Musicians tend to think largely of their lyrical prowess, so unless you're listening to a tween-catering hunk or harlot singing about how "your eyes are like the stars themselves," a simile in music is almost never going to be direct or concise. Rather, they tend to be as overblown or confusing as a shot-for-shot reenactment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy by a stubby ginger kid with a thick lisp and a striped polo shirt. Take, for example, this puzzler:
"I can see it cower like a nervous magician waiting in the wings of a bad play where the heroes are right and nobody thinks or expects too much and Hollywood's calling for the movie rights" - Blues Traveler, Run-Around
In the context of the song, it may pass as a verse, but that doesn't forgive John Popper for creating this overly convoluted comparison that runs on and on and away on the semi-ironically delightful driving ditty "Run-Around." The worst offender, however, is not a flash in the pan of not-quite-classic rock, but one of the greatest lyricists of our generation:
"My style switches like a faggot." - Nas, Halftime
With all due respect to Nas, that is a really bad simile. It doesn't really need explanation. But it's okay, because Nas clarifies its absurdity in the next line:
"...but not bisexual, I'm an intellectual of rap."
Oh.
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