Along The Timey Road

Album: Time Capsule (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Micah Nelson undoubtably inherited some musical gifts from his father Willie, but he did something very different with them. Recording under the name Particle Kid, his music is experimental and often psychedelic - you're more likely to hear metaphysical lyrics and fuzzed-out guitar than three chords and the truth.

    "Along The Timey Road" is one of his more adventurous songs. Micah discussed it in a Songfacts track by track:

    "This could be a song about a difficult LSD experience... or about being taken down a few notches by someone who it turns out is much smarter and more experienced than you, or beaten down by life in general. But really, it could just be called an 'ego-death song' and the transformation and growth that can come with that. It's a real ball-breaker.

    Sometimes it's hard to cope with realizing almost everything you've stood for with such conviction turns out to be nothing but a concept or a flawed, outdated program running in the background of the mind. I think if we are lucky we will each have this experience more than once in our lifetime. Having our egos crushed into nanoparticles and splattered across the void every now and then, or somehow faced with our own immortality I think generally makes for wiser, more empathic, compassionate, open-minded people.

    I've always loved the idea of writing a letter to your future self and putting it inside a time capsule and reflecting back years and years later, realizing how much you've grown and maybe what you've lost and must try to regain. This song is kinda a twist on that; the idea is essentially a letter/transmission from the future-self to the present-self, in hopes the message to stay humble will be received somehow.

    It kinda reminds me of the Voyager golden record sending information through the depths of space to make contact with extraterrestrial life and represent humanity, and so I love this idea of actually sending information through the depths of time, to make contact with ourselves here on Earth... and perhaps remind us of our humanity. What better way to do it than via songs?"
  • The music video shows an animated Micah Nelson singing and playing his guitar over an ever-changing, surreal background. His wife Alex shot footage of Micah singing the song in their living room, and then they took that video into Photoshop and started the laborious process of rotoscoping every frame.

    "Took forever, made tons of mistakes, learned a lot, came out what it is," Nelson told Songfacts. "It could always be a bit better to me but that's what keeps me going, doing the next one and the next after that."

    Nelson learned rotoscoping technique when working on Neil Young's 2021 film TRANS: The Animated Story.
  • Personnel are:

    Micah Nelson: vocals, guitars, drums, Nord strings
    Aroyn Davis: bass, vocals
    Tony Peluso: Juno 6, percussion

    Nelson also produced and mixed the track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.