Review Summary: Take hold of your world and set it on fire.
Some Nights, in a way, epitomizes all the fallacies of modern era pop. It’s unsubtle, obnoxious, and often too grand for its own damn good. Predictably, it blew up across the globe and rare were the days that one could pass without being subjected to a second, third, or fourth rendition of ‘We Are Young.’ Yup, radio stations in 2012 were about as useful as a television without cable. So for that reason, among many others, I don’t hold it against people I meet who say things like
fuck, are those the assholes who sang that song about setting the world on fire? because to me,
Some Nights – hell, the entire band Fun., represents something amazing that can’t be put into words. It’s about embracing every ounce of your diverse self, loving
your life, and doing every reckless, youthful, and stupid thing you can.
Some Nights is a rollercoaster in which we let go of the handles because we know we can – we aren’t in control, and since we’re all going to the same place it’s better to raise some hell while we’re young rather than simply be taken for a ride. Say what you will about
Some Nights, but its zest for life is like very few others – and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the time since this hit shelves, it’s that seizing the moment might be
the most important thing you do during your lifetime.
Saturday March 17th, 2012
Each step I take feels like velcro peeling. The pub floor is sticky and beer-covered even though the St. Patrick’s Day festivities have really only just begun. I look down at my watch, anxiously hoping for it to be time to leave. 10:55 p.m.,
fuck me – this is going to be a long night. I glance across the bar to see my friends having a good time, and tell myself that’s what I should be doing. I’m out with great company, and I won’t be young forever, so why can’t I pick myself up off this bar stool and stop pretending like I’m watching the big screen? I see a girl dancing with a guy. Well, not just any girl – the girl I’ve been unrequitedly in love with for the last five years, and I’m reminded again.
She’s so beautiful….
bet that fucker doesn’t even know what he has. Once again, I try to refocus – so I buy the next round.
I’m at another bar now and holy shit is it dark. Not dim the lights dark, like
I just got hit in both eyes with a dart dark. How do all these people even see what they’re doing? They’re dancing, some in the corner, with lots of groping and possibly even fornicating – how they even know I’m not sure. I hold my beer in one hand and my phone in the other. I think at several points I pretend I’m answering a text just so I can see well enough to drink my beer. This is some goddamn awful music they’re playing. Then, I hear a very familiar drum sequence, and my spirits lift a little.
Give me a second – I need to get my story straight. Yes, I know this song. This is Fun., I think I have their debut album on my bedroom shelf somewhere. I should probably give that another spin, they never seemed like they were that bad.
My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the empire state…well, not quite, but they are definitely wasted.
My lover she’s waiting for me just across the bar…Damn, I really get this song now. Some lights start flashing, and I can make out the vague outline of the girl who I’ve been actively avoiding. I’m pretty wasted myself, so I consider going over there. I tell myself over and over that it’s a bad idea, but I feel my feet starting to move anyway. I think someone just elbowed me, and their arm felt like a wet frog. Fucking gross. I’m getting a little closer now, and that guy she was dancing with is now chatting up someone else. It’s now or never, so I make my move.
Tonight…we are young, so let’s set the world on fire. The chorus is blasting through every speaker in the bar, and every half-conscious, green beer wielding person in the building is shouting along. I grab her, and we start dancing. It’s awkward at first because we’ve been friends for so long and have never done anything like this. Our eyes keep meeting and
okay you know what this is actually really uncomfortable. But I like it. And I can tell she is having a great time. With each cycle through the verses, leading to the chorus yet again, I can feel us getting closer.
So if by the time the bar closes, and you feel like falling down, I’ll carry you home…tonight. The song is over and there’s a palpable tension. The song’s been over for like eight whole seconds now. What are we still doing here? It feels like it’s time to step away and grab another beer, but instead I kiss her. The entire world becomes engulfed in flames.
Friday March 20th, 2015
I find myself chronicling my thoughts on an album that, despite its inherent surface-level grandeur, still holds incredibly deep meaning to me.
Some Nights scored the year that I decided to stop going through life and start living it. Every time I hear the opening sequence of ‘We Are Young’, I’m taken back to that pitch black bar on that gloriously fateful night where I danced with and kissed my fiancée for the very first time. I suppose a more romantic backdrop would have been ideal, but I wouldn’t change a thing even if I could. I’m just happy I did what I did, exactly when I did it. If not, I might not be getting married this summer to the girl I was desperately (pathetically, according to some) in love with from the moment I laid eyes on her during freshman year of college. Instead, I might find myself associating with some of the sadder moments from this record- such as the Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young reminiscent chorus of ‘Why Am I The One’, where I envision all the boxes spread across my apartment floor as I packed up to move out of the city. I can just as easily recall the frustration of feeling like I could never stay in one place for more than a couple years.
Why am I the one, always packing up my stuff? Life seemed to dictate that it was always onwards and upwards. Sometimes it was a new job, other times losing that job and needing my parents’ support again. Then there’s that line -
I remember the first time we wished upon parallel lines – waiting for a friend to call and say they’re still alive – from ‘All Alright’ that still destroys me to this day, bringing back memories of a close friend who died in a car accident. No matter the song, chances are there’s an association. I’m just glad that seizing the moment – and making a definitely bold (if drunk) move on St. Patrick’s Day – made it such a good one. That’s what
Some Nights is all about. Go out with friends. Get drunk and do stupid things. Go after the girl. Take hold of your world and set it on fire.
