The song holo world from elvis depressedly is a song with few lyrics compared to other tracks on the album depressedelica, but to me they say a lot and the dark, gloomy, and moody atmosphere the song provides is the perfect medium for digesting them. The grungy guitars really drive the melancholy in this one and gives the listener a lot of space to reflect on the lyrical themes related to the finite nature of time and life.
The words hologram and hollow are both characterized by a kind of emptiness and illusion, and with this song I’m taken to a place where I’m asked to engage with a truth that things in this world, including people, can feel empty and illusory. And after the first listen, I’m receiving this narrative that appears to imply that things are meaningless but thinking more deeply about it, there’s a distinction here because we as individuals are intrinsically able to apply meaning to the illusions that we operate under and interact with.
I think the vibe of despair in this song is the feeling of opening your ‘third-eye’ (I feel a little cringey writing that but I don’t have a better term lol) and realizing that things are, in fact, kind of devoid of meaning and then not making the connection after that of unless I, myself, create it. And just because I create it, doesn’t mean it matters less… in fact that’s what matters most.
I think the psychedelic implication of ‘depressedelica’ is very fitting and while it may refer to the genre of music, it connects with me in holo world in regards to my experiences with psychedelic drugs. Having done a variety in the past and having tried to intentionally learn about myself from some of those experiences, ultimately the messages contained in this song are really consistent with some of the more humbling, and sometimes deeply unsettling conclusions I’ve come to about the nature of my reality.
But just because there are a lot of things that are kind of bullshit and literally everything can be devoid of meaning if you think really hard about it, it doesn’t mean that my need and capacity for meaning-making as a human being doesn’t exist or shouldn’t be exercised or is pointless because I’m here, I’m real, and I’m lucky enough to be able to question my reality to the point of disillusionment and still be in a position where I’m motivated to live, essentially.
I had a friend commit suicide a few days after I heard this song for the first time… I thought about leaving this part out of the write-up because it’s very personal but after writing this I realized that’s really the main reason this song is meaningful to me and it would be a dishonor to my friend to think of him and then choose to erase him. The night after I found out, I put this song on repeat and felt like it invited me in and gave me space to think really deeply about the point he may have been at to make him do what he did. He was a guy who was pretty disillusioned with the world. This song helped me come to terms with his passing, and while it didn’t make it easier, it helped me reflect, try to understand his experience, and really honor his memory.
Rest in peace, Trent.