The Great Deception – Musical Opposites

Have you ever listened to a cheery, upbeat song, realising soon after you hit play that the message of the lyrics is far from chirpy? Maybe you can think of a dreary, slow song you thought was depressing upon first listen, but is actually radiating positivity with its words? This can happen far more frequently than you may realise, so a few contributors of The Indiependent are here to shine some light on songs that sound opposite to what they mean; unmasking the deceiving ways of these sneaky song writers.

Ain’t It Fun // Paramore

I’d never been the biggest Paramore fan, but certainly had nothing against the music that they made. So, when I was perusing Spotify looking for something new to listen to, ‘Ain’t It Fun’ seemed like an intriguing choice, not to mention it was number one on the band’s profile as being the most popular of their songs, the natural progression was to listen. By the title, I expected immediately to hear a song with positive vibes no less than radiating from it, and some sort of description of what was ‘fun’ to elaborate on the title, a generally happy tune. However, as the intro kicked in, although the guitar riffs and xylophone like sounds that I was greeted with were in-keeping with what I had originally expected, the lyrics came with no warning.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFEmTsfFL5A&w=740&h=422]

Your perception of the song starts to come into question straight away as lead Hayley Williams talks about “letting you down easy”, and what can only be described as a threat follows this up “just give it time”. As it continues, it becomes clear that this is a highly pessimistic song. Lyrics describing an unequal world where you inevitably end up alone and without meaning, are hidden within an incredibly feel-good melody. Sneaky, sneaky Paramore. This theme of insignificance continues throughout the entire song, and the bridge, sang in a gospel choir style which, in theory, is almost always related to positivity, is actually echoing words of great sadness: “don’t go crying to your momma / ‘Cause you’re on your own in the real world”. All in all, a song with a realistic but depressing message, all masked beautifully and convincingly enough, that it becomes hard to notice amidst the jolly, head bob inducing tune.

Words by Hannah Campbell

Bye Bye Bad Man // The Stone Roses

There’s something about The Stone Roses’ era-defining debut album that sounds like an August Bank Holiday weekend. The hint of timeless euphoria in the radiant sun-heated air never fails to make those over 30 feel young again and those under 30 never want to age. This ethereal masterpiece seems perfectly uplifting and happy, as some of the songs truly are, but the same can’t be said for ‘Bye Bye Bad Man.’

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3WkIENVY_M&w=740&h=422]

‘Bye Bye Bad Man’ sounds serene and relaxed, but the imagery of the “citrus sucking sunshine” and Ian Brown’s hazy vocals only set the listener up for deception. In reality, this citrus sunshine refers to how rioters put lemons on their tear gassed eyes following a riot; this song is a tribute to the 1968 riots in France, with John Squire’s Jackson Pollock inspired album cover, also entitled ‘Bye Bye Bad Man,’ featuring the infamous lemons and French tricolour.

The lyrics “Every backbone and heart you break / We’ll still come back for more,” and “I’ve got bad intentions / I intend to knock you down” are powerfully threatening. The next song on the album is ‘Elizabeth My Dear,’ a song from which any song could seem joyful, but really the two songs share the same anti-establishment essence. The tone of the song, in light of its joyful sound and revolutionary lyrics, make it so much more sinister; the calmness acts as a looming threat and The Stone Roses prevail as leaders of a revolution, as they once were, it’s just that this revolution didn’t bring down the government.

Words by Caitlin O’Connor

Perfect Skin // Peace

When you first listen to this song, you would probably think its innocent enough. A nice peppy tune that is reminiscent of an older, poppy sound. The melody is fun and playful enough. In fact, it’s almost irresistible to not bounce some part of your body along to the cute beat. It’s a song that relates very heavily to youth culture, which generates you to vividly imagine young girls chanting along to it while they desperately try to enhance their looks in front of a mirror, with eyes full of tears as they realise that they will never be like the paper thin models in the fashion magazine that rests on their counter. It’s that reason alone that makes it such a dark song.

Vocalist Harry Koisser sings about not being good enough for someone, that there is someone better, but that’s just the literal meaning behind the lyrics, as there is much more going on here. It gets much deeper and significant when you question who is symbolised by this more attractive other that is “gorgeous” “healthy” and so “perfect”? It’s a fair point to say that this godlike being reflects the idolisation and obsession of perfection by the media and society as a whole. The general repetitive nature of this song reinforces this obsessive nature. Although sounding clumsy, the lyrics “I need less of me in me and more of you in me” suggests that humanity as a whole feels worthless in comparison to these Photoshop fake beauties that are thrust into the face of everyone, especially the teen community. In addition, these lyrics also symbolise the removal of what is real and losing touch of the person you actually are. This is a result of the influences that we are exposed too, which is the real horror of this track. What Harry and co are doing here is masking a record full of social criticism with light-hearted peppy tunes.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L10c96yyTug&w=740&h=422]

If you think that I’m trying to make a mountain out of a molehill here, this isn’t the only song on the new album that has hidden social criticism. For example ‘Money’ is about capital greed and how humanity values materialistic things over more important aspects of life. ‘I’m a girl’ is about the restrictions of gender roles and a fight for equality. ‘O You’ tackles how damaged and corrupted this world is and that it needs change. These are just a few examples. With this song –as well as other aspects of the album – it’s evident that Peace are doing much more than just sending out good vibes in their music. As well as this they’re putting out important global issues into the spotlight and spreading good vibes in the process.

Words by Domenic Edwards

I Wanna Get Better // Bleachers

‘I Wanna Get Better’ by the Bleachers definitely meets the mark of having deep messages hidden behind masks of lively sound. ‘I Wanna Get Better’ reached the top of the Billboard Alternative Song Charts in July 2014 after listeners found themselves relating it back to their own lives and wanting to “get better”. As if the music video – representing a psychologist who finds himself to be even less put together than his patients – isn’t enough to convince viewers that there’s something bigger going on, lead singer and former lead guitarist for Fun Jack Antonoff, even admits to the darkness behind the words. In an interview with Rolling Stone when speaking of the album ‘Strange Desire’, Jack says that, “… it’s the story of my existence so far and a lot of the things I struggled with.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5osPtE7kXI&w=740&h=422]

After listening to it on repeat, the album clearly illustrates the battle between facing pain and finding hope when experiencing loss and disappointment. “It feels joyous, but for me it’s very desperate… a lot of things on the album, including this song, are about loss”, states Antonoff. This loss he mentions refers back to the passing of his sister back in 2001 who died of cancer, along with the passing of his cousin the next year who lost his life in the Iraq War. Losing two people who were so close to himself in such a short amount of time was very hard on the musician.

His struggles are plain to hear in his lyrics “I traced my faith to a broken down television/ And put on the weather/ And I’ve trained myself to give up on the past cuz’/ I’ve frozen time between hearses and caskets…” Meaning, that due to the recent events in his life he’s begun to lose his faith and he’s given up on thinking about how he could have changed the outcomes. The next line of lyrics also refers to another type of loss, “…Lost control when I panicked at the acid test/ I wanna get better”, relates back to a dangerous acid trip the singer went on after the events almost leading to a death of his own, making him realize that he wants to get better. From the cries about loneliness, death, and loss the upbeat pop instrumentals molding with the deep emotional lyrics, are why ‘I Wanna Get Better’ should definitely be considered a “musical opposite”.

Words by Sophie Van Remortel

Pumped Up Kicks // Foster The People