I know I'm plenty late on this, but I've been reading through the archives and just wanted to mention what this song means to me. Thermostat has always been my favorite song on JH, which, to my knowledge, is not a popular opinion. I've always known that it's a song about a car crash, much like 33% of the album (roughly), but I personally see it as a representation of how loud my mind can be. The horns are BLASTING throughout the song, and though they quiet briefly as Linnell tries to catch his train of thought ("as I was just saying..."), they inevitably return just as powerfully as before. As much as I want to turn the mental noise down and my focus up, the cold will bring me down, and the horns overpower once more. The warping vocal effects on the last chorus (after the fake ending) really solidify this for me, feeling so desperate for just a minute's worth of focus, while knowing it may never come. Thank you for this write-up (and all others you've done!), I truly love hearing other people's stories and connections to TMBG and their songs.
This is SUCH a well thought out comment and honestly could be its own post about this song.
It’s exactly the spirit in which I’m approaching all of these. I think we all bring our own experiences and head-cannon to the songs we listen to (and to art in general) and things can mean different things for different people. The REASONS why the meanings are different is good stuff.
Thanks again for sharing and reading. Your comments are always welcome!
Thank you! Hopefully, you'll be seeing me around the comments more often in the future. Now that I know this blog exists, it'll certainly be a weekly mainstay.
I know I'm plenty late on this, but I've been reading through the archives and just wanted to mention what this song means to me. Thermostat has always been my favorite song on JH, which, to my knowledge, is not a popular opinion. I've always known that it's a song about a car crash, much like 33% of the album (roughly), but I personally see it as a representation of how loud my mind can be. The horns are BLASTING throughout the song, and though they quiet briefly as Linnell tries to catch his train of thought ("as I was just saying..."), they inevitably return just as powerfully as before. As much as I want to turn the mental noise down and my focus up, the cold will bring me down, and the horns overpower once more. The warping vocal effects on the last chorus (after the fake ending) really solidify this for me, feeling so desperate for just a minute's worth of focus, while knowing it may never come. Thank you for this write-up (and all others you've done!), I truly love hearing other people's stories and connections to TMBG and their songs.
This is SUCH a well thought out comment and honestly could be its own post about this song.
It’s exactly the spirit in which I’m approaching all of these. I think we all bring our own experiences and head-cannon to the songs we listen to (and to art in general) and things can mean different things for different people. The REASONS why the meanings are different is good stuff.
Thanks again for sharing and reading. Your comments are always welcome!
Thank you! Hopefully, you'll be seeing me around the comments more often in the future. Now that I know this blog exists, it'll certainly be a weekly mainstay.