New Year’s Eve 2024, I attended a speaker meeting, dinner, and dance. I was home by 10 pm flipping through the CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN New Year’s Eve specials, but there were only two musical performances that drew me in—Third Eye Blind performing “Semi-Charmed Life” and Mickey Guyton singing a couple of songs from Times Square.
In 2020, I ended up staying in New Year’s Eve and watching New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest live from Times Square. Lots of acts performed in various venues, including Green Day live from 30-miles-away-from-my-couch Hollywood.
“When I come around”
I’m always blown away by stunning lyrics, such as the title and chorus of the song Green Day performed, When I Come Around. Four words. Four words that could tell a whole story about… a visit… a transformation… coming around to someone else’s point of view… a reconciliation after a breakup… or…
Songs are great like that. Honestly, I don’t even hear all of the rest of the lyrics, but those four words trigger a visceral response in me. My imagination goes to reconciliation.
Coincidentally, after they perform the song, the emcee tells us the song is about lead singer Billy Jo Armstrong’s girlfriend and now wife of 23 years.
“I’m here to remind you”
And then, together with an entire dance troupe, Alanis Morisette blasted these lyrics from her song You Oughta Know:
I’m here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away…
It is easy to hear all of the lyrics to that song, and it offers stark images of the musings of a bitter, heartbroken woman imagining her ex-lover with his new love.
“Sweet, but psycho” Ouch!
Later in the show, Ava Max performed Sweet, but Psycho.
Confession. I don’t appreciate the lyrics. They horrify me. In American culture, there is so little understanding of mental illness, I don’t think, what is basically, a tragic condition, should be casually thrown around.
Psychosis means that the pre-frontal cortex of your brain, executive function, is not functioning properly. Someone who is experiencing psychosis, “psycho,” has impaired judgment to the point of an inability to take care of themselves, to keep themselves out of harm’s way, and is unable, at times, to distinguish reality from fantasy.
Sometimes, treatment for psychosis is ineffective, and the “psycho,” experiences Hell on earth every day.
Sometimes tragedy results. “In schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, the lifetime risk of suicide death is estimated to be 5.6%” (J Nerv Ment Dis. 2015 May;203(5):387-92.)
A common misconception is that psychosis leads to violence, including mass shootings. “It is true, of course, that any psychotic or neurotic person can commit a violent act, but only because any person at all can commit such an act. The fact is that violence is an uncommon complication of mental illness,” Fredric Neuman M.D. writes in a 2014 Psychology Today article.
Do we really need to make fun of psychosis or treat the term so off-handedly? Stigma abounds. Do we have to add to it?
I don’t think the singer or the songwriters meant any harm or viewed the term “psycho” in the way I do, but that speaks to how little mental illness is respected or understood.
Psycho by Post Malone
During my search for the lyrics to Ava Max’s song, Psycho by Post Malone popped up. I do enjoy many of his songs.
When I Come Around, You Oughta Know, and Sweet, But Psycho paint vivid images and characterizations in my mind. This song doesn’t do that. I had to look up the meaning of the lyrics and AP (assistant producer).
“In addition to the issue of wealth and fame, the lyrics also mention issues relating to trust brought on by riches and fame. (Read more at SongMeaningsAndFacts.com.)
I can’t even list the names of all the members of my favorite band for over 20 years, U2, but now it’s so easy to find bios. Post Malone. Talk about a character. He was only 24 in December 2019, and his bio is fascinating.