thesahagent
05-09-2006, 07:47 PM
Just in case somebody else hasn't already pointed it out, notice in this song how Maynard's vocals vary from thick and guttural to thin and ethereal. If you think of it as the thicker the vocals, the further he is away from the "experience," and the thinner the vocals, the closer he is to the "experience," the whole song takes on a new level of depth.
Note that I put the word "experience" in quotation marks to sidestep the whole debate on whether or not this is really an acid trip. However, since I mentioned it, my view is that the song addresses both the acid trip and the extraterrestrial theme. It's pointing out that ET sightings and other such paranormal phenomena are inevitably tied to our perception of the world. If we alter our perception of the world (through drugs, for example), of course we're more likely to see such things. If we do not, then it's very unlikely that we'll see these things, although it's still possible.
The fact that generally speaking, the song suggests that the visions are drug-induced, but does not at any point EXPLICITLY rule out the possibility that the entire incident really happened seems to support this viewpoint. Also note that in "Lost Keys," neither the nurse nor the doctor seem to have any idea that the patient's behavior is the result of drugs in his system, but you would think at least one of them would figure out that he might be acting that way as a result of a reaction to a drug. Of course, they may be just slow in figuring it out, or have the wrong charts, or any number of things, but the song never gives you a chance to conclude that, so . . . anyway, just my two cents.
Note that I put the word "experience" in quotation marks to sidestep the whole debate on whether or not this is really an acid trip. However, since I mentioned it, my view is that the song addresses both the acid trip and the extraterrestrial theme. It's pointing out that ET sightings and other such paranormal phenomena are inevitably tied to our perception of the world. If we alter our perception of the world (through drugs, for example), of course we're more likely to see such things. If we do not, then it's very unlikely that we'll see these things, although it's still possible.
The fact that generally speaking, the song suggests that the visions are drug-induced, but does not at any point EXPLICITLY rule out the possibility that the entire incident really happened seems to support this viewpoint. Also note that in "Lost Keys," neither the nurse nor the doctor seem to have any idea that the patient's behavior is the result of drugs in his system, but you would think at least one of them would figure out that he might be acting that way as a result of a reaction to a drug. Of course, they may be just slow in figuring it out, or have the wrong charts, or any number of things, but the song never gives you a chance to conclude that, so . . . anyway, just my two cents.