C showed me this song and we recently analyzed and discussed just how good it is. It's the kind of song you can sit back and enjoy while you let the lead singer translate all your thoughts on your recent breakup into words. The regrets, the regret of having regrets, the confusion, the what the hell is wrong with you/why the hell did you change your mind, the desperation of wishing it could have worked. And of course the concluding universal disgust with love- "One more fucking love song, I'll be sick-"
Levine's voice has always been good at mastering the self-reflective and honest realities of heartbreak, but in this track in particular his voice fluctuations carry another kind of power, a way of making irrational, messy pain sound logical and even wonderful.
Kind of makes feeling shitty about yourself after getting dumped seem.. normal. Because you know it never does. It has a way of making you feel like someone's on your side. Even better, it has a way of making you feel like Adam Levine is on your side. "You can't expect me to be fine, I don't expect you to care-" The structure of that line is so simple while carrying so much meaning and truth. He removes his emotions from the situation and makes them his own. So smart.
And on top of the song writing, the record successfully draws on pop and hip hop influences while staying true to the band's pop-rock identity.
Wiz takes it away like he always does, coming in strong with a plain, straight-up "Man fuck that shit" line, only to introduce his quintessential empowering rap style that nails the "I'm ok, I'm doing me and you're gonna miss this" outlook we all come to know after that period of hurt.
So thanks anyway Taylor and Chris Brown, but I think Maroon 5 and Wiz Khalifa can take it from here.
