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100 Songs That Have Moved Me | Song #017: "Maps" (2004)
Title: "Maps"
Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Composers: Karen O, Nick Zinner, Brian Chase
Producers: David Andrew Sitek, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Brian Chase
Release Date: February 10, 2004
Peak Chart Position: #9 (Modern Rock Tracks)
Album: Fever to Tell (2003)
Rolling Stone metadata:
Words from the artist:
How this song moves me:
This is one of those rare times when I absolutely *love* a song but despise the artist. In digging for more information about this song, my distaste for the group just grew - I have little patience for these sorts of pretentious hipster ~indie~ types.
That said, it is very, very difficult to resist the allure of this song - it is bittersweet longing/loving at its best. The lyrics were written by Karen O (the lead singer) about her boyfriend, a fellow musician who was about to leave on tour. Her internal struggle over his leaving is just exquisitely mastered in this song, and its my go-to whenever I'm about to start writing something angsty. It's all right there:
Pack up - don't stay - enough
Wait - they don't love you like I love you
My kind's your kind - I'll stay the same!
Pack up, but don't stray
MAPS, wait -
They don't love you like I love you!
The heartbreak is just so clear in the words, in her voice - and contrasted so beautifully by the song's composition: lyrics over a simple backbeat, and then this huge wall of sound between verses. It's sort of hard to believe that big a sound comes from just two people!
And, of course, the words are made even more poignant by the (supposed) meaning of the word 'maps' - as an abbreviation: "My Angus, Please Stay." She didn't want him to go, but he did anyway.
Whenever I need to set the atmosphere of a tense scene, I turn to this song, especially if its a romantic breaking point. Its a great example of music conveying so much more than words ever could. That's why its also in frequent rotation when I'm feeling melancholy, because its such the perfect embodiment of that often-misunderstood term.
Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Composers: Karen O, Nick Zinner, Brian Chase
Producers: David Andrew Sitek, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Brian Chase
Release Date: February 10, 2004
Peak Chart Position: #9 (Modern Rock Tracks)
Album: Fever to Tell (2003)
Rolling Stone metadata:
Rank: #386
Blurb: "Maps" is both a soul ballad and an art-punk classic, with torrents of jagged guitar noise and thundering drums backing up Karen O's lovesick wail. The YYY's breakthrough hit was inspired by a case of real-life rock & roll romance: The Divine Miss O (real name Karen Orzolek) wrote the song about being on tour and missing her boyfriend, Angus Andrew, singer for fellow New York band Liars. (Source)
Words from the artist:
The tears cried by Karen O in the video are real. She explains: "They were real tears. My boyfriend at the time [Angus Andrew] was supposed to come to the shoot – he was three hours late and I was just about to leave for tour. I didn't think he was even going to come and this was the song that was written for him. He eventually showed up and I got myself in a real emotional state." (Source)
How this song moves me:
This is one of those rare times when I absolutely *love* a song but despise the artist. In digging for more information about this song, my distaste for the group just grew - I have little patience for these sorts of pretentious hipster ~indie~ types.
That said, it is very, very difficult to resist the allure of this song - it is bittersweet longing/loving at its best. The lyrics were written by Karen O (the lead singer) about her boyfriend, a fellow musician who was about to leave on tour. Her internal struggle over his leaving is just exquisitely mastered in this song, and its my go-to whenever I'm about to start writing something angsty. It's all right there:
Pack up - don't stay - enough
Wait - they don't love you like I love you
My kind's your kind - I'll stay the same!
Pack up, but don't stray
MAPS, wait -
They don't love you like I love you!
The heartbreak is just so clear in the words, in her voice - and contrasted so beautifully by the song's composition: lyrics over a simple backbeat, and then this huge wall of sound between verses. It's sort of hard to believe that big a sound comes from just two people!
And, of course, the words are made even more poignant by the (supposed) meaning of the word 'maps' - as an abbreviation: "My Angus, Please Stay." She didn't want him to go, but he did anyway.
Whenever I need to set the atmosphere of a tense scene, I turn to this song, especially if its a romantic breaking point. Its a great example of music conveying so much more than words ever could. That's why its also in frequent rotation when I'm feeling melancholy, because its such the perfect embodiment of that often-misunderstood term.