Dissect - S7E5 - Telegraph Ave. by Childish Gambino

Episode Date: January 26, 2021

We continue our season-long examination of Because The Internet with “Telegraph Ave.” Gambino takes a long drive from LA to Oakland to visit a past girlfriend, only to be rejected immediately upon arrival. Dive deeper into the world of BTI with our visual guides, where you can also read the BTI screenplay in full. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Spotify Studios, this is Dissect, long-form musical analysis broken into short digestible episodes. I'm your host, Cole Kushner. Today, we continue our serialized analysis of Because the Internet by Childish Gambino. On our last episode, we dissected the opening tracks of the album's second act, dial-up, The Worst guys, and shadows. Spurred by the murder he witnessed on the song World Star, Act 2 marked a period of self-recognition for the boy. On the worst guys, he realized he's been engaged in meaningless patterns of self-gratification. While he previously used sex and money as a means of stunting on others, he's unable to do it any longer,

as evidence in the boy's sexual impotence and a potential threesome at a party in his mansion. Disheartened by this realization, shadows saw Gambino and the boy reflect on their shortcomings, as they never let themselves be vulnerable enough for a committed relationship. Soberly, the boy wished he could go back in time and be more emotionally available, understanding his past relationships were the closest thing he's ever had to a true connection. After the failed threesome, the boy wallowed in the bathroom and remember how he pushed away his ex, Vanessa. The next morning, he woke up his friends so they could drive to Oakland, and in the screenplay, were instructed to play because the internet's next track, the subject

of our episode today, Telegraph Avenue. Telegraph Avenue and the scenes that it scores in the screenplay are near exact matches, as Gambino takes a song on the radio and makes it his own. This idea is reflected in the actual song title itself. After Telegraph Avenue, in parentheses, it notes the song title, Oakland by the artist Lloyd. This meta song within a song structure, soundtracks the boy driving to Oakland while singing to the radio, eventually arriving to talk to his ex-girlfriend Nala.

Telegraph Avenue is the literal beginning of what's known as the Road of Trials, a section in a traditional narrative structure that finds a protagonist undergoing a series of tests that begin his or her transformation. Often the protagonist fails one or more of these tests, which, spoiler alert, will also occur here in Telegraph Avenue. After rounding up his friends, the boy gets in his car to start the six-hour drive from L.A. to Oakland. notably the boy is now in the driver's seat. Recall at the very beginning of the screenplay,

it actually opened with the line you can't live your life on a bus, meaning that at some point you have to take agency over your life, you have to drive. We also recall that the boy has been driven around by one of his friends in all the previous scenes, even when they are using the boy's own car. So we need to recognize the boy actually driving the car in the scene

as significant, symbolizing how he's beginning to take agency over his life. Fittingly, Telegraph Avenue begins with the sounds of the boy getting in and starting his car. Let me know what you think, it's Lloyd. As the car starts, the radio comes on to Power 106, a hip-hop radio station in the greater Los Angeles area. Host Yezi Ortiz introduces the upcoming song, titled Oakland by the singer Lloyd. This track is fictional, existing only within the framework of Telegraph Avenue. Lloyd released a few R&B hits in the 2000s, but is likely best known for his feature appearance

on the Young Money track Bedrock. Lloyd spoke about his collaboration with Gambino, telling Vibe Magazine, quote, He told me, It's going to be your song, but I'm going to sample it inside the song. I had no clue how he's going to do it, but it came out dope, unquote.

Gambino's decision to use Lloyd specifically likely stems from Lloyd's history of romantic R&B music, as well as the fact that Glover and Lloyd both attended the same high school, the DeKalb School of Arts. While they were only there for a year together, and didn't really know each other, we have to acknowledge the real-life bond between the two, since Glover has intertwined reality and fiction throughout BTI. In this case, Lloyd becomes the voice of emotion the boy is incapable of communicating himself. After the track Oakland is introduced on the radio,

we listen along with Gambino. In reality, Telegraph Avenue, or Oakland, was produced by Glover and Ludwig Gordonson. The track revolved. around a four-cord progression, played on a software synthesizer called Mini Monster, which itself replicates the famous analog synth, Minimog. The synth chords were then run through a guitar amplifier to create a distorted, vintage sound. Next, Gorinson plays what's called a talking drum, an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and rhythm of human speech.

The drum is held between the musician's arm and side of their chest, and the pitch of the drum is changed when the musician squeezes it while playing. On Telegraph Avenue, Gorinson plays a talking drum and also runs it through a guitar amplifier, which we've done our best to recreate here. Finally, some light drums are added. It's over this musical foundation that Lloyd sings the song's first verse on the radio the boy is listening to in his car. Lloyd establishes a settled, romantic couple in Oakland going about domestic routines.

He sings, I was making Japanese and she's watching DVDs in Oakland. He then sings, Now I'm driving up the 5 and she waits till I arrive in Oakland. It turns out the tranquil domestic scene was actually a flashback, and now the singer finds himself driving up Interstate 5 in California to reunite with his girl. It's at this point in the song that we hear a phone chime with a text notification, mirroring the boy's actions in the script.

He's texted an ex-girlfriend Naila that he's coming to see her in Oakland, to which she replies, don't in all caps. The boy turns up the music when he hears Oakland. He reclines in his seat feeling like he's in a music video until he realizes he slammed into his friend Swank's knees in the back seat. He speeds up the highway, passing farms, hills, factories, and a slaughterhouse of sad-looking cows. There's even a huge white billboard that only says Rosco's wetsuit.

As a boy continues to drive, ignoring Nailet's request to not come, Lloyd continues to sing. Everything that I wanted only got to drive for the moment. If you tell me, turn around, then I'm on it. For the moment, but you know me. The Everything that I wanted here refers to the girl in Oakland, which to the protagonist only feels a moment's drive away. He says that if the girl tells him to turn around, that he will,

but only for a moment since he can't resist her. The parallels between Lloyd's lyrics and the boy's situation are undeniable. Besides driving to Oakland to see an old, old love. They both refused to truly listen to her. This concept of going back on a road might remind viewers of Gambino's lyric on Crawl, when he rapped, make him turn around in their lane like a Ui, I'm only looking back if I'm looking at her booty. While he previously criticized others for looking back, and said he would only do it with a focus on sex, we get the impression after the growth and change of the worst guys and shadows that Gambino is now going back for something

else, something potentially more meaningful. Lloyd continues singing, You know how I get what I'm lonely, and I think about you in the moments, but everything you do is so Oakland. There's an omission here that loneliness is the feeling driving him towards returning to his ex. The thing that seems to separate the pair is Oakland, both in terms of physical distance and Lloyd's description of the woman, that everything she does is so Oakland. Using Oakland as an adjective here is unusual, and makes us one what he really means. The relationship in this song is based on one of Glover's real-life relationships, where he'd drive between Oakland and L.A. to see a girl.

I just like I just like the relationship between L.A. and Oakland, yeah. Because there's just, there is that, it kind of represented the relationship between me and that girl. It's like, I'm trying to do this stuff down here, and she has this totally different life up there, and that's what the song's about. It's just like trying to reconcile those lives. So what's the relationship between L.A. and Oakland? while L.A. is a fast-paced, sometimes sleazy city full of imports, the bustling center of the entertainment industry, trying to create and always looking for the next deal. Oakland, in comparison, is more settled, where individuals look to stay and make a full established life. While L.A. is

viewed by the outside world as glamorous, Oakland often gets a bad rap, shadowed by its neighboring city of San Francisco. Thus, the difference between L.A. and Oakland is also the difference between the boy and his ex Naila. The boy's hedonistic, self-pleasuring lifestyle doesn't match with Naila's more grounded desires. She's apparently moved on, but the boy seems to think that recognizing his mistakes means he can go back to her. As we get to the song's hook, Gambino or the boy, seems to have realized fully the parallels between Lloyd's song and his own situation and begins singing along in full. Both Gambino and Lloyd sing,

Foot on the gas, I'm just trying to pass all the red lights and stop signs. I'm ready to go. Here the hook communicates a fast, no-stop attitude or commitment to love. The red lights and stop sides would mean Gambino needs to stop and think, but he doesn't, driving with reckless abandon. By not pumping the brakes, Gambino is ignoring any warning signs about his current situation, as he fully lets passion take the wheel. Without thinking, he's ready to go.

This phrasing is actually a reference to Gambino's 2011 hit, Heartbeat, a song detailing sex and infidelity under the veil of oscillating swagger and anxiety. Like Telegraph Avenue, Gambino attempts to say he's ready to go that commits to a relationship after the pair is split up. Given that heartbeat appears on camp, the precursor to because the internet's narrative, we see a clear parallel, where Gambino appears to be repeating a mistake of the past. While Gambino has put his foot to the floor, he can't ignore warning signs forever,

and we're about to feel more stop and start moments. As he sings ready to go, the instrumental of the track pauses, seemingly not ready to go. Gambino's actual commitment is further called into question with the last two lines of the hook, because I'm way too scared to call, and he might get me to stay an oh. While he texted ahead, he doesn't want to call because that opens the door for immediate rejection on the phone. Here we start to get a sense for why Gambino might have chosen Telegraph Avenue as the song title. Besides Telegraph being an actual street in downtown Oakland, a telegraph is an old form of messaging, specifically a delayed form of communication. You can send how you feel in the moment without having to face any immediate

consequences. There's kind of an inherent gray area. This mirrors the way Gambino wants to go back and see his ex, but has doubts. He's worried about rejection, but he's also worried about acceptance, since the girl might get him to stay as he sings on the hook. The delivery of and oh, as a shortened form of Oakland, suggests another interpretation. Perhaps O refers to an orgasm, as in, you might get me to stay an orgasm. Sex can either deepen this relationship, or prove that it's simply lust that he's mistaking for true desire. Simply put, Gambino is afraid of what's going to happen, whether it works or doesn't, and that means his brash claims of commitment are hollow. Understanding this, we revisit the screenplay before continuing into the song's second verse.

At this point, the boy and his crew have been driving all day to Oakland, and they stop for lunch at In-N-Out Burger. As the boy eats, he laughs thinking about the cows at the slaughterhouse they passed. Swank flirts with two women, the crew eats, and then they see a car drive up recklessly. Two guys pull out guns and go inside to rob. the place. As people run out and get in their cars, the crew just watches, making fun of the robbers for not using code names. Once the police arrive, the robbers begin shooting at them, and FAMM says now they got to stop playing and get out of there. Instead, Marcus, Steve, and the boy begin impersonating a news report on television. Mimicking broadcasters, they describe a robbery and the death

of black people at the scene. The fake reporters say that somehow, even though they were handcuffed in the back of a tiny police car, the suspects managed to get guns and shoot themselves in the head. The boy jokes, quote, police chief states, no investigation needed, to which Steve follows up, white people still safe. Having poked fun at police brutality while at the scene of a crime, they laugh and begin to pull away, only to be stopped by the cops and told to put their hands in the air. What was a routine event, lunch and joking around, becomes instantly dangerous when the robbers show up. For the crew, they don't initially react adversely. Instead, they are content to poke fun at the robbers and joke around,

much like they have about everything they see on the internet. Recall that when the boy recorded Jay's death and World Star, his crew was more concerned about how dope or crazy the event was rather than the fact that the boy had been in danger. Notably, AJ makes fun of the criminals for not using code names. Given the violent, sensational nature of the robbers shooting at the cops, the code names would have served as protection, or anonymity. By not protecting themselves, they made themselves vulnerable. This situation

appears to be a metaphor about our own use of the internet, where we use screen names to maintain a sense of obscurity or separation from our real lives. The boys' crew just trolls the gunmen, two set in their trolling ways to realize that these are actual guns, actual police, and they are actually at the scene of what could be multiple murders, again. While the black men shooting themselves while handcuffed in the back of a cop car may seem hyperbolic, it actually appears this scenario was based on a real event. A 21-year-old black man in Arkansas, Chavez Carter, died on July 29, 2012.

The official investigation and report ruled that Carter, who had been arrested for a small possession of marijuana and an outstanding warrant, had a gun that officers did not find after two searches, and while handcuffed in the back of their police vehicle, shot himself in the head. However, protests and online movements called into question the suspicious report by the police, and Carter's own mother states that Chavez just had called his girlfriend to arrange a future meeting

and had never displayed suicidal ideation. Cloaked in the insensitive trolling of the boy and his crew, the details of this event seemed impossible, yet the dark reality is, it happened. Their jokes are truth. Even in times of humor, in times of relative normalcy, the dangers and ramifications of America's deep-seated racism are omnipresent for people of color. Racism seeps into every second, every act. Try as we might to joke, entertain, or fool ourselves. Underneath it all, there's a real danger to the system we've created and inherited. While this danger shows up in the script in this lunch scene, we haven't observed it in the song, yet. That's right after the break.

Welcome back to dissect. Before the break, we detailed the first verse and hook of Telegraph Avenue and the initial scenes that it scores in the screenplay. As the song continues, Gambino takes a somewhat morbid turn. Gambino sings, I don't really mind the drive, but I think I'd rather die in Oakland. Here he begins a series of back and forth thoughts about the relationship in question. Since we know L.A. and Oakland to be metaphors about their differences, it appears Gambino is ready to accept those differences and not allow them to be a deterrent any longer. Then he thinks he'd rather die in Oakland, switching to a more permanent desire to settle down. The use of think still reveals uncertainty despite the permanency of death. Tries he might to speed there and not think,

there's something underneath holding him back. Gambino then sings, with my hand on 10 and 2, so I guess it all depends on Oakland. Of course, hands on 10 and 2 means that his hands are on the wheel of his car. But 10 and 2 o'clock are quite different. They're on opposing sides of a clock, and thus can be viewed here as the cognitive dissonance currently happening in his head. It's also another expression of the mistiming between Gambino and his ex. Saying it all depends on Oakland seems to mean he's putting all his stock in this trip, that whatever happens when he finally arrives to meet his ex will forever determine the fate of the relationship, of his future.

Gambino then sings, I'm nervous, truth be told, I never saw me growing old in Oakland. His commitment continues to deteriorate, as he, he admits anxiety and lack of foresight. The line, I never saw me growing old, adds to the mounting elements of morbid thinking. He never saw himself growing old, committing to a single relationship. In other words, he's never actually thought about his future in any significant way. Gambino concludes this section, and if I married you tonight, it would probably start a riot in Oakland. At first, these lines seemed to reflect a growing sense of concern for the possibility of a committed relationship, of marriage, so much so that Gambino's worries rise to the level of a riot.

And with this in mind, let's listen to these lines again, with a special focus on whether Gambino is saying married you tonight or buried you tonight. One suggested that the word is buried, it's all I can personally hear. Glover might have created this effect by recording the vocals of both words and layering them on top of each other. Regardless, the duality of the sound here reflects a few central concepts in the track, and in BTI more generally. Given the morbid undercurrent of the verse so far, we can see this as the conclusion of Gambino's thinking that marriage, or a lifelong commitment to a single partner, is akin to death. However, when we take a few contextual elements around this song into consideration, other interpretations present themselves quite clearly.

While on its surface this is a love song, there are a murals of, rumors of danger and racial tension. Let's begin with the method by which the track was released. Actor Michael B. Jordan tweeted out a link for fans to download this new track, saying, quote, y'all ain't know I got my ear to the streets. Besides the double entendre of streets for a song called Telegraph Avenue and for keeping its ear to the ground for the newest artist or songs, there's a few implications here to having the actor release the track. At the time, Jordan was promoting the based on real events film Fruitvale Station, where he starred as Oscar Grant, a black man who was murdered by police officers while taking the Bart train in the city of,

you guessed it, Oakland. Oscar Grant lost his life because he was black. His race and the permutations of discrimination that result led to his death. The film Fruitvale Station was actually scored by BTI's producer Ludwig Gordson and was directed by Ryan Cougler, Donald Glover's friend and collaborator. Here's Cougler and Jordan talking about the release of Telegraph Avenue. You know, I know the girl that's the song in the box. I ain't know that at all, man. That's that track is the spot. Donald went on that one. You know, I just so happen to get a link across my inbox on my email. I said, you know what? I was going to go ahead and throw it out there. Couglar tells Jordan that he knew the girl that the song was about, and Jordan smirks,

saying he received the song anonymously and just put it out there. While he's a great actor, he can't fake this. It's clear he's joking around, and the release of the song through him was intentional. Jordan, when they'd go on to say, quote, It's weird with the internet nowadays, you can just have your own marketing or advertisement campaign through the people that you know, unquote.

From Coogler's note that he knew the girl in real life to their film portraying the life and death of Oscar Grant, Glover has once again combined real and fictional elements, to imbue this love song with reminders of racial tension and police brutality. While fans were growing crazy for the leaked track, they would have to go download it from an actor playing Oscar Grant, a reminder of what happened to him, a reminder of systemic shortcomings in America. Audience couldn't just eat the cake, they had to eat their vegetables, too. The music video for Telegraph Avenue holds further evidence of racial tension weaving

its way into the conversation. In the video, a warped utopian worldview, depicts Gambino and singer Jenae Ayako roaming the island of Kauai before locals attack Gambino. Writer Trey Smith, who examined the BTI music videos as an extended metaphor for existing as a black man in America, describe this scene as quote, The locals run out and try to get Jenae to come with them, believing that they're protecting her. As they attempt to lead her away, Gambino arises in a new, monstrous form, lashing back at his attackers, after becoming the very thing they were afraid he become. This new form represents how he'll

be presented to the rest of the world as a consequence of his reaction to their transgressions against him. They are dead. Janais is terrified, and Donald has to once again deal with outside forces, making him something that he's not. We know that our hero isn't this great beast the locals assumed he was, but that doesn't matter now, unquote. Add to this the scene and the screenplay we just talked about, where the boy and his crew were racially profiled by the police after a violent event at In-N-N-Out. The boy can't even make it to his ex without a reminder of the threats upon his existence. While individually, these tangential elements such as the rollout process, the music video, and the script might seem inconsequential. When taken as a whole, we begin to realize

how Gambino has packaged whispers of danger and racial tension into Telegraph Avenue, and to BTI more generally. It's the sonic equivalent of driving while black, the idea that as a black person in America, there are certain added threats and stresses that are ever present, invisible until they are not. Specifically here in Telegraph Avenue, we understand that Gambino or the boy is unable to escape the shadow of exterior societal threats even while pursuing something pure like love. And this is why we must observe lines like Married or Buried with such a magnified lens. When the word married or buried can be heard in the same breath, we recognize the subjectivity of perception, one of the biggest themes BTI attempts to communicate. We can see this love as something wonderful

that will last, or something doomed to die. Gambino's production insists that we see both sides, and understand that they are present at the very same time. Depending on our perspective, our context and connections that we make, we will hear and interpret different things. In other words, if you hear married and I hear buried, what does that say about us as people, as individuals? How does our past experiences and circumstances inform how we interpret the world? And is our subjective, individual interpretation of the world the very thing that defines us, that makes us who we are, that separates us? And if so, can we take a step back and understand that while how we interpret the world may be different, we're all ultimately connected by

this process. We're all spinning around the sun, trying to make sense of the world and our place there within. Gambino sings, everything that I needed, now that I got you in your feelings. Everything you won't say, you tweet it, and the N-word don't like that shit at all, so treated. Here he starts to project his frustration on the woman. He claims that he has everything he needs and desires her emotion, yet she doesn't communicate directly with him. Instead, she chooses to tweet or sub-tweet him, an indirect of voicing her feelings. Gambino sees this as treated or foolish. Instead of being real with each other, social media and modern evasion has gotten in the way.

Ironically, this is exactly what Gambino himself did moments ago. He didn't want to call her, as it was too direct, and prefer something more akin to a telegraph. Gambino then hedges, singing, can we just roll with the feeling? Can we just roll for a minute? Wait a minute. He says he wants the woman to express her feelings, to feel them, and allow them to be present. The use of role conveys a desire for ease and also implies the use of drugs to achieve a relaxed mindset. After the pushback you received just previously, this is a plea for synchronicity, for being on the same page and the same motion. He wants to move past the start and stop, mistimed actions that have characterized the relationship so far.

Right after saying he's ready to go, Gambino sings, but I'm really not ready, girl, that's the problem, because I'm way too scared to fall, and I know you'd choose to stay in O. Here he admits directly to his ex that he's having second thoughts. The line, I'm way too scared to fall, may remind us of when Gambino rapped, Love is Russian roulette I had the safety on in the previous track shadows.

He's not allowing himself to be open to love. Having addressed his ex directly now, Gambino begins a self-deprecating verse, like how one might make fun of themselves to show someone that they've grown and realized their shortcomings. All the girlfriends saying, here we go again Rich kid, but he had like a gentleman Last one didn't end like it should have been Two dates and he still want to get it in And they're saying it's because of the internet

Try once and it's on to the next shit X or the old face on your exes Right And we can do the same thing If you want to do the same thing. Rich kid but he act like a gentleman Last one didn't end like it should have been Two dates and he still want to get it in

It seems Gambino's brash act of dropping everything to go see his ex, even if she didn't want him to, is something he's done before. Rich kid, but he act like a gentleman, appears to be an ironic depiction of the boy, with a gentleman being used sarcastically. The boy is trying to use self-deprecation to show that he's aware of his shortcomings. For instance, his lack of patience and repetitive search for self-gratification that leaves others tossed aside. This is exemplified in the lines, last one didn't end like it should have been, two dates and he still want to get it in, which calls attention to his impatience and frustration about having gone on two dates with a girl and not getting sex yet.

Gambino continues providing the perspective of his past lovers, rapping, and they're saying it's because of the internet, try her once and it's on to the next chick. XO, the O face on your exes. Here the reference to the album title is used as a pejorative sense, that is, because of the internet, the boy lacks patience and moves from partner to partner in pursuit of instant pleasure. He may try her once or have sex with a girl once, but then he's on to the next, looking for something better. To do this, his partners ask if what he does is just to XO the O face on them.

That is, cross out the image of their face after having sex, as if crossing an item off a grocery list. And we can do the same thing if you want to have it when your thoughts can't breathe and you think an asthmatic and you want to be a mom and I wasn't mad at it. I was thinking about me. I'd be really bad at it because I'm thinking about me. Weeks in Dubai, 4th of July. House and Hawaii. try. So let's try.

Gambino wraps, and we can do the same thing if you want to have at it, when your thoughts can't breathe and you think an asthmatic. Here, the same thing could refer to what he's always done in sexual relationships, that is, have sex once and then move on, perpetuating the cycle of self-gratification. Or the same thing could be committing to a single partner and having sex with the same person over and over again. The double entendre of,

when your thoughts can't breathe you think in asthmatic, emphasizes the intensity or panic of the lines, felt in their rapid fire delivery, exemplifying the existential anxiety of deciding on a single life partner. Gambino then acknowledges their different desires, rapping, and you want to be a mom and I wasn't mad at it. I was thinking about me,

I'd be really bad at it, because I'm thinking about me. While the woman wants to be a mother, to settle into a committed relationship and start a family, Gambino's lifestyle clearly doesn't fit in with that. He also expresses an underlying insecurity with his selfishness, admitting that he thinks he'd be a bad father. I mean, this was the guy who famously said,

I'm not having a baby, I'm not ready to have a baby. And I know a lot of people are just like, I'm with condos because I don't want to get AIDS. But I got to be honest, I'm sorry. I'd much rather have AIDS than a baby. Gambino continues by stringing together images of blissful domesticity, rapping, Weeks in Dubai, Fourth of July, House in Kauai, yeah we can try, so let's try. In line with the stop and start paradoxal structure of the song, Gambino somewhat randomly agrees

to give it a try. However, given that he had previously said he would try a girl once and move on, we don't get the impression that this new trial will last long. Gambino has also just admitted that he doesn't think he'd be a good father, since he thinks about himself too much. In this verse, he has detailed self-reflective critique. He's voiced his shortcomings to the point of self-parody, as if self-awareness alone could lead to reconciliation and progress. During this instrumental bridge, Gambino would often do a dance move called The Shorty George in live performances, as well as briefly in the music video.

The Shorty George is named after Shorty George Snowden, a famous Harlem dancer from the 1920s and 30s. Snowden was known for using his small stature for comedic affection. while dancing with taller partners. The dance move involves walking your feet close together and bending at the knees, making the dancer shorter and shorter. The move is often associated with self-parity, as a dancer diminishes or pokes fun at themselves in contrast with their partner.

Evoking this dance in his performance art presentation of Telegraph Avenue reflects Gambino's attempt at poking fun of himself to appear as if he's grown. Gambino and the boy are more aware of their shortcomings and appear to offer this as representation of growth to their ex. But the question is, is it enough? Gambino is now joined by singer Rochelle Jordan, who apparently voices the perspective of Naila from the script. This new duo, seemingly giving it a try together,

sings, I took off my 9 to 5, but you still don't have the time to kiss me, just hit me. And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone? It's iffy. You miss me.

Of course, taking off their 9 to 5 means that they're taking a day off of work, and both voice their frustration that their sacrifice isn't reciprocated, that their partner still doesn't have the time to kiss them. Notably, this couplet focuses on timing, which has been off throughout the track, and continues to get in the way of the pair even when they're together. The miscommunication continues as they wonder if their presence even matters. When they sing, it's iffy, you miss me, the use of miss has two implications, both the longing that occurs when you're away from someone that you want to be with, but also that the two have missed their chance.

They didn't connect in the right way at the right time. Gambino then continues, I got furniture to move and will both be 30 soon in Oakland. The furniture to move is a sign that Gambino is looking for somewhere to make his home, and the reminder that they'll both be 30 soon is a pressure to start a family before it's too late. Gambino then resentfully asks, The only one I know is you, so the fuck I'm supposed to do.

While at first this could be read as Gambino not knowing anyone else in Oakland, the statement is likely a more general resentful plea, as in he feels that his ex is the only one who knows him, and if she won't be with him, what else is he supposed to do? Who else does he have? These later sections of Telegraph Avenue soundtrack the scene in the screenplay where the boy finally arrives in Oakland,

at Nila's house, trying to salvage some sort of connection. When the boy walks up to her door, she opens it before he can knock, and her face is a mixture of strange anger and sympathy. Without greeting, she says to him, quote, There's a point you reach when you're no longer able to feel like you did. Not about a person, not with a certain place. You just can't feel like you did because that muscle or whatever is just dead or gone. When you're alone, you might be able to remember it.

You might even hear a song that makes you question it, but you don't have it. It doesn't exist anymore. It's dead. Do you understand? The boy says he does and Naila tells him that she's at that point. He says he still wants to talk because he just saw someone die, but Naila cuts him off and rejects him, reminding him that they're not together and hurtfully saying that she doesn't know him. The boy notices there's a man inside the house who must be Nila's partner. The boy tells him, quote, we were planning on having a kid together, she offered and we had a whole plan. like adults or something. Then I backed out.

So your second at best is what I'm saying. Naila asks what's wrong with him, but neither of them have an answer. It's sad because they both wished that they knew. Closing the door, Naila says, please grow up, and the boy heads back to the car as this scene ends. Having gone back to Oakland, having had thoughts run back and forth across his mind for the six-plus hour drive, having dealt with the police,

the boy finally arrives at Nila's home, unwanted. He doesn't really listen to her, and all the mistime steps that they've taken leave them at an irreconcilable point. She doesn't listen to him either, as the boy tried to voice his concern about the recent shootings he's witnessed and their effect on him, but she cuts him off. The hurt the boy feels when Nylis says that she doesn't know him leaves him sad, because at this point, if she doesn't know him, it's likely that no one does. Symbolically, the trip to Oakland may have been the boy running from a sense of despair, spurred by the realization that he hasn't been living a meaningful life. Running back to Nila then was an attempt to say, but that was meaningful,

and I had purpose then. Nila not knowing him now renders this past relationship obsolete. His run was futile. The boy lashes out at Nila's new man, just as Gambito did on shadows. There's something wrong with the boy, but at this point, neither he nor Nila can express exactly what, leaving the boy speechless. That question, what is wrong with you, is going to stick. And Nila's final request is that he grows up, a focal thematic concept of BTI. This was even reflected in Glover's infamous Instagram notes where he told us, quote, you're always allowed to grow up if you want. This scene in Oakland is sad because the boy tried to move past all his worries and second thoughts to commit to a connection he thought he might salvage. But true to the Road of Trial story structure,

He went back to Oakland in search of connection, aware of and trying to move past his shortcomings, but he couldn't find what he was looking for. The connection was gone. Or as Nila put it, it's dead. Conclusions. During live performances of Telegraph Avenue on the Deep Web Tour, the song was prefaced by a message of advice from the boy's deceased mother. An abstract vocalizer in the shape of a white orb would be projected on stage, and Gambino

would look up and listen to her advice throughout the show, as if it were coming from beyond the grave. At the start of Telegraph Avenue, the boy's mother gives him some advice about love. Love is the greatest gift humans have. Being loved in return is a luxury, though. And if it doesn't happen, don't close yourself off. That's all I ask. Your father, he's got his own thing. But you don't have to be that.

You're not him. You're not him. Love is the greatest gift human to have. Love is the greatest gift human to have. Here the boy's mother tells him, quote, Love is the greatest gift humans have. Being loved in return is a luxury. And if it doesn't happen, don't close yourself off.

That's all I ask. Your father, he's got his own thing. But you don't have to be that. You're not him. Love is the greatest gift. humans have." With Telegraph Avenue, we experienced the boy failing to reconnect with a former lover, but we should recognize his attempt as progress.

Aware now of his shortcomings, he is now in the driver's seat, attempting to take control of his life, to actively shape his future. His naivety led him to believe that just being more open to commitment would be enough to save a failed relationship. But he still wasn't actually thinking about his ex and her feelings, still wasn't truly listening and therefore not truly connecting. And if what his mother told him is true that love is the greatest gift that humans have, we might then say that at the heart of love is connection,

is empathy, communication, and selfless understanding. At this point in the narrative, the boy isn't quite there yet. He's trying, but he's still full of second thoughts and contradictions, as evidence throughout Telegraph Avenue. The boy thought that because he is now aware of his shortcomings, he could go back and reclaim what he thought was real. But it's gone. Time changes us and we can't go back to the past. We are witnessing the boy learning this through failure in real time. Most of us have likely had the experience or at least fantasized about revisiting a past relationship after having

matured or changed. You wonder to yourself how it could have been different if you were who you are now, then. You look back with regret or embarrassment at what you could have done better. You imagine, How imagine how your life might have played out if only you met them today rather than two years ago, five years ago, ten years ago. There are billions of us all flying through space orbiting the sun at this specific moment in infinity. Our paths cross at random like circuits flying through a motherboard and we are forever propelled forward by history, by our inherited circumstances, by time itself. This is the inherent tragedy of life. We only get one go around as far. far as we know. There are no do-overs, and opportunities often present themselves at the wrong time, when we're not ready, and they slipped through our hands like sand, gone before we even know

to grab them. Sure, there's nostalgia in sending telegraphs and romanticizing the past, but the reality is, that time is over, and your memory is now in many ways a facade. It's impossible to recreate things just as they were, and growing up demands us to move forward, whether we want to or not. This is the harsh truth that the boy is beginning to understand through his failure to reconnect with his ex. Just realizing his shortcomings is not enough. He needs to look deeper within himself to answer what's wrong with him so he might find love and connection. We'll watch the boy try to figure himself out on because the internet's next track, Sweatpants. A song will examine note by note line by line next time on Dissect.

Today's episode of Dysect was written by Camden Ostrander and me. Remember, you can go deeper into the world of Because the Internet through the supplementary guides on our website, Dysectpodcast.com. While you're there, be sure to check out our limited season 7 merchandise. Also, be sure to follow us on social media at Dysect Podcast. Audio editing for today's episode by Eric Bass and me. Song Recreations by Andrew Atwood. Screenplay score by So Wiley.

Theme music by Birocratic. Okay, thanks everyone. Talk to you next week.