Hello my fellow Mystics ! Before we start I'd like to say many thanks to any of you who have followed me on Twitter (@mystmodmus) !
I'm conscious that in the first two proper posts on this blog (allegedly about modern music), the songs I've looked at were released 14yrs ago (Reverence) and 5yrs ago (Black and Gold). I'd say its about time to look at a song currently in the charts!
Imagine Dragons are a Las Vegas based band who were formed in 2008 but really broke-out in 2012. As of today their latest song, Radioactive, has spent 22 weeks on the UK chart and is currently at #13 - which is nice! As with most of the songs we'll look at on this blog, first and foremost I like the song for its music and it has at least two really catchy hooks. The lyrics are certainly open to interpretation but I'll give you my read below, and the video is plain bonkers and definitely worthy of its own analysis ! Best of all the band play it live with real passion.
1. I'm waking up to ash and dust
2. I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
3. I'm breathing in the chemicals
4. I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
5. This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa
6. I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
7. Enough to make my systems blow
8. Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
9. Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
10. I raise my flags, don my clothes
11. It's a revolution, I suppose
12. We're painted red to fit right in
Whoa
I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa
I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
13. All systems go, the sun hasn't died
14. Deep in my bones, straight from inside
I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
First of all - important to respect what the songwriter wants us to think it means !
This is what I think:
1. Waking from sleep each morning we face the transition from a dreamland to the physical reality of ash, dust, the seemingly irreversible increase in entropy in this universe
2. We are caught-up in this fall and can be made to feel like automatons - just machines with no free will ("We live in Newtonian world governed by Einsteinian physics, ruled by Frankenstein logic" - David Russell)
3. Not only a statement of fact (the air is made of chemicals!) but possibly a reference to the chemtrail conspiracy ?
4. Through meditation, research and opening your eyes to the evidence of what is really going on vs what we're told is really going on, its possible for everyone to recognise their own divinity. It takes practice and training but the mind habits that were your prison can be adjusted to provide your transport to freedom and enlightenment ("deluded people don't realise that their own mind is the buddha - they keep searching outside" - Gautama Buddha; "Behold ! The Kingdom of God is within you" - KJV Luke 17:21)
5. In contrast to popular understanding the actual meaning of apocalypse is not the end of the world ! It is actually a disclosure of knowledge, hidden from humanity in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e., a lifting of the veil or revelation
6. When the veil is lifted there can be no doubting it ! You feel it in the core of your being !
7. Some people can find this mind-blowing !
8. As you "wake-up" its like being reborn, or the start of a new age. Many attached to the "New-Age" movement believe this process is effectively logarithmic and that we are on the verge of appreciating a global consciousnes at the dawn of the new age of Aquarius. Those who experience the divine first-hand see the Godhead in everyone and know how close everyone is to this revelation. See Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth
9. I'm ALIVE !! "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter" - Yoda; "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience" - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. . Its also a statement of scientific fact !
10. I feel different and I want everyone to feel that revelation too, but day to day life still goes on ! "Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment chop wood, carry water" - Zen Proverb
11. It is a revolution - but not violent - and not what you might expect it to feel like !
12. To me this looks like a very cool play on a Dante's Inferno quotation "we are they who painted the world scarlet with sins." Often the enlightened buddha's of the ages are rejected, accused of the worst sins (blasphemy, solipsism, believing that you are God) and murdered. MUCH more of that topic to come in future posts !
13. Once you feel the awakening happening go for it ! The sun is still here / the son is still here. Again - MUCH more of that to come in furture posts . . .
14. The experience has not come from without but from within.
“I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.” - Rumi
i found this linked on songmeanings.net; and this is great, it made me happy :] i have to do some stuff but i will come back and read more of your blog, very interesting concept. when i first heard this song i didn't appreciate it, i just assume popular music is always a facade. but the more i listen to it, i really like it. you might enjoy pentatonix's remix of it if you haven't already
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Melpomene ! I've been thinking of getting this blog going for a while so your encouragement is very much appreciated. I have no idea whether my interpretations are what the artists intended but I think that's the joy of music - you can read into it whatever makes sense to you. I'll definitely check out the pentatonix remix - thanks for the recommendation
Deleteyou're absolutely right! music is beautiful because it relates to something inside of you. my roommate likes kendrick lamar and stuff like that a lot, and i didn't get it. but then i realized that bumping booty shakin' rap songs makes him feel like a badass, and i can appreciate him drawing confidence from his favorite tunes. and hey sometimes you gotta think about stuff a lot before you do it, good on you for starting your blog :]
DeleteHello. I don't like this song for the reason is that is full of sound reversals (subliminal) "to make my sister blow" masked as ("Enough to make my systems blow"), "between my balls", one of the most blatant examples of media sexploitation. This song now resides on my list as one the worst song of all time. However, I guess one could like the song to pablum as bubblegum was to the laste nineteen sixties rock. I won't go as far as saying that Imagine Dragons are one hit wonders but come on...the song rips off Orwell (1984)...that's what I'm hearing. Conversely may I suggest that you listen to a real erudite like Frank Turner? Keep on writing your interpretations are unique. Really most rock/alternative/metal is just primal screaming. And y'all bought it hook line and sinker:)
DeleteThanks for the comment. I have to admit interpreting lyrics that aren't actually there is a little bit beyond my powers of insight! I'd be a little more generous than to say it rips off 1984 - when musicians are influenced by other artistic media its normally framed as being "inspired by" rather than "ripping-off"! But what are the links to 1984 that you see? I'd be interested to hear.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the Frank Turner recommendation - I enjoyed watching his set as the warm-up to the London Olympics opening ceremony on television, but never followed-up. I shall do so !
Sorry if I sounded abrasive and calling it the worst song of all time. I take that back...the song is okay. Actually your interpretation inspired me to re-listen. I don't want be accused of throwing a tomato at a work of art hence, a little justification is in order. This is part one.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, on a technical point, the singer reminds me of the deceased Michael Hutchence from the band INXS. Personally I think the singers vocals should be brought more up in the song mix and the compressed track brought lower. After all it's the lyrics that make the song.
1. I'm waking up to ash and dust
2. I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
3. I'm breathing in the chemicals
The singers 'whiff' kind of caricatures the song. In a nice way.
4. I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
5. This is it, the apocalypse
These lyrics (1,2,4,5) can be contrasted to this 1984 Apple commercial that originally aired during the 1984 Super Bowl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R706isyDrqI
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_apple_commercial)
Now - the total sum of the parts/lyrics of "Radioactive" run parallel to George Orwell's book "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four)
my mistake in referencing it as "1984".
In effect the singer could be connoting Orwellian-ism
(big brother, post apocalypse, the new age).
Those two items? Perhaps were inspirations from my perspective.
Ironically, I've read that the composer of the song referred to the song as an awakening from 'depression'. (songmeanings.com)
Part II follows
Part II
ReplyDeleteI first heard this song playing on a gas station sound system while waiting in a long line to pay for gas. So probably not the best time to critique the song fairly but I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. Stand in a hot line waiting to pay for gas while hearing the lyrics "welcome to the new age", kind of annoyed me initially. Weird to say but if you think about it paying for 'gas' is like waiting on a 'prison bus'. So at first I thought it sounded like a 'plagiarized' the above two concepts but you're right 'inspired by' is a nicer way of putting it. So inspired would be a better choice of words.
A. I feel it in my bones (subliminally sounds "I feel it in my balls"?)
B. Enough to make my system blow (subliminally sounds "to make my sister blow"?)
If you really want to find out the inner workings of rock songs and how they influence a listener subliminally read any of the books (which are rare but the ideas still fresh) by Wilson Bryan Key. So, it may be true what sounds like naughty lyric may not be intentional but a coy way of masking a lyric or a mondegreen.
Mondegeen: a word or phrase resulting from a misinterpretation of a word or phrase that has been heard.
5. In contrast to popular understanding the actual meaning of apocalypse
is not the end of the world ! It is actually a disclosure of knowledge, hidden from humanity in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, IE., a lifting of the veil or revelation
8. Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Okay! I'll confess I'm jealous because this is a nice minor hook. Very simplistic, the entire lyrics sound like they belong in the late
eighties early nineties canon of alternative music. But hey they fit in perfectly -- most songwriters are probably kicking themselves in the pants because they couldn’t work 'new age' into their lyrics. But going back to Orwell where he writes "big brother is watching you", "welcome...new age" affirms that concept.
9. Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Speaking from a generation difference. Radioactive to me means negativity? Or can denote: contaminated, dangerous, energetic, hot, irradiated. I think in this case I could give the composer the benefit of the doubt in that he may have meant "energetic or hot". I guess lyrics these days are alienating the older generation who were brought up to use the first definition that comes to mind and not consider the alternative meanings.
10. I raise my flags, don my clothes
11. It's a revolution, I suppose
12. We're painted red to fit right in
Flags? Flags are symbols could this be a rainbow flag, a rebel flag, a skull
and bones flag? Yet the writer is unclear whether fore is a revelation. Ironically, John Lennon's "Revolution" was explicit here it's idle. "I suppose":) The color red could mean "we are all" the same as the status quo
assigns us to be 'reds' -- ?
Don't take my analysis seriously it's from my perspective and if you see my points great. However, I'm more of a technical listener but I'm different. Enjoy the song as it is. Now that I've made an iota to learn about the song --- it's okay:)
It's clever.
On the Frank Turner, he's a tad bit more my cup of tea? I think he's got a lot going for him lyrically and musically because he intersperses English folk (Gaelic), odd rhyme, and run on/rap like lyrics eloquently to get his point across. Happy Memorial day from the United States.
Thank you for taking the time to go through that - it is genuinely appreciated. The whole mondegreen concept is definitely one I will investigate further. The theory of subliminal messaging via reverse speech was a big deal back in the days of the Judas Priest vs James Vance trial but I've not come across it since.
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt that Orwell and Aldous Huxley did a huge amount to fictionalize and popularize many socio-political concerns around a global elite imposing a New World Order. However I never heard "Welcome to the New Age" as a reference to that - to me it was always a welcome to the new Age of Aquarius - something that the mystics have long predicted through history. Irrespective of the astronomical geometry that governs when we enter the new age - from a spiritual perspective its always signified an awakening of human kind, and of the human spirit.
Lastly - I too have dismissed much of the music of the last 20 years even though I've loved alot of it. I'd always thought that Dylan, Pink Floyd, the Doors and any number of prog rock behomeths were the only ones who had made a real mystical connection. But now I'm seeing the references everywhere. I'm sure they're not all intentional and in a way those are the ones I like best !
Many thanks again - and do please keep posting if there's stuff you want to add and especially if you have other music recommendations.
Your welcome. It took me to find out what a 'mondegeen' was? Usually when one has been introduced to the concept they (mondegreens) become more conscious.
ReplyDeleteYeah, reverse speech is a special tool but it takes patience to hear what being said in reverse. There is a reason for that -- most people repress what they don't want to hear. On the 'new age' concept sure it could be welcome to Age of Aquarius but if the songs compose meant then why not a more positively sung sung, instead of darkly mystified. Oh well:) Conversely, I stumbled upon your blog as a result of finding out what Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" meant? Now there are a couple of interpretations.
Well, I had to really think of a mystical song I could share with you. I heard this song (Air - Seven Stars) about one month after my oldest brother died last year, so the song meant a lot to me because I was thinking of just giving up. A year later i'm still here and I think this song is mystical to me because i've always thought of the 'seven stars' as being the Pleiades’s star system (the seven bright stars group together). So, how long is this life? I really don't know. I'm an optimist. On an aside -- this kind of song is what's known in the United States as 'chill wave', kind of dronish, slow, and film noir-ish. I hope you find it mystical too! Take care for now.
(Note: there is a longer version (@youtube) in .wav file something like twelve minutes but this is the appetizer version, meaning shorter).
Air - Seven Stars (ft. Victoria Legrand)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxiEaJ_M_I
1. How long it will take you to reach the stars?
2. No many mysteries where you are
3. No one could escape it, and hold it right
4. No had no companion, and you were right
5. It's you that I want, it's you that sky
6. No one for the taking, it will be mine Forever you will lead the seven stars, seven stars
7. Twenty seconds in counting, fifteen seconds, Twelve, eleven, ten, eight mission sequent stars Six, five, four, three, two, one, zero.
8. No many mysteries where you are
9. To know where you're going, the seven stars, The seven stars, seven, and seven more
(source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/seven-stars-lyrics-air.html)
Here's a bonus track. An unusual quasi rap song that is mature but really odd because of the message. (In the song 'PBR' means Pabst Blue Ribbon, a popular cheap beer).
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Cowboy Boots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqRaRWdsJsU
Thank you very much for this my anonymous friend. I'm so sorry for the loss of your brother last year and I really appreciate your honesty.
DeleteI've got a couple of Air albums that I've always treated a little bit like background music but I liked this song after actively listening to it - so I will definitely revisit them.
The Pleiades are commonly called the seven sisters and it is incredibly apt that this song helped you through your loss last year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_in_folklore_and_literature#Western_astrology
And of course the number 7 is a very mystical number and one that I'll write about tomorrow, I think, for the next post on the blog. I know just the song . . .
Check out my daughters version...Shes only 10. Taught herself this song in one day and then we recorded her singing it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NX5TeBSyeU4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bbWupJhriuI
ReplyDeletesorry wrong link...
She's very talented - I like her interpretation. Is that your foot in the bottom-right hand corner?
ReplyDeleteI agree - and great blog by the way - you have talent!
ReplyDelete