By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The lead single from her 2022 album Midnights, ‘Anti-Hero’ contains some of Taylor Swift’s darkest lyrics. They are also among her most thought-provoking. However, they are also some of her most allusive, referring to numerous other pop-culture phenomena which need deciphering in order for them to make full sense.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
What connects the Police hit song ‘Every Breath You Take’ with the James Bond novel Goldfinger? And is the Police song a paean to devoted love or a sinister message to an ex-lover?
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Few songs can be said to typify the mid-noughties music scene like The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’. The Las Vegas band’s breakthrough hit, the song has attracted considerable attention from fans and critics.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’ is one of Kelly Clarkson’s greatest songs. It appeared on her second album, Breakaway, and Clarkson has commented that the song is her favourite track on the album. Indeed, the album was very nearly named after ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’ rather than ‘Breakaway’.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘West End Girls’ was the breakthrough single for the Pet Shop Boys, hitting the number one spot in the UK in early 1986. But the song has its origins several years before this. Just what is the meaning of this mid-80s classic, and which classic poem was an important influence on it?