I'd like to share an observation that I have made about the protagonist of IGOR from a psychological perspective. As a disclaimer I'd like to say that I absolutely LOVE this album. But.....
I can't say that the character in the album is necessarily handling the situation the way a normal person would handle it. And that's ok, because Tyler was intentionally presenting a flawed character. More specifically, the character of IGOR seems to exhibit the behavior patterns of somebody with Borderline Personality Disorder, also known as BPD.
What is BPD? The diagnostic criteria are as follows:
-An intense fear of abandonment, even going to extreme measures to avoid real or imagined separation or rejection
-A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn't care enough or is cruel
-Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image that include shifting goals and values, and seeing yourself as bad or as if you don't exist at all
-Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours
-Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship
-Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to fear of separation or rejection
-Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety
-Ongoing feelings of emptiness
Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights
Now, IGOR doesn't necessarily follow all of these personality traits, but I see many of them throughout the album. To show how these traits specifically manifest throughout the album, I will go song by song and analyze the lyrics to show examples.
Earfquake-
"Don't leave, it's my fault. Cuz when it all comes crashing down I'll need you."
"You don't want my conversation (I don't want no conversation)"
This song exhibits the BPD habits of panicking during abandonment in that first lyric. The second lyric exhibits the BPD symptom of idealisation/devaluation as he first complains "you don't want my conversation" then switches back with "I don't want your conversation". These two in particular appear often in the album, and are a common theme.
I THINK-
"What the f**k is your motive?
Man, I wish you would call me
By your name 'cause I'm sorry
This is not apology
You are such a distraction"
I THINK continues to show the back and forth in his view of the love interest, as well as his apparent paranoia towards them ("what the f**k is your motive") The traits in this song and the one before it are largely the same and alone wouldn't warrant a BPD diagnosis. But, these aren't the last songs on the album.
EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM-
"exactly what you run from, you end up chasing
(Say it, say it) like, you can't avoid, but
(Hey hey) just chasing it and just like trying (say it, say it)
Giving it everything that you can, there's always an obstacle"
This again shows the push and pull in the relationship involving the BPD individual. They push them away aka run from them, then want them back out of fear of abandonment aka chase them.
RUNNING OUT OF TIME-
I wouldn't say that this song necessarily has any BPD traits.... but in the context of the song that follows it, it has a much larger and more frantic sense of urgency and when he states that he believes he is running out of time he takes it very seriously.
NEW MAGIC WAND-
This song is the crux of this post, and is a cocktail of BPD red flags. You have frantic efforts to avoid abandonment ("Sometimes you gotta close a door to open a window") in literally threatening to KILL the love interest's women to preserve their relationship. You have idealisation/devaluation ("Your other one evaporate, we celebrate
You under oath, now pick a side and if you don't
I'll pick you both ")
You have loss of touch with reality and identity, and impulsive/reckless behavior("Take one look in the mirror, implications so clear
I live life with no fear, except for the idea
That one day you won't be here")
Every symptom is present here, and this song warrants my BPD speculation.
A BOY IS A GUN-
In this song you also get a complete push/pull, much like the rest of the album. You get idealisation and devaluation in one sentence ("How come you the best of me, I know you the worst for me, boy you sweet as sugar diabetic to the first degree")
("stay the f**k away from me")
PUPPET-
In this song he does a total 180 after the trainwreck of the previous song and goes full idealisation mode. He also claims to merely be the love interest's puppet which displays identity dysphoria and loss of touch with reality. Very BPD-esque.
WHAT'S GOOD-
I don't really factor this one. It's more a Tyler song than an IGOR song. But nevertheless if it is directed at the love interest it signifies yet another mood swing from the protagonist.
GONE-
This is more like it, as the protagonist finally begins to realize it is indeed over but doesn't necessarily admit that it is partially his own fault.
I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE-
Now that he realizes that his love interest is totally disinterested he finally gets to become disinterested himself, or so it seems.....
ARE WE STILL FRIENDS-
Unfortunately, our protagonist still finds himself in limbo with this love interest, still needlessly clinging on due to this fear of an abandonment that in reality has already occurred. The irony of this song is that he is delusional because this whole album occurs AFTER the love interest has moved on, and after a tantrum like NEW MAGIC WAND there is no way they will still be friends. But then again, those with BPD aren't necessarily in touch with reality.
From my analysis of these lyrics I can only conclude that this protagonist AT LEAST has a significant BPD tendencies if not the disorder itself. But what do you think? Could he have BPD? Am I overthinking? Leave your feedback below.
02 Feb 2020, 10:21 pm
