Bassem Sabry

Album: Aureate Gloom (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The lead single from Aureate Gloom, this is named for an Egyptian blogger and civil rights campaigner who died under mysterious circumstances in April 2014 after he fell off a balcony. Speaking with the Charleston City Paper, frontman Kevin Barnes explained: "It's something that I think about a lot, you know, the individual fighting against the monster and the courage that it takes for people who live in those countries to stand up against the dominant force, which is very oppressive."

    "They're risking their own lives and this guy - it can't be proven, you know, because it's all so shady - but he supposedly fell off a balcony, but it's like, no one really falls off a balcony."
  • This is the only non-autobiographical track on Aureate Gloom. The other songs were inspired by a difficult time Barnes was going through whilst working on the album – hence the record's anguishy title. He explained: "I was going through a very stormy period in my life and felt like I was just completely trashed."

    "I might be guilty of sharing or exposing too much of my private life, but to me the best albums are those that help people connect with an artist on a deep, human level and that do so without too much artifice or evasiveness."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

David Bowie Lyrics Quiz

David Bowie Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

How well do you know your David Bowie lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."