Written by Malachi Brown
Last semester, my friend Jackson and I were “kidnapped” by some of our club sisters of Delta Nu. They drove us around the back roads of central Arkansas at 10 p.m. on a Monday with the intent to culture us swine in the sophisticated verse of Taylor Swift, whom they claim is the best musical artist of all time. While the girls were nearly screaming in admiration at the perfection of Taylor’s lyrics, Jackson and I did our best to like it. After they were satisfied with their crash course for us, they talked about how the beauty of Taylor’s writing lies in the fact that she speaks to universal human experiences like having a broken heart, being oppressed by broken systems and turning 22. As someone who has never been in a serious relationship, is not oppressed by the patriarchy, nor has turned 22, I can appreciate and value Taylor’s lyrics, but cannot seem to resonate with them.
On our way back to school, I asked if I could share my favorite album, and I promised the lyrical genius was on par with Dr. Swift, so they allowed me to play Relient K’s 2004 alternative rock album, “Mmhmm”. The album begins with, I must admit, a mediocre song, but it serves a very important function within the album. The chorus, “I’m still waiting for you to be the one I’m waiting for” lets the lyricist join his audience in the mindset that there are better and worse people, as well as the assumption that we are of the better variety.
For the first half of the album, the lyricist jumps between a state of being overwhelmed and being carefree, and he even says “On and off, the clouds have fought for control over the sky, and lately the weather has been so bipolar, and consequently so have I.” He frames his problem as something that afflicts him, which can be seen in the song titles, “Be My Escape” and “I so Hate Consequences.” Even the fickle nature of his attitude throughout the first part of the album contributes to the feeling that these consequences are something he can step into and out of at will.
The pivot point of the album, “Which to Bury; Us or the Hatchet?” is the point at which the lyricist realizes that not every action can be escaped, nor is he blameless for the often overwhelming and disappointing nature of his own life. The song deals with the feeling one has when salvaging a friendship after a deep failure. This segues into “Let It All Out,” which continues the same feeling in which the lyricist writes “I will trust you with the confidence of a man who’s never known defeat, and I’ll try my best to just forget that that man isn’t me,” as an acknowledgment of his state of blame for the ruin of his relationship.
For the remainder of the album, the lyricist grapples with guilt in songs like “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been,” along with his frustration with himself for continuing in the same mistakes in “This Week the Trend.” Now, the relationship throughout the album has been ambiguous, but whether it is romantic, platonic or spiritual, the lyricist comes to grips with the reality of fallen humanity in “Life After Death and Taxes,” where he says “Forgiveness comes, and all of the rest is what passes away.” He turns to God in the finale, “When I Go Down,” writing, “I’ll watch myself settle down into a place where Peace can search me out and find that I’m so ready to be found.” The lyricist understands that while there is no escape from his brokenness, it can be forgiven.
I would say that between “Mmhmm”’s musical aesthetic, lyrical genius and pleasing cover art, it is my contender for the best album ever made for the same reason that Augustine’s “Confessions” is widely held as the most important work of Church Literature: It speaks to a universal human nature of brokenness and being made new. Relient K speaks profound truth concerning the complex nature of humanity in the words, “I’m powerless to dictate my own moods,” and also “Life is now worth living if only because of you,” within the same song. “Mmhmm” taught me that to make mistakes is to be broken while also teaching me that to be broken is only to be human.
