This song seems like a bit of a character portrayal so to criticize the lyrical content for being too simple would mean that you're kind of misunderstanding the "voice" of the character narrating the song.
For example, considering that Rivers Cuomo went to Harvard, I think it's safe to assume that he actually doesn't think that books are stupid.
So this character who is narrating is a dreamer with high aspirations of fame and fortune, sees himself as a rebel and one-in-a-million "special guy", who considers himself to be above the need for education, family life, popular culture, sports, and also meaningful relationships. He's basically an anti-social douche who thinks he's better than everybody and his fantasy is that one day he will prove this to the world and people will look to him as an idol, but he's "such a mystery" that people will try to study him and not figure him out.
Honestly? I think showbiz is a gathering place for nitwits like this song describes and Rivers has probably run into tons of them. He might even consider himself to be one to some extent given his own course in life, especially when he was younger and still in high school. So he could be reflecting on his earlier years as a young dreamer, or just painting a cynical portrait of a certain type of person he's met in showbiz.
Or maybe he's just making it all up for the sake of telling a story. Who can say? But it's a good song, and I enjoy it for the story it tells.
This song seems like a bit of a character portrayal so to criticize the lyrical content for being too simple would mean that you're kind of misunderstanding the "voice" of the character narrating the song.
For example, considering that Rivers Cuomo went to Harvard, I think it's safe to assume that he actually doesn't think that books are stupid.
So this character who is narrating is a dreamer with high aspirations of fame and fortune, sees himself as a rebel and one-in-a-million "special guy", who considers himself to be above the need for education, family life, popular culture, sports, and also meaningful relationships. He's basically an anti-social douche who thinks he's better than everybody and his fantasy is that one day he will prove this to the world and people will look to him as an idol, but he's "such a mystery" that people will try to study him and not figure him out.
Honestly? I think showbiz is a gathering place for nitwits like this song describes and Rivers has probably run into tons of them. He might even consider himself to be one to some extent given his own course in life, especially when he was younger and still in high school. So he could be reflecting on his earlier years as a young dreamer, or just painting a cynical portrait of a certain type of person he's met in showbiz.
Or maybe he's just making it all up for the sake of telling a story. Who can say? But it's a good song, and I enjoy it for the story it tells.