I've been an Aesop Rock fan since Labor Days came out. When I heard this songs third verse, and he just comes out so blunt and direct, my jaw dropped. The only other time he'd done something similar was on One of Four (hidden track off the Daylight EP)
This is the real density of Aesop Rock. So incredibly poetic, layers deep in metaphor, and incredibly written. Genuinely, looking at the lyrics of this song looks more like an abstract poem than lyrics to a piece of music
i like the interpretation of the groups of three creatures as him and his brothers, being lifted by their parents and told they will do great things, and then just sent off to fend for themselves "...oh"
Dude this is easily the best reaction to this song I’ve ever heard your ability to approach the material with respect for what it is and to catch as much as you did is truly impressive and that’s one thing. Additionally this pops up just as my wife is going through some serious family situations and the synchronicities are undeniable so much that I always think of her family when I hear this song the funny thing is I’m listening and I’m like damn if I could get her dad to listen to this reaction I think he could actually comprehend what’s being said and that it would be helpful same for her she is an awesome woman with an sharp mind but she’s not a lover of words in the way you have to be to get aes. That said I think you really get to the crux which is that life is such that most people haven’t got the ability to separate themselves from their traumas and be open and see truth even when it’s presented to them. Great song brilliant reaction you’ve got my sub and approval my guy. I’d love to see more Aesop rock or anything by Deniro farrar or cal scrubby two rappers who deserve much more hype(though neither as deep or difficult as aes)
He lived in a barn around the time he was working on impossible kid. This was before that. It wasn’t confirmed but the general consensus is the amicable marooning line was about his divorce. And the line about sawing a woman in half too
Dude literal GOAT reactor! Your ability to understand the track so well after just two listens is remarkable. You’re truly a one of a kind. You’re right though, the only way to concisely analyze his tracks is with pen and paper over several listens, but honestly a concise analysis isn’t as interesting to me because it’s not respecting the brilliance of his deliberate complexity with each and every line. You could write a pull paragraph describing each and every line of his, it’s incredible. I thank you so much for having the patience to go through these songs like this, every Aes fan will appreciate this so much we qll need to help bringing them all over to the sphere! But yes this is the most complex of these first 6 by far… “Got a little plot of land where authority isn’t recognized, contraband keeping the core of his Hyde Jekyllized” is my favorite line in any song ever. And then the third verse is other worldly good. So dark, so introspective and so visceral so it makes it hit soooo hard. There are so many lines in this song I’ve never been able to fully piece together meaning for and you have helped me so much on all of them. Thanks Fil. GOAT
@@trakticianall good take your time, next one is less complex than gopher guts for sure, but is still an Aesop Rock song haha. Next one is also my favorite track by him, it’s just a solid listen alongside his typical writing skills
Another award winning breakdown lovely Fil ..such a phenomenal artist ..elite with his pen thanku you both so very much you both rock much love an God bless always x
This is all his newer stuff, as long time Aes fans you'll hear people refer to that as anything pre None Shall Pass. That is when his writing was insanely abstract and absurd. These are the lyrics that take years and years to decipher. Not that his writing are any less impressive, they are just way more digestible. If you wanna really get into his skill check out. Oxygen, 1000 Deaths, Labor, Big Bang, Daylight/Nightlight, 9-5er's Anthem, Save Yourself, Float. There are many many more but those are really popular ones.
Fil, I'm off back to the study, study, study. His words vibrate through This (perceived reality) and That (awareness), taking us beyond the personality and towards effortless activity. Bloody brilliant breakdown, bro. #QcumberSquad #AesopRock - Fil, I'm off back to the study.
“You were sitting at the gates awaiting spirits and provisions” hes talking about his mom waiting at the gate of the airport. Earlier he had called his mom and told her he needed to visit (hide a body) because he hasnt been doing well mentally (first verse) since his divorce (amicable marooning and sawing a woman in half) His mom was there for him despite the fact theyve drifted apart because theyre family. But i cant tell it seems like she’s begrudgingly there for him almost and thats why he says “it doesnt always work like that” i know from other songs his mother is religious and so it would make the blood is thicker than water deal fit here.
I think the amicable marooning/cutting a woman in half is about divorce. "Your other half" and all that. He's calling his mom after it to "hide a body," himself, and how she understands after the disconnect they've had because blood is thicker than water.
yea that's how i hear it too. His mom is just entirely unengaged with his trauma. I picture her washing dishes while he tells her this and she isn't really listening @@zacharykegley33
i think the amicable marooning was a line about Company Flow, that disintegrated after Camu's passing and I think he is saying he went from a crew (The weatherman) to being alone. After that he felt like he needed to talk to his family, his mom, and she just couldn't relate even though she is his mom. That has just always been where my head read the line.
If you are liking how Aesop Rock writes and his wordplay, I highly recommend Eyedea and Sadistik. Sadistik and Aes are tied for my all time favorite MCs
@19:45 The simian or lizard line makes me think of lizard brain or "higher" functioning of a simian, that juxtaposed with the mirror scene seems to be a reflection is this feeling, just a reaction to a real threat to survival somehow (lizard brain) or something fabricated or just from his own mental processes. the final line of that stanza recognizes that that distinction probably isnt important given its overwhelming impact on his reality.....
oh and btw Folgers is the most popular coffee brand in the states, so “lukewarm Folgers” is further describing his derelict environment like you caught onto alongside the “mold in his moon pie” which is a hilarious description to me
The three creatures represent him and his brothers, which he has two of. Also, first chorus is baby snakes and second chorus is green frogs. No longer babies as they would be tadpoles. Amazing reaction. Ive only made these discoveries once ive seen your extremely thorough video that connected dots I never have and I've listened to this album since release.
“Greasy grimy gopher guts” was what Ramona Quimby believed, in her innocence, to be a terrible swear word; also I think it’s an oblique reference to a different song, Blood Sandwich, but I’m uncertain, since that song released four years later
Yukon Cornelius is one of the protagonists from the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas special. He's dressed like a lumberjack, and I think Aes is just commenting on his current appearance, a disheveled lumberjack.
And this is exactly why I have been complaining about u never following up on the Sadistik reaction! I have not seen a reaction like this since you broke down Lazarus.
If I may offer another interpretation of a line: "Then I let'em go..." *Snatched up by a predator immediately* "Oh..." Brilliant analysis man...love to see someone picking apart Aes' words. You're doing a service here!
I'd love to see you do an episode of your reaction to "Head Up" by The Score. This band deserves more publicity because in my opinion they are at the level of Imagine Dragons 😁💙 Your videos are always full of analysis, reflection, interpretation. I can't think of a better person to record something like this ☺️
your breakdown are amazing, keep them coming, so we can keep learning! I have always wonders why he keeps referring to 3...as in 3 snakes/frogs/crabs....i know he has 2 siblings, but fail to make the connection.
You can't see how holding three wild animals, instilling them with values and confidence, then letting them go might haave something to do with growing up in a family where he's one of 3 kids in a song where he starts out talking about family ties and being left alone after his divorce?
I always saw the letting go of that animals as a positive. Like, he gives them the encouragement then sets them free to do what they need to do. This is what I did, all the people i've estranged are better off without me.
This isn't a negative about your analysis ...it's just an observation that came to me while I was listening to your breakdown of the lyrics after the song. Recently, it seems I've been hearing a lot of people deciphering lyrics trying to figure out what songs were "about". I was reminded of something good Mike Patton said in an interview where he was asked about the meaning of lyrics in many of his songs and what they were supposed to be referencing. He indicated that most the time it wasn't a specific meaning pre-decided. He said most of the time the main purpose of his choice of words was things that went together well and enhance overall rhythm and experience of the music being played. He says that there were times he woke up in the middle of the night with just a word or phrase and he knew that it was something he's going to work into the song. For that reason everyone could get something out of the song that meant sometimes to them.... And even prompt this kind of discussion about possibilities. there was no right or wrong answer. I like that answer :). (Mike Patton. Faith No More, Mr. Bungle.... many more)
Hey! your reactions are awesome. The new Aesop album, Integrated Tech Solutions came out a few months ago and it's really good. You should check out Vititus or Aggressive Steven. Whole album is great tho
Love your analyses. “Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts” is a children’s song in the US about eating gross things. I think Aes is setting up his character as the type of scumbag (his word not mine) who eats roadkill.
The blood and water chapter of the Bible is 1 John 5:6: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water." "Blood is thicker than water" isn't in the Bible; it's a 12th century German proverb. It was popularized by Shakespeare in Macbeth, which is more than a little bit about King James I, the same king who wrote the famous King James Version of the Bible. James was Shakespeare's patron, and he was an only child, probably gay ("thirty cats"). There are theories about Shakespeare being a pseudonym and some have proposed (probably crackpot) theories that King James was the real author of the plays. Aes has a painful relationship with the church (discussed in other tracks), and I think his mom was hyper-religious? and that might be part of their distance and her "thoughts and prayers"-style response to him.
You kept seeming to be caught off guard by "blood and water" chapters. They're merely Shakespearen bullshit, about before his plays just saying who was related and who wasn't.
Wasteful words are a waste of time. All 🔥No Filler the closest I've heard that makes me feel like when I'm listening to NF, Demon Hunter or Backwordz. 🩸🗝😎
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I've been an Aesop Rock fan since Labor Days came out. When I heard this songs third verse, and he just comes out so blunt and direct, my jaw dropped. The only other time he'd done something similar was on One of Four (hidden track off the Daylight EP)
This is the real density of Aesop Rock. So incredibly poetic, layers deep in metaphor, and incredibly written. Genuinely, looking at the lyrics of this song looks more like an abstract poem than lyrics to a piece of music
Bruh, dude said "contraband keeping the core of his Hyde Jeckylized" that shit is insane.
grown on a lil plot of land where authority isn't recognized!
i like the interpretation of the groups of three creatures as him and his brothers, being lifted by their parents and told they will do great things, and then just sent off to fend for themselves "...oh"
Dude this is easily the best reaction to this song I’ve ever heard your ability to approach the material with respect for what it is and to catch as much as you did is truly impressive and that’s one thing. Additionally this pops up just as my wife is going through some serious family situations and the synchronicities are undeniable so much that I always think of her family when I hear this song the funny thing is I’m listening and I’m like damn if I could get her dad to listen to this reaction I think he could actually comprehend what’s being said and that it would be helpful same for her she is an awesome woman with an sharp mind but she’s not a lover of words in the way you have to be to get aes. That said I think you really get to the crux which is that life is such that most people haven’t got the ability to separate themselves from their traumas and be open and see truth even when it’s presented to them. Great song brilliant reaction you’ve got my sub and approval my guy. I’d love to see more Aesop rock or anything by Deniro farrar or cal scrubby two rappers who deserve much more hype(though neither as deep or difficult as aes)
He lived in a barn around the time he was working on impossible kid. This was before that. It wasn’t confirmed but the general consensus is the amicable marooning line was about his divorce. And the line about sawing a woman in half too
Dude literal GOAT reactor! Your ability to understand the track so well after just two listens is remarkable. You’re truly a one of a kind. You’re right though, the only way to concisely analyze his tracks is with pen and paper over several listens, but honestly a concise analysis isn’t as interesting to me because it’s not respecting the brilliance of his deliberate complexity with each and every line. You could write a pull paragraph describing each and every line of his, it’s incredible.
I thank you so much for having the patience to go through these songs like this, every Aes fan will appreciate this so much we qll need to help bringing them all over to the sphere!
But yes this is the most complex of these first 6 by far…
“Got a little plot of land where authority isn’t recognized, contraband keeping the core of his Hyde Jekyllized” is my favorite line in any song ever.
And then the third verse is other worldly good. So dark, so introspective and so visceral so it makes it hit soooo hard.
There are so many lines in this song I’ve never been able to fully piece together meaning for and you have helped me so much on all of them.
Thanks Fil. GOAT
Thanks man... These are hectic.. I'm trying to psych myself up to hit the other one. 😂 But I'll tackle it in a bit when my little one goes to sleep.
@@trakticianall good take your time, next one is less complex than gopher guts for sure, but is still an Aesop Rock song haha. Next one is also my favorite track by him, it’s just a solid listen alongside his typical writing skills
@@campbellcravens8944 what's the next track? Hope it's Cycles to Gehenna lol
@@Joseph-R yep that’s it haha
@@campbellcravens8944Boosh! Well played. Get hin on Ruby, too. Please.he can turn 90 secods into a half hour easy.
Another award winning breakdown lovely Fil ..such a phenomenal artist ..elite with his pen thanku you both so very much you both rock much love an God bless always x
This is all his newer stuff, as long time Aes fans you'll hear people refer to that as anything pre None Shall Pass. That is when his writing was insanely abstract and absurd. These are the lyrics that take years and years to decipher. Not that his writing are any less impressive, they are just way more digestible. If you wanna really get into his skill check out. Oxygen, 1000 Deaths, Labor, Big Bang, Daylight/Nightlight, 9-5er's Anthem, Save Yourself, Float. There are many many more but those are really popular ones.
yes! that's a good one. love that one and Float and Music for Earthworms and Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives
Fil, I'm off back to the study, study, study. His words vibrate through This (perceived reality) and That (awareness), taking us beyond the personality and towards effortless activity.
Bloody brilliant breakdown, bro.
#QcumberSquad #AesopRock - Fil, I'm off back to the study.
Greasy,grimey, gopher guts was part of a children's song. It was part of American culture in pockets of the us.
“You were sitting at the gates awaiting spirits and provisions” hes talking about his mom waiting at the gate of the airport.
Earlier he had called his mom and told her he needed to visit (hide a body) because he hasnt been doing well mentally (first verse) since his divorce (amicable marooning and sawing a woman in half)
His mom was there for him despite the fact theyve drifted apart because theyre family. But i cant tell it seems like she’s begrudgingly there for him almost and thats why he says “it doesnt always work like that” i know from other songs his mother is religious and so it would make the blood is thicker than water deal fit here.
I think knowing Ian (Aes) is one of three kids helps with this one.
I think the amicable marooning/cutting a woman in half is about divorce. "Your other half" and all that. He's calling his mom after it to "hide a body," himself, and how she understands after the disconnect they've had because blood is thicker than water.
I think his mother was less interested/ engaged than he had hoped, when telling her a relationship went sour. Blood isn't always there for you, etc.
yea that's how i hear it too. His mom is just entirely unengaged with his trauma. I picture her washing dishes while he tells her this and she isn't really listening @@zacharykegley33
i think the amicable marooning was a line about Company Flow, that disintegrated after Camu's passing and I think he is saying he went from a crew (The weatherman) to being alone. After that he felt like he needed to talk to his family, his mom, and she just couldn't relate even though she is his mom. That has just always been where my head read the line.
@@jamesmack4318 yeah i looked into it. I didn't know he was ever married, but now it makes a bit more sense. Thanks!
This is his scariest song written.. Biblical and truthful
Every single time i hear this one it blasts a hole thru my heart and blood leaks out everywhere
My brain is broken too 😳 to be fair this is my first ever listen.. so VERY excited to hear the breakdown 😁 … let’s go
Ok.. now I get it.. thanks for the breakdown!!
If you are liking how Aesop Rock writes and his wordplay, I highly recommend Eyedea and Sadistik. Sadistik and Aes are tied for my all time favorite MCs
RIP Eyedea
“Big Shots”
"Folgers" I a coffee brand. It comes in a big I think red tub
The true g.o.a.t.
sweetttt... i am here from the atmosphere reactions. Didn't know you already did aesop. Nice!
@19:45 The simian or lizard line makes me think of lizard brain or "higher" functioning of a simian, that juxtaposed with the mirror scene seems to be a reflection is this feeling, just a reaction to a real threat to survival somehow (lizard brain) or something fabricated or just from his own mental processes. the final line of that stanza recognizes that that distinction probably isnt important given its overwhelming impact on his reality.....
The most unique words in his first 35000 lyrics out of any rapper. Aesop Rock is so so good
One of my fav Aesop Rock songs, along with KOWP
oh and btw Folgers is the most popular coffee brand in the states, so “lukewarm Folgers” is further describing his derelict environment like you caught onto alongside the “mold in his moon pie” which is a hilarious description to me
This song is about growth... the journey of one's life
The marooning was him leaving for Washington, He bounced NY and lived in a barn for a year
The three creatures represent him and his brothers, which he has two of.
Also, first chorus is baby snakes and second chorus is green frogs. No longer babies as they would be tadpoles.
Amazing reaction. Ive only made these discoveries once ive seen your extremely thorough video that connected dots I never have and I've listened to this album since release.
He says the crabs are festive because they are from Christmas island
“Greasy grimy gopher guts” was what Ramona Quimby believed, in her innocence, to be a terrible swear word; also I think it’s an oblique reference to a different song, Blood Sandwich, but I’m uncertain, since that song released four years later
💯🔥 track and reaction!🩸🗝😎
Yukon Cornelius is one of the protagonists from the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas special. He's dressed like a lumberjack, and I think Aes is just commenting on his current appearance, a disheveled lumberjack.
“A misanthrope vying for attention “fuck that’s good
And this is exactly why I have been complaining about u never following up on the Sadistik reaction! I have not seen a reaction like this since you broke down Lazarus.
being a fan of aseop for over 20 years almost feal like I'm privileged
If I may offer another interpretation of a line:
"Then I let'em go..."
*Snatched up by a predator immediately*
"Oh..."
Brilliant analysis man...love to see someone picking apart Aes' words. You're doing a service here!
Daylight / nightlight
"Folger's" is a very popular brand of coffee in North America.
I'd love to see you do an episode of your reaction to "Head Up" by The Score. This band deserves more publicity because in my opinion they are at the level of Imagine Dragons 😁💙 Your videos are always full of analysis, reflection, interpretation. I can't think of a better person to record something like this ☺️
your breakdown are amazing, keep them coming, so we can keep learning! I have always wonders why he keeps referring to 3...as in 3 snakes/frogs/crabs....i know he has 2 siblings, but fail to make the connection.
You can't see how holding three wild animals, instilling them with values and confidence, then letting them go might haave something to do with growing up in a family where he's one of 3 kids in a song where he starts out talking about family ties and being left alone after his divorce?
If I remember greasy grimy gopher guts was in a childrens poem or book. Maybe shell siverstien? 😊
I always saw the letting go of that animals as a positive. Like, he gives them the encouragement then sets them free to do what they need to do. This is what I did, all the people i've estranged are better off without me.
Gopher Guts = “What the fuck?” 😂😂😂
This isn't a negative about your analysis ...it's just an observation that came to me while I was listening to your breakdown of the lyrics after the song.
Recently, it seems I've been hearing a lot of people deciphering lyrics trying to figure out what songs were "about". I was reminded of something good Mike Patton said in an interview where he was asked about the meaning of lyrics in many of his songs and what they were supposed to be referencing. He indicated that most the time it wasn't a specific meaning pre-decided. He said most of the time the main purpose of his choice of words was things that went together well and enhance overall rhythm and experience of the music being played. He says that there were times he woke up in the middle of the night with just a word or phrase and he knew that it was something he's going to work into the song. For that reason everyone could get something out of the song that meant sometimes to them.... And even prompt this kind of discussion about possibilities. there was no right or wrong answer. I like that answer :). (Mike Patton. Faith No More, Mr. Bungle.... many more)
The Three snakes, frogs etc. Could be referring to himself and his two brothers
Hey! your reactions are awesome. The new Aesop album, Integrated Tech Solutions came out a few months ago and it's really good.
You should check out Vititus or Aggressive Steven. Whole album is great tho
Love your analyses. “Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts” is a children’s song in the US about eating gross things. I think Aes is setting up his character as the type of scumbag (his word not mine) who eats roadkill.
Marcin Patrzalek CARMEN THE BEST WORD HIT MASAKRA GITARE
The blood and water chapter of the Bible is 1 John 5:6: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water."
"Blood is thicker than water" isn't in the Bible; it's a 12th century German proverb. It was popularized by Shakespeare in Macbeth, which is more than a little bit about King James I, the same king who wrote the famous King James Version of the Bible. James was Shakespeare's patron, and he was an only child, probably gay ("thirty cats"). There are theories about Shakespeare being a pseudonym and some have proposed (probably crackpot) theories that King James was the real author of the plays.
Aes has a painful relationship with the church (discussed in other tracks), and I think his mom was hyper-religious? and that might be part of their distance and her "thoughts and prayers"-style response to him.
_Then I let ‘em go._
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You got his name wrong, o reader of english.
Oh no!!! .......... Anyway
If you can't take 0.75 seconds to realise what letters comprise the name, what would have you believe your analysis is worth anything?
@@traktician I guess there's no flippant, zero-effort meme text on this one.
Dude you're way off. I'm out from the beginning. If you don't know that folgers is the epitome of bad coffee then you're going to miss so much later.
You kept seeming to be caught off guard by "blood and water" chapters. They're merely Shakespearen bullshit, about before his plays just saying who was related and who wasn't.
Wasteful words are a waste of time. All 🔥No Filler the closest I've heard that makes me feel like when I'm listening to NF, Demon Hunter or Backwordz. 🩸🗝😎