Therapist Reacts to The Outsider by A Perfect Circle 

This whole album is about addiction. Thirteenth step! Amazing listen

The following quote from Maynard describes some of the concepts used on the "Thirteenth Step" album, including the idea behind the song "The Outsider." "The songs on Thirteenth Step for the most part are about the various processes of addiction, behavioural addictions, chemical addictions, and each song is kind of sung from a different perspective. I've a lot of friends who've gone through a lot of these situations. Some of the songs are sung from the perspective of the actual drug, from the perspective of someone who has realized that they have an issue or a problem, also from the perspective of a person who realizes that if they don't do something they're going to die, a song from the perspective of a person who is in denial about a loved one, dying right before their eyes. And in the case of "The Outsider", it's sung from the perspective of a person who doesn't understand at all what their friend is going through, what their loved one is going through, and they think that it's more like a sprained ankle; they can just kind of walk it off."

Everything Maynard writes is pure gold!

Judith by a perfect circle is a banger with so much emotion behind the lyrics. Has been a favourite of mine for years.

Three Libras is so beautiful from A Perfect Circle. I listen to it when I feel unheard. I don't know if that is what it is about but it's so beautifully made.

Mr favorite APC song. The video takes away from it so much.

"The desire to be right inhibits the connection".......That is absolutely magical, holy shit, how true!! Oh and man oh man what an effin voice!!

The Package is a killer tone to react too

When I was doing drugs, my family turned their backs on me. I was the outsider for about 5 years. Thankfully I've been clean going on 31 years. August 30, 1993 is what I call my reborn date. I have mended the relationships with my family and live a life clean and free of drugs. The temptation will always be there, however I know what the cost is. I never wanna go back to feeling so alone, and unwanted.

Yep. According to Maynard, the "Outsider" is about those that judge a loved one's difficulties with Depression/Addiction w/judgement and a lack of understanding.

Do Thirteenth step! The package and the noose! When I was 13 years old playing RuneScape and 13'th step just came out, I knew a 27 year old recovering heroin addict living at his parents house after two years in prison. The Noose was a song he related to deeply.

As a therapist, i think you would enjoy The Nurse Who Loved Me😊

you should react to La Dispute, they have really good lyrics, the song A Letter would be a good one

This is the most accurate and passionate breakdown I've ever heard of this song. What I love even more is that you were never distracted by the video. Well done

I lost my best friend to overdose. The last time I saw her in person, I told her, "I love you so much and know you are so much more than this, but I cannot walk this path with you while you do this to yourself. Just know, the second you are ready to get sober, I will walk every step of that journey with you, no matter how difficult it is. I have my kid and job to protect (I'm a nurse). Until then, I'm still a phone call away if you need me". We spoke on the phone almost daily until the end....I wish there was more I could have done, I miss her every day. But, at least I'm still connected to her daughter. To others going through a similar situation, it's okay to place boundaries, but don't cut your loved one out. You never know when their or your last day may be. You don't want your last words to be hate filled. ❤

You should really check the video of this exact song, but song… “Live at Red Rocks.” The album was called Stone & Echo. I listed to the album every day for like a year straight. I’m a HUGE fan of Maynard. My favorite band is Tool. A Perfect Circle would probably also make my top 5. Both bands are awesome. You know, Maynard is also in a THIRD band, Puscifer. Love your channel! I’ve been following for quite some time! I don’t think I’ve ever commented though… I *think* I do similar work that you do, except I’m a pagan priest! Thanks for all the videos! Blessed Be my friend! ;)

I'm intimately familiar with the feelings in this song. My younger daughter started off - right out of high school - big time into alcohol and partying. Married ... still going out drinking with her 'friends.' First child born (special needs) ... as soon as home from the hospital - right after each of her son's three open-heart surgeries - she was out the door and "shopping at Walmart" until 3am. She left my grandson with us, and she'd disappear for days at a time, and we had no clue where she was nor what she was doing. She drank to the point where she was blacking out and waking up strange places. Early one Sunday morning she called me because she was low on gas ... and she had no idea where she was. Surrounded by corn fields, I was able to figure out where she was - across the line into a neighboring state. When she could no longer drink because of the ulcers she was getting, she turned to drugs. Pot, then on into pills. She eventually got to the point where she was shooting up hydrocodone and oxycodone. We aided her when we were able. Often it was a case of paying to get her phone turned back on ... getting her water turned back on again ... getting her electricity turned back on again ... buying groceries (because her first priority was cigarettes). My wife and I were trapped, in that had we hesitated to enable her, she'd take of with our grandson. She sometimes gave veiled threats to this effect. Then came two baby girls born a year apart - to a drug addict (then) boyfriend. My wife and I ended up getting full legal custody of them. Our former son-in-law got full custody of their special needs son (my grandson was autistic - non-verbal, as well as a heart patient). From this point, she could no longer threaten us through our grandchildren. Shooting up pills devolved into shooting up heroine and methamphetamine. Prostitution and a revolving cycle of in and out of jail for theft arrests. Two overdoses (that we knew of), and several tries at different of in-patient rehabs. The girls are now nine and ten. Last year we legally adopted them. After adopting the girls, our daughter (their mother) came back into our lives. She had gotten clean, and was working, and we had had the girls in therapy to help prepare them for the reunion with their mother - it has been over six years since she'd seen them. Good reunion and a good year between the girls and their mother. A few months after this reunion, our grandson (her son) died in his sleep. He passed peacefully in his own bed, in his own home. We knew that his time with us was limited because of all his medical issues. However, this took us by surprise and hit us hard. Thankfully, our daughter had returned to her son's life a few months before we lost him. A week before Christmas, our daughter went missing. The girls were especially upset because she had promised to be there for Christmas. We had no contact with her for two weeks, this despite a missing person report. This past New Year's Day we received the call that our daughter had been found dead in her car in a motel parking lot near the airport. She died of a drug overdose - methamphetamine and fentanyl. As difficult as it was to have to sit the girls down to break the news that their brother had died, it was harder when only seven months later, we had to start the New Year off by sitting the girls down and telling them that their mother was gone.

Watching others repeatedly self sabotage is one thing, it's when ourselves who're on the sidelines and watching our own impulsive behaviour. Knowing how Maynard writes, I'd say it can go both ways with the songs he's involved in and he does it a fair bit in A Perfect Circle. Where as Tool is more about him self reflecting.

You do not know what anyone else has been through. Listen and realize we all have vastly different experiences that make us all special. Let go and be in the mind of another. Only than can you both heal.

Puscifer-the humbling river. One of my go to songs when I'm down.

"A known hell is more comforting than an unknown heaven."

Really enjoy your reactions and content! Thanks for what you do!

Great Reaction! People need compassion, not judgement.

Now to do Maynard's other other band Puscifer and the song "The Humbling River", it's about overcoming obstacles with teamwork rather than brute force. An incredible song.

This song was written about Layne Staley (Alice in Chains vocalist) from the perspective of his well-meaning but ultimately ignorant brother, who couldn't understand the grip of addiction. Maynard had a conversation with Staley's brother and after his position became apparent, Maynard wrote 'The Outsider'.

I hadn't thought about this in that perspective before ... Thank You.

This whole album is an absolute masterpiece

My understanding is that Maynard wrote this song about his friend and lead singer of Alice In Chains (Layne Staley), as he watched him slowly drift further into addiction and ultimately succumb as a result. But the whole album is about addiction and all the different ways it can affect someone.

Thanks so much for talk about this greats musicians in many dark parts of my life Maynards lyrics was my confort and i wanted to somone who helps me to undestand that feelings now im a psychologist and i realy apreciate your work and i enjoy your coments and reaccions

Definitely need more A Perfect Circle! You should also check out his other band Puscifer! You should check out their songs "The River", "Grand Canyon", and "Momma Sed"!

13th Step is an amazing concept album about addiction and it ends with the most perfect song "Gravity". This album is honestly something so good its hard to put it in words

I had forgotten about the music video. I think it detracts from the enjoyment of this emotional, driving, grooving song. Great song analysis and comments, though.

I believe this song is about a friend (Outsider) seeing a friend or someone close being suicidal.

A beautiful analogy. In my own life, your analogy made me think of the connection, and constant in my face I have with homeless people. How everything you said actually pertains to them as well as far as our empathy is concerned... We see a person struggling, and instead of trying to figure it out, and figure out how to help them or why they're homeless. Which of course is a whole array of different reasons, we just charge them as some kind of a monster. We see their struggle and we think "I would never do that." We never consider what got them there, we just judge them. And amongst a lot of us it's a very cruel judgement. When you have to face them like I do everyday as a "not so rich person" it can be very eye opening. Empathy it seems is a shortcoming in humanity. As always your insights are amazing! Thanks doc!

To me the song feels like a declaration of someone washing their hands of someone else. I'm done hurting myself trying to help you. You cant help someone that won't help themself

Love your channel

Im not 100% sure on how i feel about this analogy yet but thought i would dump it down: I feel like the outsider is the addict, skirting on the outside of functioning while self destructing. There is a wall that is either imagined or invisible between them and the one deviating is placing themselves further and further outside of that imaginary wall. That wall could be partially constructed from either perspective but there is some interesting imagery to play with there...

subbed, i listened to this cd on repeat for atleast 2 months in a portable cd player as i skate boarded around my town when it 1st came out

I'd love to see you do Gravity off this album. That song saved my life.

Massive tool fan. Maynard makes me teel things no other male or female (singer does). He is the most organic, story teller, singer i will ever hear. A real piece of art. I heard this song after i stopped drinking, 1 week later. And i cried constantly during the song. I almost started drinking again, but after i heard this song i felt stronger than ever. Alcohol wont take me over, ever and i mean ever again. So for me Maynard was the outsider, regarding my alcoholic problem then.

woah, you never fails to shine a new light on the songs I enjoy. Keep doing more MJK, maybe even Nick CAve in the future.

As someone who pretty recently started therapy. I really enjoy your content. Thank you

I really feel this song.

Another song by them would be absolutely great to have a therapist react to. It's called Feathers, off the album after this one. It's literally about therapy.

Glad to see you reacting to apc , got to see them at redrocks this year , amazing show

Your hair/outfit combo in this video is very lovely. Also, I've enjoyed this song for decades, and as a kid I was kinda shocked by the ostensible message of the song, which you went into detail about. Though as a young teen, the deeper themes of Tool & APC tended to go over my head.

The album this is on is Called Thirteenth Step and is written as a struggle with addiction.

Great jam. Definitely do more Perfect Circle. Also look into highly suspect & the amity affliction, love to hear your thoughts

The NOSE is a great, lesser known song by them and very deep

Please do the song “Gravity” or The Noose? You can really hear how beautiful he can sing! It is like nothing you have heard before!!! Terrance

Great album and my 2nd favorite APC album behind Mer de Noms from a genius that surrounds himself with a ton of talent in all his bands; love him in all his faces/phases and voices.

I love watching a therapist jam out to this

Your reactions and analysis are amazing. I make music to get my releases out as well. music is soul. Soul is music

check out A Perfect Circle - Feathers. It's from their 2018 album (this one is from 2003) so it sounds a bit different but it has great lyrics.

I like to think the song can also talk about your own conscious talking to you so an internal battle .

This album which the song comes from is called The 13th Step, a reference to the 12 Step program. Most of the songs deal with different perspectives of recovery and eventually relapse, which most people do. The 13th Step is relapse and using all over again.

APC Orestes is another great song! "Metaphor for a missing moment"

Top favorite bands of all time. Definitely need to listen more

Yes! So glad you discovered this band

so glad I found these videos! Thank you for continuing to do them

Remember tho, this is Maynard, it's not just about a loved one or someone in particular, it's about society as a whole. And addiction is not limited to drugs or alcohol but also addicted to all things in our lives that prevent us from moving forward. And in order to understand this video, you really need to watch the bikini bandits movie... it's something special and that's😂all i can really say about that. Corey Feldman is also in this movie and Maynard plays the role of Satan.

The Outsider. Double meaning about a person standing Outside judging an Outsider.

APC has some great songs to analyze. Like 3 Libras or Judith

Love Maynard, A Perfect Circle, your analysis and the lacy top Ms Palmby. :) Keep it up and enjoy!

Now that was a bonafide therapy session! I feel so much better about myself! I can hardly wait for the next therapy session.

I always thought this song was talking about yourself in the third person, but looking at it from a loved one’s perspective is super interesting.

Just discovered this YT channel. Omg this idea is sooo amazing! I love it!

You should check out Sleeping Beauty ... it's off their first album Mer De Noms.

I love how you automatically start videos instead of doing the cut outs stuff other videos do that make me just leave the video

Other sings from this album I can't recommend enough: 'Weak and Powerless', 'Blue (made me cry the first time), & 'The Nurse Who Loved Me",.

Please do Gravity..!!!

The album is called 13 steps!

My friend broke up with me his girlfriend of 5 years around the time this came out. The whole album encapsulates what she went through and none of us could help her with. He finally wrangled it in and he shows me where she's at now occasionally 20+ years later. It's sad.

the song is about someone who has no idea what a s*icidal person is going through and them being "why you being sad? have you tried not to? don't bother me with your issues"

Passive next

check out 3 libras, orestes. Another good song is from Cyberpunk 2077 / Hardest to Be | Cyberpunk 2077

Loving your reactions and thoughts. You need to do Five Finger Death Punch "Gone Away" and "Wrong Side of Heaven"

For me this song has always been about me trying to fit in and failing. I’m the outsider

You couldn't be more right! Her name was Nichole.

The noose from this álbum!

based on Maynard’s own explanation of this song you nailed it

More A Perfect Circle!!!

I love how unaffected you were by the video. You just kept on hearing the lyrics and getting the message. The video for this is kind of nuts.

I feel the opposite when it comes to being the Outside. This outsider strikes me as someone that has gone to the mat for them. The outsider is watching a friend totally self distruck and try as you might there's nothing you can do, so as a last ditch effort you go 120% tough love cause you gotta call the bluff before the suicidal imbecile gets too deep into that destructive persona and fulfills the profecy. It might cost you the friendship but you could save the person. I've actually been in that situation before on several occasions. You owe it to them to be honest and give it to them as such. That hurts to hear and some shit will ensure, but if that's your homeboy or homegirl you fickin owe it to them. They usually grow to respect it down the road, but not all of them. Sometimes you gotta hit someone with a sledgehammer to get their attention (figuratively speaking of course)

The video is a piece of the "Bikini Bandits, lost in the Bermuda triangle" movie.

It's cool she does a song you listen too for many years and you got the jist of a song but she does a deep dive into the meaning.

There is no official music for this song. A great song. This group of young women liked the track and decided to make an unofficial music video and wrote it. They invited Maynard to do a cameo and he agreed. The 13th Step is an awesome album

3 libras is a must!

I am watching this in real time play out in someone I love.

Omg 😳 another great content 😍 loving it 💙 very interesting 🌊

I bought this album on release date. Today I learned they made a music video for it.

Hello, check out "eat the elephant" as well, great song by APC

You really need to watch Linkin Park - Given Up Live In Clarkston

The song is about cutting loose the person that refuses to help themselves. Realizing you cannot love or hope someone better. The whole album is about different aspects of addiction. (My interpretation)

Watching the video takes away "something" from the song, glad you focused on the lyrics.

Please do a combination of Tool's Jimmy, then APC's Judith then Wings for Marie/10,000 days. tells the story of Maynard's mother's tragedy and how it affected him, his trying understand her perspective then his introspection after she passes away. Its an exercise in processing grief and selfishness. (i sent a donation)

Tool - Pushit next, abusive relashionship

Try Judith by APC and Wings pt 1 and 2 by Tool. It's very interesting how Maynard's grief evolves.

It's a interesting opinion but the song is about Maynard watching his mother suffer for 10,000 days before her passing. ( Hence the Tool album) Judith was her name. Super religious and Maynard struggled with her faith. God would save her. It's also about addiction that she suffered from. But God would save her. He had a hard time with that.

I just removed myself from someone that is going through this… My Ptsd can’t handle that anymore