The first time I met Mike from The Deadly Syndrome, he was throwing up on my couch. He had been out drinking the night before with Will, tore the head off a paper mache dummy, wrestled it across a stranger’s front lawn and then stumbled up to my house (I was living with Will and Jesse, and soon Chris would move into the garage) where he puked all over everything and passed out.
There was a lot of that sort of thing when The Deadly Syndrome first got together. Everyone was running around having fun, working shitty jobs, and writing music all the time. The house was drowning in instruments. There were cheap old organs that somebody picked up off Craigslist. Guitars, pianos, keyboards, violins, all broken down and beat up, just laying around in case somebody needed them.
The weeks started to revolve around shows. You know how whenever someone says, “You should check out my friend’s band?” how your immediate reaction is “are you saying that just because they’re your friend?” I never had that problem. The guys attacked the stage; the audience lost their minds. Their shows were like festivals (with lots of cardboard cut outs). It was a wonderful couple of years.
And then it stopped being fun.
It’s a cliché to say that youth is fleeting. But it’s true. And it’s hard to separate youth from rock and roll. That’s not to say The Deadly Syndrome are a bunch of geriatrics, they aren’t. But after two years of being together they were four guys who loved music, but still weren’t able to do it for a living. Four guys who were getting older and starting to think about things like financial security, maybe starting a family, having a car that didn’t break down all the time, getting health insurance, etc – all the stuff that keeps making more and more noise as the years go by and you start growing up.
And growing up is tricky business in rock and roll. Because the truth is that while age doesn’t stifle creativity, it certainly encourages stagnation. And stagnation leads to a sad and boring road that either ends with too much thinking about The Good Old Days or Fat Elvis.
So after a couple of years I think the guys weren’t sure what to do. If you’ll allow me another cliché, things were starting to feel like an ending, rather than a beginning. At this point they could have very easily broken up. Left on good terms and gone their separate ways. Or they could have written another Ortolan. Similar songs played in the same venues, stretching out the good times as far as they could. Instead they moved all of their stuff into a cabin up in the woods and started over.
There weren’t a lot of updates, no hand wringing or bragging, nothing specific, just the occasional word that things were moving along. And then one day after about nine months had gone by, they let everyone know that they had finished an album and were calling it Nolens Volens.
The songs, the production, it all seems to be the work of a band that has found its strengths, and is busy seeing how far they can push them. You can hear the earlier, younger band throughout all the songs, but there’s something else there as well. A sort of self-assurance that gives each song its own life and space, along with a patience that usually isn’t associated with rock and roll.
More than anything else though, Nolens Volens is about growing up. About the give and take that comes with age and responsibility, about remembering the energy of youth and infusing it into a new, older life.
Or not. Fuck it, maybe I’m over thinking it. Maybe they just made a great record and plan to release it later this year and that’s all there is to it. After all, they’re all still in their 20’s for god’s sake! Why am I talking about growing up? There’s still plenty of time for being young, playing the music too loud, and puking all over everything just before passing out.
–Jason Greene
Villain
The Deadly Syndrome Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's got to be a better way for me
It's not in piles of everyone's laundry
I swear it's not, I know it's not on me
I'm a villain
I'm a villain
Why don't you just go fuck off and die
Do you need anything?
Lets not never speak or even think about it
It won't ever change
(?) And still again
We need to drop it
Everyone is talking, say, "I'm the villain."
I'm the villain
I'm the villain
The lyrics to The Deadly Syndrome's song "Villain" seem to describe a situation where the singer is misunderstood and frequently mistaken for having malicious intentions. They express the desire to find a way to clear their name, to prove that they are not the bad guy. The line "It's not in piles of everyone's laundry" suggests that the answers they seek cannot be found by digging through other people's dirty laundry, perhaps implying that they are currently being unjustly accused by their peers without any evidence supporting the accusations.
The chorus consisting of the repeated phrase "I'm a villain" indicates that despite the singer's efforts to prove their innocence, they still ultimately see themselves as guilty or condemned. The final lines of the song, "Everyone is talking, say, 'I'm the villain,'" suggest that no matter what they do, the singer cannot escape this label as others continue to gossip behind their back.
Overall, the lyrics seem to capture the frustration of being misunderstood and dealing with one's own perceived guilt. The repetition of the phrase "I'm a villain" emphasizes a feeling of powerlessness and the sense that the singer has no control over how they are perceived by others.
Line by Line Meaning
Always confused for mild animosity
People always mistake my confusion for hostility
There's got to be a better way for me
I need to find a better way to express myself
It's not in piles of everyone's laundry
I won't find the answer in other people's problems
I swear it's not, I know it's not on me
I'm sure the problem isn't caused by me
I'm a villain
People see me as the bad guy
Why don't you just go fuck off and die
I wish I could tell you to leave me alone forever
Do you need anything?
I don't care if you need anything from me
Lets not never speak or even think about it
We should forget this ever happened
It won't ever change
Things will never get better
(?) And still again
Despite the circumstances
We need to drop it
We should stop talking about it
Everyone is talking, say, "I'm the villain."
People are gossiping and calling me the bad guy
I'm the villain
I'm the one everyone blames
Writer(s): ETLING WILLIAM, RICHARD CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL, HOY JESSE CHARLES, HUGHES MICHAEL RYAN
Contributed by Oliver O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Singledrum32
you guys have seriously been my favorite band for a few years now, i heard about you from my sister who used to work at dim mak when you were still with them. amazing new and old stuff, and your periodic table band shirt is one of my favorites to wear
@xmissybabex
you should be way more famous then you are. you guys are amazing.
@tneb1997
holy shit this is amazing, i saw you guys on degrassi, though i dont like the show but my friend told me to watch it and i heard of you guys and now i'm in love with your music
@sunbrobellemont8526
god, I fuckin love the deadly syndrome. they need wway more coverage than they get
@shaykums23
Visuals are ok but i love the song roaming around on youtube got me to find villain and im still in love with this song
@UnheardEmotions
Still listening in 2017 🖤
@spinalstar
Sometimes i feel like i'm the villain.....
@ASDFGHJKLQWERTZUIOP162
Fantastic.
@perfectdreamingskull
fuck yeah mman tottallly agree love the shit man
@Metroidkalib
@mrsalmon1984 I found out about them the same way