I don’t care what anyone says but Hollywood Undead is among the greatest bands of all time. They are right at the top when it comes to influence and entertainment.
‘Undead’ is among their most popular songs which was their first track and single from their debut album ‘Swan Songs’. It was released on 26th August 2008.
The song nearly sums up the band and what they were all about.
“We came up with Swan Songs because there’s an irony to it. A swan song is supposed to be the last noise a swan makes before it dies. Even though it’s our first record, I thought that it would be cool because of the irony of it.
In all honesty, I never know what’s going to happen with us, so I thought it was a fitting title. It’s very complete, representing the lifespan of something. If we never made another record again, I think we would’ve done something that most bands haven’t done; even though it’s only a 14-track record, but it covers a lifetime.”
Johnny 3 Tears on their debut album ‘Swan Songs’
Song Meaning and Story
The band hails from Hollywood, LA California which is obvious from their name. They were not the privileged lot who grew up with a lot of money and had a comfortable childhood.
As kids, they saw the most horrific and dirty parts of the city where getting robbed at gun point, violence and bloodshed was not something unusual. At certain points, they themselves happened to be involved in gang fights and brawls as the situation demanded.
Yet, they had a vision and a determination to escape the reality they were experiencing and make it big in life.
As the case with a lot of rappers and gangster musicians, music happens to be the gateway to the promised land and these people did the same.
In the song all members have their own stories to tell and what they experienced growing up.
Johnny 3 Tears verse is especially describing the things that take place in LA streets and neighbourhoods. J3T himself graduated high school in juvenile hall because of possession of a fire arm.
Maybe people think our music is part of some kind of suburban schtick. Nothing’s further from the truth. I’m not gonna shoot someone because they think we’re faking this, but if they don’t believe us, they should come down to our neighbourhood to see it for themselves.
Johnny 3 Tears
Charlie Scene talks about making it big in the music business while also dealing with haters and those who belittle him. They don’t know what its like to be successful after putting in tremendous amounts of work. When you are an artist, criticism from random people often gets you riled up and you never want to miss an opportunity to get back at them when you’re famous.
Lastly, J-Dog gives his own which is similar in theme to both J3T and Charlie Scene. People doubt them for being as gangster as they portray but those people themselves have never been in their position to talk shit about them in the first place.
So, that is what the song is mainly about. Definitely an amazing song which gets you pumped up. The music really matches the vibe of the story they want to tell. In a weird way the tune itself makes you think of vandalism right from the start before the lyrics come into picture.
Anyway, that was it for this blog post. Let me know your opinion in the comments below.
