Wake Me Up – Avicii

 

Always liked this song, but after watching a documentary on Avicii last night I have a new understanding of it. As a teenager Tim Bergling (Avicii) loved to create music on his laptop and like all musicians wanted people to hear it, but as often happens with young talented creative people no one told him about the trappings of fame. With the stereotypical pushy manager and a larger and larger group of hanger ons, what started out as a dream began to take a toll on his mental and physical state. A performer who loved being up on stage in front of an entire stadium of people jumping to his every beat was tortured by the pressure of touring and the fear of letting people down. The stress of it all leading to multiple health problems.

It's a sad tale and reading through the lyrics of this song, which featured on his debut album, it now reads like a warning to himself. Wake me up when its over, expecting his life to become clearer and easier as he got older, in other words I'll be happy when it's all done. The guy retired from touring when he was 26 and was gone before his 29th birthday. What a talent to be wasted, legends like Nile Rogers and Chris Martin were stating how much they respected Avicii as a musician and a visionary. The only problem being it seemed Avicii was just a character that Tim created and wanted to be, but in the end became his nemesis. I think he was lost.

 I was never into the Ibiza dance scene, EDM music isn't quite my bag, I did love dancing in the local night clubs but never took it to the next level. Songs like this with a mixture of acoustic guitars and dance beats are a good middle ground for the likes of me.

Favourite lyric : I tried carrying the weight of the world / But I only have two hands