Mili - Children of the City
In Mili’s song “Children of the City,” the speaker uses orders known as Prescripts as a symbol to convey that blind following stifles one’s free will and purpose. Immediately, the speaker begins to relay orders that they have heard, such as “sleep for a total of 800 hours per day,” and “only eat, or write, or pull the trigger with your right hand.” These are called Prescripts, orders given to citizens living under The Index, a government style branch that offers protection to the people under it. The Index promises to keep the citizens safe as long as they complete their Prescripts, and the examples given by the speaker help illustrate how confusing and seemingly pointless they can be. The speaker then explains that “by the time you realize, you’ll be restrained to a desk,” explaining that once under the Index’s protection, “you’ll comply, eyes chained to the test.” The Prescripts are a symbol for these restrictions, as their pointless orders consume the lives of those underneath them. Abandoning dreams and wishes, the citizens solely follow the orders given to them by the Index. The speaker, realizing this, is forced to come to terms with, “the fact that other than to expand we had no purpose,” and states that they now, “must be comfortable being who I considered worthless.” Without the freedom that is taken away by the Prescripts, they see their life as pointless. Living only to follow orders given by their higher ups, the speaker discovers that despite the safety they have they’ve become a single cog perpetuating what seems to be a meaningless goal. All in all, the song “Children of the City” by Mili uses Prescripts as a symbol to illustrate that free will and purpose are erased by the act of blind following.
DECO*27 - Undercover
DECO*27’s song “Undercover” uses prisoners as symbols to express that emotional influences make it impossible for one to fairly judge others. The speaker describes the plight of ten prisoners who are all being tried for a murder they committed. Their fate will be decided by the prison warden, who must choose if they are innocent or guilty. However, the speaker then notes that, “you get to know them and then tie them with their EGO,” asking the question, “can you really judge them?” While each prisoner represents a murder, each come with their own stories and personalities. The prisoners symbolize the human element that blurs the verdict they should be given. Challenging the warden, the speaker believes that they begin to relate the prisoners and their cases with their personality. This is expanded on when referring to the, “border between ‘Hate’ vs ‘OK’,” which the warden is then asked, “is it really ok to be…deciding with just your EGO?” EGO, which the speaker continues to refer to, is the conscious part of the brain which is considered one’s self. Because of the emotional connection the warden begins to make with the prisoners, their ego begins to get in the way of objective decision making. The clouding that these emotions cause blurs the border between what is unforgivable and what is acceptable. This dilemma escalates once the warden is told that after “a false accusation full of mistakes,” the prisoner “would probably smile and be pleased.” The speaker informs them that falsely acquitting a guilty prisoner would result in bloodshed, showing shadows of the warden themself being killed by them. The stakes are too high for one’s ego to be getting in the way. Overall, the song “Undercover” by DECO*27 uses prisoners to symbolize that one’s rational judgement is blinded by their emotional influence.
Mili - Gone Angels
In Mili’s song, “Gone Angels,” the speaker uses tone and volta to convey that revenge can’t right a wrong. The speaker begins first by directly addressing someone, telling them that “the pages remind them you’ll always be a villain,” referring to books and pages that they’ve gotten from their addressee’s killing spree. The song starts by painting this addressee in a negative light, bringing up memories and history that weighs heavily on the speaker. Due to the heavy tone brought about, the listener can infer that the speaker holds resentment towards the addressee. This idea is further emphasized later in the song, as the speaker displays an intent to kill the addressee as they were “brewing all this hatred so [they] have a reason…to see [the addressee] dead.” The dark tone that is emphasized by heavy piano and a minor key signature paint the sadness and anger felt by the speaker, conveying the feelings of resentment the speaker wishes to resolve. However, the speaker’s tone changes later as they say that they’re “gone from the stage that allowed [them their]…only dreams,” and makes the statement that “pain always catches up to those who chooses to stay.” This volta illustrates the process of the speaker changing their view, coming to terms with their own agony instead of deflecting it onto the addressee. This idea of pain catching up refers to their own feelings of guilt and agony, finding that revenge won’t quell these emotions. Overall, the use of tone and volta in Mili’s song, “Gone Angels” displays the idea that revenge won’t resolve one’s sadness.