About Telepath/Nothing is Real (both tracks are related for the palindromic nature of the album) :
Regarding the poem about Jesus: Im not convinced by the idea interpretation that this is the band’s unfiltered opinion of Jesus (because, according to their own statements, they’ve become more nihilistic over the years). The childlike nature of the poem, the accusatory tone, and the context seem to me to disprove this hypothesis.
First of all, this album was conceived as the soundtrack to a fictional film set shortly before or shortly after a major global catastrophe. Consequently, any form of narration should be the expression of one of the protagonists of this film, in which the action and consequences would unfold primarily in the U.S. (if I’m to go by the cover art).
Many have suggested that the voice reading the poem might be the voice of the "military". I find this interpretation logical. The voice on Telepath is dictating station numbers. There is some kind of a military operation going on here. The atmosphere seems tense, as if there was something terrible about to happen. It is both comical and frightening to hear this menacing voice reciting numbers like a 6-year-old learning to count. A movie scenario where a menacing man-child having nuclear codes and is learning how to use it.
Behind the need for brutal authority and displays of power often lies a neglected child (and various forms of “daddy issues”). Nothing is Real begins with the time-stretched sound of a crying child. The music also evokes MHTRTC.
But why would this “military entity” direct reproaches at Jesus?
Throughout history, conquerors—to justify the sacrifice of human lives in the name of their own ambitions—have had to resort to some form of higher moral justification: either by invoking their divine nature (as was the case in the Roman Empire and feudal Japan) or by aligning themselves with religious leaders who do the work for them. In the West, the Christian clergy played this role. More than anyone else, military leaders must be steeped in this idea. They must sincerely believe they are the extension of God’s arm and are in direct contact with Him (through some form of so-called telepathy). But what happens when an empire collapses and discovers that God has never been with them?
Consider the trauma that occurred in feudal Japan: On January 1, 1946, when the emperor Hirohito announced to his people that he was no longer a god, it caused utter consternation among the population. This was followed by a wave of suicides among high-ranking military officers and a complete loss of moral compass. It has been a major theme in Japanese literature ever since. Fortunately, Japan did not had nuclear weapon at this time.
How might the West react upon realising that it has never had God’s support? In a society populated by dogmatic child-men, one should not expect much emotional maturity from them. They might shift the blame onto Jesus and take refuge in nihilistic superlatives: ‘Everything is a lie, nothing is real.’ In this absolute moral void arises the child-man’s final pleasure: the temptation to reduce everything to ashes.
But that's just a movie.
