we're "getting killed" too

on Geese's 2025 LP and its title

May 19, 2026

Note: A version of this essay was originally published in Geesezine vol.2 in 2025.

On a recent episode of Pitchfork’s Over/Under series, their 2025 Artist of the Year, Dijon was asked about Geese. Overrated or underrated?

Underrated.

“Getting Killed ...what a crazy album title. I was so mad. I was so mad that my record ended up sort of shaping itself into—more autobiographical. And I named my album after my son. And then I saw that their album was called Getting Killed and I was so upset. It’s the best album title a crew of humans have created in a long time.”

I feel the same way.

It is hard to describe the appeal of a title like Getting Killed without tripping over my feet. It hinges on the existence of an ill-defined emotion that I believe all of us feel from time to time. Something in the middle of dread, yearning, insecurity, and embarrassment (dying of). A feeling as routine as any other feeling. You can get killed in some form every day, even from a “pretty good life,” and many of us do.

To me, the universality of “getting killed” is best explained with a quip from comedian Norm Macdonald:

“People commit suicide and people go, “I don’t understand why,” and I go,
“You don’t?”
“What, do you live in a cotton-candy house or something? What the fuck?”
“You don’t know about life?”

Getting Killed is fluent in life. It speaks it in a lot of ways, but especially for the moments that feel like not knowing where you’re going. Not being able to hear yourself talk. Never smiling again. These all make sense as “getting killed,” to me.

The cover of *Getting Killed*’s lead single, “Taxes.”

But with as many lives as there are, there are many ways of getting killed.

In this time of “unprecedented times,” I’ve heard the phrase “getting killed,” or at least the sentiment behind it, more often. This is particularly on social media, to the point where I actually thought of Twitter upon hearing the album title. What that says about me is beyond the scope of this write-up.

But no matter how noxious social media is, the web is the world’s most premier space for self-expression. What else is a profile? Posts are the moments—big or small, vain or emotional—that someone is compelled to share with us. Short scenes from life, a picture or a post at a time. This reminded me of a summation made by Cameron Winter in an interview with The Line of Best Fit for the release of Heavy Metal:

“I’d been listening to today’s singer-songwriters, and they just grossed me out when I would compare them to Leonard Cohen especially because I would listen to his stuff and barely had any idea what he was talking about, but I felt it in my bones. In terms of expression, neither one of them, to my knowledge, had ever sat down and been like, ‘I’m going to express how I feel happy, or sad, or horny, or sleepy’ – it was always a slice of their whole lives. Almost like a painting. … I wanted to try and get myself to a place where I could just start painting.”

Although I’d recommend listening to “Suzanne” much more over a social media session, scrolling can give you a slice of a lot of people’s lives. The barriers of a 280 character limit, for example, set up a pretty good foundation for a canvas. The brevity, maybe in the same way as an album title, distills a frame of mind down to its essential parts, with both being driven by the same impulse to say something rather than stay silent. You post and you fulfill the urge to respond to the moment.

So, I wanted to explore what “getting killed” looked like to other people. An intentional Twitter search was sufficient.

It appears as routine frustration at getting killed in video games, or contentious discussion about characters getting killed in media. There were expressive laments about getting killed by boredom, embarrassment, inconvenience, and the weight of the world. And of course, confusion, despair, and anger about people actually getting killed—in shootings, bombings, and in daily life. “Getting killed” feels like an acknowledgement of how lethal being alive can be, especially right now.

These are some highlights of my search. I think they get at something.

The best of “Getting Killed”:

Worried about getting killed in an unnecessary nuclear war? 😱🌎👫👭😍🤔 Just remember: #WeGotThis!! 😎😽🌈💕

@TinctureDrone, 2017

we have nothing to fear but fucking getting killed

@Zeronelite, 2024

With “Game of Thrones” over, now I spend Sunday nights imagining my favorite characters on other shows getting killed.

@ConanOBrien, 2015

this looks so dumb. what are the stakes if no one is getting killed

@B0Y_TR0Y, 2023

I’m getting killed at the dollar store

@harriweinreb, 2019