Joshua Michael Tillman, a.k.a. sentient-thinking emoji Father John Misty, performed two songs on Saturday Night Live this weekend that questioned two of the bedrocks of Western civilization: entertainment and religion.
"Total Entertainment Forever" and "Pure Comedy," both from his upcoming album Pure Comedy (due out April 7 on Sub Pop), are thought-provoking, tongue-in-cheek criticisms of societal opiates. Given the state of American political discourse right now, Tillman's booking on late night's premier stage — which typically hosts musicians much more popular than the Los Angeles-based songwriter — was a clear message from the SNL staff bookers.
Watch the videos of each performance below, and read the accompanying lyrics.
"Total Entertainment Forever"
Bedding Taylor Swift
Every night inside the Oculus Rift
After mister and the missus finish dinner and the dishes
And now the future's definition is so much higher than it was last year
It's like the images have all become real
And someone's living my life for me out in the mirror
No, can you believe how far we've come
In the New Age?
Freedom to have what you want
In the New Age we'll all be entertained
Rich or poor, the channels are all the same
You're a star now, baby, so dry your tears
You're just like them
Wake on up from the nightmare
Come on
Oh ho oh
Oh
Oh ho oh
No gods to rule us
No drugs to soothe us
No myths to prove stuff
No love to confuse us
Not bad for a race of demented monkeys
From a cave to a city to a permanent party
Come on
Oh ho oh
Oh
Oh ho oh
When the historians find us we'll be in our homes
Plugged into our hubs
Skin and bones
A frozen smile on every face
As the stories replay
This must have been a wonderful place
"Pure Comedy"
The comedy of man starts like this
Our brains are way too big for our mothers' hips
And so Nature, she divines this alternative
We emerged half-formed and hope that whoever greets us on the other end
Is kind enough to fill us in
And, babies, that's pretty much how it's been ever since
Now the miracle of birth leaves a few issues to address
Like, say, that half of us are periodically iron-deficient
So somebody's got to go kill something while I look after the kids
I'd do it myself, but what, are you going to get this thing its milk?
He says as soon as he gets back from the hunt, we can switch
It's hard not to fall in love with something so helpless
Ladies, I hope we don't end up regretting this
Comedy, now that's what I call pure comedy
Just waiting until the part where they start to believe
They're at the center of everything
And some all-powerful being endowed this horror show with meaning
Oh, their religions are the best
They worship themselves yet they're totally obsessed
With risen zombies, celestial virgins, magic tricks, these unbelievable outfits
And they get terribly upset
When you question their sacred texts
Written by woman-hating epileptics
Their languages just serve to confuse them
Their confusion somehow makes them more sure
They build fortunes poisoning their offspring
And hand out prizes when someone patents the cure
Where did they find these goons they elected to rule them?
What makes these clowns they idolize so remarkable?
These mammals are hell-bent on fashioning new gods
So they can go on being godless animals
Oh comedy, their illusions they have no choice but to believe
Their horizons that just forever recede
And how's this for irony, their idea of being free is a prison of beliefs
That they never ever have to leave
Oh comedy, oh it's like something that a madman would conceive!
The only thing that seems to make them feel alive is the struggle to survive
But the only thing that they request is something to numb the pain with
Until there's nothing human left
Just random matter suspended in the dark
I hate to say it, but each other's all we got
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