In these moments, life can feel overwhelming and devoid of hope. But in this collaboration by Christian artists NEEDTOBREATHE and Tori Kelly (which you can find on the companion soundtrack for Prime Video’s new series House of David), we’re challenged to reframe our disappointments. We’re invited to look at life’s dark moments not with despair, but with a faith-filled belief that God’s redeeming work sometimes happens in life’s deepest, shadow-filled valleys.

POSITIVE CONTENT

NEEDTBREATHE frontman Bear Rinehart unpacks the paradox of how God meets us and provides for us in our most desperate moments. “I was standing at the bottom,” he sings. “Piled up ash and broken bone/It was only then I realized/What I needed all along/At the end of me/Finds the truth of You.”

Likewise, Kelly’s part in the song echoes similar ideas about encountering redemption when life feels bleak: “There’s a beauty in the ashes/There’s redemption in the fall/There’s no way that we can rise/Until we’re brave enough to crawl.”

The chorus mingles NEEDTOBREATHE’s soulful, Southern, country-rock style with Kelly’s more pop-focused sound and a backing choir that lends the entire song a very strong gospel vibe: “Cause I’ve got a story (We can sing, we can sing)/From out of the fire (We can sing, we can sing)/We’re gonna rise up/We got victory/Hallelujah (Hallelujah).”

CONTENT CONCERNS

None.

TRACK SUMMARY

Rinehart said of the song and the TV series to which it’s connected, “I heard about the show and always felt connected to the story of David. I could always see myself in his story. Sometimes beauty and brokenness can exist in the same place. The song ‘I’ve Got a Story’ is really my story.”

Kelly added, “‘I’ve Got a Story’ is a song about struggle, perseverance, reflection and triumph. I believe its message is relatable to so many people going through trials and tribulations in their lives. I hope this song finds anyone who listens to it in a moment when they need it most, whether they’re going through a painful time or a moment of victory.”

Fans of NEEDTOBREATHE or Tori Kelly will likely love this gritty, redemption-focused collaboration. And even if you’re not familiar with them, “I’ve Got a Story” is definitely worth checking out if you’re in need of an inspirational, gospel-focused dose of hope.

The post I’ve Got a Story appeared first on Plugged In.

His follow-up to 2023’s wildly successful debut, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1), doubles down on Swims’ strengths. Namely, his genre-busting style paired with earnest, vulnerable and confessional lyrics. Teddy doesn’t look or sound a bit like Taylor Swift. But his songwriting style borrows from her approach, even if it’s unintentional, by blurring musical boundaries and inviting fans to relate to his heartbreak, his struggles and his occasional triumphs.

Stylistically, Swims’ sound simmers like a big ol’ pot of savory gumbo, with lots of ingredients. At times, his soulful, smoky voice recalls Adele’s powerful pipes. Other times, a bit of CeeLo Green sneaks in. Is he country? Pop? R&B? Neo-soul? The simplest answer is yes.

Perhaps a bit like Jelly Roll, both stylistically and in terms of his face-tatted appearance, Teddy Swims defies easy categorization. And that, perhaps, helps explain his massive appeal: His breakthrough hit “Lose Control,” which Plugged In reviewed almost a year ago, remains in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 mainstream hits chart, having logged a whopping 75 weeks there as of this writing.

Listening to Swims’ latest 13-song album, it’s not hard to understand his appeal. But some elements to his emotional storytelling need to be approached with caution.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Swims sings, really, about just one subject: romance. This album treats us to the good, bad and ugly in that thematic arena. On the positive side, “Not Your Man” wisely recognizes that he needs to walk away from a reckless, deceptive woman, and not to look back: “This ain’t how you treat somebody you say you love/ … I’m not your man.”

“Bad Dreams” recognizes that a woman helps Swims keep his inner shadows and struggles at bay: “Without you/I keep slippin’ into bad dreams.”

A couple of tracks sing the praises of a woman’s committed love, with Swims even wondering how he got so lucky: “You’re so beautiful, spiritual, more like a miracle/Part of me’s scared that you might be invisible/Too good to be true,” we hear on “Are You Even Real.” Likewise, “Black & White” finds him willing to let down his defenses and take a chance with someone special (“You’re the first one I told the truth to/Something’s changing inside of me when I look at you”)

“Northern Lights” fondly reminisces about a long-lost love. “Guilty” gushes that Swims is guilty “of having only eyes for you.” More sweet sentiments turn up in “If You Ever Change Your Mind,” “Hammer to the Heart” and “She Loves the Rain.” The latter finds Swims singing, “[She] finds the beauty in broken when no one else can see/Well, maybe I got a shot of her seeing good in me.”

CONTENT CONCERNS

Despite quite a few earnestly romantic moments throughout the album, we hit a few rough patches, too—and one song in particular that we need to unpack.

Perhaps in an effort to reach a broader audience, the song “She Got It?” (featuring collaborations with Coco Jones and GloRilla) packs in more explicit problems that the rest of the album’s other 12 tracks. The song finds Swims crudely objectifying a woman’s backside (“Two first-class tickets just to fit that a– in/ … Can’t buy this honey, and that s— ain’t free”). Later he adds, again blending leering lyrics with harsher profanity, “It’s so g–d–n beautiful/And you need two hands when you hold it.” Guests Jones and GloRilla pack in more still more suggestive lyrics and profanity, including uses of “b–ch,” “a–” and a couple more s-words.

Also problematic is the song “Funeral,” which plays with imagery blending sex and death: “Put that poison on your lips/Baby, take it slow/Lying in your arms/What a way to go.”Mildly suggestive references to sharing a bed, getting tangled up in sheets and being wowed by a woman’s body turn up in quite a few tracks, such as “Funeral,” “Are You Even Real” and “Hammer to the Heart.” Likewise, we get some passing references to drinking and getting high on the tracks “Black & White” and “Guilty.” And a smattering of mild profanities, such as “h—” and “d–n,” turn up as well.

ALBUM SUMMARY

Teddy Swims neither looks nor sounds like your typical pop superstar. But his passionate, personal music—often about love gone wrong, or (occasionally) right—obviously connects with a broad fan base.

In terms of content, this album represents that classic glass half-full, glass half-empty conundrum. It features some introspection, some tenderness and what seems to be a genuine longing for lasting love.

But then you’ve got some decidedly toxic stuff to slosh through as well, especially “She Got It?” Whereas most of the album’s problems are relatively tame by 2025 standards, that track revels lustily in objectification, with a surprising of harsh profanity tossed in, too.

The latter song certainly tempers my temptation to heap too much praise on Teddy Swims’ latest effort. There’s some nice stuff here, both musically and lyrically. But there are some nasty elements to steer clear of, too.

The post I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) appeared first on Plugged In.

Now, it has, with the band’s release of From Zero, Linkin Park’s eighth studio album.

Linkin Park 1.0 was known, among other things, for Bennington’s searing, agonized vocals driving songs drenched with pain and alienation. His aching, raging articulation of loss connected with a generation of rock and metal fans in the early 2000s. And Bennington’s battles with his demons—sexual abuse as a child paired with alcohol and drug abuse later in his life—could not be salved by the worldwide acclaim his band achieved. In the end, he succumbed to a well-chronicled battle with depression and the temptation of ending it all.

Linkin Park didn’t end, as I noted. But it has changed. Not surprisingly, the group’s elevation of a new frontwoman, Emily Armstrong, hasn’t been without controversy on multiple levels.

For many, the idea that Bennington could ever be “replaced” was simply anathema. Another layer of controversy has swirled regarding the 38-year-old Armstrong’s alleged connections to Scientology and some of its most well-known practitioners.

Armstrong said of being brought into the fold of Linkin Park, “It was like I stepped into Disney World. It was like … full of magic and full of opportunity and everything you could possibly imagine.” 

For anyone wondering if Linkin Park still has cultural resonance almost a decade after their last album was released, the charts seem to answer that question with a resounding yes. From Zero narrowly missed being the No. 1 album in the U.S. in the first week of its release, and still managed to top the charts in 10 other countries.

And while no one would likely ever confuse Armstrong’s voice with Bennington’s, there’s enough similarity vocally that by the second or third track on From Zero, I wasn’t even really thinking about it much differently than any other Linkin Park album. This 11-track effort clocks in at a brief 32 minutes, reviving the band’s signature fusion of rock and rap, screaming and synthesizing, emoting and, well, more emoting.

POSITIVE CONTENT

There’s a lot of hurt poured out on From Zero—just as we’ve witnessed on every other Linkin Park album. Amid that pain, we hear occasional moments of honest vulnerability and perspective on the hurt that’s been endured.

On album opener “The Emptiness Machine,” the lyrics deal with why someone keeps getting sucked back into an emotionally abusive relationship, even though she knows better. The reason she “gave up who I am for who you wanted me to be” is that “I only wanted to be a part of something.”

“Over Each Other” recognizes that a relationship is badly fractured because neither side ever listens to the other: “I can’t go to sleep/I lie awake at night/I’m so tired of talkin’/Over each other.”

“Casualty” could be heard as someone having enough self-respect to look for the escape hatch in an unhealthy relationship: “Let me out, set me free/ … I won’t be your casualty.” Similarly, “Two Faced” chronicles a lover’s realization of being played by a partner who will never take responsibility for anything.

“IGYEIH” stands for the chorus’ repeated line, “I gave you everything I have,” which—not surprisingly at this point—wasn’t enough.

The closest we come, I’d argue, to anything genuinely positive on the album comes in the last song, where we hear, “I asked for forgiveness a hundred times/Believed it myself when I halfway apologized.”

CONTENT CONCERNS

Much of what I included in the section above could also be seen as being problematic, too, as this album’s 11 songs plod through brokenness, anger, alienation and pain. There is, unfortunately, very little light here.

In terms of harsh content, the album features two profanities, two f-words: one shows up in the first track, “The Emptiness Machine,” as someone bitterly realizes that hope for a good outcome is an act of futile (and profane) naiveté. The other appears in “Good Things Go.” We also hear lines that describe (probably metaphorically, though it’s not clear) submitting to the abuse of someone else: “I let you cut me open/Just to watch me bleed.”

That sense of being a victim of someone abuse and powerlessly submitting to it shows up repeatedly on From Zero. On “Cut the Bridge,” for instance, we hear about some who seems to take sadistic joy in hurting others by blowing up relationships: “Everything was perfect/Always made me nervous/Knowing you would burn it/Just to watch it burn/ … I was sitting on the dynamite for you to light the fuse.”

“Heavy Is the Crown” deals with yet another relationship going up in smoke: “Today’s gonna be the day you notice/ ‘Cause I’m tired of explaining what the joke is/ … Fire in the sunrise, ashes rainin’ down/Try to hold it in, but it keeps bleeding out.”

Most of the remaining tracks vent some combination of anger, disgust and rage, yet there seems to be little hope of avoiding relational obliteration. “Overflow,” for instance, delivers that message with a brutally nihilistic right hook: “Turning from a white sky/To a black hole/Turning from sunlight/To a shadow, oh/I know I can’t make it stop/I know I’m out of control/I keep filling it up/To overflow.”

ALBUM SUMMARY

It’s no mystery to me why Linkin Park went supernova near the end of 2000. Shinoda, Bennington and the rest of the band—like so many huge rock acts before them—gave primal voice to the disillusionment and alienation of youth. “I tried so hard and got so far/But in the end, it doesn’t even matter,” Bennington and Co. told us in 2001’s decade-defining hit “In the End.” For a generation of young metal fans, lyrics like those connected viscerally with their own brokenness, just as Nirvana’s music had done nearly a decade before. Nothing mattered, and truth was nowhere to be found. The only thing that felt real was pain—unending pain.

But what happens when all there is … is pain? How do you find the will and the hope to push forward, to persevere? Linkin Park boldly vented the pain of a generation, and it made them multiplatinum rock gods along the way. But even pop-culture deification wasn’t enough to stave off Bennington’s demons,.

I write all that because when we’re young—or younger—sometimes it can feel like pain and reality are indeed synonymous. And finding a band that puts words to our hurts can indeed offer a kind of catharsis—for a while. Those voices can give us the words and the sounds to express the anguish inside. I get that. I was that kid, and I’ve connected with plenty of songs and artists like that.

It takes time to see and learn that pain doesn’t always have the last word, that hope can emerge over time in ways that surprise us. But when that pain is magnified and reinforced so powerfully, for some the outcome is grim indeed—both for the artists themselves and for those who follow them.

What I was hoping for on this album was just a modicum of perspective from Linkin Park. I had hoped that seven-plus years after Bennington’s death, perhaps there would be a point of view bigger than never-ending pain and rage. I didn’t expect daisies and “Kum Ba Ya,” mind you. But some perspective that life doesn’t have to be as hopeless as it sometimes feels in the moment? That would have been gratifying.

But this feels like an album that Linkin Park could have made in 2004—which for some fans will be a feature, not a bug. For old fans and new, though, I’d hoped for a bit more, well, hope. Just a bit.

It’s not really there.

The post From Zero appeared first on Plugged In.

Boone’s musical style is emblematic of his early career arc. In the span of four years, Boone jokingly filled in for a friend during a high school talent show, auditioned for American Idol, dropped out of the competition, gathered a massive following on TikTok, and opened Taylor Swift’s concert in London.

His rapid ascension led to his debut album, Fireworks and Rollerblades, which is grounded in two musical styles.

At first listen, it is a collection of pop rock songs about navigating love, self-esteem, and insecurities that feel symptomatic of coming of age in modern times.

Yet it is also an album born out of contemporary Christian music and its corresponding lifestyle. Boone comes from a Mormon family in Washington state, where he and his four sisters spent their childhoods backpacking and road tripping through the mountains.

The premise of Boone’s music is that he’s an approachable, comforting guy ready to start a relationship. But underneath the surface lurks something more tragic. Across the album, we hear moments when Boone’s scars are uncovered, the fireworks ignite, and the despair of his broken heart leaks its way into the light.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Boone’s Mormon background is pretty apparent, as he fills the album with references to God. At times, he trusts God with his relationships and their outcomes. Boone’s most popular song, “Beautiful Things,” contains lyrics such as “I thank God every day/for the girl he sent my way.” He also has realistic expectations in singing, “But I know the things He gives, He can take away.”

Throughout the album’s 15-song tracklist, Boone searches for what can really provide satisfaction and, at times, salvation. On “Slow It Down,” Boone sings, “While your world is spinning out…Let me pull you out/Let me hold you now/Let me slow it down,” confirming his commitment to his partner.

“Forever And a Day” reveals a Boone doubling down on his commitments by singing, “I’m yours forever and a day/I knew that I loved you.”

“Friend” features Boone realizing that he’s struggling and lonely and deciding to do something about it. He sings, “I could use someone to help me pick up the pieces that remain … And I need a friend, yeah I need a friend/when the world starts cavin’ in.”

CONTENT CONCERNS

At other times, Boone’s discussion of God and his relationships can also show the cracks in his faith when things don’t go his way. On “In the Stars,” he sings, “It’s like I’ve buried my faith with you/I’m screaming at a God I don’t know if I believe in/Cause I don’t know what else I can do.”

Later on in “My Greatest Fear,” he continues this theme, singing, “And if there’s a God I don’t know where he been/We used to talk but we haven’t spoken since early May.”

Boone uses slight euphemisms throughout the album to soften some otherwise concerning developments in his relationships. For example, “Hello Love” describes a relationship on its last legs as Boone casually sings, “When you look at me with those empty eyes/I could pass away/I could bleed and die.”

“Beautiful Things” implies that Boone’s family knows and is OK with his girlfriend spending the night at their house. Moreover, receiving his family’s approval for his girlfriend to sleep in bed with him is a green light for Boone to take their relationship to the next level.

Elsewhere on the album, Boone references “getting stoned” and “getting high” to dull the pain of relationships that have run their course. Another song contains mild references to cheating as a viable option for revenge in Boone’s relationships.

The track “Drunk In My Mind” contains an increasingly concerning metaphor between Boone’s latest love and getting drunk on wine. He sings, “After I tasted your wine/You had me drunk in my mind.”

ALBUM SUMMARY

Debut albums are typically clear indicators of a musician’s strengths and weaknesses. Fireworks and Rollerblades is no different, and its primary strength is its revelation of what matters most to Boone.

The authenticity of Boone’s lyrics and style is admirable. His unapologetic passion in his relationships certainly produces fireworks in emotional terms.

However, it’s the rollerblades that are an enduring image. At one moment, a rollerblader is smoothly gliding, as the album’s cover art athletically displays. But anyone who’s bladed knows that the moment you lose focus and hit a crack in the cement, everything comes crashing down.

Boone does his best to navigate the highs and lows of young adult relationships. Throughout the album, his reflections are often contradictory; he’s both graceful and clumsy, apologetic and stubborn, loving and hateful, and–most concerning–simultaneously believes in and doubts God. While this is an authentic portrayal of real life, these contradictions also should prompt a listener to question if Boone’s messages lead to lasting fulfillment.

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But Skillet does. That theologian would be Eugene Petersen, who in addition to his paraphrase of Scripture known as The Message, also wrote another book with a title that always inspires me: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Name-checking Peterson just might clue you into the reality that Skillet isn’t just about the music: It’s about the Word.

Skillet, formed in 1996, is closing in on three decades of faithfully translating the gospel into a language that many metal fans might not have heard any other way.

Sure, there are a handful of Christian rock bands that have been around longer; Stryper and Petra come to mind, and both have been on tour this year.

That said, I’m not sure that there’s any Christian band that tours as relentlessly as Skillet does. Every time I go to a meet-and-greet with this band and see how amazingly engaged they are with fans, I can’t help but think, Man, I think this would be hard to do night after night, year after year, decade after decade. I think they’d get tired. Jaded. Or, more simply, fade from relevance amid constantly changing musical tastes.

Yet they persist. Album after thunderous, unrelenting, prophetically challenging album. Tour after tour.

Now John and Korey Cooper, along with Jen Ledger and Seth Morisson, are at it again. They’ve moved on from longtime label home Atlantic onto their own new label, Hear It Loud. Indeed. And the band’s new album, Revolution—the Jesus kind, of course—the band’s next step in a long, loud obedience in the same direction.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Cooper and company tear into the album opener “Showtime” with a vengeance, a fist-in-the-air anthem custom made to open concerts for a long time to come. “Heart of a lion is roarin’ in my soul,” Cooper sings. “Truth is trapped like fire in my bones/Make my mark, no apologies/A day in the life, a revolutionary.”

A similar “won’t back down” sentiment infuses “Unpopular,” in which the band voices its determination to stand for truth no matter how much it gums up the gears of mainstream mindsets: “I won’t apologize when I speak my mind,” Cooper growls.

 “All That Matters” clarifies that defiant stance, insisting that while “I don’t want to start a fight/I always try to do what’s right.” Cooper declares, “Fight for what I love/Help me God above/ … My faith, my family, my freedom’s/All that matters to me.”

“Not Afraid” proclaims exactly that message: “I am not afraid/I will keep the faith/Never back down ‘til my dying day.” Title track “Revolution” likewise stokes the embers of faith, reminding us that the revolutionary message Christians have to deliver is one of “Faith. Hope. Love.”

Skillet has often written songs from the perspective of someone struggling to hold on to hope and meaning, and we get two more of those songs here in “Ash in the Wind” and “Fire Inside of Me.” The former deals with someone struggling to throw off a yoke of lies and accusations perhaps from a human accuser, perhaps from our spiritual enemy: “Your words were your power over me,” Cooper sings. “You locked me inside this cage of glass.” But then he insists, “I wanna take back what you have stolen/I’m searching inside for what is real.” Similarly, “The Fire Inside of Me” confesses pain, doubt and isolation (“Like a vagabond I roam/With no home or peace/I know that I’m not fine/ … Cold and numb/I need to feel alive”), before turning toward God to experience that longed-for life (“Your touch, your life/Your fire.”)

“Defector” powerfully reminds us of God’s unwavering love for us: “I will be your light when you can’t see/ … I know the battle you’ve been through/I’m never backing out on you.”

The tender acoustic ballad “Happy Wedding Day (Alex’s Song)” will have listeners trading head-banging for tissue-dabbing as Cooper reflects on his daughter’s wedding day and all the memories that led up to that moment: “Now look at you standing in your white dress/Where’d the time go? Not prepared for this.”

But lest we think Skillet’s getting soft after three decades, album closer “Death Defier” pounds that doubt into submission as it salutes the faithful who’ve come before and paved the way for believers today: “All the fearless ones/All the fallen sons/Glory that never fades ‘cause they paid with pain and a trail to blaze.”

CONTENT CONCERNS

Some families may not be crazy about the lyrics “If thinking for myself’s called raising h—/I guess that I’m an outlaw.”

ALBUM SUMMARY

I don’t have any idea how long Skillet intends to keep pounding its fans with religiously “rebellious” anthems that challenge us to stand up for what we believe. But listening to Revolution, it feels like the band has fresh wind in its sails.

Feel free to disagree with me if you’re a longtime fan (and we’d love to hear what you think, too), but several tracks here very much remind me of the vibe on the band’s mid-2000s albums Comatose (2006) and Awake (2009).

The lone mild profanity mentioned above is the only issue here that some could potentially take issue with. Apart from that, Revolution keeps Skillet’s hard-rocking freight train hustling down the tracks, encouraging the broken, bungled and battered to hang on to hope and never to be ashamed of their faith—no matter what the world may say.

The post Revolution appeared first on Plugged In.

“Your music stinks.”

“You disgust me.”

Throughout the video for Skillet’s new song “Unpopular,” the lead single from the group’s forthcoming album Revolution, messages like those can be seen in the background. (Similar stuff is heard audibly at the outset of the video, too.)  

The message of the song itself is unmistakable: According to Skillet, some people don’t like Skillet. Dig a bit deeper, and we see that the band’s unapologetic commitment to truth isn’t always warmly embraced.

Skillet, of course, has been an immensely popular band for nearly 30 years. Cooper and his current bandmates (wife and multi-instrumentalist Korey, drummer Jen Ledger and lead guitarist Seth Morrison) have been pioneers in forging a fusion between hard rock and faith, pushing that genre forward.  

But in the band’s first single since leaving Atlantic Records, Skillet speaks to its unpopularity.

Positive Content

Though Scripture doesn’t use the word “unpopular,” the Bible describes how early Christians were persecuted, imprisoned and cast out of both Jewish and Roman society.

Similarly, Skillet’s frontman John Cooper acknowledges the unpopularity of his convictions: “Unpopular, unpopular/Call me out/ … Can’t supplement true facts.” And though at first he feels like “I’m a loner in the crowd,” eventually he rightly recognizes that he’s not alone in the fight: “I ain’t a loner in the crowd.”

Cooper also recognizes his blessings (“Got my family, sanity, everything I need”) and stands firm in his beliefs, singing “I won’t apologize when I speak my mind.” In fact, the band seems to embrace its countercultural identity: “I think today’s a good day to be unpopular.” Cooper also wonders why it seems like “everybody’s lost their dang minds.”

Content Concerns

The second verse contains a line some might hear as profane: “If thinkin’ for myself is called raisin’ h—/I guess that I’m an outlaw, woo.”

And others might be surprised that the song doesn’t directly reference God as the source of truth that makes the band’s convictions “unpopular.” (That said, not every Skillet song directly references God, though every album definitely does.)

Track Summary

Leaving Atlantic Records has given Skillet the freedom to experiment with their sound. Longtime fans may notice that this track’s more stripped-back and raw production recalls some of their earlier albums, stylistically speaking.

But if the sound here is perhaps a bit of a throwback, John Cooper and his bandmates maintain an unwavering commitment to truth despite any criticism that might come their way.

Our lone concern here is that some families might not be crazy about the phrase “raisin’ h—,” even if Cooper is perhaps making reference to that biblical reality.

The post Unpopular appeared first on Plugged In.

This 34-year-old Irish native is probably best known for his hit “Take Me To Church,” which told listeners that sex was both a part of Hozier’s religion and an act of worship.

So, in many ways, listeners have come to expect Hozier to be lyrically daring. And he continues to be so. Especially on his new EP, Unreal Unearth: Unheard, with his latest single called “Too Sweet.”

While his former hit was bold and basically sacrilegious, “Too Sweet” is so masterfully written that you might not expect it to simply be about how Hozier is not a morning person, while a woman in his life is. And he is, kindly, over it.

POSITIVE CONTENT

It’s true. Hozier is not a morning person (“It can’t be said I’m an early bird/It’s 10 o’clock before I say a word”). But this woman in his life is, and she feels that if Hozier was, he’d be a healthier person (“How do you sleep so well/You keep tellin’ me to live right/To go to bed before the daylight/But then you wake up for the sunrise”).

But that’s not how he wants to wake up. He wonders if she ever wants to just take it easy and “wake up, dark as a lake/Smellin’ like a bonfire/lost in a haze?”.

It’s clear this woman is “drunk on life” and he thinks “it’s great.”

Still, his preferences are vastly different from hers.

He wants to enjoy life with a drink (“I think I’ll take my whiskey neat”), a strong cup of coffee (“My coffee black”), unconventional work hours (“I work late when I’m free from the phone”) and a much later bedtime that’s certainly unproductive in this woman’s eyes (“And my bed at three”).

It seems that she’s the opposite of Hozier in every way. He calls her “sweet.” In fact, she’s “too sweet” for him. Too structured, too put together and too uptight (“You treat your mouth as if it’s Heaven’s gate/The rest of you like you’re the TSA”).

CONTENT CONCERNS

It’s not necessarily bad to be a morning person. It’s not a sin to be a night owl. It’s totally fine to enjoy different things, to have different preferences and to work on a different schedule than most. To view life in a different lens.

Really, the only concerning lyric here is that Hozier thinks it’s strange this woman wants to keep in shape. To which he comments “who wants to live forever, Babe?”.

He also mentions that he enjoys drinking his “whiskey neat.”

TRACK SUMMARY

Of all the things this song says, I think it most clearly communicates that Hozier is a masterful lyricist.

I’ve never listened to a song that basically told someone to enjoy life and not take everything so seriously in such a beautiful way.

As someone who is pretty type-A, I can appreciate a lot of what is being said here. Especially because Hozier is clear that he appreciates this woman’s preferences (“If you’re drunk on life babe, I think it’s great”) and views her as a beautiful creature (“You know you’re bright as the morning/As soft as the rain/Pretty as a vine/As sweet as a grape”).

Just one that needs to calm down and be OK that he too has his own way of enjoying things.

As for problematic content, there isn’t much here to worry about. Yes, Hozier enjoys whiskey. Sure, some of his habits could be called questionable. And he does say that he doesn’t feel life is so great that he’d want to live forever.

But there’s no profanity. No references to sex. No videos from which you’d need to shield your eyes. Just some wonderfully wound lyrics that tell a funny story of sorts.

The post Too Sweet appeared first on Plugged In.

He goes by his stage name Swims, which is an acronym for Someone Who Isn’t Me Sometimes, while Teddy refers to the frame of his youth. 

Swims was born as Jaten Dimsdale in Georgia back in 1992. He grew up a multi-talented young man, playing high school football and then finding his true passion for singing in musical theater. For Swims, it was a joy to work on his vocal technique as he constantly experimented with music of all genres, from rock to soul to R&B. 

After that, he sang in multiple bands; but his real claim to fame came in 2019, thanks to his YouTube channel. There, he began putting out covers from a range of genres, dipping his toes into many melodic waters.

And now we’re back in the present. 

Swims’ track “Lose Control,” from his debut album I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy, continues to climb the charts. It’s currently sitting at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s being played all over TikTok and Instagram. It’s everywhere. 

I’d venture to say it’s because this man can sing. Seriously. He doesn’t need an ounce of Auto-Tune or any editing. And in “Lose Control,” his powerful vocals call out to a woman who brings out both the best and worst in him. 

POSITIVE CONTENT

“Lose Control” has introspective moments, as Swims wrestles with his “addiction” for his lover, realizing that they’re not the best for one another. 

Swims feels trapped by his desire (“Feels like the walls are all closin’ in/And the devil’s knockin’ at my door”) and doesn’t know what to do in his solitude (“It’s takin’ a toll on me, tryin’ my best to keep/From tearin’ the skin off my bones”). 

But despite this woman’s apparently negative influence on him, Swims would still rather be with her … 

CONTENT CONCERNS

… and that’s what he’s wrestling with in this song. He admits that he has no self-control without her (“I lose control/When you’re not next to me/ … You make a mess of me”). He equates his desire to a drug addiction (“Problem is, I want your body like a fiend, like a bad habit/… I want that real full moon black magic and it takes two”) that can only be solved, it seems, in bed (“And I need some relief, my skin in your teeth/Can’t see the forest through the trees …”). 

TRACK SUMMARY 

Swims is known for singing about a wide range of topics, such as heartbreak, codependency, sex, substance abuse and alcohol. 

At times, he’s got intuitive psychological insights that are worth noting. And we hear some of those in this song. 

And man, can he sing, as I noted above. There’s just something about real singing. Real music. Real talent. You can feel it in your bones. In my opinion, Teddy Swims has that kind of real  talent.

But let’s not confuse his artistic capability with being family friendly. Because this song certainly isn’t. It’s primal, graphically sensual and deeply problematic as Swims wrestles through a codependent, toxic relationship as strong as drug addiction itself.

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These two superstars have released a toe-tapping single called “Doctor (Work It Out).” And even though this infectious dance track is technically new, it’s also been more than 10 years in the making.

The song was teased way back in 2012 while Cyrus was working on her 2013 album, Bangerz. Then, it was leaked in 2017. Still, the timing wasn’t right. So, to the vault it went.

Now that it’s available to the public, the song and its accompanying music video have gained over 5.8 million views in three days on YouTube. That’s a lot of views.

This song is, without question, meant to be a feel-good, dance anthem. It’s also doused with desire, soaked in sexual innuendo and peppered with light profanity.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Nary-a-one single thing.

Sure, if you don’t listen to the words, the beat most certainly makes you want to dance. But you cannot separate the song from the provocative, sexually-charged lyrics and seductive video.

CONTENT CONCERNS

And that’s where we’ll start. With the lyrics.

Miley tells this man that she is ready to be his doctor or nurse, with the sole intention of being the medicine he needs before he sustains any… injuries (“A midnight medication/Just show me where it hurts/I need to rock you baby/Before your body bursts”).

She’s ready to be the one who solves his issues (“Let lil’ mama work you out”), provided he’s on the same page. After all, she’s not going to dilly-dally (“Are you on the fence?/Don’t waste my d–n time”).

And it’s implied that he most certainly will be swayed by her one-time offer (“Take your sugar/And pour it into me”) by the night’s end (“I’ll slip, but I won’t slide/Don’t gotta be forever/Just together for the night”).

TRACK SUMMARY

When I first played this song, I was certain it was Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” It sounds so similar, I’m guessing, because Thicke’s song was also created with Pharrell Williams and has the exact same opening as Miley’s new hit.

But it was not the same song. And while it’s less problematic in some ways, that doesn’t make it better.

Miley’s song casts aside the references to sadomasochism as well as the winks at degrading women that the other track included.

In this go around, Cyrus is telling a lover that she’s ready to act out all the things she has in mind.

Those acts aren’t displayed on the song’s accompanying video, but the camera does get glimpses of Cyrus seductively dancing, wearing a leotard that reveals her thong, her buttocks and a fair amount of cleavage.

Apparently, that was the goal.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Miley says of the song that,

It completely embodies my spirit and my essence at this exact moment. And this song is really just kind of fun, and it’s not too heavy or heady or deep, and that’s kind of right where I am and my nature at this moment. And so it just feels really reflective of where I’m at, and that’s really what my music always does.

I can’t say that I agree with Miley. The beat is fun, sure. But the lyrics carry their own hyper-sexualized weight that’s sure to sway some listeners one way or the other.

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Then, he sang at a high school talent show, impressed his listeners and discovered he had a talent for it.

Soon after, he started a TikTok account and, in 2021, auditioned for the 19th season of American Idol and quickly moved forward before withdrawing from the competition.

But American Idol may not be where you’ve heard his voice. Not just because he eventually took himself out of the running, but because his songs are all over TikTok (where he has 4.7 million followers) and Instagram where another 1.4 million people follow him).

The latest single that Boone’s fans are embracing? It’s one that’s climbing the Billboard Hot 100 charts, too–and it’s called “Beautiful Things.”

The song features Boone’s crooning voice, tender guitar and lyrics that seem to encourage listeners to sing along. Lyrics that find Boone asking God not to snatch away all the newfound things, and people, in his life that bring him both peace and contentment.

POSITIVE CONTENT

Boone shares that he has personally struggled for the last four years. But now, things are better for him in every way. He’s close to his family (“I see my family every month”), he’s enjoying where he is in life (“And I think I may have it all”) and he’s even found a girl worth bringing home to meet his parents (“I found a girl my parents love”).

Still, he wrestles with these good things, believing that God can take them all away if He should so please. And this is exactly what he’s begging God not to do (“But I know the things He gives me He can take away/…I hope I don’t lose you/…I want you I need you, oh God/Don’t take these beautiful things that I’ve got”).

CONTENT CONCERNS

Boone says that he wants his girlfriend to be a part of his life, and remain a woman with whom he’s intimate (“She’ll come and stay the night…/And I hold you every night/That’s a feeling I wanna get used to/But there’s no man as terrified/As the man who stands to lose you”).

He also admits to dealing with anxiety, saying that he often struggles to fully enjoy what he has because he fears he will lose it all (“I’ve got enough/I’ve got peace and I’ve got love/But I’m up at night thinkin’/I just might lose it all”).

TRACK SUMMARY

This song sounds like something I would have obsessed over in college. mostly because I had a really big Indie music phase and this hits all the right notes.

Boone has this voice that some may mistake as a foreign accent. The drums come in at just the right time. The lyrics fuel young adult angst. It’s, like, the perfect combination.

But my college music choices aren’t why you’re here. You want to know what this song is about.

Primarily, it’s about a young man finally doing well in life, finally falling in love with a woman, finally reaching a place of peace… but there’s still a voice in the back of his head telling him none of it will last. It’s all momentary. Fleeting.

And instead of Boone being the one that would screw it all up, it seems that God is to blame here. God is the one who could take all of this goodness away from him. Like the story of Job.

Is he right theologically? Well, that’s up to the listener in this case. But for parents, there’s no profanity. No mention of drugs or alcohol. There is, however, the implication that Boone is sleeping with his girlfriend. And though he doesn’t talk much about it in interviews, it’s worth noting that Boone comes from a Mormon background as well and still seems connected to that faith.

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