Given I’ve seen him more than a dozen times since this song came out and all the venues have been less than a thousand people, he may have been.

I’ve also had the opportunity to chat briefly with him a handful of times as he often watches the opening act with the crowd for a song or two. I love it

Is it coincidence this album is titled Keep It Like a Secret? Doug Martsch signed a nice contract before this album…was he letting us know he was staying the course musically and if we keep it quiet we can keep him all to ourselves?

This is where the tension breaks and the angry approach to these chords is the release. It’s really hard to stay still during this outro or to not feel good after the song is over

When Doug is done spittin’ he moves to an outro many, including myself, believe is one of the best in indie rock. The guitar takes over once again - but now it’s different. The guitar playing over the top still has an eerie noodley vibe, but the chords underneath are more jagged/angry than earlier

Now Doug’s perspective:
“… And you’re so occupied with what other persons are occupied with
And vice versa
And you’ve become what you thought was dumb.
A fraction of the sum”

Let’s look where the rage really flows. Here’s Dylan in Positively 4th Street:
“I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you”

As the lyrics start again you see to this song is an analysis of someone’s personality - and most likely their faults. I always connect this song to Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street”, but while Dylan is obviously talking to someone else, Doug Martsch isn’t as obvious in his approach.

Musically it’s a symphony of guitars. The unusual verse structure in the beginning allows for a noodley guitar solo from 1:10-2:00 (on the studio version, the live link is much longer). This solo isn’t really about shredding, rather it sets a mood and helps build the tension. And it works so well.

Fun fact. We hooked on to a small underwater log to make it look like the talent had a fish on.
The audio of the fish flopping in the water (and the resulting splash/ripple shot) was just me tossing a small rock into the water.
I also jumped off a 60’ cliff into the ice cold water that day.