YOUR QUESTION

05/22/2020 Kenny

Hi Trevor! I was sitting here, listening to Bungle while eating my Honey Bunches of Oats (which, sure, Bungle might be a bit more of a Cap'n Crunch type of band, but in these trying times, you take what you can get) and a question came to mind, that I proceeded to Google and couldn't find anything on, so if you've already previously talked about this somewhere, I apologize:
You've talked previously about the "Sleep Trilogy" of Bungle songs (which, for those who might be reading if you answer this, were "Slowly Growing Deaf", "Carry Stress in the Jaw" and "Phlegmatics") and that got me thinking: "Everybody I Went to High School With is Dead" is a killer song, but when I think about it, I personally feel like "Retrovertigo" is almost like its counterpart (not necessarily a sequel, however), in the way that (in my personal view, of course you'd know the meaning better than I do) they both seemingly tackle the past and memories associated with it, be it the disconnection from peers shown in in "Everybody [...]" or the way that the past becomes romanticized (my takeaway of "Retrovertigo")
So my questions are: Was "Retrovertigo" intentionally written as a companion-piece to "Everybody [...]"? And how do you cope with painful/bittersweet nostalgia?

MY ANSWER

Firstly, not to be a grammatical stickler, but it’s “Everyone..” not “Everybody…” I do make particular distinctions in my lyrics. That song and “Retro..” were never intended as companion pieces, although I do see what you’re talking about. Both are somewhat judgemental observations of cultural conditioning. I suppose I’m always wary of social norms dominating individuality. Myself, I struggle with the bittersweetness of nostalgia, constantly fighting my tendencies for hoarding vs living in the moment. Forgetting is an important human mechanism that we are seemingly less and less capable of. Even others won’t let us forget. My takeaway from your question is that I tend to say the same things over and over, often forgetting what I’ve already said only to repeat it in some new disguise. Perhaps the result is my “voice”. But coping isn’t that big of a deal for me. If nostalgia starts to bother me I make a move towards something I don’t know.