Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad

"Elon Musk is Making Me Sad"
Single by The Rentals
Album	Q36
Released	October 5, 2017 (version 1) April 28, 2020 (Q36 version)
Format	MP3
Recorded	2017 at Dan Joeright's home studio
Length	Audio - 6:55 Video - 7:19
Label	Self-released
Writer(s)	Matt Sharp
Producer(s)	The Rentals
Status	Officially released
The Rentals singles chronology
"1000 Seasons" (2014) "Conspiracy" (2020) "Elon Musk is Making Me Sad" (2017) "Elon Musk is Making Me Sad" (2020) "Spaceships" (2019) "Information (and the Island in the Sky) (2020)
Q36 track listing
"Machine Love" (15) "Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad" (16)
Q36 version
Q36 single cover

"Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad" is a single by the Rentals and the sixteenth and final track on the band's 2020 album, Q36. It was initially released as a single on October 5, 2017 with the announcement of the band's then-upcoming fourth album (unveiled as Q36 in November of 2019). The Q36 version of the song was released as the album's twelfth single on April 28, 2020.

Overview

"Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad" was officially unveiled on Wired Magazine [1] on October 4, 2017. In a post on the Rentals official website made hours later, frontman Matt Sharp confirmed that the track would likely be the album's final track [2]. Of the song, Sharp said: "Right from its inception, in the earliest sketches of the lyrics and melodies, there was always an urgency to share this particular song with everyone, at the very first possible chance that was available to us."

Though the song's inclusion on the album was not explicitly confirmed at the time of Q36's announcement, the album's Bandcamp page, prior to the song's release, featured dashes ("---- ---- -- ------ -- ---") matching the song's title as the album's final track. The Q36 version was released on April 28, 2020. This version contains only minor differences from the initial release. On the band's Instagram account, Sharp said: "This version is nearly identical to the original mix, only the last 2 minutes has been remixed to include a few atmospheric cymbal flourishes from Vannucci. We made several attempts to completely change to the entire arrangement of the song, but nothing ever felt as good as the original and we didn’t want to change things just because we could, plus ending this album the way we started it always felt like the most poetic + truest move."

Merchandise

The limited-run clothing item for "Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad" was a unisex t-shirt designed by Ivan Minsloff, available in both brown and yellow variations.

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Personnel

• Matt Sharp - vocals
• Nick Zinner - guitar
• Ronnie Vannucci - drums
• The Gentle Assassins Choir - vocals
• Dave Fridmann - mixing
• Matt Estep - mixing
• Ryan Smith - mastering

Video/Audio

Music video

The official lyric video for "Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad" was directed by Daniel Christiansen and Michael D. Belmonte, using footage from a Commodore Vic 20 computer, and was released on October 5, 2017.

Lyrics

(You have the power to save)
(You have the power to save me)

Let me tell you the tale about a rivalry
Grab an Eagle No. 2 and keep the score
There were these two young boys that came from average broken homes
With all the luxuries the middle class affords
Oh, Lord

Elon’s making me so sad
'Cause I calculated the math
Of our birthdates
And I had a head-start out of the start gate
Two years plus eighty-six days
But that all went to waste

Oh, Elon you’re making me so sad
'Cause the race that I wanted to have
Was not much of a race
And I tried, Love
And for a moment I thrived, Love
But could not keep my stride up to keep pace

But for a second, there’s no question
I had the lead in '95
I mismanaged my advantage
Like a rocket ship, he blasted by
To incredible heights
Incredible heights

In 1982, on Christmas Day
Santa gave us each a brand-new Commodore
I used mine to make fake IDs and buy beer in junior high
While my foe studied every bit of that 8-bit whore
Are you keeping score?

'Cause Elon’s making me so sad
'Cause I calculated the math
Of our birthdates
And I had a head-start out of the start gate
Two years plus eighty-six days
But that all went to waste

Oh, Elon you’re making me so sad
'Cause the race that I wanted to have
Was not much of a race
And I tried, Love
And for a moment I thrived, Love
But could not keep my stride up to keep pace

But for a second, there’s no question
I had the lead in '95
But the small ambitions of a musician
I could not keep my eye on the prize
I watched him fly by
To incredible heights

When it’s time to say goodbye
What will they write on my tombstone?
Just that last little line
From the Happy Days video
"Not so good, Jonze"

Hey, Elon, I don’t know what I have become
I need someone to help change my fate
I think you can save me
Do you think you can save me?
Do you have the power to help me escape?

Oh, Elon, let me be the first one
Of your new civilization to be saved
Yes, I’ll try, Love
I swear to you I can thrive, Love
This time I’ll keep my stride up and keep pace
Only you can change my Q-score
Make me the first one out of that door
First boots out on the martian floor to proclaim
Oh, that Elon
Sent me all the way, son
A hundred thirty-nine million miles away

Elon, send me away
Send me away

Elon! Tell me I’m saved
Tell me I’m saved!
Elon tell me I’m saved
(Send me away!)

You have the power to save, you have the power to save me!
You have the power to save, you have the power to save me!

And then I will say I went to Mars and won the race
Yeah, I will say I took first place!
Oh, I rode that old heart of gold the whole way
And in the end, hey! I won the race!
Oh, Elon, let me win the race, win the race
Oh, Elon, let me take first place
Elon! Tell me I am saved, I am saved!
Elon tell me I am saved!

You have the power to save me (Elon, tell me I am saved!)
You have the power to save

See also

• List of Matt Sharp songs