car seat commentary

my personal opinions on the works of car seat headrest ll 16 ll he/him II autistic

[nervous-young-unhuman]

intro

i just want to make a small post to pin on here. i want to start off by saying everything i write here is simply my opinion. i don’t want people to think i’m saying that i’m right. i also don’t want people to think i’m speaking on behalf of will toledo or car seat headrest. i try to include some information about why i believe a song to be the way that it is, but most of it is my completely independent thoughts, or common opinions of the car seat headrest community. i don’t want to add this pressure to will that he’s a know all genius and i’m completely okay with my commentary being “wrong” because it’s just my interpretation. please don’t try to bother any members of csh with these ramblings, i am just an avid enjoyer of the band. i really appreciate how much people are enjoying these so far, but my posts are completely separate from car seat headrest and i am in no way trying to speak for them or say that i know what it means for sure because i don’t, this is all just what it means to me. i haven’t had any issues at all with this, i just want to set my own boundaries before something unfavorable happens. thank you <3

[nervous-young-unhuman]

up all night

With this piece I’m now halfway through 1! I will openly admit I have genuinely struggled to get through writing for this album. I don’t even dislike it, I believe it’s a great album, but there's so little information about it’s entire existence online that I have a lot of trouble trying to piece things together. A lot of this is because of Will trying to separate himself from the album by just releasing it and stepping away. There also isn’t much interest in it by many Car Seat Headrest fans, as it can really only be found if you want to find it as it isn’t on any other streaming platform then Bandcamp, unless you transfer it to your Spotify with local files. But overall most people don’t look at it as anything more than “The first album” which means it takes a lot more thinking for all of this! 

The straightforward meaning behind this song is that Will takes some sleeping pills and they don’t work. If you’re sensitive to the mention of pills or anything like that, I would advise you skip reading this all together. 

This song is actually pretty relatable to me. I have a really hard time sleeping, and a lot of anxiety and paranoia surrounding actually going to sleep.

Up all night

Up all night

Not in a good way

There's definitely good and bad ways to not sleep. Sometimes staying up all night can be fun and liberating, a bit of domestic rebelion. Something that could negatively affect you the next morning, but enjoyable in the time being and not harmful to anyone else. Maybe you’re out late and staying up, there's a lot of reasons staying awake could be enjoyable. There’s also the bad type of staying up all night. The burning eyes while you stare and the ceiling and spiral further into your drowsy panic and the minutes turn into hours of missed sleep. 

The next lines are just the previous ones repeating, reiterating his state of being awake and not able to go to sleep. 

Said “shut up” and took some pills

Didn't work, made me feel ill

Said “shut up” and took some pills

Didn't work, made me feel ill

Said “shut up” and took some pills

Oh my god, I’m awake still

Sometimes no matter what you do, nothing will help you fall asleep. No amount of soft white noises and sleeping pills can make a dent on an active mind. It’s at its worst when you genuinely want to sleep and you just can’t. For a lot of people not being able to sleep causes a lot of anxiety, which will make the entire experience awful. It’s never an enjoyable situation to be in. 

Those two lines quite literally carry the entire song. They just repeat multiple times until the song is over. Lyrically it’s not a huge metaphor that needs to be thought true, he just can’t sleep. Maybe the song was written during an experience of not sleeping, but Will has said next to nothing about even the more popular songs to come from this album, so this is all just theories.

Aside from the lyrics I actually really like the sound of this song. It has this really poppy feel with distorted vocals. It’s extremely similar to the work shown in My Back Is Killing Me Baby, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this song was part of the inspiration for that album. Even with the minimal lyrics it’s extremely well produced for such early Car Seat Headrest, and could absolutely stand up with some of the later works of Will Toledo. 

During the second variation of lyrics, there's these background vocals that are very reminiscent of I Get Around by The Beach Boys. WIll cites The Beach Boys as a huge influence on his music, and it’s especially apparent in his earlier works. He’s stated that The Beach Boys are one of his biggest inspirations and were one of his favorite bands when he was younger. The clear influences in Car Seat Headrest’s work is something I really enjoy, because for fans who notice them they’re really cool easter eggs, and for fans who don’t they just add another dimension to the music. 

Sorry for the long break again, I’m trying to be better about working on these. 

Thank you

[nervous-young-unhuman]

his shiny customers

His Shiny Customers is another one of my favorite tracks on this album. It’s got this really sick metallic gritty sound to it mixed with these pitched withdrawn vocals. It’s another really unique sounding song with lyrics that confuse the fuck out of me. 

“Tuesday, October 20th

2009, 8:00 PM

A straight shot

Just out

Night time

How's the writing done?”

Obviously this specific date and time carries some kind of significance, but it was over six months before the release of 1 on May 1st, 2010. The line “How’s the writing done” leads me to believe it relates to the writing of the album, maybe the date the first song or this song in particular  was written or finished? Or when the album was fully written? Or maybe just a long stretch of writing for the album. Maybe it doesn’t relate to the album and he’s writing something else late at night, I can never be sure. 

“We sense, we see, we felt”

“Joe, Mike, Brandon, Ashley

Katie, Alex, Tim

And finally Joe, again sitting 'round the table

With their Poker chips”

These two sets of lyrics go hand in hand in my opinion. There’s some kind of group hangout or party happening, with names of all the people in attendance. The one thing that does stick out to me is the emphasis on “Joe” who’s mentioned twice in this line. Joe is actually a familiar name in the Car Seat Headrest timeline. While this was the first occurrence of the name, Joe is mentioned a second time in The Gun Song off of Nervous Young Man. The Gun song is split into three parts, What Joe said, What Joe’s Baby said, and the conclusion. Teens of Denial was put in the works very quickly after the release of Nervous Young Man, and this character is referenced again, most notably in the song titles “(Joe Gets Kicked Out Of School for Using) Drugs WIth Friends (But Says This Isn’t a Problem)” and “Joe Goes to School.” 

There’s no concrete proof of who Joe is. While he could very well be a real person, most people categorize him as a character or even alter ego created by Will. When you consider the personal nature of some of these songs, even just about what reads as a personal experience in Drugs With Friends, I tend to more closely align my personal ideas with Joe being an alter ego. 

When you reference the lyrics of His Shiny Customers, maybe Will is Joe here, and feels disconnected from the current situation, seeing the group from the third person rather than being an active participant in the poker or the conversation I would guess follows it. Either everyone in the group is real and this is an experience from Will, or the entire experience is fabricated and none of these people really exist, and there’s no way for me to take an opinion on either of these with such little information. 

That's much less

Than the rest

Than the rest

Than the rest

Than the rest

Than the rest

Than the rest

I really don’t know what these could mean. “That’s much less than the rest.” I am really not sure what it could be referring to. Perhaps it could be in reference to the party, saying the group as a whole is somehow less, maybe has less, has less people, or is less extreme than other groups of their age range. Will was in high school during the production of this album, so social groups were likely running rampant. 

I find the production of this song really interesting. The guitar is really sharp and prominent throughout the song, almost dominating every other aspect. Some have stated that Will even sounds younger in this track compared to others on the albums, so perhaps some pitching was used on his voice or it was just sand in a higher key. There’s also multiple layers of wills voice, one being a bit lower than the dominant high voice, so perhaps it was on purpose. Maybe that’s the voice of the Joe character, but that is an extremely far reach, even for me. 

Thank you all for your support, it really helps me keep writing knowing that people enjoy these rants

[nervous-young-unhuman]

david lynch vs the moon

Sorry for my short absence, I never planned on posting every day but I had a streak for a while. Now I am back with the 6th track on 1, David Lynch vs the moon. 

David Lynch is an American filmmaker, painter, visual artist, musician and actor. He is often labeled as being one of the first popular surrealists, and made some of the most iconic surrealist horror films of all time like Eraserhead.  He has also done a great many other artistic endeavors, such as music, art, photography and writing. In his career he has been nominated for many awards, and in 2019 won the Honorary Academy award. 

Besides horror, David Lynch is most well known for the TV show Twin Peaks, a murder mystery that aired in the 90’s. Will has publicly discussed his works, and most notably purchased the full series of Twin Peaks in his Amoeba “What’s In My Bag?” Interview. He said he hadn’t seen the whole series, but planned to. 

David Lynch vs the moon is actually a fully instrumental track. I can’t confirm off the top of my head, but I believe it’s one of the only instrumental tracks in Car Seat Headrest’s lengthy discography. We’re all aware at this point that it’s an experimental album, and this track is no different. 

David Lynch’s Twin Peaks is actually relevant here, as the track features many elements of the Twin Peaks soundtrack. It has a really interesting eerie vibe to it, like it could have fallen straight out of a pre-Y2K crime show. It has a drum beat that plays throughout with this really haunting dramaticized sound playing on repeat in different pitches. The second half of the song brings in these really sick background vocals, almost angelic in nature, that just add another layer to the track. I really enjoyed it even without lyrics, and just from the sound it’s a track I easily recognize and it tends to stick out in my mind when I reflect on the album. 

While the title may seem confusing or irrelevant, it's actually speculated to be based off of two of David Lynch’s tweets from June of 2010.

“This weekend I'm going to try to find out if I'm connected to the moon.”

“I'm pretty sure I'm connected to the moon.”

I’m not extremely familiar with the works of David Lynch, but this track reads as nothing more than a type of fan piece that relies on some of David Lynch’s influences. 

Thank you

[nervous-young-unhuman]

happy/ugly

Happy/Ugly is such an underrated song. I will always stand by the fact that the numbered albums don’t get enough praise, but this is one of the songs that really draws me to that conclusion. The songs on these albums carry so much weight and most of it goes unappreciated. The song is really strong on it’s own and can serve as a focal point for a new or old listener. 

I want to start this off by saying Happy/Ugly is an insecurity and self hatred anthem. If self-image isn’t a great topic for you, I would recommend just skipping the rest of this because that’s what I will be focusing on. These are the ramblings of a kid just yelling out everything he doesn’t like about himself. It’s an extremely personal song, but it’s a great representation of the emotion that continues through the entire Car Seat Headrest discography. I don’t want to sit here and try to explain why he doesn’t like these things or why he thinks the way he does about himself. There's no reason for it, everyone just feels differently about themselves, especially as a young person. 

“(Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to me

Don't love me, talk to-)”

I read this line two different ways. The first is exactly how it’s written. He doesn’t want someone to love him, he wants somebody to talk to. I think most people feel that way, they want to be heard before they’re loved. How can you really feel loved if you don’t even feel like you have someone to talk to or someone who will listen? I believe some of the yearning that comes as a young person wanting to be in a relationship is wanting to be heard by someone who will always be there for you. The other way is just more so the weirdness of my brain. It could also be read as a run off sentence, kind of like don’t love me OR talk to me. Maybe he’s embarrassed by something and doesn’t want to be perceived by anyone. When you use just the most basic grammar skills this doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s just another way of looking at it. 

“I like to smile, but I don't like to see my mouth

I like to laugh, but I don't like to hear my laugh

I like to dance, but I don't like to see me dance

I like to smile, but I don't like to see my mouth”

I really really love these lyrics. Just based off of my own feelings about myself they’re so encompassing of insecurity. When you look in a mirror, you’re confronted with all of these feelings and ideas about how you’re perceived and the way you perceive yourself, but a lot of the time when you step away you kind of forget about it all. At least in my experience when I distract myself from all of the thinking, I can move past being insecure in the moment. 

“Cause I'm so happy, I'm so ugly

(I guess I should clean my face and)

I'm so happy, but I'm so ugly

(I guess I should cut my hair and)

I'm so happy, I'm so ugly yeah!

(I guess I should shut the fuck up)”

This sequence is really interesting to me. I think it shows that you can have issues with your self confidence without being actually depressed. While self-esteem issues can be a symptom of depression, they can coexist without each other. You can be a generally happy person who is insecure. The parentheses are also interesting. The first two I guess are like easy fixes? Little things you can do to “improve” how you look or just generally make yourself feel better and more confident. The last one turns on this, and he just thinks he should be quiet I relate to that feeling, when I get really down on myself about my appearance and the way I present myself I always feel like I should just shut the fuck up. Having low self confidence to me feels so annoying. I feel lame for not liking myself which I guess can be a motivator? But usually I just try to chase the feelings away with some other distraction or do something to make me feel like I look better. It doesn’t fix the real issue, but it works in the moment. 

The rest of the song just repeats those last two verses in two more sets. That’s something interesting to me in these early albums, a lot of the songs are built upon repetition of verses. I think it helps drive in whatever point is trying to be made. That’s how I feel about music sometimes, it has a message and it just wants to tattoo it into your skull. I love music that wants to tell you something, it’s so passionate and gritty. I firmly believe that not all music needs meaning. Music can be fun and enjoyable and just sound cool, but lyrics make it more memorable and form a kind of bond between you and the song. 

The musical composition of this song is so interesting. It’s built upon a lot of layers and different vocal effects. Some of the lyrics are even reversed. It’s a great listening experience and a song that you have to listen to with the intent to listen to it, or else you’ll be quick to let it slip by. There’s a roundness, yet sharpness to the sound. It comes back around if that makes sense, but it sounds very sharp and cuts through. Will’s actual vocals also have a lot of reverb? If that's the right word. The vocals tend to drown at points to the music, then come out on top. I really love this album because of moments like that, it just makes it that much more unique.

Thank you <3

[nervous-young-unhuman]

cesare the somnambulist

This is actually my second time writing this analysis because of additional information I stumbled upon while revising and editing the first draft. The first time I was completely lost. I had no idea what any of it meant, and was basically shooting in the dark to make it work. 1 has a very confusing origin, with little information on the internet and little interest from most people in finding any. Of course, much of this is due to Will at the time of the release trying to separate his personal identity to the music. 

In previous Will Toledo projects (notably Nervous Young Men) he had actually done some online promo for those albums, and was vocal about their release. When writing for Car Seat Headrest, he wanted some privacy and let the music do what the music did. Of course eventually he had to come forth, but originally he never really intended for anyone to notice these albums. 

The most notable part of this song is the title. Somnambulism is defined as sleepwalking, so a somnambulist would be one who sleepwalks. The first time the title has significance is in a 1920 German silent horror film titled The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  The premise of this movie is that a hypnotist uses a somnambulist to commit a series of murders. The somnambulist is of course named Cesare. The second and final time I can find this title to have any significance is from a track on Bill Nelson’s 1981 album Das Kabinett also titled Cesare the Somnambulist. This track and the rest of the album was recorded at The Echo Observatory and was composed for a theater production of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 

Upon listening to both tracks I can tell that the Car Seat Headrest version was heavily inspired by that of Bill Nelson. I’m unsure if the sound is similar to the original film, as I have yet to watch it (But it’s free on YouTube if you’re interested). Aside from this, The Car Seat Headrest version is said to be sampled from an earlier Nervous Young Men song, The Nite Owl. In my opinion, Cesare the Somnambulist sounds more like it was sampled from the Bill Nelson version as opposed to The Nite Owl, but I digress. 

When looking at it from my limited knowledge of the film, some of the lyrics do make more sense. 

“They got me

They got me”

In the end of the film, it is revealed that Caligari is behind the string of murders in the town. Caligari is also the director of an insane asylum. Some of the people of the town, a prominent member of this being Francis, who are investigating Caligari discover his obsession with an 11th century monk of the same name, and realize Caligari is copying the monk who did the same thing across northern Italy. The townspeople call the police, and Caligari attacks one of the staff resulting in him becoming a patient of his own asylum. At least, that's the ending of Francis’ story. A twist ending lands on Caligari’s version, where both Cesare and Francis are simply patients of the asylum and it appears that Francis has made it all up. 

“Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic”

“Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnn plastic”

I’m not sure where this falls into the place of the story, perhaps it’s representative of some ramblings of Francis. Maybe it represents artificiality. When you have been led through the entire story to believe Caligari is operating as a murderer but it’s actually a story made up by Francis. Of course, it could mean nothing. Some kind of experimental ramblings from a 17 year old trying to make a record he doesn’t want anyone to hear. 

“Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh

Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go go

Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh

Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go go”

I’m also unsure of where these lyrics fall into the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s just day dreams of a patient wanting to be free. Maybe it’s more personal to Toledo. Perhaps it represents some kind of desire he has, maybe freedom. Being able to do what he wants. He’s obviously referring to another person, whether it be a person of interest or just a companion. Of course I haven’t seen the movie, so maybe it has something to do with the plot. 

“Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh, oh

(Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go, go)

Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh, oh

(Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go, go)

Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh, oh

(Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go, go)

Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh, oh

(Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go, go)

Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh, oh

(Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go, go, go)

Meet me at the farm and we'll go down at the studio, oh, oh

(Meet me at the farm and we'll eat some cherries and we'll go)”

The idea really doesn’t change, it’s the same lyrics with some variance in the actual song. I would like to watch the movie some time in the future to see if it has any kind of meaning or see if I can find any information on what it could mean aside from it. 

I really love the sound that this song produced. It’s got a lot of strain and some cool background effects, it almost reminds me of the sounds of a silent film. 1 in general can be described as a very experimental album, as a lot of Car seat Headrest is. It’s built upon so many different sounds, each one different then the last. It’s a very interesting album to listen to in my opinion, individually you could never imagine how all of these songs and ideas fit together, but once they’re lined up they just do. 

Thank you <3

[nervous-young-unhuman]

big jacket

Big jacket is arguably the most famous song to come off of 1. It’s been a recurring song in Car Seat Headrest’s discography, but actually dates back to The Loudness War, a 2009 project by Nervous Young Man (aka Will Toledo). Big Jacket later appears as track 16 on a later Car Seat Headrest album, Nervous Young Men. 

Before I start I would like to give a content warning for talks of suicide towards the end of this piece, and i will mark right before and after if you would like to skip. Please take care of yourself and if you’re dealing with thoughts of suicide, please reach out, you’re loved and valued. 

Upon first glance, the lyrics may seem insignificant, but I believe they could have a number of deeper meanings. While the song details the subject giving all of his possessions away, the why is what sticks out. Why is he giving all of his things away? Obviously this is of some kind of significance based off of the sheer number of times it appears in the CSH timeline. 

“You can have my iPod

You can have my guitar

You can have my drum set

You can have my car”

Honestly I can’t pull much out of this. Perhaps it could have something to do with Will giving away what he uses to make music, a way of giving away his vulnerability. Maybe he’s no longer able to express himself, maybe he feels like he doesn’t need to. Maybe he’s just giving away something of value, both personally and of monetary value. 

“You can have my CDs

You can have my DVDs

You can have my refrigerator”

CDs and DVDs can go together, sharing his interests and things that can make up traits of his personality, or just things he personally enjoys. I do have a broader theory for this, but I’m going to expand on it a little later. The refrigerator is the line that catches me. Why would he give away his refrigerator? This is another line that can be made sense of a little bit later on. 

“You can have my secret collection of pornography

You can have my secret collection of marijuana”

I actually really enjoy this line, and I feel like it adds some value to the song. He’s giving away his secrets and vulnerability. Either this is somebody he trusts, or someone he no longer cares about hiding from. His most personal items are no longer personal, he’s ripping away his privacy and sharing this with someone else. Maybe it’s just weed and porn, but it’s significant that he would include them. In my opinion, it’s a way to achieve a kind of full transparency. 

“You can have the keys to my house

You can have my house

You can have my cat

As long as you promise to feed him every day

And let him out when he needs it”

Now he’s giving away his entire house. Everything inside is just another piece of his life that he is willing to part with. This other person or other idea has full ownership over everything he has, and he’s okay with it. This is somebody he trusts or somebody who has come upon this, which will make more sense in just a few paragraphs. 

“The cat's left eye is nothing to worry about

Um, the pigment - the left eye is turning from green to brown

It's nothing to worry about

It's nothing to worry about

It's nothing to worry about

It's nothing to worry about”

I feel like this is more simple than anything. A sense of familiarity with his belongings. Even though he’s giving it all away, he knows the story behind it. Someone looking in wouldn’t know why the cat’s eye is the way it is, he has to tell them. Most of his personal items will have some kind of story, to everyone else it’s just stuff. Words pushed together with no meaning until somebody steps in and gives it one. Isn’t that what music is anyways? Words with meanings, words that represent something bigger than yourself, an idea or a feeling. He reassures this person that it isn’t anything to worry about, the cat is alright, but only he knows this. 

“You can have the trophies

I found in the trash can

You can have the trophies

We won in the bathtub”

This is another lyric that has questionable meaning. I see it as this person can have the garbage of significance to oneself. Trophy doesn’t have to mean a literal trophy, it can just be a piece of memorabilia, a memory of a memory. Just little things collected over a lifetime.

“You can have my books

You can have my games, collectors

You can have my clothes

You can have my furniture”

Throughout the first few verses of the song Will is giving away increasingly more valuable possessions, and in this verse he starts to lump in more general items, clothes and furniture. I think the line “You can have my games, collectors” is really interesting. Does he expect for his possessions to be given away eventually, or be sold to just another collector. I think it’s interesting to consider what the effects of someone possessing all of these things would be. You can’t hold onto it forever.

“You can have my piano

You can have my other piano

You can have my curtains

You can have my lampshades

You can have my rolls of duct tape”

Similar to above, he’s giving away everything he owns. I want to elaborate on this at the end, so I will just move on until I can shed more light on why these words mean anything. 

“You can have my

Big jacket

You won't get cold when you're wearing

My big jacket”

“You can have my

Big jacket

You won't get cold with

My big jacket”

The final lines offer an item of comfort, Will’s big jacket. He wants to protect this person and keep them warm. Even if it means that he will be cold himself, it doesn’t seem to matter if the person he cares about is warm. 

Now onto my two personal theories. One of these could be that the song is about love. When examined from the perspective of love, he is so infatuated with them he would give them everything he owns. This theory tends to be more popular in the fandom, and provokes a great conversation and ideas about young love. If you love someone, you would do absolutely anything to make them happy and feel cared for, even if it means to give up everything you have. When you love someone you feel as if you can go without and it doesn’t mean anything. When you’re really in love anything feels possible. The early works of Car Seat Headrest chronicle young love, heartbreak and the pain and ups and downs of getting older and going through life. That’s something I really love about CSH’s music, it’s real and has so much feeling and emotion in it.

TW

My other theory and one that is met with some support in the community as well. This being that the song is about suicide. It does make a lot of sense. The entire premise of the song is that every single one of his possessions is being given away. If one were to commit, you would want all of your belongings to be taken care of, and why not leave them to someone you care about. If you die, even personal things like collections are there collecting dust, bound to be sold to a collector at the end of the day. This can cause a lot of pain and hurt for the people they’re left to, they don’t have the capacity to keep it but wouldn’t want to part with it. In the end, the person it’s left with is left with a jacket, an item of comfort and remembrance since it’s not needed anymore. While it may keep them warm, it will never be the same. It’s a really really sad idea, and quite honestly one I hope isn’t true. Just know there is someone out there who loves you and would be heartbroken to see you go, even if it feels like you’re all alone. 

TW over

Aside from the lyrical content, the song is great musically. It’s gritty and strained, with acoustic guitar throughout. It’s really dynamic and is a really unique part of the album. Something I love about old CSH is just the rawness and emotion of a young person who has something to say. Young people are the future of the music industry and some of the most creative voices we have. I really appreciate the early work of Will, it’s heartfelt and personal, like the look into the inside of a developing mind.

Thank you so much for reading.

[nervous-young-unhuman]

ah r u gonna make commentary on all of 1 bc if so im exited

yes! i’m actually planning to make commentary on every single song, and possibly dive deeper into the beach trilogy and such! im really glad you’re excited!

[nervous-young-unhuman]

good sunday

Next on Car Seat Headrest’s debut album is Good Sunday. This track brings a lot more to the table lyrically as to the previous (that being Tybee Island horse ghost), and is in fact musically, one of my favorite songs on the album. 1 is in my unprofessional opinion, a very raw album. Will can even be quoted on the album's bandcamp saying that if he had known anyone would have listened to the album, he would have never released it. This leads to a lot of interesting commentary from the perspective of a young man who is starting to become an adult, and the trials and tribulations that follow this. 

The song starts strong, opening with these lyrics. 

“Am I going mad?

I feel like walking into traffic

Oh shit I think I am

I need to learn how to be online”

This appears to be a look into Will's descent into “madness”, which is likely some form of mental struggle. He says he feels like walking into traffic, which further solidifies the idea that he is struggling mentally with an urge to do something to put himself in danger. This doesn’t have to mean suicide, but perhaps an urge to harm himself or let go of control. He follows by “snapping out of it” and claiming to be going crazy by having these sorts of intrusive thoughts. He says he needs to learn how to be online, maybe the past lyrics could be a struggle in dealing with having a social media presence, which, though not at the scale it is today, Will likely had at the time of the album’s release. 

“Jesus we love you

And we adore you

Spirit we love you

And we forgive you

Jesus we love you

And we adore you

Spirit we love you

And we destroy you”

Religion can have a million different themes in music. While Will did grow up in the Presbyterian church, he hasn’t spoken on his current personal religious beliefs, and I will not be speaking on behalf of him or speculating on the topic. I am only looking at this from the perspective of a 17 year old Will Toledo. Aside from this, Will did study religion academically. He minored in it along with a major in English at William and Mary. There isn’t much information or speculation online of a possible meaning to these lyrics. I don’t know a lot about religion personally, so my apologies if anything I state is incorrect. Of course it could have nothing to do with religion at all, only using Jesus as an example of one higher and holier than thyself. I do take interest in the change from “Spirit we love you and we forgive you” to “Spirit we love you and we destroy you.” This again can be taken as spirit in oneself, or a kind of Holy Spirit. It could also in some ways mock traditional hymns and songs traditionally sung in churches, which usually reflect the religions beliefs and have some kind of religious message. Or it’s some kind of warped way of getting to the top and then being destroyed by the people who brought you there . Loving Jesus but destroying the spirit, whether that be one that is holy or one’s personal spirit I’m unsure and urge you to decide for yourself, whatever means the most to you. That’s an important idea for all of these, I don’t want to come off and say that I’m right, these are just my interpretations as someone who enjoys Car Seat Headrest. 

Now we move to another verse. 

“Oh my god

No one wants to know what you’re saying ’til you’re speaking in code

(No one wants to know what you’re saying ’til you’re speaking in code) [reversed]

No one wants to know what you’re saying until you’re speaking in code”

I also really enjoy this lyric. Maybe it’s a way of saying nobody cares what you have to say until they don’t understand what you’re saying. When it becomes impossible to drown out the background noise we’re accustomed to, when it’s something we’ve never heard before, we take more time to stop and listen and perhaps try to understand. The use of a reversed lyric is also very interesting, maybe a way to grab the listeners attention and instantly prove his point, nobody cared to know what he was saying until it was said in a way that wasn’t understandable. This is something I think of as an interactive lyric, WIll isn’t just singing out what he thinks, he’s proving to you that he stands correct on the issue. 

The chorus of Jesus and the spirit is repeated 3 more times, except for the very last line. Traditionally it is “And we destroy you” which is still said, but in this set destroy you is reversed. Likely to refer to the previous verse. It’s an interesting way to maintain the theme in an album that quite honestly bounces all over the place (and not in a bad way, it’s really good chaos). 

The next part is what really grabbed my attention and is possibly the most memorable part of the song in my opinion. It’s a piece of spoken commentary and is read as follows. 

“Eugene Debs was the... socialist presidential candidate in the uh, election between him, Taft, Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt

Nobody told me that my earbuds were exposed to the elements”

I really love this line and I honestly have no idea why. It’s just some ramblings of a young Toledo, and I have no clue what it means or how it relates. I don’t want to try and pull a meaning out of it, I think it should be preserved in its natural state. The only information I could find on it was a small note on the Genius music page (which has now been viewed by a mighty 11 people!), which was only the word socialist highlighted with a note of “based.” Thank you for the laugh whoever you are. 

(And suddenly we’re driving across the ocean) [reversed]

The last line of the song is actually a sample from an earlier project of an even younger Toledo called Nervous Young Men. It’s taken from a song called AC, which details a bus ride he had taken. 

Next is a little on the actual musical elements of the song. It’s fairly monotone and moody, but enjoyable. The entire album was produced on Will’s laptop, which provides some interesting sounds. I don’t know how to describe the way I hear it, it's like stretching a rubber band as far as it will go then slowly returning it to normal. There’s nothing snappy and sharp about it, but it has its own curves which give it a really cool vibe overall. I know nothing about music production, I just like the sounds, and this album has a lot of them. I like the grain that the spoken part has, it reminds me of audio from an old family video camera, enough so to where I can picture this very camera. There’s a lot of really sick recording techniques and such and I wish I knew more about what they all meant, but alas I’ll just listen to them and enjoy what I hear. 

Thank you a lot for reading this, I hope you’re enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing.

[nervous-young-unhuman]

tybee island horse ghosts

I began my journey into the first track of Car Seat Headrest’s first album with research. I quite honestly still have no idea how Tybee Island falls into the life of WIll Toledo, but it is a real place. Tybee Island is a small island located near Savannah, Georgia and is apparently a popular beach destination in the state. With some TripAdvisor reviews I discovered two things. 1) Savannah, Georgia is one of the most haunted cities in America, and 2) Tybee Island is definitely (allegedly) haunted. A lot of the island seems to center around an old lighthouse, where lots of people have reported paranormal experiences from inside. Aside from this it's actually a pretty average, innocent beach town that really doesn’t have a lot going on, but iIf anyone knows how Will ties into Tybee I would be interested to hear.

Now onto the actual music. I will never understand the hate that 1 gets. Controversially the numbered albums are some of my favorite works of Car Seat Headrest. There’s something so gut wrenching about the rawness of them. If your reasoning for disliking the numbered albums or any of Car Seat Headrest’s early work is the production quality you are one of the most annoying people on the planet. This album was produced by Toledo in the back of his car at 17, of course you aren’t going to get the studio quality you desperately crave for reasons I will never be able to understand. Believe it or not but the album is just good and that's okay.

Lyrically the song is pretty empty. It consists of two verses and then the word asteroid repeated multiple times after each verse. Some have claimed the lyrics to be a reference to The Little Prince, but this remains unconfirmed by Toledo, and I will not be examining the lyrics from that perspective. When reading the lyrics in the first verse, I see it as someone has died. 

“When I look at the sky at night

I can hear you laughing on your star

All the other stars laugh along with me

I can hear them from down there”

Perhaps Toledo believes this person to be looking down on him and laughing. Whether the laughing is of comfort or of spite is up to your interpretation. Upon first reading them I had assumed it was of a spiteful manor, but after some consideration it could also be a comforting laugh, some other worldly joy that has come after death. Either way they're laughing together and Will can “hear them” from the earth. This is what leads me to believe it is laughing out of spite, the sting of being talked about behind your back and everyone reacting like it’s the best thing they’ve heard. I guess this theory also comes from the shame I feel from many Car Seat Headrest lyrics. 

After this asteroid is repeated 6 times. I am not entirely sure of my own thoughts of why this occurs. Maybe it represents some kind of mental explosion, a breaking point of sorts. Maybe it references a death, but I haven’t been able to find any discussion on them. When reading the next lyric I start to channel my thinking into death. 

“When it's over all the lights go out

But let's stay and watch the credits

Let's move over a little and watch the sunset

Tybee Island horse ghosts”

“When it’s all over and the lights go out” is the lyric I’m most heavily drawn to. I’m not sure why, but I take it as it represents some kind of life after death. Could these Tybee Island horse ghosts be some lost souls who ended up in Tybee? Are they there observing from the background for an eternity, watching the ending of life as one big movie? The “credits” could be the ending of a day or a life being watched by some force greater than humans. The lyrics, or lack of them, leave many questions for me, but maybe that’s how it should be. Death is a mystery to all those who are living, maybe the lack of information is some kind of metaphor for the little we know about what’s next. 

Asteroid is repeated 18 times after the second and final verse, in 3 sets of 6. I don’t believe the meaning to change from my original theory, maybe this time it represents some kind of closure or acceptance, but that doesn’t really lead anywhere. Maybe these horse ghosts have just accepted the hit, it’s inevitable at this point so why try to fight it. 

Beyond the lyrics is the actual musical composition of the song. It’s sharp and metallic and gritty which is something that is seen a lot in the early work of CSH. There’s also a lot of background noise, including talking, with words I can’t make out. There’s some subtle acoustic guitar throughout the duration of the song as well. Sitting at 4:55 it’s actually one of the longest songs on the album, only beat out by kid war and mortgages for veterans. I actually was really impressed by the musical composition of the song, it’s extremely unique and very impressive for Will only being 17 at the time of its release. 

There is so much that has gone unknown about 1, and the numbered albums in general. Even in online spaces centered around the band the discussions of them are few and far between. I wish more was known about these albums and the thought and meaning behind all of the songs, but I hope I have managed to open someone’s mind to further investigate what these lyrics and others could possibly mean. If you know anything I haven’t mentioned please feel free to share it with me. I want to give all of Car Seat Headrest’s work the recognition it deserves, but I definitely don’t know everything. Thank you for reading and hopefully joining me on this journey through the many works of Car Seat Headrest.

[nervous-young-unhuman]

hi

i don’t really know how tumblr works but i’ve romanticized it to myself since i was like 10 so now i’m here. i love car seat headrest and want to share my thoughts song by song with the world. i think i’m overly pretentious but that’s alright. anyways my name is spencer. you’re probably cooler then me but i’ll pretend that doesn’t bother me. thanks for reading this if you do. i hope you find some value in what i have to say.