Why A Breif Enquiry Into Online Relationships by The 1975 is my favourite album

I love the 1975. Ever since their first album I have adored their unique style and sound, hearing their lyrics that are full of meaning hidden behind catchy instrumentals. But what makes A Breif Enquiry so special? Why does it stand out from I like it when you sleep?

First off I also adore I like it when you sleep. But for me A Breif Enquiry felt like more of an artistic album that explored new age pop punk. Songs like ‘TOOTIME’ were amazing catchy tracks with a good beat and great vibe to them, whereas the well known ‘Love it if we made it’ is a beautiful jab at modern day politics and termoil of the present day. It also has more quiet songs like ‘I always wanna die (sometimes)’ which ground the album and make it feel more slow paced and gritty.

Furthermore A Breif Enquiry holds some amazing lyrics delivered perfectly by front man Matty Healey. Im sorry but lines like modernity has failed us’ , ‘i bet you thought your life would change/but your sat on a train again’ and basically the entirety of ‘Love it if we made it’ contain some amazing messages about modernity and how we live our lives. Hell my favourite song off ABEIOR ‘Sincerity is Scary’ reflects the postmodern condition. A feeling of uncertainty and hate as well as one of loving and celebration. The lyrics resonate with me so much as it’s both a ballad of loss “it always ends with us hating eachother” and one of hope “why can’t we be friends?” It sums up millennials and gen Zs attitudes towards life and love perfectly, touching on feelings of abandonment and heartbreak, the speaker saying “im just pissed off because you pied me off” showing the bittersweet aspect to the track and our condition as a community of people. Furthermore the 1975 touch on “people putting off conceiving” potentially referring to recent surveys that show less and less millennials and gen Zs are having sex. It’s this type of up to date commentary that make this album so appealing. Sure it will be out of date soon but it still allows the band to comment on some pretty heavy topics with ease. And that’s why I love A Breif Enquiry Into Online Relationships. Case closed.

Why I love Jojis new music

Okay so I’ll be the first to say I hate new age rap music. In my opinion new artists like Tyga and Travis Scott boast about their wealth and power instead of sending a message, pretty dumb to be rapping about how many ‘hoes’ you got and how ‘icy’ your chain is.

Now I’ve known about Joji for a while. I knew a few of his old tracks from his album In Toungues – Mostly the Will He remixes by Medacin and so on. But now I’ve got a new found passion for the Asian – Australian artist.

After listening to BALLADS 1 and his newest track Sanctuary I can safely say that I thoroughly enjoy his music. His lyrics are meaningful and impactful, his beats are low key and melodic, not focusing on heavy bass or loud instrumentals but instead on a smoother beat with quiet instrumental sections. I wanted to quickly analyse one of his tracks on this blog just to show you reader how amazing and thoughtful his music is.

SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK – BALLADS 1 – JOJI

“I don’t want a friend (just me)
I want my life in two (my life in two)
Just one more night
Waiting to get there
Waiting for you (all night)
I’m done fighting all night (waiting for you)”

Here Joji is stressing about the duality of his life and his personality. Furthermore he says he wants his life in two, connoting that he’s living a double life or that his existence is complicated. However even though this is the case he’s still waiting for someone all night but they never turn up, connoting the main theme of the song which is loneliness.

“When I’m around slow dancing in the dark
Don’t follow me, you’ll end up in my arms
You have made up your mind
I don’t need no more signs
Can you?
Can you?”

The phrase Slow dancing in the dark technically means stumbling around awquardly in the dark, furthermore it adds mystery to it because you won’t know who your dancing with or who’s toes your ultimately gonna break. Don’t follow me you’ll end up in my arms shows that he doesn’t want anyone to follow the same path because they will end up exactly how he did, waiting for someone who never showed up and getting his heart broken.

Give me reasons we should be complete
You should be with him, I can’t compete
You looked at me like I was someone else, oh well
Can’t you see? (Can’t you see?)
I don’t wanna slow dance (I don’t want to slow dance)
In the dark
Dark

This entire chorus really resonated with me. It made the speaker in this story sound desperate for all the wrong reasons. Tell me why we should be a couple because I feel like I can’t compete. It shows that this speaker is brutally honest and could be mentally ill or have low self esteem as he sees himself as less than. Furthermore he feels alienated by this person, that even though they spent time together they looked at him like he was someone else, and accepts it with an oh well. Although he doesn’t want to stumble around looking for love he’s gonna have to keep going.

(I’ve cut out a verse here just because I didn’t have anything interesting to say!)

Used to be the one (used to be the one)
To hold you when you fall
Yeah, yeah, yeah (when you fall, when you fall)
I don’t fuck with your tone (I don’t fuck with your tone)
I don’t wanna go home (I don’t wanna go home)
Can it be one night?
Can you?
Can you?

This final verse shows the speaker clawing back at the life he once had with this person. He’s dwelling on the fact he used to be there but isn’t anymore and that hurts. Maybe the two are now in an argument and that’s why he says I don’t fuck with your tone, suggesting maybe the speakers interest isn’t all they thought they would be. But still references them spending the night together, maybe engaging in a one night stand and shows the listener that no matter how hard the speaker tries for genuine connection all he gets is meaningless sex. Harsh.

So there’s my little breakdown of some of SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK. If you guys enjoyed this let me know on my twitter @banditovibes. I would really recommend Jojis music and would urge you to listen to his music, it’s good stuff! Untuill the next one 💛

I made a mistake ~ Poetry Day #1

Stressed out sat on the porch

Looking at the light from the morning sun

Searching for a reason you gave me to stay

But in a fool you only ever gave one

It was I love you

You love me too?

And of course I would say yes I do

Look at the mess we made

Your making me afraid

Of breaking a heart again

But that was the thing it was you

Who did the things she told me I do

Three months didn’t hear a word from you

A blip in your perfect system

Keep my soul on life support

Let me be my own mistake

My skin will bleed like it did before

You know that I never really knew

That you would do the things you do but Im

Glad you didnt lead me on for any longer cause what you

Promised me was a eutopia

But I am just as lost as any other in a small room I

Never make as much sense as you did at the time

But now I won’t buy you presents

I won’t even spend the time

To smile

To laugh

To acknowledge that your there

Because from the green of your eyes

And the black of your hair is a venom

So fine I couldn’t see it when I ran my hand down

They started back into mine but now I would burn down the park

To get you off my mind

Quotes that inspire me

Loads of songs have amazing lyrics that provoke thought in the listener, wether it’s just a few words or a whole verse the musician has the most powerful weapon at their disposal to make their audience feel emotion, the English language. Im MJ and welcome to my little corner of the internet, and these are my favourite quotes from a variety of songs that I love. Enjoy 💛

#1 – Twenty One Pilots – Holding on to you – Vessel

Arguably one of the pilots most iconic songs, Holding on to you was on their third album Vessel. This song is extremely emotive and really tells a story of someone who’s battling with mental illness and using someone to hold on to. This verse really gets me:
Fight it, take the pain, ignite it
Tie a noose around your mind
Loose enough to breath fine and tie it
To a tree tell it, you belong to me, this ain’t a noose
This is a leash and I have news for you
You must obey me

This verse is almost an uprising against the speakers illness. The way that the imagery of death and suicide here is flipped on its head to something showing possession and control, something that the speaker beforehand didn’t possess, I think the verse is a perfect turning point where the song turns from one of hopelessness to one of hope. Go and listen if you haven’t already, it deserves every drop of popularity it gets.

#2 Witt Lowry – Kindest Regards – Kindest regards

I know this song is a little bit off the beaten track when it comes to emo pop punk, but trust me although it’s more of a spoken word song it is deep and meaningful. Kindest Regards is almost a collage of emotions that the listener can immediately tap into. Pain, longing, belonging, you can feel it all. One line sticks with me to this day:

The darkest nights make the brightest stars

Honestly this one line is just loaded with meaning to me. I listened to this track when I was going through a tough break up, and this one lyric helped me through the whole thing. Although the going gets tough, although the roads get rocky something amazing is still gonna happen. Some things end up being the best things that never happened. So your hurt, the darkest times still have ups. You will get out of that hard spot, so do it. Words to live by.

#3 – Fallout Boy – Favourite Record – AB/AP

Honestly AB/AP is one of my favourite FOB records, purely because of songs like Favourite Record and Jetpack Blues (which I will get onto in a sec) Favourite Record is a goddamn vibe and a real upbeat cheerful song about a strong bond between two people. A verse that I immediately fell in love with is:
You were the song stuck in my head
Every song I’ve ever loved
Played again and again and again
And you can get what you want but it’s never enough
And I’ll spin for you like your favorite records used to
And I’ll spin for you like your favorite records used to

The chorus honestly has this amazing sense of devotion. I’ll spin for you, I’ll remind you of the good times and play you sweet music. It makes me tingle every time. And comparing your lover to the song stuck in your head. Something that you can’t stop thinking about and replaying because you adore it so much. God im feeling fuzzy typing all this out.

#4 – Fallout Boy – Jetpack Blues – AB/AP

Oo two AB/AP songs, I know. This song is a bit of a moody song all about feeling the blues, but a more sincere version of them. A type of blues that makes even the seasons feel different:

The kind that make June feel like September

This type of feeling that completely overtakes your life and consumes you,making your world seem darker and colder. This lyric really resonates with me because we all feel this kind of down. Where your day gets turned upside down because of a revelation. Your world goes cold and it feels like all the light in the world can’t help you see reason or rationality. It’s just so perfectly chaotic.

#5 – The 1975 – I always wanna die (sometimes) – A Breif Enquiry Into Online Relationships

I allways wanna die is a beautiful and somber song about the inevitable feeling we all get of ‘what if’. We all feel like giving up sometimes and this song taps into that, and Matty Healey sings this perfect line summing it all up:

But your death, it won’t happen to you
It happens to your family and your friends,

I think that one speaks for itself….

That’s all for now, I’ll make a part two soon, but this is a nice start. If you wanna suggest some more lyrics feel free to drop me a message on twitter @banditovibes see ya soon 💛 stay rowdy 🙌

~MJ

2018/19 ~ A new era for music

Hello! Welcome to Sound Addikt, my small corner of the internet where I talk about music and it’s impact on me, so let’s just jump right in and talk about today’s subject. Stay alive frens 💛

So it’s the beginning (or near enough) of a new year, and I thought I would go through some of my personal favourite music happenings of 2018/19 and talk to you guys about how they have impacted me and their respective fanbases. So without further ado let’s look at #1

#1 MANIA ~ FALLOUT BOY 2018

So Fallout Boy released their new album Mania in 2018. When it released I was starting to converge onto the more rap/hip hop side of music, the norm of today, and when Mania dropped it slapped me in the face. It was a massive wake up call, and filled up the boots of AB/AS easily, and honestly revived my faith in the guys.

But what’s the fuss all about? Uh scuse me? First off Pete, Patrick, Andy and Joe make an amazing band, I mean have you heard Foilé? And second Mania was such an experimental album. You could hear all the new sounds the guys were trying to implement, for example (possibly my favourite song off the album) Young and Menace, which was so electro rock and almost dubstep it felt new and fresh. The entire thing did!

The tour that came around after was equally as amazing. Although I missed out on tickets myself, I managed to watch the livestream of the boys playing in LA and honestly, if you haven’t seen them perform live yet, go do it. They are one of the few bands you will ever see who sound the same on their discography than they do live. It’s honestly such a raw and musical experience it will blow you the fuck away.

Thank you FOB for truly saving rock and roll 💜

#2 Trench ~ TWENTYØNE PILØTS

Okay so Trench is just…well I stayed up untuill 1am my time to listen to it. If that doesn’t show how hyped I was then I don’t know what does. Twenty-one Pilots is one of my favourite bands, so them coming off hiatus and delivering a smash album like that was fucking spectacular. Like oh my god.

I think Trench was an unprecedented success. It both provided a bunch of different sounds and styles, from the gritty and down to earth ‘Neon Gravestones’ to the more uplifting ‘The Hype’ and ‘Cut my lip’. But what I also loved is the way it tells a story. The story of a place called Dema. I won’t go into all the lore and stuff but honestly the way Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun made the music tie in with a narrative is beautiful and honestly stunning, nothing I have seen is as good as this (apart from maybe the YBC)

I also took a large L when it came to TØP tickets, but I have seen live streams and clips, they perform beautifully live. Tyler’s voice is very gritty, so any song always has character and heart, it’s honestly one of the most immersive performances I have ever heard. Go check them out and listen to Trench if you haven’t allready. It’s a blast.

#3 A Breif Enquiry Into Online Relationships ~ The 1975

Okay so the 1975 are a relatively new band for me. I had only really heard their more common songs like ‘Girls’ and ‘Chocolate’ so when I heard a new album was coming out I kinda went cool sure whatever and went to listen to Trench. It was really a friend of mine, who told me the album was definitely worth a listen so I went and took a look. Holy. Shit.

Okay so this album is a peice of art. It honestly connects with me on allot of different levels, from the political commentary of ‘Love it if we made it’ to the slow and mournful ‘I always wanna die (sometimes)’ the album delivers hit after hit after hit of impressive songs sung expertly by front man Matty Healey. Every single song drips emotion and sincerity (no matter how scary it may be)

I didn’t get to see them live either, but as the other two, I have seen clips, and they too sound stunning. If you haven’t listened to a Breif Enquiry get on it, it won’t disappoint.

#4 Panic! At the Disco ~ Pray For the Wicked

The last item on this list is the smash hit album by Panic! At the Disco ‘Pray for the Wicked’. Front man Brendon Urie has delivered yet another stunning album from his dark and twisted musical mind, and I gotta admit, im loving the new direction panic! is going in. The more experimental jazzy pop punk is my shit, so this album is honestly beautiful.

This album feels fresh and new, and immediately smashes out the doubt that DOAB couldn’t be topped. Pray for the Wicked included hits like the hugely successful ‘High Hopes’ and other absolute bops like ‘Hey look ma I made it’ and ‘The Overpass’. Honestly this album has so many different tracks, and (if your like me) a song for every conceivable mood, from the upbeat ‘Roaring 20’s’ to the somber ‘Dying in LA’

I am proud to say I am GOING TO SEE PANIC! LIVE IN LONDON AT THE 02 ARENA! I honestly cannot wait to see Brendon and the group live in London, especially because the whole of the EU tour is completely sold out. Even though my seats are kinda crappy, I wanna be their to listen to some amazing music and soak up the atmosphere as well as meeting some fellow sinners along the way.

So that’s it! Thank you so much for reading and please do consider subscribing to my blog with your email address! Also I would love to get in touch with you guys, have a chat and talk about future blogs so feel free to hit me up on twitter @banditovibes 💛

Untuill next time. Stay rowdy 🙌

~MJ