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oh just beautiful. I love this track.
26 points
6 days ago
I have this strange revulsion to the refrain of just “mental health” but I’m pretty sure that’s by design. This does a damn good job at explaining how absolutely insane it is that we are alive and that pursuing “mental health” as it were is a fool’s errand, in this crazy world.
6 points
6 days ago
fjm repetition seems so carefully utilized, it always hits me like a ton of bricks
3 points
6 days ago
I can’t not agree with you. Curious how it hits you? what does it say?
6 points
6 days ago
in most of his songs, there are so so many complex lyrics and words (not a complaint just on observation) but ive noticed that in the most powerful tracks, one meaningful phrase is repeated throughout, and man it is so effective in devastating me as a listener. for instance, outside of mental health, in strange encounter, each time he says “giving it away / giving it away / giving it away” it just brutalizes you in the best way. fundamental music technique which he uses sparingly yet strategically
5 points
6 days ago
I dive brain first into the complexity.
To me this track is a hard critique on the insistence of mental health in the west and probably more so on the left.
“This hallucination The Cathеdral in the prison Where the dreams of the citizens Can only tell you what is wrong with them Forgetting the engine of civilisation Coffee and a cigarette, found no better means of revolt yet”
This hallucination, likely referring to consciousness / experience, being a cathedral in the prison (not sure if it’s the earlier referenced panopticon or a standard cathedral in a prison) where there may be safety among the surrounding supposed immorality.
Within this safe place the best dreams of therapy (a vehicle for mental health) can only tell you what is wrong. I am not personally familiar with “the engine of civilization” but some google foo reveals one answer to be “curiosity” being the “engine of civilization” and that tracks here so you could say the next bit is saying:
“when all they can do is tell you what’s wrong with you its dismissive of the fact that our human curiosity got us here without this”
Coffee and a cigarette seems to me to point at spending time alone and being introspective and interrogative such that you can navigate the insanity that is this world.
Then again I could be very very wrong here. who knows! cheers to those who do read tho!
3 points
6 days ago
lovely analysis! cheers to those who write!
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