What's On Your Mind
Lyrics:
Don't see what I want and I don't want what I see.
I try to read between the lines and the reality.
Tell me what is on your mind.
Tell me what is on your mind.
Tell me what is on your mind.
Tell me what is on your mind.
You lie to me all the time, but one day you'll see the light.
Stop the hate and the tears and that day I won't be here.
You can't see what I see because you're blind.
You can't hear what I hear. You're fighting all the time.
Commentary:
This is one of my favorite songs from back then. I think it was one of the first songs that paved the road to having a more punk sound. It was most likely influenced by the obvious, Nirvana and the not so obvious Minor Threat. It's funny, but before I listened to punk rock on the regular, I had the Minor Threat discography album. I can't remember where I got it from though. Usually I could remember who introduced me to a band, but for some reason I am drawing a blank with this one. I know that Mike turned me on to Misfits and Fugazi (that was also an influence at the time), but can't remember the story behind Minor Threat. Oddly, it may have been from my friend Rich McStine, (who wasn't really into hardcore), but I can't remember for sure.
I do remember a story about Matt talking to this girl at Bergen Community College about Minor Threat and how she knows a guitarist who is "So good on guitar - he could play Minor Threat!" Which, after playing for a few months together, was not really that great as they just played really fast power chords. As a joke during practice, we would play "Stepping Stone" and tell ourselves how great we were. Funny that later songs would actually be played even faster than that song (See the Not At All blog in the future!)
I remember being in the basement at my former home in Ridgefield and writing lyrics on a loose piece of paper. I wrote the line:
"Don't see what I want and I don't want what I see. (Which I thought was fucking genius at the time)
I try to read between the lies and the reality."
I remember trying to be clever and originally writing "try to read between the lies and the reality," then thinking to myself that "lines" would be cooler (because people would think I was saying lies rather than lines as it made more sense, but because the expression is "read between the lines" and I originally wrote it as "lies" because it is opposite to "reality, then I switched it to fool people...)
Huh?
Exactly.
Not sure what the thought process was behind that one, but I'm almost certain it was fueled by some type of egoic element.
The line during the breakdown of the song must have been my thoughts on family life and household at the time. It's pretty self explanatory. Which, incidentally, might have been the first breakdown/change that we ever played in a song. Before then was all verse, chorus, solo, etc. formulas.
Oh, this song also has the infamous "I'll laugh like a villain at the end of this song to promote how crazy and free flowing I am" in it. One of a few to come.
This song was the first song that had an almost hardcore vibe to it. I loved playing this song live because I could really wail on the strings and take out my frustrations. I could scream the words into the microphone like a mad man because I was so angry, yet no one would think I was nuts. They would just see someone rocking out in front of them. Try screaming without a band behind you and see what type of reaction you get from people. Context is everything I suppose.
This song is where I probably saw the band for what it could be and ultimately became:
Free therapy.