I was really, spectacularly off the internet for the second half of last week, which was incredibly refreshing. But it also, of course, meant that people went and posted a lot of good stuff, and I'm only catching up now. One of the things I missed was Vulture's defense of Third Eye Blind, which raised a whole bunch of points I hadn't particularly considered about the band. And it gave me a chance to revisit my personal favorite Third Eye Blind song, the kind of remarkable "Motorcycle Drive-By." As I've said before, I'm a total lyrics fiend, and I love the lyrics in this one. But it's also a song where the lyrics and music crest and fall together. "Motorcycle Drive-By" is the best encapsulation I know of the emotional arc at the end of a relationship:
You've got wistfulness, preemptive nostalgia, rage, exhaustion, and the decision to move on for your own good. Plus, I just love this image of letting someone you love go:
Visions of you on a motorcycle drive-byThe cigarette ash flies in your eyes and you don't mindYou smile, and say the world it doesn't fit with youI don't believe you, you're so sereneCareening through the universeYour axis on a tiltYou're guiltless and freeI hope you take a piece of me with you
Putting "serene" and "careening" next to each other? Kills me every time, sonically and verbally. And I'll admit to associating it with a particular guy who was a senior in high school when I was a sophomore, and I'm sure never gave me a second thought. He smoked cigarettes, which I thought was both stupid and daring because he knew it was stupid, and angry, which I thought was frightening but interesting. It's a good song that can work for you when you're 15, 21, and 25. We'll see how it holds up beyond that.