The actual conclusion, Thrice - The Artist in the Ambulance

Happy Easter. I'm not religious, but i have no argue with celebrating rebirth, redemption, and really anything that lets us contemplate the deep injustices of existence together. What better album than Thrice's The Artist in the Ambulance? Supposedly it asks the question "do artists have a responsibility to be more than entertainment?" Yeah, that comes through i suppose, but it's mostly just an enjoyably eclectic post-hardcore romp through exactly that kind of existential quandary of embracing the other against the propagandized morality of authoritarianism. Its a great album, but it's the concept that intrigues me most: The Artist in the Ambulance is an insanely complex title, and we should unpack it. 

You might want to put on your sarcasm helmets for this one because all the songs are written from a kind of matter of fact "this is what we're being fed" perspective, and the implication is that both the narrator and you are supposed to realize it's garbage. The ambulance, of course, is the vehicle for realizing that we are all at the mercy of strangers. Not surprisingly, a portion of sales from all their albums go to charity; this album's revenue helped support breast cancer patients. 

My morbid sense of humor can't help but put it in a more literal context after the last two albums where we looked at bands actually taking back the reins of the music industry itself: like there wasn't a paramedic on the ambulance at all so we have to learn to be our own. 

Lyrically speaking, the album is a fairly translucent critical rejection of political, religious, cultural, and nationalistic dogma. That dogma actually promotes violence, ignorance, and hate as self-serving economic power, and Thrice doesn't appear to like that. 

Musically it's a fantastic cornucopia of chugs and wails and catchy but meandering hooks with squiggly guitar noodlings all over the place, and i love it. I think you could win over a few converts from the "i hate screaming" crowd because it's inherently meaningful for this album; there's no question why any particular lyric is screamed or sung because it's all emotionally intuitive. 

So, in conclusion: although to the best of my knowledge there is no official "Easter album," if we're throwing out suggestions i'll offer up The Artist in the Ambulance by Thrice. As with all holidays, let us feast not only with our mouths, but with out minds as well, and share that abundance with little concern for the melting point of wax. Cheers.