Incubus band mascot man how to#
But we should keep a look out for the generous evangelists, those people who know how to share the good. It’s the way I feel about Hilikus, that it is a gesture offered out of abundance.Ĭynicism is easy we all prefer the comfort of the familiar. I love this idea of an artist treating its audience, giving a little more than it needed to. In his book Every Song Ever, Ben Ratliff has a habit of describing certain music and artists as generous. Not only that, the updated version has tidied itself up a bit, softening some of the more belligerent guitar and vocals from the original cut. This addition, as well as an extra pre-chorus, heightens the anticipation for the final chorus, making the whole track wonderfully satisfying.
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Of all the songs that found their way on to the Enjoy EP from Fungus, Hilikus is the most notably changed, with an extended midsection following the solo, courtesy of the newly joined DJ Lyfe. Mike’s solo is my favourite from this period, the kind that you find yourself singing long after the song ends. It also happens to be the first thing I played when I got my most recent bass home after buying it. The bassline is iconic, one of Lance’s best – its undeniable strut is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Enjoy Incubus. Every lyric is catchy, impossible not to join in with. If Sink Beneath The Line is what happens when everything goes wrong for Fungus-era Incubus, Hilikus is what happens when everything goes right. It comes with no threat or judgement, just the unmistakable feeling that you’ll be missing out if you refuse. If the verses and the pre-chorus are the gospel, the chorus is the altar call, the invitation to join the faith – “so good to be, you’ve got to be Hilikus”. The band have tried to deny it on numerous occasions, but you can’t use the phrase “glisten with my syllables” and tell me you’re not rapping. Or something? Maybe? All I’m sure of, and I realise I’ve made this point before, but Brandon is definitely rapping. I guess he’s trying to say that we need to get high in order to come together and recognise the reality of the social order. For the song’s pre-chorus he moves from his personal account to make a broader point about history, though how it tallies with the overarching narrative of the song isn’t terribly clear. Having undergone his radical conversion, Brandon emerges as a true believer, ready to spread the good word about marijuana.
![incubus band mascot man incubus band mascot man](https://www.punknews.org/images/bands/venom-1400297861.jpg)
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The cryptic portmanteau of the title tells us the identity of this friend is weed (as an aside, despite knowing full well that the word means “High-Like-Us”, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to break the habit of calling the song “Hill-a-kus”). Through the song he gives testimony to a distant past (“about a hundred years ago”) as a retreating, lonely boy, who gains confidence and companionship in a newfound friend. In Hilikus, Brandon is a generous evangelist. It doesn’t seek to erase or rewrite the recipient, it wishes only to augment. It is an attitude that says “this thing has done so much good for me and I would love for you to experience it too”. It comes not from a sense of obligation, as conquest so often does, but from joyful overflow. The evangelism of generosity is a different matter though. So to be clear, I’m not here to defend evangelical conquest. When these exchanges happen, neither party leaves with the sense that they’ve been listened to. People see through that – we know when our feelings and beliefs are not being treated with respect.
![incubus band mascot man incubus band mascot man](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a2/2c/d2/a22cd2d5be56efc818a3cfa25a335cee.jpg)
It’s sharing for their own sake, not for the sake of the person hearing it. The former is the sort that provokes that reaction of “don’t push that on me”, the sort that cares more for the delivery of the message than for the recipient themselves. And so today I wish to offer a Defence of the Evangelist.Įvangelism can be born of two different intentions: conquest, or generosity.
![incubus band mascot man incubus band mascot man](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/68/f6/6d/68f66d3debc558bf6a8e1b4ddaf689a3.png)
People share the things that are important to them, of course they do. Back then I used to bristle when I heard those words, mainly out of insecurity and religious fervour, but nowadays I bristle simply at the close-minded cynicism of it. Growing up as a Christian, there’s a particular sentiment that I became very used to hearing: “If that’s what you think then fine, but don’t push your beliefs on me”.