Gotta love how the same man that wrote this also: -wrote a song about a man high on bananas -made the lyrics of one of his songs literally just his name over and over -wrote a song called “Your Mother Is A Basketball”
Joe wrote - A song about how little we matter and the indiference of time and how we should just give up and be happy - Your Mother is a Basketball - A PSA about the dangers of what happens when Joe Hawley Attacks - A song about how depressed he is that his loved is far from him - A song in which he raps about Crazy Food and rambles with his finger - A 8 minute long culmination of a storyline that went on through the entirety of Hawaii Part II - Your standard song about puberty - A song about depression using a Scarecrow as a metaphor - Black People (TUN TUN TUN TUN) White People (TUN TUN TUN TUN) - The story of two friends saying their last goodbyes during the 9/11 attacks on the WTC as they fall to their deaths - Spaghetti French for his adimission for tallyhall (L'Frou Jibet btw) - The literal physical manifestation of the moon singing to children about how they will die and there's nothing after - The tragic tale of a Wizard going on a quest for a quest and ended up finding a 3DS. - A CRITIC OF THE MISUSE OF ELECTROCONVULSORY SHOCK THERAPY ON PEOPLE WHO AREN'T INSANE. AND TO FINISH IT ALL HE ALSO MADE FREAKING BLACK RAINBOWS.
I find the change of certain lyrics in the final version compared to this one really interesting. Shrieking instead of yelling, pleading instead of begging, such simple changes add so much intensity and franticness to the feeling of the song. Really shows how his music evolved and matured over the years as he did
mind electric is only creepier not for the fact that 3 minutes of it is in reverse but the fact that instead of simon its a child which just makes it way more messed up
@@monkykar6227 he has no confirmed age, but according to The Mind Electric Simon is a minor. so he can be anywhere from 0-17 (although i HIGHLY doubt he’s that young, so we can safely assume he’s somewhere between 10-17, maybe even 18). I always thought he was 17, but he could be even younger than that
@@resident_simon i believe his age must be from 15-17, due to the song referring to him being executed by electric chair, the reverse part being his brain trying to make sense of what happened as the execution happened. either that is the story that the song tells, or he just lied about being insane, gets sent to shock therapy, and then actually goes insane.
This song reminds me of the case of George Stinney Jr. He was found guilty of 2 murders he did not commit and was executed by a electric chair at age 14.
Fun fact: This song was originally going to be in the Marvin's album, but it didn't make the cut because they ran into budgetary problems since the song was originally planned to have over 15 instruments. In Joe's words: "too many instruments, not enough time" (this comes from a message he send in an old chatroom). Also there's a comment in an old forum that mencioned that Tally Hall performed Inside the Mind of Simon live at the Pingry School in 2005. Edit: The Tally Hall live version was finally found! (Parcially, but it's something, at least) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rEYxUz6nyFc.html
That's interesting. I wonder where Demo 4 came from then? It was pretty much album ready but never made it. Maybe they completed it and Time Machine Demo 3 before they ended Tally hall and they just got abandoned? A lot of lore I would love to dive into. Then Joe pretty much disregarded Demo 4 and used this version as the framework for Hawaii Part 2's Mind Electric. Because "See how I laugh/See how I run" aren't in this version either. Demo 4 was mostly just used to make Labyrinth and to draw inspiration from but most of it was cut out or replaced in Hawaii: Part II, same with Time Machine. TLDR I ramble too much about stuff that peaks my interest.
@@WJINTL My idea on what the story of this song was -Joe Hawley has a schizophrenic breakdown in a bathroom and sings Demo 1, but the other members decide it’s good enough to be a demo for a future song, so they do some chords in the back while Joe repeats the melody again. -All the members get together and do LSD, and make Demo 2. -After discovering the tapes, they make Demo 3. -Due to budget, Inside the Mind of Simon gets scrapped. -They decide to make Demo 4 for G&E, but decide it doesn’t fit with the rest of the album -Joe writes The Mind Electric for Hawaii: Part II
I believe this was on a CD of songs Joe had made that he showed the band before joining. That same CD is where his accapella version of lady modana comes from
I'm going through every song of Miracle Musical to dissect the story with a friend and we've been at it for a while. I JUST found this and it's incredible. FIGIDTIFTFITITI
There are many theories but here's the one I go with: A guy named Simon sails a boat to Hawaii. There, he meets a girl and they hang out. One day while they're out, he walks away for a little bit and someone kills her. He comes back to see the remains as the police arrive. Since he was the only person there, he can plead innocent because there's so much stacked against him. So his only other option is to plead insanity. He's sent to "The Infirmary" where he gets electro shock therapy. He then goes actually insane from that. He them wonders what it would be like if he went back to the way things were, like with a time machine. After all that therapy, he attempts to sail a boat back home. On the way, however, he ends up starving to death and getting eaten by a whale. He then meets the girl in heaven the end.
the mind electric scratches my brain just right, i see this and listen to it, and its unscratched immediately that makes no fuckin sense to probably anyone but alas
lyrics: Resident Simon, how do you plead We'll need your testimony on the stand Solemnly swear to summon your story Tell the truth and raise your right hand Resident Marvin let me explain My brain has claimed its glory over me I've a good heart, I may be insane Please mend my mind and let me go free All my towers crumble down The flowers gasping under rubble Shouting in the hall of lull My demons quench my thirst for trouble Scattering sparks of thought energy Deliver me and carry me away Here in my kingdom, I am your lord I order you to cower and pray All my monks were chanting as The lighting struck my temples And electric shocks destructed places Said they read it on my face And swirling down your majesty I beg of thee have mercy on me I was just a boy you see I beg of thee have sympathy for me See how the serfs work the ground And they give it all they've got (x3) Till they're down (ha ha ha ha) See how the brain plays around And you fall inside a hole You couldn't see And you fall inside a hole inside a- Someone help me Understand what's going on inside my mind Doctor I can't tell if I'm not me When it grows light the particles Start to marvel how they made it through the night Never they ponder whether electric Calming if you look at it right
for some reason, certain parts of this song i prefer to the final version. I really have an affinity for song demos, for whatever reason, and i also appreciate that there's no reversing in this version. it was a cool effect but it a. kinda makes me uncomfortable when im listening at night lmao and b. went on for too long
Totally agree on the reverse part lol. But the beginning and ending hums are something I wish made the finial cut because it gives this eerie and angelic vibe yknow? Very nice to hear.
That was mostly the point. I believe that joe predicted that the tame version (aka the reversed part) would be reuploaded on its own, but fixed, because that part is far more listenable.
So seeing how the mind electric is pretty much about someone going insane due to going to an insane asylum because they pleaded insanity to a murder that they didn't do and their treatment for that false insanity and then goes insane, I see this as the version of the song is supposed to be before the whole insanity thing. Also first.
This song is old, OLD, and I remember having all the theories about this song. But now with the release of Mind Electric, I'm 99% positive this song is about mental illness, insanity, and most importantly electric shock therapy, which is done by sending shocks through a patient's brain. The opening is of course the trial where Simon pleads insanity, and asks for his mind to be mended. Lots of comments of what sounds like a demented torture session, lightning striking his temples. "Doctor I can't tell if I'm not me" is easily the most impactful line of the entire track, as altering someone's brain chemistry really does beg the question afterwards if the person who comes out of that session is the same person or not. Wonderful song. Joe's lyrics are really something else.
I wonder if this 'Resident Marvin' is the same Marvin of Marvelous Mechanical Museum fame, since this is originally a Tally Hall song Edit: yes I know now that this was also an MMMM song I make cringe confusing or mindless comments then regret them later lol
@@KicksPregnantWomen no, it means that it tastes empty. You’re used to something filling up the space inbwtween so when you have it without that filling you taste empty. You taste not the shell, but the lack of the meat.
I’ve been practicing singing The Mind Electric (for personal reason; I love the tempo changes, the vast array of voice pitch and notes, as well as how closely the music and vocals work together) and whenever I get to “All mine towers crumble down, the flowers gasping under rubble”, instead of the normal version playing in the back of my mind, this…this is what plays. Additionally, on the lyric “you give it all you’ve got til you’re down”, I’m always tempted to sing the word “down” the way it’s sung here. All of The Mind Electric demos and versions are awesome :)
Fun Fact: The least changed part of this version, When compared to the final one, It’s the Scattering Sparks part, Which went entirely unchanged. The most changed part is the first part, Seeing as it is literally not there in this version.
Joe Hawley can WRITE. I understand this is music but this man is a WRITER as well. The whole album is straight up poetry in its finest form. I truly believe The Mind Electric is Joe’s magnum opus.
I hate and love at the same time that little build up at the end that feels so intimidating but just cuts to really calm and quiet music. It gives me chills.
as a severely mentally ill person whos already been involuntarily & forcefully committed and subjected to unimaginable abuse at the hands of nurses & doctors this song hits way too close to home. i think i have to scream for 3 days straight if youll excuse me
It's just a demo. The Mind Electric actually has several early demos with different lyrics and stuff, which you can hear on the full deluxe version of Hawaii Part II.
Resident Simon, how do you plead We'll need your testimony on the stand Solemnly swear to summon your story Tell the truth and raise your right hand Resident Marvin, let me explain My brain has claimed its glory over me I've a good heart, I may be insane Please mend my mind and let me go free All my towers crumble down The flowers gasping under rubble Shouting in the hall of lull My demons quench my thirst for trouble Scattering sparks of thought energy Deliver me and carry me away Here in my kingdom, I am your lord I order you to cower and pray All my monks were chanting as The lightning struck my temples And electric shocks destructed places Said they read it on my face And swirling down your majesty I beg of thee have mercy on me I was just a boy you see I beg of thee have sympathy for me See how the serfs work the ground And they give it all they've got (x3) Till they're down (ha ha ha ha) See how the brain plays around And you fall inside a hole You couldn't see And you fall inside a hole inside a Someone help me Understand what's going on inside my mind Doctor I can't tell if I'm not me When it grows light the particles Start to marvel how they made it through the night Never they ponder whether electric Calming if you look at it right
1:41 It's not noticeable here, but if you listen, you can like the chorus of the voice, which is more confident, arrogant, professional and "watery", I really like it.
So I’ve got a theory: Joe once explained that his art can get autobiographical at times in an interview. As many of you probably know, Joe was in a court case once during his time in tally hall between its MMMM and the last concert and judging by how the lyrics of the first verse change from the demos to the mind electric, and his history with his mental health, I wonder if The Mind Electric is at least partially about Joe pleading insanity at a court case.
