Four years ago, at the nostalgic age of 15, I stood among a sea of people in a crowded
concert venue, just a few rows from the stage, anticipating the arrival of my favourite
band. When the opening notes of the 1975’s Love It If We Made It began to play, and the
distinct flashes of the visual effects came onto the screens, the crowd erupted in
unison. Echoing the frontman of the band, lead singer Matty Healy, we screamed the
lyrics at the top of our lungs, a mixture of teenage rage and frustration at the world with
an optimistic hope that we were part of generations which could make a difference, was
tangible in the air. The music spoke to the reality of the world we were living in, a crowd
of strangers connected by music and visual effects which fully immersed us in the
message of the song. Four years later, at the end of 2024, we find ourselves still
navigating the same world, punctuated by social and political turbulence. Music has
always acted as a lens into our world: how it has been, how it is, how it could be. Yet,
this song in particular feels just as prevalent to me now as it did at 15 – and not just
because of the nostalgia.
The 1975 have never shied away from exploring difficult and thought-provoking topics.
From the struggle to grasp and connect with faith in If I Believe You, to the raw,
emotional exploration of suicide in I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) and addiction in
It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You), the band does not fear addressing serious topics. At
the heart of these explorations, Matty Healy’s willingness to speak out on ‘controversial’
topics influenced people to view him as both a provocateur and champion for social
change, vocalising opinions about LGBTQ+ rights and women’s bodily autonomy and
reproductive rights in the U.S.
Though it was the tours for their most recent album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language,
which caught the attention of the media (with its integration of performance art and
exploration of meta themes about society), it was their 2018 album A Brief Enquiry Into
Online Relationships which initially marked a step towards the expansion of their social
and political commentary within their music. Each album delves into self-reflection and
masterfully explores the modern world – introspective, intelligent, and unflinchingly raw
with honesty.
Yet, Love it If We Made It in particular, distinctly stands out for its messages’ enduring
relevance – a longevity which will almost certainly remain for years, perhaps even
decades to come. The re-election of Donald Trump as the U.S. president this year has
reignited a reflection on the message of the song. Every lyric is sung with an insightful
passion, fervently conveying how vital each one is. During the song’s premiere on Beats
1 Radio as Zane Lowe’s World Records, Healy explained how the majority of the lyrical
content was drawn directly from headlines or quotes of real people – an objective
commentary on the reality we live in. Healy urged that, if listeners were angered by the
words in the song, they should direct that anger towards their sources, rather than the
band.
The track directly quotes Donald Trump, referencing his infamous from a 2005 recording
talking to Billy Bush – “I moved on her like a bitch!” – alongside his dismissive tweet in
response to Kanye West’s controversial behaviour, “Thank you, Kanye, very cool.” These
references raise a profound question: how a man who speaks in such degrading terms
about women and glorifies hateful rhetoric be elected president of the United States?
In an interview with Pitchfork, Healy reflected on the irony/ ‘weird’ reality of facing
potential censorship as a result of ‘verbatim quoting the leader of the free world’. This
echoes much discourse of the current time, with Trump’s re-election as president,
many have called into question how a convicted felon, with multiple sexual assault
allegations, can become president. Despite the criticisms made in 2018, what change
has really been made since we see the same happening again? If this is democracy,
surely “modernity has failed us” and the songs enduring message feels more poignant
than ever.
Beyond the criticisms of political figures, the song addresses a myriad of social
injustices which continue to be prevalent today. Love It If We Made It highlights the
contradictory fetishisation and commodification of Black culture whilst also vilifying it
and its originators. It criticises police brutality by referencing the tragic murder of Eric
Garner and alludes to the distressing image of ‘drowning three-year olds’, a reference to
the young Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi whose body washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015,
a symbol of the global refugee crisis. Black communities still grapple with police
violence and mass incarceration, evening if it is not ‘trending’ in social media. The
refugee crisis has only deepened in the wake of ongoing displacement of millions due to
conflict, climate change and political instability. Though not all are at the forefront of
the media, these issues of social injustice have not dwindled here in 2024 and will likely
continue to be seen for many years.
Though not originally intended to be a song of traditional protest, more a clear
observation of the volatility of modern society, the power of music has mobilised a
generation with an urgency to call out and tackle the failures of modern institutions and
systematic injustices. What appears to be a commentary on a dystopian future,
unfortunately reflects a fractured reality. Whilst the re-election of Trump poses an era of
dark uncertainty ahead, let’s hope that the optimism of the song’s chorus, “yes, I’d love
it if we made it’, prevails just as much, or even more so, as the notion of a failing
modernity.