I'll Be Alright

Album: Gossamer (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The second single from Gossamer finds Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos singing of drinking, pill necking and other bad things before proclaiming, "Go if you want to, I'll be alright." Speaking with Pitchfork, Angelakos explained the dark content of this track. "I really fu--ing hate dishonesty," he said, "which a lot of indie music is especially prone to. I like artists that are really honest and talk about their lives, because people invest in that as much as they invest in the record itself. I had a really rough year, and I got engaged right before recording - and recording takes a real toll on you. I vilified myself. I had to do it. I have a lot of issues, and a lot of people in the world have a lot of issues. There's the saying that the Sherman Brothers wrote: "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down." That's exactly what Passion Pit is to me."

    The song was released on June 12, 2012.
  • Angelakos sings, "I'm so self-loathing that it's time for me to see. Reality from what I dream and no one believes me," reflecting his long-term struggles with bipolar disorder, which involved multiple hospital stays. He told UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph: "I've been suffering from... you know, bipolar since I was 17. But I don't think that has anything to do with the music. Lots of people try to over-glorify it, like this thing that's really interesting, and actually it's the most painful thing in the world so I'd rather not talk about it."
  • The chorus consists of bits of five different songs that Angelakos had written. He told Q magazine that it took him eight hours of programming before he even had a rough demo.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

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."

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.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.