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!
“Chained to the Rhythm” by Katy Perry is about people who live live far away from difficulty or unhappiness and who aren’t willing to come down out of these “bubble[s]” to see real problems that need to be solved in the world. She doesn’t specify the kind of problems and leaves it to her audience to apply her song to situations on their own though there does seem to be a pretty substantial political charge to this song.
The conversation was good, and the topics were deep during the trip, but I especially enjoyed this conversation about how they integrate pop song lyrics into their Sunday School and youth group programs at their church.
Coldplay and The Chainsmokers are probably one of the more unlikely collaborations we'll see this year in music, but "Something Just Like This" may be one of the best collabs we'll see. Musically, it's entrancing. It's everything we love about The Chainsmokers' thoughtful and body-moving approach to EDM music with everything we love about the dry, smooth power of Chris Martin's voice. It's really the best of both worlds, and while the group is an unlooked for collaboration, personally, I'll be looking for more songs from these two groups.
Hey, Everyone! Welcome to this week's episode of the Pop Song Professor podcast. I made this for you about "Million Reasons" by Lady Gaga because I think it's a fantastic song and that she's a fantastic artist with an interesting perspective on sincerity as an artist and as a person. This podcast goes over who she is, "Million Reasons," the music video thereof, and a little bit of the Super Bowl controversy caused by body shamers.
All right, people! It's time to talk about a recently released song. I've been a big fan of Imagine Dragons for a while, and I'm pumped to explain this one. "Believers" is beautifully "musicked," and the lyrics are deep too. Plus, I have my cousin Drew on the show since we're both big fans of the band.
I've always been a bigger fan of Katy Perry's sound than of her lyrics, and I think that sometimes pop stars put their music above their lyrics. In fact, they may do that most of the time. After all, when you think of pop music, do you think of dancing and good times, or do you think of careful consideration of abstract concepts? Well, since you're here on my site, maybe you're one of the few who would say the latter.
So, today's episode was a little different. You'll notice that I didn't input the song for the lyrics, and there're a lot of references to the fact that I recorded this live on Facebook! It was a super fun experiment, and I may do it again. I worry that my podcast listeners are the ones who will suffer, but we'll see. Let me know what you think about and whether I should do something differently.
Imagine Dragons has always been one of my favorite bands, and they've released something beautiful in "Believer." The song was released just a few days before the writing of this post, and I've already explained it on my YouTube channel, but I thought it deserved a little bit of a longer look. This song has something deep to say, and it's reminiscent of "Sucker for Pain"--a song that Imagine Dragons collaborated on for the Suicide Squad movie.
"Starboy" by The Weeknd is a super popular song right now, and I want to help you to understand the deeper meaning of it. There's a lot to talk about here, but I think one of the most important themes is The Weeknd's dubious relationship with fame and success. Is he really happy he has so much money? Even though he's bragging about it here?
I was going to explain "Run Up" by Major Lazer, but got a few paragraphs in and realized that I needed something a little bit more substantial to write a full blog post about it at the 2AM time that I'm writing right now. That being said, "Castle on the Hill" by Ed Sheeran was the perfect alternative. I enjoy the music he puts out, and I'm excited for the rest of the Divide album to come out. I've already explained "Shape of You" on this blog and "Castle on the Hill" on my YouTube channel, and I encourage you to check out both of those explanations, the latter of which you can find just below here.
So, this episode is finally here! Time to begin season 2 right with a podcast about "Paris" by The Chainsmokers! On this episode, I go line-by-line through the whole song and explain what the duo is saying about nostalgia in a Millennial generation! This is some really good stuff, and I enjoyed chatting with you all again!
I think "Paris" by The Chainsmokers is going to be one of the deepest songs I've explained in a while. And I'm honestly surprised. "Closer" was decently deep, but "All We Know" disappointed me. The duo seems to hit and miss as far as depth or insight of lyrics go, but I think "Paris" is a home run of sorts. They refrain from making their song everything a pump-up, dance song could be as far as energy and lyrics go. And instead they slow it down, turn down the dial a little, and focus on what the words are saying. This isn't a requirement for every song by any means, but I'm glad to see the diversity in their songwriting, and am excited to explain "Paris."
I've never seriously listened to Arcade Fire until now, but I've done some research on their latest single "I Give You Power," and I think you're going to like the depth of this song. The lyrics are a tad repetitive but still powerful, and the story behind the song may surprise you even more.
Ed Sheeran released this song while I was on a trip to Africa, so I didn't get the chance to explain it right away, but there's still time, and I'd like to take a closer look at the meaning of the lyrics. Sheeran is an extremely talented musician, and I've greatly appreciated the artistry of some of his other songs, so it's a pleasure to explain this one.
Taylor Swift and ZAYN just dropped their new duet "I Don't Wanna Live Forever." The song's going to be part of the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, and it's intense. The song's musical aspect is smooth and rich and interesting. The lyrics, on the other hand, are very simple and straightforward--they're about a relationship that didn't work out the first time around.
"Love to Lay" by The Weeknd is an interesting song on the Starboy album because it's one where The Weeknd is on the receiving end of some of the other habits that he brags about. The song is an interesting take on a relationship that leaves The Weeknd taken advantage of.
"True Colors" is one of my favorite tracks from The Weeknd's album Starboy because it's one of the few that highlights and focuses on a true emotional maturity on the part of The Weeknd. The song is about a lover who has a dark past that The Weeknd feels he needs to hear about from her rather than from someone else. He asks her to explain and does so in an understanding, kind, and empathetic way.
"Secrets" is one of the grooviest, most interesting songs on the Starboy album. The Weeknd wrote it about a relationship that's not going so well, and the song is awesome. it's got a little bit of a Michael Jackson vibe, and it's an interesting take on a relationship that could be very close to falling apart.
"Stargirl Interlude" by The Weeknd is the shortest song from the Starboy album and also one of the most artistically creative ones. While other songs from the record come across as braggadocios or shallow, "Stargirl Interlude" somewhat artistically describes a sexual encounter. The song provides some pivotal but not graphic details and further develops the relationship between The Weeknd and the woman that the Starboy album could be about.
"Reminder" has to be the most unique on The Weeknd's record Starboy. And that's just lyrically. The music side of the song is similar to other tracks, but while most of the other songs on the record focus on sex or self-definition based on fame, "Reminder" focuses on self-definition in relation to the music industry. It takes a slightly different tact than other songs and certainly contains quite a bit of information that we can use to learn about The Weeknd and his character Starboy.
