"I was playing with the notion of reality on that song, and really on most of this record. We've become so insulated now from real life that I think we're convinced that what we see on TV is real life. We're alienated from our basic selves. I mean violence has to be this ultra-realistic thing to be real to us. It's like it's truer in movies or video games than it is in real life. What's real experience? We're real obsessed. Are her breasts real? What's the best reality TV Show? So I just wanted to see how many times I could squeeze the word real into the song,"
I love the imagery in this song, it is outstanding. The saying goes that reality is perception. What it “really real”. Our reality is so clouded by the way out perceptions are so influenced by the media that we are bombarded with every day
The line : 'Cause there’s nothing quite like the blinding light / That curtains cast aside’ , that moment of truth when you realise that you have been sold a lie perhaps. The Protagonist that thirsts for real blood and ‘And then the flash of steel from real guns’. These things seem easy as they are portrayed ad nauseum in our society, in movies, TV and video games …. but in reality are they?
There is a real feeling the protagonist is trapped: ‘And I don't want to hear you say it shouldn’t really be this way,/ ‘Cause I like this way just fine’
From an internview with Will Sheff here: http://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/okkervil-river-050427.shtml
"I was playing with the notion of reality on that song, and really on most of this record. We've become so insulated now from real life that I think we're convinced that what we see on TV is real life. We're alienated from our basic selves. I mean violence has to be this ultra-realistic thing to be real to us. It's like it's truer in movies or video games than it is in real life. What's real experience? We're real obsessed. Are her breasts real? What's the best reality TV Show? So I just wanted to see how many times I could squeeze the word real into the song,"
I love the imagery in this song, it is outstanding. The saying goes that reality is perception. What it “really real”. Our reality is so clouded by the way out perceptions are so influenced by the media that we are bombarded with every day
The line : 'Cause there’s nothing quite like the blinding light / That curtains cast aside’ , that moment of truth when you realise that you have been sold a lie perhaps. The Protagonist that thirsts for real blood and ‘And then the flash of steel from real guns’. These things seem easy as they are portrayed ad nauseum in our society, in movies, TV and video games …. but in reality are they?
There is a real feeling the protagonist is trapped: ‘And I don't want to hear you say it shouldn’t really be this way,/ ‘Cause I like this way just fine’
Fantastical, thought provoking song.