thunder

tl;dr; thunder

I first heard of Imagine Dragons with the release of Radioactive and Demons to the radio in 2012. I found both haunting. When Dan Reynolds, the singer, speaks of his toxicity in these two songs, he’s really describing the very essence of his humanity. That, like all of us, he is a flawed human whose failings are the same ones we all struggle with. And yet he cannot see this fact and believes himself to be beyond redemption. This is the danger we face when we compare our insides to other people’s outsides.

This band really caught my attention with their song, I Bet My Life. Microsoft used it as the soundtrack to its announcement video for the HoloLens in 2015. In this song that is equal parts lilting and bombastic, he speaks of his humanity and the struggles one has with their parents; balancing the desire to not disappoint with the need to be true to one’s own self.

Lead singer Dan Reynolds has stated that [I Bet My Life] is about his relationship with his parents and explained that while “at times it’s been strained and difficult… in the end, ‘I Bet My Life’ celebrates the bond that we still hold on to.”

In April of 2017, Imagine Dragons released Thunder as their second single from the Evolve album. I first noticed the overly sampled thunder’s. (Is that the term I’m looking for?) And honestly, I thought it sounded quite silly. But then as the song got more air play, I started to listen to it more critically. The singer describes the pressures society has placed on him to conform but at the same time recognizes the unrest inside of him; the need to stand out and be an individual.

The video for Thunder shows images of society and its conformity. This “sameness” is majestically juxtaposed with the dancers, resplendent in their uniqueness.

I think we should all celebrate the lightning and the thunder inside us all. Enjoy!