I don't think I actually agree with Dave that much, but can't say for sure because I'm really not very familiar with the lyrics of most of the bands that he cited. However, I certainly believe that there are lyrics that are more thought provoking than others. Are these lyrics going to bring about world peace and profound enlightenment? No. But it doesn't mean that some lyrics aren't "deeper" or more interesting than others. And to me there's nothing pretentious about trying to create something that might be more interesting than Brittney Spears' lyrics, for those who might appreciate something like that. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with liking songs with lyrics such as Spears', however.
But Lethean look at the words you're using. "Interesting". "Thought provoking". Honestly - and no hyperbole or devil's advocate - I think Dave Roth's lyrics on "A Different Kind Of Truth" are some of the most interesting and thought-provoking of the last couple years. Certainly more - to me, anyway - than, say:
I said I'm geeked and I’m fired up (fired, fire)
All I want tonight is just get high (high, high, high)
Girl, you look so good, it's to die for (die for)
Ooh, that pussy good, it's to die for (on fire)
That's what won the Nobel Prize for literature. All those words you're saying are in the eye of the beholder. So it still leaves the question as to why SOME feel that oblique (or not so obligue) references to world politics is somehow more "interesting" or "thought provoking" than interpersonal relationships, which is essentially what Britney et al are singing about.
I think what Dave is saying - at least in part - is that the pretention isn't in the words themselves, it's in thinking that their words ARE more interesting and though provoking, simply because they deign to touch broader concepts.