It had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,

English translation: the situation must have been / was inevitably that [...] they were thinking / their attitude was

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:It had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
Selected answer:the situation must have been / was inevitably that [...] they were thinking / their attitude was
Entered by: Charles Davis

19:59 Apr 3, 2013
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Music
English term or phrase: It had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
this sentence is really confusing to me....I simply cannot create anything out of it ....
I would really appreciate any help
thank you

“The Garage Days record didn’t mean anything; it was a punk record—that was the mentality: ‘Not-so-produced by Metallica.’ That was the whole deal, warts and all. The next record was the first Metallica record with the new bass player, Jason. It had to be this thing where psychologically, involuntarily, subconsciously, they had this thing where, ‘He is not playing like Cliff. That’s not the same kind of shit. He’s playing chunka chunka speed metal with the pick, playing the same as James. It’s not this brilliant musical ’scape; it’s not going to be the same. So let’s just get it down here where you can hear the chigga chigga chigga.’
Marta28
Local time: 22:06
the situation must have been / was inevitably that [...] they were thinking / their attitude was
Explanation:
"Thing", in the expression "have this thing where", can mean various things, and the sense it has in any particular case is deduced from the context. I think this is essentially the point Lively Words is making, and I agree with it. I also agree with Oliver that this is transcribed oral speech, and "have this thing where" is a kind of tag or filler.

"Thing" often means no more than "situation". It quite often carries the implication of a behavioural or psychological habit, sometimes an idiosyncratic obsession. For example:

"in my old neighborhood we had this thing where if you wanted people to come trick or treat at your door you had to tape up this flyer to the door to say it was okay"
http://biryaniii.tumblr.com/post/34732646874/in-my-old-neigh...

Here it is a kind of agreed local custom.

"I had this thing where I kept running into Michael Douglas, then I realized it was just some old lady who lives in my building"
http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/i-had-this-thing-where-i-kep...

Here it's a recurring situation, involving an illusion.

"I had this thing where I wanted to be rescued. The other kids wanted to be Superman, but I thought Lois Lane kind of had the best deal."
http://crispcolf.tumblr.com/post/26900942576/i-had-this-thin...

Here it's a thought process, verging on a kind of personal obsession.

"In my family the parents have always had this thing where you have to feel some degree of guilt and admit fault to be accepted"
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2013031412373...

In this case it's really an attitude, a way of thinking.
-----------------

In this quotation about Metallica, I think that in "it had to be this thing where...", "thing" basically means "situation", and that "had to be" expresses deduction, rather than obligation, though it could express inevitability. It is describing how the band felt when making their next record with their new bassist, Jason Newsted, after the death of Cliff Burton in 1986. "It had to be this thing where..." means either "The situation must have been that..." or "The situation was bound to be that...". In other words, given that Jason's playing style was so different from Cliff's, the band's sound was inevitably going to be different, and the band was bound to be thinking along the lines expressed in the passage in inverted commas.

"They had this thing where" means "they were thinking that" or "their attitude was that". So really the whole thing could be reduced to something like: "Psychologically, involuntarily, subconsciously, they were bound to be thinking:". And you could probably get rid of one or more of the adverbs without loss.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2013-04-04 09:17:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And by the way, "where" is informal; in more formal style it would be "in which", or "whereby".
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:06
Grading comment
thanx a lot
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1the situation must have been / was inevitably that [...] they were thinking / their attitude was
Charles Davis
4particular stylistic point or "way of playing"
John Alphonse (X)
4it had to be this feeling where psychologically (...) they had this connection where,
xxxLively Wo (X)
4the worrying situation they found themselves in where...
Yvonne Gallagher
4Psychologically, ... , they had this mental stumbling block that
Oliver Lawrence


  

Answers


19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
it had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
particular stylistic point or "way of playing"


Explanation:
"Stylistic quirk" you mighty say, as well. Way of playing, style of playing, element of style... "Preference" almost fits, too...

John Alphonse (X)
United States
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
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21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
it had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
it had to be this feeling where psychologically (...) they had this connection where,


Explanation:
The first "thing" precedes emotions, so it's a feeling. The second is followed by a statement about the drummer's ability and how well he fit in the group compared to the previous drummer. So it's a connection

xxxLively Wo (X)
United States
Local time: 17:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
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45 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
it had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
the worrying situation they found themselves in where...


Explanation:
Whether consciously or subconsciously, there was always going to be a problem getting used to the new bassist Jason and believing that he "was not playing like Cliff" (the dead bassist) .

That's how I understand "they had this thing" so it was a bit of a hang-up or worry for the group or it was at the back of their mind all the time they were cutting the record... Was the new bassist going to work out? Would he be any good? Could he ever be a match for Cliff?

"it’s not going to be the same". SO

So let’s just get it down here where you can hear the chigga chigga chigga.’

http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Metallica/Garage_Days_...

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 21:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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10 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
it had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
Psychologically, ... , they had this mental stumbling block that


Explanation:
This is clearly transposed oral speech, which inevitably contains redundancies and stylistic errors as the speaker works out what they are trying to say 'on the fly'. I don't think that this is a carefully constructed phrase in which the two 'things' have different shades of meaning.

Oliver Lawrence
Italy
Local time: 22:06
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
it had to be this thing where psychologically (...) they had this thing where,
the situation must have been / was inevitably that [...] they were thinking / their attitude was


Explanation:
"Thing", in the expression "have this thing where", can mean various things, and the sense it has in any particular case is deduced from the context. I think this is essentially the point Lively Words is making, and I agree with it. I also agree with Oliver that this is transcribed oral speech, and "have this thing where" is a kind of tag or filler.

"Thing" often means no more than "situation". It quite often carries the implication of a behavioural or psychological habit, sometimes an idiosyncratic obsession. For example:

"in my old neighborhood we had this thing where if you wanted people to come trick or treat at your door you had to tape up this flyer to the door to say it was okay"
http://biryaniii.tumblr.com/post/34732646874/in-my-old-neigh...

Here it is a kind of agreed local custom.

"I had this thing where I kept running into Michael Douglas, then I realized it was just some old lady who lives in my building"
http://www.tvfanatic.com/quotes/i-had-this-thing-where-i-kep...

Here it's a recurring situation, involving an illusion.

"I had this thing where I wanted to be rescued. The other kids wanted to be Superman, but I thought Lois Lane kind of had the best deal."
http://crispcolf.tumblr.com/post/26900942576/i-had-this-thin...

Here it's a thought process, verging on a kind of personal obsession.

"In my family the parents have always had this thing where you have to feel some degree of guilt and admit fault to be accepted"
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2013031412373...

In this case it's really an attitude, a way of thinking.
-----------------

In this quotation about Metallica, I think that in "it had to be this thing where...", "thing" basically means "situation", and that "had to be" expresses deduction, rather than obligation, though it could express inevitability. It is describing how the band felt when making their next record with their new bassist, Jason Newsted, after the death of Cliff Burton in 1986. "It had to be this thing where..." means either "The situation must have been that..." or "The situation was bound to be that...". In other words, given that Jason's playing style was so different from Cliff's, the band's sound was inevitably going to be different, and the band was bound to be thinking along the lines expressed in the passage in inverted commas.

"They had this thing where" means "they were thinking that" or "their attitude was that". So really the whole thing could be reduced to something like: "Psychologically, involuntarily, subconsciously, they were bound to be thinking:". And you could probably get rid of one or more of the adverbs without loss.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 hrs (2013-04-04 09:17:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And by the way, "where" is informal; in more formal style it would be "in which", or "whereby".

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:06
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24
Grading comment
thanx a lot

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch
49 mins
  -> Thanks, B D
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