The Last Hero - AB Nation Discussion

[AB4Lyfe]

He's an artist... Liberal is a safe bet.

[sugarandcyanide]

"Cradle to the Grave" is just amazing. The chorus and the melody there, Myles' vocals. So good. It's probably my favorite track on the album.

I also love the title track (it came on shuffle at the perfect time during my latest workout - love when that happens) and "Crows on a Wire."

This album has taken a bit of time for me to warm up to it; I glommed on to Fortress much faster. But there are some definite gems on TLH.

[gbruin]

Someone in one of the Euro tour interviews asked Myles specifically who he was voting for and he said he really didn't want to get into specifics but he did say (I'm closely paraphrasing) that there wasn't much about Trump that resonated with him.

It's borne out that America wasn't very happy with either choice. Pretty sad for a country of 300 million.

[cajmoyper]

The Trump/Clinton thing is obvious but I also don't think Myles is all that big a fan of Obama. Verse 2 to me is a not so subtle dig at POTUS. He uses his own campaign cries against him.

I remember dreaming, not that long ago
That CHANGE was gonna come
I still had HOPE
How long must I keep waiting?
Feeling so ignored
Is anything worth saving anymore?

And the first line of verse 3 to me jabs at Hillary and Trump. No one was safe from Myles in this song and I love it!!! But who is The Last Hero?!?!?! Us? Either way, it's an amazing song and I can't wait to see it live.

[Timotheus]

But who is The Last Hero?!?!?!

Bernie

[nagpo]

I voted trump so he can make alter bridge great again.

[AB23]

Not to get politics mixed into my rock, but I have heard an interview or two where Myles leans somewhat the other direction.

I know in one he said he was excited about Obama when he first got elected. And I remember reading something saying he didn't trust Trump. It was a recent one. So although they try and stay neutral (Im a conservative myself, but I love AB, so screw it) I think Myles leans more liberal.

Just basing it on his previous lyrics, Myles seems to lean way liberal.

[AB23]

Not to get politics mixed into my rock, but I have heard an interview or two where Myles leans somewhat the other direction.

I know in one he said he was excited about Obama when he first got elected. And I remember reading something saying he didn't trust Trump. It was a recent one. So although they try and stay neutral (Im a conservative myself, but I love AB, so screw it) I think Myles leans more liberal.

Just basing it on his previous lyrics, Myles seems to lean way liberal. Thank the lord because I don't even want to think about where they'd try and spin this lyrics (election wise) based on some of fuckface's quotes that he seems so proud about.\

[mikeyd23]

I think songs like Show Me a Leader and The Last Hero are broad cries due to a dissatisfaction with the entire political system, not one side or the other. I really don't see Myles taking aim at one side or the other in those songs. And based on the fact that the US just went through an election with the two main candidates having the lowest approval and likeability ratings in a long while, I'd say that like most, he was just generally frustrated.

On the other hand, a song like Writing on the Wall shows Myles taking a pretty left-leaning position on climate change, but The Other Side takes a pretty harsh, rightish stance on terror.

So, it's a mixed bag.

[AB23]

I don't interpret The Other Side in that way at all. Not even close. Seems pretty clear it's just talking about close-minded people when it comes to something like religion. It isn't talking about "terror." Which really isn't political at all, but if you were to make it political, would probably lean left.

Idk if you meant The Uninvited and just misspoke, but I think you're misinterpreting what The Other Side's message is.

Myles is a pretty liberal dude. I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but his lyrics have kind of expressed that for several years. It's not a big deal, but I think it's come out in his song writing ever since the Blackbird album. I think some of the songs on TLH may try to take an unbiased political stance while others seem directly targeted at Trump just based on Myles previous history of song writing.

I don't think that should really influence your opinion on the particular song, but I think Myles has a side in all of this mess. I don't think he was an innocent bystander on the outside just shaking his head on every single thing any candidate was saying.

[mikeyd23]

I don't interpret The Other Side in that way at all. Not even close. Seems pretty clear it's just talking about close-minded people when it comes to something like religion. It isn't talking about "terror." Which really isn't political at all, but if you were to make it political, would probably lean left.

Could be just about close minded people, but if you look at the lyrics it could also be about killing in the name of a religion, which as of late, seems to manifest itself in terrorism in some form or another.

Idk if you meant The Uninvited and just misspoke, but I think you're misinterpreting what The Other Side's message is.

Like I said, I might be misinterpreting, honestly the lyrics could be interpreted in a number of ways. In the behind the song video, Myles actually states the lyrics are pretty ambiguous, and he's curious to hear how it's interpreted.

Myles is a pretty liberal dude. I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but his lyrics have kind of expressed that for several years. It's not a big deal, but I think it's come out in his song writing ever since the Blackbird album. I think some of the songs on TLH may try to take an unbiased political stance while others seem directly targeted at Trump just based on Myles previous history of song writing.

I agree, Myles probably is a pretty liberal dude, but like I said before, I'm not seeing any direct stuff at Trump or anyone else in particular.

I don't think that should really influence your opinion on the particular song, but I think Myles has a side in all of this mess. I don't think he was an innocent bystander on the outside just shaking his head on every single thing any candidate was saying.

Totally agree. It doesn't change my opinion of any of the songs. Myles has never been and probably never will be a lyricist that is direct enough to alienate me. He usually tends to be pretty open ended even in songs about something specific. Curious as to why you would make the assumption he wasn't "shaking his head on ever single thing any candidate was saying"... Since a lot of Americans did exactly that this election cycle?

[nagpo]

"Myles has never been and probably never will be a lyricist that is direct enough to alienate me."

I disagree with you on that. The political aspect of the last hero is actually one of the things I dislike most about it. I don't like political music.

[One Drew Remains]

I always imagine the Westboro Baptist Church weirdos when I hear The Other Side. They are quite rampant here in the Midwest.

[AB23]

Granted, I haven't heard The Other Side in a long time, but I've always envisioned it as being a song about people who force their religion on others (including agnostic atheists like Myles is). Nothing more, nothing less. I never really interpreted it as targeting one religion in particular, ESPECIALLY Islam.

[axlar]

I always imagine the Westboro Baptist Church weirdos when I hear The Other Side. They are quite rampant here in the Midwest.

you (majority of Americans) are way too caught up in religion.. seeing a religious things in everything and anything.

[AB4Lyfe]

I always imagine the Westboro Baptist Church weirdos when I hear The Other Side. They are quite rampant here in the Midwest.

you (majority of Americans) are way too caught up in religion.. seeing a religious things in everything and anything.

Thank you for saying "majority," I personally couldn't care less.

[Timotheus]

I always imagine the Westboro Baptist Church weirdos when I hear The Other Side. They are quite rampant here in the Midwest.

you (majority of Americans) are way too caught up in religion.. seeing a religious things in everything and anything.

90% of the lyrics are religious imaginary. It's kinda hard not to give it a religious twist. You can go ahead and say it's all one big metaphor, but Myles just isn't subtle like that, or at least not anymore.

[mikeyd23]

Granted, I haven't heard The Other Side in a long time, but I've always envisioned it as being a song about people who force their religion on others (including agnostic atheists like Myles is). Nothing more, nothing less. I never really interpreted it as targeting one religion in particular, ESPECIALLY Islam.

I don't think it's necessarily about Islam. What I said earlier was that I interpreted it to be about terror, about killing in the name of a religion. That doesn't mean Islam, that could mean any religion.

I always imagine the Westboro Baptist Church weirdos when I hear The Other Side. They are quite rampant here in the Midwest.

you (majority of Americans) are way too caught up in religion.. seeing a religious things in everything and anything.

90% of the lyrics are religious imaginary. It's kinda hard not to give it a religious twist. You can go ahead and say it's all one big metaphor, but Myles just isn't subtle like that, or at least not anymore.

Exactly. That's like saying "you Americans are too caught up with remembering dead friends, seeing lyrics about it in Blackbird"... or "you Americans are too caught up with climate change, seeing lyrics about it in Writing on the Wall"...etc... Of course we see religious ties in The Other Side, because you know, that's what the song is about.

[Ubik]

When the lyrics are so on the nose in saying something but Myles says they're intended to be open-ended, it's possible there could be something else going on. You can fit a lot of the lyrics into another common Myles theme of someone castigating themselves/someone else for a destructive habit.

[The Plotblocker]

When the lyrics are so on the nose in saying something but Myles says they're intended to be open-ended, it's possible there could be something else going on. You can fit a lot of the lyrics into another common Myles theme of someone castigating themselves/someone else for a destructive habit.

Thank you! Glad someone else has picked up on that too.

On a different note. Has anyone managed to find out which song the intro to SMAL was originally attached to?