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!
Harry Styles just released the next single from his upcoming album Harry Styles, and if any song from any former One Direction band member is going to claim indie influence, it's probably going to be "Sweet Creature." The name's already odd enough to be alternative, and the folksy backing vocals, simple guitar picking, and country-inspired vocal flourishes remind me heavily of acoustic alternative songs about summer days and childhood.
Just a few days ago, Imagine Dragons released "Thunder," and I have to say that I really like it. I remember hearing "Radioactive" for the first time. There was a girl I liked, and she, a few friends of ours, and I sat on her parents' livingroom floor sharing music. She brought out Imagine Dragons, and while relationally she didn't change my life, musically she might have. I was interning for a US senator at the time, and I remember pulling up Grooveshark and listening to Imagine Dragons songs non-stop.
Fall Out Boy just released their first new song in years. After the success of songs like "Uma Thurman" and "Centuries," I think a lot of Fall Out Boy fans have been waiting for something new from the band, and we now finally know that Fall Out Boy will be releasing a new album called Mania in September of 2017. The lead single off this album is "Young and Menace," and its lyrics are about riding the wave of feelings of isolation, anger and anxiety.
A week ago, hundreds of Twenty One Pilots fans and I dared to ask the question "Which is the best Twenty One Pilots song?"
So, today we're talking about an absolutely wonderful song--Coldplay's "Viva La Vida." The lyrics are deep, interesting, and unique, and I think you'll enjoy this episode. Plus, while the sound quality may be a little lower than usual, we did this podcast live on YouTube, so we got viewers' comments in on it! So, you have a voice! We hope to do more of these and can't wait to see you on our behind-the-scenes live editions of the show!
I don't know if the Clique could ever not want new music from Twenty One Pilots, but it's been two years since Blurryface was released, so we're all kind of itching to hear something new from the band. We did get "Heathens" last summer, but historically the band has released a new album every two years, and Blurryface came out in 2015, so 2017 should be the year of a new album, but it's April already, and we've heard nothing.
Today, my guest and I are talking about "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. It's a fantastic song, and I think you're going to enjoy going deeper behind the meaning of these lyrics. The song is about a school shooter, but it's not glorifying it. Foster the People is trying to start a conversation about who school shooters are.
The Chainsmokers have released a new song! "The One" is slower and more purposefully emotional than most of the hits The Chainsmokers has been dropping recently. That being said, that slowness isn't what we expect from The Chainsmokers, so I'm curious to see whether people will take to it or not. Of course, it does sound like The Chainsmokers are diversifying their repertoire with "The One," which could be a sign that they're growing as artists.
Gorillaz is back after a half a decade hiatus, and I can't believe I've never listened to this music before. "Saturnz Barz" (not to mention the other three songs released at the same time) is artistically created, methodical, and cryptic. Some lyrics are clear personal narrative (a la Popcaan's rap), and the rest are near incomprehensible. Lay these down over a track that's just as new, weird, and edgy, and you have yourself a song worth listening to.
So, I researched all of the Top 10 songs of 2016 (according to Billboard.com), and I found 58 songs that were extremely popular in 2016. It just so happens that 10 of these songs (with two honorable mentions) were also rather deep and had interesting things to say. So, today my beautiful wife April and I discuss these songs and what exactly their meanings are (and, in April's case, why I might be wrong). Enjoy!
Clean Bandit, who has been touring with Zara Larsson, just released a new soon-to-be-hit single with the singer. Despite using the word "symphony" eight times, "Symphony" has got a strong dance beat and heavy synth, and sounds custom made for the club. But that's what one expects from Clean Bandit. And also as expected from Clean Bandit," Symphony's" music video has a strong emotional meaning. The music video shows a man recovering after the death of his boyfriend/husband. But does the song itself reflect this depth of meaning?
Lorde just released her newest song from Melodrama. And when I say "just," I mean "just." "Liability" is less than hour old, but it's already easy to hear how good it is. Interestingly, it's a different style from anything from Pure Heroine. The song sounds more singer-songwriter than any of the dark, synthy pop on Pure Heroine, but the lyrics are still angsty, dark, and sad. It's the same Lorde even if she sounds a little different in "Liability."
If you actually want to be hypnotized, the Coldplay lyric video for "Hypnotised" should do the trick for you. There's lots of slow motion water, flowers, bubbles, and landscapes. Combine that with the incredibly dream-like state the music itself will put you in, and you're really not going to have a chance against Chris Martin and the rest of Coldplay.
Folks, I love Lorde's music...like a lot. And so I'm really excited to be explaining "Green Light" by her, from her upcoming album Melodrama. This song is excellent, and I think you'll enjoy this unique and original look at heartbreak and the process of getting over heartbreak and what comes after. Lorde uses some pretty unique tactics in her song, and I think she pulls them off really well.
This is one of my favorite songs of 2017 because it's so deep compared to most pop songs. There are several allusions and many metaphors and symbols in here, and it's a very worthwhile song to try to figure out. You may not agree with the politics of "Chained to the Rhythm," but it's worth your time to try to understand it and grapple with the issues being mentioned here. Enjoy everyone!
I should preface this by saying that I'm a huge Lorde fan, but I won't let that color my explanation and analysis of her song. Pure Heroine was the first time, personally, that a new album came out that I could listen to straight through and then start again. Every song on that record was amazing, and I loved them all. It opened me up to the new experience of listening to an album as a whole, which is more difficult than you might think in a world that runs on singles.
“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.
