By Afroditi A. Karagianni,
Music is generally regarded as the language of the universe. No matter how hard one tries though, they can neither adequately cover the depths nor the variety of ways in which it can influence us. For example, music can inspire, motivate and empower people. Furthermore, it often profoundly saddens, appalls and moves us and even transforms the way we interpret our emotions and experiences. As such, I decided to list a couple of songs I highly appreciate and discuss their impactful lyrics, hidden messages and unique creators. They generally lean towards the more romantic side of songwriting and concurrently manage to remain unique, fresh and dissimilar.
Blue Hair // TV Girl
Blue Hair was released by the alternative, indie, American band called TV Girl. It is the third track of their studio album titled Death Of A Party Girl and revolves around a girl who drastically altered her appearance and the reasons behind it. The track is supposedly sung from the perspective of a guy who used to date her and possesses the typical TV Girl vibe, with its calm and hypnotic melody and underlying pop elements.
The narrator’s fixation on his ex-lover’s blue hair is exceedingly evident in the entirety of the song. He generally describes it as beautiful, cotton-candy like and appears to have connected its color with youthfulness. Initially, he idealized his romantic partner (and her appearance) and viewed her solely as a person perfect, pretty and charming. After a while, referring once again to her hair color, he claimed that “what seemed so blue in the sunlight, by the night was a pale green”. This indirectly hints that her charm started fading, once he saw her for who she truly was. When she asked questions that revealed her insecurities and self-conscious side (like “whether she was pretty”), which she attempted to overcome through her hair color change, he bluntly called her a fraud. Towards the song’s end, we learn that the girl, now grown, lives with a maturer guy, who “acts his age” and does not hold her on an impossible pedestal. The narrator claims that he still misses her and things will never be the same after she cut her hair, revealing that he still obsesses over his initial and unfeasible version of her, which he has now stopped seeing.
To me, this song manages to present a pressing issue many real-world relationships face, in an extremely intriguing and inventive fashion. Frequently, one partner (if not both) sees the other as an unflawed being. Gradually, being exposed to other sides of their significant other makes one feel disappointed, angry and betrayed. This reality is incredibly toxic and hinders the people dating from forming a meaningful bond and gaining a better understanding of each other’s personalities and behaviors. In addition, the song brilliantly showcases the faulty treatment multiple women receive thanks to their appearance, since many people (fixated on their sexist and stereotypical beliefs) use it as an excuse to mistreat them and not take them seriously.
Busted and Blue // Gorillaz
Busted and blue, the eleventh track from the album Humanz, by Gorillaz, is a track not to be skipped. Filled with the electronic, pop elements that define Gorillaz, the song focuses on the human experience (and relationships) and the formation of the world in an inventive and special manner.
Busted and blue asks its listener all the right questions. Where does all matter come from, how was our world created and what are the invisible “wires” that seem to be bringing people together and lead to the formation of their relationships. Without a doubt, it encourages its listener to think profoundly about these topics and philosophize to get satisfactory answers. At the same time, the track showcases the world we live in today, where machines, computers and the like are slowly influencing our communication and connections. Today, one can easily feel isolated and detached from reality, a feeling Gorilaz manage to remarkably display through the song’s melody and lyrics. For instance, at some point, the narrator describes themselves as a satellite, that desperately needs human connection to return home.
Gorillaz is a very special band, which utilizes highly imaginative ways to share many -at times uncomfortable-truths. In particular, this track is nothing short of a revelation, which aids people to understand the impact that the digital age has on our interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, it highlights the major importance of real-time communication and the vital role it plays in the maintenance of our friendships and romantic involvements. As mentioned, the narrator often feels as though they are a satellite, which can only return “home”, if the person they love decides to reciprocate their feelings. As such, the narrator urges that person to be their light and their love. Despite the romance of it all, Busted and Blue communicates humanity’s biological need for companionship and our innate desire to love and be loved, amazingly. It proves that sometimes, in this baffling world, people need each other to “return home”, whether that is a place, a feeling or a person and that this reality is not unreasonable (or accusation-worthy) at all.
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