“Asha” is Asha Bhosle. The legendary Indian playback singer. And the “45” is a 45 RPM record. So “Brimful of Asha on the 45” is essentially an image of a record overflowing with the music,…
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Freya Skye’s “Bad Taste” is about admitting something pop songs do not always like admitting: maybe you are part of the problem. Instead of writing another song where the ex is terrible and the singer…
“No Surprises” is about wanting to escape the exhausting machinery of modern life. Work. Bills. Routine. Political disappointment. Emotional exhaustion. The song imagines somebody who has reached the point where they no longer want excitement.…
Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” is about something surprisingly specific: the new girlfriend of an ex contacting you because she has started experiencing the same troubling behaviour you experienced. Instead of treating the new woman as…
“Brandy” is about loving somebody who will never choose you over the life they want. Brandy works in a harbour town. Sailors admire her. But she loves one particular sailor. Unfortunately, he loves the sea…
“Time After Time” is about loyalty when a relationship feels uncertain. Someone is drifting. Someone is waiting. And despite the confusion, the central promise is simple: when you need me, I’ll still be here. That…
“It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over” is Lenny Kravitz trying to save his marriage. That makes its dreamy, romantic sound considerably sadder. Lenny Kravitz wrote the song while his relationship with actress Lisa Bonet was…
Cyndi Lauper made “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” famous. But she didn’t write it. A male musician called Robert Hazard did. Even stranger: Hazard originally wrote it from a man’s perspective. Lauper took the…
Natalie Imbruglia did not originally sing “Torn”. This surprises a lot of people. Her 1997 recording became so enormous that the song feels inseparable from her. But “Torn” had already existed for years. It was…
“Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” is essentially about realising you weren’t mature enough for a relationship until it was already disappearing. That is what makes it different from a conventional breakup song. Jeff Buckley isn’t…
