(footage shot by Melissa Sherrill on 6/12/11 at Club Firestone, Orlando, FL)
As one of their more popular songs, Passion Pit’s “Little Secrets” has made its way into the hearts of high school and college kids everywhere in America and internationally. Having performed countless shows in the last few years, including UNC’s 2010 Homecoming Concert, Passion Pit is expected to play “Little Secrets” at every live show. It is one of the catchiest electro-pop songs in recent years and has undeniable “danceability”. The beat and electronically-produced melody make this song ideal for parties and of course, live shows. Passion Pit’s style of well-crafted, and unexpectedly complicated, pop songs combined with innovative production value has helped propel the electronic music scene to more mainstream stages.
The average listener might not catch just how many different elements form a Passion Pit song. The overall melody of most of their songs is obvious, but what has created that melody is hidden in the technology used to produce it. “Little Secrets” is a heavily electronic song that incorporates familiar elements one would find in more conventional pop songs and adds very unique electronic flourishes. These electronic flourishes are what make Passion Pit’s music appealing to audiences seeking more unconventional styles of production. This is important because there is a growing trend among today’s pop artists to incorporate more technology into their music to give it a more modern, electronic base or influence. Artists and bands are expanding outside of the usual instrumentation of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards to include variations of synthesizers and software that manipulate various sounds to warp them into the unexpected. In this way, artists and bands are no longer limited to the similar-sounding chord progressions, beats, harmonies, and general sound of conventional instruments—they can forge a new path with electronic mediums that can produce endless new sounds to help transform the discourse that defines what is considered “music”.
Whether it is cast in the realm of “experimental” or “popular” music, technology has been incorporated into the musical sphere in a way that has allowed anyone with a computer and knowledge of necessary software to become artists in their own right by creating music and disseminating it through the internet. Self-promotion and networking, especially through social media, has created a new atmosphere for music culture that is based on the discovery of new artists through music blogs, online radio websites (such as Pandora), and other online outlets. It is not surprising that as the dissemination of music has changed from CD format to mp3 format, music itself has begun to incorporate technology and software that has become available within the last decade.
Before Passion Pit became a band, the lead singer, Michael Angelakos, wrote and performed what would become Passion Pit’s first EP (“Chunk of Change”) by himself using his laptop. After forming Passion Pit, Angelakos and his bandmates focused on producing their first LP, “Manners”. “Little Secrets” is the second track on “Manners”, and is one of the most upbeat songs of the album. It is interesting to note that much of the lyrics of “Little Secrets” do not imply that it would be an electro-pop song: “You've caused all this pain / and you proudly shame / your whole families’ name.” To a casual listener, the tone of the song would cause one to overlook or not even realize the serious nature of the lyrics because the song is catchy and upbeat. However, the situation of “Little Secrets” being performed live brings the song to life in ways that simply listening to the recording cannot. Being packed in a room with people that have something in common, the fact that most if not all listen to Passion Pit, is a unifying force that evokes a celebratory atmosphere in which the music, band, fans, and shared experience of the concert come together to form a special memory for every member of the audience. On a personal note, this particular performance in Orlando will always be a cherished memory for reasons related to the person who went to the show with me, but the performance as a whole was one of the best I have ever experienced.
"Little Secrets"
When I came down the dawn poured into me
I shook em up, the walls came crumbling
my fists kept trembling with these salty wounds
my stolen gold inside the emperors tomb
Now painting rainbows on my ugly face
I built this cardboard neighborhoods disgrace
but I ascend and serve my feverish need
within the confines of such chemistry
It's the way I see
everything I need
it's no way to be
Let this be our little secret
no one needs to know were feeling
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
But I feel alive and I feel it in me
up and up I keep on climbing
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
My face blew up at such a casual sight
the smattered colours of ecstatic fright
the rush above me to oblivion
outlining wet sidewalks in halogen
Oh have you ever felt so goddamn strong
how come it takes some people so damn long
he tried to squeeze the lemon juice to rain
the citrus drawing out the scene in stains
Watch the basin drain
as your life lines wane
and you cant explain
as your friends complain
You've caused all this pain
and you proudly shame
your whole families name
Let this be our little secret
no one needs to know were feeling
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
But I feel alive and I feel it in me
up and up I keep on climbing
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
Mother I can tell what you've been thinking
staring at the stars on your ceiling
thinking once there was a power that you were wielding
and now I've hit the mark
stabbing at the dark
and I cannot help but ignore the people staring at my scars
Let this be our little secret
no-one needs to know we're feeling
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
But I feel alive and feel it in me
up and up I keep on climbing
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
Let this be our little secret
no one needs to know were feeling
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
But I feel alive and I feel it in me
up and up I keep on climbing
higher and higher and higher
higher and higher and higher
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