Sometimes you need to go for a night drive, play some music, and just think.
Think about anything and everything. Introspection often goes along with music for me. Hell, for ninety percent of my preteen years, I was the girl who put her headphones in, played sad music, and then looked out the window despairingly, as if I had endured some pain that was beyond words (why are teenagers so dramatic?).
Though I’ve mostly moved past my car acting career, I still associate songs with moods or emotions and play to match what I’m feeling. “Different Story” by INTRN, a 23 year old singer/songwriter from LA, is the perfect song for an introspective night drive. Its moody and sultry vibes are perfect for post-sunset.
“Different Story” is completely led by vocals; they are the stand out sound and guide everything that happens next. INTRN’s voice is very smooth, bright, and utterly controlled. He throws in very small and subtle runs and vibrato here and there, just to add a little drama to the already bittersweet song. For the pre-choruses, he makes his voice smaller and softer and incorporates a harmony that is pitched to sound female. The sound makes the listener feel like him and his lover are almost speaking, singing to each other, miles and miles apart. In that sense, they’re not really hearing each other, which directly parallels the lyrics of the song. It’s little details like this that make the story shine through even more. His falsetto is also very strong once the choruses hit, and that’s when the beat really kicks in. It makes the listener want to sway back and forth, eyes closed and care free. Besides the vocals, the song has a guitar-like melody with an electronic effect on it and a very eclectic computer generated beat.
Tell me a different story,
’cause I don’t like the end.
He lost what he thought was love,
and she lost her best friend.
He is speaking about himself and his lover in third person, as if to separate himself from the pain he’s feeling. They are no longer together, and he doesn’t think this is the fate they were supposed to have.
Tell me a different story,
and this time we’ll pretend
that things happen for a reason
and we can still be friends.
When people break up, they often say that maybe it wasn’t meant to be, and they can continue on being civil and platonic. He doesn’t see this as true for them. Not being with her is not in the cards for him.
I’m done feeling this way,
want it all to change,
rewrite what’s on this page,
and oh, I’ll stay the same.
He refuses to lose her and he’s heartbroken. He wants to go back in time and do it all over again.
I’ve been holding onto things that hurt me,
I’ve been holding onto you, to you,
stories of what wasn’t all that could be.
I’ve been holding onto you, to you.
He’s willing to let go all of the stupid, painful things he’s been holding onto, just to keep on holding onto her.
Tell me a different story,
’cause this one’s overrated.
I’m so tired of pretending
that we both knew the end.
His lover may be acting as if she saw this coming, that she knew they were meant to go down in flames. He may be playing along with this idea, but he doesn’t think it’s true. He never thought this would happen.
