1st Draft | 750 Words
Remember when music was actually good? As a singer-songwriter, I feel like it’s taken a turn for the worst. Don’t get me wrong, I love bass drops and profanity just as much as the girl next to me in the club, but music nowadays – whether its pop, hip-hop, rap, or R&B – all run on simplicity. The simpler the song, the more acquainted it is, and familiarity leads to more listeners. Generic lyrics, the same combination of chords, and a catchy tune is all it takes for a song to be a hit.
On a daily, I’m constantly listening to “The Fray” or “Lifehouse” or “Switchfoot” – the bands that were big in the mid-2000’s and whose lyrics ran so deep, your heart would literally dip if you knew the meaning behind them. I miss it when Taylor Swift wrote songs about boys and every girl in the world would comment on her music videos saying “when did Taylor Swift steal my diary?” because it was just that relatable. Personally, I just can’t relate to Gucci Mane’s cocaine addiction, and I can’t relate to Migos calling up the gang and his fight nights. Thankfully, I’m not the only one.
When I write songs, or even papers, I write from experience because I know for a fact whatever I’m feeling, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who feel the same way. I know this because a lot of millennials, like myself, are upset with the new shallow music that’s been coming out and we often revert to the old music. I like to write what I like to listen to. The best thing about songs that have meanings wedged deep in between the lyrics is that it’s a way of communication. Relatable songs reach people everywhere, no matter where they are, and it lets them know that they aren’t alone. That’s why they say music can get you through a lot.
Amongst all the vapid and repetitive songs that are coming out, once in a blue moon there will be a song from Adele or Ed Sheeran that I can just feel, even though sometimes I can’t relate. Adele, for example, has made me miss an ex that I don’t even think about, and Ed Sheeran makes me want to spend the rest of my life with a husband I wish I had. However, it’s refreshing when a girl my age, who only blew up through forms of social media, like YouTube and Instagram, uses her talent to write and sing a song that have a lot of girls around the world, including myself, crying over it.
Her name is Lia Marie Johnson and she recently dropped her first song “DNA”. When she came out with just the audio and the lyric video, it already had my heart feeling some type of comfort and discomfort at the same time. After listening to it for a couple of times, I figured it was about a boy who broke her heart, because of the line “hate to ask, but what’s it like to leave me behind?” Other than that, I didn’t really relate to anything else, but regardless it was beautiful and a pleasant break from all the bad words I keep hearing on the radio.
What shook everyone was when she finally came out with the music video, then you finally understand the lyrics for what they are. I think it’s nice when a lot of people can relate to a song, but I think it’s amazing when the song is spreading awareness. The song is actually about her deadbeat father and the domestic violence that took place in her house when she was younger. She sings about how he always came home drunk and then fought with her mom, to the point where “blue and red lights come take [him] away”. She expresses her disgust for his habit, but is also crying for help because she sees herself becoming him in her relationships, and that’s what the title “DNA” means.
As much as the words in a song can spread so many messages, the accompanying music video can spread so much more. A picture is worth a thousand words but a video is worth actions and movements and it can bring about change. After watching Lia Marie Johnson’s music video, I look at music completely different. She set the bar even higher than it already was.