Ancient holy wars
Dead religions, holocausts
New regimes, old ideas
That's now myth, that's now real
Original sin, genetic fate
Revolutions, spinning plates
It's important to stay informed
The commentary to comment on
Oh, and no one ever really knows you and life is brief
So I've heard, but what's that gotta do with this black hole in me?
Age-old gender roles
Infotainment, capital
Golden bows and mercury
Bohemian nightmare, dust bowl chic
This documentary's lost on me
Satirical news, free energy
Mobile lifestyle, loveless sex
Independence, happiness
~ Father John Misty (Josh Tillman)
When Father John Misty gave his dramatic performance of this song on The Late Show in January 2016, Stephen Colbert did not introduce the song by name. I hope I have not offended anyone on this, Holy Thursday, by not bleeping out the title of the post. It's just a word. I bet you've even said it once or twice yourself. So strange how society selects what obscenities to be outraged by.
Before he became Father John Misty, Josh Tillman was the drummer for Fleet Foxes, and that's how I first became aware of him and his music. In 2012, after a four-year run with the Foxes, Tillman reinvented himself, something he seems to do often. His 2015 release, I Love You, Honeybear, on which you can find "Holy Shit," was met with critical acclaim, which appears to also be the case with his recent release, Pure Comedy.
As for "Holy Shit," Paste Magazine calls it "a scathing look at everything wrong with society today and a genuine wonderment as to why all of that matters." Although the song was released before last year's Presidential election, Misty remains troubled by our society, our culture, and our priorities. I cannot argue with him on that. I think many of us are aware of that "black hole" inside us. And Misty makes no bones about his shock and despair in this new political climate. At a post-election concert in Camden NJ, he lectured the audience before walking off the stage after a twenty-minute performance, clearly distraught about the election results. As Shane Ryan of Paste says, "We need somebody to poke us and prod us, even if it pisses us off." Complacency is not okay.
"Tillman has severe depression and anxiety and currently self-medicates with micro-doses of LSD," according to Wikipedia. For a fascinating look at the mind of Father John Misty, read the March 30, 2017 interview by Dorian Lynskey in The Guardian. (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/30/father-john-misty-josh-tillman-pure-comedy-interview)
The man is a tortured genius.
Oh, and love is just an institution based on human frailty
What's your paradise gotta do with Adam and Eve?
Maybe love is just an economy based on resource scarcity
But what I fail to see is what that's gotta do with you and me
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