My Ordinary Life

"My Ordinary Life" is a complex exploration of the psychological toll of internet fame, the pressure of maintaining a public persona, and the dichotomy between external success and internal emptiness. Despite the upbeat, frenetic energy of the music, the lyrics reveal a darker narrative about the "God Complex" that often accompanies rapid success and the subsequent burnout.

The song operates on two levels:

• The Surface Level: It depicts a life of excess, power, and adoration. The protagonist is told they are a "god" and enjoys the "beautiful people" and "beautiful places." This represents the curated, perfect life shown on social media.
• The Deeper Level: It exposes the anxiety and dissociation beneath the surface. References to King Midas suggest that the "golden touch" of success is actually a curse that isolates the protagonist and renders them unable to feel genuine human connection ("I feel the pain of everyone / Then I feel nothing").

The title itself is ironic. By calling this chaotic, high-stakes, and mentally taxing existence "Ordinary," The Living Tombstone highlights how distorted the creator's reality has become. It suggests that for an internet celebrity, this manic state of anxiety and performance is their new normal.

A chaotic and overwhelming sense of grandeur initiates the narrative, where the protagonist is constantly affirmed by outside voices as being deity-like. They find themselves completely submerged in a fabricated persona, trapped within a facade that separates their true self from the public perception. There is a desperate plea to a mythical figure, requesting to be touched by gold, signaling a desire to be solidified into something permanent and valuable, even if it means losing their humanity in the process.

The narrative moves through scenes of excess and superficial beauty, observing attractive people in luxurious settings. Despite the glamour, there is a sinister undertone where the protagonist admits to manipulating the situation, keeping others fascinated and under a spell. A profound numbness begins to set in; they claim to feel the collective pain of everyone, only to immediately switch to feeling absolutely nothing, highlighting a severe emotional dissociation. The highs are incredibly high, described with an intensity that suggests an addiction to the adrenaline and validation, but the fear of the inevitable crash looms large.

"My Ordinary Life" was released on November 23, 2017, by the Israeli-American electronic rock band The Living Tombstone (TLT), founded by Yoav Landau. The song marks a significant point in TLT's discography as they transitioned from being primarily known for fandom-specific songs (such as those for Five Nights at Freddy's or My Little Pony) toward original compositions with broader, more personal themes.

The track is famously built around a sample from the Japanese anime series Nichijou (which translates to "My Ordinary Life" in English). The sampling of the anime—known for its absurdist humor and sudden shifts between mundane life and extreme, high-budget animation sequences—perfectly mirrors the song's theme of contrasting a "normal" life with intense, overwhelming mental states. Yoav Landau composed, produced, and performed the song, utilizing his signature glitch-hop style to create a sound that feels both nostalgic and aggressively modern.

The song follows a driving, fast-paced rhythmic structure characteristic of electronic dance music. The vocal delivery is rhythmic and almost percussive, locking in tight with the beat.

Rhyme Scheme: The lyrics often utilize AABB or ABAB schemes with a focus on perfect rhymes to maintain the catchy, pop-oriented appeal (e.g., "design/time," "facade/god").

Rhythmic Interplay: The most distinct rhythmic element is the syncopation between the vocal melody and the heavy bass kicks. The vocals often land on the downbeat, reinforcing the authoritative tone of the "god complex," while the glitchy background elements provide a polyrhythmic, chaotic texture that reflects the internal confusion.

Musical Techniques: The song is a quintessential example of Glitch Hop. It utilizes heavy side-chain compression to create a "pumping" rhythm, aggressive synthesizer baselines, and chiptune-inspired arpeggios. A defining feature is the use of the Nichijou sample, which is chopped, looped, and pitch-shifted to create a rhythmic hook that underpins the verses. The tempo is high (around 140 BPM), contributing to the feeling of mania.

Literary Techniques:

• Irony: The title contrasting with the chaotic content.
• Allusion: The direct reference to the Midas myth anchors the song in a tragedy of greed.
• Juxtaposition: The lyrics contrast pleasure and pain ("I feel the pain of everyone / Then I feel nothing"), highlighting emotional instability.
• Repetition: The repetitive structural build-ups mimic the cycle of anxiety and relief.

"My Ordinary Life" has achieved immense viral status, particularly on TikTok and YouTube, years after its initial release. It became a staple in the animation meme community and cosplay circles.

• Viral Trends: The song is widely used in "edits" and AMVs (Anime Music Videos) to showcase characters with dual personalities or those suffering from a "god complex" or insanity. The transition in the song is often used to sync with a visual transition from a character acting normal to snapping or revealing their dark side.
• Legacy: It remains one of The Living Tombstone's most popular original tracks (non-franchise specific), proving their ability to create hits beyond video game fan songs. It defined a specific era of "internet core" music that blends darker lyrical themes with upbeat, electronic production.

The lyrics are dense with classical and modern symbolism:

• King Midas: The line "Touch me Midas, make me part of your design" is the song's central metaphor. In Greek mythology, Midas turned everything he touched into gold, eventually leading to his starvation and misery. Here, the protagonist begs for this transformation, symbolizing a willingness to sacrifice their humanity and ability to "feel" in exchange for eternal success and value.
• The Facade: "I'm lost in the facade" represents Imposter Syndrome. The "God" the public sees is a construction, while the real person behind it feels lost.
• Drugs/Adrenaline: Phrases like "get me high" and descriptions of sensory overload function as metaphors for the addictive nature of fame and validation (likes, views, comments). The "crash" implies the depressive episodes that often follow viral success.
• Glitch Audio: The stuttering, glitching audio effects symbolize the protagonist's fracturing mental state and the blurring line between reality and the digital persona.

"Touch me Midas": This plea is the emotional anchor of the song, recurring to remind the listener of the central conflict: the desire to be "golden" versus the cost of that transformation.

"They tell me I'm a god": This phrase sets up the external validation that fuels the protagonist's ego. Its repetition reinforces how the external world feeds the internal delusion.

The Nichijou Sample: The musical motif from the anime serves as a sonic reminder of the "Ordinary Life" theme, playing incessantly in the background like an intrusive thought or a relentless routine that cannot be escaped.