So, as our protagonist awakes to a grey morning, complete with birds chirping, he has to reflect on what he has learned from 'wincing the night away.'
He has realized what it feels like to fully accept and understand nietzsche's concept of the ubermensch, in this song cleverly written as uber-man.
The boy realizes his naivete, and is lost, trying to summon up something good in himself, a forced smile, that will make this bitter dream seem better.
He learns that it is naive to try to convince someone else, (in the specific the girl that has been discussed throughout the album) about the lack of an afterlife or faith in humanity, because people are so easily lost and drown by the weight of these thoughts. ("The wind from a wasp could blow them into the sea...")
No matter what though, its stuck in his head, in front of him, that religion is man made, "Every post you can hitch your faith on is a pie in the sky, chock full of lies, a tool we devise to make sinking stones fly."
He has lost a faith that there is a purpose in life, and a numbness to it all is growing.
This album is a description of what happens when we start to think about the realities of life, and the grim thoughts that ensue. There are ways to continue living life, but the boy we have followed throughout this album is unsure what it is he is supposed to do next.
The fact that 'the shins' can produce music that addresses things that we hope not to think about is eerily wonderful. We wonder if other people have had these thoughts as well, and here is a springboard to talk about them. It may not be something you wish to think about, but the shins have painted a beautifully dark picture that was only previously addressed in their songs like "your algebra" and "sphagnum esplanade."
I think that's a really good post, but I disagree with some small parts of it.
I think that's a really good post, but I disagree with some small parts of it.
I don't think our protagonist is writing as an uberman or has fully accepted Nietzsche. The "some uberman I'd make" indicates that it's not quite working for him. And I don't think the "pie in the sky" line really is directed at religion, alone. I don't think it was particularly hard for our protagonist to do away with religion as Nietzsche did. But Nietzsche was very concerned with, after that, avoiding the descent into nihilism. That is what his famous "abyss" quote is about. Nietzsche certainly struggled with the abyss of nihilism, but his philosophy purportedly offers a way out of or around the abyss -- a way to meaning in life or a way to create meaning. But a lot of Nietzsche readers are not convinced. Neither was our protagonist. The meaning that Nietzsche offers is a pie in the sky, too. The protagonist wishes that he could find solace in such a philosophy, that he could be an ubermensch creating meaning, but he is unable. He is unable to escape the numbness of nihilism. The protagonist was never really sold on religion, but now he has realize that its replacements are pies in the sky as well. The "worst part and you know it," the truth, is that life really is crushingly meaningless. We continue on, but we know that in the backs of our minds.
So, as our protagonist awakes to a grey morning, complete with birds chirping, he has to reflect on what he has learned from 'wincing the night away.' He has realized what it feels like to fully accept and understand nietzsche's concept of the ubermensch, in this song cleverly written as uber-man.
The boy realizes his naivete, and is lost, trying to summon up something good in himself, a forced smile, that will make this bitter dream seem better.
He learns that it is naive to try to convince someone else, (in the specific the girl that has been discussed throughout the album) about the lack of an afterlife or faith in humanity, because people are so easily lost and drown by the weight of these thoughts. ("The wind from a wasp could blow them into the sea...")
No matter what though, its stuck in his head, in front of him, that religion is man made, "Every post you can hitch your faith on is a pie in the sky, chock full of lies, a tool we devise to make sinking stones fly." He has lost a faith that there is a purpose in life, and a numbness to it all is growing.
This album is a description of what happens when we start to think about the realities of life, and the grim thoughts that ensue. There are ways to continue living life, but the boy we have followed throughout this album is unsure what it is he is supposed to do next.
The fact that 'the shins' can produce music that addresses things that we hope not to think about is eerily wonderful. We wonder if other people have had these thoughts as well, and here is a springboard to talk about them. It may not be something you wish to think about, but the shins have painted a beautifully dark picture that was only previously addressed in their songs like "your algebra" and "sphagnum esplanade."
great post and extrapolation of the meaning.. thx
great post and extrapolation of the meaning.. thx
Check out youtube.com/watch for an amazing live version
Check out youtube.com/watch for an amazing live version
I think that's a really good post, but I disagree with some small parts of it.
I think that's a really good post, but I disagree with some small parts of it.
I don't think our protagonist is writing as an uberman or has fully accepted Nietzsche. The "some uberman I'd make" indicates that it's not quite working for him. And I don't think the "pie in the sky" line really is directed at religion, alone. I don't think it was particularly hard for our protagonist to do away with religion as Nietzsche did. But Nietzsche was very concerned with, after that, avoiding the descent into nihilism. That is what his famous "abyss" quote is about. Nietzsche certainly struggled with the abyss of nihilism, but his philosophy purportedly offers a way out of or around the abyss -- a way to meaning in life or a way to create meaning. But a lot of Nietzsche readers are not convinced. Neither was our protagonist. The meaning that Nietzsche offers is a pie in the sky, too. The protagonist wishes that he could find solace in such a philosophy, that he could be an ubermensch creating meaning, but he is unable. He is unable to escape the numbness of nihilism. The protagonist was never really sold on religion, but now he has realize that its replacements are pies in the sky as well. The "worst part and you know it," the truth, is that life really is crushingly meaningless. We continue on, but we know that in the backs of our minds.