There are a number of great songs with alien metaphors in them, some of which are more direct than others. Let's take a look at a few of my favorites.
E.T. (Teenage Dream version)
The original "Teenage Dream" version of Katy Perry's "E.T." is a mesmerizing melody full of subtly sensual double entendres about alien abduction. A true classic.
The song is both lyrically and sonically sound, and by the time she gets to the bridge, I can completely vibe with the lyrics about how "This is transcendental / On another level."
By contrast, the single version with Kanye West isn't terrible, per se, but I feel like it ruins the effect of the original song. The original is a bit more subtle and metaphorical, whereas Kanye's lyrics are a bit more explicit.
I mean, "I got a dirty mind, I got filthy ways / I'm tryna bathe my ape (Ape) in your Milky Way (Way) / ... They callin' me an alien, a big headed astronaut / Maybe it's because ya boy Yeezy get a** a lot," really? Fine for his usual roster, but not so much when paired with Katy's subtle metaphors.
I'll stick with the original version.
Psychofreak
Camila Cabello and Willow Smith's "Psychofreak" is actually about anxiety and mental health, but it features supernatural elements in the music video, and the end of each chorus is punctuated with, "Sorry, didn't mean to get so dark / Maybe I'm an alien, Earth is hard."
There are a lot of themes of feeling detached and wanting to push past that to connect with others, and this fits quite well with the alien metaphor.
I myself have written a cringy bit of prose about feeling like an alien when I felt detached from people, so I relate to the song pretty hardcore in some aspects.
Likewise, the beat is catchy, and Camila and Willow have an amazing vocal quality both individually and when paired together.
Who's Laughing Now
Jesse J's "Who's Laughing Now" is about how Jessie's living her best life in spite of the bullying she received as a child, but funny enough, there is a reference to aliens in there.
Right in the first verse, there's a set of lines that say, "Hey Jessica, you look like an alien / With green skin, you don't fit in this playpen!" This is apparently in reference to the fact that Jessie's skin looked green due to side effects from her heart medication.
The song is has a punchy beat with cathartic lyrics, and the music video features Jessie playing a variety of adult characters while Adrianna Bertola plays the young version of Jessie who eventually gets her revenge by spraying the mean girls with a fire extinguisher.
It's a fun tune with an equally fun music video.
No comments:
Post a Comment