So Bastille released a song called Doom Days today, and it once again confirmed a trend in music I've been noticing for a few months: the increase in nature and existentialism as the subject matter, especially in alternative and indie music.
This first became apparent to me with MARINA's release from a few weeks ago, Love. She does not reference climate change at all, but all these feelings are there: there are a few songs about nature and the beauty of different places (Handmade Heaven, Orange Trees), and a few that ponder the meaning of existence and speculate on what it means to be human (To Be Human, End of the Earth, and now Life is Strange).
The recurrence of nature in Vampire Weekend's new music is not lost on me either. A few weeks ago they released Sunflower and Big Blue, following that Unbearably White. Slated to be released with the rest of the album are also Flower Moon and Spring Snow. On the existential side, This Life makes broad statements about what it means to be alive, including pain and suffering, and 2021 ponders how our today will be perceived two years in the future (and let's not forget the resurrection of I don't wanna live like this / but I don't wanna die in Harmony Hall).
It is interesting that these themes are so common in 2019. I think that there are many things going on making people thinking in existential terms, including the horrific violent incidents occurring around the world, and in America, what feels to many a hopeless political climate. However, the prevalence of songs about nature make me think there is also an element of awareness and fear of climate change on artist's minds.
While not obvious in the examples I've given, it is more so in Bastille's new release, which in addition to evoking fear for the future in its title, makes clear what is to be feared in its lyrics: We fucked this house up like the planet / We were running riot / Crazy that some people still deny it. Let's not forget either, Mitksi's also explicit reference to climate change in Nobody: Venus, planet of love / Was destroyed by global warming / Did its people want too much too? / Did its people want too much?
Although this is clearly a trend in 2019, it isn't entirely new. Gotye wrote a very straightforward song about the subject years ago; Eyes Wide Open warns about an end of the world caused by humans: But it was like to stop consuming is to stop being human / You'll want to make a change if you won't / We're all in the same boat, staying afloat for the moment / We walk the plank with our eyes wide open.
Of course, these lyrics could hint to other environmental consequences than just climate change. Within this broader theme of environmental disaster, more bands come to mind, like Death Cab for Cutie (Grapevine Fires, No Sunlight) and Of Monsters and Men (Dirty Paws). These are bands that write often about nature in their music, and often about meaning and death, but not always in conjunction like in these examples. It just seems that often existentialism and nature go hand in hand, and I'm seeing a lot of that in 2019.
It makes sense. Why are we here? What is our place in this world? What will the future look like? Sometimes searching for the answers to these questions manifests in fear and uncertainty, sometimes it manifests in love and appreciation for the beauty of life - and sometimes both.
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