I’ll be honest, the first time I heard this, I was a little confused. Despite loving the band’s debut album, on first listen, ‘Love Me’ left me scratching my head.
‘Love Me’ sounds like David Bowie, a dash of Talking Heads with one cup of INXS and a teaspoon of Duran Duran. The 1975 have always worn the influence of the 1980’s on their sleeves but this really could be a single from 1983/1984.
Dig a little deeper though, and ‘Love Me’ is a social commentary about the ‘celeb culture’ and price of fame and the engagement of the general public in this thing which isn’t really a reality at all.
‘Caught up in fashion, Karcrashian panache and a bag of bash for passion
You’ve got a beautiful face but got nothing to say.
You look famous, let’s be friends and portray we possess something important
And do the things we’d like.
Kinda says it all really. Add a video filmed in 4:3 with the band seemingly a little out of it, surrounded by Elvis, Ed Sheeran and a host of ‘celebs’ and front man Matty Healy making out with a cardboard cut out of Harry Styles, soaked in pink, this beautifully sums up the Material Girl-ness of the lavish lifestyle we perceive the rich and famous to have.
Beautifully clever and a grower of a song which I now can’t get out of my head.
The 1975 photo from here