In early 2003, Costa's homemade demo reached No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont, who offered to record more demos for Costa in his home studio. Those first recordings led to two EPs that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. These were later combined and mixed by Phil Ek in order to form Costa's first full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing.
Costa spent the summer of 2005 opening on Jack Johnson's summer tour. He has since toured with Modest Mouse, Oasis, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Death Cab for Cutie. Costa joined Jack Johnson for his 2006 European tour. He has also contributed to the Jack Johnson and Friends Curious George soundtrack; his track is entitled "Lullaby". This song was taken from his The Elasmosaurus EP. Costa has also toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and South America.
The video for Costa's first single "Cold December" was released February 2, 2006. On July 31, 2007, he released a song titled "If You Took To Me" as part of the environmentally minded polar bear documentary Arctic Tale and its soundtrack.
On October 7, 2007, Costa released the first single, "Mr. Pitiful," from his record Unfamiliar Faces. The song "Mr. Pitiful" was used during a scene with Paul Rudd in the movie I Love You, Man, the redband trailer for the film Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera, and the movie Marmaduke. The song is featured during the opening credits of The Answer Man (film). Apple also used an instrumental cut of this song for the worldwide iPhone 3GS ads.
Mobile Chateau, Costa's next album, was released on September 21, 2010, via Brushfire Records. His 2013 self-titled album was recorded at Pheasant Studios in Santa Ana, CA, as Costa's first solo production.
TV Gods
Matt Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's something in my coffee, yeah
Must be the water and it
Must be the water and it
Must be the water 'cause it
Must be the water and it
Must be the water, yeah
And there's
Something in the air we're breathing
It's in the air we're breathing
'It's in the TV', he said
'It's in the TV', he said
There are TV Gods
There are TV Gods
It's in the offices
And it's in the cars we're driving
It's in the offices
And wash the car you're driving
'It'll get your eyes,' he says
'So watch your eyes,' he says
'It's in the TV', he said
'It's in the TV', he said
There are TV Gods
There are TV gods
There are TV Gods
There are TV Gods
They want to keep you numb
They know you'll stay and come
They know you'll turn them on
They know you'll turn them on
They want to keep you numb
They know you'll stay and come
They know you'll turn them on
They know you'll turn them on
There are TV Gods
There are TV Gods
'It's in the TV', he said
'It's in the TV', he said
'Turn off the TVs', he said
'Turn off the TVs', he said
There are TV Gods
There are TV Gods
Matt Costa's song "TV Gods" is a commentary on the pervasive influence of television in our lives. The lyrics suggest that there is something in the water and in the air that is affecting our brains, and that the source of this influence is the television. The chorus repeats the phrase "TV Gods", suggesting that these unseen forces have a great deal of power over us.
The verses describe how the TV Gods are everywhere, in the offices and cars we drive, and how they want to keep us numb so we keep coming back to them. The lyrics caution us to watch our eyes and turn off the TVs, suggesting that we need to be mindful of the influence these TV Gods have over us.
Overall, the song is a warning about the influence of TV and a reminder to be more mindful about the media we consume.
Line by Line Meaning
Something's in my coffee, yeah
There's something strange happening to me or in my surroundings.
There's something in my coffee, yeah
A feeling of unease or an interruption in the usual routine.
Must be the water and it
Trying to find an explanation for the strange feeling.
Must be the water and it
Trying to find an explanation for the strange feeling.
Must be the water 'cause it
Identifying water as the cause of the strange feeling.
Must be the water and it
Stressing the possibility of water as the reason for the strange feeling.
Must be the water, yeah
Emphasizing that water is most likely the reason for the strange feeling.
And there's
Continuation of the thought about the strange feeling.
Something in the air we're breathing
Acknowledgment of a general sense of unease or discomfort.
It's in the air we're breathing
Identification of an intangible entity as the cause of the discomfort.
'It's in the TV', he said
A character offers an explanation for the unease, pointing to the influence of television.
'It's in the TV', he said
Reiteration of the idea that television is the cause of the discomfort.
There are TV Gods
Suggesting that television has a powerful and controlling presence.
There are TV Gods
Reiteration of the idea that television has a god-like influence on society.
It's in the offices
Suggesting that the influence of television extends beyond the home and into the workplace.
And it's in the cars we're driving
Pointing out that even while driving, one cannot escape the influence of television.
It's in the offices
Reiteration of the idea that television's influence is present in the workplace.
And wash the car you're driving
Emphasizing the fact that the influence of television is also present while performing mundane tasks such as washing the car.
'It'll get your eyes,' he says
A character warns of the dangers of prolonged exposure to television, specifically relating to vision loss.
'So watch your eyes,' he says
Reiteration of the previous warning.
'It's in the TV', he said
Continuation of the explanation that the discomfort is caused by the pervasive influence of television.
'It's in the TV', he said
Reiteration of the idea that television is the root of the problem.
They want to keep you numb
Suggesting that the entities controlling television want to keep the population apathetic and passive.
They know you'll stay and come
Implied that television executives understand that viewers will continue to watch regardless of the content or influence.
They know you'll turn them on
Further emphasizing that viewers will continue to watch television, even if it is detrimental to their wellbeing.
They want to keep you numb
Reiteration of the idea that the goal of those controlling television is to keep viewers apathetic and passive.
They know you'll stay and come
Reiteration of the understanding that television executives have of viewers' habits and behaviors.
They know you'll turn them on
Reiteration of the idea that viewers will continue to watch television, even if it is not in their best interest.
There are TV Gods
Reiteration of the idea that television has a powerful influence on society, almost like a religion.
There are TV Gods
Final statement summarizing the themes of the song and restating the idea that television has a pervasive and controlling influence on society.
'Turn off the TVs', he said
Final warning to viewers to turn off their televisions and take back control of their lives.
'Turn off the TVs', he said
Reiteration of the warning to viewers to turn off their televisions and not let them control their lives.
There are TV Gods
Closing statement restating the idea that television has a powerful and controlling presence in society.
There are TV Gods
Final reiteration of the central theme of the song.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: MATTHEW ALBERT COSTA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aiko Chela
Thank you for posting this song! I want to make a video for this so bad. Probably enough to learn how to make videos :P
Snark
It might sound like this is a rip off of "Dream On," but when I first heard Dream On, I thought it was incredibly similar to Come Together (Beatles). The quest for originality is a long an arduous one, I wouldn't get too caught up in it.
Denis Markov
Matt Costa, When the clip will be filmed ? We are waiting for release clip T.V. Gods 👍🎸💣🎧
Mandy Wilson
Hey Matt, what are you going to do about the guy who WROTE this song? He's sitting with me rt nw, SUPER upset. This is breaking my heart...
An Heroic Hippo
personally i think this song is one of his all time best.
Mandy Wilson
It's NOT his song 😡
Mister J
Same here.
Aric Plumley
Where can I buy this MP3?
thomson91
haha yeah it actually does, i never noticed that
RODRIGO ARTEAGA
apart from the accidental dislike below... i wonder if there is a incarnate human version of "grumpy cat" who just foes around dislikes