Mind Over Matter

Album: Mind Over Matter (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title cut of Young The Giant's sophomore album finds frontman Sameer Gadhia singing of being "a young man after all." The record they explained was a way for the band to go back that same head space they had at 16-years-old and just be creative without "really thinking or worrying about much and living in the present."
    "I think it's just us trying to figure things out and maybe trying to tell a story for everyone who's trying to figure their life out," Gadhia stated.

    Guitarist Jacob Tilley added: "I think this time around and this batch of writing that we did for this record, all of it was pretty much derived from our experiences of being on the road and growing up as five individuals together and all the challenges that we had to overcome. From the most obvious ones like being away from home and family and the taxing environment which touring is but also what we dealt with as a band in creating a sophomore record."
  • Young The Giant suffered from the increased expectations for their sophomore set. It was this song which not only broke their creative block, but also sonically shaped the record. "'Mind Over Matter' got us over all that, and everything came together after that," Gadhia explained to MTV News. "For us, it's about trying to connect with who we are, completely, external and separate from the world that we find ourselves in, and about trying to connect with ourselves as individuals and sonically, our music-scape. We definitely explored a lot on this album, particularly the idea of choice; one can either do what they want to do, or completely destroy themselves, based on their own choice."

Comments: 1

  • Ali from TexasAbsolutely the best song Young the Giant has made. It's one of those songs you never get tired of hearing, no matter how many times you've heard it. The power and passion behind Sameer's vocals give me goosebumps every time. Especially at the break (around the 2:50 mark in the video). It's absolutely outstanding.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.