5 Great Songs about Life
They say the songs you listen to
while growing up stay with you more than any you will hear later in
life. I have to agree. Some of the songs I heard during high school
certainly played a role in shaping who I am today, for better or
worse.
1) Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
1) Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
In contrast to bands that sing about
hope and fantasy, Radiohead through their music has always served as
a reminder that we live in the real world and its inadequacies. Fake
plastic trees is a song ahead of its time. It is a lamentation of the
increasing dehumanization of the modern world. On a simpler level,
it's a tragic love song.
Thom Yorke's lyrics convey the thoughts of a man clearly dissatisfied with his relationship because he doesn't feel any genuine emotion in a world which seems to be becoming more and more plastic with each day.
The greatness of the song lies in the fact that Thom does not use it to preach some sort of superior way of living. The tragedy is that he cannot fit into this world or truly love his girl even though everything seems to be perfect on the outside.
It's a song that teaches you to look beyond materialistic attitudes and strive for genuine happiness in life, no matter how difficult that may be to achieve.
2) Oasis - Sad Song
Thom Yorke's lyrics convey the thoughts of a man clearly dissatisfied with his relationship because he doesn't feel any genuine emotion in a world which seems to be becoming more and more plastic with each day.
The greatness of the song lies in the fact that Thom does not use it to preach some sort of superior way of living. The tragedy is that he cannot fit into this world or truly love his girl even though everything seems to be perfect on the outside.
It's a song that teaches you to look beyond materialistic attitudes and strive for genuine happiness in life, no matter how difficult that may be to achieve.
2) Oasis - Sad Song
And we cheat and we lie
Nobody says it's wrong
So we don't ask why
Cause it's all just the same at the end of the day
Noel Gallagher was a genius
songwriter in his prime but his ego was greatest downfall. His firm
belief that he didn't write shit songs meant that little gems like
'Sad Song' were simply forgotten as B sides. But it's this
peculiarity that makes it worthwhile being an Oasis fan who has heard
everything they've done. Oasis are one of those bands you will never
quite 'get' by only listening to a couple of their hit songs.
A simple acoustic ballad, Noel shows raw emotion and honesty with Sad Song. It's about the dangers of the 'follow the herd' behaviour that can lead any youth astray. Noel describes a culture where criminal behaviour is ignored and forgotten, leading impressionable youths to wrong paths.
Despite the title, it's a song of hope. A hope that kids from bad backgrounds can actually turn their lives in the right direction with a little help. And that is what Oasis has always been about - hope in the face of adverse situations.
3) The Smiths - How soon is now?
A simple acoustic ballad, Noel shows raw emotion and honesty with Sad Song. It's about the dangers of the 'follow the herd' behaviour that can lead any youth astray. Noel describes a culture where criminal behaviour is ignored and forgotten, leading impressionable youths to wrong paths.
Despite the title, it's a song of hope. A hope that kids from bad backgrounds can actually turn their lives in the right direction with a little help. And that is what Oasis has always been about - hope in the face of adverse situations.
3) The Smiths - How soon is now?
When you say it's gonna happen
"now"
Well when exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
Well when exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
There is little question in my mind
that Morrissey is one of if not the greatest songwriter of all time.
The Smiths scarcely had a bad song, let alone a bad album.
Morrissey's bleak outlook on life along with his insane wit made his
songs appeal to teenage hearts everywhere including my own.
'How soon is now?' is easily their darkest song. It explores the deepest, darkest corners of the teenage mind and the insecurities present there. More than anything, it shows the danger of unrealistic expectations when it comes to love. This is inevitably followed by self-loathing which sets up a vicious cycle ultimately resulting in depression.
The lyrics are incredibly dark and are perfectly supported by Johnny Marr's haunting guitar-work. Relatable to any teenager who has had moments of self-doubt and insecurity.
4) Queen - The show must go on
Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance
Another heartache, another failed romance
On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?
'How soon is now?' is easily their darkest song. It explores the deepest, darkest corners of the teenage mind and the insecurities present there. More than anything, it shows the danger of unrealistic expectations when it comes to love. This is inevitably followed by self-loathing which sets up a vicious cycle ultimately resulting in depression.
The lyrics are incredibly dark and are perfectly supported by Johnny Marr's haunting guitar-work. Relatable to any teenager who has had moments of self-doubt and insecurity.
4) Queen - The show must go on
Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance
Another heartache, another failed romance
On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?
Queen are without question one of
the most legendary bands in history but while I could always
appreciate their achievements, I could never really connect with
their music. That was until I heard 'The show must go on.'
Released while Freddie Mercury was suffering from AIDS, the song shows a man trying to discover meaning in soldiering on with his disease-stricken life. Lyrically, it is quite dark but the defiance in Mercury's voice turn into one of the most inspiration pieces of music that you will hear.
It is also one of the most heartbreaking because you know that eventually the disease did get the better of him. 'The show must go on' is one last middle finger to the disease that stopped him from doing what he always loved - performing.
5) Pink Floyd - Time
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
Released while Freddie Mercury was suffering from AIDS, the song shows a man trying to discover meaning in soldiering on with his disease-stricken life. Lyrically, it is quite dark but the defiance in Mercury's voice turn into one of the most inspiration pieces of music that you will hear.
It is also one of the most heartbreaking because you know that eventually the disease did get the better of him. 'The show must go on' is one last middle finger to the disease that stopped him from doing what he always loved - performing.
5) Pink Floyd - Time
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
There will
never be an album like 'Dark Side of the Moon' again. It was
groundbreaking for psychedelic music. And 'Time' was one of the
centrepieces of the album.
It's a perfect illustration of the relative nature of time as we go through the years. In our youthful ignorance, we devalue the importance of time. Years go idly by until one day you discover that all the hopes and dreams you once had are no longer attainable.
Once we are older, we find ourselves increasingly aware of the limited time we have left on this planet. When this wisdom reaches us, it is often too late to do anything meaningful with it. But we still try because human nature is an inherently stubborn one.
'Time' is both a warning to the youth of the world and a lamentation of the helplessness of old age. Time maybe relative but it's constant and deserves our respect.
It's a perfect illustration of the relative nature of time as we go through the years. In our youthful ignorance, we devalue the importance of time. Years go idly by until one day you discover that all the hopes and dreams you once had are no longer attainable.
Once we are older, we find ourselves increasingly aware of the limited time we have left on this planet. When this wisdom reaches us, it is often too late to do anything meaningful with it. But we still try because human nature is an inherently stubborn one.
'Time' is both a warning to the youth of the world and a lamentation of the helplessness of old age. Time maybe relative but it's constant and deserves our respect.
Comments
Post a Comment