Music Review: OneRepublic "Counting Stars"

OneRepublic

Counting Stars

Album: Native

Year: 2013

               Ryan Tedder wishes to turn his life around in the level “Counting Stars.”

             A sober synth opens the single, setting an accepting tone. Part of the chorus opens the single. A son to throw a baseball with on the weekends. A mid-size two-story home in the suburbs away from the bustling city. As he rests his head on the pillow, he imagines another life. It’s a life with his best friend, a woman who has dealt firsthand with his paranoid state, filled in the blanks after he had missed several days, not having idea when or where he was. He has gained notoriety and gotten rich from it. However, the money’s not worth a possible overdose. He’d rather gradually fade into obscurity and relax. (“Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep/Dreaming about the things that we could be/But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard/Said no more counting dollars/We'll be counting stars, yeah we'll be counting stars.”)

          The synths hum, finding some peace.

         Ever since he was young, he liked taking risks. He put himself out there even if meant rejection. Growing up, he would view bands on stages and wonder what was going on backstage. He wanted to know what it was like and become a part of it. It took plenty of work and missed time away from family. However, he discovered what lurked behind the stage. (“I see this life like a swinging vine/Swing my heart across the line/In my face is flashing signs/Seek it out and ye shall find.”)

           In the pre-chorus, after ten years in the business and approaching his mid-30s, he has seen far more than he expected and things he’d rather not ever see again, aging him beyond his years. There’s still goodness to be found, though, it may be in places that may not seem welcoming. He’s been living by rigid rules, which he thought he had escaped. It suffocated him, causing him to self-medicate with whatever was available. It loosened his mind, paralyzed from going through the motions.The only person he was out for was himself. If it meant screwing someone over, he did it. (“Oh, but I'm not that old/Young, but I'm not that bold/I don't think the world is sold/I'm just doing what we're told/I feel something so right/Doing the wrong thing/I feel something so wrong/Doing the right thing/I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie/Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.”)

                  The second chorus is sung. (“Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep…we'll be counting stars/Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep/Dreaming about the things that we could be/But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard/Said no more counting dollars/We'll be, we'll be counting stars.”)

              Their last fight, in which she told him he was unrecongnizable to her and she wanted nothing to do with him, made him realize he had turned into a cruel person. The nights she would hold him after he passed out, caressing his face. Though they haven’t talked for several months, he can still sense her. He believes they will be together. It’s all he has. It’s his current lifestyle he no longer wants to have again. (“I feel your love and I feel it burn/Down this river, every turn/Hope is a four-letter word/Make that money, watch it burn.”)

             In the pre-chorus, he adds the intoxication gave him happiness. (“Oh, but I'm not that old..everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly.”)

                  The second chorus is sung again.

                   In the gospel-tinged bridge, he walks away from the label, tears up the check and moves on with his life. Fame is an illusion. It’s the people who in his life who matter. (“Take that money/Watch it burn/Sink in the river/The lessons are learnt/Take that money/Watch it burn/Sink in the river/The lessons are learnt/Take that money/Watch it burn/Sink in the river/The lessons are learnt/Take that money/Watch it burn/Sink in the river/The lessons are learnt.”)

            The bridge ends with a line from the first pre-chorus. (“Everything that kills me makes feel alive.”)

           The chorus is sung again. 

            The bridge is sung again to end the single.  

           Tedder’s grave vocals weep for the person for he become. He can’t even look himself in the mirror, knowing all he’s done and how he hurt the peope closest to him. Although it’s hard for him to face, he’s willing to take responsibility.

    Pop songs, in general, are starting to trend towards the darker side of fame. OneRepublic, surprisingly, is on the start of it. The singles from Native have been a depature from their usual easy listening sound. While some haven’t necessarily worked (“If I Lose Myself”), it was at least a first step in the right direction. “Counting Stars,” though, unearthed a personal conviction that’s been lacking.

             The redemptive “Counting Stars” makes a change for the better