The Weeknd's Dawn FM
What’s up guys, it's been a while! I apologize for the lack of posts for these last couple of months, life’s been crazy with the recent MBA program I became a part of and everything else that’s been happening, but WE ARE BACK. And we’re back with analyzing the new Weeknd album, Dawn FM. I remember looking at After Hours both on my Twitch stream and on the blog previously, and I remember it being an unexpected but enjoyable project that fuses both the sounds of 80s music and modern pop. In that album, the Weeknd talks about his life choices regarding drug use, his relationships, and his overall mental state as he tries to find solutions to the toxic commitments he puts himself through. Now, two years later, we’re given something that I consider a sequel through Dawn FM. So, let's just get into this.
We
start off with the song “Dawn FM” which sets the stage for the odyssey the
Weeknd plans on putting us through. We hear a lot of echoey vocals with synths
as he sets the stage for what’s to come. Right away we’re given this position
of uncertainty as we listen to the lines “This part I do alone… Make me believe
in make-beliefs…Cause after the light, is it dark? Is it dark all alone?” The
Weeknd lets his audience know that he’s still lacking that essential sense of
clarity to guide his life. To push this ambiguity further, we’re then given a
fun snippet from narrator Jim Carrey as he plays the host for what we seem to
be tuning in on 103.5 Dawn FM. Before we continue further, I want to take note
of two things. One, I want to ask why? Why are we tuning into this radio
station, and what does it offer to the overall concept of the album. Note the
line “You’ve been in the dark for way too long, it’s time to walk into the
light.” This is something we can keep in our heads as we delve further into this
story. Two, JIM CARREY IS AN AMAZING NARRATOR! His voice did a great job at
making me curious yet uneasy as I tuned into this ghost station. I loved his
narration, especially in the outro, which we’ll cover later.
Now
that we went over the intro track, let's go into “Gasoline” (absolute banger).
The beginning right away takes me into an old 80s show with familiar retro
sounds making me feel like I’m starting something brand new with this song. Just
like in After Hours, we’re given a lost Weeknd as he stays up late in the night
thinking about where he is and trying to contact a lover he seeks safety in. He
expresses this safety in the chorus as he sings “It’s only safe for you and me,
I know you won’t let me OD”. I thought
this was a great second track because this seems to be the theme song of the
journey we’re witnessing. We hear catchy, upbeat sounds with contrasting vocals
that express confusion and frustration as the Weeknd tries to find the answer
to his problems. The first thing the
Weeknd tries to do is ask himself how he can make this girl he fancies love him
in the song “How Do I Make You Love Me?” From this, we can see that old habits
die hard with our singer trying to find solace in someone else as he tries to
flatter and treasure this hidden lover he sings about. These pleads for help
seem to be reciprocated through this hidden figure as the song transitions
smoothly into “Take My Breath”. In this song, we get a sense of what the other
person wants from the Weeknd, which is an experience that can not only knock
her off her feet but make her feel alive. We can see this through the lines
“You risk it all to feel alive, oh yeah, you’re offering yourself to me like sacrifice.” However, we also see her recklessness through the lines “You’re way
too young to end your life, girl, I don’t wanna be the one who pays the price.”
So far
what we see brewing is a toxic relationship that again the Weeknd uses to
find peace and guidance in his life. However, in the song “Sacrifices”, we can
see that he is starting to realize that what he’s doing is trapping himself
instead of allowing himself to search for what he needs. In this amazing song,
we’re given an 80s guitar riff and some sweet vocals that have our singer
questioning if this relationship he’s in is worth the sacrifices he has to make
to make it work. Now, this is interesting because this is the first time I’ve
seen the Weeknd even bother to ask this question. Usually, the man doesn’t ask
questions like this as he was desperate to get anything to feel alive in After
Hours. Here, we can see some growth as he analyzes his own relationships and
asks himself if it’s worth what he’s putting in.
The
next track isn’t a song but furthers what we’re witnessing in the story so far.
We have producer Quincy Jones talk about how his lack of a motherly presence in
his childhood led to him not having healthy relationships with women later in
his life out of fear of being abandoned. However, Jones didn’t notice this connection
until he was much older when he looked back and saw everything he went through,
ending his talk with “Looking back is a bitch, isn’t it?” This skit is put here
for a reason, and I think it’s because the Weeknd is starting to formulate the
same conclusion that Jones did in his talk. He’s starting to not only look back
on his past in a reflective manner, but now he’s even looking at his current
state of life and questioning if he’s putting himself in the position to find
what he’s looking for.
The
next song, Out of Time, has our singer looking back on the recent months of his
life. He recognizes the trauma in his life and connects that to his habit of
abandoning women who have been in relationships with him. As he realizes this,
he tries to go back to correct his mistakes only to realize that the individual
he’s chasing has moved on. OUCH! Now, this is an issue. As the Weeknd is trying
to do better and starts making efforts to fix things, he’s met with a wall. But
instead of having lyrics break down his conscience after realizing this, we’re
instead met with an eerie outro from our narrator Jim Carrey that will be broken
down later.
So,
what does the Weeknd do when he faces heartbreak? He goes down a road he’s
taken before on “Here We Go… Again”. In this song, he sings about falling for a
new girl that makes him forget about his past and the depressive thoughts that
have been ailing him thus far. He acknowledges that it isn’t the perfect
relationship in the chorus but decides that it’s better to “love and lost with
tears than never love at all.” We as the audience can see now how the Weeknd
chooses to respond to facing that wall previously mentioned. Instead of acknowledging
this pain and trying to move from it, he harbors it and uses another lover to
help him forget his pain. While I don’t think this pushes the narrative, I
personally thought the Tyler, the Creator feature was nice as it adds a bit of flavor
to the song overall.
That’s
not the only thing that the Weeknd engages in to save himself from more
heartbreak. The next song, “Best Friends”, is surprising as it allows us to see
the growth in the singer as he laments over his friendship with another girl he’s
talking to. He mentions how both of them have been through toxic relationships and
that they confided in each other intimately, but he also doesn’t want to be in
a relationship with this person. The reason is that he doesn’t want to be
responsible for hurting this person he loves even more as he looks over his behavior
in prior relationships. This switch-up in thinking can be confusing but is
necessary to show because it properly portrays the mess of emotions and
thinking that can surge during a period of pain. The Weeknd knows that he can
take advantage of this situation to forget the pain he’s facing currently, but
he chooses to be the bigger man to avoid making another person be victim to his
issues. To me, this shows a huge difference in character compared to the singer
we saw in After Hours as the Weeknd is once again able to show self-reflection
and weigh the pros and cons of turning this friendship he values into a
relationship. However, as the song transitions into “Is There Someone Else?”,
we get a glimpse of the other side of the coin. Old habits die hard, and we can
see that as he continues to sing about his curiosity as to whether this friend
of his is talking to other people. This clearly strikes a chord of jealousy with
him as he sings about not wanting to lose his place to someone else. To me,
this duo of songs is significant because it shows that change is difficult and
isn’t permanent. While we do see the Weeknd wanting to be better and even showing
signs of maturity, we also see the opposite through his instinctive behavior to
possess those who show him affection.
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