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!
Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme breaks down the lyrics behind Twenty One Pilots' "Semiautomatic." It's a deep song, and you won't want to miss this episode, especially if you're a TOP fan.
The Chainsmokers dropped "Closer" four weeks ago, and it's blown up. The song has over 150 million listens on Spotify and nearly the same amount of views on YouTube. It's currently the top song on the Billboard Hot 100, and it looks like it's going to be there for a while.
And there's good reason for that. The song's super catchy, and the lyrics are just vague enough that they can get stuck inside a person's head and make him or her wonder exactly what's happening between the lines.
Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme and his guest Dr. Tess Stockslager take a long, close look at Mumford and Sons's album Sigh No More to map out how the album's songs work together to tell a story of frustration, anger, redemption, and victory. It's a podcast that you really won't want to miss.
Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme continues his series on the Twenty One Pilots album Vessel with "Migraine." It's a deep song, and there's some really good stuff here. Be sure to listen! And feel free to email Clifford back at jugglingcliff@gmail.com with your thoughts.
People are excited about the Irish singer James Vincent McMorrow's new album We Move, and after hearing his latest single from that album, "Get Low," I am too. "Get Low" is slow and soulful. It's very methodical and careful; each note feels carefully planned, and the entire song has an entrancing feeling that makes you want to sway in time with the slow, pulsing beats. It reminds me of Hozier and his song "Take Me to Church" but less angry and sarcastic--more sad and thoughtful.
Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme tackles another serious song in his series on the Twenty One Pilots album Vessel. Like the others, "Ode to Sleep" is full of meaning and valuable insights into life and one's mental life. Enjoy and be sure to share with other Skeleton Clique members and those who need to become Skeleton Clique members.
Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme takes on his next Twenty One Pilots explanation project. A LOT of TOP fans requested Clifford explain "House of Gold," and he couldn't wait. "House of Gold" by Twenty One Pilots is a deep song with plenty below the surface and much to think about. Enjoy hearing it explained line-by-line by the Pop Song Professor!
Shawn Mendes is releasing his new album Illuminate on September 23rd, but in the meantime we get to listen to all of the great singles he's been releasing. We've already heard "Ruin" and "Treat You Better," and now it's time for another one: "Three Empty Words."
Pop Song Professor and his wife April Stumme take on "Rise" by Katy Perry. The song is getting popular FAST, but there's a lot to it, and it's kind of interesting. Topics in this podcast stretch from the 2016 Olympics, to the pre-100 BC Olympics, to the Zelda video games.
"Fake It" came out on July 29th, and it's another single for their album Wild World. I'm a fan of the song and of lead singer Dan Smith's awesome voice. And I'm also a fan of the depth of meaning behind the song.
I always thought that Bastille was overly dramatic and sentimental (think "What Would You Do"), but I feel like with "Good Grief" and "Fake It" they've hit a compromise and seemed to have mellowed out a little while still discussing difficult, emotional issues. They feel more confident--like they don't have to use sob stories to sell songs--and I like it.
Well, I just listened to "Zillionaire," and while I wouldn't call myself a "Flo Rida Fan," I do like several of his hits, particularly "I Don't Like It, I Love It" and "My House." He's just really good at that big, bouncing, cool, self-assured club dance sound, and I can really get moving to music like that, particularly because I like dancing west coast swing to it.
I became a Twenty One Pilots fan my first year of grad school when I was meeting up with some friends in a parking lot. Twenty-One-Pilots-Early-Adopter Heather had her car door open and was playing "Car Radio" pretty loudly. The song sounded weird, and I didn't think much of it, but I kept hearing it around, so I pulled it up on YouTube and eventually bought it or something (maybe used Spotify?).
I really like the sound of "Cold Water." The song is fun and poppy with all the electronic instrumentation I like in pop music (plus some acoustic guitar at the beginning). Justin Bieber does a great job of singing, and the song's well produced. What's more, the lyrics are uplifting and encouraging--a pretty cool thing to hear from a song that's (undoubtedly) going to premiere on the Hot 100. The song's got enough star power and just the right mixture of positive lyrics and fun music that there's no way this song isn't going to be popular.
I've never been Katy Perry's biggest fan. Something about the candy costume in "California Girls" threw me off. And "Roar" is too much pump-up without enough purpose. But it doesn't matter what I think, right? The point here is to explain this song objectively and line-by-line.
Literature teachers and professors keep looking for ways to be culturally relevant. It's kind of a buzz word these days, and everyone thinks it's going to keep students interested, attentive, and learning. So, teachers use memes, cultural references, and examples based on Star Wars or Taylor Swift to get points across to their students seeped in entertainment and culture. Well, I'm here to tell you that studying popular music in your literature classroom won't just be "culturally relevant"; it could revolutionize the ways your students think about literature and culture. Pop music is everywhere, and it has a lot to say to us about who we are and where our culture is; thus, we need to understand it. And since our students probably listen to it more than we do, they need to understand it even more.
Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme takes on "Car Radio" by Twenty One Pilots and uses rock legend "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey to help him do it! "Car Radio" is about thoughtfulness and is an incredibly thoughtful song itself. Don't miss this explanation!
Enjoy this podcast that asks a big question. Please email me at jugglingcliff@gmail.com if you have a response to what I said. I'm still ironing out some of the details of my theory here, so bear with me. Have a great day!
The most fought over question I've come across in my sixteen months of song explaining is this: Whose interpretation matters more--mine or the writer's? And it's a good question. Chronicles of Narnia and Cambridge English professor C.S. Lewis writes in An Experiment in Criticism that people wonder, "Why . . . should I turn from a real and present experience--what the poem means to me, what happens to me when I read it--to inquiries about the poet's intention or reconstructions, always uncertain, of what it may have meant to his contemporaries?"
I'll be honest that I'm not the biggest Shawn Mendes fan. "Stitches" was a little bit weird: If she was the one hurting him, how does being away from her mean he'll need more stitches? And I haven't listened to much else by him though I do know that he's supposed to be the new "rival" to Justin Bieber--both from Canada and both heartthrob, teenage types. But I want to be open-minded and know that I haven't listened to enough of him to be able to accurately judge. I decided to give "Ruin" a chance, and I'm going to explain it.
I usually respond to comments on my blog every week. It takes me about an hour, and every time I do it, I wish I had started sooner.
The kinds of comments and questions that I get inspire me to think, to write, and to keep listening to songs with deep meanings.
