It has already been six years since Billie Eilish released her first album, dont smile at me. It seems as though years have flown by since her first album came out, which included her first big hit and first track, “Ocean Eyes.” Since then, Eilish has released a number of big hits and great albums, including “bad guy” (2.3 billion plays on Spotify), “when the part’s over” (1.6 million plays on Spotify), and the hit album WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? This last album sent Eilish into the peak of her music career and fully into the world of pop culture. Her music has touched the hearts of many and her fan base is not a small one. Although her songs usually have a gloomy meaning to them, they are still amazing works of art that have been appreciated and related to by many people.
She is not just a music artist but also a pop culture icon, especially with her fashion which mostly consists of baggy clothes and has devoured many stereotypes.
For this month’s story of Music of the Students, we are going to begin with the freshman’s pick, “Billie Bossa Nova.” This track debuts as the third song on Billie’s album, Happier Than Ever. We interviewed Cameron Vakilli for the freshman’s pick and he said, “The guitar is cool and the melody is catchy.” It is a low-energy song with a nice pace, making it the perfect track to just chill with. The song’s lyrics describe the longing for attention along with lust or infatuation, and there’s also some mentions of obsession with the subject of the song.
Moving on to our junior’s pick for this month’, the selection is “What was I made for?”, best known for its inclusion in the Barbie movie from this summer. This song has touched so many as it can be found to be very relatable in today’s society. It was also just nominated for a Grammy in the Record of the Year category. Much like her other music, it is a slow song that has meaningful lyrics to the listener. It fits with the Barbie movie but is also relatable outside of the movie with the messages of not knowing who you are and the moments when you aren’t sure what changed. As high school students at Brownell Talbot, we get put under a lot of pressure to know what we want to do, where we want to go, and who we plan to be as adults. However, this is also a point in our life where things seem unsure and the sparks of childhood joy and magic fade more and more and instead judgment becomes important. All of these feelings are completely normal, and as Eilish says in her song, “I’m sad again, don’t tell my boyfriend, it’s not what he’s made for.”
Finally, our authors’ pick for this publication is the song titled “TV.” This song is about not wanting to talk and rather just wanting to watch TV. We found this the most relatable song because after a long day of school, it’s always great to relax and watch TV or be on your phone. The song’s deeper meaning, though, is about feeling like you’re sinking or drowning into a state of depression. The song touches on the lack of motivation and constantly closing yourself away from friends and rather wishing that your life was like how it’s portrayed in TV. A good portion of the song also speaks on a controlling relationship, the show of love on the internet, and TV relationship’s being perfect and magical, unlike a relationship you can’t break yourself away from. Overall, the song has many messages, but the main ones are losing yourself in the spur of life and only having energy to complete one thing at a time.
The general agreement with everyone we’ve talked to seems to be that Eilish’s music is calm and relatable. One student even said, “Her music is nice to have a little cry to.” She is able to connect to many people through her music and give a sense of comfort to her fans. The songs are more down and chill, and they have a more somber meaning. However, that doesn’t mean Eilish’s messages are any less good or important; they are still very meaningful. Her low energy, chill vibes, and sad music is what made her huge fanbase, shining as one of the most well-known music artists in today’s society.
