Tonite

Album: American Dream (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This acid house infused dancefloor filler finds James Murphy detecting existential crisis in the current radio hits beaming out on the airwaves.

    Everybody's singing the same song
    It goes "tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight"
    I never realized these artists thought so much about dying


    Mojo asked James Murphy how his lyrics about pop music's obsession with the immediate connect to the line "I never realized that these artists thought so much about dying." He replied:

    "When I take a taxi in New York is about the only time that I hear the radio. There was a proliferation of songs that would like, 'We've only got one night,' and everyone's answer to that is, 'We should drink a bunch of vodka and Red Bull! If you only have one night, should you sleep with this creepy guy who wants to get you loaded? If I only had one night, there's a lot of s--t that I would like to get done that is not being in some giant superclub drinking champagne with a sparkle in it. It seems like a really sad use of the awareness of your mortality. Like, 'Let's do the most inane, mundane s--t that you should only do if you would definitely not dying tonight."
  • This won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording at the 2018 ceremony.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang Van HalenSongwriter Interviews

Wolfgang Van Halen breaks down the songs on his debut album, Mammoth WVH, and names the definitive Van Halen songs from the Sammy and Dave eras.

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's SongsSong Writing

"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

N.W.A vs. the World

N.W.A vs. the WorldSong Writing

How the American gangsta rappers made history by getting banned in the UK.