The emotional stakes are great, but the uncertainty of our futures are even greater oftentimes it seems like the moment we finally make a connection, the end is already in sight. We now exercise extreme caution in all social activities, painfully careful with whom we choose to invest our time in. I’ve had countless conversations with friends about how this virus has tossed the idea of reckless, casual meetups out the window for the indefinite future. The days are getting shorter and colder, making us crave the closeness of a relationship, physical or emotional, all the more. And yet, there’s a part of us that is still trying to make some semblance of a connection, whether that be friending your Marriage Pact match on Facebook, redownloading Hinge or even just private messaging your Zoom crush from class. With COVID-19 cases rising, and an undeniable wariness around seeing anyone outside of our cohorts, the thought of meeting someone new at this point during the pandemic not only seems scary, but utterly exhausting.
While a puzzled Thundercat stands on his doorstep, I imagine a fist-sized heart hopping around a snow-covered sidewalk in search of its owner.Īfter sitting with these lyrics for a few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that this brief and unexpected heartbreak that Thundercat sings of rings all too true for our time. Like keys fallen out of a pocket, his heart is something small and dear that got misplaced on the subway ride home. There’s no doubt that he’s talking about a heartbreak, but to me it sounds like he’s singing about something a little more jarring and unexpected. This isn’t a breakup song about a slow, drawn-out goodbye. “Nobody move, there’s blood on the floor / And I can’t find my heart / Where did it go? Did I leave it in the cold? / So please give it back, ’cause it’s not yours to take / It must’ve fell when I lost my mind.” But something about this performance (maybe it was the fact that I watched it four times in a row) made me truly listen to the lyrics for the first time. To be honest, I’m usually too caught up in Thundercat’s groove to notice what he’s singing about.
When I stumbled across his performance of “Them Changes” featuring Ariana Grande at the virtual Adult Swim Festival a few weeks ago while aimlessly scrolling through Facebook, I stopped in my tracks and proceeded to watch it four times in a row. There are few song intros that are as instantly recognizable as the first hit of The Isley Brothers’ iconic sampled drum line in Thundercat’s 2015 track, “Them Changes.” While I’ve only listened to a few of Thundercat’s tracks, I’ve fallen hard for his sarcastic bass lines and sweet vocals.
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