CONTAINS SUGGESTIONS OF EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND DRUG USE
I’m sure many have experienced this before: hearing a song once and thinking it’s terrible and then hearing it a month later and it’s suddenly incredible. Or similarly: having to listen to a certain song or artist many times before it really hits home. Or sometimes a song can sneak up on you, like you think it’s just okay for a long time and then one day it becomes your favorite.
The 1975’s music represents the ultimate example of these experiences in my life. The 1975 is an amazing English band who writes meaningful alternative pop, alternative rock, and hard rock music.
It was one of my friends who first suggested I listen to them (Thank you, friend). She saw that I had listened to ”Chocolate” (one of their songs from their self-titled album) once and told me she thought I’d like the band. It took me awhile to get around to exploring their music.
When I finally did, I was in the car with my dad. I hooked up my phone to the speakers and put the “This Is The 1975” Spotify playlist on shuffle play.
I can vaguely remember my reaction, but there are a few thoughts that have stuck in my mind.
When I first heard “The Sound”, which is on their album called I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful And Yet So Unaware Of It, for example, I practically gagged. The highly synthetic backing vocals put me off instantly. I said something to my dad like “Wow, I could not stand listening to this,” and skipped the song not even ten seconds in. Little did I know that within six months I would grow to love that song.
When I finally gave the band a second chance, it awakened something in my soul. Do you know that feeling when you’re listening to new music and you love it so much that your heart aches a little bit? That’s how I felt the second time. What really made “The Sound” click for me was the music video. When I first watched it I was struck by how vividly they captured the pulsing quality of the song into the visual. That really affected me for some reason. And ironically, the subject of the video is criticism that The 1975 received for the song. It’s all very similar to my initial reaction to it: vapid, plastic, annoying. Now, I thoroughly enjoy listening to it.
Another very memorable first impression of mine was that of “Love It If We Made It”, from A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. It’s beginning is a somewhat long introduction, a few bars of unchanging, lyric-less noise. Then, suddenly Matthew Healy’s voice bursts in, singing “We’re f*cking in the car, shooting heroin-“. Skip. “Okay, dude,” I said. “Real classy”. I was not pleased. I didn’t know that the rest of the song was comprised of incredible lyrics that make a statement about the state of the world today and how messed up it’s become. I didn’t know that one day I’d listen to it every time I felt sad to make myself feel better. I didn’t know it would find a place on my exclusive playlist of favorite songs. It’s a very, very good song if you can get past those first few words and really listen. It’s a bit appalling at first, but the truth is, with the way things are, appalling and in your face might be the only way to get through.
A few months later, I finally came around and became obsessed with The 1975. Now they are my favorite band. They have been for about a year.
“Sincerity Is Scary” from A Brief Inquiry… is one of their better songs. It’s also within my personal top three favorite songs. It wasn’t always like that, though. I used think it was sort of okay. When it came up in the queue, I would often skip it. It was boring, a grown-up song. I think I thought that because of the saxophone. How ignorant. The saxophone is awesome. And the lyrics are like no other. Well, almost. But more on that later. It was when I looked up the lyrics of Sincerity Is Scary and realized its pure genius that it became one of my favorites. It includes lines like
“And irony’s okay, I suppose \\ Culture is to blame \\ You try and mask your pain in the most postmodern way \\ You lack substance when you say \\ Something like, “Oh, what a shame” \\ It’s just a self-referential way \\ That stops you having to be human”
The 1975, “Sincerity Is Scary“
and
“And why would you believe you could control how you’re perceived \\ When at your best, you’re intermediately versed in your own feelings?”
The 1975, “Sincerity Is Scary“
That second one hit me like a bus and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. You can probably tell by the name of this blog. And it’s not just the meaning behind the words. It’s the way in which they’re delivered too. The meter of the lines combined with the rhythm of the music is seamless.
“Loving Someone“ from I Like It When You Sleep… is another song with which my relationship has drastically evolved. The reason I didn’t like it at first is the chorus. It’s similar to the issue that The Sound has. The vocals are highly edited and high-pitched. To be honest, I still don’t love the chorus, but the verses are amazing. They’re spoken, and when you’re just listening to the song they’re hard to hear, but trust me: it’s worthwhile to pay attention. I’d say this song is a top contender for best lyrics in a The 1975 song. Here’s an example:
“I am forever in alongside the boys in jumpers on bikes \\ from schools and cars with autumn leaves fallen sparse across the mid-afternoon \\ She blazed about how ‘Cultural language is an operating system \\ a simple interface rendered feeble and listless when tested with a divinity or true understanding of the human condition’ \\ I never did understand the duality of art and reality \\ living life and treating it as such but with a certain disconnect to touch that cajoles at the artist with comfort and abandon \\ and between the spires and rolling roofs of the white city that orange, English light cast only one singular shadow, for you are not beside but within me”
The 1975, “Loving Someone“
Is your mind blown right now? Because it should be. Anyway,
The 1975 is a great band.
Give music more than one chance. It might surprise you.
Intermediately Versed 