People (The 1975 song)

"People" is a song by British band the 1975. The song is the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Notes on a Conditional Form (2020). The song marks a significant change in sound from previous songs the band have released, incorporating punk, hardcore and industrial rock elements.

"People"
Single by The 1975
from the album Notes on a Conditional Form
Released22 August 2019 (2019-08-22)
Recorded2019
Genre
Length2:40
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Adam Hann
  • George Daniel
  • Ross MacDonald
  • Matty Healy
Producer(s)
  • George Daniel
  • Matty Healy
The 1975 singles chronology
"It's Not Living (If It's Not with You)"
(2018)		 "People"
(2019)		 "Frail State of Mind"
(2019)
Music video
"People" on YouTube

Composition

Musically, the song has been described as alternative rock,[1] dance-punk,[2] glam punk,[3] anarcho-punk,[4] screamo,[5] and industrial rock.[6] In a positive review by Spin magazine, Will Gottsegen calls "People" a "slick and noisy track with sharp, punchy riffs" and lyrics that discuss generational angst, specifically with the lyrics. Specifically, the lyrics discuss the concerns of climate change, capitalism, human extinction, and anxiety and described in the lyrics: "Well my generation wanna / fuck Barack Obama / Living in a sauna / with legal marijuana. Well girls, food, gear / I don’t like going outside / So bring me everything here."[7]

Music video

The video, directed by Matt Healy, Warren Fu and Ben Ditto, features the band performing in a strobe-lit room with various glitching lights and visuals that reflect social media, memes, and catastrophic news. The band alternates between dark black suits and yellow suits. Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork described Matt Healy's performance in the music video as "channeling Marilyn Manson's oil-spill mane and Gerard Way's vein-bursting bravado."[8]

Critical reception

Writing for Pitchfork, Quinn Moreland described the state of the band with this song saying that "if there's still any question about whether or not the 1975 is a rock band, rather than an '80s-indebted pop act, "People" will put that debate to rest." Moreland described the opening riffs in the song as desert rock. Moreland praised Healy's vocal performance "already undeniably one of the best and most elastic vocal performers of his generation, Healy has never sounded so ALIVE: barking, shrieking, and snarling, ripping his vocal cords to shreds as he rhymes 'Obama' with 'marijuana.'"[8]

Marissa Lorusso, writing for NPR, said that "People" thrashes with millennial anxiety with regards to climate change and human extinction. "With an as-of-yet unmatched level of gut-churning urgency; the song thrashes with all the big-guitar swagger of turn-of-the-millennium dance-punk."[2] Derrick Rossignol of Uproxx said that with "People", The 1975 conclusively prove that they are a rock band: "if The 1975 only flirted with rock before, "People" is the band having lunch with rock's father and asking for permission to marry it".[9]

Thomas Smith, writing for NME praised the track and said that "People is a complete act of sabotage and rebellion. A push-back to the naysayers and the critics who dismiss them throwaway pop music, and an act of self-vandalisation to rip it up and start again. They want to start a revolution, man."[10]

Charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 68
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[12] 36
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[13] 59
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 54
UK Rock and Metal (Official Charts Company)[15] 1
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[16] 15
gollark: Also, I don't think that "the universe is the 3-dimensional surface of a 4-sphere" thing is actually... true?
gollark: You can totally understand it ish, just not very intuitively.
gollark: And apparently (I read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_decay#Bound-state_%CE%B2%E2%88%92_decay) fully ionized atoms of one thing have a very different half life too.
gollark: Some stuff can only decay through electron capture, which won't work if someone removes all the electrons.
gollark: He is, in fact, on this server sometimes.

References
  1. Sodomsky, Sam (22 May 2020). "The 1975: Notes on a Conditional Form Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  2. Lorusso, Marissa (22 August 2019). "The 1975's 'People' Thrashes With Millennial Anxiety". NPR. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  3. White, Adam (24 August 2019). "The 1975 were a brilliantly odd blur of anger and sincerity at Reading Festival". The Independent. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. Stubbs, Dan (1 May 2020). "The 1975 – 'Notes On A Conditional Form' review". NME. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. Hunt, El (19 February 2020). "The 1975's 'The Birthday Party' is foot-scuffin' country twang for the internet age". NME. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  6. Gross, Kiku (27 August 2019). "The 1975 Wake Up and Get Mad in Their Latest Single, "People"". Soundigest. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  7. Gottsegen, Will (22 August 2019). "The 1975 Release New Single "People," Set Album Release Date". Spin. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  8. Moreland, Quinn (22 August 2019). ""People" by The 1975 Review". Pitchfork. Conde Nast. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  9. Rossignol, Derrick (22 August 2019). "The 1975 Prove Conclusively That They Are A Rock Band On Their Energetic New Single, 'People'". Uproxx. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  10. Smith, Thomas (22 August 2019). "The 1975's 'People' is a bone-rattling cry for humandkind". NME. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  11. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  12. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  15. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  16. "The 1975 Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
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