Vexatious

Album: Disappearing in Airports (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was the first single released by Candlebox following the inking of a new record deal through Pavement Music. The title 'vexatious' means to cause vexation, trouble or annoyance. ("What is vexatious among people of rank is that, when they are ill, they positively expect their doctor to cure them." - Molière - The Imaginary Invalid Act 2 Scene 6).
  • Frontman Kevin Martin explained the song's meaning: "'Vexatious' is about the social networking-obsessed, unlimited bragging rights society we live in, where people come off as entitled yet so insecure," he said. "Whether it's a pop star feuding senselessly with another pop star, or people who can't help but to take 50 different selfies in under a minute missing everything that's happening around them, it's a sad commentary on life that we can't escape. Dating apps, bitching apps, secret sharing apps, apps apps apps — they all operate outside of any real or authentic human connection."

    "It's disconnect everywhere and it's destroying us," Martin continued. "No one cares what anyone else thinks or feels. It's all 'me, me, me' and, if you ask me, it's f--king sad."
  • Kevin Martin expanded on the song's meaning to About.com: "There the good and the bad to it. People don't need to go to concerts anymore because the can watch them on YouTube. I think we've all been so desensitized with our audio being MP3s and getting used to watching a concert on a computer that it's become the norm. So that's one of the downsides.

    But we live in a society that's glued to their smartphones. You've just gotta roll with it and allow it to be what it is. When someone's in the audience taking a selfie with a band playing behind them I find that to be a little silly. Everyone knows you're at the concert and you're not taking a picture next to Jon Bon Jovi or something. But everyone needs to feel that sense of worth."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears

David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & TearsSongwriter Interviews

The longtime BS&T frontman tells the "Spinning Wheel" story, including the line he got from Joni Mitchell.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Hawksley Workman

Hawksley WorkmanSongwriter Interviews

One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.