Category Archives: Song Analysis

Song Analysis #20: Fenech-Soler – In Our Blood

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Title: ‘In Our Blood’
Where to find it: ‘Rituals’ (2013, B-Unique)
Performed by: Fenech-Soler
Words by: Ben Duffy

Lines have blurred between dance music and pop, but dance is and has always been a different animal to rock. I like to dance, and I also like to rock. But it has always bothered me so much when I encountered the snooty type of rock aficionado who would widely and loudly dismiss all dance music. (Dance music aficionados don’t do that. They’re too busy having fun…dancing.) While I would be the first to admit that a lot of dance music today isn’t intellectual, it’s not supposed to be. Good dance music should be judged on how well it gets the job done: does it get people on the floor to dance? If yes, a dance song can be said to be a success. And a lot of the time, the best dance songs work their magic by reminding you about that girl or boy you fancy and how much you want to be with him or her. Or by simply helping you forget your troubles for that moment in time as the infectious rhythms take you away.

During the first music festival I ever covered, Dot to Dot in Nottingham in 2009, I spoke to then rising star and frontman Ed Macfarlane of Friendly Fires, and he said he wanted their music to be escapist, because that’s what he felt successful dance music did. We got into a friendly argument over this, because up to that point, I had only been a music writer for a couple months and prior to becoming a writer, I’d viewed most music as equal in weight and I have loved so much dance prior to that, it never occurred to me that dance music would be considered lesser by a good majority of the people in the music business. Was I in for an education… It even bothers me to this day that some people view Friendly Fires as a lightweight band; I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing them and meeting them several times, and they’re just lovely, genuine people with a true love of music. They, along with any other dance / dance/pop band out today, are making music that they love and want to share with the world and no-one – not even some snooty rock aficionado – has the right to criticise them. So what if you consider the lyrics simple and escapist? If the music brings people joy, shut up.

However, you should know there are some dance songs out there that are disguised as multi-colour confetti, hands in the air without a care in the world-type affairs but in actuality, have deeper meaning and darker undercurrents. ‘In Our Blood’, Fenech-Soler’s next single, is one of those songs. Funnily enough, Fenech-Soler came out shortly after Friendly Fires did, and were immediately compared to them, even though I’ve always sensed more of a tropical vibe in Friendly Fires whereas Fenech-Soler was more hardcore electronic. Fenech-Soler were also compared to Delphic, which is ultimately how I became aware of them: a couple years ago, being native Mancunians, Delphic curated a sold-out Manchester Warehouse Project show and Fenech-Soler were one of the bands they’d personally invited to play on the night. Naturally, I investigated who Fenech-Soler were – learning that they were even more electronic than even Delphic and their electro-rock/pop were – and proceeded to fall in love with ‘Lies’ and ‘Demons’. It’s kind of strange for my head to wrap around the fact that I’ve seen Fenech-Soler in Manchester before (opening for Example a couple days after my birthday 2 years ago), yet I’ve never seen Delphic there, and perhaps even stranger, Fenech-Soler have a better handle of what’s I’m up to these days than either Friendly Fires or Delphic do. Singer and lyricist Ben Duffy has given me priceless encouragement as I’ve been Editor at TGTF, encouragement I needed and have been grateful for. Both bands took their time – a whole 3 years – to work on and release their sophomore albums this year, and in that album vs. album battle, Fenech-Soler came out on top. I’ve mentioned on this site that I’m clairvoyant: well, ‘In Our Blood’ was my choice to be their next single and this past weekend they just announced that it would be. You put two and two together 🙂

First, the words:

Verse 1
Time after time out on the floor, it’s killing us
Some nights we’re just letting go, it’s not enough
Lovers fade, lovers walk
Either way, people talk, but
Nothing else matters anymore.

Pre-chorus
Sunrise, don’t wait up,
I’m going to get lost in the dark

Chorus
I don’t want to go back home,
Silver light flooding through our bones,
Chemical in the dark, beat in our hearts,
I don’t want to go home,
Don’t want to go home.

 

It’s in our blood, it’s in our blood,
It’s in our blood, in our blood tonight
Even if I have to dance alone,
I don’t want to go home,
don’t want to go home

Verse 2
Follow the sounds, yeah, we’re animals
When we’re together, we never fall
We can start again, start a war
Either way, this is who we are
So let’s get lost in the dark

Chorus
I don’t want to go back home,
Silver light flooding through our bones,
Chemical in the dark, beat in our hearts,
I don’t want to go home,
Don’t want to go home.

 

It’s in our blood, it’s in our blood,
It’s in our blood, in our blood tonight
Even if I have to dance alone,
I don’t want to go home,
don’t want to go home

Now, the analysis:

Part of the reason I wanted to do this analysis: I was concerned those snooty rock people I mentioned earlier might draw the unnecessary (and from my best guess, also incorrect) conclusion that this song is about drugs, because yes, dance parties do tend to attract drugs and drug users. (But so do rock shows!) And I can see where this could come from – “it’s in our blood”, “silver light flooding through our bones”, “chemical in the dark” – if you had just the lyrics in front of you and had no idea who Fenech-Soler are, if they were musicians, if they wrote dance music, etc. So if you fall into that category, you’re forgiven. If you’ve never heard this song, I implore you, queue up the stream at the bottom of this post before proceeding any further. As I said in the lengthy introduction, this is a song that requires closer investigation because all is now what it seems. From the word go, this song has a party vibe, but imagine your surprise that you’re in fact we’re witnessing something far more serious!

Let’s tackle verse 1 first, shall we? Ben Duffy is taking us to…the dance floor (“time after time out on the floor”). No surprise there. But he isn’t alone. He’s bringing the apple of his eye, his lover, what have you. This is the place where they have been together so many times. And he’s using the physical act of dancing with the person he cares about as a metaphor for their relationship. “It’s killing us” isn’t meant to be taken literally, it’s saying their relationship is dying. “Some nights we’re letting go, it’s not enough” seems to indicate what’s left is the last vestiges of their relationship, and they’re barely holding on with their fingertips. What is left isn’t enough to sustain love.

“Lovers fade, lovers walk / Either way, people talk, but / Nothing else matters anymore”: he’s come to the uncomfortable conclusion that life goes on, it doesn’t matter what people are saying about us. The relationship is over, and he is being kind of fatalistic about it. The pre-chorus sounds hopeful in its build-up, as he tells the “sunrise, don’t wait up” because “I’m going to get lost in the dark”. Even though he knows the relationship is over, he can’t really face up to it in the stark light of day. So he retreats to the place where he can drown his sorrows. And dance.

Then begins what I consider one of the best, if not the best chorus on all of ‘Rituals’. (For more on the album, read my review here on TGTF.) He insists, “I don’t want to go back home”, because going home, he’d have to face the end. When you’re in a dance club and you’re a dance music fan, the incredible high you get moving your body to a song that you love is second to none. You feel it in your bones, you feel it in your veins, you feel it “in our blood”. Note he says, “in our blood”, not “in my blood” or “in your blood”. Even if when the morning comes and it’s all over, right here on the dance floor, he still feels there is still a glimmer of hope that the two of them have a chance to make it because they share this night. The saddest part of the chorus for me is when Duffy sings, “even if I have to dance alone, I don’t want to go home, don’t want to go home”: again, he’s accepted the end of the relationship, but he’s not taking this lying down. Literally. He is going to spend this night, the last moments before his heart truly has to give in, dancing and trying to delay the pain he’s already starting to feel.

Verse 2 supports the idea that he thinks there might be a chance to save what they have, because when they are a team, they’re unstoppable: “When we’re together, we never fall”. However, he’s pragmatic: “We can start again, start a war / Either way, this is who we are”: he’s saying I can’t change who I am, and I know you can’t change who you are. If we try and start over, we might just end up fighting again, and if this happens, we shouldn’t blame ourselves because this is our nature. But he offers his hand with, “So let’s get lost in the dark”, for what will likely be their last dance. If you take this all in, ‘In Our Blood’ is both celebratory and poignant. And it’s brilliant what Fenech-Soler have done here. Absolutely brilliant. (For another example of Fenech-Soler in fine form, check out earlier ‘Rituals’ single ‘All I Know’.)

Something else that great dance music gives you: hope, in the form of euphoria. I’ve been blasting my watermarked promo copy of ‘Rituals’ in my car the last couple of weeks and it’s been giving me a much needed injection of life. Whoever said dance music lacks true emotion needs a lobotomy. You just haven’t been listening to the right kind of dance. I pity the person who can’t loosen themselves up and just dance and lose themselves in the music.

Lastly, the song, updated now with its video after this article posted. I’m really pleased this will be the next single off ‘Rituals’ – it couldn’t have been any other song in my mind – and the band has promised a promo video is forthcoming soon.

Song Analysis #19: Keane – Can’t Stop Now

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Title: ‘Can’t Stop Now’
Where to find it: ‘Hopes and Fears’ (2004, Island)
Performed by: Keane
Words by: Tim Rice-Oxley

Lately, I’ve been thinking about Keane. A lot. About a week ago, the Twittersphere was all abuzz about their decision to split up. Then singer Tom Chaplin took it all back, saying it was taken out of context and what they really wanted to do was to take a break and concentrate on their own projects. Likely story, Tom. (I wrote a retrospective on the band here for TGTF.) More likely, they will only return to roll out the singles on a gurney for a greatest hits tour, in some time in the future to be determined when they’re not as successful as Keane was. And let’s face it, Keane are (and were) a behemoth in terms of piano rock giants. Millions upon millions of records and concert tickets sold, millions upon millions of fans across the globe.

For myself though, I can credit the absolutely beautiful voice of Tom Chaplin and the brilliant songwriting of Tim Rice-Oxley on getting me through some very tough times in my life these last couple of years. I recently was cleaning up my hard drive and came across an image I’d found on the internet and saved. It read, in stark white lettering across a black background, “If you could kill yourself without hurting the ones you love, would you do it? In a heartbeat.” It’s funny how a song can transport you back to another you, another time, another place, when emotions were running at an all-time high…and when you might have wanted to kill yourself. This is not that song. (Read the retrospective at the TGTF link above and you will suss which one I’m speaking of.)

I absolutely adore Keane’s debut album and it stands the test of time as an amazing collection of songs. What’s very interesting in that in my research on the retrospective, I had a listen to the entirety of ‘Hopes and Fears’ and was reminded just how good a lyricist Rice-Oxley is and how much I am going to miss Chaplin singing them. A lot of people describe the Smiths as being so unique in that Morrissey‘s lyrics were often so dark and emotional, yet witty. In my experience, the only people that can truly “get” Morrissey’s lyrics for what they are and aren’t the type to say, “the Smiths are so depressing, they make me want to slit my wrists!”, they are the people that have experienced the same kind of pain and sorrow. Keane isn’t known as a similarly depressing band, or even an emotional one. People who aren’t fans and the media are quick to assume they must be a fluff band, if they’re so popular and mainstream. I know for myself, I have listened to quite a few of their songs and just cried and cried and cried because I felt the emotion of the words. Fluff band? Hardly.

First, the words:

Verse 1
I noticed tonight that the world has been turning
While I’ve been stuck here dithering around
Though I know I said I’d wait around till you need me
But I have to go, I hate to let you down

Chorus
But I can’t stop now
I’ve got troubles of my own
Cause I’m short on time
I’m lonely
And I’m too tired to talk

Verse 2
I noticed tonight that the world has been turning
While I’ve been stuck here withering away
Though I know I said I wouldn’t leave you behind
But I have to go, it breaks my heart to say

Chorus
That I can’t stop now
I’ve got troubles of my own
Cause I’m short on time
I’m lonely
And I’m too tired to talk

Chorus-flavoured bridge
To no one back home
I’ve got troubles of my own
And I can’t slow down
For no one in town
And I can’t stop now

And I can’t slow down
For no one in town
And I can’t stop now
For no one

Outro
The motion keeps my heart running
The motion keeps my heart running
The motion keeps my heart running
The motion keeps my heart running

Now, the analysis:

Most people listening to this song assume it must be about a relationship. But I like how it can be interpreted a couple different ways, and for me, it speaks to not wanting to stay in one place for very long, and wondering about the impermanence of life and all that goes on within life. I can also relate to the impatience, of not wanting to slow down, afraid of missing chances. To be honest, the fact that I’m even alive here typing this for you to read is a big shocker to me; when I was a child, I was given news from my doctor that sounded like a death sentence. I’ve always known that any day, the thread of my life could be cut and it would be out of my control. I’ve had a couple of close calls (all acute medical situations that I had no control over whatsoever), and after each one of these almost deaths, there is something in me that worries about the kind of legacy I leave when it finally comes time for me to leave this plane. Will my existence even matter to anyone after I’m gone. I also worry about never finding my great love. I have tried several times now and every time I lose in the game of love, the amount of discouragement increases.

A couple years ago, after my second horribly bad experience, I made a pledge to myself: never stay in one place emotionally long enough, and you will never get hurt. If you keep moving and not concentrate on one person, you never commit your heart, so that person will never get inside your heart and hurt you. That was the theory, anyway. The problem for me is, I am so open-hearted and love so fully, the process of love always hurts me so badly. In this song, our protagonist is feeling guilty about not wanting to be the rock, the support system for someone who is not loving him back, and he wants to step away from the situation. I question if this is a case of unrequited love, a condition I have fallen into so many times. At your best, you feel this hope that one day the person you love is going to come round and realise just what a great person you really are. And love you. You think if you wait on the sidelines, providing encouragement, support, and friendship, that day will come someday. Maybe it does for some people, and for them, I’m happy. But for others, it can lead to an entirely soul-destroying, self-esteem crushing existence when that person cannot grasp what you feel for them, and they go out with someone else, unaware of how badly this is killing you.

Why is he feeling this guilt? Because deep down, he truly feels love for her and wants to be there for her. Before this moment, he never would have dreamed of walking away from her, even if emotionally she couldn’t give him what he needs and wants. But he’s come to the point where he realises he has been stuck in one place, waiting for the words “I love you” from her that will never come, and he hasn’t been living his life. By stepping away, he can remove the ties that bind him to her and try to make a life of his own, one that does not include her. As in ‘The End of the World’, he’s also realised around him the world has continued going on without him. Some of us tend to have our blinders on when we’re in love, and nothing in our lives matters more than the object of our affection. The fact that he’s realised he’s been wasting time waiting for the woman to recognise him and in the long run he will not be successful is a painful, yet necessary step in his acceptance that things between them will not change for the better.

I find the chorus particularly poignant. If she could hear him speaking, if she really knew how he felt about her, she would know how lonely he was without her. Instead, he’s having to kind of cut her off in the middle of a thought with “But I can’t stop now / I’ve got troubles of my own / Cause I’m short on time”. It sounds like when you’re talking to someone on the phone and they say they’ve got to go. Maybe I’m too sensitive, but I get really offended when someone does that to me, especially in this day and age when so few of us pick up the telephone and talk to someone and I haven’t talked to that person in a long time. He’s trying desperately to be unemotional, to not listen to the hurt in his heart.

Having to state “I’ve got troubles on my own” hits hard, because it’s clear he has to say it out loud because she has never realised he had his own trials to deal with. Quite possibly, he has shoved aside any problems in his own life whenever she was around, so that he could be fully able to come to the rescue in case she needed help, but in so doing, he was putting her first and him second (or more likely, putting himself way, way, way down on the priority list, as in the case of us perpetual “givers”, we would give the shirts off our own backs in order to help a friend and never think twice that we should be #1 in priority). In unrequited love, whether or not this is due to narcissist tendencies on the other person or not, the target of our love seems or acts oblivious to the emotions of the other person. This makes unrequited love even worse: our protagonist feels so much for her, but she barely notices him, if she does at all. Any “normal” action she takes, such as showing attraction to another man, is equivalent to stabbing him in the heart.

The poignancy is also marked by the way Rice-Oxley has chosen Chaplin’s vocal notes to go up, starting at “time”, and then again for “I’m lonely and…” There is an uplifting yet also emotionally charged feeling the rise offers, and then appropriately, the notes come back down for “I’m too tired to talk”. He’s tired of the situation and now, he’s going to do something about it. It’s a hard thing to do, and he is crying all the while he is contemplating it, but he’s got to go through with it. The deceptively sprightly song also ends with a chord. As played by Rice-Oxley, this chord is so dark, almost funereal. If there was any question on the gravity of the substance of the song, there isn’t one anymore. That, my friends, is the sound of pain.

The words from the bridge of “And I can’t slow down / For no one in town / And I can’t stop now”, as well as the repeated words of “the motion keeps my heart running” in the outro, is reminiscent of the plot of the Doves song ‘There Goes the Fear’, in which Jimi Goodwin sings about running away to keep going and go on to better things, but to think of him after you’ve gone, though this is for the best: “Think of me when you close your eyes / But don’t look back when you break all ties.” If this song is really about a relationship that cannot be fixed, then both songs can be taken as good advice. What Rice-Oxley is saying in ‘Can’t Stop Now’ is no-one should be staying in one place in the hope that a broken love can be salvaged. No, the best way forward is for the protagonist is walk away from the situation, so both of them can move and heal.

It often feels in this Facebook age like if you’re refusing to be around and interact with someone who meant so much to you in the past that you’re the one who is being rude and unfriendly. This is also part of his guilt: “I said I’d wait around till you need me” and “I know I said I wouldn’t leave you behind” say he feels he’s breaking his promises to her, even as a friend. But sometimes walking away from a situation that can’t be fixed isn’t a sign of being a bad friend. It’s the realisation and acceptance of the situation. It’s giving him the chance to live his life, and giving both of them space. And letting both people move on.

Lastly, the song, baby Keane, live on Jools Holland in 2004.

 

Song Analysis #18: The Wedding Present – Brassneck

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Title: ‘Brassneck’
Where to find it: ‘Bizarro’ (1989, RCA)
Performed by: The Wedding Present
Words by: David Gedge

The Wedding Present’s principal songwriter David Gedge helped his band make a living off the lovelorn and the process of breaking up, and probably none more so than ‘Brassneck’ conveys this frustration so perfectly. The song should kind of be self-explanatory, but I think he’s got a really interesting plot in here, which I will explore. Clearly, the man he was when he wrote the song in the late ’90s was very conflicted about how he felt about a lover and what she meant to him. And why he’s having trouble letting go.

First, the words: (updated 24/10/2013 with the lyrics as kindly provided by David himself; the version I interpreted has been moved to the bottom of this post, under the video)

No, I sent you that letter to ask you if the end was worth the means
Was there really no in-between?
And I still don’t feel better
I just wondered if it could be like before and I think you just made me sure
But then that’s typically you
And I might have been a bit rude but I wrote it in a bad mood
I’m not being funny with you
But it’s hard to be engaging when the things you love keep changing

Brassneck
Brassneck
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore

The first time you came over do you remember saying then you’d stay for good?
No, I didn’t think you would
Well, we couldn’t have been closer
But it was different then
And that’s all in the past… there, I’ve said it now at last
You grew up quicker than me
I kept so many old things; I never quite stopped hoping
I think I know what it means
It means I’ve got to grow up, it means you want to throw up

Brassneck
Brassneck
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore

I just know you weren’t listening were you?
Oh, please go, whenever you prefer to
I said it means a lot, when you use an old phrase
But then so what?
We can’t have it both ways
And I know you’re not bothered are you?
Even so, I’m not going to argue
He won’t object, keep writing to me
Just don’t forget you ever knew me

Now, the analysis:

From what I see online, “brass neck” is a term used regionally in Yorkshire (where the Wedding Present originated, in Leeds) to describe someone with nerve, balls, call it what you will. This person can be rude and cheeky, usually in an alarming, public way. In this song, Gedge is calling out this woman with the term, using it in the title and the chorus, the latter of which he’s saying, “how dare you!” She’s done something to lose his trust (“I just decided I don’t trust you anymore”) but only during the choruses is he emphatic about being wronged, of feeling like things are not what they used to be.

The verses tell an entirely different story. In verse 1, he is acknowledging he’s written a letter to her, asking if the breakup, presumably initiated by her, was really the right course of action (“No, I sent you that letter to ask you if the end was worth the means / Was there really no in-between?”) before admitting he feels no better having gone to her for an explanation (“And I still don’t feel better”) before practically begging for things to go back to the way they were (“just wondered if it could be like before”). It’s heartbreaking. And that’s just the first four lines.

The second half of verse 1 is where he shows his anger, recognising that the letter he wrote to her was filled with vitriol (“I might have been a bit rude / But I wrote it in a bad mood”) but justifies his anger (“I’m not being funny with you but it’s hard to be engaging / When the things you love keep changing”). They say love is blind. But when you’ve been wronged in love, a similar phenomenon occurs. When you’ve been hurt, when your heart’s been broken, you’re blinded by your anger. You’re seething. Nothing is the same anymore. Imagery that I think is criminally underused in song is a mirror: you have this idea of what your lover looks like through your own eyes. You see them in image form all the time in front of you, even if they’re not physically there. But when a relationship ends, it’s usually because you learned something about them that completely changed the way you looked at them, not necessarily in the physical form but maybe how you viewed them through their virtues, spirituality, values. That mirror with that perfect image is now broken. Gedge had trouble writing that letter to his lover because who he was writing to was no longer the woman he had fallen in love with.

Verse 2 acknowledges the closeness the two of them felt and he’s throwing it out there. I feel like they started out as best friends when they were younger, but things changed after they became intimate: “Well we couldn’t have been closer, but it was different then and that’s all in the past / There, I’ve said it now at last.” He goes on to say that he was holding on to the hope that she would come round, that things would go back to what he remembered, having “kept so many old things / I never stopped quite hoping”.

The first half of Verse 3 is Gedge trying to downplay his lover’s influence in his life, that maybe she wasn’t really keen on what he had to say and it’s better that she’s out of his life now (“I just know you weren’t listening, were you? / Oh, please go whenever you prefer to”). He also accepts, “We can’t have it both ways.” My guess on this line is he’s saying that he doesn’t want to be her friend and lover, it’s either one or the other.

This verse also features the first mention of the other man. And also how their former love was ‘consummated’ through letters to each other: “He won’t object, keep writing to me”. It’s a little brass neck-y, actually, to say such a thing, that surely your new lover won’t mind if you and I keep having our own meeting of the minds on paper? Cheeky, Gedge. Very cheeky. The last line really gets me: “Just don’t forget you ever knew me.” He’s terrified that with her moving on, she’ll forget him and what they had together. Even when we’re in the worst throes directly following a breakup and you seemingly hate the other person causing you so much emotional pain, I think even if it’s only for fleeting moments at the beginning of the breakup fallout, we all worry that the person who meant so much to us during that period of our life will throw us away, throw away those memories because how can we as human beings exist if we don’t exist in the mind and heart of that person we once loved?

I also want to note that the transcription of the lyrics above come from the below performance at SXSW 2012, where Gedge makes an interesting change in words the second time the chorus comes around. Suddenly he’s saying, “I just decided I don’t love you anymore,” which kind of sounds out of character, given what’s about to come in verse 3. I’m not sure why he changed it; the original from the ‘Bizarro’ album sounds like, “you just decided I don’t need me anymore”, which makes more sense. Hmm. Maybe in his later years, Gedge decided it was better for them to part? Food for thought. I love it when songs age and the songwriter makes changes to the words: they are, after all his (or hers) to do so with. My hats off to you, Mister Gedge. You’ve written a brilliant song.

Lastly, the song, the Wedding Present performing the song live at SXSW 2012, as filmed by Seattle indie rock station KEXP at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop.

Original version of the lyrics I used for this interpretation, before David Gedge sent me the actual lyrics that I have cut and pasted into this post above.

Verse 1
No, I sent you that letter to ask you if the end was worth the means
Was there really no in-between?
And I still don’t feel better, just wondered if it could be like before
And I think you just made me sure

But then that’s typically you and I might have been a bit rude
But I wrote it in a bad mood
I’m not being funny with you but it’s hard to be engaging
When the things you love keep changing

Chorus
Brassneck
Brassneck
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore

Verse 2
First time you came over, do you remember saying then you’d stay for good?
No, I didn’t think you would
Well we couldn’t have been closer, but it was different then and that’s all in the past
There, I’ve said it now at last

You grew up quicker than me, I kept so many old things
I never stopped quite hoping
I think I know what it means, it means I’ve got to grow up
It means you want to throw-up

Chorus
Brassneck
Brassneck
I just decided I don’t trust you anymore
I just decided I don’t love you anymore

Verse 3
I just know you weren’t listening, were you?
Oh, please go whenever you prefer to
I said it means a lot when you use an old phrase
But then so what? We can’t have it both ways

I know, you’re not bothered, are you?
Even so, I’m not going to argue
He won’t object, keep writing to me
Just don’t forget you ever knew me