The Most Difficult Song to Understand by Aesop Rock (Dryspell)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- You asked for it, and here it is, Aesop Rock's Dryspell. Almost line for line. I try and break down every section of the song as best I can to get a better understanding of the meaning behind the song. I only heard it a few times before but over the last month I have probably heard it 200 more times.
I want to give a special thanks and shout out to my friend, Brock Berrigan who allowed me to use his music in the video, I strongly urge you to look into his music.
Songs in the video (other than Dryspell) are all by Brock Berrigan.
Sea Breeze
Michelin Star
Brockstreet boys
Sand Island
Thanks again.
What do you guys think of the new setup?
Love it boss
Its beautiful. Adds a great deal of dimension to the visuals. Love it
I like the setup, video editing, and thoughtful commentary on your interpretation of Aes' lyrics. Only problem I have is the lyrics on the green screen are wildly inaccurate. Several parts of the video in trying to figure out what you're reacting to, but so many things don't match up. Anything besides lyrics from Genius are usually wrong, so hopefully you can have the correct lyrics displayed next time. Great videos otherwise!
@@tlingitsoldier agreed. I used genius initially but to get a clean image from the site was so hard even with ad blockers it was a polluted mess of advertisements. I'll probably just type em up
@@shanemcdaniels Fair points. I also hate how many ads Genius runs on their site. It looks clean for me with uBlock Origin on desktop, but it's a mess on mobile, so I understand not always getting consistent results. Keep up the good content 🙏
Aesop is hands down one of the best if not the best in word play! Pull out your dictionaries and thesaurus and get ready to learn big words, adverbs, ect. Then to understand Aesop your gonna have to listen to each song a million times dissect it and probably still not get it until he tells you himself! love it! Eyedea is another (RIP) amazing pen and artist that is untouchable!
Nearly every song is the most difficult song to fully comprehend lol
I'll just add " so far" say the end of every video 😂
It just takes a few months of replays to truly "get it"
It’s not I’m doing just fine understanding are u putting in effort?
I sometimes laugh at Aesop's abstract wording. I know he's usually taking a normal phrase then making it as esoteric as possible (maybe for fun or to mess with people or both). But when you sit there and think about it it becomes clear what he's saying. I kind of miss how wordy his lyrics used to be but from an interview he said it was hard to perform his old content.
Nice breakdown, man.
Awesome analysis and insights. I agree with your observations about him being secretive in some of his meanings, but that there are levels to it. He has been accused of just saying words, but has stated that there’s meaning behind it all. I find the more familiar you are with his lyrics the more connections you make with other tracks due to his tendency to use recurring themes like hating normal jobs, being a loner, being a monster or cryptid, etc. I think you’re pretty spot on and that after another 30 or 40 listens you’ll have the finer points worked out. Lol. In “Getaway Car” he says “How you gonna pay the rent day-job free? Make rap records, matter of fact, thanks, peace.” and “How To Be A Carpenter” is a much clearer statement of his perspective on the subject.
I’m subscribed. Aes is so far overlooked by almost everyone doing breakdowns worth checking out and as far as I’m concerned he’s the one who’s writing offers the biggest epiphanies and the most rewarding outcomes when you reach a point of understanding.
I’ve been listening to him obsessively since November 12, 2019. I was on the way to see Hozier at The Wang Theater in Boston with my brother and my son. On the way in my brother played “Shrunk” and it blew me away. I mostly worked forward from “Impossible Kid”, but then worked backwards from his newer stuff. I’m only just now really deep diving “Bazooka Tooth” in my journey backwards through his catalog and it’s incredible to consider how far ahead he was of everything else that was happening in rap when it came out 20 years ago. I think he’s the most slept-on, underrated rapper out there and I’m always interested in other people’s observations and insights. I look forward to more breakdowns.
Thank you!
I dont care how little the lyrics make sense, the flow is what captures me. So many good Aes lines out there.
I revisit these older videos every so often to see if I pick up on something new and this is the only one I havent been able to learn anymore from. Flows nutty for sure
your channel makes me want to do aesop rock essays too 😂
good job
i disagree with almost all of your interpretations but none of us are aesop rock so 🤷♀️
R.I.P. but imo Eyedea is super overrated
lol me too and I still enjoy it
Your setup is Nice. Without the drywall - gives the actual space more dimension for us to vibe in while we watch you work on these.
Thanks man, I worked hard on putting that barstool in the right spot
His older stuff is harder to understand than his new stuff, mainly because his voice is much clearer on his records now.
@16:30 ish So the Pebbles toss that those who had too much opulence AKA showy luxury, in their cockpit wasted while they were just out exhausting drunk address AKA out being a loud drunk…The pebbles toss is from a fable written by Aesop called ‘The Crow & the Pitcher’ Where in order to get water out of this long-necked pitcher, the birds toss pebbles in & the water gets high enough for the birds to drink. I think Aesop is talking about it more in terms of the weight of each pebble. That they're wasting the impact they could have had, they could’ve helped, made things better but they wasted their pebble toss & it just sunk
'Oppulence in the cockpit not the pocket born with a pebble toss' to me means he finds wealth in the flight of his endevour. But as he throws himself into his art he finds it exhausting tryna get his version of poetry across (drunken address)
I’m starting to feel like I’m the only person who understands this man I just want him to know that there is someone out there that gets it and all his works isn’t in vain 😢
Big Aes fan here, going through your Aesop videos. I really appreciate these breakdowns. This is the kind of dissection his music deserves!
For real, good to see the love for Aesop.
Thanks for starting the excavation and with a genuine place of fascination. Its fr inspirational too see. Keep up the work homie✌
I love that your user name is a mix of two Greek icons. God of wine and the punished king
@@shanemcdaniels I appreciate that man haha, think you're the first person to outwardly notice🤘
New sub, i like your sense of humor and love Aesop so I'm here for it lol. Gonna watch some more
I appreciate it! Thanks!
Trimming the ..ends with tenants spangled across a more tangible premise - reducing the size and complexity of his world/craft leads to a world/fan base that is less complex but therefore perhaps easier to navigate.
Curdled = spoiled fool!!! Aw my first time watching and I don’t know my favorite artist!!!
I feel like Aesop doesn’t even know what he’s talking about in some of his songs, even when he describes his songs from skelethon, dude just has a simple synopsis for most of his songs, he just talks deep and detailed about small and mundane things. It took me years to accept that, I just believe that he was apathetic, on acid, and just expressing his simple emotions in the most complicated way. It trips me out but being abstract is like it’s own language, lyricism in the late 90s/early 2000s was so different, while nowadays it’s just flipping simple words and defining the most profound concepts you can find from it. Trippy
You know I somewhat agree with you, but I have this sliver of belief that he knows every line and it's meaning, because they seem to be meticulously crafted, down to the pronunciation. I've seen some interviews of old rock bands like Aerosmith, stones and stp where they have to reflect on what they wrote years ago and what they are feeling now in comparison. It's definitely communicating with two different versions of yourself
You know what I dig your observation
I can see that he had more put in it than he makes it seem. Going back to his lyrics I know there’s so much to it that even he loses sight of its specific meaning. With that said I think he just wanted to portray himself as less profound in his lyrical breakdowns partially because he’s already an isolated human being and also cause he may want to leave it up
To interpretation. Either way I can’t imagine what his mind was on when he created the songs.
Like “greatest pac man victory in history” is other worldly shit, mama really did a whole verse where every word stood for LSD lmao I swear this man was on another planet lmao
This is my favorite album. Labor days is nice too
If you look around the tubescape you'll notice there aren't many aesop rock analytical essays. The most abstract song I've seen (before this) is "cycles to gehenna." So kudos for taking on the challenge that not many will. Love to see it.
You make some of the best aesop rock reaction content I have ever seen the effort you put into understand him is extremely appreciated by a fan because it is the point of his music he is trying to be cryptic and he is trying to write stuff only for him but if you do the work understand it what you get in return is the most honest and vulnerable artist you have ever listened to so please keep going I want to see the moment you've learned the language he's speaking
Thank you! If there's anything you want me to look into, Im taking suggestions, doesn't have to be Aesop but anything is welcomed, thanks for watching!
@@shanemcdaniels Gopher Guts it's a song about parenting styles and their results
@@shanemcdaniels I love your attention to his every word! Definitely keep at it with Aes but Deca is another artist who is worth checking out. His stuff is more straightforward but is still full of brilliant lines! Try Tuning, Mammon's Mantra or Dreams to start off with!
@@shanemcdaniels oxygen is a must
@@Kake_Mixhey, wish granted
7:52 the actual lyric there is 'The broken spoke cyclers choking open Doctor Zaius born fetus
In a matchbox keylessly padlocked to the hammer base'
Not sure what the planet of the apes reference is for
The effort to understand Aesop is good... However... anytime you're trying to pick apart this group of artists including Aesop... Atmosphere... Eyedea... Sage Francis... Etc... You have to understand the existentialism that goes into their craft... As in... These guys go deeeeeep.... We're talking Esoteric knowledge on the meaning of existence... Egyptian Alchemy... Etc... They are on a level of thought that most people can't even comprehend... And so they go with what their mind comprehends... Like Aesop doesn't want to live 9-5... Now he may be referencing the slave nature of corporate aristocracy... But knowing Aesop it's probably more in line with understanding human psychology and Archetypes as well as using clever word play to disguise the hidden metaphors that litter his songs.
What this guy said. Also “AES” is SUUUPER cynical and was very depressed during most if not all of his early work.
The city in a bottle is a imprisoned city the next line after that is about how he keeps his music clean not supporting the dungeons function
the song is about it having been a while since he got some
If you haven't yet, I'd love to see you cover Jazz Hands or Rings by him, love the video, glad I found your channel
This song mirrors Daylight
"pop your knuckles when the style divorces vertical" sounds more like a skate thing, like, when the style goes back to the street it's gonna take some serious work, so crack your knuckles to prepare?
He's just looking out of his window and depressed.
It is about relationships. He is alone, and he sees others in the city engaging in love and peer pair bonding.
Fantastic presentation!
I'M A PLUMBER TOO! Love your stuff dude. I'm an instant fan of your channel. Keep it coming
One thing I would say that I thought you missed is "knuckle dragger" Ian is always referencing "knuckle draggers" so I think when he says something about drop your knuckles, I think he's saying dumb yourself down. Or referencing becoming stupid or something along those lines.
@9:15 Yeah I started to think of his 1st 8 bars or the first verse as almost like a memory of a fever dream he had & he's kind of working it out in his head or a childhood memory. Where no one is supposed to get it but it’s the thing that causes the actions he takes in verse 2 & 3 it's like he's working it out in his head, then he exposes the thing that’s causing him to be thinking of this personal thing & in verse 3 he lets us know what he’s doing about it & invites us along. THAT’S WHY I ALSO THINK SOME OF IT IS DONE SECRETIVE ON PURPOSE BECAUSE IT'S HOW YOU WEED PEOPLE OUT. he wants people the people that are going to join him in his bunker to really really want to be there. If we’re in the bunker it’s cuz shiz is going down & he want to be surrounded w/ people who feel passionately about what those in the bunker want to protect/defend. if they're going to take up resources & be in the trenches with us he needs to assure their loyalty to the cause, which is generally seeking/creating beauty. So I don't think he's doing it to be braggadocious or cruel, or laugh at the idiots, it's a way of getting the message to the people who need it bc they’re seeking it out that fervently.
To describe how you feel needs no relevance to "real life" its all real
20 View Crew
@@eugenecaudill5361 yoooo
Rav i saw your annotations on genius earlier today! I was on there editing hall of game
@@OracleTheRonin ur so dope!! I'M GONNA CHECK UR ANNOTATION NOW!Hall of Game in my Top 10 Fave Aesop's for sure!! On Blockhead's Soundcloud there's a better mastering of it but still pretty rough! I was on Genius yesterday looking at 'Kill the Messanger' cuz i was gonna do breakdown & even tho it's been in my Top 25 for 15+ years, 30 % of it i don't have a common/general reference to point to just dope vivid ponderings!! LOL & then on Genius it's like 9% annotated. nobody touching it! i did lame vid trying to write the lyrics to Hall of Game b4 they online but i should'v planned it better but just showing how we used to have get aesop's lyric b4 they were online, just rewind, rewind, rewind dot dot dot
just found your channel, dig 🫂
i think this particular track is much about getting 🐈 not getting = a dryspell
.this may open up an ENTIRELY new approach amd many metaphor will make sense.
anyways - the dooest MC by FAR. and if anyones gonna oick anyone, you picked the 🏆🙏🏻💰
Aesop usually references "verticl" to be oriented to the "heavens" or something divine or higher.
Have you listened to the whole Appleseed EP? 1000 deaths is incredible too 'sweet christ crucify me with railroad spikes use my skull to bash em all in, gather sit and grin'
7:28 Aes was likely talking about his self proclamed 'failed' attempt to become a painter.
@7:40 ‘mark the blasphemy…’ is about how the Masons wasted all this energy just harming themselves, so he’s taking note of it & sees it as blasphemy. Blasphemy when people do things to keep them safe/protected but they're hurting themselves & denying themselves the things that are theirs, aka freedom, joy. & the funny shiz about the Dr Zeus line is that for a decade i wish he had said anything else, i even edited the line out when i did an abridged version for 2min city council comments. But within the last year or two it's become like one of the most amazingly moving lines in the song cuz the broken spoke cyclist are people who just keep saying the same thing over & over & over again & they’re causing this new life to form from the Dr Z fetus being padlocked to the hammerbase so when it’s beat over the head by these cyclist a big bang will happen, a spark, an electrical surge so the fetus is zapped/banged into something else. I NOW CALL THE LINES I DON' T REALLY LIKE, HIDDEN TREASURES BC THEY ARE THE LINES THAT BECOME SACRED TO ME BUT IT NORMALLY TAKES 5-10yrs. Now that i recognize em faster it doesn't take that long!
Long Live Aesop Rock.
*R.EYE.P EYEDEA*
When the style divorces vertical = shit goes sideways.
You'd like Eyedea
The world has no Eyedea. Aesop falls second to E&A for me but they're both my constant playlist. My top 2 songs are Eyedea's by the throat and Aesop's gopher guts
@@ShonGarner-ux6ip I agree with you definitely Eyedea has so many deeper spiritual more meaningful songs I think, I can't say either one's better really though just different style. Very very similar definitely but Eyedea just hits on a different level , he speaks to my soul...
"pebble toss" accusation
Day Tripper Visuals is most likely referring to taking psychedelics, ALA The Beatles
Go deep and hard my friend. It's gonna be a long day . Take as much as you can then let it sink in . Today probably won't be much different.
This song is about growing up in NY on Acid and the multiple personalities you deal with on a daily basis and how to deal with life in the concrete jungle!
4:54 oh, Dauphin!
@5:48 ‘drop ur knuckles’ again a line that has a whole spectrum of interpretations & i loved ur but Aes references knuckles dropping in a few tracks & usually it’s about becoming a neanderthalish oaf, a knuckle-dragger is def as an unevolved human.
Yeah he's basically just saying how much smarter he is than everyone listening 'drop your knuckles when the style divorces vertical, marvelling at the spite with which it curdles'
Everyone turns to apes in comparison to his raps, another similar line to the styles divorcing is 'I posses two siamese styles that's like connected at the mic hollering monsterous' from Antisocial
here is a comment for our overlords the TH-cam Algorithm.
Carnival is clockwork land.
I think the first verse is about the ppl who live in their life everyday programed to do the same thing everyday...i think hes talking about a simulation
The other 2 songs in my top 3 along w/ Dryspell are Big Bang & it was Hall of Game b4 Marble Cake came out & now there's a tie for 3rd. Just in case u were looking for guidance in what songs to breakdown next (wink wink) Big Bang was 1st track of his i heard. I downloaded it from Napster over 20yrs ago & still listen to it 20 times a week. 'Hall of Game' wasn't even ever realeased on an album. Aes just posted it for free on in his newsletter. It's mastered horribly but has such dope lyrics as "we infinite like N.Y city cockroach infestations, avalanched over ur saftey dance coma, ya stareadactyl" like folks who went extinct by wishing for safety so much they spent their time just staring & watching life pass em by. Also the line "endless dignity sabbatical' dignity on a permanent vacation!! he also calls himself a 'tutor recruiter, slap-happily oblivious to nazi born-again pagan agnostic rallies'
That sounds dope as hell Where can I find this
@@cassiusvian7575 and the song & lyric books were given away by Def Jux or Aesop for free so no 'aes bootleg cd's' are being harmed in the sharing of these files
on youtube @@cassiusvian7575
Hall of Game and Bad Samaritan are two tracks which should have featured on projects for sure!
Ian, Mr. Rock, said all his stuff are metaphors for his daily experiences. He could mention drinking the waterfall that hits the rocks and this to him could mean a squirrel licking the vomit on the sidewalk. How does anyone break down Aesop? To much info. To little time
I agree, but to be fair this channel has exploded with information coming from the comment section, even your insight is propelling my knowledge and understanding along with everyone else. Together we may decode his messages
@shanemcdaniels LOL! Personally I've just found he, blockhead and sandman. All little jem not understood by the masses. I kind of hope stays pyramid like. Mysterious and unexplained. On that note every but has a take on his words. I thought your breakdown is pointfull. It's got to make him feel great that we simple folk take shots at figuring the spoken word out. The beats with his lexicon are another level and he just keeps producing the "next big thing". For those versed in Mr Rock we know no other rapper or wordsmith comes close. And that's actually not opinion, that's a fact based on the first 40,000 words he used to rap with!!
@shanemcdaniels and wait. If you want more info on who he is and what he's about keep doing break downs of his stuff. Klutz is a great one to dig at...
@shanemcdaniels what will always impress me till the scales for me in his favor as a rapper is he's talking to everyone. When e take our public disguise off we are all just people that still have to mix and coexist. There isn't a person who can't relate to some of the stuff he speaks of...
"My neighbor called me to let me know I have a musheoom growing in my car..." Find me the person who hasn't experienced that kind of stuff at 12 years old. 'Impossible Kid' kid. Relatable. From Hitler to El Chapo to my cat. He speaks to us all with sympathy, empathy and apathy
Aesopian language is a means of communication with the intention to convey a hidden meaning to members of a conspiracy or underground movement. while at the same time maintaining an innocent meaning to outsiders. I’m probably one of very few of his supporters that gets it I want to make video’s decrypting his music but I know nothing of fair use 😢 but I have a bunch of his music broken down in my notes but don’t want to put in all that effort for my favorite writer, rapper and lyricist just to have it taken down. That song is about society slowing allowing itself to be tainted there even a line in there that that express how he tries to keep his music from inducing a jail bird mentality
Aesop is fucking baaaaaae
What about "The Skinny" by Atmosphere?
Ill check it out! Looking for a reaction? My feelings on it or a breakdown?
Aesop isn’t hard to understand at all if you are understand symbolism and know how to look for it
dog at the door next
Hell yeah
@@shanemcdaniels nice
Fuck yeah
Let me help you with one metaphor that is a lil difficult to get the answer to.
A billion suckers pucker in a bind.
So for this you need to know the definition of
pucker: (especially with reference to a person's face) tightly gather or contract into wrinkles or small folds. Then you need to know which definition of bind he’s using cuz there’s a lot. Then you have to draw the correlation between what he’s saying via encoded metaphor. So I’m gonna pick the 2 that I feel make most
The most Sense
Bind: 1)to restrain (someone) by tying their hands and feet. He’s also using 2) a problematic situation. I was going to show you the rest of how to get to the answer but it will be too much typing for me so I’ll give you the answer. That line is a reference to the boomer generation (old with puckered faces puckered could also be angry face and boomers are always angry 😂the got suckered into the system essentially bonded us in shackles we can’t see. His way of saying he blames the old generation for how we’re being enslaved today. I hope I don’t sound like a nut people think I be reaching I have a gift for finding symbolic meaning and people think Aesop is rhyming just to rhyme he’s been warning us of a lot even aliens 👽
"My palms are chin rests" ....s**ts taking hella days and near impossible to get the point across or action to happen
I believe that behind the eyes and ears of your average AR reaction enjoyer lies a little S&M troll that delights in seeing other people get live brain damage. And you, sir, are most providing.
Not much left in there to damage glad you enjoy it 😂
@@shanemcdaniels birds of a feather in that respect 😆
Works both ways - I recommend Aesop to the scatterbrained, gives them something to focus on. I should know.
I've said this on other aes review channels.. when the hell will some ask HIM , what he was writing about, I've read and like another, I disagree, he is not the man to take words for face value, ive been an aes fan since the beginning when I was in my 20's, almost 50 now..i strongly recommend either asking him, or El-P , his career started in the early 2000's , so whatever y'all be talking bout is..redickerous
Believe me, I would love to, if you or someone you know has a way I can contact him, I would love to do an interview with him. I'll do a 3 hour interview with him if possible
Everything is a metaphor for something
1st, I DIG UR FORMAT LIKE A SHOVEL!! How long u let lyrics go, the way u skip to certain ones to discuss & the info u flash on screen behind u. 2nd Dryspell is in my top 3 Aesop Rock songs & I have a top 100 so that's huge. I’ve even done an abridged version as my public comment at city council meetings, stating that if teens studied his lyrics the suicide rate would drop & SO I COULD CALL COUNCIL MEMBERS A COCK PIT aka a pit full of cocks. th-cam.com/video/ndGzRdGRbrY/w-d-xo.html I look at this song as a Creator shiz talkin his creation for plugging themselves hostile. @3:35 ‘This splenders shimmy splinters…’ it's kind of like even in its splendor it's still scars his retinas ruining the day tripping hallucination he saw. The line ‘My chins are a palmrest’ is an example of one of my fave shiz in aes’s style, cuz idk what the real line is but i hear it a few diff ways & every way is still dope AF. If his chin is a palm rest he’s sitting w/ head in his hand, lackadaisical, bored even. His palms are holding his chin up. ANOTHER way i hear it is, ‘my pulse is a gymnast’ with his heartbeat doing flip flops.
Rav! Fancy seeing you here my friend.
Im a fan of your show,but man I think your interpretation of this song is way off!?! Ive been listening to his music since day one ,and listening to the music when its writing helps paint the picture better. DOPE SHOW and AMAZING CONTENT!
I still think about this particular song and wonder if I still feel the same way about it. A lot of people think my interpretation is off with this one, so you're not alone. I'd love to know how you interpreted dryspell so I could see it from another angle. Also, thank you for your support, I'm glad I could keep you entertained!
"figure out what aesop rock is talking about" good fcking luck. all that you can do is see what it means to you and let the man rock the fuck outta the rock
If we can request vidoes.... Aesop Rock Holy Waterfalls? Hook up a new subscriber??????
You can absolutely request them. I'm working on the new studio so the vids aren't coming out as fast but yes I will get around to it
Trimming the ..ends with tenants spangled across a more tangible premise - reducing the size and complexity of his world/craft leads to a world/fan base that is less complex but therefore perhaps easier to navigate.
Trimming the ..ends with tenants spangled across a more tangible premise - reducing the size and complexity of his world/craft leads to a world/fan base that is less complex but therefore perhaps easier to navigate.
I love your perspective on this line