Welcome to “Genius or Stupid, ” where music enthusiasts Brendon and Phillip argue over whether lyrics are utterly brilliant or incredibly stupid.

This week, Brendon went first with the following:

“Hello, it's me

I was wondering if after all these years

You'd like to meet, to go over everything

They say that time's supposed to heal ya

But I ain't done much healing”

Adele, “Hello”

Phillip started off his argument by claiming these lyrics were genius in a way that evokes conversation. This piece really hit him as having a deeper, metaphorical meaning, and that was enough to make it genius. He also claimed the conversational aspect was an interesting approach to take.

Bren countered this by strongly affirming this excerpt was stupid beyond all fact. He agreed that yes, the piece was very deep indeed, but there was quote, “Only one problem” with the song. And that is the inclusion of the word,

ain’t

, which heavily angered Bren who claims that

ain’t

is not a word. “It never was a word, it never used to be a word, it never will be a word! Stupid!”

Phillip followed up with his lyrics coming second:

“I don't know much about your life beyond these walls

The fleeting sense of love within these God-forsaken halls

And I can hear it in his voice, in every call

This girl who's slept a hundred years has something after all

And though I know, since you've awakened her again

She depends on you, she depends on you”

Porter Robinson, “Sad Machine”

Brendon actually had to take a moment to collect himself after Phillip read this. He said verbatim, “Wow.” Bren, without a hitch, stated this was definitely genius, because he got this intense feeling like it was talking about a daughter and her dad. He supported this with quotes from the song, and he said that it could be interpreted many ways, but all of which were “johnny deep” in the sense that it is in fact, deep.

Phillip simply countered this by stating there was no follow up context through this passage. In that, there would have been a deepness there, but since there is no information about what is going on, it is stupid.

So, after quarrels and some instances of “johnny deep”, Brendon comes out victorious this week, purely by having more of a conviction through his many emotions displayed. Well played.