All in song lyrics blog post
Coldplay and The Chainsmokers are probably one of the more unlikely collaborations we'll see this year in music, but "Something Just Like This" may be one of the best collabs we'll see. Musically, it's entrancing. It's everything we love about The Chainsmokers' thoughtful and body-moving approach to EDM music with everything we love about the dry, smooth power of Chris Martin's voice. It's really the best of both worlds, and while the group is an unlooked for collaboration, personally, I'll be looking for more songs from these two groups.
I've always been a bigger fan of Katy Perry's sound than of her lyrics, and I think that sometimes pop stars put their music above their lyrics. In fact, they may do that most of the time. After all, when you think of pop music, do you think of dancing and good times, or do you think of careful consideration of abstract concepts? Well, since you're here on my site, maybe you're one of the few who would say the latter.
Imagine Dragons has always been one of my favorite bands, and they've released something beautiful in "Believer." The song was released just a few days before the writing of this post, and I've already explained it on my YouTube channel, but I thought it deserved a little bit of a longer look. This song has something deep to say, and it's reminiscent of "Sucker for Pain"--a song that Imagine Dragons collaborated on for the Suicide Squad movie.
I was going to explain "Run Up" by Major Lazer, but got a few paragraphs in and realized that I needed something a little bit more substantial to write a full blog post about it at the 2AM time that I'm writing right now. That being said, "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran was the perfect alternative. I enjoy the music he puts out, and I'm excited for the rest of the Divide album to come out. I've already explained "Shape of You" on this blog and "Castle on the Hill" on my YouTube channel, and I encourage you to check out both of those explanations, the latter of which you can find just below here.
I think "Paris" by The Chainsmokers is going to be one of the deepest songs I've explained in a while. And I'm honestly surprised. "Closer" was decently deep, but "All We Know" disappointed me. The duo seems to hit and miss as far as depth or insight of lyrics go, but I think "Paris" is a home run of sorts. They refrain from making their song everything a pump-up, dance song could be as far as energy and lyrics go. And instead they slow it down, turn down the dial a little, and focus on what the words are saying. This isn't a requirement for every song by any means, but I'm glad to see the diversity in their songwriting, and am excited to explain "Paris."
I've never seriously listened to Arcade Fire until now, but I've done some research on their latest single "I Give You Power," and I think you're going to like the depth of this song. The lyrics are a tad repetitive but still powerful, and the story behind the song may surprise you even more.
Ed Sheeran released this song while I was on a trip to Africa, so I didn't get the chance to explain it right away, but there's still time, and I'd like to take a closer look at the meaning of the lyrics. Sheeran is an extremely talented musician, and I've greatly appreciated the artistry of some of his other songs, so it's a pleasure to explain this one.
Taylor Swift and ZAYN just dropped their new duet "I Don't Wanna Live Forever." The song's going to be part of the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, and it's intense. The song's musical aspect is smooth and rich and interesting. The lyrics, on the other hand, are very simple and straightforward--they're about a relationship that didn't work out the first time around.
"Love to Lay" by The Weeknd is an interesting song on the Starboy album because it's one where The Weeknd is on the receiving end of some of the other habits that he brags about. The song is an interesting take on a relationship that leaves The Weeknd taken advantage of.
"True Colors" is one of my favorite tracks from The Weeknd's album Starboy because it's one of the few that highlights and focuses on a true emotional maturity on the part of The Weeknd. The song is about a lover who has a dark past that The Weeknd feels he needs to hear about from her rather than from someone else. He asks her to explain and does so in an understanding, kind, and empathetic way.
"Secrets" is one of the grooviest, most interesting songs on the Starboy album. The Weeknd wrote it about a relationship that's not going so well, and the song is awesome. it's got a little bit of a Michael Jackson vibe, and it's an interesting take on a relationship that could be very close to falling apart.
"Stargirl Interlude" by The Weeknd is the shortest song from the Starboy album and also one of the most artistically creative ones. While other songs from the record come across as braggadocios or shallow, "Stargirl Interlude" somewhat artistically describes a sexual encounter. The song provides some pivotal but not graphic details and further develops the relationship between The Weeknd and the woman that the Starboy album could be about.
"Reminder" has to be the most unique on The Weeknd's record Starboy. And that's just lyrically. The music side of the song is similar to other tracks, but while most of the other songs on the record focus on sex or self-definition based on fame, "Reminder" focuses on self-definition in relation to the music industry. It takes a slightly different tact than other songs and certainly contains quite a bit of information that we can use to learn about The Weeknd and his character Starboy.
And we continue marching through Starboy by The Weeknd. It's my goal to explain the whole thing, and we'll see if that happens, but we're going to try. In the meantime, "Six Feet Under" is one of the more interesting songs on the Starboy album if you consider that it's one of the only songs that it isn't about him at all. Most of the other songs on the album, The Weeknd uses first person pronouns like "I" or "me." But in "Six Feet Under," he keeps purely to describing a character or person he has in mind.
This last weekend, I spent more than 30 hours creating and editing videos explaining songs from The Weeknd's album Starboy. This week, I'm going to be explaining all of those songs again but here on the blog. I hope you're ready for some good description of The Weeknd's amazing album and are ready to go deeper behind the lyrics.
I'm going to give you a peek behind the curtain. This may be the only song explanation you've ever read or ever will read by me, but I want to take a moment to be transparent. I'm sitting on my couch in my living room at 1 in the morning furiously typing out this song meaning explanation. It's two cold in here, and I'm exhausted.
I've been waiting for The Weeknd to release new singles from his upcoming Starboy album! He's an excellent musician, and I think when I first started explaining songs, he impressed me because he was proof that a pop artist could write about deeper things while still being incredibly "poppy." The Weeknd proves it in songs like "Can't Feel My Face," "The Hills," and "Starboy."
My first introduction to The xx came years ago before I cared so much about the meanings behind song lyrics, back when I was still exploring what kinds of music were out there. I fellow who was a few years ahead of me educationally and certainly more well-listened gave me an eclectic playlist of indie bands like Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weeknd to listen to on GrooveShark (RIP).
What does the song "Me and Your Momma" mean to me? I think the song is smooth and slick and powerful. Childish Gambino is the stage name for Donald Glover, one of my favorite actors on Community--an amazingly hilarious show you NEED to check out but may only be able to find on Netflix if you're from Canada.
Charlie Puth just released his music video for "Dangerously," and it's going crazy very quickly. I've been a fan of Charlie Puth ever since I heard that the industry chose him to sing in "See You Again" because he'd experienced a similar tragedy to the one the song is about. I felt bad for him and thought it sounded kind of like they were using his pain to make money, but it really was a beautiful song, and he was okay with it, so I figured it was probably fine. That being said, Charlie Puth's voice is amazing and no less amazing in "Dangerously."
