funny that there is only one class of people set to gain from the myth of equality and that's those that rule. Keeping us divided and selling us the instruments of war is big business. I'm rambling today but the truth is i've never understood the idea behind this. I've neer wanted to chop anyone down for having more or better. I've only ever wanted to be more or better myself. All in all i think more time spent on ourselves and we'd notice this less anyway.