I think it's about the general state of being a human in the modern age.
Broadly, the song returns to 3 ideas:
Man in relation to grander structures -- i.e., repeated references to the sky (colossal dome), stars, man's small streetlights vs. the stars -- I get a pessimism out of that or a sense that modern man is overwhelmed, kind of animal stupidity that still thinks itself beyond it all, doesn't want to think about himself as small and actually not knowing very much, e.g.:
'Right above my head a miracle the sun erupt forever
I barely ever raise my eyes'
Modern man living in 'developed world' with feelings of conflict and denial over where humanity has come from and destructive past & present (e.g., reference to the Flintstones, 'I don't wanna think about the 3rd world hunger or whatever', 'I wanna make the peace / Maybe I can sit here and do nothing clever', 'Gorilla limb swipe and beat, and I learn dick about Earth')–the protagonist wants to push away thinking about bigger things, is in a turmoil trying to distance themselves, keeps getting drawn back to man vs. the rest of the world, and not being able to deal with it.
Fallacy of forward progress of mankind & ultimately failing to find absolute meaning for man's existence. So, the cerebral undertaking of academia as a means of man understanding the world, the frustration of the modern age conflict with the two sides of man irreconcilable–man as an animal, and man as animal that has consciousness and is alone and cut away from the rest of what we observe around us & endlessly perplexed by that
Overall, I think the "schoolin" aspect of the song and the allusions to learning makes sense best combined with the repeated references to the stars vs. man-made streetlamps. It's about the obvious contradictions in the notion of human development and progress. We think we know a lot, but all around us we're reminded that we're, a) small in comparison to what's outside us, and b) mammals with the capacity to be self-aware like no other creature we've come into contact with.
Or to put it like Christopher Hitchens:
'Evolution has meant that our prefrontal lobes are too small, our adrenal glands are too big…'
The modern state of being is one which lands us in a state of conflict, denial and confusion, makes for a lot of mental turmoil and discomfort, because we're told (by the world that appeals to the mind, school, academia) one thing, but our existence and the reality of being the human animal in the modern age results in a lot of contradiction and torment for someone trying to come to terms with 'why are we here' and 'what is my purpose' type questions. I think this song and a lot of this band's output shares common ground with the ideas explored by Radiohead, OK Computer-type modern angst, but I feel Everything Everything's stuff has a playful note and free-association that prevents it from being tied down (despite me trying to do that here--there are whole verses that I get the feeling are there for 'mood', not to be penetrated really, and the style of the singer's delivery makes it pretty impenetrable just listening to it and so the words and meaning are swept away in the music or just a sound to accompany the music and create an overall effect that's really jumped up and technicolor)
Other songs by this band I've heard that mesh with the meaning here would be: 'MY KZ, UR BF'--about a petty argument going on while a nuclear bomb drops
'Torso of the Week'–a counties housewife obsessively maintains her body while her life has no meaning
Interesting ideas, that's made me rethink my own analysis. This song does seem to be about lots of things, and I think the beginning of the song seems to only set a scene or create a mood rather than say something specific.
Interesting ideas, that's made me rethink my own analysis. This song does seem to be about lots of things, and I think the beginning of the song seems to only set a scene or create a mood rather than say something specific.
I think it's about the general state of being a human in the modern age.
Broadly, the song returns to 3 ideas:
Man in relation to grander structures -- i.e., repeated references to the sky (colossal dome), stars, man's small streetlights vs. the stars -- I get a pessimism out of that or a sense that modern man is overwhelmed, kind of animal stupidity that still thinks itself beyond it all, doesn't want to think about himself as small and actually not knowing very much, e.g.: 'Right above my head a miracle the sun erupt forever I barely ever raise my eyes'
Modern man living in 'developed world' with feelings of conflict and denial over where humanity has come from and destructive past & present (e.g., reference to the Flintstones, 'I don't wanna think about the 3rd world hunger or whatever', 'I wanna make the peace / Maybe I can sit here and do nothing clever', 'Gorilla limb swipe and beat, and I learn dick about Earth')–the protagonist wants to push away thinking about bigger things, is in a turmoil trying to distance themselves, keeps getting drawn back to man vs. the rest of the world, and not being able to deal with it.
Fallacy of forward progress of mankind & ultimately failing to find absolute meaning for man's existence. So, the cerebral undertaking of academia as a means of man understanding the world, the frustration of the modern age conflict with the two sides of man irreconcilable–man as an animal, and man as animal that has consciousness and is alone and cut away from the rest of what we observe around us & endlessly perplexed by that
Overall, I think the "schoolin" aspect of the song and the allusions to learning makes sense best combined with the repeated references to the stars vs. man-made streetlamps. It's about the obvious contradictions in the notion of human development and progress. We think we know a lot, but all around us we're reminded that we're, a) small in comparison to what's outside us, and b) mammals with the capacity to be self-aware like no other creature we've come into contact with.
Or to put it like Christopher Hitchens: 'Evolution has meant that our prefrontal lobes are too small, our adrenal glands are too big…'
The modern state of being is one which lands us in a state of conflict, denial and confusion, makes for a lot of mental turmoil and discomfort, because we're told (by the world that appeals to the mind, school, academia) one thing, but our existence and the reality of being the human animal in the modern age results in a lot of contradiction and torment for someone trying to come to terms with 'why are we here' and 'what is my purpose' type questions. I think this song and a lot of this band's output shares common ground with the ideas explored by Radiohead, OK Computer-type modern angst, but I feel Everything Everything's stuff has a playful note and free-association that prevents it from being tied down (despite me trying to do that here--there are whole verses that I get the feeling are there for 'mood', not to be penetrated really, and the style of the singer's delivery makes it pretty impenetrable just listening to it and so the words and meaning are swept away in the music or just a sound to accompany the music and create an overall effect that's really jumped up and technicolor)
Other songs by this band I've heard that mesh with the meaning here would be: 'MY KZ, UR BF'--about a petty argument going on while a nuclear bomb drops 'Torso of the Week'–a counties housewife obsessively maintains her body while her life has no meaning
Interesting ideas, that's made me rethink my own analysis. This song does seem to be about lots of things, and I think the beginning of the song seems to only set a scene or create a mood rather than say something specific.
Interesting ideas, that's made me rethink my own analysis. This song does seem to be about lots of things, and I think the beginning of the song seems to only set a scene or create a mood rather than say something specific.