Baby Götterdämerung

From what "astoria-" said, I think that when he says 'somebody blew up', he means somebody got pissed off. So he would basically be saying he can't do anything without pissing SOMEBODY off...

"MI: How about Baby Gotterdammerung'? That's a mouthful. D:Gotterdammerung' means twilight of the gods, it's just like the end. It's a depressing little song about a depressing little thing in my life where at one point I went from being a huge liar, and a very good liar, into the guy who told the truth too much. You know, like, I don't like you.' If I'm gonna be that honest,I hate you.' You know? It's when you try to be honest and everybody dies anyway. Everybody dies, whether you're lying or not. Everyone's always got a problem with that. The only reason `Gotterdammerung' is in there is because it's such a cool fucking word."

http://www.maximumink.com/articles.php?articleId=950

Very good, soulful song.

It's an odd choice but this might be my favorite Monster Magnet song, with "Spine of God" perhaps being second. In any case, I never thought too much about it but I think that the lyrics are a meditation on identity, guilt, self-actualization, and, perhaps most of all, memory and its power.

Wyndorf starts with a fairly mundane situation that we can all mostly relate to: reading a book and having that book conjure up memories from our own past. For Wyndorf this comes in the form of "ghosts," which is a repeating theme in the poem. The reference comes in the fourth line and seems clearly to be referring to people who were in Wyndorf's "old" life.

The next section switches from first person ("I") to second person ("You"). I interpret this as Wyndorf switching the narrative over, perhaps to one of the "ghosts" of the first section. The ghost is perhaps someone who wishes to admonish or shame Wyndorf for some slight or misdeed from his past. However, midway thru Wyndorf makes another shift by referring to the Marvel comics character "MODOK." This was always a portion of the song that I could not relate to because I just can't find a way to care about comic books. But I now actually think that the MODOK reference is very interesting in context and meaningful within the larger interpretation that I am offering. Please indulge me in a brief account of MODOK.

***A Discursus on MODOK-

The Marvel comics character MODOK (i.e. "Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing") is a human being who has been experimented on to have incredible mental powers of intelligence & memory. This intellectual and cognitive prowess comes at the price of an underdeveloped physique- and perhaps a decreased 'moral' capactiy. Initially, the character's acronymic name was "MODOC" (i.e. "Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing"). In today's parlance, MODOC would be a sort of organically-based AI. However, the entity MODOC saw his own power and saw also how his own agency (i.e. personal freedom) was being curtailed by the scientists who created him. MODOC murders said scientists and thereupon takes charge of his own fate. This is when he becomes MODOK and "Computing" is changed to "Killing."

After this self-transformation, MODOK lives by his own creed and is in charge of his own life. That MODOK sets himself to purposes that most people would find morally reprehensible is beside the point in the song. MODOK would certainly have his own "ghosts:" The scientists trying to control him, people criticizing him for his desires, etc. To be the individual he is, MODOK must silence these critics. Thus, he removes them from his memory by figuring out "which plugs to pull." This is, in effect, the deletion of the impediments to his own, self-directed destiny. I take it to effectively mean that, MODOK can- and, perhaps in Wyndorf's eyes, should- remove these ghosts if they get in the way of his self-directed destiny.

• End Discursus***

Perhaps Wyndorf sees kinship with MODOK in this project of steering his own course in the face of naysaying and admonishing "ghosts." Once the chorus hits, we return to 1st person and remain there. Thus, perhaps the "blowing up" in the song's chorus is a reference to a plug-pulling of whichever voices (aka ghosts) that the occur when Wyndorf looks in the mirror, turns on the TV, etc. The fact that the events which prompt these figurative explosions range from mundane to profound, showcases the mind's unpredictability and randomness. In each event, a ghost comes back to haunt him but he decides to silence them and pursue his own destiny and be true to his own self. As with MODOK, we might not like who Wyndorf is or becomes but if he is to see his life-project through he cannot care about what others think.

When the second verse arrives, we are confronted with a respite in the mental activity which the songs sets off with. His unplugging in the first chorus results in a sort of meditative stillness which quiets down the ghosts of the previous verse. However, immediately Wyndorf is confronted with their return. "The movie's on again..." signals the brain's tendency to ever-return to those thoughts and themes of shame, embarrassment, recrimination and the need to continue to do battle with them if one hopes to carve out an authentic existence for oneself.

The final line of the song is the admission that the project discussed is never finished until death. And even in death, it may be true that the project is never truly and finally completed. The second and only reprise of the chorus indicates that a new wave of "unplugging" must begin again. It is also clear that Wyndorf anticipates this to happen over and over again ("I guess I'll never get off the boat...").

The song could be seen as an interpretation of Nietzsche's "Eternal Recurrence" or perhaps even elements of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. The provocative choice of MODOK- a character who chooses to do evil with his own agency- showcases the sort of ethical challenge leveled by Nietzsche in "Beyond Good and Evil" and "Genealogy of Morals," et al. I'm sure Wyndorf could have used a "good" character from a comic book but doing so may have only led him to a feeling of self-loathing due to his own seeming moral inadequacy. Might he not find himself in a sort of neurosis by pursuing this path? It's worth thinking about.

Another philosophical aphorism that came to mind while interpreting this song is Sartre's famous quote "Man is condemned to be free..." Our bizarre predicament of being almost boundlessly free to act in the world only to find ourselves perpetually constrained by social limitations and moral obligations may also lead let to a kind of madness. Perhaps "pulling the plugs" is the a 'healthier' thing to do in that case.

If we cannot be honest with ourselves, about our own desires and goals, how is it possible to develop into a self that we can think of as authentic? How are we to be satisfied in life if we cannot be honest about those voices within us? I leave it for the individual to decide.

I don't Know what the song is about but Modok is a Marvel character from Iron Man or something.

yea..he mentions the creater of captain america i think on the god says no album.

and i was thinkin how the world should have died...on the day jack kirby died

heh good song, all of monster magnets songs are great..this one is good

i think it means about how you control your own destiny, and the choices you make reflect this..even if you are not aware..

" i learned how to lie well, and somebody blew up" maybe another part of yourself?

good stuff :)