{"id":71598,"date":"2023-02-28T09:11:10","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=71598"},"modified":"2023-02-28T09:11:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T15:11:11","slug":"song-spotlight-little-talks-by-of-monsters-and-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=71598","title":{"rendered":"Song Spotlight: &#8220;Little Talks&#8221; by Of Monsters and Men"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>An indie folk band, Of Monsters and Men mixes electric guitars with acoustic instruments, as well as other instruments such as accordions and horns.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BY NICK McCOY<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve always had a soft spot for songs which sound happy and cheerful, but in reality are actually quite depressing. \u201cSemi Charmed Life\u201d by Third Eye Blind is about meth addiction, \u201cPumped up Kicks&#8221; by Foster the People is written from the perspective of a school shooter, \u201cHey Ya!\u201d by Outkast is about two people in a relationship simply because they feel they have to, not because they love each other, \u201cJump\u201d by Van Halen was written by David Lee Roth after he read a story involving a man about to jump to his death, and \u201c99 Luftballons\u201d by Nena is literally about nuclear war. All of these songs are very different, but have one thing in common; they all have dark lyrics hidden behind cheerful melodies or happy sounding riffs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t tell you exactly why this style of music is so popular. Maybe it\u2019s our morbid fascination with dark stories, the interesting contrast between the lyrics and music, or if it\u2019s just because we\u2019re so blinded by the riffs or melodies that we don\u2019t even pay attention to the words being sung. No matter the reason, this type of music makes for some excellent tunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, I want to talk about one of these examples, which happens to be one of my personal favorites. The thing is, it\u2019s probably not one that immediately comes to mind when you think of this type of music. It\u2019s usually one of the examples listed above. Instead, I want to spotlight Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men and their song \u201cLittle Talks\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks (Official Video)\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ghb6eDopW8I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Of Monsters and Men, first formed in Iceland in 2010, became a popular act of the indie folk rock scene of the early 2010s. Following their first EP, \u201cInto The Woods\u201d, they released their debut studio album, \u201cMy Head Is An Animal.\u201d The album earned them moderate success and charted high in countries like Australia and Ireland.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of this success can largely be attributed to the album\u2019s first single and the band\u2019s debut single, \u201cLittle Talks.\u201d After hearing the song for the first time, it\u2019s not hard to see how it became such a hit. It features a fun, incredibly enjoyable mix of traditional guitars and percussion, along with horns and accordion. You also wouldn\u2019t be blamed for thinking the song is meant to be happy and lively.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written in the key of D-Flat major, the track features celebratory horns throughout the chorus and verse, and the repeated chants of \u201cHey!\u201d only add to the song\u2019s joyful feel. The entire song revolves on the duet between lead singers Nanna Brynd\u00eds Hilmarsd\u00f3ttir and Ragnar \u00fe\u00f3rhallsson. Each singer\u2019s smooth vocals give the tune a warm, inviting feel, and as they amp up the intensity for the chorus, the whole song gains a triumphant edge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, while the song sounds lively, joyful, and even celebratory at times, the lyrics are about as depressing as you can get.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"329\" height=\"512\" data-attachment-id=\"71600\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=71600\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?fit=329%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"329,512\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Of Monsters and Men 1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?fit=167%2C260&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?fit=329%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"71600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?resize=329%2C512\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?w=329&amp;ssl=1 329w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?resize=167%2C260&amp;ssl=1 167w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-1.png?resize=96%2C150&amp;ssl=1 96w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"341\" height=\"512\" data-attachment-id=\"71601\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=71601\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?fit=341%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"341,512\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Of Monsters and Men 2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?fit=173%2C260&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?fit=341%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" data-id=\"71601\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?fit=100%2C150&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?w=341&amp;ssl=1 341w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?resize=173%2C260&amp;ssl=1 173w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men-2.png?resize=100%2C150&amp;ssl=1 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 341px) 100vw, 341px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Nanna Brynd\u00eds Hilmarsd\u00f3ttir (left) and Ragnar \u00de\u00f3rhallsson (Right) are the founders and lead vocalists for Of Monsters and Men. Their dueling vocals make up the bulk of \u201cLittle Talks\u201d.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLittle Talks\u201d is sung from the perspective of a grieving woman (Hilmarsd\u00f3ttir) conversing with her deceased husband (\u00fe\u00f3rhallsson). That fun back and forth is actually the voice of a widow who is losing her mind, overcome with the sadness of losing her husband. The husband himself, who is not actually there, provides her with comfort and reassures her they\u2019ll be together soon. As the song nears its conclusion, it\u2019s also made clear that the woman plans to \u201cjoin\u201d her husband (I\u2019m sure you can imagine what that entails.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have your doubts about how dark the lyrics can be, lines such as \u201cAnd some days I can\u2019t even dress myself,\u201d \u201cIt kills me to see you this way,\u201d \u201cWe used to play outside when we were young, and full of life and full of love,\u201d and \u201cYou\u2019re gone, gone, gone away, I watched you disappear,\u201d and finally \u201cWe\u2019re torn, torn, torn apart, there\u2019s nothing we can do. Just let me go we\u2019ll meet again soon,\u201d perfectly captures what the song is actually about.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So yeah, not a very fun song, is it? Well, despite the dark nature of its lyrics, its instrumentation and the voices of the two lead singers are incredibly enjoyable to listen to. But even so, hearing some of those lyrics is guaranteed to hit you in the feels.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Out of all the songs which sound happy but are actually quite dark and depressing, \u201cLittle Talks\u201d isn\u2019t one I see talk about often. Which is a shame, because it\u2019s such a perfect example of that type of song done right. Whether it\u2019s the duet, the horns, or the triumphant chants, you can\u2019t deny the song is fun to listen to. But then you look at the words being sung, and it takes on a much darker tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All in all, \u201cLittle Talks\u201d is a unique indie darling that needs more love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An indie folk band, Of Monsters and Men mixes electric guitars with acoustic instruments, as well as other instruments such as accordions and horns.\u00a0 BY&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":71599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,3402,3399,55],"tags":[15118,14189,14765,15117,15116],"class_list":["post-71598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-area-music","category-music-reviews","category-opinion","tag-little-talks","tag-music-review","tag-nick-mccoy","tag-of-monsters-and-men","tag-song-spotlight"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Of-Monsters-and-Men.png?fit=512%2C341&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71598"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71604,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71598\/revisions\/71604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/71599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}