I got on the subject of songs that have melodies that really don't match the lyrics song in a conversation recently, specifically about the song "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People. I think some people, including one that I was talking to from school the other day, find the juxtaposition of the music and lyrics of a song to be somewhat disturbing. I actually really enjoy the discord between these two parts of a song; don't get me wrong, this is far from the only kind of song I like. But I like it when the songwriter deceives the listener into thinking one thing with the music, then switches it up with the lyrics.
This is the Foster The People song I'm referring to. It's very easy to find yourself humming along the cheerful-sounding chorus, especially during the parts where the band members whistle. The chorus has a tune that suggests the song should be about falling in love--since "love" is what about 90% of all songs are written about, anyway, why not?--or at least something happy. Like discovering that the Pittsburgh Steelers just got creamed by their archrivals 35-7 and turned over the ball seven times! Or, you know, having a good day or something. I don't want to get too specific.
Thing is, the song's about shooting people. It's a wonderfully dark ditty about how the other kids better "outrun my gun."The cheerful chorus serves to obscure this at first to the casual listener, and then later on we discover that there's something creepy going on here once we start listening more intently. And the thing that strikes me about this is as being so cool is that the song mirrors the message so well; people think of the teen years as such a carefree, happy time...when they're on the outside, looking in. Look a bit closer and there's some really messed up stuff going on, culminating in some places in Columbine-like events. It's really heavy stuff.
Foster The People are hardly the first performing artists to utilize this sort of way of sending their message. Lily Allen's "Fuck You,"--not be confused with Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You"--is another song that you can find yourself humming along to happily-what a pleasant tune! And then you hit the chorus, and you start paying attention, and you realize that the song is not about butterflies and rainbows and the boy she just met. It's a song that bashes the closed minded masses; the card carrying members of the flat earth society who claim it's not alright to be gay, or different from them in any way, and the jerks who still cling to our society like leeches in this supposedly enlightened age.
Above all, the thing I really like about sending a message this way through music is the "oh, snap!" moment the listener gets while listening to the song. It makes the message hit harder, and it makes you think. Thinking's a good habit. Winky face.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled sisters.
No comments:
Post a Comment