WHO'S GONNA RESET THE BONE??!!
(Why the hell do I like Neon Bible, pt. 2)

I'm not under the impression that "Ocean Of Noise" is about abortion, but when Quiverin' Win follows "who here among us still believes in choice?" with a solemn, echo-chambered "NOT I," I can't help but hear it as one of those Slow Train Coming* lines in the sand that liberal music fans live in fear of. What if they WERE announcing their moral certitude that abortion was murder? It wouldn't really clash with their prosaic language, fashion sense and fetishization of childhood. This threat overshadows and saps all climactic energy from the song's "gonna work it out" coda, their basic triteness revealed by a minor fillip. And since my politics are basically "chop that child in half," would I still enjoy it if I knew that pro-life proselytism was the band's intent? Am I just getting off on the perversity of the moment? Do people think about this when they sing along?

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*Speaking of Dylan references, the Voice has removed one.