Top 5- Keuning

Greetings, humans. The fish brain is back.

I didn’t get an extra post done Sunday, but there might be some random ones that pop up if I’m bored. So hey.

Anyway, as I’m sure you’re aware, last week’s post was entirely Flowers-centric, so it follows that we should give a little attention to a certain other member of the Killers.

Once again, we only have one album here. Pre-release, there were four songs that came out, and they all feature on the list today.

So. Keuning. Honestly, if you know me at all, you know I’m completely obsessed with this album. Sad? Prismism. Happy? Prismism. Indifferent? Prismism. It’s literally my cure for anything at the moment. I will also say that it doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves. Because I’m that person.

Enough of my ranting. The list today: Prismism, Restless Legs, Boat Accident, The Queen’s Finest, The Night.

Onwards!

Prismism

No, I don’t know what this word means. Yes, I have checked the Internet. No, it did not help.

We start off with a pretty heavy synthesizer, and a relatively low-key beat. This song’s really relaxed, doesn’t ever get loud. Music-wise.

Meaning-wise, it’s hard. There is literally nothing anywhere to help, not even Genius, so we’re gonna have to try.

The vocals are warped, almost obscured, and I’m pretty sure there’s a reason which I’ll come onto later. But anyway, the first verse talks about someone falling apart, about trying to make things right. ‘Take your time/It was over/Before it began.’

The chorus isn’t directed at anyone. Rather, it’s descibing the singer’s personal experience. It’s talking about something they can’t get away from, because ‘it’s harder than you think’. It refers to them trying to hide, feeling like they’re hanging from a wire.

The next verse (which is really short) says to ‘calm yourself/ all this madness in the mystery’.

Overall, I think it’s about being tired: about trying to hold the world up, about trying to hold yourself together, about trying to explain why you can’t just calm down. They explain that ‘it’s harder than you think’ and ask you to ‘try to understand’. The music, the synthesizer, works with this as well, because it sounds almost fragmented, broken. The warping on the voice sounds like there’s more than one part. It’s like broken glass, if you think about it.

I JUST FIGURED IT OUT!

A prism splits light. So it would follow that the effect of splitting something into a million parts is prismism.

I’m ridiculously proud of myself now.

The lyrics and the music both give you the impression of being fragmented, out of control, conveying a feeling of hopelessness and exhaustion. It’s incredibly well done, and I love it.

Restless legs

Moving away from the mild depressing-ness of Prismism.

Once again, we start with a pretty heavy synth, but none on the vocals, which is nice. It’s a lot brighter, a lot more optimistic.

The verses basically just repeat, so it makes my job both easier and harder at once. Easier, because less to analyse. Harder, because now I don’t know how to make it so this section is long enough.

Basically, this song’s talking about optimism, like waking up one morning and suddenly you’re in a really good mood, and you can’t sit still. Ever have those days?

Well, that’s this song.

Boat Accident

More synthesizer, because that’s fun, but lighter than before.

And then we have guitar, and I was really excited when this song came out because Keuning is a guitarist and the other two are synthesizer-heavy. This one has slightly less synthesizer, and so it’s different.

It also has words that aren’t repeated over and over.

So, I don’t know why it’s called Boat Accident, because there are no boats or accidents.

Anyway. Meaning.

I think it’s more about finally being free. If Prismism was the darkness, this is the light. They can finally plan their escape. ‘It’s time to let our feelings go.’ They’ve decided to let go, to stop caring. They’re able to dream.

It’s an energetic, optimistic song.

It’s also just awesome.

The queen’s finest

We start with guitar, because Variety Is Fun™.

But in all seriousness, this might be my favourite song on the list, because it sounds less edited. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other three, but this one’s just so pretty.

With this song, there are more words than the other songs, so there’s more to go into.

What I think it’s saying is that there’s two people here, and the ‘line’ that gets referred to is keeping them apart. Somehow, the other person’s gotten to the other side, and the person singing is still on the ‘wrong side’.

When it says ‘We’re really sorry, boy, you need to change your plans’, it sounds almost sarcastic, like the people aren’t sorry, or at least the person doesn’t think they are.

To me, it sounds like the singer is saying that maybe it won’t work out, maybe they can’t do it, because ‘this road is unforgiving’. The other is trying to convince them they can, that it will work out, that they’ll ‘figure it out’.

And at the end, it says ‘So move along, there’s nothing here for you to see.’ The singer knows that they’re inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and yet in their world, it’s everything. It could also be saying that they’re being kept from the other person, like they’re trying to see them and someone’s told them to keep walking, because they aren’t allowed to cross the line.

There are a million scenarios that this song could be applied to, so I’ll leave it up to you. Feel free to comment your thoughts.

The night

Look. It’s the only song that wasn’t pre-released. Tada!

This song starts the same way Boat Accident does, with the low level synth. It doesn’t go into guitar though, stays with the synth.

If we link Boat Accident and Prismism, this song fits in pretty well with those.

It’s telling you to ‘walk away into the night’ and ‘leave your baggage far behind.’ If the ‘baggage’ is everything discussed in Prismism, then it’s telling you to leave it behind. Throughout the song, it talks about the fight being over, about being able to see the light.

In the second verse, it implies that whatever it is has been going on for a long time, and how they’ve been weathering it for a long time. But now, they’re free.

It’s an incredibly bright, uplifting song. It’s telling you you can carry on.

Sometimes it’s good to have a bunch of songs like that.

conclusion

So. That happened.

You probably all know my opinions on Prismism, which are that IT’S A FREAKING MASTERPIECE AND DESERVES ALL THE LOVE AND APPRECIATION ON THE PLANET!

*keels over and dies*

You guys can’t see it, but I just typed plant instead of planet and I’ve been laughing for the past 5 minutes.

Anyway, the album’s worth listening to, so go do that. I’ll wait.

Honourable Mention: Gimme Your Heart

I love this song. There’s no synth, no obvious editing, just Keuning and a guitar and some violin and I LOVE IT. It also makes me cry, but that’s unimportant. Seriously, though, the fact that it’s got no synth makes it really relaxing to listen to and a good stress reliever. Try it. Money Back Guarantee™ except you’re not paying me.

Well, that’s it for this week! Since we’ve done both Flowers and Keuning now, it’s time to vote again!

*Grandmaster voice* This week’s contenders are… Billie Eilish and Alan Walker!

Drop your vote, and your thoughts, in the comments. See ya next week!

Finally, in the wise words of Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, and Ronnie Vanucci:

We hope you enjoyed your stay. It’s good to have you with us, even if it’s just for the day.

Fish brain out.