Top 7 Favourite Songs - White Lies

I think the last time I did a "Top 7 Favourite Songs" countdown was about 2 weeks ago, which was also the first I had done.
Like I stated in that post, the reason behind doing this was so that I just didn't have to be all philosophical so damn much but also share some music with you that I love. So like last time, I will do my countdown and post video clips up with it and if you don't know the songs then hopefully give you something new and inspiring to listen to...

The second artist/band that I will be doing this list for is none other than, White Lies.
An indie rock band with a modern punk look to them, they first appeared on the scene back in 2009 through their first studio album (To Lose My Life). Although they had been around for much longer than that like all bands, they originally started off under the name "Fear of Flying" later changing it to the name they are now known as. A lot of articles if you manage to read them state that the change of name was due to the darker tone of songs and becoming much more serious than they first intended to be.

I'd say that they are up there as one of my favourite bands of all time. And that is for various reasons... From just how dark they can be in their song meanings to how thunderous the chorus' of nearly every song is. Despite a sound which I would describe as quite a revelation compared to some bands around these days which are just a rehash of past groups and inspired semi-cover bands; White Lies are continually likened to other bands within the Indie rock category. Joy Division being one of them, and I find it hard to see the comparison. Although the meanings of some songs are dark and awe-inspiring, much like Joy Division, they never have that edgy sound which JD had. They are more of a super tweaked version with real direction and anthemic sounds. That is not what Joy Division were in anyway.

With only 2 albums under their belt and a handful of B-Sides, it's a much harder list to make than the latter list featuring John Butler Trio as it could generally be half and half or the whole list full of one album. Thankfully, they have 2 incredibly good albums and some pretty amazing unreleased songs which made it very hard for me to choose the list in any sort of order.
So without blabbering for much longer without giving you anything to listen to, here is my top 7 list;

7.

From The Stars

From the first album, I always class this as the song that had me hooked on White Lies. Songwriting to me is storytelling, but it's rare you hear a song that is actually telling a story. And that is what this song does, it describes a man returning to his home town for a funeral, a man that has gained some sort of fame but whilst there realises life is incredibly short and how despite his success he is still meaningless in a world so big. The chorus' lyrics capture it so perfectly;

"He catches raindrops on his window, it reminds him how he falls, From the stars back to our cities, where we've never felt so small"

The songs story reaches a climatic end when it appears he has had a breakdown to which the maid finds him shivering on the floor.

6.

The Price Of Love

Also from the first album, it won't be a recurring factor in this list I promise. The Price Of Love is a song by White Lies which I would call a hidden gem. One that most overlook but should be remembered as a song that had the audacity to close the first album yet went wholly unnoticed by many. A worthy song nonetheless to close any album and with a powerful meaning behind it in an almost comical way (much like some of their songs).

Right from the start of the song, you can tell what it's about. A man who's girlfriend seems to be held hostage by an unknown man and requesting an outrageous figure of 1 million for her release. The great part of the song is that many of it goes unnoticed, such as the opening 4 lines;

"Don't lay a finger I said, but he held her with five. Kissed the crest of her lips and put his hand on her thigh."

That already gives away an underlying tone, I see it as the woman already has a sort of sensual relationship with the kidnapper and perhaps a hoax kidnapping. They know he won 800,000 and set the whole thing up because the main man loves her dearly and would give anything up for her. Hence "The Price Of Love" but by the end of the song, the hoax hasn't worked and the kidnapper leaves the woman, leaving her alone without anyone at all.

5.

Is Love

First song on the list from their second album "Ritual". Very different from most of their other stuff but then again, so was the majority of the second album. One major difference between 1st and 2nd albums was the focus... The 1st being about death mainly and the 2nd being about love and heartbreak.

Is Love talks about love in a way nobody really explains, it's a great thing but people give it a simple name. A lyric within the song states this;

"She says 'the only thing I've ever found. That's greater than it always sounds, Is love"

Plus, the killer beat going on when it kicks in just enthralls me. It's as if the feelings pressed into the song are mish-mashing together forming this electric sort of sound.

4.

Streetlights

Another from 'Ritual' and another song with a different vibe to it than that of it's predecessor. The lead singers voice in this song is what makes it incredibly good for me. His words are just so drowsy that they ooze melancholy, something that is so key to a song coming across effectively if you are going to sing about boredom and doomed relationships. In my opinion anyway. 

I read an interview with the band a while back and they spoke of the songs lyrics and what they meant; they went through each verse one by one and said how they could contribute to a bad relationship or explain why it has gone sour. One verse in which they described truly stood out for me...

"Bored girls and sad boys, Dull roads to anywhere. Bad sex and ethanol, High scores on solitaire"

They stated that both the boy and girl had become bored, to which they now headed down a road that neither wanted to be in the others company. Then said that due to this the sex had become bad but wondered if it had been down to ethanol (aka alcohol) for which makes me think that they now felt no attraction so relied on alcohol to go through with it. And everyone knows what happens when you consume too much alcohol ha ha.

The last line summed it up, nobody plays solitaire out of joy. Most of the time you do it when there is nothing to do and you are bored. They have played it that much out of boredom that they now have high scores. Metaphorically or not, it really captures the mood.

3.

E.S.T.

One of those rare songs that should be a single but instead becomes an album filler. Not in a bad way, it's one of the cult favourites among fans off of the first album. So in line with the dark motives of the album and an upbeat chorus that somehow makes you happy and sing-a-long.

One of the band members said in an interview that it was about his grandmother who was undertaking 'Electric-Shock Therapy', and I also wrote a blog a while back about the song and the therapy mentioned. People undergo it for depression because it sort of numbs any feeling that person may have, it's basically a dumbed down version of a lobotomy and is only used in serious conditions.

In the song, the person seems to be taking this therapy and during it he is skipping through reality and imagination. The narrator believes the depression keeps him sane and allows him to feel something sad rather than nothing at all. So he believes the therapy would make him like any other person... He'd rather die than fit in. To which it seems he achieves by the end, when he says;

"I'm only going where you'll be some day. So don't say, "Rest In Peace" in your prayers"

It is a weird, dark loving sentiment really, he is going to die and leave them but he looks forward to seeing them in the afterlife and knows at some point they will also die. So why ask for him to rest in peace when one day they will be together again.

2.

Taxidermy

Okay, so I have said in previous songs on the list that there are gems among some of White Lies' songs. Well this is the biggest. Having never featured on any of their albums, it instead was a b-side to the To Lose My Life single. White Lies have a number of deeply dark songs and songs with a hint of comical effect added in. The great thing about the latter songs are that some bands never pull it off effectively, but White Lies do it perfectly. Whilst being haunting, they make you chuckle because the way that they tell a story.

Taxidermy is the supreme definition of this. And I could pretty much guarantee nobody could really explain the meaning, however, the band explained the song and it's so strange that I was puzzled...

They said that the song is about a girl who outright despises her family, specifically her mother and father. Because of her hate, she runs away and years later her parents die. When she finds out, she immediately wants to see the will and the true joke and revenge is then played out in the song to which her parents had played on her. They requested that upon her death, they be stuffed and placed in the living room of their house in which she has now inherited.

It's so incredibly horrible that it's funny and a true act of revenge in that she must always see them in front of her whilst in the house. Now you know the meaning, the lyrics should whole-heartedly spell it out.

"You can burn your parents in the fireplace"

Is one that makes me chuckle because she really could.

But the defining lyric of the song is this;

"I saw you run through the cold, put ice in my heart. 

Now tell me all your fears, I'll be your greatest fear"

From the perspective of a parent, she ran away into the cold out of fear and hate of her parents. Now her greatest fear is back again and her parents know it.

1.

Unfinished Business

One of the GREATEST pieces of songwriting in history. Dark, haunting and yet romantic in a horrifying sort of way. From their first album, and at one point released as a single but the song was changed for the album version. It was made more upbeat and Harry McVeigh seemed to put a bit more passion into the chorus making it all the more special.

When I saw them live, it was the one song I hoped I would hear them perform and I wasn't disappointed. Fantastic music and the story within the lyrics is a little bit special to be honest.

How can you sum up a song that has a meaning to it that shouldn't even be thinkable in terms of ideas and inspiration. Inspiration of course meaning you'd have to be dead to write it. Confused?

Unfinished Business is the story of a man who is, well to put it bluntly, murdered by his wife/lover. He then returns to her with no recollection of the act, only to realise he is dead and then remembers everything. The touching part of the song is that he realises his purpose of being there is to haunt her as it is his "Unfinished Business" but he still loves her no matter what, so therefore can't bring himself to cause her any harm or distress.

He can see the blood on her hands and see her whispering to God yet all he wants to do is dance like they used to. It's incredibly powerful songwriting and I have never heard anything like it before.

These lyrics sum the song up for me;

I looked in the mirror, 

b

ut something was wrong. 

I saw you behind but my reflection was gone.

There was smoke in the fireplace, 

as white as the snow. 

A voice beckoned gently - 'Now it's time to go'.

Well, that was my Top 7 Favourite White Lies songs. I'm partially sorry that it was incredibly long but I enjoy writing about music I love. If you are interested in any of White Lies' music or just want to talk about them, then sound off in the comments or something.

There are definitely more great songs by them, and to be honest both albums are incredibly good so there are more than what I just put on this list. Especially Death, To Lose My Life, Farewell To The Fairground and Bigger Than Us which I am anticipating a backlash for not featuring them on the list.

Until next time, I hope it was a decent read and a good listen.

Jake.

"Let's grow old together, and die at the same time."