If you watch the music video, it makes the meaning of the song much different then if I were to have just read the lyrics. It shows an astronaut, by some miracle, surviving an impact on a distant celestial object, killing his partner instantly. He suffers a lack of sleep and food, showing obvious signs of sleep deprivation and fatigue. He even suffers heavy hallucinations at the end, and yet he still survives. Combined with Kanye's rap and the chorus, makes him seem as if he's by some chance one of the durable men alive, surviving on raw will and luck. A true BA. And, when Santogold's part comes in, she say's that she can't suffer mediocrity, the staying with the "thick-headed;" essentially, that she's special, gifted, better than the rest. She addresses herself as a separate kind, even. She tries to settle down, holding herself back, but can't get herself to lower herself to those standards. Helps to support that this lone, surviving astronaut is truly special, a beast of willpower and luck. Yet, the very end of the music video, we find that the astronaut is merely being tested, put under these horrors by scientists for whatever purpose. This leads to the thought that maybe what is implied is that we are all the same, that it is only perceived that we are better than anyone, that no matter what we do we will be all of the same importance and ability. Maybe, the thought that we are all under the illusion we are any better, fabricated to get through the hardships in our lives to survive to the next day, even as we toil under the direction of something far beyond our mental capacity.
A beautiful song, with a morbidly incredible music video.
If you watch the music video, it makes the meaning of the song much different then if I were to have just read the lyrics. It shows an astronaut, by some miracle, surviving an impact on a distant celestial object, killing his partner instantly. He suffers a lack of sleep and food, showing obvious signs of sleep deprivation and fatigue. He even suffers heavy hallucinations at the end, and yet he still survives. Combined with Kanye's rap and the chorus, makes him seem as if he's by some chance one of the durable men alive, surviving on raw will and luck. A true BA. And, when Santogold's part comes in, she say's that she can't suffer mediocrity, the staying with the "thick-headed;" essentially, that she's special, gifted, better than the rest. She addresses herself as a separate kind, even. She tries to settle down, holding herself back, but can't get herself to lower herself to those standards. Helps to support that this lone, surviving astronaut is truly special, a beast of willpower and luck. Yet, the very end of the music video, we find that the astronaut is merely being tested, put under these horrors by scientists for whatever purpose. This leads to the thought that maybe what is implied is that we are all the same, that it is only perceived that we are better than anyone, that no matter what we do we will be all of the same importance and ability. Maybe, the thought that we are all under the illusion we are any better, fabricated to get through the hardships in our lives to survive to the next day, even as we toil under the direction of something far beyond our mental capacity.
A beautiful song, with a morbidly incredible music video.