Video: YouTube
1
16
VOTES
Xanny
Using distorted vocals and oscillating tempos that turn into a jazz-influenced ballad mid song, “Xanny” (slang for Xanax) is Billie Eilish's anti-drug anthem about being the only sober person in a crowd of smokers, drug abusers, and people who self medicate. In the song, Eilish uses a melancholy tune to lament how she is losing her friends to substances, and how solitary the sober lifestyle can be, even when out at in a club setting. But as the song continues, the beat picks up as Eilish makes it clear where she stands on the subject and how she feels about drug use. In an interview with the Guardian, Eilish talked about the song: I have never done drugs, I’ve never got high, I’ve never smoked anything in my life. I don’t give a f*ck, I never have. It’s just not interesting to me… [It's] less ‘don’t do drugs’; it’s more ‘be safe’…I don’t want my friends to die any more.
16 votes
Video: YouTube
2
Bellyache
Embracing her macabre side in all the best ways, Billie Eilish's “Bellyache” infuses influences from hip hop, house, alternative, and pop to create a story-song about a teenage psychopath who has dismembered her besties and dumped their bodies in the back of her car. Except for her former partner, who is now in the gutter. A song that changes tempo to fit with the character's mood-swinging mindset, “Bellyache” uses its high-spirited beat to elevate the gruesome lyrics to the point of parody, becoming a tongue-in-cheek fun dance tune that is perfect for any angry moment, inside the club or otherwise. Eilish explains that the song is about a psycho, but it is also about guilt, though it is fleeting. 'Bellyache' is about the concept of guilt, when you do things in the moment because you feel so strongly about them. In the end you're left with the decision you made. That line 'I thought that I'd feel better, but now I gotta bellyache' is about how you kinda know that you're the worst but you don't care. It's about a psychopath who regrets being a psychopath but doesn'treallycare.
13 votes
Video: YouTube
3
50
VOTES
Bury a Friend
This is the song that plays in the background of a person's subconscious when they make the decision to become the villain instead of a main character. This incredibly dark and infectious synth-pop tune takes the perspective of the boogeyman, the beast that hides in the closet or the monster under the bed. Using layered vocals to create an unearthly effect to match the sinister vibe, Billie Eilish's “Bury a Friend” is a monsterpiece of a song with a video to match, featuring hellish imagery that would make an Fangoria fan happy. According to the singer, the song and video were inspired by her nightmares. I have these terrifying dreams…Sleep paralysis, night terrors. It’s like the whole night is terrifying and then I wake up. I probably wouldn’t have made that song the way it is if I hadn’t had sleep paralysis and nightmares…
50 votes
Video: YouTube
4
51
VOTES
What Was I Made For?
The Oscar-winning ballad from Barbie is played during a pivotal scene in which the titular doll meets her maker (Rhea Perlman) and her creator bestows her with the gift of humanity. A beautiful, haunting melody with lyrics that explores questions regarding identity and belonging, Barbie director Greta Gerwig tapped Billie Eilish to create the tune for the film. The songstress told Allure magazine that the prompt was all she and brother/collaborator Finneas O’Connell needed to unleash the song: It was as if this song was a tiny creature inside of me for years, scratching the inside of me. As soon as we got that prompt, the creature was like, ‘Okay, I’m out'… We wrote it in a period of time where we couldn’t have been less inspired and less creative. That day we were making stuff, and were like, ‘We’ve lost it. Why are we even doing this?’ And then those first chords happened and ‘I used to float / now I just fall down’ came out and the song wrote itself.
51 votes
Video: YouTube
5
47
VOTES
Happier Than Ever
Beginning as a downtempo pop song with alternative influences that culminates into an full-fledged rock anthem about a one-sided relationship, Billie Eilish dubbed her Grammy-nominated song “Happier Than Ever” as the ”most therapeutic song" she had ever written. Starting off with a slow melody, the song gradually builds as the singer finds her strength to express how happy she is outside of her toxic relationship. With the addition of a full studio band midsong, the ballad is transformed into a battle cry for any person in a terrible relationship looking for the inner strength to escape. Eilish commented how recording the song was restorative to her soul. I just screamed my lungs out and could barely talk afterwards which was very satisfying to me... I had wanted to get those screams out for a very long time.
47 votes
Video: YouTube
6
11
VOTES
My Future
A song about self-empowerment and hope, “My Future” was considered a different direction for the songstress, who is mostly known for her melancholy ballads. Contemplative and optimistic in its lyrics, the song has more the vibe of ‘40s crooners than contemporary artists, but was the perfect note for a post-pandemic audience, who perhaps needed a cheerier message in darker times. “’Cause I’m in love with my future, can’t wait to meet her,” sings the young superstar, inspiring fans to join her mindset and reminding them that everyone needs hope. In an interview with Apple, Eilish explained: Our future as a world and as a people… it’s crazy when you can get to a point in life where hope itself feels hopeless. It feels hopeless to hope for stuff. Should you even be wishing? Should you even be hopeful? It’s like, is it even worth it? That’s insane, but that’s where we are at this point. We need the music. We need the hope.
11 votes
