You could easily assume “Where Is My Mind?” is about: mental illnessdrugslosing controlexistential collapse The real inspiration is considerably funnier. Scuba diving. Pixies frontman Black Francis wrote the song after diving in the Caribbean and…
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Lenny Kravitz wrote “It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Over” while his marriage to actress Lisa Bonet was falling apart. The song isn’t about accepting the breakup. It’s about refusing to believe the relationship is finished.…
“Vienna” is essentially Billy Joel telling young people: Slow down. You don’t have to achieve everything immediately. Your life isn’t going to end when your twenties do. The song has become unexpectedly popular with younger…
“Fast Car” isn’t really about a car. It’s about escape. The narrator dreams of leaving poverty behind with somebody she loves. The fast car represents the possibility of another life. They leave. For a while,…
“Zombie” was written after two children were killed in the 1993 Warrington bombing in England. Three-year-old Johnathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry died after bombs planted by the IRA exploded in Warrington town centre. Dolores…
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” became an anthem for an entire generation. The title began as a joke about deodorant. That contrast tells you almost everything you need to know about Nirvana. Kathleen Hanna of Bikini…
Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun” is essentially a love letter to Swedish summer. More specifically, it’s about the strange freedom of summer nights when the sun barely disappears. Larsson has explained that she wanted the song…
Tame Impala’s “Loser” is basically a song about self-doubt. Kevin Parker turns insecurity into something strangely danceable, describing the uncomfortable feeling of looking at your own behaviour and deciding that perhaps you are the problem.…
Olivia Rodrigo’s “The Cure” is about discovering that falling in love cannot magically fix everything you dislike or struggle with inside yourself. Rodrigo has explained the idea directly. When you’re younger, she says, you can…
