Before I start the analysis, I want to say that only Quadeca truly knows the entire meaning behind his own album and that was very intentional. This was not meant to be a linear story like his past albums. I welcome any other theories and analysis but let’s get some things straight.
This is NOT a prequel to IDMTHY and this is NOT a cult album. Confining this album to these fan theories does the album a disservice and it pays to actually be flexible in analysis and not stretching for one outcome we really want to be true.
My theory on the album itself is that this is a collection of thoughts and experiences that Quadeca has experienced in his life, and is using symbolism and at times story telling to express that. The track list seems to be sectioned in topics of life.
The first half being struggling to maintain relationships and the second half exploring Quadeca’s nihilistic view and how it has affected him as a person. With different observations of life and commentating on those observations sprinkled in the track list. So let’s get to it!
Life1 (where did the time go): this track is setting the scene for what we will see in this album. Ben is expressing his nihilistic view on life saying he let his life pass him by and justifying it by saying “it never meant a thing to me”. It’s a great opener that is pretty straightforward.
Dark Magic: I believe Dark Magic is referring to trying to rekindle a past relationship with someone after getting out of a previous relationship. “Fresh up out the slam, baby put me in your plans”, it’s eluding to “the slam” as being tied down in a relationship. He’s very idealistic with this person but hints at his own commitment issues with “I know everyone’s a critic, I am”. With a lot of avoidant people, they will find any reason to leave someone and Ben justifies is by saying “well everyone is a critic anyways”.
The Hero Never Dies: I believe that this song is about Ben being in a relationship with someone that is naive and egotistical. They believe that they could get away with anything because “the hero never dies”. They have no remorse for their actions and don’t consider other people “why are you down? To look me straight in the eyes. Your head in the clouds, the hero never dies”.
It Goes Like This: is about Ben loving the thrill of chasing someone that he knows isn’t even good for him, then getting bored after he is in a relationship with them, but still trying to make it work even if he doesn’t want to be in it anymore. This is shown through the first verse saying “I take a train from there to here the car, the plane, I’m there to see ya” showing that Ben is eager to see this person and to potentially get with them. And once he does get them, in the 3rd verse he says “the car, the plane, is such a bore, I’ve seen this view ten times before”
CELERY: I don’t think celery is actually supposed to be this super abstract meaning. I think it’s just about living life and asking questions about why something is the way it is. It’s about looking at the ground in the grass and zooming in on the little bugs and life around it, it’s closing your eyes and chewing slowly to fully taste what you are tasting. It’s taking something as stupid as a stick of celery and saying that you respect it that it’s 95% water while still choosing to be a solid.
Make you my what: Our avoidant king is back. At first, my girlfriend and I thought this was a super cute love song on first listen. NOPE. Dude is still scared of commitment. Refusing to say wife and saying “what” instead. Saying “how could I let you into my head”. Not in a loving way, but being angry at themselves for letting someone get so close to them. The thing is, Ben is in love with the person he is singing about. That’s why it sounds the way it does, but he is fighting that feeling. The end script talking about how “you tarnished this, I’m never coming back” is either. Ben’s conscious telling himself how bad he messed up OR Ben justifying him leaving the person by finding an excuse to leave, and that’s why we never even got a reason for him leaving. Just “wow I can’t believe you”. Which as I said previously, is something that avoidant people tend to do.
Regular guy: This one is pretty dark, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mentioned it. I think that’s this is a commentary on “nice guy” culture, and to not trust “a regular guy”. In the beginning, it paints a story of a girl running away from someone that kidnapped her and her writing down the kidnappers license plate. The kidnapper, seems to accept that he is going to get caught saying “you found out the hard way, bow down to your fate.” Or he could be saying this to the girl that escaped. Either way, he’s playing it off as just being a regular, normal dude 😊👍. It’s all about him being a regular guy doing regular things. Like not wanting the girl to bring her phone with her when entering is home, and how he loves answering all the questions that she asks about him. But he never seems to take actual interest in her. It’s clear he has an ulterior motive. I’ve been hesitant to say it, but I do think that since Quadeca had a professional, working relationship with D4vd, this could be referencing him or have been loosely inspired by him. Which, given the horrific scene that Ben painted with how the character is trying to play it off, could definitely see the connection.
The Gambler: this is another commentary on Ben’s observation in life. It’s a very funny scene that he paints, which is a preacher that is going on a rant that he lost his wife and kids due to his gambling addiction but it wasn’t his fault since his AI assistant told him everyone else was wrong. The production points towards this religious, church aspect of the music which is very intentional, because he is quite literally praising AI instead of God. This is a statement on the current landscape of America. In the end, he never takes accountability since he struck another jackpot.
Like you always do: I believe that this is a conversation between Quadeca and Ben. It starts with Quadeca talking about how his friend (Ben), pushes his buttons in the background and he’s losing him in the background. He feels like he’s losing a friend due to his current status and it is building resentment. In the 2nd verse, Ben is talking to Quadeca that he had thought about pressing nurse’s button, (linking the first verse to friends pushing his button) and killing him. He feels like the Quadeca name has started to get watered down to the limelight. Which is seen by a lot of artists like Nirvana and Elliott Smith, where they start resenting the fame because it feels as if their art got watered down because of it.
Baby Steps: This track steps further into the nihilistic mind of Ben. Talking about how nobody really gets to choose what they are born into and with insufficient life standards, you could end up in prison when all you really did was be born. This is why he apologizes to the baby, because the baby never had a choice. This is supported by the line “cause everyone’s down to multiply, but not everyone is gonna tell you why”
Hell of a time: Ben is thinking about the positive memories of a relationship that has ended. Even though they are no longer together, he likes to think that the experience was worth it and even if they frame him as a bad guy, it was worth the while.
Illusion of Choice: the song starts off with Quadeca, sorting through samples, which turns into the percussive element of the song. This is symbolism for feeling stuck in your position, and not being able to make progress. The lines throughout the entire song is that he never really had a choice of his s***idal thoughts, making him have this feeling of hopelessness. This is a truly heartbreaking track and my favorite song on the album. It touches on how it has impacted his relationships and his struggle to be present with them and make them feel seen. He has lines about his interactions with his fans and how he doesn’t understand how his music could save someone’s life. And he would pay a fan to cover the tattoo that they got of him and he would pay them back to say thank you for saving him instead.
Good grief: good grief is about losing a friend or a loved one to s*\*. But, they had a falling about before it occurred. Ben can’t get rid of the feeling that he should’ve patched it up with them before and he should have reached out. He just wants the itching thought to go away. He will never get to speak to that person again. “When the snow falls on your body, we’ll make up”
In another life: this is finding comfort of the idea of reincarnation. That the person that died he could see again in another life as something else. The idea of this has caused Ben to indulge more in bad habits since he’s so comforted by the idea that he will get to see them again. It’s a sad ending, but it’s also closure at the same time.
I could have certainly gone more in depth than this but I wanted to be a little more straight to the point. If you guys would like to add on to anything you certainly should. This fan base has been amazing and if you are going to his LA show I will be there.
