Song examination in modern times

What is the high school experience? It’s surely the fluffed up version in High School Musical, right? Or is it more like Euphoria, Never Have I Ever or Ginny and Georgia? But just like these very different tv shows, music shows an experience of high school as well. The song “High School In Jakarta'' By NIKI is about the artist's highschool experience. She talks about her boarding school in Jakarta, Indonesia where people come and go but still have drama, and relationships. Though it is very different compared to an American public highschool it has a common theme much like these media outlets. Teenagers never seem to talk with adults about their problems whether that be about learning, mental, physical or just plain advice. The implied message asking for help shows weakness. Indie Music from 2017 to 2022 helps society by showing that adolescents are expected to silently struggle through their teenage years which results in failure. 

The ballad “Fake Happy” from 2017 performed by Paramore utilizes literal language and juxtaposition to convey the message of always being happy so people can be accepted by peers and society. Paramore employs this literal language to demonstrate how difficult it is to maintain a veneer. The verses state, “[She's] been doing a good job of makin' 'em think / [She is] quite alright, better hope [she doesn't] blink'' (Williams 9-10). Paramore employs this literal language to demonstrate that just because people look or act happy they might not be and to show that there is a difference between looking and feeling happy. These lyrics are used to highlight that Paramore is not happy, but they can make other people be happier by singing relatable lyrics. In the lyrics, Paramore is described as  'unhappy' even though she is making people think that she is not and the ballad expresses that emotions can change and it is difficult to keep the facade of “being happy”. During this day in age people have to constantly be aware that others are watching and judging them. The lyrics also show how hard it can feel to be exposed, especially when people are not happy themselves. These stanzas are about the struggle of being in a public space, being judged and not feeling comfortable. It is also about how people try to hide their feelings from the world. The song also includes a juxtaposition to show that if someone acts  some way they can start to believe it is actually true. The lines as, “If [she] smiles with [her] teeth bet you believe [her] / If [she] smiles with [her] teeth bet [she] [believes] [her]”  (Willaims 25-28).  This juxtaposition gives an idea that the “you” and the “her'' in the lyrics are different. The ‘you' and 'her' show the difference in how she sees herself and how others see her. The 'her' is the victim of societal expectation of always looking happy but that doesn't mean they actually have to be and the pressures from people around. Much like when people say someone is smart it doesn't mean they actually are but if people say it so much that person might start to believe it. 

Mad Tsai’s song “that friend” from 2021 uses understatement and literal language to proclaim the message that feeling like someone is in a one-sided friendship and burdening the people they are hanging out with. The lyrics “The one walking three steps behind cause / The sidewalks not wide enough and [their] friends talk on by” express the idea that the person who is always walking behind are the ones that are in need of help (Tsai 2-3). People don't always see it, because they are busy doing other things like talking to other friends. The understatement is comparing when the friend is side by side and “3 steps behind” which in this case is a bad thing and sounds lonely when walking alone. This is just one of many things that can happen when a friendship starts to dwindle. In conjunction with this is the literal statement “They forgot to invite me to the party / Got a text like, forgot you we’re sorry” which is just another way a friendship can fall apart (Tsai 25-26). This statement really expresses when someone feels like they are not enough for their friends. The “forgot you we’re sorry” is depressing because if someone mattered to them how could they forget. It also shows how they don’t want that friend around. Mad Tsai’s lyrics are relatable to many, as many feel like they are not good enough to be friends with their friends, or they don’t like them. 

“High School in Jakarta” performed by NIKI from 2022 uses allusions, hyperbole and implied metaphor to tell listeners that in high school all that seems to matter is relationships. In the song, NIKI speaks about her experience in high school by saying “High school in Jakarta, sorta modern Sparta” as she continues, “Had no chance against the teenage suburban armadas”(Zefanya 13-14). In this case she is alluding to high school as being a battleground. Niki is saying she was bullied by a bunch of girls in the same class. Highschool is a battlefield where teenagers battle each other for popularity. In other words she had no hope against teenage suburban armadas which are alluding to the bullies of the school. The lyrics also include a hyperbole and implied metaphor which work together to express the message. As Niki sings “Now there’s drama (drama), found a club for that / Where I met ya (met ya), had a heart attack” much like how people get nervous around the person they like she got a “heart attack” from a upperclassmen boy she likes (Zefanya 9-10). She eventually gets together with this boy “Yadda yadda, at the end, yeah we burned” but soon the things start to go south and “Made a couple of U-turns, you were it till you weren’t” (Zefanya 11-12). The U-turns in this context mean arguments or a quick break up and getting back together. In the end NIKI and the boy broke up. They didn’t actually burn but it is an implied metaphor. The burn is their relationship, which means it was like fire but fire always goes out if nothing is added to it. The downfall of their relationship could have been from the teenage suburban armadas or drama. 

Conan Gray’s song, “People Watching” from 2022 uses implied metaphors and standard simile to convey the idea of wanting a relationship but not having one because of the fear of opening up to people. In the beginning of the song Conan talks about a couple he enjoys watching to live vicariously through them. The stanzas include, “But I wanna feel all that love and emotion / Be that attached to the person I’m holding”,much like glue and paper, Conan wants to be so attached to someone that once it dries it has to be torn apart (Gray 9-10). With a continuation of the stanzas,  “Someday I’ll be fallin’ without caution / But for now I’m only people watching” these few statements show how desperately he wants to be close to someone because falling without caution is like a waterfall (Gray 11-12). He does not have a choice but to fall like the water. In connection with this of why Conan is only people watching. He wants to be close to someone “But [he] [cuts] people out like tags on [his] clothing” this statement shows how people, when things get tough just stop (Gray 17). Stop talking to them about everything. This stanza is comparing tags to people with a standard simile. Tags are annoying and simple but people are complicated and instead of going though that he just doesn’t. Much like tags, when things get tough in a relationship don’t deal with it just end it. With this we just have a bunch of acquaintances and nothing more than relationships that are just on the surface. 

“Teenage Mind” by Tate McRae from 2018 applies juxtaposition, hyperbole and oxymoron to disclose to listeners that teens try to be like everyone around them and lose their true selves in the process. McRae describes two types of girls commonly found in high school. The popular “Some girls get all done up, lose their face to repair / They attend every party, but it’s taking them nowhere” and the other, loner “Some think it’s funny, say they don’t even care / But on the inside they wish they were there” (McRae 1-4). This is how most feel in high school. They want to be included in activities like parties but when they are not they say it’s stupid or dumb. To lose their face to repair means people lose their dignity so much they can’t get their respect back without saying sorry or admitting they were wrong. As the song comes to the outro “They said hello, but missed goodbye” this is an oxymoron (McRae 28). The hello and goodbye are exact opposites which means sometimes the person that once was there fades away without warning and people that knew them don’t get closure much like when a loved one dies suddenly. As McRae sings, “We are all insane inside / And no one can figure out the teenage mind”, this hyperbole is added to make the lyrics more relatable because sometimes we wonder why everyone is doing something stupid (McRae 29-30). 

In 2018, Beach Bunny released a song called “Prom Queen” which worked with allusion, implied and standard metaphors to propagate the message that societies put lots of pressure and expectations on girls to look perfect in order to be considered beautiful. What does it mean to be  pretty? Beach Bunny sings, “Blue-eyed blondie perfect body” this  seems to be the running theme in America, leaving adolescents to fantasize about them being skinnier or prettier “Maybe I should try harder” (Alverado 5-6). The average person can’t even begin to try and change how they look to fit this unrealistic beauty standard that we as a society have set for ourselves. This allusion means no matter how hard people try, beauty standards will always change and someone will always be “prettier”. The thought of perfection is unattainable because the version is different from someone else's. With the same running thought “Dissect my insecurities / I’m a defect, surgical project” these insecurities are being dissected much like a frog in a middle school science class (Alverado 11-12). The media takes advantage of  insecurities and shows no flaws on models so the youth feel like they need to look like them to feel pretty. The I in this song is being compared to a surgical project, and in surgery doctors are fixing things. Cosmetic surgery is a big feat to fix bodies or faces if someone wants to look prettier but even then it is not good enough for people because it is not natural. People are constantly looking for flaws so they can point them out and make them feel better about themselves. Society, no matter how beautiful or how good someone feels, will always criticize something. 

The high school experience can’t be shown through tv shows or music. The high school experience must be gone through from the point of view of that person. Those expectations were shattered once there was no singing every three seconds with a loyal partner. People leave, cheat, lie and live a falsehood. The common theme is not asking for help; this induces the chance at the failed high school experience. The route many of these songs go through to share the message is figurative language. The rhythmic tunes bring forth a concept of failure from allusions, hyperboles, metaphors and juxtapositions. NIKI’s song goes through the many emotions and dramatic things in high school but can never tell what someone is going to go through. So no, high school is no musical nor is it some dark and scary place. Indie music from 2017 to 2022 helps society by revealing the failure in the teenage years which stems from the silent struggle that the youth go through.