i got ready for the future to arrive
so this is a video for one of my favourite bands, the mountain goats. the song is called 'woke up new.' i don't think it's their best song, or that the video is anything particularly amazing (although i do like that little zebra). in fact, the video is kind of weird. anyway, just watch it first and think about what it's about, before you read on. (the video doesn't even need to be there necessarily, it's just the easiest way to post the song).
ok so there it is. and the first time i watched it i didn't like it. i thought it was about a break-up i guess, and if you think about it that way, it's kind of lame. also, i'm not crazy about the way john darnielle sounds in the song, because he often has this really clear, angry, loud voice, which i love. here, he sounds like he's trying to tame it.
BUT i became much more interested in the song when i read a bit more about the album, and about how it was apparently inspired by his time working as a psychiatric nurse. i think of the song as being about a schizophrenic person who wakes up and suddenly finds the voices in his or her head to be gone. and that probably would be freeing, but also lonely and scary. and the whole song is kind of hinting at the idea that the 'you' might come back someday. wow, that makes this song so sad to me. but i like it more that way.
ok so there it is. and the first time i watched it i didn't like it. i thought it was about a break-up i guess, and if you think about it that way, it's kind of lame. also, i'm not crazy about the way john darnielle sounds in the song, because he often has this really clear, angry, loud voice, which i love. here, he sounds like he's trying to tame it.
BUT i became much more interested in the song when i read a bit more about the album, and about how it was apparently inspired by his time working as a psychiatric nurse. i think of the song as being about a schizophrenic person who wakes up and suddenly finds the voices in his or her head to be gone. and that probably would be freeing, but also lonely and scary. and the whole song is kind of hinting at the idea that the 'you' might come back someday. wow, that makes this song so sad to me. but i like it more that way.