'My World' - If you hate it you are missing the point

[nesquick]

if in another life i became a film director i would definately use My World as music for a sex scene because it fits a drug filled,fucked up scene perfectly.

wow! I hope you'll never make a movie...
Axl should have taken less drugs on that moment. that song is truely the worst "song" I've ever heard. "oh my god" and "silkworms aren't very far too... 10 years for that? Come on...
take a guitar to make an album, and put computers in a garbage. that's all I want to say.

[Eva GnRAxlRosette]

I can totally understand how the 'arrangement' may not be appealing to many...   disturbing even...  But, I agree that it is what it is meant to be

I count myself lucky that I can appreciate its akward shape/structure

HOWEVER there is no way this song is 'crap' or a joke.

Like it or not - it make sense.
The lyrics make sense.
They are expressive and descriptive.
Everything in this song 'fits'.

My Worldu
You wan'da step into my world

            You want to understand me

It's a sociopsychotic state of bliss

Psychosis - A severe mental disorder, with or without organic damage, characterized by derangement of personality and loss of contact with reality and causing deterioration of normal social functioning.

socio- (pref.) Society/ Social.  He is not alone in (his) world.  Its a societal.

"our species appears to be suffering from a "global bipolar disorder";  there is collective emotional and mental instability that is effectively a social psychosis. This social psychosis manifests as irrational "bipolar" swings in popular mood, thought and behavior. There are creative upswings... (followed by destructive downswings.)"  - from The Global Bipolar Disorder Hypothesis by J. Adams 1/16/02
 
the sociopyschotic state of bliss is the 'upswing'

You've been delayed in the real world

         delayed means its inevitable that you will join 'his world'...
         you may not be there now... but you are only delayed

How many times have you hit and missed?

         He'as asking those who have not yet succumbed to social
         pyschosis... 'how many times have you hit and missed'...
         How many times has shit not worked out for you?  Its only
         a matter of time before those multiple 'misses' take their toll

You cat-scan shows disfiguration

         There are signs of the toll that 'life' has taken on you
         If you looked inside your mind you would see the 'disfiguration'
         Using the term cat-scan means that these things are not
         evident  -  perhaps through psychoanalysis or other therapy
         they would be recognized.

I wanna laugh myself to death

         After going it though it himself he can see from the other side
         how ridiculous it is to deny the inevitable.    
 
With a misfired synapse
with a bent configuration

        syn?apse - The junction across which a nerve impulse passes from an axon terminal to a neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.

        "bent configuration" - the junction - the passage is 'bent' hence the misfiring (of impulses)  


I'll hold the line while you gasp for breath

        being deprive of oxygen causes brain damage
        helping you along to what  the inevitable  
        (remember you only been delayed)

You wanna talk to me
So talk to me
You wanna talk to me [7 times]
You can't talk to me

        You can't communicate effectively with him in 'his world'

You don't understand your sex
You ain't been mindfucked yet

        You haven't sustained sufficient damage to relate - yet
        See again the inevitability of crossing over into (his) world

        The part about not understanding 'your sex' can be simply
        translated to understanding your self
        Our most universal expression of who we are is our gender.
        Evidence by impulse to first identify ourselves as male or female.
        Example: Whats the first information you exchange with an
        anonymous person on the net?
     

Let's do it [3 times]
Oh my distorted smile

Guess what I'm doing now

         The sounds are obviously of one having sex.  
         Lets do it.  
         Join me.
         I'm gonna help you along this journey.
         Sexual intercourse is physically the most intimate one
         person can become with another.  The sex could be
         symbolic of that 'mind fuck'...   Letting one in your mind.
         Think of it as taking the 'red pill' in the matrix
          Sex is often a symbol of birth
          There are many similarities between intercourse and childbirth
          One of which is the woman's breathing/moaning - which we hear here.
          Again - an entry into (his) world - a birth.  A merging.

          Oh my distorted smile.
           Satisfaction of having one join him...
           In one who will now understand him...
          Distorted by the pain of knowing that now you will share his affliction.

okay, whatever
my interpretation is just that - it can be interpreted/understood differently by different persons

I've never went though it line by line and analyzed it before...
but what has come to mind as i have went though it like this pretty much
conforms with my prior general understanding of the lyrical content

i'd like to note that the lyrics only metion the 'state of bliss'
yet the 'distorted smile' gives away that there is not complete 'bliss' to be expected in (his) world

in any event i think the lyrics are well written
and the music and effects fit perfectly

[badapple81]

U just finish the beautiful 'Don't cry' and this awful noise explodes from your cd player - the amount of times i have forgotten it comes next and have had to dart across the room to switch it off

lol.. haha exactly the same here.

[Sillything]

I can totally understand how the 'arrangement' may not be appealing to many...   disturbing even...  But, I agree that it is what it is meant to be

I count myself lucky that I can appreciate its akward shape/structure

HOWEVER there is no way this song is 'crap' or a joke.

Like it or not - it make sense.
The lyrics make sense.
They are expressive and descriptive.
Everything in this song 'fits'.

My Worldu
You wan'da step into my world

            You want to understand me

It's a sociopsychotic state of bliss

Psychosis - A severe mental disorder, with or without organic damage, characterized by derangement of personality and loss of contact with reality and causing deterioration of normal social functioning.

socio- (pref.) Society/ Social.  He is not alone in (his) world.  Its a societal.

"our species appears to be suffering from a "global bipolar disorder";  there is collective emotional and mental instability that is effectively a social psychosis. This social psychosis manifests as irrational "bipolar" swings in popular mood, thought and behavior. There are creative upswings... (followed by destructive downswings.)"  - from The Global Bipolar Disorder Hypothesis by J. Adams 1/16/02
 
the sociopyschotic state of bliss is the 'upswing'

You've been delayed in the real world

         delayed means its inevitable that you will join 'his world'...
         you may not be there now... but you are only delayed

How many times have you hit and missed?

         He'as asking those who have not yet succumbed to social
         pyschosis... 'how many times have you hit and missed'...
         How many times has shit not worked out for you?  Its only
         a matter of time before those multiple 'misses' take their toll

You cat-scan shows disfiguration

         There are signs of the toll that 'life' has taken on you
         If you looked inside your mind you would see the 'disfiguration'
         Using the term cat-scan means that these things are not
         evident  -  perhaps through psychoanalysis or other therapy
         they would be recognized.

I wanna laugh myself to death

         After going it though it himself he can see from the other side
         how ridiculous it is to deny the inevitable.    
 
With a misfired synapse
with a bent configuration

        syn?apse - The junction across which a nerve impulse passes from an axon terminal to a neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.

        "bent configuration" - the junction - the passage is 'bent' hence the misfiring (of impulses)  


I'll hold the line while you gasp for breath

        being deprive of oxygen causes brain damage
        helping you along to what  the inevitable  
        (remember you only been delayed)

You wanna talk to me
So talk to me
You wanna talk to me [7 times]
You can't talk to me

        You can't communicate effectively with him in 'his world'

You don't understand your sex
You ain't been mindfucked yet

        You haven't sustained sufficient damage to relate - yet
        See again the inevitability of crossing over into (his) world

        The part about not understanding 'your sex' can be simply
        translated to understanding your self
        Our most universal expression of who we are is our gender.
        Evidence by impulse to first identify ourselves as male or female.
        Example: Whats the first information you exchange with an
        anonymous person on the net?
     

Let's do it [3 times]
Oh my distorted smile

Guess what I'm doing now

         The sounds are obviously of one having sex.  
         Lets do it.  
         Join me.
         I'm gonna help you along this journey.
         Sexual intercourse is physically the most intimate one
         person can become with another.  The sex could be
         symbolic of that 'mind fuck'...   Letting one in your mind.
         Think of it as taking the 'red pill' in the matrix
          Sex is often a symbol of birth
          There are many similarities between intercourse and childbirth
          One of which is the woman's breathing/moaning - which we hear here.
          Again - an entry into (his) world - a birth.  A merging.

          Oh my distorted smile.
           Satisfaction of having one join him...
           In one who will now understand him...
          Distorted by the pain of knowing that now you will share his affliction.

okay, whatever
my interpretation is just that - it can be interpreted/understood differently by different persons

I've never went though it line by line and analyzed it before...
but what has come to mind as i have went though it like this pretty much
conforms with my prior general understanding of the lyrical content

i'd like to note that the lyrics only metion the 'state of bliss'
yet the 'distorted smile' gives away that there is not complete 'bliss' to be expected in (his) world

in any event i think the lyrics are well written
and the music and effects fit perfectly

Oooh cool analysis! Masterpice

[unoturbo]

If you have to analyse a song before you can like it, then it's a bad song!

It's similar to that art house thing that burned down in England. It contained some of the best contemporary pieces of 'art', which included a bath, a tent and a shed!!!!!!! All of which were desribed as well ahead of their time.

Yes, you can analyse and write down what the shed meant to the artist (who got paid thousands to 'produce' it) but it doesn't change the fact it is still a shed!

Same with My World. If I had made that song you'd thing it was absolute shite.

And as for analysing it and trying to make it something it's not: You can't polish a turd!

[matt88]

I can understand if people dont like this song but do believe that the ones who say that it is total crap are totally missing the point of the song and the reason for the song.

As I have stated in another topic, the intention of this song was not to create another nice little RnR number that we can all sing along to with our friends, it was never meant to be an easy listen. This song was meant to depict Axls world so it had to be a totally fucked up piece of music, its a challenge to listen to, its almost uncomfortable to listen to and that is all part of it genius.

The song was meant to get inside you head and fuck with your mind so that you may just possibly understand the fucked up world of the mind that created it.

If you dismiss this song, then to do the above is too much of a challenge and I suggest that you "Fuck off and go buy something from the new age section"

"My World" was years ahead of its time, is better than anything Trent Reznor had done up to that point, and is quite frankly a fucking masterpiece

Did u ask him did ya

[page]

I?ll bet my ass that no-one here would like it, it wasn`t made by GNR (or more specific, your dearly beloved little Axl)

[Skeletor]

I?ll bet my ass that no-one here would like it, it wasn`t made by GNR (or more specific, your dearly beloved little Axl)

That's inane logic, it's like saying you wouldn't like your best friend if he was someone else.

[sic.]

I?ll bet my ass that no-one here would like it, it wasn`t made by GNR (or more specific, your dearly beloved little Axl)

If it would've been made by somebody else, we wouldn't probably give a shit. Since it's made by GNR, we do. You think there's a contradiction here, forming an opinion and debating on a song by a band you like?

[Eva GnRAxlRosette]

If you have to analyse a song before you can like it, then it's a bad song!

Excuse me.  I did not have to analyze the song in order to like it.  I shared my interpretation of the lyrics for those who might appreciate it.  Obviously, you don't.  
Music is art and art is subjective.
Fair enough you can say you don't like it.
But to state it is a 'bad' song as though that were fact is incorrect.
Who are you to make a definitive judgement?
For those who think its so 'obvious' that the song is 'crap'
you have to understand that there are those of us who think its obvious that the song is not crap.
Get it?

I said I like it and gave reasons why I like it and why reasons I think it is a good song.
You wanna say you don't like it then say why you don't like it perhaps - that is if you are interested in having a real discussion.

It's similar to that art house thing that burned down in England. It contained some of the best contemporary pieces of 'art', which included a bath, a tent and a shed!!!!!!! All of which were desribed as well ahead of their time.

Yes, you can analyse and write down what the shed meant to the artist (who got paid thousands to 'produce' it) but it doesn't change the fact it is still a shed!
Same with My World. If I had made that song you'd thing it was absolute shite.

No - its not the same.  The lyrics speak.  
There are words.  Those words have meanings.  

you want to step into my world?
its a sociophycotic state of bliss
you been delayed in the real world
tell me how many times have you hit and missed?
your cat-scan shows disfiguration
i wanna laugh myself to death
with a misfired synapse
with a bent configuration
i hold the line while you grasp for breath
you wanna talk to me
so talk to me
you can't talk to me
you can't understand your sex
you ain't been mind fucked yet

So how does that equal a shed?  
The song is not abstract.
Those words have specific meanings
Igput the meanings of many of the key words so that
some who may want to could know what they mean.

And as for analysing it and trying to make it something it's not: You can't polish a turd!

Again - while my comment included some subjective interpretations the fact remains that the song has lyrics which make thier own sense.  Those lyrics are made of words  - many of which I defined to enable some who might be interested to understand.  Those words and lyrics in and of themselves on their own express the writers feelings.
The fact that you (or others) don't relate to those feelings, does not invalidate the writer's method of expressing himself.  Its not like he sung non-sense.  So enough with the 'crap' and 'turd' comments.  

The initial poster made a very keen observation.
If you don't 'get it'... then it must be crap, eh?

Seems the turds lie between some listeners'  ears and those could use some airing out.

Is it so hard to open your mind and maybe  - just maybe  - try to see something from a different perspective?

Nah, so much better to say: Its crap!  and keep walking cuz what u are afraid of?  

And you are damn skippy i am interested in discussing this song because it is written by Axl Rose.
His writing has always connected with me on some level and I'm far from alone in that.
I bet a lot of you would be surprised to know how many of us would thouroughly enjoy to read silently the lyrics of Axl Rose without a drop of music.  

PS:  nothing in my post is personally towards you unoturbo
       A lot of people could benefit from opening thier mind to all sorts of different forms of expressions.
       Its good excercise for the mind.

[Buddha_Master]

I wonder if any of you are knowledgable in the Beatles, and some of the music they made. During the psychedelic 60's they along with others (like hendrix) experimented with their music and used it like a painter does with ink on a blank canvas, knowing full well the state of mind of some of the listeners that were their giving into the journey.

The White Album. Try tripping to it. Im serious. Really take a night off, get into a comfortable place, and trip to it. That is an experience. It takes you to places.

But, just as it takes you to another mental plane of existence...there is the track number 9.

Have any of you experienced that...I mean really experience it. If you do it while not on a psychedelic drug, then you will not experience what this does.

My World, is almost an extension of that. Not quite the same, not quite as good...but it eludes to it. I agree with the topic starter, that if you don't like it...you are missing the point. You just don't get it. The song for all intents and purposes, is a psychedelic mindfuck. Few others would bother trying to capture this.

And for those that want to dismiss what Trent Reznor has done, and continues to do (his new album being solely created on a digital medium with an ex that will hit with a 6.1 soundfield) goes beyond a simple difference of a opinion. Its a shortcome to thinking. Its ignorance. They layers and depth to NIN music is something that talking shit about, is about the same as taking a  marker and writing the word "fool" onto your forehead.

My World is different, and does not mess up "what could have been a total masterpiece album." What ruined UYI 2 is not My World. What does is the utter amateurish, elementary track called Get In The Ring. What a fucking piece of shit shallow bully song that is. Shotgun blues is also one of the albums lowpoints that keep it from being a Masterpiece.

My World is something that unfortunately some of you don't understand and appreciate. But it makes those that do, all the more wiser.

[unoturbo]

You wanna say you don't like it then say why you don't like it perhaps - that is if you are interested in having a real discussion.

I don't like it because it's not a good song! The lyrics do make sense and you can certainly argue that they are good lyrics, but take them away and listen to the music! Infact time how long you can stand it for.

I like GNR because they have good lyrics and exceptional music. I love Estranged for example, both because of the lyrics and the music. I didn't need to listen to it a few times or think about what it means, I love the tune. Sometimes i listen to the lyrics, sometimes the guitar parts, sometimes even to the drums, there isn't anything bad about it.

Now compare to My World. Passable lyrics (compared to their other songs) and terrible, god-awful music, no real instruments............ Just shite!

So how does that equal a shed?  
The song is not abstract.
Those words have specific meanings

The song is not abstract but you are trying to analyse it into something else. A shed is a shed, a song is a song. Compared to other songs this one, in my oppion (and anyone else's with ears!), is a bad song

Those words and lyrics in and of themselves on their own express the writers feelings.The fact that you (or others) don't relate to those feelings, does not invalidate the writer's method of expressing  himself.  Its not like he sung non-sense.  So enough with the 'crap' and 'turd' comments.  

That's a very abstract way to analyse a song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I said before, he can sing about what the hell he wants to, I can't stand the actual tune so I'd hate it no matter what, whether I 'got' it or related to it or whatever.

Is it so hard to open your mind and maybe  - just maybe  - try to see something from a different perspective?

Nah, so much better to say: Its crap!  and keep walking cuz what u are afraid of?  

Walking away!! From what? A big scary song that might open up some deep psychological experience I had buried deep inside for years?

I see it from the perspective of a song. Nothing more. That's because it's a song, just like a shed is a shed, I'm not into the abstract viewpoint.

[tHeElEcTrIcSiNtAr]

'My World' is fuckin awesome. Might not be the best GN'R song, but it certaintly is good. It's different and has great lyrics. Also, I do like the music behind it. People just arent open minded, they dont like to experience different kinds of music.

[madagas]

The ways of the Buddha..listen and learn boys and girls. Stoned Immaculate.

[MrBen]

That was a great and very thoughtfull informative breakdown of the lyrics.
 

[dust of my dust]

I totally agree with MrBen, and I am glad to see that I am not the only one who's really into My World.

When I was younger, it took me a while to appreciate the song, because I had to learn how to listen to it (much like I had to learn how to really hear what is going on in NIN's music). But once I understood it, I really started to love the song and its twisted vibe. The lyrics are great and the music was quite innovative at the time: for me, My World is a unique song...

And I am sure that Axl knew what he was doing when he decided to put it on the album: it was a test because he really wanted to incorporate more extreme elements in the music of GN'R. I think that it is clear that for him (he said it clearly in some interview back in 1993), My World was supposed to be the beginning of a more artistically challenging direction that he was eventually not allowed to take, because people didn't let him experiment with sounds and express himself the way he wanted to...

In the end, you can only be productive and satisfied if you listen to yourself and create whatever you want or need to create, despite other people's reticence. If Axl wants to create My World and Silkworms, then he should do it and go the whole way to achieve his goals proprely. If he does it with vigor and integrity, I think that the fans will eventually follow: the satisfaction will just be greater in the end...

[Dot]

If you dismiss this song, then to do the above is too much of a challenge and I suggest that you "Fuck off and go buy something from the new age section"

Hey hey hey! no need to use insults here my friend!

[PeterCoffin]

The purpose of music is to things that sound good. Not to be an artsy bastard and make shit that "people don't understand." Misunderstood "artists" are dumb.

[privatereserve]

I just heard Michael Jackson is going to do a cover of that song.  

[Evolution]

The purpose of music is to things that sound good. Not to be an artsy bastard and make shit that "people don't understand." Misunderstood "artists" are dumb.

i think the purpose of music is whatever you want it to be.if someone wants to make a "artsy" song how can they be considered dumb?it's an expression of himself.