Matt's Artistic "Muse"

[andydanger85]

Hey all,

 

So, Matt just posted on Instagram that essentially all of the songs that have been vague and personal have been in relation to one person. A muse, if you will. Now, I want to steer conversation away from the personal as much as possible here (especially given that Matt posts here and it's rude), but the fact that he has shared this has for me, added a new dimension to a lot of songs. I love that many tunes have a specific meaning to me and that he's traditionally kept this ambiguous so we could do that, but this actually, I think adds another layer of meaning. I'm not going to lie, I kind of want to go back to any song that addresses the anonymous "you" and re-listen with this idea of a muse in mind.

What do you guys think?

From Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BatCQz5BzYS/?hl=en&taken-by=matthewgoodgram

"There are things you hide. Things that as an artist remain in an old chest buried deep beneath the earth. You allow people to have their own perceptions. You even encourage them the lie because it could hurt their feelings. But in my life, even if a self constructed mythology, I have only really spoken to one person in my music. From Suburbia to Extraordinary Fades, from House Of Smoke And Mirrors to How It Goes, from On Nights Like Tonight to The Fine Art Of Falling Apart and She’s Got You Where She Wants You. One person. A secret. The well to which I return to remind myself - there once was a man before all of this."

Side note: The post itself made me tear up. I've often referred to my teens/early twenties as "when I still believed in magic". That he used similar phrasing affected me pretty deeply.

 

[gweeps]

The magic still exists, it's just now we know there is machinery behind it.

 

I prefer mystery over illusion anyway.

[Williammunny11]

This is a fascinating post. As a writer myself I can totally relate to the idea of a muse, for me however it’s changed as I’ve gotten older (and known more people).

 

The idea that it’s been a singular person for Matt is super interesting to me.

[IamNick]

 

Side note: The post itself made me tear up. I've often referred to my teens/early twenties as "when I still believed in magic". That he used similar phrasing affected me pretty deeply.

 

 

 

So i had the exact same reaction; I'm an atheist (optimistic nihilist) but i have always believed that magic exists in the mind of the young (and young at heart) and that the fact that it's in your head doesn't make it any less real (to steal a line from Harry Potter), and that line about when he "...still believed in magic" hit me hard.

[Manchalivin]

Wow!  That is an amazing and surprising secret to share with the fans and I think that will really make some songs that much more special.  Thanks for sharing because I probably wouldn't have caught this otherwise.

[adam_777]

I heard that if he plays a show consisting solely of the songs written about her that she will appear.  

[Manchalivin]

Now this is a real person, correct?

[Outtahere]

Matt's talked a lot about how, cynical for a lack of a better term, he is now. That's where that "Cause they don't got you yet" line in Mutineering comes from. That's what I'm getting from that post when he says 'When I still believed in magic'. My interpretation anyway. 

 

Still he manages to remain mysterious in this mystery. What I find odd though is that I thought all those songs (bar what he did in the 90's) were about someone in the present not the past (except for It's Been a While Since I was Your Man of course).

[andydanger85]

I heard that if he plays a show consisting solely of the songs written about her that she will appear.  

 

 

I mean this earnestly, but do you mean this facetiously, or have you actually heard this before? Matt says in the post he has just said it for the first time out loud to another person just the other day, so I don't think this was common knowledge.

Wow!  That is an amazing and surprising secret to share with the fans and I think that will really make some songs that much more special.  Thanks for sharing because I probably wouldn't have caught this otherwise.

 

 

Now this is a real person, correct?

Yes, he says a girl "from long ago" in the post. Also, no worries. I thought this to be a huge revelation worthy of discussion on here!

[andydanger85]

Maybe each of us only has one true love in our lives and this girl was Matt's true love. It's very romantic in a way. But also sad because he has been through tough times in relationships, as most of us have.

 

This also made me emotional as it did many of us. I can pinpoint the exact moment when I stopped believing in magic. It was so many years ago but was followed shortly thereafter by my first forays into MDD/bipolar II (diagnosis disputed). My husband, who I thought was my soul mate, left me suddenly in early December last year. I've kind of stopped believing in love but hope to again one day.

 

In an effort to steer the conversation away from Matt's personal life, as I know as many people have mentioned this is obviously a sensitive subject, I would be curious to ask members here on the forum: do any of you have muses? Does anyone still believe in magic? We could start a new thread if this belongs elsewhere.

 

 

Yeah, I do get a romantic indication from it as well. Truthfully, this post gave me the same feeling that reading "The Night Opus" from the manifestos/book did. I've always got the feeling that the person who "Jennifer Dawn Connors" was based on has been present in other work, and not only in "Jenni's Song", which references the same "killed her dad with her car" incident from the story. Might not be, but again, don't want to take that speculation much further.

 

That's really tough to hear, Marcy. I have been through something similar before, as my GAD/Panic Disorder began to present during my former relationship, and my ex was basically intolerant to mental disorders of any kind. She repeatedly told me that she "did not sign up for this" and made me feel shame for years. Luckily, I got free of my own accord. 

 

Do I believe in magic? 

 

I think the answer is, I wish I did. And like Nick mentions above, I believe magic exists in children, and in people's imaginations. Magic exists in the excitement one feels before an event or gathering they've been looking forward to. Magic exists in the early days of a relationship. Magic exists in the first moments of hearing a new song by an artist you love.

 

For my own part, magic died when I became an atheist. As you grow older, your childhood illusions fade one by one, and none of those ever bothered me. "God" was always a constant in the background, and you could understand a world that believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny because there was a God and he/she/it could make things like that possible. During the weeks that I began not to believe, I felt an immense intellectual freedom that I still feel to this day. But, I also feel an immense disappointment - like I was lied to repeatedly and often over the course of twenty plus years. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it. 

 

I often think back with warm feelings to when I believed in magic. I remember how it felt and I want it back. 

[Manchalivin]

I mean this earnestly, but do you mean this facetiously, or have you actually heard this before? Matt says in the post he has just said it for the first time out loud to another person just the other day, so I don't think this was common knowledge.

 

 

Yes, he says a girl "from long ago" in the post. Also, no worries. I thought this to be a huge revelation worthy of discussion on here!

 This is definitely news to me, but maybe he has alluded to it before.

 

I thought maybe this was just a literary or story-telling thing and this 'girl' was fictitious or something.  It being real means much more.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Manchalivin

[Guest Idioteque]

I'll bet money his muse is a dancer with a law degree, had a name like April Spring. 

[foats]

but her mother called her Judy until Jen brought her to her knees

[hoogie]

I found that pretty interesting when I saw it.  It changes the perspective I have on some of his songs.  Fine Art of Falling Apart for sure.  Some of his songs are obviously about a girl, but this brings new meaning to some other songs.

 

Matt seems to be a lot more open with what's going on in his life lately.  There's a post more recent than this one about a chair that's quite revealing.  Perhaps it's cathartic for him to get it out there.  I can't relate to what it's like to deal with the publicity of it all.

[Williammunny11]

As an aside to this thread (and partially because of it), I have been head-first down the M. Good-rabbit hole since this record came out.  I've been listening to back catalog non-stop as well as the new album.  It's consumed my listening habits for the past few weeks and I've probably spun 25 full albums-worth of music at this point.

 

I can't remember being this enthralled and excited in a long time.  I feel like, based on Matt's own posts, that this process was an artistic catharsis for him...one that has resonated with me on a few different levels.

[andydanger85]

I'll bet money his muse is a dancer with a law degree, had a name like April Spring. 

 

 

but her mother called her Judy until Jen brought her to her knees

 

 

As an aside to this thread (and partially because of it), I have been head-first down the M. Good-rabbit hole since this record came out.  I've been listening to back catalog non-stop as well as the new album.  It's consumed my listening habits for the past few weeks and I've probably spun 25 full albums-worth of music at this point.

 

I can't remember being this enthralled and excited in a long time.  I feel like, based on Matt's own posts, that this process was an artistic catharsis for him...one that has resonated with me on a few different levels.

 

Yes, there have been many "names" over the years, and except for the Easter Egg "Jen" in Truffle Pigs, I do think as we are putting together maybe they're all the same person or facets of the same person's personality. 

 

And yes, I agree, it can be and is cathartic.

[Guest Idioteque]

I recommend reading this if you're looking for insight on the muse. 

 

http://mattgood.plastic-soldier.com/manifestos/29.html

I really love the old old old MG stories, there's alot of hidden gems that I can relate to (being alcoholics in our late teens isn't something to be proud about) but liking heavy metal & punk is, so that's a pro.

My favorite quote from that post besides "Jenny's Song" making complete sense now, is "I would trade it all for just ten minutes in a lousy Italian restaurant". So deep given the context of the story, when he still believed in magic.

[Moonlight_Graham]

I recommend reading this if you're looking for insight on the muse. 

 

http://mattgood.plastic-soldier.com/manifestos/29.html

I really love the old old old MG stories, there's alot of hidden gems that I can relate to (being alcoholics in our late teens isn't something to be proud about) but liking heavy metal & punk is, so that's a pro.

My favorite quote from that post besides "Jenny's Song" making complete sense now, is "I would trade it all for just ten minutes in a lousy Italian restaurant". So deep given the context of the story, when he still believed in magic.

 

i came right now to post this manifesto entry.  I was just now browsing through Matt's old manifestos at random (haven't done that in years) and randomly came across the same entry you posted, and knew that it must be his "secret muse".  And yes, Jenni's song entirely makes sense now, and from what it sounds is based on a true story.  Seems you beat me to the punch of posting this.  Good eye!

[Guest Idioteque]

I wish he would write an autobiography, there's a weird joy in reading relatable things from people I admire "Matt likes Jeff Buckley & Kevin Smith too?!". 

[Moonlight_Graham]

I wish he would write an autobiography, there's a weird joy in reading relatable things from people I admire "Matt likes Jeff Buckley & Kevin Smith too?!". 

 

Sometimes I wish that too, but then I also think of all the blog entries he's written and of course the albums/lyrics over the decades so we already have an autobiography from him in many ways.

[andydanger85]

I recommend reading this if you're looking for insight on the muse. 

 

http://mattgood.plastic-soldier.com/manifestos/29.html

I really love the old old old MG stories, there's alot of hidden gems that I can relate to (being alcoholics in our late teens isn't something to be proud about) but liking heavy metal & punk is, so that's a pro.

My favorite quote from that post besides "Jenny's Song" making complete sense now, is "I would trade it all for just ten minutes in a lousy Italian restaurant". So deep given the context of the story, when he still believed in magic.

 

 

Yeah, I do get a romantic indication from it as well. Truthfully, this post gave me the same feeling that reading "The Night Opus" from the manifestos/book did. I've always got the feeling that the person who "Jennifer Dawn Connors" was based on has been present in other work, and not only in "Jenni's Song", which references the same "killed her dad with her car" incident from the story. Might not be, but again, don't want to take that speculation much further.

 

 

 

 

 

Yep! You and me had the same thought.