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| Further channeling the government PSA vibe. |
So how badly did Seeb the Remixer destroy Mikey's original message? Let's find out!
I took a pill in Ibiza
To show Avicii I was cool
So we start with the title. A title, I might add, that he cannot say correctly, but let's not dwell on that. This is Lyrics Overanalysed, not Lyrics Pronounced Correctly, and this man is about to open up to us about his terrible problems.
There are two interesting points to be made here, and both come from Mikey's own explanation of these lyrics. Firstly, the nondescript pill really was a mystery - to this day, he does not know what it was, which blows away my idea that he was trying to avoid accidentally promoting specific drugs. Secondly, that line about wanting to impress Avicii is not in any way metaphorical. He was trying to prove to the actual Avicii that he was cool. This song is apparently going to be as literal-minded as a token emotionless Star Trek character.
This also tells us the year for these happenings - 2012 was when Avicii and Mikey teamed up for their dance hit Stay With You.
And when I finally got sober, felt 10 years older
But fuck it, it was something to do
Again, the actual truth ruins my reading of this line - I thought this was a clever way of saying his horrible addictions spanned a decade, his life a drug-fueled blur starting with that mystery pill. But of course he took that pill a mere four years ago, so he just literally felt ten years older. He felt as weak and drained as a 34 year old, the poor soul.
The next line is a little ambiguous. Presumably he is relating the blase attitude he felt at the time, but it sounds like, looking back, he didn't regret it at all. This clearly cannot be the case, because this song is about the awful burdens that single lapse has left him with.
I'm living out in LA
And we are getting to the meat of his story. The poor man lives in LA!
I drive a sports car just to prove
I'm a real big baller cause I made a million dollars
And his monstrous afflictions have left him a millionaire! To think, if he hadn't taken that pill, he might have made two million dollars! Also note that he still drives that sports car (a Porsche, apparently), so he hasn't learned anything apart from how to artlessly humblebrag.
And I spend it on girls and shoes
Shoes? I honestly don't know what to make of this. Is he trying to portray an Imelda Marcos style decadence? Are trainers really that much of a luxury item? Maybe I've fallen into a trap here, thinking that this is another blatant humblebrag. Maybe his mind was so addled with arbitrary pills that he stockpiled shoes in a paranoid delusion?
But no, if you go and look at his explanation, he loved and collected shoes. If that is his hobby, then who am I to judge? It's about as glamorous as Coolio's rumoured snow globe collection, but it's the truth about his life, so whatever. Mikey, however, has no qualms about judging this hobby in the above-linked explanation, describing his collection as 'ignorant', which is not a word I would ever have associated with shoes before now.
Anyway, the show bombshell takes us into the chorus.
But you don't wanna be high like me
The big question here is, of course, why not? Why don't I want to be high like you? So far it doesn't seem to caused you any problems at all. Why should we listen to you, Mikey? Why?
Never really knowing why like me
Oh. That isn't a very compelling argument, to be honest.
You don't ever wanna step off that roller coaster and be all alone
There are many reasons not to step off a roller coaster. The resultant loneliness isn't ranked high among them. It would be a very short-lived loneliness for a start.
I kid, of course. Clearly he is talking about stepping off the roller coaster after the ride has finished, when loneliness is an obvious problem. It's not like you can enjoy a roller coaster with friends or family or anything.
You don't wanna ride the bus like this
He's talking about the tour bus apparently. The man is so lost in his debauched celebrity lifestyle that he forgot what buses mean to normal people. One of the many hazards of pill-munching in the Mediterranean. Again, he fails to mention why we don't want to ride the tour bus. I would actually be more sympathetic to him if he was describing his commute to work on the 84.
Never knowing who to trust like this
This line comes from nowhere, although I now strongly suspect that buses are only mentioned to get this line rhymed off. He's never mentioned any paranoia before now, or indeed any downsides to his drug taking. Even this line seems more indicative of the perils of fame and hangers-on than anything related to pill-popping. In fact, this whole song feels more like it's about the downsides of fame.
You don't wanna be stuck up on that stage singing
Stuck up on that stage singing
All I know are sad songs, sad songs
Darling, all I know are sad songs, sad songs
Note that he isn't saying he only sings sad songs (which these days is hardly an indicator that the singer is having a particularly hard time), he is saying he is stuck up on stage singing 'All I know are sad songs', ie. the lyrics to this very song. The big conclusion to his chorus, the strongest reason he has for not taking Balaeric ecstasy, is that he ended up singing this song.
It's the most convincing argument so far.
I'm just a singer who already blew his shot
A year ago, when this song was first released, this line would have had some resonance with the three people listening to it. Now that he has hit the big time again, it just seems like an outright lie. Maybe in a few months it will be true again, so I won't be too hard on him for this.
I get along with old timers
Cause my name's a reminder of a pop song people forgot
I spent some time thinking about what song he could mean here. 'My Sharona' was the closest I could get to a song sounding like 'Mike Posner', and I doubt that was what he was going for, so I guess he means people are reminded of one of his songs, which has to be 'Cooler Than Me'.
Now, this is all fair enough - he is describing himself as a washed up has-been that started has-beening almost before he was beening, but he seems to have forgotten the central premise of his song. Can he really blame any of this on that pill he took? He doesn't seem to have linked the two causally in any way. Maybe, Mikey, people forgot the song because it is eminently forgettable?
And I can't keep a girl, no
Cause as soon as the sun comes up
I cut em all loose and work's my excuse
But the truth is I can't open up
And another blatant humblebrag. I sleep with all the girls, but I cannot form a relationship because I cannot open up, abloobloobloo. You know what might help with that, Mikey? How about a notoriously communion-forming, inhibition-reducing drug that frequently comes in pill form and is seen on dance floors across Europe?
<Chorus>
I took a plane to my home town
I brought my pride and my guitar
His home town is Detroit, apparently. Even the fact he now lives in LA is a step up from his starting point. He mentions bringing his pride and guitar there, as if that is all he has, but he seems to have forgotten he has already told us about his sports car and his shoe collection and his LA mansion. You can't pull the poverty angle now.
Maybe by 'pride' he means his collection of rare Converse All Stars.
All my friends are all gone but there's manicured lawns
And the people still think I'm a star
Mikey seems to think fine garden detailing and fame can make up for lost childhood friendships. I think I'll have to revoke his right to complain about loneliness. I'm certainly not going to blame it on that pill.
I walked around downtown
I met some fans on Lafayette
They said tell us how to make it cause we're getting real impatient
So I looked em in the eye and said
<Chorus>
And now he has shot down his own 'I'm a has-been' line by mentioning fans that recognise him, and respect him enough to ask for advice. I guess he then he looks them in the eye and tells them not to jump off rollercoasters or ride buses, or sing about singing sad songs, so maybe they stopped being fans. Either way, this is in no way a consequence of partaking in drugs.
So what, precisely, can we say has happened to Mikey due to his pill-popping? Let's see:
- He felt 10 years older after he took the first one, but he didn't care that much about it.
- He is now singing this song.
A truly harrowing tale.
