Isolated lines express love.
An MTV buzz bin favorite, “Everything Zen” links rage and erotica by repeating, “There’s no sex in your violence.” The singer also refers to his “a-hole brother” in the midst of pessimistic soul searching. Various tracks portray life as miserable and meaningless (“Machinehead,” “Bomb”). “Swim” sinks like a stone because of sexual references (“We’re naked again . . . I wanna fit inside you”). Contextual ambiguity on tunes dealing with death could send dangerous messages. “Bomb” shouts “Blow me away, see if I care . . . Kill a man, kill a girl.” “Swim” repeats, “I wanna die.” On the macho, gun-toting “Testosterone,” the artist calls himself a whore “big into war.”
Some might call this “Nirvana-esque poetry.” Nihilistic noise is more like it. Don’t let Bush take root in your home; deep-six requests for Sixteen.