The inherent dilemma of garnering a reputation as the music world’s greatest troll and funniest musician is that it inevitably becomes difficult to separate your legitimate actions and just another attempt at a troll.

However, something tells us Father John Misty’s recent stunt at at WXPN’s XPoNential Music Festival in Camden, New Jersey was no troll. It was exactly what everyone is calling it: a meandering rant that took everyone by surprise.

As Pitchfork reports, Misty took the stage at XPoNential over the weekend to a cheering crowd hoping to hear a few cuts off the singer-songwriter’s latest album, I Love You, Honeybear, but instead they received a lecture.

Turning down the guitar that was offered him by a stage hand, Misty began musing on the “numbing” role of entertainment in people’s lives and his dismay at the fact that “stupidity just fucking runs the world”.

“I always thought that it was going to look way more sophisticated than this when evil happened. When the collective consciousness was so numb and so fucking sated and so gorged on entertainment,” he said.

Misty was presumably reacting to the ascension of Donald Trump to the head of the Republican ticket, which had just taken place at the party’s National Convention days prior. Misty continued, making numerous references to a nearby battleship.

“How entertaining should this be right now with a fucking battleship in the background and this shit on TV, how fucking fun should this be? How fucking fun can it be? Can it be real in any sense?”

“Like, I cannot play ‘Bored in the USA’ for you right now. No no no, because guess what? I soft-shoed that shit into existence by going, ‘No no no, look over here, it’ll never actually be that bad because we’re too smart.’”

“And while we were looking in that direction, stupidity just fucking runs the world because entertainment is stupid! Do you guys realize that?” Considering those in the crowd had gathered in the hopes of being entertained, probably not.

Apparently, Misty wasn’t looking for anyone to agree with him either. After Misty suggested that “it feels better to be angry” than devastated at the state of the world, he responded with, “No no no, don’t even cheer for that.”

“Maybe just take a moment to be really fucking profoundly sad. It’s a lot less sexy of a festival look.” Misty did eventually perform some music, though none of his material from I Love You, Honeybear.

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According to Pitchfork, Misty opted instead for a 10-minute improvisation referencing current world events, followed by a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Bird on a Wire’. He then informed the crowd that he loved them and walked off stage before the end of his set time.

Misty later posted a statement to Instagram, though we defy you to make any more sense out of that than his onstage actions. So was the whole thing just another troll like the time he told the media Lou Reed’s ghost came to him and told him to take down his Taylor Swift covers?

Probably not. It looks like Misty was sincerely despondent about the state of the world, particularly in light of the recent revelations in US politics. However, we’re not sure why the punters who gathered at XPoNential deserved to suffer for it.

Misty probably could’ve made the same speech in between some songs during his set, which shouldn’t have been cut short. Instead, Misty decided to disappoint a bunch of his fans, some of whom paid up to $300 to see him.

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