Lyric discussion by WhiteTide 

Cover art for 8.5 Minutes lyrics by Dismemberment Plan, The

the nukes were launched because the sun died: "kickstart something", with the heat and the energy of nuclear power. He's not a scientist, he's a musician; whether 8.5 minutes is or isn't an accurate figure is entirely irrelevant. Further proof: "On the other hand, oh, it's fucking freezing..." -- no sun? exactly. Travis certainly has a way with words, it's true.