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Artists & takes.

Editorial voices, essays, and opinions on music and culture.

Opinions

The Linda Lindas' "Closer" Lyrics Explained: The Exhausting Loop of Waiting for Yourself to Break

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Cage The Elephant's "Beaches In Tennessee" Lyrics Explained: Trapped, Gaslit, and Dreaming of a Way Out

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Green Day's "I'm Never Gonna R.I.P." Lyrics Explained: The Defiant Art of Refusing to Stay Dead

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Interpol's "Iron City" Lyrics Explained: Love, Legacy, and the Cost of Disappearing

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U2's "Street of Dreams" Lyrics Explained: A Prayer for the Broken Who Keep Going

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Slow Pulp's "Not for Nothing" Lyrics Explained: The Painful Gap Between Letting Go and Actually Meaning It

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The Last Dinner Party's "Knocking at the Sky" Lyrics Explained: Myth, Delusion, and the Dream That Eats You Alive

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Wet Leg's "hi from me" Lyrics Explained: Moving On Has Never Sounded This Unbothered

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Jack White's "Making Contact" Lyrics Explained: The Slow Rewiring of a Mind That Chose the Machine

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Jack White's "Derecho Demonico" Lyrics Explained: The Man Who Always Finishes What He Starts

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Jack White's "G.O.D. And The Broken Ribs" Lyrics Explained: Starting Over at the Edge of Everything

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Malcolm Todd's "I Just Got Mad" Lyrics Explained: The Chaos of Caring Too Much

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Kelela's "linknb" Lyrics Explained: Becoming Someone New While Standing Alone

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Kelela's "if we meet again" Lyrics Explained: Done Before the Door Closes

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Kelela's "The Bridge" Lyrics Explained: Desire Without a Label

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Kelela's "retaliation lullaby" Lyrics Explained: The Exhaustion That Turns Love Into a Threat

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Kelela's "Goin Down" Lyrics Explained: Fed Up and Finally Seeing Clearly

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The Rolling Stones' "Hit Me In The Head" Lyrics Explained: Love as Slow Demolition

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The Rolling Stones' "Some Of Us" Lyrics Explained: The Dignity Love Takes From You

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The Rolling Stones' "Back In Your Life" Lyrics Explained: The Slow Burn of Being Left Without a Goodbye

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The Rolling Stones' "Beautiful Delilah" Lyrics Explained: The Girl You Can't Have and Can't Stop Watching

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The Rolling Stones' "Divine Intervention" Lyrics Explained: Dancing Through the End of Days

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The Rolling Stones' "Mr Charm" Lyrics Explained: When the Smoothest Pitch Is Also the Most Transparent

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The Rolling Stones' "Jealous Lover" Lyrics Explained: When Love Becomes a Trap

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The Rolling Stones' "In The Stars" Lyrics Explained: Fate, Chaos, and the One Thing That Holds

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The Rolling Stones' "Rough And Twisted" Lyrics Explained: The Road That Never Goes Where You're Promised

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ROLE MODEL's "Joy" Lyrics Explained: Chasing the Feeling You Can't Hold Onto

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Suki Waterhouse's "Happy With It" Lyrics Explained: The Slow Realization That Love Isn't Enough

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Suki Waterhouse's "Puppy Dog Eyes" Lyrics Explained: The Trap of Being Someone's Everything

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Suki Waterhouse's "Notting Hill" Lyrics Explained: Famous Feeling, Private Love

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Suki Waterhouse's "Any Man" Lyrics Explained: The Power That Comes With No Explanation

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SIENNA SPIRO's "Great Expectation" Lyrics Explained: Loving a Version of Someone That Only Exists in Your Head

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Yana's "Come On" Lyrics Explained: Wanting Someone Who Keeps You Guessing

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Bloc Party's "Love Bombs" Lyrics Explained: The Beautiful Terror of Wanting Someone This Much

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GAYLE's "junebug!" Lyrics Explained: Chaos, Longing, and the One Thing That Cuts Through It All

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Jack Kays's "To Be American" Lyrics Explained: The Myth of Masculine Toughness

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Dinosaur Jr.'s "Several Got Away" Lyrics Explained: The Art of Letting Things Slip

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mary in the junkyard's "Blood" Lyrics Explained: The Vulnerability at the Heart of New Love

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Westside Cowboy's "Pin Up Boys" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of Being Seen Without Being Known

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Wolf Alice's "Gospel Oak" Lyrics Explained: A Song About Someone Who's Already Gone

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Gracie Abrams's "Look at My Life" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of Getting What You Wanted

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Benson Boone's "The Time Of My Life" Lyrics Explained: When Everything Is Perfect and Nothing Feels Right

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Chanel Beads' "JBL in the Fireplace" Lyrics Explained: Love as the Last Stable Thing

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Chanel Beads' "Profane Break" Lyrics Explained: The Moment You Stop Letting the World Narrate Your Life

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Chanel Beads' "Song for the Messenger" Lyrics Explained: A Confession That Has No Resolution

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Ravyn Lenae's "Saturday Night" Lyrics Explained: The Power Move That Still Hurts

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Ryan Beatty's "Fleur De Lis" Lyrics Explained: Loving Enough for Both of You

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Ryan Beatty's "Dust" Lyrics Explained: Loving Something You're Already Losing

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Ryan Beatty's "Annie, Anything" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of Wanting Someone You Can't Reach

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Ryan Beatty's "Delancey" Lyrics Explained: The Hollow Morning After a Connection That Never Was

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Ryan Beatty's "Too Many Ways" Lyrics Explained: The Love That Lives in the Distance Between Two Places

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Ryan Beatty's "Sweet Fortune" Lyrics Explained: Wishing for What You're Too Afraid to Say

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Ryan Beatty's "Secret Language" Lyrics Explained: Loving Someone When Words Aren't Enough

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Ryan Beatty's "Virtuoso" Lyrics Explained: The Freedom That Pulls You Back

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Ryan Beatty's "White Lightning" Lyrics Explained: Desire, Shame, and the Pull You Can't Walk Away From

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Ryan Beatty's "Phantom" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of Loving From the Sidelines

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Charli xcx's "Wink Wink" Lyrics Explained: The Art of the Unreliable Apology

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Lucky Daye's "Nowhere Fast" Lyrics Explained: The Art of Making Them Wait

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The Pretty Reckless's "About You" Lyrics Explained: The Slow Burn of Knowing It's Over

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The Rolling Stones' "Jealous Lover" Lyrics Explained: When Love Becomes a Trap

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Bring Me The Horizon's "Dehumanized" Lyrics Explained: Born Into a Machine That Wants You Dead

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Muse's "Hush" Lyrics Explained: Finding Stillness Together When the World Gets Too Loud

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Blondshell's "Violins" Lyrics Explained: The Slow Violence of Being Undervalued

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Steve Lacy's "is it cool? (feat. SZA)" Lyrics Explained: A Confession With No Clean Resolution

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Chanel Beads' "Tyler Richard" Lyrics Explained: A Song About Someone You Can't Quite Hold Onto

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This Is Lorelei's "Billy Came Back" Lyrics Explained: A Voice Too Good to Stay Gone

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beabadoobee's "Sun Has Set" Lyrics Explained: The Moment That Makes Going Back Impossible

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Phoebe Bridgers' "Lost Boys" Lyrics Explained: The Romance of Running and the Cost of Never Coming Back

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sombr's "My Body Isn't Ready" Lyrics Explained: When Self-Consciousness Gets Between You and Connection

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Quadeca's "Baby Steps" Lyrics Explained: The Weight of a Future Nobody Warned You About

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Tame Impala's "Hummer" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of Choosing Yourself

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Syd's "2 Many Days" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of the Grind Nobody Talks About

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Masego's "Breathe" Lyrics Explained: Asking for Space in a World That Won't Slow Down

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Tierra Whack's "SIREN" Lyrics Explained: The Art of Attracting Power Without Chasing It

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girlsweetvoiced's "Energizer" Lyrics Explained: The Exhausting Math of Loving Someone Who Might Not Love You Back

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Hoobastank's "How Do You Sleep?" Lyrics Explained: Accountability in the Age of Celebrated Destruction

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KennyHoopla's "NEW AMERICA//" Lyrics Explained: A Generation Covering Its Own Eyes

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Myles Smith's "Gold" Lyrics Explained: When Love Feels Like Being Chosen

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Myles Smith's "Stay (If You Wanna Dance)" Lyrics Explained: One Night Against the Weight of Everything

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Myles Smith's "Nice To Meet You" Lyrics Explained: Finding Joy in a Single Night

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Myles Smith's "Stargazing" Lyrics Explained: The Person Who Was Always Meant for You

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Myles Smith's "Dublin Lights" Lyrics Explained: Getting Lost as a Way of Being Found

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Myles Smith's "Lifetime" Lyrics Explained: The Heartbreak of Having Everything

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Myles Smith's "Dying Days" Lyrics Explained: A Love So Total It Leaves Nothing Behind

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Myles Smith's "Heaven" Lyrics Explained: When Another Person Becomes Your Entire Religion

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Myles Smith's "Drive Safe" Lyrics Explained: Letting Go Without Losing Each Other

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Myles Smith's "Sertraline" Lyrics Explained: The Exhausting Reality of Learning to Feel Again

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Myles Smith's "Mary's Song" Lyrics Explained: The Quiet Strength of a Woman the World Ignores

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Myles Smith's "Grandma's Place" Lyrics Explained: A Home You Can Never Return To

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Myles Smith's "Hate You" Lyrics Explained: The Exhausting Loop of Loving Someone Who Won't Commit

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Myles Smith's "Hold Me In The Dark" Lyrics Explained: Running in Circles Toward the One Thing That Stops Them

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Myles Smith's "My Mess" Lyrics Explained: The Weight of a Childhood You Never Chose

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Tiny Habits' "Anything He Was" Lyrics Explained: The Quiet Weight of Being Second

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FKA twigs's "On Your Mind" (feat. Lil Yachty) Lyrics Explained: The Weight of What Goes Unsaid

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Myles Smith's "Heaven" Lyrics Explained: Finding the Divine in Another Person

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Julia Jacklin's "Get Away From Me (I Think I'll Love You Soon)" Lyrics Explained: The Terrifying Logic of Falling in Love

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Mitski's "Fireproof" Lyrics Explained: The Cost of Loving Someone You Can't Reach

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Tom Odell's "Old Lovers" Lyrics Explained: The Question You Already Know the Answer To

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Brenn!'s "Amateur at Best" Lyrics Explained: Trying Everything and Still Falling Short

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Fruit Bats' "Perhaps We're a Storm" Lyrics Explained: The Beauty of Not Knowing Who You Are Yet