{"id":1756,"date":"2017-04-16T22:27:03","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T02:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/?p=1756"},"modified":"2023-12-20T10:43:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T15:43:08","slug":"the-meaning-of-chained-to-the-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/the-meaning-of-chained-to-the-music","title":{"rendered":"The Meaning of &#8220;Chained to the Music&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Katy Perry\u2019s dystopian spin on pop takes us for a whirl in her hit, \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/song\/katy-perry-skip-marley-chained-to-the-rhythm-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Chained to the Rhythm<\/a>\u2019. Little-Miss-Sunshine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/artist\/katy-perry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Katy Perry<\/a> is taking a turn for the dark side in her song \u201cChained to the Rhythm\u201d\u2013 a huge social critique and one of 2017\u2019s most politically-charged and pop songs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Katy Perry Takes Us Back to 1984<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Katy Perry - Chained To The Rhythm (Official) ft. Skip Marley\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Um7pMggPnug?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In her latest hit, Perry describes what pretty much sounds like the collapse of society as we know it. Considering her anti-establishment <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/life\/music\/2015\/06\/16\/warped-tour-20th-anniversary-katy-perry-fall-out-boy-echosmith\/71269796\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warped Tour roots <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and her open dissatisfaction with the status quo, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2017\/02\/22\/celebrities\/brit-awards-2017-top-moments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and particularly Donald Trump<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s no wonder she\u2019s coming out with what could be the danciest protest song to come out this year (so far). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Katy Perry\u2019s new music video features everything from eerily happy pastel-colored hipsters to hand-pumped toxic water c***tails, all frolicking in an atomic-age paradise aptly named <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oblivia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why \u2018Chained to the Rhythm\u2019 is Feb 2017\u2019s Most Political Pop Song<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From that synopsis alone you can tell that she\u2019s making a bold environmental and political statement about our state of affairs, and she doesn\u2019t bother to be tongue in cheek about the emptiness of personal, political, artistic, and social interactions in the age of social media, so let\u2019s dive into what \u201cChained to the Music\u201d is all about&#8230; <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>So comfortable, we\u2019re living in a bubble, bubble<br>\nSo comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These lyrics may come as a surprise considering Perry\u2019s party-centric brand of pop\u2013 but it seems like she\u2019s had a change of heart, and isn\u2019t afraid to sing about it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From start to finish, she\u2019s highlight the gruesome reality that we\u2019re hooked on instant gratification, fun, and \u201cjoy\u201d\u2013 but all of the things we do to make us feel good aren\u2019t really managing to satisfy anyone. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With her new brand of political pop, Katy Perry is showing her fans the beautiful, manic dystopian world where thrills are all that matter. Between the candy-colored outfits and the futuristic display, it may seem like more fun than a metaphor, but make no mistake, her lyrics are clear as crystal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Dance, dance, dance to the distortion<br>\nTurn it up, keep it on repeat<br>\nStumbling around like a wasted zombie<br>\nYeah, we think we\u2019re free<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Synchronized selfie-zombies aside, this music video is sending a message that we can all relate to the idea that most of the things we work for, have, and do aren\u2019t giving us a real sense of satisfaction, and certainly, aren\u2019t doing anything but evading the inevitable collapse of our capitalist wonderland.  <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And who better than Skip Marley to collaborate on this one, singing: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>It is my desire<br>\nBreak down the walls to connect, inspire<br>\nUp in your high place, liars<br>\nTime is ticking for the empire.<br>\nThe truth they feed is feeble<br>\nAs so many times before<br>\nThey greed over the people<br>\nThey stumbling and fumbling<br>\nAnd we about to riot<br>\nThey woke up, they woke up<br>\nthe lions<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those lyrics have seemingly never been closer to home, as people around the world are taking on a stronger social and political stance than ever. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Potentially even a critique of her own work, Perry is suggesting that the empty-headed entertainment industry as we know it has been hiding from our harsh reality for too long. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the very end of her video, Katy wakes up and walks right off the hamster wheel, and we commend her for it. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe she\u2019s been watching just as many episodes of<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Black Mirror<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as we have, or maybe this is a first of many eye-opening pop songs to come this year. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Either way, we\u2019ll be chained to the rhythm to find out what she does next. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like what you see? Browse fan interpretations of Perry\u2019s latest hit, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/song\/katy-perry-skip-marley-chained-to-the-rhythm-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Chained to the Rhythm<\/a>\u201d, at. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to weigh in on the conversation? Join us now and become a part of the internet\u2019s largest lyric interpretation community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Katy Perry\u2019s dystopian spin on pop takes us for a whirl in her hit, \u2018Chained to the Rhythm\u2019. Little-Miss-Sunshine Katy Perry is taking a turn for the dark side in her song \u201cChained to the Rhythm\u201d\u2013 a huge social critique and one of 2017\u2019s most politically-charged and pop songs. Katy&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/the-meaning-of-chained-to-the-music\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":1757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[365,36,651],"class_list":["post-1756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-song-analysis","tag-chained-to-the-rhythm","tag-katy-perry","tag-pop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyreka.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}