The 1981 Extended Play Analysis

EDIT: uh small TW for rape/sex assault/assault mention. It’s really really brief and basically no detail but I felt bad for not including this :pensive:

Hi everyone! It's Dante today with a kind of different post then what i've done in the past, but it's something i really wanted to write up (i'm writing it on my computer so It won't look that interesting but hoepfully y'all like it!)

Basically, today i was talking a walk and listening to the EP. Being very bored, i had a thought. The inclusion of the beginning track "Introduction" suggests that the EP is a story of some kind. So i thought, perhaps there's a way the entire EP fits together into an actual story. Taking what we know off the bat, this is a story from the 1981 taking place in the Hollywood/Los Angeles area (Dallon has confirmed the LA theme in interviews) and that it's a story told through book on tape, like what's shown in the track. so without further ado, i give you my analysis of the 1981 extended play.

Choke

In my opinion, Choke is the thought process of an extremely vengeful human. Perhaps a musician pushed down by the continuing rejections and painful truths of Hollywood. The glam, the obsession with wealth, the infamy, the trapping of fame. Dallon and Ryan are basically getting into the mind of someone who came to Hollywood with dreams, only to find out that it’s not the magical place it’s said to be. Thinking about the song’s mocking tone. The speaker is crticizing Hollywood and Los Angeles and what they see as a dark, corrupted place. At the same time, i feel the speaker has a desperation to be part of the elite in Hollywood, to have that fame and power. He speaks about wanting revenge against someone, maybe a certain person who turned him away. (This person is referred to in the next two songs so them). There’s a comtempt, a desire for vengece in this song, but there’s also a sense of longing. It’s the speaker’s plan to take his revenge on the place that rejected him.

Social Climb

if you thought that was dark, well we’re just getting started. when i was thinking over it, i was actually surprised by how dark and twisted some of dallon’s lyrics were. anyways, if choke is the speaker swearing their desire to take revenge on Hollywood by gaining fame and power, social climb is their rise to that power. A social climber is someone who seeks fame by forming relationships with people of high status. The muscians has seemingly decided that this is what they will need to do if their music won’t be accepted. Again, they refer to a certain person, perhaps the same person referenced in Choke? if the speaker is really that vengeful, it wouldn’t be a surprise for them to specifically target the person they saw as the cause of their failure. The speaker participates into classic rockstar hollywood addicitons like drugs and alcohol, and by the end of the song, they’re famous and ready to take his vengence. However he also says that no one can control what they do. In a way, the speaker is also becoming what they hated in choke.

Bleed Magic

ok, i will it this is where i get a little metaphorical. but bleed magic has a lot (A LOT) of allegories for rape/sexual assult/assult of some kind. I see how this could be confusing so let’s refer to previous songs. In choke, the speaker talks about wanting revenge on hollywood but also a certain person, prehaps one of the societal higher ups who rejected their music in the forth place. Of course, we concluded that this was the same person referred to in social climb, and considering the tone of that song, it seems the speaker has created a relationship with that person through participating in parties, drugs, drinking, all the 80s hollywood jazz. and of course, the speaker says in that song that they can essentiallly do whatever they want, with no consequences thanks to their newfound fame. So how does this fit into the revenge on hollywood theme? well, an accusation of some sorts against an infamous figure like the speaker would definitly divide the community. but the speaker seems to figure that no one will believe their victim, which is explicity stated in the song. prehaps bleeding magic basically referrs to losing credibilty and popularity because of the accusations made against such a popular figure.

Absinthe

if bleed magic is the speaker attacking their victim, absinthe is the fallout of the allegations. Think about this song. At this time, the speaker has a serious following, but of course they still want to get revenge on hollywood and ruin the reputation of the person who destroyed their dreams. Dallon said the point of this song is “don’t believe everything you hear.” if we keep up with the story so far, this is the speaker telling his fans and ers to ignore the accusations and the people who believe them. Absinthe is where the speaker really begins to fall apart, and it’s clear from the angry, violent tone of the song. absinthe is an alcohol that can cause hallucinations. the singer is basically telling everyone they can not to believe everything they or hear. See the connection? this is where the singer weaponizes their following to to rage against hollywood. not only does absinthe take shots at their acc, it also essentially is the singer’s testment of the corruption of hollywood to the public. if the singer vowed to destroy the acc and hollywood in choke, absinthe is where they do it.

Do It All The Time

i’ll it, do it all the time at first glance doesn’t have all that much to do with the storyline i’ve created here. but upon further thinking, i think do it all the time is the speaker’s victory lap. they’ve destroyed the society that rejected them, they’ve ruined the life of the person who prevented them from spreading their music, they know that they can do whatever the hell they want whenver they want. the speaker essentially sets their sights on using their power to gain fame across the world, and they it that they’ve lost any innocence they ever had. they’ve corrupted their fans into blind , and they don’t see any challenges. it’s just them, their rich and powerful friends, and their army of ers, marching to make them a worldwide pheonomen. at the same time, this is cleary the point where the singer is exactly what they railed against in choke. after being rejceted by hollywood, they railed against what they saw as priortizing wealth over talent, even though they had also longed for fame and power. consumed by revenge, they rose up, becoming infamous but also powerful, and their old longings came back. now that they’ve won, they’re trying to become as rich and famous and powerful as possible. choke is the song of someone both angered at the unfairness of elitism while also wanting to be an elite. by the time they reach do it all the time, they’ve taken their vengence on eltimism and become an elite themselves. so in a way, they really did get what they wanted.

ok i know this is messy and really long, i just had the thought today and had to get it all down. this is only my intrepreatation and it’s totally find if you think something else. i just thought i’d share my opinion with y’all! thanks so much for reading all this way!