MGMT - 'Metanoia'

MGMT have just released the new 14 minute opus "Metanoia", a longtime fan favorite from their live shows. What does Metanoia mean, you ask? Well, here's the explanation I got in my mailbox a couple days ago:

"Metanoia (from the Greek μετάνοια, metanoia, changing one's mind, repentance) is a word which has a few different meanings in different contexts. Metanoia in the context of theological discussion, where it is used often, is usually interpreted to mean repentance. However, some people argue that the word should be interpreted more literally to denote changing one's mind, in the sense of embracing thoughts beyond its present limitations or thought patterns (an interpretation which is compatible with the denotative meaning of repentance but replaces its negative connotation with a positive one, focusing on the superior state being approached rather than the inferior prior state being departed from.

In the context of rhetoric, metanoia is a rhetorical device used to retract a statement just made, and then state it in a better way.

In the psychological theory of Carl Jung, metanoia denotes a process of reforming the psyche as a form of self healing, a proposed explanation for the phenomenon of psychotic breakdown. Here, metanoia is viewed as a potentially productive process, and therefore patients' psychotic episodes are not necessarily always to be thwarted, which may restabilize the patients but without resolving the underlying issues causing their psychopathology."

Well, there you have it. As far as MGMT's interpretation of the word, you can get the track for $0.99, a bargain considering the length of the tune, at iTunes.

MGMT - Metanoia (iTunes link)