Let me clarify because you misunderstood and altered the point of my post. The music should reflect the artists frame of mind. My complaint is that the lyrics lack credibility because their not unhappy in their own lives. I want the music to reflect what's going on in their own lives versus tailoring the lyrics for a vulnerable community to sell records. That's 2 separate and mutually exclusive points. For example, wouldn't it be nice to get a record talking about parenthood? Or a love song about a healthy marriage? That's more genuine to what's going on with the band.
One day without internet and suddenly all these news man! I'm shocked and I can't say anything until I dig all these info.
So non-depressed people can't listen to depressing music? Man, you are missing out on a lot of good music!
Chester actually stated in a recent live that he went through a very rough depressed time in his life, if I'm not wrong by the end of 2015
I don't understand your train of thought and how it relates to my post. My complaint is with LP staying in their comfort zone , really. The depressive content is their bread and butter--but are the lyrics genuine in 2017? I want to see growth by the band. Explore new topics. That's territory they have covered in past records. He's happily married and in a good space now--from what it seems--why not talk about that? i.e. a record about being a parent/overcoming depressive episodes? It sends a solid message to people struggling with mental health issues that there is a way out.
i know the lyrics seem very simple and kinda lame but come on guys, a song is never complete until you hear the music itself, it can change everything, i mean come on...remember:"hello, can you hear me? i must've called a thousand time!!"
How do you know they might not talk about that? This is one song. One. Song. Of an entire album. Don't think the entire album will be about the same subject.
Yes. Married people can't get depressed. totally how that works. I recently rewatched the facebook live thing where they were talking about the album and writing process and chester said something along the lines of: " At the end of 2015 i fucking hated life. Looking back at that time versus now, it's like a total 180" So yeah, he was in a bad place when they wrote the songs. Can you write happy shit when you're depressed?
A couple things: when Mike said, " we can make like a really pop song and it works because it's us and we made it work" I'm paraphrasing him, but that's what I think when I hear this song. I don't want to say good music, but music that reaches multiple people accomplishes it by being vague and directed. In this case, there are a lot of interpretations of the lyrics. I think it feels mish-moshed because the songs jumps back and forth from self-reflection to self-indulgence. If it's from two perspectives: one male, one female, then it's talking about the complex problem of a failing relationship where both partners know they're sinking but can't let go. If that's how it ends up, where first verse is Chester and second Kiiara, then this absolutely is a fantastically written song and different from LP in the past as it's two perspectives from two different people on the same problem, and that my friends, is some.....heavy....crap.
Depression doesn't change if you're happily married or not, it has nothing to do with that. You might be deeply in love and rich but still feel depressed, and writing about it can be very cathartic.
This is all like, not wanting to try food just because of the way it looks before even tasting it. People are amazing.
I had experienced depression for 4 years and recently got over it a year ago. Many of you think these lyrics suck, (yeah they can be bland), but honestly this song is gonna make me break down. I've always wanted LP to explore this mindset and connect with those who've have/had depression and help them overcome it. It's a new direction that they've found (other than robot boy) to connect with their pasts and other listeners realities...
I don't know why but this feels intimate. Not just personal but feels like the band is addressing to the listeners directly..
They didn't say what the song is about and yet some people were fast to relate it with depression and to me it says something. Yes, they touched subjects like that multiple times, but so what? Like someone here said depression and other mental illness aren't something that just goes away after some time because you have a nice family now or kids or are rich or anything else. If it was written during a rough time for Chester it's completely normal that the song will reflect what he was feeling. And maybe he wanted to write something happy but he just couldn't. Also, I don't know, since they said it's more personal now, the album might go from "man, life really sucks" to "but things do get better". I'm a fan of a rapper called Tablo and his solo has this tone. He started writing it when he was deeply depressed so the first half of the album reflects that, but by the end of the record the songs were more uplifiting because he was able to get better. It might be the case here since Chester "recently" said he had a hard time.
It's entirely possible that you just used really bad syntax which gave entirely the wrong impression. It's not that I misinterpreted it, it's that you didn't actually think that the words you were saying & the way you were saying them could easily be interpreted that way. If that wasn't what you meant, then examine why others got that impression from your post instead of blaming them for "twisting your words". If you learn from that then it'll be less likely to happen again in the future. Context matters. People are less likely to listen to the rest of your post if you start off by blaming them for getting it wrong without trying to understand the source of the confusion and accepting that some of the blame may be on your shoulders as well. Less aggressive defense and more empathetic conversation can work wonders. TLDR: English is hard (And I don't mean that disparagingly.)
I think you've hit the nail on the head, my friend. As a fellow person who has struggled in the past, this will absolutely cause me to probably break down. It's so cool to know that the band and my idols can relate and put mine and our experiences into words and music that can move millions of other people.
Okay, okay that was a long read through the thread (BOOM got a rhyme there ) First of all, there was a really interesting debate between Elaine and Brandon, my props to you both. I wanted to come by in a slight conciliatory mood and say, guys, Depression isn't black or white, both of you make strong and valid points, Brandon said it and Elaine hasn't but you both seem to know the sauce and seem to have been there before, which is what makes your thoughts a lot more elaborate. I have been there myself too although you could say it was mild compared to what other people goes through. It ain't a game like Elaine says, and there are TONS of different shades to it, more than we could imagine ourselves. Elaine talks about the line where the person 'finds comfort in panic' which Brandon completely disagrees with. But Brandon, it doesn't mean the person is willing to safeguard itself in that toxic state.. Depression may freeze you out, and create this inertia where you are completely self-aware of the situation but somehow can't do anything about it. Apathy was one of the things that hit me, and while I knew that I just had to get up and go outside, I couldn't do it, my body, my organism, whatever, was 'comfortable' in that inertia against my own will. Some of the things you said afterwards went back and forth and I have not much to add to that, it was a great debate. But think about this, while these lyrics aren't exactly a genius breakthrough, we are here discussing and even bringing up sensible things that we don't go around voicing to everybody. We are looking at things from every angle. There is beauty in that and to be fair, the fact that this simple lyric release triggered such a substanced conversation, makes the song its dollar's worth. Two things: 1) I don't think you know what goes on behind closed doors in the band members' lives, and their social activity should NOT by any means be a reliable indicator of happiness and well-being. We are not the ones to say what really is honest from them or not (besides, even when something's long passed it leaves a mark on people's lives, and there's this thing called empathy, where one person may sensibilize with other's misfortune and drive them to do something. The songwriter may or may not currently *be* on that state, but may have feel inspired to talk about it for whatever reason). 2) From my point of view, 'vulnerable people' aren't a market, and there is a poor choice of words when you contrast depression and maturity/coming of age. A really poor choice. I don't mind at all whatever negative criticism this song or lyrics may receive, however, given the topic we discussed here, Depression isn't some sort of mood state or emotion like anger, joy, sadness, etc., it's a disease just like any other.
I hate it when bands write songs that don't necessarily apply to what's going on in their lives. It's the worst! Here are the worst offenders: THE BEATLES We all live in a yellow submarine? LIES! SLANDER. NONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BEATLES HAVE LIVED IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE. I am the walrus? FAKE NEWS, ALL THE BEATLES WERE HUMAN BEINGS. PINK FLOYD The lunatic is on the grass? NOPE. THERE WERE IN FACT NO CRAZY PEOPLE ON THE LAWN OUTSIDE THE STUDIO AS THE BAND WAS RECORDING THAT SONG. SAD. There is no pain you are receiving? MORE LIES. I STUBBED MY TOE TODAY. IT HURT. FALSE. NINE INCH NAILS Head like a hole? Black as your soul? WELL FIRST, HIS HEAD IS NOT A HOLE. HIS HEAD IS ALSO WHITE, NOT BLACK. AND MY SOUL ISN'T A COLOUR. IDIOT. I hate when people write these lyrics that are so obviously not true. What are they trying to do, tell a story or something?