SUBVERSIVE ON EVERY LEVEL // Will Wood - The Normal Album // Composer Reaction & Analysis

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Will Wood's album "The Normal Album"
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00:00 Intro
02:27 Reaction: Suburbia Overture
08:45 Analysis: Retro Emulation
13:37 Analysis: Macabre Jazz
18:36 Analysis: A Lot of Sounds
23:43 Lyrical Dive: Suburbia Overture
34:00 Reaction: 2econd 2ight 2eer
37:31 Analysis: Fun Music
42:10 Analysis: Wonderful Solos
45:19 Analysis: Subversive Major Key
46:53 Lyrical Dive: 2econd 2ight 2eer
54:39 Reaction: Laplace's Angel
58:44 Analysis: I'm Getting The Comedy
1:03:50 Analysis: Vocal Bite
1:05:30 Analysis: More Timbres!
1:09:26 Lyrical Dive: Laplace's Angel
1:20:02 Reaction: I / Me / Myself
1:25:00 Analysis: It's Kinda Emo, Right?
1:28:20 Analysis: Similar Writing Style
1:31:15 Analysis: Noise Breaking Through
1:35:40 Lyrical Dive: I / Me / Myself
1:44:56 Reaction: ...Well, Better Than the Alternative
1:49:13 Reaction: Outliars & Hyppocrates
1:53:36 ACCIDENTALLY MUTED :(
1:54:33 Analysis: Thematically Appropriate Writing
2:01:21 Lyrical Dive: ...Well, Better Than the Alternative
2:08:00 Lyrical Dive: Outliars & Hyppocrates
2:09:56 Reaction: BlackBoxWarrior -- OKULTRA
2:14:51 Reaction: Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialectics
2:20:14 Analysis: Tongue-In-Cheek Delivery
2:29:37 Lyrical Dive: BlackBoxWarrior -- OKULTRA
2:32:40 Lyrical Dive: Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialectics
2:37:24 Reaction: Love, Me Normally
2:43:11 Reaction: Memento Mori
2:46:02 Analysis: Morbid Comedy
2:54:11 Lyrical Dive: Love, Me Normally
2:58:40 Lyrical Dive: Memento Mori
3:02:04 Analysis: A Fun, Bleak, Journey
3:04:57 Outro
#reaction #willwood #progressivepop

[@calechipconecrimes]

watching a normal, well-adjusted, very much hinged person analyze will wood has been the highlight of my day. thank you

[@aratof18]

ofc there would be more than one aroace on here

[@calechipconecrimes]

@@aratof18 gasp! where!

[@Aahhabdnd]

your comment just made me realize how mentally ill my music taste is

[@MPplayerYT]

​@@Aahhabdnd I think it's fine, I'm completely well adjusted and I'm normal, I'd rather be normal. Yes, so normal. I suggest that we keep this informal. Cause a normal human being wouldn't need to pretend to be normal

[@scrunkliestscrimbo9981]

@@aratof18 wh... what??? was that meant as an insult? mf yeah there's a lot of aroace people in the world in general.

[@b-ratevillain3406]

"Will Wood is on my radar now" thats so ominous

[@batcaaat]

Will Wood is rapidly approaching your location

[@The_momur]

Like Mothman.

[@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard]

Will Wood will be real in 30 minutes

[@plus9775]

Will wood is approaching your destination and will arrive in 3 minutes

[@mirulei]

every second you aren't running he gets closer

[@jazzycakes6294]

As someone who is SEVERELY mentally ill, I totally get the contrast of the dark lyrics and the upbeat music. It feels like that frantic mania you can experience. Have you ever been so messed up by something, that you just have to laugh? It's like that. The horrible, giddy ecstasy paired with the terrible desperation of "please help". It's such an underexplored feeling in music, and in general, but oh, Will Wood does it so well.

[@ausburnesdumbaltaccount9676]

gallow's humor is way more grim and funny in an absurdist way when it pertains to mental illness, being able to make witty jokes and criticisms on the human condition while being a few bad days away from suicide is a thrilling experience i would know :3

[@Vgn1701]

Both of your answers are very much expressing how I feel

[@Eggthedreg]

Will wood actually has bipolar from what im aware of, so yeah that idea of mania totally checks out. His music is very much reflective of him. His first album has a lot to do with drug use, and his newest is much more mellow as he has sought out treatment and gotten help. You can just about follow his life through his music. Its incredible

[@Ozloz]

Totally. Once in the middle of laughing iI burst out sobbing and couldn’t stop. I was still laughing too. A lot of Will Wood’s songs feel like that moment. A grim mixture of euphoria and crushing despair

[@piemseml6206]

upbeat music and dark lyrics is my favourite gender

[@makminipixelz]

The craziest thing is that momento Mori is probably the most positive song on the album and it’s literally about death

[@damirruiz250]

2econd 2ight 2eer is not that negative either

[@CalmCreativity23]

"well, better than the alternative.." and "I/Me/Myself" sound positive too

[@pedroian5964]

I/Me/Myself is pretty upbeat tho

[@elephantguy0790]

@@pedroian5964it’s kinda up beat. Idk it’s hard to say if it’s positive or negative due to how complex and difficult dealing with one’s gender identity is, but it’s certainly a catchy song.

[@scrunkliestscrimbo9981]

@@pedroian5964 mf they said positive, not upbeat.

[@redpandadotjpeg2640]

The reason these songs are so well documented and annotated is because somehow will wood is able to capture the minds of autistic people who will put in the time and effort to fully analyse and dig really deep into his work lol I’m only at laplaces angel right now but I can tell this video is so amazing

[@grahmar1597]

Haha I’m autistic and currently writing song analysis for his unreleased songs right this second, 900 words for nobody so far and I’m starting my second one for you are love

[@zubaunalien8345]

That's because he strapped us to a ceiling fan and made us listen to his songs (not complaining tho)

[@KunzLevi]

Lmao

[@stitchgor3]

@@grahmar1597omg I’d love to read that

[@grahmar1597]

@@stitchgor3 it’s not the best but I’ll try and find it for you, I ended up doing nobody and blackboxwarrior instead of you are love because blackboxwarrior is cool, also it’s my personal take on what I think nobody means and may be viewed in different ways anyways imma find my laptop so I can copy it into here

[@AngieNoLife]

Fun fact!! From what i heard apparently Will Wood actually cant read music sheets and most of his songs are just played by ear, giving his music a unique vibe to it- i cant rlly explain it also itis means the rest of the band just has to figure out what kind of melody hes trying to play

[@kawaiicthyarlotep6141]

I gotta get more into Willwood just from this fact lol That makes me like him more

[@doubleaabattery7562]

Most musicians I listen to play by ear lol

[@hutoutpizzad]

So he's kind of like Kikuo?? Kikuo has never learnt any music and doesn't know what the hell chords are for...

[@rarebeeph1783]

your face when the vampire culture lyrics of suburbia overture started was priceless

[@ENnbY]

it made me giggle with glee because i knew at that moment he felt exactly how i felt

[@DarthHamster12]

that was me when I heard it for the first time too lmao

[@valentina_the_latina]

will said his music could be called evil jazz lmao

[@piemseml6206]

evil jazz sounds so funny to me idk why

[@luminous_spores]

His music is an unevenly mixed batter of evil jazz, doo-wop, rock, folk and sad rat songs baked into a beautiful disproportionate cake

[@hydrochicken9854]

After Laplace's Angel when he was talking about upbeat music but bleak lyrics I was like "Oh this guy's mind is gonna be completely blown when he hears Memento Mori"

[@rainwunk]

6:26 "What in the world am I listening to?" Yep. Thats Will Wood for ya.

[@ShadinCore]

i don't know about laplace's angel, but "laplace's demon" is a hypothetical creature in physics that knows position and momentum behind all the matter in the universe, so it can predict the future by calculating effect caused by all interactions

[@CriticalReactions]

Given that so much of this album is about opposites and subversion so I think that's intentional. But I'm having a hard time pinpointing what exactly he might be alluding to with it. If the demon is determinism then the angel is....free will?

[@ShadinCore]

​@@CriticalReactions i thought more in a way of presenting idea of determinism as not inherently negative one (not that idea of "demon" in science is supposed to be EVIL in the first place, but word demon still has that implication in the culture), since the song is about understanding that there are underlying causes for people doing bad things, so if we changed that cause we would change the effect or maybe it's even placing listener in hypothetical "laplace's angel's" shoes, saying that they if they think they are good as some inherent part of themself (like an angel) they should look at bigger picture of all circumstances to understand what made them that way and what makes evil people the way that they are

[@esotorrent7807]

The idea of laplaces demon is that under the same conditions, all action are predictable and unchanging. Laplaces angel is a spin on that saying "if you were in my place" aka under the same conditions "you would do the same thing I did" which is the idea of the song

[@usemorewood3184]

@@CriticalReactionsThere’s an older recording of that song from 2015 with different lyrics. It wasn’t official, and was way more literal. Very Kafkaesque at points, but mocking of hypocrisy. Definitely in “Jeremiah was a faith healer, who cried when god took his son. When congenital heart disease reared it’s head, he still dialled 9/11” he does that. It’s kind of about narcissism (angel), especially when digging one’s own grave (irony about telling the future). The video is titled “Will Wood” if you’re interested

[@stoopidapples1596]

@@usemorewood3184 Actually, I thinthat older version of laplace's angel as pushing the same message that it does now, just, as you put it, in a much more literal sense. The idea is that these are all shitty people who are hypocrits, but "if you were in my shoes, you'd do the same damn things i'd do." It doesn't really get the message across anywhere near as effectively as the final product, but I think that message still remains the same.

[@ananon3560]

Don't worry about not necessarily getting every reference Will Wood makes, because while there are a lot of interesting associations Will has gone on the record saying that he likes to put in things people might have to Google when listening to his songs/looking at his titles. And there are certain parts of songs that when asked about he says he put it in there because he thought the wordplay sounded nice or wanted to invoke an idea generally, but not really a super meaningful phrase

[@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard]

to quote him in a live (though said as a joke) "I like putting long titles on my songs, mainky because i'm a dick"

[@LoachAo]

​@@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard before he lost the Tape Worms, his 2012 album had me get into all sorts of obscure Buddhist belief just to understand the names and references lol. Still my favorite work of is because, honestly I don't personally like his slower music from a taste perspective. I do, though, like the fact that you can genuinely hear his growth and healing album by album, it's very refreshing, not as music to me personally. But as Art, and as a journey of self discovery and self love.

[@scrunkliestscrimbo9981]

@@LoachAo the rest of the tapeworms were still in the band in after self-ish? the artist title changed for, according to him, complicated marketing stuff or something. idk.

[@LoachAo]

@@scrunkliestscrimbo9981 Oh, yeah, I knew that but I didn't convey that very well lol, thanks for clearing it up for some who maybe didn't know that. I was just being pedantic with the way I said it, but I just meant to give a timeline. Apparently Will was getting frustrated with the image he boxed himself into and wanted to explore more with creative liberty so he changed the persona he created for the band.

[@sockstogether]

You should definitely check out his last album "In case i make it" its a way more somber album with a underlying idea of finding your own empathy and ways to deal with depression, a much more slow and emotion based album while the normal album is more about culture and society. Listing to the normal album and them in case I make it really shows Will's real life growth as a person

[@MarcyTheKindaCoolWizard]

And "in case i die", mainly for "And if i did, you deserved it" and "Misanthropologist"

[@Eggthedreg]

Willard, euthanasia and tomcat >>> peak, the animal songs are my favourites. I have bawled my eyes out to all 3 on several occasions.

[@jackbarnhart7394]

@@Eggthedreg so real!!!!!!!

[@jackbarnhart7394]

tomcat is and will likely forever be my favorite song

[@themaskedinc.786]

Yes. Also I just really want to see if he'll try and say the full name of Big Fat Bitchies

[@catazoan]

So for blackboxwarrior, I recall that the inspiration for that one was being prescribed a drug that had the side effect of death, when the whole reason Will Wood went into therapy was serious drug abuse. So I feel the lyrical nonsense that makes up the first half of the song is purposefully hard to interpret, it's being told something you know is important, but using so much sciency jargon that you can't tell what's going on. and then after the monologue, the lyrics become clearer with things like "You've lost your mind and almost lost your life before" along with more vague lyrics designed to just be concerning. to really push the gravity of the situation despite all the confusion and miscommunication. At least, that's how I interpret it with the additional context.

[@Envy_May]

i think the end of the monologue really drives home what the point is supposed to be, like "my hope is to assess through my objective report of your subjective conjecture whether this proprietary blend of expertise and seasoning works as well as this transorbital icepick etc etc got a better idea? it's about the best we could come up with what you think ideas spread because they're good, no they spread because people like them, so here we are, once again, holding, as it were, a mirror up to your mirror" i feel the concept is supposed to be like being faced with the medical system and debating whether to trust it to solve your problems while being so overwhelmed with the jargon etc like you mentioned that it gets to a point where it's like "do these people actually know what they're doing or are they just blindly fumbling around trying to convince me to follow whatever treatment they prescribe me even if they aren't really sure themselves of what to do with me" - are these psychiatrists, asking me all these questions and having all this technical talk, actually _getting anywhere_ or are they just holding a mirror up to a mirror (and therefore seeing _nothing_ and not getting anywhere; it's just recursive) the first two verses basically just paint a picture, which i think is meant to be metaphorical in a sense, of a person, the "black box warrior" (i'm still not sure what that means though, but i've toyed with a couple ideas like maybe the black box is the piano and will is the warrior who plays it ? or maybe it means something else entirely ? i really have no idea though) - who is so severely and overwhelmingly ill/broken/in critical condition that what the heck is anyone gonna do with him (like his condition reached critical so he collapsed and was rushed to the ER, and once there no one knows what to do because he's so broken that he's singing through his stoma, his vagus nerve is twisted into knots, idk if you really go line by line there's a _lot_ of wordplay and ideas going on lol so it's a lot to get into) and i think he kind of peels back the layers later on and starts more overtly talking about himself like with "cbt don't seem effective for that cluster b accept it" (since will wood has said publicly that he has BPD i believe, which is a cluster B personality disorder) the whole idea behind the chorus being "if it was gonna kill you boy it would have by now" it's the idea of like the medical system etc convincing you not to question what they offer you, if they're actually doing what's right for you or if they might be harming you so the whole song kind of strikes me as like a cry for help of sorts of like "wtf do you even do with this", illustrating the feeling of being on the patient's end of that and i think marsha coming right after is like elaborating on this concept by almost providing tentative answers to the question that blackboxwarrior poses ? although the "answers" are more like humouring the two extreme possible responses to the question

[@gripen777]

It's also worth noting that OKULTRA sounds similar the MKUltra program, where the CIA experimented on people in much the same way as the BlackBoxWarrior seems to have been in the song. Seeing as WW uses his song titles as extensions of the song, perhaps this could also be what he is referencing, and connect to whatever theme he is creating here? I always saw BlackBoxWarrior as an experiment of some sort, or someone undergoing treatment, never knowing what's going on or what is wrong with them because it seems that they are so broken and only being told "If it was gonna kill you boy, it would have by now" in morbid reassurance; it's the only thing they understands through all of it. Perhaps they are fed up by the end of the song, the beginning being a description of this BlackBoxWarrior through the eyes of the doctors and the end being a retaliation by BBW. It never really seems like they are being effectively treated, the BlackBoxWarrior beginning to question the authority of his caretakers and whether they are helping him or simply spitting medical jargon to make it sound like they can help. The final "If it was gonna kill you boy, it would have by now" section feels much more like a mockery to me

[@ShrubLawn]

⁠​⁠@@Envy_MayI think "black box warrior" just refers to someone prescribed a medication with potentially life threatening side effects, since that type of warning is called a black box warning

[@Envy_May]

@@ShrubLawn _ohhhhhhhhhhhhh_ yup that makes total sense

[@Spookyguy223]

Mk ultra

[@emsterhope9166]

this video made me realize the importance of “memento mori” as a song in this album because, yes, “love, me normally” does sound like the end of the album-this album of all these songs talking about worries and concerns and paranoia and all of these negative things that feel like the most important thing in the world at the time, and then “memento mori: the most important thing in the world” comes in erasing that idea (even in the name). It tells that even though you may have these worries, they really don’t matter because you’re going to die someday and not be thinking about these things. Even if it is a short and comedic song, it holds so much power in this album and I love that so much. This album truly is genius and no matter how many times I listen to it, I will never get tired of it. Its themes are some I doubt many other albums in the world have or ever will have, and it’s so beautifully unique that nobody could ever replicate it. Amazing analysis, by the way. Will Wood has talked about the comedic elements in his songs and I didn’t realize many of them until he even said that he uses a lot of humor in his songs (aside from the speaking parts in outliars and hyppocrates and the overall comedic quality of memento mori), so kudos to you for catching onto that. Amazing watch! That was fun, goodbye!

[@AJ-kk9xi]

Listening to Will Wood really feels like a workout, in the best way lmao. One of the most unique musicians I've ever been a fan of

[@0utcast09]

As an avid will wood enjoyer, watching 3 hours of this was so worth it

[@stitchgor3]

Absolutely

[@ghost.and.gills.]

1:27:02 this is so funny because on wills podcast theres a running joke that will is in love with Gerard Way

[@CriticalReactions]

To be fair.... who isn't? :)

[@therani9600]

1:00:00 Wait. Are you saying that this whole album DOESN'T sound like someone having a mental breakdown while recording? The first his song i heard was Laplace's angel and i got the "someone's desperate to be heard" vibe almost immediately. Without really understanding the lyrics too. It just didnt sound too happy for me. Especially in the end of the song, because just by the tone of voice you can say that all the emotions there are negative lol

[@bumfricker2487]

oh yeah the overriding emotion is definitely pain regardless of the tone/melody of the given song - in a way the conflict between "happy" songs and straining, masking delivery is the point

[@LoanRepresentative]

Will said that 2econd 2ight 2eer is supposed to be pronounced "Twoecond Twoight Twoeer" which I find funny

[@CriticalReactions]

Oh no.....I guess I'll have to change it up for him if I ever speak it again but I'm gonna hate every moment of it 😅

[@LoanRepresentative]

​@@CriticalReactionsit's fine, I doubt anyone cares, I just like the cool factoid

[@greatestyoutuber]

aha so i was right

[@cats-a-lot3609]

No he said on stream it’s actually second sight seer, and the 2s are supposed to look like backwards Ss

[@radxianixe]

everyone always says this lol do you know where he said it? i'd love to see/hear it 'cause every time i've heard him tell people how it's pronounced, he said it was "second sight seer" and that he didn't realize so many people would struggle with it

[@idontlikeyou4545]

little fun fact: Will Wood has said that he used acid while making this album Another fun fact is that better than the alternative is either inspired by or is about stranger things. Will wood is a fan of stranger things and has stated that better than the alternative has got something to do with stranger things Edit: spelling

[@dstmicpnk_]

I had a feeling …Well, Better Than the Alternative was about Stranger Things, but I didn’t know that I was actually right lol

[@rl936]

He actually claimed to have a daughter named Millie (as in Millie Bobby Brown, the actor for 11) for a few years, so the references to his daughter are somewhat referential to that.

[@cynicalsheep7493]

An enthralling analysis and entertaining first reaction to my favourite artist. As a long-ish time fan of Will Wood, I have a lot of background for the music and have heard his various explanations of lyric meanings, titles, etc. but you still brought up so much I had never considered before. Your comment on "dark jazz" especially made me laugh as Will has stated in the past that he doesn't really want to be known as the "evil jazz" guy anymore, which definitely shows in his newest album. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the rest of his discography!

[@crayjandthewackjobs]

I thought in one of the live tour videos where he lets people record him that he said he was fine with his style being called evil jazz?

[@cynicalsheep7493]

@@crayjandthewackjobs Ah fair enough, I haven't seen that clip. Although I always interpreted it as him saying he doesn't mind the term, just that he doesn't want to be stuck in that genre forever.

[@redpandadotjpeg2640]

Love how you’re talking about I/Me/Myself as a Cis man, you seem pretty educated :D I’m a trans man and I can say you’ve got it almost down perfect I take the song in a way of, no matter how you present or look you’re still *your own* gender Even if that gender doesn’t conform to how people might expect Making all these labels around being fem and masc sort of solidifies the idea that those are real things When the whole point of being trans for me is that gender norms aren’t based in truth and I can act however I want and still *be a man*

[@w.whoisrio]

6:26 "WHAT in the WORLD am i listening to." PERFECTLY describes the will wood experience. i've never seen someone describe it better

[@sirleopold2378]

Will Wood has a sort of theme in a couple of his albums referring to mental health and self-image that I really feel. I don't know, it just feels like he Gets It in a way that I've never heard before. When I tell people this they get sad, and it confuses me, because when I found his music, I was excited, like someone finally Gets It. I have a lot of feelings about all this, and watching someone break down the meaning and find value in it made me happy, and the slightly different perspective gave me a sprinkle of hope too, so thanks.

[@user-em9op6kv9b]

as someone who isn’t doin great in the membrane, i love the juxtaposition of sad/ depressing lyrics and happy/ upbeat music. something about it jus hits different and will wood rides the line perfectly lol

[@user-em9op6kv9b]

i also strongly recommend his newest album, and another one called “everything is a lot”, but that one is under the artist name “will wood and the tapeworms” 🤍

[@JhuanVSales]

As soon as i met "I/Me/Myself" i looked up will wood and fell in love with his music. I connect to what he sings in a very deep level, but I'm not very knowledgeable in music so its good to know that he's as much of a genius as i thought him to be

[@_lost_paradise5089]

I love Will Wood:) ...Normally... of course.

[@witheredx6354]

Another thing about the MCR comparison is that both Will and Gerard are from Jersey so the pronunciation is similar in many ways

[@omeganave7425]

Definitely have to check out SELF-iSH. In my opinion, even more cohesive than The Normal Album. And it’s Will’s shortest album too (aside from Camp Here and There but I’m not counting that), so it _probably_ won’t take quite as long to get through.

[@SteamedPoi]

I am nearly begging you to listen to the rest of his songs! His albums have gotten more and more mellow really, his most recent one is really low-key with the exception of two songs (one of which isn't a song but just a few minutes of an AI voice speaking to us)

[@0wl0fth3nil3]

colloquially known as "doing a fitter, happier"

[@valthestudio4886]

BlackBoxWarrior may be one of the hardest songs to analyse ever.

[@ENnbY]

i read an explanation on reddit once that completely changed how i read the lyrics. now it’s one of my favorite songs /pos

[@stitchgor3]

@@ENnbYlink?:)

[@driftingthruspace]

@@ENnbYlink?

[@raphajay]

As a person who has dissected this album to the very syllable of every word your reaction and analysis were amazing. When you first started talking about his lyrics and how he writes his lyrics first and the music come after reminded me of when I first started really digging deep into the lyrics of the songs. And it is actually how he makes music! And also seeing you basically be like "i dont get this song" to it slowly sinking in and you digging into it and starting to understand it more just shows how powerful those lyrics are because once you really sit down and read and think about it it really just feels like this "holy shit" moment as all the puzzle pieces start falling into place. And thank you for making this video becasue stuff like this always makes me fall in love with will's music all over again and even brought tears to my eyes at some parts when you reminded me of why i fell in love with his music in the first place!

[@killermetalwolf2843]

i just wanted to put it out there that I/Me/Myself has a demo version with a different bridge, going Lately I've been wishing I were five-foot five, weighing 99, wearing thigh highs I'll be your prosthetic meat/meet your anesthetic criteria Would you please objectify me? I'm-a just-a hunk-a hunk of burning self-loathing My evidence, my witness When I'm caught breaking the laws of physics

[@killermetalwolf2843]

also, one thing ive noticed about will wood is that he puts in a lot of callbacks to other songs of his. like in outliars and hyppocrates, the aye aye aye aye is a callback to the song chemical overreaction, and in memento mori, the horn line at 1:45 is a callback to front street. im sure there are others, but those are just a few.

[@redpandadotjpeg2640]

Marsha thankk you for the Dialectics has a conversation about how much therapy/psychiatry can help you if you don’t know how to communicate what’s wrong to them, and that hits really hard for me I have alexithymia, which is a disorder where I can’t recognise or really *feel* my emotions. This makes it unbelievably difficult to talk to professionals, imagine them asking stuff like “and how does that make you feel?” “How have you been feeling lately?” When you can’t even recognise what’s going on in your head Usually I only sense emotions in the vague cloud of negative vs positive and I try to break my feelings down from process of elimination But I think it’s an interesting question, what do you do for people like me who might need real genuine help but can’t acess it via the normal way? Luckily I’m not too mentally ill so I don’t have to handle the downsides of this constantly

[@rigmaroul]

suburbia overture has been my favorite song for what?? 3 years?? and i’ll say.. your reaction to (vampire) culture didn’t disappoint😭

[@Wednesdaythe23rd]

Memento Mori feels almost like a bonus track after the bombastic finale of Love, Me Normally. I think it's less about the idea of "live every day like it's your last" and more like, don't worry about it so much. Don't try to be normal, don't try to be unique, just be yourself and do what brings you the most joy, because you'll only get one chance. Remember: you're going to die one day. Don't waste your life trying to be someone you're not

[@giraffeguruvods295]

watching him go from, 'oh i like this, so upbeat and lovely-' and then slowly changing when he hears the next line of lyrics is amazing.

[@YuAlford]

I keep reading the title as ‘submissive on every level’…

[@C0mput3-]

Omg yes will wood reaction, would love to see more of his work (like In Case I Make It, SELF-ISH (2020 remaster), and Everything is A Lot (2020 remaster))

[@C0mput3-]

The 2020 remasters are optional you could also just listen to the original versions from 2015 and 2017

[@omeganave7425]

I’d say just listen to the originals but that’s just my preference

[@calechipconecrimes]

​@@omeganave7425yeah there are some songs I prefer the original, but I do feel the 2020 remasters just tweaked enough to enhance the listening experience overall. for example, I prefer the 2020 remaster of Dr. Sunshine mostly because it removes the awkward 7-second silence at the end of the original

[@omeganave7425]

@@calechipconecrimes fair enough. There are definitely some great improvements on some of the tracks, like I actually really like the extra verse at the end of Neurotic/Erotic, and the fact that Everything Is a Lot and Destroy To Enjoy are separate tracks. But I really miss things like the samples at the start and end of Thermodynamic Lawyer.

[@potatogirlalice]

Everything is A Lot just isnt the same in the remaster. It needs the silly little audio bits at the beginings of Thermodynamic Lawyer and Chemical Overreaction

[@isadoravasques9302]

You have summoned the fandom

[@Sparrow0330]

You have GOT to do his album Self-Ish next! It's one of his most iconic albums, in my opinion, and contains some songs with very personal messages that come from what he was really going through at the time

[@poetiskungjavel7701]

I’d say it is THE most iconic album of his. All songs are so on there are good!

[@juodakat3]

Seeing someone listen to the album for the first time brings me so much joy

[@masqueraid988]

I honestly love me/myself/I as a nonbinary person. I don't fit anywhere and that's ok. I don't consider my self any gender. I was born male and have what would be considered a lot of masculin traits. I am not a guy. I am just me. Why does anyone care what's in my pants?

[@yeetasaurusrex3046]

Laplace’s Angel is by far my favorite will wood song, it’s so nice to see someone who’s not reacting to the fnaf animation listen to it and actually take it in. Not enough people have given their opinions 😞

[@chobbis4341]

2:22:15 you cannot tell me that this is not just Bo Burnham himself, talking about how good Bo Burnham is while badly disguising himself as someone *slightly* different than Bo Burnham.

[@felixlara2945]

Will wood would be sooo popular if he didn't make music for people who don't have friends

[@iva3839]

your comment got me laugh a lot

[@Kat-PM]

He makes it for himself because he enjoys music. He has actually expressed that he’s uncomfortable with the level of fame he’s reached, he enjoyed being more underground.

[@felixlara2945]

@@Kat-PM he makes music to express himself I don't think he actually enjoys it that's why he stopped

[@andrewbud]

Brilliant analysis as always, Bryan. I'd be fascinated to see your reaction to his follow up (In Case I Make It). Musically, it's substantially more subdued, but lyrically elevated in a quite a cutting, poignant way. Perhaps it's not really suited for the channel, but I can vouch for the personal affect it's had on me. Worth your time, whether on the channel or not.

[@quanphan9192]

I’d actually like Bryan to see more of Will’s older stuff before “In Case I Make It” since some of the songs in that album reference some of his older songs.

[@leiradelorea29]

All his albums are interesting, in different ways. According to me you can't really understand Will's work if you don't, at least, listen to all the albums

[@wafflezaregud3594]

the way he reacts to suburbia ovurture is so funny to me

[@Phosophor]

So fun fact, the 50’s and 80’s inspiration occupying the same spaces on the record are talked about in the video “what did I do?” Where he talks about how the best part of the 80’s is 50’s nostalgia, and when you think about nostalgia what is it? As he put it, nostalgia is wanting things to go back to normal, or to be normal, which the whole album plays around with the idea of. (Probably why the album cover explicitly has “love me, normally” slapped on in a little blurb)

[@rainwunk]

been a ww fan for years, and seeing that emotional change in this dude's face with suburbia overture's transition made me laugh so badly lmfao. love this video so far and the way you aint afraid to start boppin lol

[@paticornio9592]

I watched the whole thing. This is my favourite album, and your reaction and analysis was sublime. You understood it in a way that took me several listens to get. It's obvious you know your way around music but the explanations of the more introspective things of the lyrics were great. His previous albums were more on the more chaotic side, especially the second one, and the lyrics are still deep and fun; but personally I prefer his latest album (and I guess Will does too), which is much more personal and acoustic. I loved the video!

[@LoanRepresentative]

My personal album tier list: I looove Will Wood's art so much, and although I think highly of The Normal Album, I only rank it third in my top Will Wood albums, even when it has some of my favorite songs and topics My second favorite is Everything is a lot, it's just a great album, the reason I put it above The Normal Album is because not only it has 10/10 songs, but he has done several live performances of them in which he changes them up and hearing the improved version of something you thought was perfect is insane (whenever you check Everything is a lot out, I recommend you check out, either on video or in your own time, "Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva", the live version of track #2 of the album "Skeleton Appreciation Day (in Vestal, NY)") My absolute favorite of his albums is Self-ish, because although I feel like some songs aren't as strong as Everything is a lot, the topics consistently hit home for me, and the sound makes it so I can have a great time listening to it passively or actively The In case I make it album I like a lot, however I haven't grown attached to it like with the others yet, just gotta give it more time Some tracks from Camp Here & There soundtrack are fucking amazing, but I mostly follow Will for the lyrics, so I don't really think about them much lmao

[@blairebelarus]

“In case I make It” is easily #1 for me, ICIMI is my favorite album from Will and my second favorite album of all time and it’s simply… perfect to me. it is depressing but at the same time very comforting for some reason. it is ALMOST #1 of all time but it just doesn’t get to that point unfortunately because of You Liked This (Okay, Computer) Everything is a Lot is my 2nd favorite. it’s not the most technically impressive or well made, it just feels so heartfelt and .. real for lack of a better word. i adore how bleak it can be and also how relatable a lot of it is. i wish The Normal Album wasn’t simply #3, but it is. i have listened to it hundreds of time and it has NEVER gotten old and i think it has zero flaws. it’s relatable, wonderfully written, and genius, but i just have less of a connection to it i actually can’t pick between Camp Here & There and SELF-iSH. originally, i didn’t care much for CH&T but recently, i’ve gained a new appreciation for it. it feels like a combination of The Normal Album and ICIMI, and i love it, despite being just the soundtrack of a podcast. SELF-iSH is fantastic, but the opposite effect happened with me. over time, i’ve kinda just . loved it less and less. i still think its amazing and a masterpiece in a lot of ways, but its very obvious that it was rushed. still a very good concept album and i adore the darker themes on it

[@LoanRepresentative]

@@blairebelarus I totally get what you mean Personally I think that ICIMI is great, but some of the topics have either not had enough time to hit me, or songs don't portray the genuine emotions they talk about in a manner that I can connect Like, I like the sound but I still have a disconnection from the themes and lyrics, which is my favorite part of Will Wood It does still have some songs and topics I love, which is why despite being my #4, I would rank some songs in my top 10 favorite Will Wood songs I think I have EIAL as first precisely because of how RAW it feels, like it all feels like it comes from the heart and didn't need much else added And totally feel you about TNA, when put against everything else it's just a masterpiece, but when put against more Will Wood, I don't think I can put it above there

[@LoanRepresentative]

In some point during the video you said it feels like his old music is trying to break out from this mask of normality, and I guess you would be right In an interview he confirmed that it was about like the first half of the album written before he started taking medication, so you could say it's the old writing with the new "coat of paint" that makes it feel this way

[@that1kidonyoutube]

I would 100% listen to a 10 hour will wood lyric analysis

[@charlesmieth2467]

I’d like to add my view to the finale song, because as someone with a chronic mental illness it hit really hard. Love, Me Normally feels like a desperate search for love despite your illness making it incredibly difficult to have healthy romantic relationships. The line “is it courageous or escapist to leave the quarantine when you’re contagious, it may just be a cold” hits so hard because I’ve had that thought myself. Am I a brave love seeker if I know that my love will hurt the person I’m close to- and the denial that crops up when you think maybe you were misdiagnosed or it’s not really that bad anymore, so you leave the “quarantine” of your isolation anyway, and repeat the cycle. You want to keep things informal with this person because you know (or at least fear, it’s not true) that you could never have a normal, healthy relationship like your partner deserves. You desperately try to be normal and healthy, because they deserve it and you love them, but you ultimately can’t because you’re not normal. You just want to be loved like everyone else is. Also you skimmed over it but “I was nothing before so I couldn’t have asked to be born, I’ll be nothing again so what am I between now and then? Is there nothing to fear, ‘cause shits getting weird! So to God who made this man, you better have one hell of a plan” is the best finale line in the history of finale lines

[@LoachAo]

I have another way of looking at that particular line, about whether it is courageous or escapists to find love. I have bipolar disorder, and so I know that there is a gareuntee that I will face depressive episodes and they aren't based on my environment but just a chemical imbalance. And so i constantly think to myself, am I absolutely going to kill myself one day? Is that suicidal tendency going to be too strong one day? And if so, and I allow myself to find love, have children, and make friends am I cursing them with a connection that will end by my own hands one day? Is it selfish to love, as someone who can't confirm my ability to not ruin it all in the end. Am I going to pass my trauma on my child one day. That confliction is so heavy on my mind, and that line in that song felt like I've been genuinely seen for the first time.

[@llawliet1522]

Hi dude! Just wanted to throw in my thoughts on I/me/myself because I feel like you're looking very carefully on the obvious gender facet of the song, but perhaps missing some of what I would consider to be the wider picture. I absolutely agree with your thoughts of breaking through a mask, and I think the doo-wop intro plays into that with trying to fit into the classic "normal" society as seen in suburbia overture before breaking out into the distinct style. However, I (a trans person) don't think that the gender theming should be taken at face value. I feel like he's using gender as an analogue for fitting in, rather than as a main message. In that sense, I feel like several of the other lyrics than just the chorus may be taken with wider values to do with identity as a broad topic (fitting in with the rest of the album). Things like the "I've been feeling lighthearted/light-headed..." bits could be referring to both identity struggles with personality and also with perhaps eating disorders, or the "let me be the void you fill..." possibly referring to the parasocial relationships which he has commented on before between his fans and himself. Of course this is only a really quick comment, and I'd love to go into more detail at some point but right now I have a lot of thoughts flying around about the song and I'm struggling to put them all into words. But yeah, To put a long story short I feel like the song is about personal identity and how society views that in general, being delivered via the topic of gender to be more immediately understandable to a wider audience, but with much broader theming under the surface. Thanks for reading!

[@ghost.and.gills.]

when i found this music a few years ago i felt like i finally found something that is what ive been subconsiously looking for for so long

[@japhy5147]

The first time I listened to Will Wood was in April 2021 and it changed my life forever, it was the song 2012 released in 2016 I could talk for hours about Will Wood, but I don't because I would lose so many friends it would get boring at some point.. but ! The thing is, there's so many things to say about Will Wood, his past, his present, and I can't wait to hear and see what he's gonna do in the future even though as I'm writing this he's on a big hiatus

[@alcedob.5850]

March 2020, 'Hand me my shovel, I'm going in'. One of the most important songs in my life

[@charlesmieth2467]

@@alcedob.5850 Agreed, hand me my shovel was a huge wake up call for me.

[@ShaunGoodwinGD]

Will is probably my favorite artist so it was incredible seeing your reaction and analysis on this album! You should definitely check out his first and his most recent albums, "Everything is A Lot" and "In Case I Make It". I think you'd have a lot of fun analyzing those two since they delve into very different phases of his life (and that reflects pretty clearly in the music and lyricism).

[@wwandmitski]

pls i would PAY for him to do an Everything is A lot album analysis 🙏 🙏

[@StrawberryBunnyBoba]

Everyday I’m praying this man covers In Case I Make It like pleeeeease please please please 🙏

[@remi3936]

I knowwwwww. Every few weeks I check back in and it isn't there yet T^T

[@athqna8625]

Begging on my hands and knees for a reaction to any of his other albums, all of them have such charm Love your analysis!

[@Blio_]

I think suburbia overture is more of a satire of its genre than an emulation because the lyrics are in such stark contrast to its tone

[@powersofdestruction5694]

I feel like one dimension of I/Me/Myself you glossed over in the lyric analysis was the allusions to an eating disorder. In the beginning, they celebrate "losing enough weight to fit back in [their]" skin, then say that "flower petals and feathers tether [them] to the ground - pound for pound", which likens their weight to those two imperceptibly light things. I interpret the rest of the first half of the song through that lens: someone whose thinking is so disordered that they celebrate wasting away from not eating because they look more feminine. It's an extremely common problem in some segments of the transfeminine and gay male communities. As a nonbinary person, I read the "lost in what you think of me" line in a very personal way: when you're questioning your gender, it can be easy to try and force the answer to be the one which gets you what you want, especially if none of the options you explore feel quite right. By contrast, everything after they've "gained enough weight back to cover [their] bones" comes from a much more lucid state of mind. More bitter and cynical too, but much more lucid. They realize that their attraction towards the person they're singing to has to come second to being who they are, though that doesn't mean they don't want them: They're even willing to be whatever this guy wants, let him "say [their] name like a slur" if that means they can have him. The titular "I/Me/Myself" ends up reading as a comeback: "I wish you would talk about yourself instead of criticizing who I am." The song is messy and so is my interpretation of it, but it's a song about raw, unchecked emotions so it's going to be a little messy.

[@CriticalReactions]

Fantastic interpretation of I/Me/Myself and certainly an angle that I never considered. Thanks!

[@ShadinCore]

1:40:39 that's actually my experience i'm amab and woild like to look in a way that's considered "feminine", (which i am not able to do to the full extent at the moment), but i don't care about pronounce or names or labels or whatever

[@jujujitzu6573]

Yeah same

[@hungrytroodontid]

You made an over three hour video somehow so easy to sit through. I grew up with very sheltering boomer parents who were even restrictive on what music we listened to. Mostly 60s-80s country and rock with Christmas Music. I love Queen, Billy Joel , Simon and Garfunkel, and Meat Loaf. But it’s hard to enjoy new stuff. And while I usually got enough to listen to, I want more. And Will Wood and the band did just that. I was instantly lured in by the excitement and familiarity of the sounds. But there’s these new layers of exploration, contemplation and relatability especially through the lyrics that I wasn’t quite getting before. Will Wood and the Tapeworms are truly spectacular. I am not particularly musically learned, so it is quite tickling to see someone WHO IS be so impressed and wooed by this music and it’s creators as well. Thank you !

[@souplover6969]

i almost cried of joy when i saw this video is 3 hours long. THank you

[@sophiawang3946]

I love how he's expecting a (Vampire) Culture turn in well, better than the alternative the entire song 😭😭

[@quanked]

A lot of people here are asking you to react to another Will Wood album and I just want to vouch for Everything Is A Lot. It has a decent amount of the style you described at the very start of this video, before listening to anything, but also has likely the largest diversity of style on a Will Wood album.

[@waitsbian]

this album is like rain dogs for autistic zoomers

[@cats-a-lot3609]

YOUR PROFILE PICTURE IS AMAZING

[@carrit8501]

@@cats-a-lot3609FR 🔥

[@notselfflofr]

IM HOWLING YOU'RE RIGHT.

[@timeisntrealtheuniverseisalie]

I always felt like I/Me/Myself was about unrequited love specifically to someone who is straight. When he says he wishes he were a girl I took it more as wanting that because he wants the love of the guy he likes. Over the song he becomes more and more frustrated with not getting his love returned. The last time the chorus is sung it sounds almost like he is mocking his past self for being so vulnerable and having hope that it might work out.

[@bigwill4]

this guy gets it

[@zoufordham]

'its funny now that i know whats going on' help that sent me you should definitely react to more will wood hes very awesome

[@Synark25]

My plan was originally to just put this in the background, but after seeing the absolutely glorious faces of confusion I decided I simply had to watch because it was too good to miss. Literally one of the best music analysis channels I've found, like- ever. personally I think you should do another video like this one about the earlier albums! SELF-iSH provides really good context for some other songs so I'd recommend if you plan on listening to In Case I Make It, that you check that one out first. Everything Is A Lot goes hard tho tbh if you want fun songs I'd recommend that one :)

[@Jax675]

loved all of this! some of your perspectives on the songs were really cool and i think you got a few songs like I/Me/Myself in a really cool way i haven't seen explained before, also loved the reaction to BlackBox lyrics being 🤷, it is a lotttttt haha. His musical competitions are what keep me hooked, and he has a mostly instrumental album that's also a bop, some more musically fun songs are the song with five names, Cop Out, and against the kitchen floor. Id recommend you wait for those until the live reaction cause I love thoughts and am super excited to see if you do any other will wood breakdown! (self-ish and "Camp here and there" are shorter ones if you don't want to sit there for another five hours haha)

[@attevishawhy7400]

you should definitely check out more will wood! I would suggest though to listen to self-ish (the previous album) before the newest album that he has. i feel thematically it makes more sense and some of the jokes would make way more sense then.

[@LoanRepresentative]

I have been craving a Will Wood react for so long and then you drop this

[@thwjk]

I would watch many more videos of you reacting and analyzing all of Willwood's albums, especially "Everything is a lot", "Self-ish", "in case i do it". Very good video bro, keep up the good work ❤

[@ghost.and.gills.]

Also it is such arelief to see someone actually analyze it. It would be so cool to see you react to his older stuff (as in the work with his band Will Wood and the Tapeworms).Also I would absoloutly love it it you maybe would review an album by the Violent Femmes? They are another band that have alot of sounds although their first album was more pop for the time just to get onto peoples radars but I truly recomend them. Thanks for the amazing review!!

[@ghost.and.gills.]

Oh just found out you did react to never tell by violent femmes!! Hope you liked them enough to try out more of their music

[@Pixel.1003]

im on my knees begging u to do will wood album reactions

[@avivastudios2311]

'Connective emo tishue' were not the words I was expecting to hear. 😂

[@standardhuman8675]

as a will wood fan, im so here for this analysis! wills other albums are amazing as well, but have a box of tissues on hand for In Case I Make It. youll need em anyway, you brought up a lot of ideas that ive never even had, and now im seeing this album in a whole new way. thank you so much!!

[@lockwouldYT]

Will Wood is my favorite artist and this video was such a treat! I hadn't seen your channel before but I loved your analysis so I'll check out more of your stuff. and I really hope you cover more of Will's work in the future

[@amiinkles]

I love ur analysis on his songs, especially laplaces angel!! I didnt even realise so much of the things you pointed out and my jaw dropped XD you should do a reaction on his SELF-ISH album with the tapeworms, the songs there have so much hidden meaning behind them and the music is amazing!!

[@pietandersen6120]

Damn I love this album, was always hoping you’d cover it at some point. It’s a good thing the music is as easy listening as it is, what with the heaviness of the lyrics. Especially because they strike a very personal chord with me as a person with shizophrenia just trying to live a normal life. I’ve loved well, better than the alternative... ever since I first heard it, but for some reason never got that it was about parenthood and fears of passing on generational trauma til you said it, which makes me love it even more because that’s another very personal fear for me that this album then also touches on. Loving someone as a neurodivergent, accepting death and fitting in are all themes that hit very close to home for me.

[@TheJunkyard987]

If you ever plan on another Will Wood reaction, then Everything is a Lot is a good introduction to the other two albums. SELF-iSH has some of Will's most chaotic songs and all of them very good. It has a lot to do with ideas of the self and identity, but also just pure insanity sometimes. “In case I make it,” (previously called In Case I Die because Will wanted to get these songs out in case his mental health worsened too much) has some of the deepest meanings in all of Will's music and is also much more sad in a many songs. I don't think it's as complex musically as some of his other albums, but it's the only album that made me cry. Everything is a Lot has a good combination of the two albums, but it doesn't go into depth as much as the other two. There's still themes of self, mental health, and drugs in the album, but they only last for a few songs of compared to an entire album unlike the other two which dive deep into their respective ideas.

[@ALDE-RIN]

This was awesome you should definitely react to more will wood specifically”In case it make it” or “Everything is a lot”both great albums

[@erogenouz]

I love this analysis! I've been doing my own indepth dive into his lyrics and pointing out what he means exactly with those monologues of weird words, so watching someone else be as confused is very refreshing haha I'd like to say though, that thru some songs Will referes to "cluster b" (both on blackboxwarrior and on the love, me normally music video), which is a group of certain personality disorders. These disorders are often described as dysfunctional patterns of dramatic, overly emotional thinking or unpredictable behaviour, something I think a lot of songs on the album reflect! I suggest doing some reading into the psychology of cluster b personality disorders in order to gain another layer of understanding of his lyricism (and i really recommend checking out the ending of the love, me normally music video), his knowledge on different topics and historical events is insane, really makes you look up all sorts of stuff

[@candyseller7494]

So happy to see more people reacting to Will Wood, he deserves so much more attention. Loved your analysis as well!

[@giraffeguruvods295]

5:25 😊 5:36 😄 5:43 😟

[@Sillysillysillysillysilly259]

3 hour analysis on one of my favourite musicians? i must be dreaming

[@toooliix]

im sure this has been said before but the way will wood makes music is an interesting sight to behold he doesn't use written sheets and does it solely based on sound, lyrics are changed right before the recording, and its all essentially played by vibes. for more info on how he does this, he has a docu called "what did I do?" (the making of the normal album) on his channel!! very interesting :)

[@Silent_Storm_.]

Great analysis! If you revisit Will Wood again with an analysis, you should listen to "SELF-iSH" which is basically about an identity crisis, or "In Case I Make It" which has a more peaceful sound while the lyrics have sad topics (basically the inverse of the Normal Album).

[@okultraakafightinggodbcIcan]

Amazing video! I actually watched it to lull myself to sleep, but was so engrossed that I was staring at the screen till 3 am. Will wood is my favorite artist of all time, and it filled me with excitement seeing you enjoy yourself. If you decide to upload another reaction of one of his albums, I will be there! Staring without blinking, seemingly lost in the dark abyss of entertainment fueled insomnia. Keep it up!

[@ryderisconfused3956]

Please do another will wood album, everything is a lot is my favorite, camp here and there, self-ish, and in case I make it are also really good.

[@Pixel.1003]

"What in the world am i listening to" I think that's everyone's first reaction to listening to willwood.

[@getsmoked2326]

Amazing analysis. I really appreciate someone looking at the musical content of this album more heavily here, as the really tight and tasteful playing / composition often is overlooked in favour of (understandably) combing over the lyrics. I didn't see anyone else mention this in the comments, but the biggest musical influence on 2econd 2ight 2eer seems to be Oingo Boingo to my ears. Parts of it remind me of Weird Science with an injection of Ska or two-tone due to the speed and horn section.

[@CriticalReactions]

Good call on Oingo Boingo. Despite being a big Elfman fan I've never dug into that era of his works.

[@nachomori5764]

Coming back after a while and this is Still one of the best, if not THE best, Will Wood reactions. Still hoping to see you check out some of his earlier albums, very well done

[@Ven0mancer]

So excited for this video theres not alot of reaction stuff for will wood but i love seeing other people's opinion on his rather unique sound

[@rl936]

Fun fact: on the physical copies of the album, the back of the case is the front door of the building he looks out from, and he is splayed out with his arms and legs extending outwards, as if he has jumped.