Stunt Double Album Review / simongamer987 Fandom Psychoanalysis by Disstort Beats:

Stunt Double is simongamer987’s most revealing album about his psychology to date. As a central theme, he delicately makes known and guides the listener through the inner turmoil he endures while presenting his numerous characters through his videos, both in the scope of detachment from his authentic self and the power struggles within the other side of his personality – a hallmark of schizophrenia which the character simongamer987 withstands - that gives rise to his array of competing characters. These complexes are all fittingly encompassed in a double album containing auditorily pleasing bangers.
The “Stunt” section of the album begins by hiding the aforementioned exploration behind a detached and ironic vibe, becoming increasingly more serious towards the middle - by which point the problem it presents is displayed blatantly at “09 It’s Us”. This surmount then helplessly subsides by way of the inclusion of more calming tracks in approaching the end, as if the energy unleashed in admission of the difficulties caused by possessing a double personality needed a slow and controlled release, like a wave crashing after reaching its utmost height.

The first track “01 Choices” ironically obscures a serious fatalistic theme about the inevitability of choice by method of submersion with hedonistic elements like sex and drugs – which act as distracting mechanisms from the reality of caprice. The cartoonish instrumental used further emphasises this self-satirising by contrasting with the pitiful haplessness of the human condition conveyed by Simon – a beat well produced by Fresh2Fresh. The next track “02 Sandy Beach” continues this sanguinity but introjects the subject matter from the sphere of external life into Simon’s psyche; the focal point of this album – a conjecture made entirely possible by the vagueness of the lyrics and emphasis on the instrumental, which conveys a sense of blissful complacency. This track might appear to tackle the lack of conciliation between his self and the YouTube effort in Simon’s mind – as it expresses regret about each compartment “not touching”. Given that the rest of the album centres around this idea, that the creation of YouTube videos is often reckoned to be a tool for self-development rather than an engendering of psychological split (which extends the irony conveyed in the first track), and that the style of the track is reminiscent of that in Bad Boy Damage (an album released two years ago; Simon voices in “09 It’s Us” that he cannot ascertain as to when he “went mental: maybe last year… maybe two years before), this explanation seems probable. To understand the meaning of the third track “03 Amputee” it is worthy to note that Simon mentions he “can only see one limb when I should see two”; suggesting that while inhabiting one side of his personality, its counterpart appears to be invisible - if we’re to take the accentuation of the obscured vocals from the previous track as evidence that we’re delving deeper into Simon’s psyche at this point, anyway. The title “Apotemnophobia” (fear of amputation) is also congruent with this idea, since the apparent loss of a side of oneself would induce the impression of its severance. Also, the guitar sample used in the instrumental that is coupled with the lyrics is serenely beautiful, reinforcing the notion that we're situated in a peaceful and embedded setting of the mind.

“04 Gold” seems to again externalise the setting, involving a refutation of the sensualism espoused in track one, as its subject clearly involves a romantic interest of Simon’s. Herein are the sort of things that make life worth it, despite the nihilism that is often parcelled with determinism. The constantly resolving chord progression laid out by Roxa complements the contented state Simon finds himself in while in love. In keeping with the enantiodromia explored centrally by Stunt Double, “05 Smell” takes the sincere side of romance just displayed in the prior track and inverts it, returning to the persistent pleasure-seeking standpoint of “01 Choices”. Such a flip is indicative of the repeatedly addressed “opposite personalities” trope made clear in the album, and the introduction of both a dark murky beat and the boisterous T-Brain as a feature contrasts perfectly with the previous tranquillity of the last three tracks in conveyance of this problem. “06 Dirty Spider” carries on the sexual manifestations of “05 Smell”, but devolves their essence into baseness by colluding these lyrics with the hard and dirty instrumental, and in a further rejection of this lifestyle Simon cleverly equates the presence of such frequent references to sex by rightly matching them with rappers of the stereotypical mainstream, whose “shit sounds so motherfucking boring” – in an exposition similar to those advocated for by Death Grips. This complex might reaffirm the pure spirit of love propounded in “04 Gold”, by nature of Simon’s clear cognizance of the immorality packaged alongside manically pursuing sexual pleasure, and could also be (in keeping with the theme of the album) exposing of a conflicting side of his character which upholds these untainted values. In “07 Rose West” Simon reverts again to sensuosity, yet this time by encapsulating the subject matter within a fire, euphoric instrumental that would be described better in likeness to “04 Gold”. At this point we see the completion of a circuit, since in “04 Gold” sex was presented in an uncontaminated light, whereas in tracks 5 and 6 it was displayed filthily by paying no attention to wholesomeness: “07 Rose West”, however, incorporates qualities from both tracks, and connotes a resurgence of the disconnect between the manner of the instrumental and topic of “01 Choices”. Indeed, the ending lyric of this track is the misleadingly humorous “I forgot your birthday, I feel like such a waste” – which denies the activity of everything abovementioned in this particular song, as paying attention to the meaningful aspects of relationships such as birthdays is seen by another disposition of Simon’s to be important - and from this perspective he renounces the merely sexual. Again, a full comprehension of the ambivalence of his opposing temperaments - in this case concerning attitudes towards sex - is recognised by Simon, and the topic of sex covered over these four tracks is shown to be merely a vehicle for transmitting the true crux of the album: a personal psychological study into the nature of Simon’s own being.

At the succeeding stage introduced by the next track, “08 Square One v2”, the album explicitly rounds upon its point: the phrase most popularly repeated here in form of chorus is “I thought I was getting somewhere, but I’m right back to square one” – and by the end of the track, an explanation for this internal phenomena is offered in form of Simon’s admittance that he’s “walked down the wrong path”. In his terms, this means that the instalment of a psychological facility which enables him to perform characters for his YouTube audience has become permanently ingrained and cemented inside his mind, and is now causing issues of intrusion into the “Jekyll” persona, which deals with the more formal aspects of his life. This identification necessarily results in Simon’s knowledge that the separation of the character generator/comedian in him is impossible, hence his current predicament of being both “down one path” and at “square one” – a feeling perfectly accompanied by the empty sparseness and despair of the guitar sample (which leaves the second half of the trap loop open) included in Fresh2Fresh’s fantastic instrumental. Tied to this issue is the statement of another: Simon reveals that “without you I break like Lego, try and put me back together” which might allude to the importance of repair and conciliation of these psychological opposites by the significant other which was subject of “04 Gold”, and a yearning for totality and resolution. Followingly, now the most pressing problem of the album has been stated plainly, this half of the album reaches its climax at “09 It’s Us”, in which the threading idea of the album - Simon’s disillusionment in being dragged mercilessly between two identities - is undeniably confronted head on. The song begins with a blatant addressal of this by way of these lyrics: “Why is it called Stunt Double? Because it’s not just me. It’s not me anymore, it’s us, it’s all of us… all of the people inside of my head”, which implies further confusion of where Simon’s ego lies between the 50/50 personality split and the different characters which comprise the creative half of his head. Furthermore, the heightening chord progression of the sample utilised by Disstort Beats’ instrumental stresses the fact that this track constitutes the ultimatum of the “Stunt” segment of the album – just as Simon fleshes out in full view the pervasive prevalence of this issue in his life: in the “way I talk, the way I act, the things I do”, and the forceful desire to break away from this entrenched, hampering personality which would follow naturally: “I need to get rid of it, I need to sort it all out”.

Subsequently, the dark emo trap guitar vibe once again supplied by Fresh2Fresh in “10 Heartburn” might signify aftermath and continuation of the misery forwarded by Simon’s psychological situation – a demise reciprocated by the lyrical content which deals with graver sexual imagery than before – as well as an indication for the structural settling of the album. The collaboration and overlap of these two themes in this track might allude to resulting inadequacy in relationships from guilt about mental dilemma; an undesirable problem to imbue to a significant other. The ensuing track, “11 Cards ft. Pino Colado”, showcases a sentimental vibe with matching lyrics (such as the inclusion of “fake friends”): both of which probably hint at Simon’s acceptance of and coping strategies which the unfortunately adorned and irresolvable psychological issues previously outlined. In support of this, he mentions the requirement of “getting [those issues] of my chest”, and the concern of avoiding “fake friends” unequipped in understanding his Catch-22, as well as dissatisfaction with the fact that for some peers, his complexity is “too much for their silly little brain[s] to handle” – simultaneously revisiting the idea of relationship discontentment of the previous track. In comparison to those prior tracks, the atmosphere of “11 Cards” is calming and perfectly lets the listener down in the album’s denouement after their confrontation with complications as striking as psychological deadlock.

The theme of returning to issues overrun extensively by preceding tracks, this time through the lens of identification of psychic unrest attained since “08 Back to Square One v2” is again incarnate in “12 Smelled Your Hair”, which once more analyses sex. The variance with previous sentiment here is the indifferent mode of vocalisation supported well by the tenderness of the lyrical content and beat – a standpoint appropriate for Simon, who by this point is enlightened psychologically in the sagacity of his mental state. The honesty apparent at this stage is supported by the brutal admittance characteristic of hip hop beats such as the one used here – a concept best understood through consideration of Simon’s full admittance of the futility of sleeping around, insofar as that true love will never result from casual sex - he says, regrettably: “It won’t last forever”, and “I don’t know your name, I just know your face, and we’ll probably never ever meet again”. “12 Smelled Your Hair” well conveys the consequential maturity of the refining of interpretation (in this case of sex) after undergoing neuroses of Simon’s sort.

Simon furthers this thought of repeating and replaying rejected elements of one’s life in “13 Comedown” by returning to the question of drug abuse which was apprehended as distasteful by him in Stunt’s first track “01 Choices” through irony – it is no coincidence that the lyrics “took a pill on the seventh, still feel like shit on the eleventh” convey a lasting impression on specifically the addictive cost of drug experimentation as well as its prolonged effects and ubiquity in one’s life (“coming down again”). The gloom in the song which was surely brought about from the tenacity of problems such as these through even the profound and direct epiphanies shown in tracks 8 and 9 is well promoted by the emo trap instrumental of “13 Comedown”, which conveys as much misfortune through its sorrowful and beautiful guitar sample as the remorseful lyrics do. A causational parallel is again drawn between the existence of these worries and the persevering issue of Simon’s maladaptive psychology by his saying “my brain is not to be tested”, in that addressal and eradication of the psychological issues is rendered impossible due to the embedded nature of such habits, as well as a branching between that and his desire, albeit a conflicting one (in congruence with the theme of adverse personalities displayed throughout the album), to be rid of these shortcomings: “when will I learn my lesson”.

Finally, the first section of Stunt Double rounds off with its most cryptic track besides its second - “14 Moonman (Paranoid Outro)”. The meaning of this track is harder to discern given the puzzling character of its lyrics, but it can be inferred from the references therein to inebriation (specifically in their allusion to marijuana-induced symptoms like “Paranoia”) that Simon is once again putting forth the recurrence of his participation in activities he apprehends as disagreeable, such as getting high, that have frequently been wished abolition throughout “Stunt” (as was true in the last track). Simon’s intention here is backed up by his use of spacious instrumentation and the significant preponderance of ambient reverb, as well as the lengthiness of the track – which is by far the longest in the album. This speaks as much to the theme of intoxication (since individuals who partake in narcotic activity can feel stuck in such a state) as it does to the halting of Simon’s progress against overcoming such conduct as consequence of a cemented mental state impossible to usurp – here again the concept of double connotation so often implied by cerebral dysfunctionality is beautifully displayed as it was in the prior track.

In correspondence with the structure of the “Stunt” section of this double album, guidance through the phases of discontentment with, recognition, and persistence of the dissatisfying issues relating to psychological turmoil caused by the violent opposition between contrasting interior temperaments is conducted by Simon. It is imperative that the addition of observable habits such as regular engagement in casual sex and drug abuse are recognised by the listener as either manifestations or appendages of such conflict or mechanisms of distraction – since now these themes are made clear by Simon’s meticulous exposition in the first half of Stunt Double”, he endeavours into far more agile traversal of the concepts divulged here in the “Double” section.
The extensive articulation of such by the first section of the album is shown to have immediately paved the way for more confident expression in the second, by the initial track in “Double” – “01 Silly”. A contrastingly light hearted and nonchalant summation of the explored issues in form of Simon’s complex formal and informal split is branded in this song as “silly” and “serious” – a positive development on the previously pessimistic final acceptance stage in “Stunt’s” structure. In spite of this ownership, the yearning to introduce the differing side to Simon’s YouTube aspect is still shown to be prevalent through his feeling unable to “spit facts” - or be “serious” - when his “characters are just acts”. Furthermore, the desire to “restart” so universal for the previous section of this double album is again transmitted into musical form – since the troublesome dual complex is still considered by Simon to personify him: “is this how we’re supposed to be?”. The differing moods and vibes between different tracks in “Stunt Double” (in “01 Silly” self-assurance and esteem in himself emphasised by an arrogant slapper of a trap beat is predominant), which essentially communicate the same message, can be taken as either difference in temperament between Simon’s comedic personas – as he “feels Simon inside my bones, and Blood Hole in my heart” – or variation in his attitude towards his predicament; and given the indeterminate nature of the message and themes of uncertainty throughout the album as to which side of his personality defines his identity, it’s entirely possible both meanings are intended by Simon.

The apparently temporary resolution of the main problem conveyed in “01 Silly” seems to have been taken by Simon as prime opportunity to refocus the subject’s attention on a battery of meme tracks, beginning with “02 Come to Brazil”. In dissimilarity with the “Stunt” section of the album – a work preoccupied absolutely with the central theme of ambivalence, now that the problems caused have been comfortably pronounced, Simon is able to present an unrelated and typical meme banger laid out on an incredibly cold pseudo-drill beat. The most hilarious lyric – “how silly of me! I read the comment and booked my flight” - makes reference to the humour permission granted by the previous track and affirms my reasoning for “02 Come To Brazil’s” inclusion in the album. However, much like the abandoning of a strong boundary which previously inhibited unacceptable aspects of oneself, the consequences of such invigilance (symbolised by the straying away from the main topic in the previous song) are incarnate in “03 What Did We Take”, whose title is self-explanatory. Simon again, as was often displayed in the “Stunt” section of the double album, reverts to brash substance abuse against his volition in realising the degeneracy of doing so. The relative supra-section persistence of this particular problem again suggests a prolonged pathological fixation on certain behaviours and an inability of Simon’s to overthrow ingrained habits such as that which is submitted by “03 What Did We Take”. The brash energy of the instrumental used here is also indicative of the sort of sporadic hedonism that Simon can’t help but compulsively engage despite his rejection of it.

The ludicrousness resurrected by “03 What Did We Take” from “01 Choices” of the original section of “Stunt Double” is carried through into the following interlude “04 Giraffe Interlude”, which, like “01 Choices”, is produced by Fresh2Fresh and utilises the same stereo imaging animation as did his debut on this double album – deliberately conveying the same sort of sexual irony as then (“Giraffe pussy in my bed giraffe bitch give me head”), a device used by Simon that engenders to renounce the activities that he purposelessly engages in. The track resulting from the energic value generated by the sheer erraticism of the third instalment of “Double” and the sexual libido pent up by its fourth track is “05 Lambo Freestyle”, which supports this release by way of its active vocals and use of another energetic pseudo-drill beat, of production again by Disstort Beats. Besides another conceptual mentioning of Simon’s incessant addiction to both sex and drugs and precursor to the following track, this track musically is much like “02 Come To Brazil” in terms of its lyrical content as well as its sharp instrumental: “Ketty hoover I’m a ket abuser, my dick’s mad long bitch get a ruler!”.

These queries generated by their explicit foreshadowing in the three tracks prior to “06 I’m Addicted” is unleashed here (supplemented by Simon’s use of another hard drill beat), with Simon placing the problem at the forefront of the song – the line “Two months clean, I’m addicted like Charlie Sheen”, perfectly displays the futility of even a lengthy abstinence from the use of narcotics. This track furthermore consolidates the supposition that Simon’s offensive habits embedded in his poor mental landscape are limited not merely to drugs in this lyric: “I’m with your mother, fucked her with no rubber”, and again repents to his dream to overhaul such issues through the acknowledgement of such negatives of this lamentable lifestyle: “Life’s so fun when you give up, stop chasing your dreams and follow us. Down into depression: teach you a fucking lesson, the deep end’s where you’re destined…” – the self-dressing down here implies a dialogue between the more sensible side of Simon’s personality and this delinquent one. This actually indicates improvement upon his psychological status since the first half of “Stunt Double”, since in “03 Amputee” Simon alluded to the predicament that from the perspective of “one leg” he could not see “the other”, suggesting a visual blockade between each side of himself that by this point is alleviated. On the other hand, Simon ingeniously in this snippet reuses the lesson idea from “13 Comedown” (“When will I learn my lesson?”), as the bar “teach you a fucking lesson” exposes the inability to overthrow this undesirable half of himself – so, extremely cleverly, Simon depressingly bundles the pointlessness of attempting to resolve his issues along with notation of positive development here.

Continuing Simon’s renunciation of casual sex, “07 Tinder Killer” paints the engagement in such in a much more horrifying light – a device helped by the featuring of the psychopathic T-Brain (or Tim, in the simongamer987 lore). The overall deviation of this track from direct addressal of the ideas central to “Stunt Double” can be owed firstly to dilution by the feature (the use of “dilution” is by no means a criticism, as Simon in his ordering of the tracks here is actually extremely accurate in depicting psychic processes, as the release of energy - in form of the direct addressal of his habitually problematic manifestations embodied by “06 I’m Addicted” - must necessarily be followed by a calmer period of recuperation), and secondly to the recurring trope of regeneration just mentioned - a device used inversely before in “Double” at the point of “02 Come To Brazil’s” transition into “03 What Did We Take”. “07 Tinder Killer” in itself is a classic example of the heights reached by Simon’s collaboration with Tim, in both of their uncompromisingly harsh deliveries and use of a creepy trap instrumental that complements the subject. It is also possible that Tim, being a diametrically opposite character to Simon, is implicitly present for purposes of compensating for the drop in topic which is heretofore centred on the opposition of personalities.

This lapse in sincerity is revived by “08 Messing Up In Carpetright”, through both its serious lyrics and earnestly brilliant instrumentation – the focus of the analysis of this track must be paid to its most frequent bar (that’s not even included in its chorus!): “even without the fights I still get tired every night”, a sentiment which hints at the primary unconsciousness of Simon’s inner conflict, since even in absence of overt confrontation of each side of his being, the existence of these currents bubbling underneath is recognised by Simon through their taking a toll on physical exhaustion. This exhaustion is intended as a double meaning, since through his frail attempts to arrest the conflict and resolve it, Simon feels transported to a mental state in which he feels capable of “taking someone’s life” as a result of failure to “get my mind right” – as is common in individuals who suffer from neurosis – and here, the homicidal theme of “07 Tinder Killer” is actually transposed away from collaboration with and projection onto Tim’s destructive influence onto its allocation of genuine recognition as a component of Simon’s psychic makeup – exposing the extent to which his mental issues that arise from inner conflict sway influence in different behaviour to abuse of sex and drugs. In support of this, Tim is mentioned in the song: “Tim Brand is an enderman”. “08 Messing Up In Carpetright” in general summarises other external exhibitions than this which Simon’s personality conflict causes, including calling “999 [to] come and save me” as a result of doing “8 lines”, “doing heroin and ecstasy”, being “with the Devil lately”, wanting to “blow out my head” – and, in reference to the title, “messing up in Carpetright”.

Although the short interlude “09 Thanks (Skit)” is denoted as a joke, it makes sense that Simon would want an end to his online persona (“this might be the last year of all this”), given that the facet of his personality he wants rid of is unfortunately associated with his YouTube activities, and therefore in his view videomaking must be discarded in favour of “sorting his life out”. However, in keeping with the theme of Simon’s contradicting personalities central to “Stunt Double”, “10 Joking”, in juxtaposition of its title and subject with this apparently sombre intermission, probably denies its predecessor any credibility. In fact, it’s indisputable that Simon can never even take himself at his word, given his tendency to be either constituent of his formal or informal personality, not knowing which one authentically represents him. Followingly, “10 Joking”, in reflection of its counterpart “09 It’s Us” of the initial “Stunt” section of this album, ties up the central issues of Simon’s uncertainty as to which portion of his persona actually makes him up, through the choral catchphrases “can’t tell if I’m joking or not” and “can’t tell if I’m kidding or not, sick in the head…”, and the propensity thereafter reached to powerlessly hope for a miraculous resolution of the mental detriment, all the while using illicit substances to cope, is compartmentalised immediately afterwards: “smoke and I smoke and I choke and I cough, all I’ve got is this bag of this pop, hoping one day I won’t always feel lost”.

This point focal to “Stunt Double” is irrefutably addressed by Simon over an emo trap beat produced by Disstort Beats that highlights Simon’s defeatism sparked by this irresolvable issue, through its use of a sentimental guitar sample, in combination with the pride that stems from his individuality and uniqueness (that only comes about as a result of these defectivities) which is expressed through its arrogant and hard drum track, in a way comparable to the cockiness demonstrated in “01 Silly”. These opposite interpretations which the instrumental aids in conveying fit perfectly with the album’s main objective of displaying Simon’s fragile mental inconsistency, as from one perspective, positive, defiant egoism is shown by Simon – as in this state he’s “feeling like God” - while conversely and simultaneously, a desire to overcome the shortcomings exponent of such a teetering state is apprehended.

This godlike characteristic is transformed through development into ecstasy and elatedness into and by the lyrics and beautiful instrumentation of “11 Snooze (Outro)”, whose inspirational bars and swirling pad chords drive the listener along with Simon not into an impossible resolution of a mental conflict so unmovable, nor into a well of self-pity – instead, this track serves as an optimistic symbol of contentment for Simon in the haven of his knowledge that the ability to “do something because it means something to you” is always at his disposal, even in spite of the sickly routine of his life at the care home detailed in the subsequent lyrics of the track. Even if no such creative potential existed as consequence of Simon’s tranquilisation by Tim, or the insubordination of a defective side of Simon’s personality which sees meaninglessness in everything (“Tim likes to spike me”), the song holds an idealistic value that overrides the explored irreconcilable conflict in that Simon’s conviction in the existentialism that was propounded through irony in Stunt Double’s “01 Choices” shines through the introductory speech to the track, where his voice appears serious rather than medicated as is typical of his usually comical stuttering – as Neitzsche wrote: “Let thy virtue be too high for the familiarity of names, and if thou must speak of it, be not ashamed to stammer about it”.
Indeed, the allusion blatantly made to the same attitude of “following a dream” expressed ironically in the “2016 MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO” of the simongamer987 YouTube channel is shown to have had actual bearing on Simon’s personal principles – a phenomenon that suggests an overlap of his true persona with the other side affiliated with his YouTube characters. It comes into fruition from this concept that a “master personality” which incorporates all aspects of Simon’s being from each side of his personality is existent. Such a revelation on Simon’s behalf of acceptance of all parts of himself, even those troublesome ones, could even result in a makeshift or roundabout solution to the fragmenting issue of temperament extensively discussed in “Stunt Double”.

Given the complexity of the psychological documentary of Simon’s presented by “Stunt Double”, it’s safe in an encompassing summation to judge that this project is by far Simon’s best yet. Aside from the intricacy of the underlying meaning, the musical quality and evolved delivery of Simon’s vocals in this generous double album is by far superior to anything created by him up until this point. We can only hope for the release of more introspectively banging albums from him in the future.
Thank you, Simon, and never stop gameing to all who’ve taken enough of an interest in the simongamer987 universe/lore to warrant their making it to the end of my essay.

- Disstort Beats