Flash Delirium by MGMT Lyrics Meaning – Inside the Psychedelic Madness
Lyrics
Blank dreams of the coming fun
Distort the odds of a turnaround
Gut screams out next to none
So turn it on
Tune it in
And stay inert
You say “I’ve got the backbone”
The back way to escape the gun
Climbing a tree with a missing limb
And not saving anyone
And now it hurts
To stay at home
And see
Flash
The mirror ball’s throwing mold
You can’t get a grip if there’s nothing to hold
See the flash catch a white lily laugh and wilt
But if you must smash a glass first fill it to the hilt
Plants
As far as I know are still
Still bending toward the light
And if we dance
Until the heart explodes
It’ll make this place ignite
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope it’s just
A case of flash delirium
Here’s a growing culture
Deep inside a corpse
Ages stuck together
Takin’ it to the source
Timeless desperation
Pictures on a screen scream
“Hey people, what does it mean?”
Comfort keeps us nice
So quick to donate everything (nothing arrives)
Die wolken drifting blinding smiles circling (einkreisen)
And time’s tingling spines
Attaching hands to floor
The rosy-tinted flash
The hot dog’s getting cold
And you’ll never be as good as the Rolling Stones
Watch the birds in the airport gathering dirt
Crowd the clean magazine chick lifting up her skirt
(Why close one eye and try to
Pledge allegiance to the sun
When plastic ghosts start terrorizing everyone
Geometric troops aligning
Carried up to the burial mounds
My earthbound heart is heavy
Your heartbeat keeps things light
Like the violence forever threatening the night
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope and trust)
Lines when I close my eyes and just
Aim blindly at the sun
And hear love
When the ghosts start singing terrorizing everyone
Geometric troops aligning
Carried up to the burial mounds with gold
It’s a heavy load but your
You rhythm makes it light and explode
Like a violent star keeps threatening the night
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope and trust
That our heads won’t bust
Sixty six fifty five red battleships
Forty earth-like planets
Three holes two tits
One fork in its side
Zero tears in their eyes
Sue the spiders
Sink the Welsh
Stab your Facebook
Sell sell sell
Undercooked
Overdone
Mass adulation not so funny
Poisoned honey
Pseudo science
Silly money
You’re my honey
MGMT’s ‘Flash Delirium’ unfurls like a psychedelic banner from the nether reaches of the mind, a collage of surreal images and poignant reflections that tease at the edges of consciousness. The song, a standout track from their 2010 album ‘Congratulations’, is a wild ride—an amalgamation of introspection, societal critique, and a deep dive into the fray of mental and emotional upheaval.
It is a song that resists the shackles of clear-cut interpretation, inviting listeners to parse through its frenzied soundscape. Reflecting an era of overwhelming media saturation and the existential musings of two musicians coming to terms with their place in the spotlight, ‘Flash Delirium’ is both a product of its time and a timeless enigma.
The Intoxication of Sensory Overload
Opening with ‘mild apprehension,’ the song immediately plunges listeners into a state of wary anticipation. The imagery of ‘Blank dreams of the coming fun’ and ‘The mirror ball’s throwing mold’ evoke flashes of joy that are extinguished before fully materializing, mirroring the transient nature of pleasure in a fast-paced world.
In this chaotic medley of words, MGMT navigates the stuttering pulse of modern life. The mention of ‘the hot dog’s getting cold’ alongside the trailblazing ‘Rolling Stones’ paints a contrast between the perishability of the new and the enduring legacy of the old—an acknowledgment of the band’s place in a musical continuum disturbed by the ephemeral.
An Ode to the Underlying Human Spirit
Despite the seeming randomness, ‘Flash Delirium’ offers an anthem for resilience. The refrain ‘And even if this hall collapses / I can stand by my pillar of hope’ serves as a mantra, a beacon through the bewildering storm. It acknowledges the crumbling structures around us—whether societal, personal, or cultural—yet affirms a willingness to endure.
The song champions an unfaltering human spirit in a tumultuous world. MGMT instills the idea that even as reality may disintegrate into chaos, the human capacity for hope shines undiminished. It’s an acknowledgment that amid the flash and delirium of life, our inner strength persists.
Cracking the Code of Flash Delirium’s Hidden Meaning
Beneath its psychedelic veneer, ‘Flash Delirium’ critiques a society engulfed in a blitz of information and entertainment. MGMT casts a scathing eye over the ‘growing culture deep inside a corpse,’ suggesting a civilization that, despite its outward vibrancy, is internally decaying.
‘Flash Delirium’ then serves as a canvas, splattered with cultural references and cryptic symbols. Lines like ‘Sue the spiders / Sink the Welsh / Stab your Facebook / Sell sell sell’ could be interpreted as a condemnatory jab at our digitally manipulated lives that trade genuine human connection for superficial social media interactions.
Remember These Memorable Lines and Their Impact
‘Flash ‘ the mirror ball’s throwing mold / You can’t get a grip if there’s nothing to hold’ is a lyric that lingers with its potent mix of nostalgia and existential dread. It encapsulates how modernity can be a gilded cage, a flashing disco ball casting shadows instead of light.
Furthermore, the song’s stark ‘sixty six fifty five red battleships / forty earth-like planets’ reads like a grotesque nursery rhyme for an overstimulated age. It mashes quantitative overload with the apathy of ‘zero tears in their eyes,’ hinting at a desensitized society, numbed by the magnitude of its own creations.
A Cacophony of Contradictions: Embracing the Unconventional Rhythm
‘Flash Delirium’ is a challenge—a sonic puzzle that begs for piecing together. The track’s structure is equally disorienting, zigzagging from folksy interludes to eruptions of glam rock. It’s emblematic of the band’s willingness to submerge in the unorthodox, to let go of the rules, to embrace the delirium.
This is not music as mere background noise; it’s an active experience, demanding engagement. MGMT’s ability to weave together disparate sounds into a cohesive, if chaotic, whole speaks to their artistry. The delirium may flash, but the purpose and passion behind it burn steady and bright.
