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.