November 24, 2024
Song Study #1: “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
By: Michaela Blades
Design: Evan Van Leuven
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Since the 1990s pop culture has been a product of the influence of the internet. With everything available all the time, finding inspiration has become as easy and overwhelming as ever. The revolving door of what’s trending seems to spin faster and faster, and the well of what’s available gets deeper and deeper. But because of this, some songs from decades past are getting the chance to live second lives. “Maps” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs is one of those lucky songs.
With social media, dance trends have become a driving force in making songs popular, and that’s just how “Maps” was resurrected. The first Maps dance video was posted on Sep. 15 of this year by @southernbellesuzie on TikTok. Since then, thousands of people have hopped on the trend and helped the song get back on top charts. While “Maps” still holds up in today’s world, understanding its origins may feed a newfound appreciation for the song.
“Maps” is the song that helped the Yeah Yeah Yeahs make a name for themselves in the so-called, “Meet Me in the Bathroom” era of the early 2000s in New York City. The era was named after Lizzy Goodman’s revelatory book of compiled interviews featuring bands like The Strokes, who have a song by the same title, Interpol, and LCD Soundsystem. At the time, New York City was a stage for messy and visceral voices to inspire each other symbiotically in the urban landscape. The aesthetic that accompanied the era has been retroactively termed “indie sleaze.” A recent resurgence of this riotous and romantic energy has invited new audiences to the music of the time.
The invitation has been further extended by musicians that are active today. With artists like The Dare, The Hellp and the release of the cultural phenomenon that is Charli xcx’s “BRAT,” today’s younger generation is finding it easy to relate to the unbridled angst and exuberance that exists in the music from the early aughts.
Before the formation of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, frontwoman Karen O and guitarist Nick Zinner worked together as an acoustic duo and called themselves, “Unitard” after meeting as students at NYU. Shortly after, the duo recruited a drummer, Brian Chase, and began writing songs as a band. Each of the band’s members has a voice of their own, with a wide range of backgrounds and influences. Since the band’s conception, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have maintained a distinct, eclectic sound that they have stayed true to after all these years. Karen O describes the experience of writing “Maps” as, “One of the great mysteries of being alive.”
The song strikes the perfect balance of both delicacy and determination, of both purity and power. The newfound popularity that “Maps” has garnered does not dilute its appeal but proves the artistic integrity of the band and the timeless quality of the composition.
Maps was the last of the singles to be released from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ first full-length album “Fever to Tell.” The singles that preceded “Maps” cowered in comparison when it came to audience reception. A big player in the popularity of Maps following its release was the music video. It was played regularly on MTV2 which exposed a broader audience to the band's eccentric force. The video is set in a small soundstage with Karen O backed by the rest of the band, singing to a sparse crowd. Close-ups catch her raw emotion and real tears while she moves with the microphone, shifting shapes with her arms.
The song itself is said to be inspired by Karen O’s relationship with Angus Andrew from the band Liars. It tells the time-old tale of two touring musicians and the strain of their careers on their personal relationships. There are theories that M.A.P.S. is an acronym for “My Angus Please Stay” and the refrain, “They don’t love you like I love you,” compares and prioritizes personal connection over parasocial relationships with fans. The story goes that Angus was supposed to show for the shoot of the video, seeing as the song was written for him. He never arrived, and the crying Karen O as captured in the video is the result. It’s also speculated that the song “The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack” by Liars is a response to “Maps” and the video.
Critics and musicians alike still regard “Maps” to be one of the best songs of our time. It secured itself a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and has been covered and interpolated by many artists since its release. Artists such as Arcade Fire, Anderson Paak, and The Killers have performed or released their own iterations of the song. On Beyonce's seminal album “Lemonade”, she uses lyrics from the chorus to open the song “Hold Up”.
This is only a small share of examples that show the lasting influence of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on music and pop culture as a whole. With its deep-rooted and rich history, it's no surprise that “Maps” has landed with a new eager audience and become the little song that could.
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