In 2004, the group graduated from college and moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with an aggressive, hirsute landlord named Baki. Shortly thereafter, Daniel joined the group Grizzly Bear and began playing guitar and singing with them (he went on to write a goodly portion of their sophomore album, Yellow House). Fred tried to escape his boring magazine job by going on tour opening up for the band Subtle, but the tour was cancelled when Subtle's bus crashed, tragically injuring keyboardist Dax Pierson. DOE was on something of a hiatus. Then in 2005, a British label re-released their debut album in Europe under a different title, and the group began working on new material. This time around, the music featured little-to-no electronic embellishments and was inspired by Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Paul Williams, and Paul McCartney. On October 7, 2008 they released their follow-up, In Ear Park, on 4AD.
Daniel plays guitar, bass, piano, drums, cello, and sings. He majored in Linguistics. His grandfather, Robert Rossen, directed the critically acclaimed movies All the Kings Men and The Hustler. Fred plays drums and various random instruments. He majored in Art History. His father, Martin Nicolaus, wrote the definitive translation of Karl Marx's Gundrisse.
www.departmentofeagles.com
Department of Eagles went on to join Grizzly Bear with their recording of 2009 LP 'Veckatimist'
Brightest Minds
Department of Eagles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My ceiling shakes like the up above.
Just remember when I cut you down for the second time
It happens to the better of the brightest minds
And remember when I cut you down the third time
It happens to the better of the brightest minds
And these quiet hours I don't know how to talk
Just remember when I cut you down
It happens to the better of the brightest minds
And remember when I cut you down for the third time
It happens to the better of the brightest minds
My, how she goes and goes.
Here we are
This road
The lyrics of "Brightest Minds" by Department of Eagles describe a person who is going through a challenging time and struggling with communication. The first line, "This time each day I do walks down the hall," suggests a routine that is a form of escape or contemplation. The reference to the shaking ceiling suggests a sense of instability or unpredictability that is out of the person's control.
The next lines, "Just remember when I cut you down for the second time, it happens to the better of the brightest minds," suggest that the person has cut someone down before and is now reflecting on that decision. The repetition of this line, with "the third time" added later, suggests that the person is in a cycle of cutting people down without necessarily understanding why.
The last line, "My, how she goes and goes. Here we are. This road," suggests an acceptance of the difficult path the person is on, but also a sense of uncertainty about where it may lead. Overall, the lyrics of "Brightest Minds" convey a sense of struggle, introspection, and uncertainty, with a hint of resignation to the difficulties of life.
Line by Line Meaning
This time each day I do walks down the hall.
Every day at the same time, I take walks down the hallway.
My ceiling shakes like the up above.
My ceiling shakes like something above it is moving heavily.
Just remember when I cut you down for the second time
It happens to the better of the brightest minds
And remember when I cut you down the third time
It happens to the better of the brightest minds
If I cut you down more than once, don't take it personally as even the smartest people may face setbacks and make mistakes.
And these quiet hours I don't know how to talk
I'll play your game it really don't suit me at all
During these silent moments, I struggle to communicate effectively and playing along with your expectations does not come naturally to me.
My, how she goes and goes.
Time passes quickly and relentlessly, regardless of our desires.
Here we are
This road
We have arrived at our current situation, this path that we are on.
Contributed by James O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.