The Chainsmokers, the electronic music duo that has stuffed today’s pop with hackneyed chord progressions and laughably ambiguous lyrics, are back with another basic single, “Sick Boy.”
Per usual, the track opens with a somber chord progression followed by melodramatic lyrics aimed to make the listener feel like they’re listening to something bigger than themselves. This time, the opening line is, “I’m from the east side of America, where we choose pride over character.” Wow — doesn’t that just hit the human experience on the nose? Throughout the first verse, the vocalist continues to drop earth-shattering lyrical bombs with words like “narcissism” and “indifference,” and listeners get the sense that the song is simply another diatribe against society. However, the brilliant Chainsmokers have listeners right where they want them; As it turns out, the vocalist includes himself in the societal systems he is criticizing, humbly concluding that all of humanity is self-interested in nature. Eye-opening stuff to say the least.
Scathingly sarcastic criticism aside, the song’s chorus is big and somewhat catchy, hitting nearly all of the criteria necessary for a radio hit by a well-established music group. So, as vapid as this single might seem, it will certainly be the next big banger to be played on a relentless loop in the stuffy basements of frat houses.