With a comparison to the inevitable death of all things, “Programmed Cell Death” ponders the act of pondering.

Track: “Programmed Cell Death”
Album: Undercard (2010)

Programmed Cell Death is a term for any genetic process that leads to a cell dying. It’s pretty much what it sounds like from the name. It’s a fitting name for the Extra Lens song “Programmed Cell Death,” especially when you view it as not the result of an accident. Cells create other cells and die as part of the natural division and growth of life. We, as combination of cells, go to the store and buy things and wonder about existence when we aren’t too distracted by our phones. Franklin Bruno called it “a sensitive one” during the only performance of it I could find a recording from, in 2010. It’s maybe even an understatement.

You can’t box in the Extra Glenns/Lens as a band. The strongest theme is infidelity, but also just a sense of introspection, sometimes within the former situation and sometimes not. John Darnielle sings “Programmed Cell Death” as high as it sounds like he can go, with his voice fully breaking on one line both in the studio and live versions. His narrator asks big questions, even for a song by Bruno and Darnielle, including “how much longer are we supposed to stay alive?” It’s all mixed with the mundane, but it has a lot more room to stretch out here than it usually does in a Mountain Goats song. There’s a lot to love about the imagery here, but the real joy of “Programmed Cell Death” is the juxtaposition between the biggest question possible to ask and the tinned fish right next to you as you ponder it.