I Think I Might Be Perfect...Wanna Bet?
- Mar 9, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 30, 2022
A few years ago I had a professor who challenged our class to create an 8 song playlist centered around a theme of our liking and then write an annotated bibliography on it. I was 18 years old and really into Taylor Swift at the time (which I still am.) I chose "summer love" or something along those lines as my theme because I was naive and in a relationship that I thought would last forever (thankfully it didn't).
However, now that I am a wise, intellectual, genius and humble 21-year-old who basically knows everything there is to know, I thought I would redo this project with a more sophisticated theme: Hubris.
Hubris: exaggerated pride or self-confidence. Originally a greek word that was considered a flaw, it referred to extreme pride where one would offend the gods which would result in their downfall.
My Hubris playlist includes:
I was born and raised on two musicians: Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles. I adopted my father's love of The Beatles at an early age, so inevitably I got more into classic rock as I got older. Led Zeppelin has a prominent place in my classic rock playlists, and I actually choose the theme of Hubris after listening to "Stairway to Heaven."
Led Zeppelin's famous “Stairway to Heaven” is focused on a lady who thinks she can buy everything. We see this lady trying to defy the natural order Led Zeppelin establishes when they refer to the two different paths one can travel in the fourth verse.
And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune, Then the piper will lead us to reason, And a new day will dawn for those who stand long, And the forests will echo with laughter, Remember laughter?
However, everyone has a fatal flaw (or red flag,) and this lady's fatal flaw is shown when she plans to forgo traveling either of the set-out paths and instead buy her own stairway to heaven. Finally, a crucial revelation is shared in the last verse when Robert Plant sings:
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know, Your stairway lies on the whispering wind
The lady’s stairway is ethereal; only as sturdy as the fickle winds, and is impossible to travel. All she was left with was a false illusion that she obtained an artificial way to cheat the process and acquire a seat in heaven.
"How Much A Dollar Cost" is a story of Kendrick Lamar’s encounter with a supposed beggar who asks for a dollar. Most fans know that Kendrick has a history of economic struggle and feels entitled to all of his profits. This uncomfortable exchange builds up to the point where Lamar gets frustrated and refuses the beggar outright.
The beggar’s final response is chilling.
I looked at him and said, Every nickel is mines to keep, He looked at me and said, Know the truth, it'll set you free ...
The nerve of Nazareth, and I'll tell you just how much a dollar cost, The price of having a spot in Heaven, embrace your loss. I am God
Lamar was too greedy to give a simple dollar to a beggar, and paid the ultimate price. He could have bought his Stairway to Heaven with one dollar, but his hubris got in the way.
In Kansas' "Carry On Wayward Son," Steve Walsh beings with giving advice to his son, but the song takes a quick turn in the first verse when he sings:
Once I rose above the noise and confusion, Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion, I was soaring ever higher, But I flew too high
Here, Walsh is warning his son of the darkness that lies ahead in the future. He is afraid his son will follow in his footsteps if he gets lost in the excitement of power. Walsh goes into more detail on how he personally got lost in his pride when he says:
And if I claim to be a wise man, well/It surely means that I don't know.
Walsh is honest and admits to his false illusions. Although he once claimed to be “wise,” he can now admit that was just his ego talking and he didn’t know anything at all.
I honestly thought I hit a brick wall and started second-guessing myself on this theme until I stumbled upon this song on one of my Spotify-generated playlists.
In her song "If I Wanted To" Etheridge starts with a eerie hymn that arouses interest in the audience, and then switches to a louder and more upbeat rhythm. As I continued listening, I was increasingly intrigued. Her raspy voice emphasizes the bold statements she makes, proudly claiming she could do anything if she wanted to.
I could dance with the devil on a Saturday night, If I wanted to, I could turn matches to gold, smoke, drink, swear, and I would never grow old
Etheridge is consequently letting excessive power get to her head. She is so infatuated with herself that she thinks she can play tricks with the afterlife and acquire immortality, which is humanly impossible.
The Kid Cudi and Kanye fan in me couldn't help but add this song to my Hubris playlist.
Cudi embraces his fame to the full extent in this song, going so far as to weaponize his fame to torture his ex-lover and rub it in her face.
It's like I'm her new nightmare, she ain't escapin', It makes me feel a bit complete, yeah, Cause I'm in the magazines, On the T-V, No matter where you are you might hear me
Cudi is cognizant of the price he is paying for his fame but is too arrogant to care. However, the lyrics “Knowing someone you love don't feel the same way about ya / Memories they soon delete,” suggest that Cudi cares about this girl more than he leads on, but he’s too prideful to admit it to the audience. This song emphasizes that Cudi values his fame and power more than a relationship with someone he loves, and he embraces the price he has to pay.
Panic! at the Disco's "King of the Clouds" begins with references to outer space, shedding light on Brendon Urie’s desire to “escape this old world.” He goes into the pre-chorus pompously saying “I don't trust anything, Or anyone, below the sun.” Urie views himself as superior to those who are on earth. He claims that he is the king of the universe and everyone else is beneath him when he loudly sings:
I'm king of the clouds, of the clouds, I get lifted, I get lifted.
He concludes the song in his last verse by saying “Some only live to die, I'm alive to fly higher.” Yet again, Urie is establishing himself as a higher power. He believes he is better than others because his destiny is to fly higher and become more powerful, and everyone else's purpose is to die.
I can never listen to this song without slightly cringing and remembering how annoyed I would get hearing this song on the radio all the time in 2018. However, it was too perfect for my theme of hubris not to include.
The Weekend begins "Starboy" with blatant hubris, saying he’s going to put his audience in the “worst mood” by bragging about his personal success in the song. From here, “Starboy” is a constant monologue of The Weekend gloating about his success, fame, luxuries, and more.
As the song progresses, it becomes evident that all of this pride is getting the best of him. In the third verse, he says:
100 on the dash get me close to God, We don't pray for love, we just pray for cars.
This bold statement ties back into previous references The Weekend makes about luxury cars, but this time he’s pointing out how just one wrong move (in the car) could possibly bring him to God. Here, The Weekend is foreshadowing to his approaching death if he allows pride to overrule his life.
And last, but certainly not least, we have the infamous Kanye West's "POWER."
Kanye’s “POWER” appears to be a simple song, boasting about his clout and vanity, similar to all of his other works of art (and current social media rampage).
However, the song takes a darker turn in the third verse when he alludes to drinking and driving.
How 'Ye doing? I’m surviving, I was drinking earlier, now I’m driving.
After introducing his dangerous decision making, he wraps up the verse with:
I got the power to make your life so exciting
This is a grave part of the song because his voice mystically transitions from saying “exciting” to “suicide,” which is barely noticeable. The conclusion to his final verse reveals his message about an unfortunate truth: power is suicide.
Ranging from rap to classic rock to 90s pop and alternative, this 8 song playlist has a variety of genres, but each one has (at least) one thing in common: excessive arrogance and pride. Now, I acknowledge that is an obvious statement considering the theme of this playlist is Hubris. However, the more I analyzed and listened to these songs, the more I noticed a specific "moral of the story," if you will. Not only are these songs boastful, but they all have unhappy endings because their pride is either their kryptonite or it leads to their downfall.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my different takes on Hubris!
Love Always,
Kate
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