| MGMT – Time to Pretend Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Great post. I think "man the island" means the same thing as to man a ship, to take it over, to live/reside on it, basically. In that sense, buying and owning and island fits nicely with the other things, like buying cars and marrying models. I like that line "the anxiety of growing up and feeling alienated from our loved ones by life's pressures". And good point about the money-fire pit, I almost forgot about that. "Tongue-in-cheek ... materialism" all good points :P |
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| MGMT – Time to Pretend Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Without directly asking MGMT, it's impossible to say whether or not this song is supposed to have a deeper, more substantial meaning. So is the case for any art, really. For those who say there is a definitive deeper meaning, don't be so sure. For those who say that people are reading too much into this, maybe you're just digging below the surface enough. But whatever the artist's intention, one can offer an interpretation. To me, this song is taking place during that pivotal, critical moment a person has to undergo when determining what they are going to do for the rest of their lives --like someone else proposed, during the older teen years when you feel like you are being asked to determine the path of your life. Down one path there is there is this facade of a "living fast, dying young" lifestyle. We are pushed to idealize this image, to PRETEND that this is the greatest way of living life. But MGMT very subtly mocks this life style but showing that it's not as great as it's hyped up to be: "The models will have children, we'll get a divorce ... We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end" In a way, I feel like MGMT's asking "Buying cars and shooting up may seem appealing, but in the end, is it really worth it?" However, you may point out that they say: "Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?" This has to go with that choosing-from-the-two-paths (work v play) idea I had earlier. The superficial way to view this is to say that work is stupid, that work is the equivalent of wasting your life away. But I feel like what MGMT's trying to say is that this isn't some two-value-orientation dichotomy, some ultimatum where you have to choose one or that other --that life is more complicated than choosing from the two paths of work (morning commute, etc.) versus play (marrying models, etc.) In essence, happiness isn't only achieved via this route of "play": that --although it may be hard to believe-- happiness can still found within a realistic life, one that is without a PRETEND life of cars and money. I say a PRETEND life because these things don't ultimately bring you happiness. This highly cliché but undeniably true statement is yet again *subtly* suggested by MGMT. If you watch the video, the stanza: "I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone" is depicted as this raw, honest, very heartfelt moment in which the singer somewhat steps away from this life of PRETEND and shares what's really in his heart and on his mind. This true, emotional moment is quickly brushed off, however, possibly mocking how we as people tend to suppress our longing wants and emotional memories, and substitute them with a "filler", PRETEND happiness, that these things of "Love must be forgotten, [that] life can always start up anew." I found it interesting how the lines "Forget about our mothers and our friends We were fated to pretend" are paired, which allows for two different interpretations: 1. An order, a command to forget about the people we love because we are fated to pretend that we love them (which may be true or may not be) 2. A mockery at this order, sorta like saying "are you serious?? how could you ever consider forgetting those you love? why would you ever do such a thing? just to live a selfish, indifferent life deprived of pure compassion and love, and instead, injected with this PRETEND life of booze, drugs, models, and money?" Ya know those V8 commercials when the person gets smacked on the forehead for making an idiot decision, sorta like a "what the hell are you thinking?!" Yeah, it's kinda like that. Like I've said, there is no objective true meaning to the song without actually consulting the writers themselves. Although I'm sure my comments are life-changing or epiphany-inducing, I hope my feelings of the song have offered an additional way to interpret such this truly amazing song. :] |
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