I was listening to Audacity of Huge by Simian Mobile Disco a couple minutes ago, and something clicked for me. Usually, I take the vocals of the song as another instrument. I’ll listen to a song a hundred times, be able to recite the lyrics from heart, but not think once about what the lyrics are saying, but something clicked. Audacity of Huge, a song with a rather upbeat melody and higher-pitched vocals, is a sad love song.
This is not a new thing or even a new trend in songs. One of the most popular examples of this musical conflict is Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind. With all of its “Doo”s and peppy-sounding lyrics, many listeners did not realize that the song was about Meth addiction.
There’s something about the subversive nature of those types of songs that really interests me. Stabbing in the dark, I would guess that my enjoyment comes from two elements. One element is the feeling of being “in on the joke”, so to speak, when I understand what the song is really saying. Also, finding deeper meaning, even as simply as finding what the lyrics really say, adds an extra level of replay-ability, to use a video game term, to the song.
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