Interpretations:Stuff Is Way

• Song
• Lyrics
• Interpretations
• Credits
• Guitar Tab
• Bass Tab
• Chronology

Is this what young people sound like?

As a former young person, this must be what young people sound like these days. It makes me think of the show Adventure Time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Steponspider (talk • contribs) 20:42, 13 March 2013

A prequel to Rest Awhile?

We all carry around a lot of baggage around with us. Rest Awhile is the brilliant song where John Linnell mused in the first verse of just throwing everything away. Stuff is Way is more of prequel, musing on how we drag things around us and how draining it can be.

Musically this reminds me of Tom Waits and is of course a huge nod to the nonsence verse of Edward Lear and Lennon late period Beatles. They can be very hit and miss, these tunes, but although it appears to have not grabbed the They Might be Wikians (if one looks at the voting) it's a great tune, and what we British call a "grower". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mrtuck (talk • contribs) 13:35, 19 March 2013

This is probably the song I listen to most now from this album. Such a good song, great lyrics, intuitive backing vocals from Flans (the croaking backing vocals really add something) and lovely percussion. Odd that it's relatively unloved by the wiki voters? (Mr Tuck - December 2016)

Just FYI, I'm pretty sure there's no Flans on this track. It's all Linnell doing different voices. Also, I think it's relatively "unloved" because it's not like a big, bold single such as "Birdhouse" or "Ana Ng"--it's definitely one for the hardcore fans, eh? :-) --MisterMe (talk) 08:27, 15 December 2016 (EST)

Not often I confuse the Johns on recent releases, but looks like I have here. It's a bit depressing. If you are in a band doing your own backing vocals. If they do it live Flans would have to them so why not on the recording? I disagree slightly on the popularity. I agree that it's never going to be in the top 10 as it's not a single, but it should make the top 100-150 recordings easy! This makes me think, I might do my Top 20s Giants songs from different eras: early days to Lincoln; Flood to Factory Showroom. Mink Car to Spine and then a final recent decade Top 20! If I were any good at wiki I'd create a page...(Mr Tuck)

Well the silly voices are a big part of the backing vocals, and I'm not sure Flans could pull them off as well as Linnell could.Mister Apple (talk) 04:42, 31 December 2018 (EST)

Free association

Much of this is free association between different phrases almost in the manner of a Markov chain. TMBG have used this before, e.g. in Cowtown ("The yellow Roosevelt Avenue leaf overturned"). --76.127.220.32 08:33, 26 March 2013 (EDT)

this is not so much an "interpretation" but a pointer that i just got to this page because i was interested in what others had said about "Stuff Is Way" and then the second I saw this comment, Cowtown began playing. Obviously the Johns knew. How did they know? HOW DID THEY KNOW? -anon 03:08, September 22, 2014

Trojan Horse

I think the part about the stalking horse (was hides the guy, and which the pony is a phony was a lie) references the Trojan Horse. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.4.173.183 (talk) 02:33, 29 May 2013‎

me too — to elaborate upon this theory, i have, from the second or third listen, associated the delirious lyrics with the ultimately insubstantial premonitions of a wretched, vergilian laocoön. the priest was scarcely taken seriously, and perhaps Mr. L's interpretation is that his ramblings were to delusional to qualify as legitimate. quidquid id est, timeo danaos! -Apollo (colloquia!) 22:48, 28 May 2013 (EDT)

Word Salad

To me, the lyrics are very reminiscent of the 'word salad' phenomenon which may be experienced by people with disorders like schizophrenia or thought disorder. It seems like a very Linnell thing to write a song about. It's possible that he had a bit of writer's block and decided to write some words about not being able to get your words across. Definitely one of my favourites from Nanobots anyway. PurpleToupee37 22:14, 19 March 2015

See also Linnell's song "Apophenia". -- Thread Bomb (talk) 03:24, 25 February 2020 (EST)

Leftover Feelings

I think this song is about the feelings of resentment one carries immediately after a breakup. I specifically see this song as being sung by the dumpee in a destructive relationship, addressing the dumper. (Did you just what? Is what you yes?) These lines would seem to represent the initial shock of the dumpee immediately after the breakup, expressing disbelief at what just happened. (It was catastro-, catastro-feeling good) I think this represents the knowledge in the back of both their minds that the relationship is destructive, but how it was so easy to ignore that knowledge and embrace their relationship, even while they knew on some level that it would come to this horrific end.(Stuff is way, way too go, go away) Go away is pretty self-explanatory, indicating that the dumpee does not want to talk to the dumper. Next, I would agree with the other interpretations regarding the "Stalking horse" and how it corresponds to the Trojan Horse, and I would say that it is meant to outline a general trend of deception. Finally, (As it the drag That has you are Is in the bag That you drag behind your car) I think the bag is representative of the continued pattern of hurt feelings and resentment left in the wake of the dumper.

Also, as a side-note, I think "When Will You Die?" could represent a sequel to this song, and may be about the same person, and could represent the resentment and anger felt when the feelings expressed here are allowed to toil and grow without any type of release. —Preceding unsigned comment added by MattG1116 (talk • contribs) 01:07, December 1, 2015

Apophenia and hidden meanings

This song is a continuation of Linnell's examination of mental illness as a songwriting subject, and more specifically it's a demonstration of what he described in his song "Apophenia". That said, there are certain coherent ideas within the word salad that lend themselves to interpretation:

The stalking horse
Was hides the guy
And which the pony is a phony was a lie

This all fits the definition of a stalking horse (see main page for this song), and suggests a theme of secrecy and concealment.

Is in the bag
That you drag behind your car

We don't know what's in the bag, but a mysterious thing being dragged behind a car certainly sounds sinister.

Catastro / Catastro-feeling good

Doesn't have a literal meaning, but suggests an extreme emotional swing from disaster to mania.

Basically, the song is a cluster of clever word tricks to create a creepy feeling, and in a way it's the ultimate refinement of Linnell's writing technique.
-- Thread Bomb (talk) 03:24, 25 February 2020 (EST)

He's The Lyrics Guy

Stuff Is Way comes across as partially tongue-in-cheek, as if Linnell is almost making fun of his own writing style. Or, at least, how other people tend to define his style. The complete stream-of-consciousness word association game vibe screams "hey, I'm the abstract, creepy lyrics guy." Meta, funny, and smart. Unsuspectingprey (talk) 14:33, 11 February 2024 (EST)