“99.5” by TV Girl

In actuality, the motif of the “Grapes Upon the Vine” album is pretty consistent throughout its numerous tracks. For instance, many of the songs read as if Brad Petering is addressing a romantic interest, though he doesn’t harp on that fact. 

Furthermore, doing so causes him to philosophize on what it means to be a person, particularly from a moral standpoint. On “99.5”, those two standards are once again combined. And in this particular case, what he seems to be concluding, once again, is that perfection is not possible.

So the implication in this terse piece is that since perfection is not achievable, the vocalist isn’t going to strive to attain it. Or looking at it from the perspective of the situation at hand, he’s “a broken man”, and the addressee too, as implied, doesn’t have a past to be proud of. 

But Brad doesn’t see any reason why the two of them can’t proceed forward together, “on the stolen land” that they find themselves in. Or theorized otherwise, in his eyes their less-than-ideal pasts actually make them more, not less, compatible.

So in a weird sort of way, “99.5” is actually a pickup song. And seemingly in the name of rationalizing the relationship at hand, the vocalist gets very philosophical in the process.

“And ooh
Most of us just won’t make it
Most of us just gotta fake it
But ninety is closer
Ninety nine is almost true
Ninety nine and half, it just won’t do
It just won’t do
It just won’t do, ooh, ooh, ooh
It just won’t do”

When was “99.5” released?

June 30th, 2023 is the official release date of this song and its album (“Grapes Upon the Vine”).