The Mystery Zone

i guess the real key to this song is figuring out what exactly "the mystery zone" is, right?

i think it's the place where possibilities lie. everything that will happen and everything that could happen lives there, only to show themselves at the right (or wrong) time.

This song is fucking amazing.

The way Spoon uses their instruments is amazing, I swear they limit themselves to only 2 instruments at a time for most of every song. Its really lightweight music that has a lot of empty space, and seems to make the songs seem really surreal but perfect.

I remember hearing that Socrates believed in an immortal soul, and he thought it would explain things like deja vu. Some of the lines in Mystery Zone remind me of that, and the idea that maybe you could have known someone in a past life ("times that we met, before we met"; "how come it feels so familiar, when you've never been there?") and maybe will know them again in another, recognizing them as your soulmate ("when you know love, when you find it for real, it contains the emotion sense of...")

I don't think the song is actually ABOUT this, I think that's sort of the poetry being used to talk about young love and running away together into new possibilities.

love this track!

I think it's about love and the emotions that go with it and how people do things without really knowing why. We all view love in certain ways, and see picture perfect scenarios that may not be real but we want to try and make them real and try to find the ones who will make that real.

I love the line:

"where your Dad's not around and all the trouble you look for all your life you will find it for sure"

"Times that we met before we met"

• I think of this as when you first meet someone that you end up trying to date for awhile and you're looking back after the breakup or after the fact.

"How come it feels so familiar when you've never been there" ...speaks for itself. it's like a nostalgic feeling.

Awesome track!!

Another use of "picture" as a verb/synonym for "imagine".

Picture yourself in a living room... I'll picture for you, if you picture for me...

I like this song a lot, I wasn't too caught by it when I first got Tranferance, but it's grown on me a lot.

"The times that we met before we met, we'll go back there" reminds me of someone in a crowd catching your attention before you really say "Hi" or talk to them or get to know them better. I guess that's the "mystery zone", like what lifeonthehorizon was saying.

Am I the only one who thinks of the flash-sideways scenes from the final season of Lost when I hear this?

To me this song is all about leaving your comfort zone and what will happen if you do not try to do so. You are basically doomed to a monotonous boring life if you do not take a risk and step into the mystery zone..

This may be irrelevant but there's a line in the book 'Catcher in the Rye' where the character describes his room mate as a 'fresh-air fiend'.

Britt has said in the past that he tends to make songs, and write the lyrics to fit the mood he's created, and flows with it, making it come across as obtuse to some. I personally think this song is just people striving to reach a place that they can't quite describe,

"How come it feels so familiar when you never been there? How come it seems so unreachable you never tried to find never tired to find the mystery zone"

^ I like those lyrics especially, there's a nostalgic and well - mysterious feel in the ambiguity.

Check out the demo version if its still on their site, its a great alternate

I love this song .. definitely my fav song from the album.

I think it's about how people search for the unknown to fill a perceived hole they have in themselves. i.e. "once I lose this extra weight, THEN I'll be happy!"; "once I find the perfect girl (or guy), THEN I'll be happy!", or the perfect house, location, job, etc. Often it can be an undefined longing for something that feels out of reach ... a lot of people feel this way, I think, which is sad.

My favorite line is "times that we met, before that we met". Also "you weren't there, but you were" ... it perfectly describes that deja vu longing that keeps returning. People often repeat this pattern in relationships or keep making the same mistakes because they don't know what's really driving them .. like "the rider" in the song, chasing "something he don't understand".

Fucking great song, and the music fits it perfectly. The main motif sounds like something out of an old 60's horror or mystery film.

You ever sit alone and think or stare into space about situations on how you would like to see unfold? Maybe that's what the Mystery Zone could be.