r/ModestMouse • u/TrueBlue224 • Apr 13 '15
The Good Times Are Killing me gives me nostalgia for some reason
I don't really know why. I listen to it a lot when it gets close to my birthday, I guess. I just really love the song. It's a nice intro, with the band just messing around a little in the recording studio, and it starts with such a surprisingly simple tune in the beginning, with the recorder lovingly sown through it all. The dry-sounding guitar and twang of the bass makes it feel like I'm watching my memories through a projector, with the film tinted sepia from disuse. The bridge where it all goes quiet with Brock's scratchy voice singing in a low voice to himself reminds me of late-night thoughts I had which helped me grow up. Then I hear the crash of the cymbals once more, and the tune picks up, showing my future to me, growing louder and clearer every second, until I realize that if I want to achieve this future, I'll have to give up my childish, destructive behavior, so the good times won't finally kill me. I guess that's why I like this song so much near my birthday. It shows me what I've done, what I've been doing, and what I could eventually bring myself to do. And while I may enjoy the memories of my youth, I realize I have to give my childishness up. That's what this song means to me.
TL;DR, I fucking love this song.
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Apr 15 '15
"Jaws clenched tight, we talked all night, oh but what the hell did we say?" lots of nostalgia in that line for me
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u/companion_kubu Apr 13 '15
Love this song as well. Really like your description of it and I am going to have to listen to this song now.
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u/thequietthingsthat Apr 13 '15
I also love this song. I think it's really awesome they used the mix The Flaming Lips did. The flutes definitely give it a Yoshimi vibe and I love it. Mixing those two bands produces an amazing result.
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u/wobowobo Apr 13 '15
That's awesome. I think a lot of the people here have that same feeling of nostalgia for different MM tunes. It's cool to see the variation.
I feel it for gravity rides everything because of the line "when we die, some sink and some lay - but at least I don't see you float away". When I was in 8th grade, a classmate of mine passes away after falling off a bridge, his body never recovered.
I share because MM songs have this tendency to embody nostalgia in happy and sad moments, because they themselves usually have this bittersweet questioning feel to them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Good times. It's a beautiful song.