Little Round Mirrors

It took me way too long to realise the CD thing m'self, but once I did, this one totally fell into place for me.

In my head, the person in this song is female, but I don't think that's totally necessary, per se. Anyway, the first verse immediately kind of establishes her state of being -- she's alone on the floor, even though she has a bed to lie on, and the door is ajar, like it's just been kinda left open. The image is of somebody depressed, who doesn't really care about very much -- who won't put the effort into even getting on the bed or closing the door.

Then you start to get a sense of the one thing that gives this person any kind of spirit or sense of meaning -- "From afar you can hear bands practicing." Even though this is happening "afar," she latches on to that -- that's the one thing she notices. The part after that, "When they dream, they all dream of somebody like you..." -- She's hearing them, but the band is only dreaming; the connection isn't real because it's one way. The music might mean something really personal to her, but they don't know her, to them she's just a concept of the ideal fan.

That's what the chorus is about also -- that kind of false connection to other people. The music allows you to feel something, to feel less alone, but ultimately it can't be enough, cos you can listen to a CD alone in your room, but you're still alone in your room -- the "hole in the middle you can't seem to fill" is longing for something more real than that.

The second verse is kinda straightforward -- failed relationships, failed attempts at filling that hole. The first tercet there puts an almost "groupie" kind of image in my head -- the person who invites the band to come stay with them instead of paying for a hotel (resulting in debauchery) -- she gets to be with the person she thinks is giving her meaning, but they always have to leave the next morning. In any case, the bit "You lie your frail body down like a penny on a railroad track" shows how this affects her -- she is a penny to a train, she's ultimately insignificant to the only people she feels any connection to, and they kinda mow over her. When you put a penny on the tracks, it gets smooshed out of shape, and it's no longer money -- it becomes worthless. So every time this happens, she feels more and more worthless. "Even if they stay in touch, the past stays in the past" -- this is someone who feels things very intensely, and who needs that intensity. But people get freaked out by that. So even when she can make a connection in some small way, it's way too much for the other person, and never enough for her.

The next part, up through "...footnotes in your memoir" is kinda interesting, I think. The whole thing's in second-person, but this is where the narrator tips his hand. The shooting star here is the musician, and he describes himself as "debris desperately wanting to fall to Earth." She idolizes these musicians because their art makes her feel so intensely, but he's not some crazy poet-god in the way she sees him -- he's just a guy who's also looking for a kind of connection and approval. "It doesn't get too far..." etc is his way of saying that he -- standing in for all the musicians she idolizes -- is never going to live up to her expectations. She's still "all alone on the floor" because the relationship she has with the music isn't what she really needs. The "Up on our tiptoes..." is the only first person in the song -- it's "we" instead of "you" or "he." He's putting himself in the same class as her -- they're close together, shoulder to shoulder, but they're not connecting with each other -- instead they're both trying to connect to someone/thing unattainable, so far away they have to stand on tiptoe and crane their necks to see it. "Quite the collection, divide by section, it's just a surrogate connection leaving you all alone" -- that's the key line right there.

It also explains why you get the shift in the last chorus -- instead of "something you can love..." it turns around to "someone who will love you." The music can't love her back, and neither can the musicians if that's the only way she can approach them; that's why she's still empty. If, up to this point, the song has been sharing wisdom, "Murdering your time in cold blood" is a warning. Music is this hugely important thing to her, that she takes more seriously than even the people who make it. But if it's the only connection she has, the only meaning she has, she's killing herself, because she's wasting her time looking for it to give something back to her -- something that isn't there. The hole is in the middle of the CD, and it's only because of that that it's in the middle of her reflection. She can't fill the hole in herself because she's relying on the wrong thing to do so.

Hm. Sorry that was long -- I get all verbose about analysing good stuff. And this was one of those songs that just really struck a chord (no pun intended).

I think it is about someone's addiction to bands and music. Little Round Mirrors are... CDs! They have a hole in the middle, and she has "quite the collection". She cannot tear herself away from the bands she listens to.

This came to me while walking to the bus stop today.

• cosmic debris

Eh, that's what you get for copy & pasting from somewhere else. :/

Anyway I'd just like to say this might be one of the best songs HD have ever done. It's that damn good.

This song is dedicated to those who are full of themselves: "When you find something you could love half as much / As you love all your little round mirrors."

My favorite part is about the shooting star, and how everybody is lined up to see it because it's such a lovely sight but the person he's singing about is too busy with themselves to even take notice. "A surrogate connection leaving you all alone." Nice!

I really like the amount of passion he uses to sing that line, too.

shadowself hit the nail on the head, 100%. there's a whole in the middle you can't seem to fill. I think this refers to someone's obsession with them, or possibly they become so attached to the music they forget about everything else - it murders their time in cold blood. Quit living in the past.

i think it's not all quite as down as all that. you kids are super right that the "little round mirrors" are cds, but think about what sean says about the bands, and by extension, Harvey Danger: "when they dream they all dream of somebody like you/somebody who takes what they make twice as seriously as they could ever hope to do." but it's also cautionary in the ways you were saying, that letting any one thing take over your life is always detrimental to the rest, and exclusive focus on rare music tends to stunt your social growth.

Wow, I always thought of someone obsessed with themself, because of loving little round mirrors. (Like the ones used while applying make-up.)

But when you mentioned CDs, the rest of the song makes a lot more sense.

The song seems to be pretty direct with its meaning.

Anyway, it's an amazing song. Probably one of their best.

Heh, I saw the song as completely different, and the cd's comment does make a lot of sense. I always thought of it as someone who's unable to look at themselves in the big picture without feeling loved by someone else.

The person written about in this song reminds me of myself. I live in a town and general area where I am completely unmotivated most of the time, where I don't enjoy many people or things. I believe in the psychology that states that your environment truly effects you mentally and emotionally. This is a great fucking song, very relatable in my opinion.