WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
This time it's WWAFAWDWG, another Billie Eilish album. I've listened to it a
number of times but I definitely favour some songs, so my familiarity ranges
from having lyrics memorized and being able to play the song in my head, to
only being able to recognize it when it comes on. I really do hope she
performs some of the songs off of this album at her concert in 2022 because
I'd love to hear these live.
1. !!!!!!!
When I first listened to her music I thought this was the weirdest, stupidest
thing ever, but now I can recognize that it's just her being her and with
context she probably thought it was a super funny moment. For us, we're left
in the dark. 3/10
2. bad guy
As far as my understanding goes, this was her biggest hit off of this album. I
used to not like this song as much, but it's really grown on me and I quite
enjoy it now. It's fun to sing along to, it's fun to groove to, and it just
sounds great. The ending used to be my least favourite thing on the album, but
I've gotten used to it so I don't mind it anymore. This feels like the kind of
song you'd sing with a smirk on your face. 8/10
3. xanny
As someone with a severe anxiety disorder, this song is pretty relatable. If
there was one thing I never wanted to do, it's take something like Xanax. I
was always so terrified of getting addicted to them, and still am, but
thankfully there's plenty of alternatives.
The first verse is also quite relatable, a lot of the people I was friends
with tended to also have anxiety or some kind of mental health issue, and a
lot of them turned to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs to cope. I don't judge
them, but I sometimes also felt like the "only one who's not stoned", it
really sucked to see my friends wasting away and damaging their bodies, and I
was sad to know they were in so much pain they felt that substance usage was
the only way out.
This song makes me sad, but it's a good song, the kind I'd listen to late at
night. 8/10
4. you should see me in a crown
The knife sound at the beginning is super cool for setting the grounds for
this song. I honestly don't have much detailed commentary about the lyrics or
the musicality, I think it's a cool song, but it's one I'd get tired of really
quickly so I don't listen to it too often. I'd probably listen to it if I
needed a confidence boost or something. 6/10
5. all the good girls go to hell
This song is super fun and groovy. Another one where I'm not super sure about
the lyrics or what exactly she was trying to convey, but I enjoy listening to
this song and I like the accompanying music video. 7/10
6. wish you were gay
I love the structure of this song! Treating heartbreak because of someone's
disinterest as a 12-step kind of thing and the countdown structure was SO cool
to me and I think it's one of their better lyrical ideas. The melody is
fitting for the countdown structure as well, and I like the idea of the song.
I think it's relatable to a lot of people, the idea of just wanting a reason
for why someone you love isn't reciprocating the feelings. Of course, if
someone doesn't like you, they just don't, but it sucks anyways if you like
them, and I can imagine that in scenarios involving love it can be quite
painful, so wanting a reason just to understand is understandable.
But oftentimes the reason will simply be that they just, aren't interested,
they can't explain it, they just aren't. And as much as I understand that --
I've also had instances where someone was interested in me and I didn't
reciprocate the feelings but I didn't have a specific reason why, I just
didn't -- I can also understand the need for a reason, so wishing there was a
simple explanation of that you're simply not the gender they're attracted to
makes sense.
Mostly I like the lyrical structure though. Really really like it. 7/10
7. when the party's over
Okay, the music video for this is probably my favourite music video of all
time. I love the humming at the beginning, it's quite pretty. The whole song
is pretty, I enjoy listening to it and I enjoy crying to it too (although my
tears are normal, I promise). For some reason the song makes me want to curl
up in bed with some ice cream.
With the music video, 10/10, without it, 8/10.
8. 8
Not gonna lie, I didn't realize until now that this is the eighth track. Very
cute of her to do that.
I've listened to this song dozens of times, but I need about a dozen more
listens before I figure it out and really form an opinion. For now, 6/10.
9. my strange addiction
I'm assuming this song is about being slightly obsessed with someone who is a
bad fit for you, based on the "I'm the powder, you're the fuse / just add some
friction" line. I quite enjoy the melody and the spoken bits throughout the
song are interesting. 7/10
10. bury a friend
I can easily start this off by saying that this is my favourite song on the
album. If you haven't seen it yet, the music video is incredible and is easily
up there with the "when the party's over" music video. I love the melody, the
beat, the structure, the lyrics, and the overall atmosphere of this song. The
song is probably most fitting for the album cover, and includes the album name
in the lyrics.
I love how dark the song is, I mean how many songs do you know that sound
fantastic and also include actual recordings from the artist's orthodontic
appointment's drill (see an interview with her on YouTube about this song) and
have the artist repeating "I wanna end me"?
The lines "what do you want from me? / why don't you run from me? / ... / why
aren't you scared of me? / why do you care for me?" are so so so well written
and relatable. I really enjoy this song and could probably write an essay
about how good it is, but there's more songs to go and it just finished
playing. 10/10 (although the video makes it an 11/10)
11. ilomilo
This song transitions from the previous one since the melody of it begins in
the last ten seconds of the previous track. However, it feels slightly forced
compared to the two inter-song transitions from HTE.
This song is really sweet and I like the melody, it's one of my favourite ones
to listen to regularly. Based on an interview with her that I watched, it's
actually about a game called ilomilo, where the goal of the game is to unite
the two characters, ilo and milo, who start on opposite sides of the map. It's
super cute and I quite like that she managed to write such a pretty song about
a sweet video game she played as a kid. 8/10
12. listen before i go
This song makes me cry. My interpretation is someone standing on the edge of a
rooftop high up, thinking about jumping. The lyrics sound like a goodbye note.
"These salty tears on my cheek / that's what a year long headache / does to
you / I'm not okay, I feel so scattered" sounds like something someone
struggling with depression would experience. "Sorry, there's no way out / but
down" is just, so incredibly sad. And at the end, around 3:52, you can hear
sirens in the background and at 3:58 the sound just cuts out with five seconds
of the track left, which is silence. Pretty indicative of what happened.
It's kind of ironic, because the first time I heard this song I wasn't paying
attention to the lyrics and thought to myself it sounded a bit like a lullaby,
that the song was peaceful enough that I'd fall asleep to it. Needless to say,
actually listening to the lyrics was a bit of a shock. 10/10
13. i love you
Right off the bat, the guitar which sticks around throughout the song is
really beautiful and builds a great base for the rest of the song to be built
upon. I think the lyrics are self explanatory to a good enough extent that I
don't need to leave much comment on them.
You can really hear Finneas' voice in this song in places, which is nice. The
melody is lilting and it almost feels like the song is holding your hand as it
walks you through the lyrics. 9/10
14. goodbye
This song is probably one of the best final tracks I've ever heard on any
album. It wraps up all the songs beautifully by combining themes from each
song. Not to mention her voice sounds amazing in this song.
"It's not true" is the opening line in i love you, "take me to the rooftop" is
the first line of listen before i go, "told you not to worry" is the first
line in ilomilo, "what do you want from me" is the opening line from bury a
friend, "don't ask questions" is the first sung line from my strange
addiction, "wait a minute" is the opening line from 8, "don't you
know I'm no good for you" is the first line in when the party's over, "baby I
don't feel so good" is the first line in wish you were gay, "all the good
girls go to hell" is quite obviously from all the good girls go to hell, "bite
my tongue, bide my time" is the opening line from you should see me in a
crown, "what is it about them?" is the first line from xanny, and "I'm the bad
guy" is obviously from bad guy. She does a full walk through the album in
reverse, without making it sound forced and while keeping the song melodic. I
really like this ending and personally think it's one of her stronger moments
musically. 9/10
Overall this is my favourite album she's released. It fits together well, has
some truly incredible moments in it, the music videos are all at the very
least intriguing (and at best, fantastic), and there isn't a single song I
don't like.
In the next one of these posts I'll do her other album, along with her singles
since that album is quite short.
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