Music Review: Gym Class Heroes & Adam Levine "Stereo Hearts"

Gym Class Hereoes & Adam Levine

Stereo Hearts

Album: The Papercut Chronicles II

Year:  2011

      Travie McCoy feeds a girl a line to impress her in the tatty  “Stereo Hearts.”

          Pleasant synths open the single, setting a genial tone,The chorus, which features Adam Levine, starts off the single. Levine says he’s committed to his girlfriend. He goes out of his way to show how much he adores her. He would like for her to confide in him after a horrible day. He’s her boyfriend and he wants to be there for her. (“My heart's a stereo/It beats for you, so listen close/Hear my thoughts in every note/Make me your radio/And turn me up when you feel low/This melody was meant for you/Just sing along to my stereo.”)

           McCoy then proceeds to question her interest in him. He wonders if she actually wants to be with him or help him with a favor. He admits he’s been closed off himself. His ex-girlfriend was controlling and shallow. It made him bitter. However, he no longer wants to be angry with someone he hasn’t seen in over a year. (“Gym Class Heroes baby!/If I was just another dusty record on the shelf/Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else?If I asked you to scratch my back, could you manage that?/Like yea fucked up, check it Travie, I can handle that/Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks/It's just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks/I used to, used to, used to, used to, now I'm over that/'Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts.”)

         In the pre-chorus, he wishes he could find the right words to make her believe he’s a decent guy. It would be something that would between them and she know it would be okay to trust him. (“If I could only find a note to make you understand/I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand/Just keep it stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune/And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you.”)

          The chorus is sung again.

       McCoy believes she’s only dating him because he’s in a band. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even given him a second glance. He thinks she would be ashamed of him, pretending she doesn’t she even know him if he were an average guy. He tells her one day he won’t be famous and it will eventually end. All that would be left are the true friends he had and some people don’t stick around forever. (“Let's go!/If I was an old-school fifty pound boombox (remember them?)/Would you hold me on your shoulder wherever you walk/Would you turn my volume up in front of the cops (turn it up)/And crank it higher everytime they told you to stop/And all I ask is that you don't get mad at me/When you have to purchase mad D batteries/Appreciate every mixtape your friends make/You never know we come and go like on the interstate.”)

          The chorus is sung again.

           In the bridge, he hopes she will stay with him. She’s a wonderful girl and he’s lucky to have her. He didn’t believe in long-term relationships until he met her. (“I only pray you'll never leave me behind (never leave me)/Because good music can be so hard to find (so hard to find)/I take your head and hold it closer to mine (yeah)/Thought love was dead, but now you're changing (yeah) my mind (come on whoa).”)

      The chorus is sung again to end the single.

      McCoy’s cold, manipulative vocals are cunning, thinking of reasons why he might be dumped and then providing a canned answer to win her over. Meanwhile, Levine’s silvery, reassuring vocals are attentive, paying close attention to his girlfriend’s signals and letting her decide for herself. It’s Levine that stands out,exuding warmth and sincerity which dissipates the moment his part is over.

    The insecure “Stereo Hearts” tries to prove its worth by laying the charm on thick and ends up choking on it.