Them new Planet of the Apes movies are sneaky successful. Like, they make a good goddamn amount of money. I should remember this, but I don’t. The next movie has cast Woody Harrelson as its villain. I should remember this too, but I probably won’t.

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[WEEKEND OPEN BAR: The one-stop ramble-about-anything weekend post at OL. Comment on the topic at hand. Tell us how drunk you are. Describe a comic you bought. This is your chance to bring the party.]

Whether you’re a poet, graffiti artist, basketball player, or accountant, chances’re that you occasionally stumble into a patch of malaise. In these moments of self-doubt, all forward momentum comes to a halt. The verses clench up, the spray-can nozzle snaps off, the free-throw lines extend, and the numbers stop adding up. For a few horrifying instances, it may seem as though all hope is lost.

That is, of course, until we look to our heroes for inspiration.

Heroes are those individuals whose demonstrations of excellence compel us to push ourselves to our own limits. When artists and athletes and scientists redefine the parameters of possibility, they also remind us that we can do great things. Hell, if all your hero does is provide a brief respite of escapism, your day has still been improved.

We all have our heroes, and with good reason. With this truism in tow, let’s show off the hearts on our sleeves. Grab a beer, make some nachos, and join the party in the open bar.

Who are your heroes and what do they do?

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Thanks to the mind-warping that occurred while obtaining a Literature degree, there are times in which I can’t keep seem to keep myself from engaging in textual analysis. Whether I’m at the movies, in front of the TV, or curled up with a book, there’s no escaping the temptation to ruminate further, to dig deeper, to figure out what’s really going on. For better or worse, several analytic seeds have been planted in my brain-bone: authorial intent is irrelevant, structure is never as sound as it hopes to be, and genuine meanings must be extrapolated.

Truth be told, approaching texts this way can be frustrating as hell, capable of usurping all the pleasure that makes us want to experience them in the first place. But given the right piece, and the right circumstances, textual analysis can be fresh to death. Alas, I suppose it’s the academic equivalent of the `ole Peter Parker conundrum!

After giving it a few solid listen-throughs, I’ve come to the determination that the Devin Townsend Project’s Deconstruction is an album rich with meaning. So engorged is this album – sonically, lyrically, musically – that it almost demands to be subjected to an in-depth interpretation. And in an effort to entertain myself, and perhaps stumble upon something worthwhile along the way, that is what I’ve attempted.

Join me as I deconstruct Deconstruction.

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