Cool Kid - The Eeries

(link to song)
"Cool Kid" by the Eeries is lyrically a relatively simple, yet nonetheless wonderful song. The sound of the song will always remind me of a more modernized version of something the Smashing Pumpkins would record. The song in general has a very late 90's rock feel to it. It emanates a feeling of gratitude for true friends and all of the time spent with them, no matter how seemingly insignificant it may be. This track is so interesting because while the tune sounds generally happy, the lyrics are soaking in irony throughout the entire duration of the song.

The track begins with describing a simple game of truth or dare- "tell a lie, or cut your hair", something innocent enough that pretty much every person has played with their friends at one point or another. The vocalist then immediately says "I think you'll look real pretty", suggesting that the girl will choose dare rather than truth because she does not want to reveal her secrets to people. Next, he goes on to say "you're so hip it makes me sick", obviously stating that being "hip", or conforming with what everyone else sees as "cool", is legitimately sickening to him.

The phrase "come down and come on over" is alluding to spending the time coming down from a drug while with somebody else in order to make it feel less terrible and less saddening. This phrase is followed by "happy and so hungover", a probably sarcastic remark since it is difficult to be happy while hungover, and especially difficult to be happy while coming down, even if this time is spent with a best friend. Then, he sings "oh my god, I'll say whatever, whatever", which is yet another sarcastic couple of lines because the artist is poking fun at those who literally will say anything in order to try to seem "cool" in front of others.

Irony is utilized even more during the chorus- "Here comes the weekend, hanging out with my best friend, wish I was a cool kid". The juxtaposition of the term "best friend" next to "wish I was a cool kid" is pure sarcasm because what he actually means is that he'd take spending time with his best friend over "being a cool kid" any day since he knows that while he may be different than other people, at least he actually has legitimate and true friends that truly understand him and get along with him.

"Hide and seek in all the creases in your teeth" is an interesting line because while it is mentioning a childish game similar to that in the first verse, this is a bit darker sounding and is less hidden in irony, possibly representing the lyricist becoming more honest with himself in how he feels upset about being an "outsider" and not being a "cool kid", even though he suggests many times that he does not wish to be one anyway.
The line "aspartame, I like the buzzing in my brain" is very clever for two reasons. First, aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is known to have been found in many popular foods, candies, etc., and this symbolizes the artificial nature of "cool kids" and their "friends" who are not actual, true friends. Secondly, this line is yet another display of irony because aspartame also has been known to be linked to cancer, and the fact that he says he 'likes the buzzing in his brain' anyway is ironic because while he is well aware of his self-destructive habits, he focuses on other things instead and does nothing to try to change his ways because he feels comfortable.

Overall, Cool Kid is a genius song, despite the fact that it actually does not even have that many lyrics. The intense amount of irony makes for very clever lyrics that can be seen from multiple different perspectives.

Give Me Hope - New Politics

(link to song)
If I had to choose a single song that reminds me most of last summer, it would be this one, without a doubt. Why?

Last summer, I was unfortunate enough to have to attend summer school for Algebra 2. I almost failed the second semester of the course during the year, and that was far too embarrassing to keep on my transcripts, so I decided I should retake it as soon as possible. While it was only for about three weeks, it (of course) seemed like forever. However, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected- the teacher would instruct for about ten minutes, and then the rest of the daily four hours would consist of me listening to music on my phone and doing practice work. The class was full of some very interesting characters, which kept it from ever being a boring day. Although I did have to wake up early for a lot of the summer, it was worth it because by the time I would come home from class, all of my friends would just then be waking up, and they'd come over and swim in the pool with me all day.

What kept me motivated through the daily lessons was this one thing I had been looking forward to for all of summer and for much of the school year: on the last day of summer school, I was seeing Fall out Boy, Paramore, and New Politics at Merriweather Post Pavilion with about five or six of my best friends. These were three of my absolute favorite bands at the time, and I could not wait to be able to see them in concert again. Every day in class I would listen to all of their songs in order to prepare myself for the show, and the one that stuck with me most and gives me the most memories of the summer was "Give Me Hope", probably because of the fact that it talks about summer in the very first line.

Finally, the day came. I took my final exam for Algebra 2, speeding through it as I anticipated the concert later that night.

As soon as we made it into the venue, we all sat down on the lawn, and one of my friends started ferociously ripping at his quilt, trying to yank it open from a small, sewn-together part that appeared to be a rip at some point. Once he got it open, he used his arm to search inside for five cleverly hidden bottles of a rather distinct-tasting Gin and Dr. Pepper concoction. We all began drinking right away, and by the time New Politics came on, I was already rather intoxicated. I remember feeling nothing other than pure bliss, and thinking to myself over and over, "this is literally the happiest I have ever been in my entire life". Although that was most definitely not true, it worked for the moment, and was all that mattered to me at the moment. For every song New Politics played, I was singing at the top of my lungs (and dancing too), while everybody else was sitting down. I was somehow aware of how stupid I looked, but I didn't care. I was so fucking happy and I didn't care who could tell!

The night went on and was everything I expected and more. It was a perfect way to end the summer, and a perfect way to reward myself for surviving summer school.

This song in itself "gives me hope"- hope that even though this year has pretty much been absolute hell for me, I will get better by the time summer comes around and will be able to find that same level of happiness again. Hope that despite my anxiety, depression, ADD, and insomnia problems, I will find joy again and be able to spend my last summer living here as happy as I have spent all the former ones. Hope that I will find myself again and be able to start college as who I really am, and not as that one depressed girl.

My Blue Heaven- Taking Back Sunday

Lyric Video

"My Blue Heaven" is an emotion-filled, pop-punk song by the band Taking Back Sunday from Long Island, NY. What makes this track so interesting is not only the wonderful musical aspects, but also the multiple different ways that fans have chosen to interpret the lyrics.

The song begins slow, quiet, and higher-pitched, but gradually gets heavier and louder as it reaches the chorus. The chorus is catchy and passionate, making the song a favorite to many. You can hear the pain and regret in the voice throughout the song, giving it great emotion.

Some of the lyrics in the first verse, "adulterous spin-cycled submission" cause some people to interpret it as a song where the vocalist is admitting to cheating, then later is asking his wife for forgiveness over and over by the end, when he belts out, "I'm just asking you to hear me", and "am I coming through?!". 

Others see the song in a different way- people have said the believe it is a sad tale of unrequited love. The lyricist calls himself both "a patient boy and a jealous man", which could suggest that he has feelings for a girl who he is willing to wait for even though it may be hard- he mentions "twisted heartbreak" as well. In the bridge, he states "we swing and we sway", possibly suggesting he is getting mixed signals from this girl, and finally, "it's you I can't deny" could mean that no matter what this girl does, he will still always feel the same way about her and no matter how hard he tries he cannot move past her.

While both of these theories make sense, neither of them actually were the true reasons the song was written. Taking Back Sunday frontman Adam Lazzara confirmed in an interview that he actually wrote the song about his faith. Knowing that, the lyrics can be seen in a completely new way- a broken man has fallen from his once-strong faith over time, and eventually gets to a point where he does a reality check and repents to God, praying for forgiveness even though he knows that what he is saying is "all too familiar" to God. After he prays, he finally feels safe again- "this tiny voice in my head starts to say you are safe, child, you are safe".   

The Ballad of Sal Villanueva - Taking Back Sunday

(Link to Song) 
(Lyrics)

Let me start off this post by saying I believe this is probably the most underrated Taking Back Sunday song in existence! The sound and lyrics are both wonderful and it definitely deserves more attention. That being said, here's what I think about the lyrics. 

While I have seen this debated by fans over and over before, there is no doubt in my mind that The Ballad of Sal Villanueva is about a boy who is upset because he has become attached to a girl who is his "friends with benefits", and he constantly is jealous as he thinks about her hooking up with other guys besides him. This song is supposed to be a letter he originally wrote to let the girl know what he thinks about her, but in the last line of the song it is revealed that it's actually just another that he will end up not sending. 

Right from the start, the lyricist begins with saying that "it's not that I don't trust you, I just know what you've been up to", which is almost an oxymoron- he sounds as if he is lying to himself, tricking himself into seeing a false illusion of trust, when actually he knows the truth which should give him much reason not to trust this girl. She is sleeping with guys besides him, despite the fact that she may lie to him about this in order to keep their "friendship" strong. She is probably avoiding any real conversation with him in order to avoid having to tell him the truth- "this dial tone is agreeing with everything I've had in mind".

He goes on to angrily tell her that while she hooks up with this other guy, (or possibly THESE other guyS), he "won't say a thing", oh-so-graciously protecting his "friend"s reputation, because "you can't blame a girl for sticking to what she knows"- which is just him blatantly calling her a skank. 

Next, the vocalist screams out sarcastic wishes for this girl's sexual adventures with the other, telling her that he "hope[s] he takes his time". The song takes a sad turn when the jealous boy admits he "hopes he keeps [her] eyes closed tight" because it upsets him to think of her seeing any boy make love to her besides himself. When he tells her he hopes what "when he leaves, you still smell him on your sheets cause I can, I can", he is saying that he wants her to realize that what she is doing is hurting her friend, and wants her to feel guilty about it, therefore hurting herself too. 

The repeated lines saying "you're down for sellin' me out while I play dumb, it's cool cause I let you, thought I'd never catch you, you'd say 'we're only friends.' yeah, real good friends, I bet. I bet" depict the singer finally admitting to himself that he wants something more than to be just "friends with benefits" so that he has her all to himself. The whole time they had this type of relationship, it clearly meant more to the boy than it did to the girl, resulting in jealousy and sadness. 

Finally, his anger returns once he tells the girl to "forget your legs around my hips. forget your hands pressed on my back. forget the letters that I kept. this is another I won't send. forget your lips, your eyes, your thighs. forget our one last kiss goodnight. forget me stakin' out your house. forget I've got you figured out." is the way that he wants to tell her that he is finished with her since she will not commit to him, although he clearly does not possess the strength to let her know. He wants to communicate his anger and pain to her, but he ends up whimping out again, and not sending the letter to her. He is well-aware of the pain that keeping it going is causing to himself, yet he is choosing to keep quiet rather than telling her because he does not want to lose what little connection he actually does have with her, even if it really is only physical. 

(And about that pesky title that TBS fans just looove to argue about- Sal Villanueva is in fact a record producer as well as the very man who helped Long Island Records develop Taking Back Sunday, and this song was supposedly titled after him as a joke. Although I have no definite source to tell whether this is in fact true or false, it seems that most signs point to it being true, but I have seen it rumored many times that the reason it is never performed live because it is offensive to Villanueva, suggesting that it may actually be a true story about him.)

Twin Size Mattress- The Front Bottoms

“There’s an amount to take, reasons to take more” - these lines play over and over (”on repeat in the back of my mind”), haunting me every morning and night as I take the definitely unnecessary amount of medications prescribed to me for my ‘mental illnesses’, debating whether or not I should take an extra adderall today or an extra clonazepam tonight. I hate being on so many medications, especially because of the zero signs of improvement I have seen since I had started taking them.

However, later in the song I am brought to peace- “this is for the lake that me and my friends swim in, naked and dumb on a drunken night”- as I am taken back to some of the many unforgettable nights of me and my friends doing exactly that- drunkenly swimming in a lake, (well the Potomac River actually). I even drop my phone in the water at one point, breaking it instantly, but I do not even care because of the pure bliss I am already feeling at the time. I do not think that there is any level of sadness that cannot be cured through getting drunk and skinny dipping with two of your best friends.

You’re So Last Summer- Taking Back Sunday

Laying down next to me in the grassy, dew-covered field is Ryan- his balled-up jacket placed under our heads to serve as a pillow. The stars are gazing down at us as we hopelessly attempt to identify constellations, laughing as we eventually give up and start to make up up our own. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the beautiful boy who is next to me, holding my small and timid hand in his; but at the same time I feel a strange type of peace. A specific peace where the whole world feels like it has stopped around me; all that matters is this exact moment, everything else is okay, yet my heart is beating through my entire body, about to explode at any second. This exact spot behind the playground in the middle of the comfortably humid summer night is all that matters to me. He leans over and kisses me, the first time I have ever been kissed, and nothing else matters to me. Dumb, thirteen-year-old me did not yet realize that “boys like [him] are a dime a dozen”.

I treasure every night I spend over the summer sneaking out to spend time with Ryan, because he is a senior, and I am a mere sophomore who will soon see no more of him once he leaves for college. I share everything with him. My favorite movies, songs, TV shows. My dreams, desires, and fears. He fills my heart to the brim with lies about how much he cares about me, and I buy it all, until I find out he has another “girlfriend” behind my back. At first, I do not say anything about it, because I fear of losing the happiness I feel every time I am with him. I make myself completely vulnerable to him- it is almost like “the truth is [he] could slit my throat, and with my one last gasping breath I’d apologize for bleeding on his shirt”…

Finally, I confront him about it, and he explains to me that I am silly for thinking anything real could happen between us, for we were far too young to expect anything to come out of our “summer fling”, as he called it. He is the first boy I have really fallen for, and the first boy who has ever shut me down in such a way.

I am now about to graduate from high school. I do not look back on this experience with anger or hatred, for it was my first taste of heartbreak, and I was going to have to experience it at some point. (But, then again, “maybe I should hate [him] for this”)! I just find it humorously yet dismally ironic how much he enjoyed the song “You’re So Last Summer” when I first had him listen to it.