I'm Clifford Stumme, and I use literary analysis and research to explain the deeper meanings of pop songs. Feel free to leave a comment or to email me at clifford@popsongprofessor.com with questions or ideas!
All in song lyrics blog post
"I Did Something Bad" follows the same formula that we heard from "Look What You Made Me Do" or "...Ready For It?" Taylor Swift has turned over a new leaf, and is now a tougher, stronger, harder, version of herself. She's not going to roll over for anyone or wait for someone to come save her. She's ready to take control of her own life even if it means destroying her enemies.
Taylor Swift released Reputation on November 10th, and "End Game" is the first song new song that many of us heard when we started listening. This second track, which comes right after "...Ready For It?" is one of the most noteworthy tracks on the album because not only does it feature Ed Sheeran and Future, but it also heavily features the title of the album--Reputation--which suggests that this song is tightly tied to the meaning of the album overall.
Of all the new Taylor Swift songs, "...Ready For It?" may be the most unique and most "new." While fans weren't quite sure what to do with "Look What You Made Me Do" until the music video came out, and "Gorgeous" and "Call It What You Want" at least made a little sense as far as who we think Taylor Swift is, "...Ready For It?" left most of us scratching our heads. But that doesn't mean the doesn't mean something interesting, so let's get into it.
Taylor Swift's "Gorgeous" was an especially trying one for me to explain. I stayed up until midnight to explain it and spent most of my first video talking about how people would probably think that it meant Taylor Swift was admitting to be a bisexual. Luckily for me, before it was up for long, my loyal fans explained the real meaning to me, and the next morning I started fresh and created the video you see below in which I explain the true meaning of the song. While not as controversial as Taylor Swift coming out of the closet, "Gorgeous" may still have a meaning that surprises you.
"Look What You Made Me Do" has to be the most contentious song of my Taylor Swift-listening lifetime. I thought "Bad Blood" was a departure for her, but "Look What You Made Me Do" seems to have even less to do with the sweet, pure, country singer in songs like "Mean" or "Our Song." Of course, Taylor Swift as an artist certainly is allowed to change and develop, but I don't think anyone six years ago or even three would have expected this. Of course, that's not me saying that "Look What You Made Me Do" is a bad song--that's for you to decide--but both music and lyrics are clear departures for her.
But "Call It What You Want" is certainly my favorite of the four new songs she's released from Reputation up to this point. It's simple, it's pure, and it feels honest. Not only that, but I think the lyrics truly do mean something to her, and I think they're going to mean something to you as well.
Again, Kesha surprises us with a new single and music video seemingly out of the blue. "Praying" surprised everyone last Thursday morning (particularly surprising because music usually drops Thursday at midnight rather than early in the morning). And now "Woman" is her next single from her upcoming album Rainbow. And this one sounds more like classic "Ke$ha"--swearing, partying, and ego-boosting. But it's different ego-boosting from her earlier work. This time, she's not deriving power from her party-girl status, but from her womanhood.
You're going to have a heart attack, but I didn't really get into music until after Jay-Z stopped producing music because he had to manage a label and not seem like he was biased towards promoting his own music. So, that being said, I don't know a lot about him other than all of the all-but-confirmed (by his and Beyonce's lyrics) rumors that he cheated on Beyonce. But I feel like "4:44" is about all of the introduction I need to who he is. He lays out everything here.
Due to an exclusive contract with Dr. Luke, Kesha has not been able to record or release music as an artist since 2014, the year she began a lawsuit claiming that Dr. Luke's contract was unlawful and enabled him to control every aspect of her life. Thankfully, in March of 2017, Dr. Luke's position as CEO of his record label expired, and Sony, the company who owns that record label didn't renew his contract and appears to have released Kesha from her contract. So, now she's able to release "Praying" and later in August Rainbow.
I've already explained seven out of the eleven songs on Evolve, and I'm not going to explain every song on the album. Two of the ones I've explained so far have been unfortunately rather shallow or rather vague in a "pop music sort of way" that leaves me wanting something deeper from Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons. So, to make sure that I wasn't wasting time, I looked at the last four I hadn't explained yet and decided that "Rise Up" was likely the deepest one I hadn't explained. The song's interesting, written almost entirely by band members, and focuses on a theme of improving one's self. Let's see if it stands up to explication.
While explaining several of the songs from Imagine Dragons's new Evolve album, I've the album playing in the background, and few songs have piqued my interest like "Yesterday." Each time it comes on, my ears perk up and I wonder, "Wait, what song is that?" I think it's because Imagine Dragons seems to be digging further back into the indie/alternative roots with this song. There's the eclectic voice emphasized and a bouncing, pounding drum-piano medley to give the track character and texture.
"I Don't Know Why" is the first song from Imagine Dragons's new album Evolve. It might be one of the poppiest songs we've ever heard from them (at least until you listen to "Start Over" which goes so far as to adopt a Justin Bieber jungle beat). "I Don't Know Why" only goes so far as to be a pulsing, pumping pop rock smasher that reminds me more of Demi Lovato or Maroon 5. The song is intense, sexy, and lyrically focused on dangerous love.
I've heard some bad things about Evolve so far. In fact, some of those things came from reviewers before the rest of us even got to hear the album. Two song reviewers that I trust gave it 3 and 2.5 stars out of 5 respectively, but I still fought to disbelieve that Imagine Dragons could turn out anything less than stellar. And I'm still fighting that. I'm just starting my explanation process. In fact, I've only explained the four singles, and I'm explaining "Mouth of the River" because it was one of ARTV's favorite tracks from the album.
We're moments away (at the time of the writing of this) from Imagine Dragons dropping Evolve and the seven songs from them that we haven't heard yet. While waiting, I realized I hadn't blogged about "Whatever It Takes" yet, so I decided I'd better give it a shot. I've already blogged about it and made a video explaining it, but it's time to get serious and to explain it line-by-line.
I've honestly not been that big a fan of Fall Out Boy in the past, but I do love how they give something deeper in their lyrics. They give us a meaning, and they often use allusions or pop culture references that add a layer of complexity to their lyrics. This depth is probably the reason that you're here after Googling something like "champion lyrics meaning Fall Out Boy." I knew you'd be here, so I've explained the lyrics below in an attempt to help you better understand and connect with the lyrics of this band that we both respect.
I've never really listened to Arcade Fire until recently, and I still hadn't explained any song but "I Give You the Power" until now, but I've got an old work associate who every time I see him asks if I'm going to start explaining Arcade Fire. And I honestly wasn't enthused about the idea. They aren't as popular as the bands I usually review, and I didn't know what to make of them.
I really, really like the sound of "Hard Feelings/Loveless," and before we go any further, you should know that this song is two songs stuck together. There's an understated musical transition between the two, but they really are two different songs or two different stages in the action of the story being told here. In "Hard Feelings," we hear Lorde singing softly and reasonably, almost begging for the emotional turmoil of a breakup to treat her gently, but then in "Loveless," it all becomes too real, and she lets herself sound bitter and bratty almost, sort of a satire on heartbroken, bitter pop songs about exes.
This has to be one of the deeper and more maturely beautiful songs on Melodrama. In this song, Lorde accentuates the emotion she can command with her voice, and the instrumentation complements her voice and her intended lyrical meaning perfectly. The instruments are largely confined to a plain piano and background strings nearer the end, but they serve as the perfect complement in a beautiful song.
"All I Can Think about Is You" by Coldplay is a slow, soft, sweet song with one main message: the same message that the title so clearly lays out. All that Chris Martin's narrator can think about is someone he's romantically interested in. Musically, the song is very impressive, it feels like it travels over several different soundscapes and backgrounds as Martin feels out the different ideas and sentiments that the lyrics are built on.
This song is one of the eeriest and saddest from Lorde's new Melodrama record. "Sober II" includes some interesting and eerie vocal gymnastics and a paired down but powerful sounding instrumental background. I think it gets most powerful when the drumbeat kicks in over Lorde saying things like "They’ll talk about us, all the lovers / How we kiss and kill each other." The intensity here is certainly a quiet, understated one, but it may be present on the album no more anywhere than here on "Sober II."
