Incidentally, much much harder to pick a favourite ten songs than it is to pick ten books!
I’m interested to try doing these as commissions as well as the ‘favourite book’ ones. If anyone would be interested in getting one drawn for themselves or as a gift I would happily give a 25% discount for a first customer so that I could have a couple of examples.
Today I thought I would talk about a band that I hold very near and dear to my heart: Imagine Dragons. They were the first band I ever fell in love with as a young adult, the first concert I ever attended by myself and the first band I ever saw live more than once (sadly only twice, the perks of living in South America smh).
The first time I heard one of their songs was back in 2014 and I’ve been a fan of their music ever since. I gotta admit tho, I’m not that keen on their recent stuff :/ but with that said, I do appreciate everything they do and I plan to support them always ♥
To be honest, I feel like they’re underappreciated and get too much hate for absolutely no reason. I mean, they do a lot for charity, they are outspoken supporters of the LGBTQ+ community, they’ve helped a lot of people through their music and in top of that, they have magnificent lyrics! Everyone needs to get off their backs ffs
Following are my top 10 favourite songs by them.
First of all, a few honorable mentions: Whatever It Takes,Believer,Rise Up andNatural.
10.- Warriors
Number 10 on my list goes to Warriors, a song the band wrote and recorded for the 2014 League of Legends World Championships and that ultimately ended up in the deluxe version of Smoke + Mirrors, their sophomore album, and the best one yet imo.
I’ve always found it truly empowering, specially because of the lyrics, but also because of the theatrical vibes the overall melody gives off.
9.- The Fall
Next is The Fall, the last track of the standard version of Smoke + Mirrors. The song deals with the loneliness and depression usually associated with the cooling temperatures of autumn. Despite the gloomy theme, it shows a hopeful side as well, finishing with the lyrics “I’m ready for the fall, ready for the leaves, ready for the colours to burn to gold and crumble away”. It makes me feel like everything’s going to be okay.
8.- It Comes Back To You
At this point we’re clear on what my favourite album by them is, right?
I feel like this song is very overlooked by everyone and I’m not sure why. The lyrics talk about Dan Reynolds’ battle with depression, but again there’s a positive twist: despite all the hardships, everything that you might have otherwise lost will come back to you if you can see it through. Keep going ♥
7.- Dream
This song is so sad yet so beautiful at the same time. It brings tears to my eyes everytime I listen to it, and I honestly feel so fortunate to have been able to experience it live.
6.- Hopeless Opus
Following we have Hopeless Opus, again from Smoke + Mirrors. To be honest, that record is like a windwhirl of emotions. This time, the story is told from the perspective of someone that’s reflecting on their life, and that’s not content with the person they’ve turned out to be, with lyrics like “I’m trying not to face what I’ve done” and “I’m trying not to face what’s become of me”. Very moving.
5.- I Bet My Life
The first few times I heard this track, I must admit I wasn’t that bothered by it, because musically it didn’t seem *that* interesting, specifically the chorus tends to get a bit annoying over time. Nonetheless, once I paid attention to the lyrics, I was sold. I Bet My Life is a song about forgiveness, and it touches on Dan’s relationship with his parents, with whom he had a lot of disagreements with while growing up.
4.- Amsterdam
Now that we’re reaching the top, we’re throwing it back to the good old days ♥
I don’t have a specific or meaningful reason of why I love Amsterdam, other than nostalgia I guess. It was one of the first songs by Imagine Dragons that I ever listened to and its sound it’s part of what drew me to them.
3.- Hear Me
Hear Me is another one of those songs that brings me back. I feel its lyrics touch my soul (not to be dramatic or anything lol)
“Can nobody hear me?
I got a lot that’s on my mind
I cannot breathe
Can you hear it too?”
2.- Radioactive
Hear me out, okay?! I know Radioactive is suuuper overplayed, and if you say it’s your favourite song by the band, “true” fans will roll their eyes and call you a fake fan. I don’t care.
There’s a reason it’s so popular, it’s bloody good, okay?! My favourite part is the drum solo during the live performances, amazing.
1.- Demons
“Can I share something with you? This is something I’ve been sharing in this entire tour, and it’s important to me to express, to hopefully be a part of some sort of change in our future. Our youths across the world everyday are diagnosed with depression and anxiety. There are millions and millions of people who deal with this on a daily basis. They’re not seeking attention. They’re not making it up. They’re not looking for you to give them some sort of present for it, or for it to be a sob story. It’s a real thing. I was diagnosed with depression many years ago. It’s been part of my life, it’s been part of my story, but it never stopped me from doing anything that I wanted to do in this world. For those of you who are struggling with depression, anxiety, I stand with you. I love you. I understand the grey, I understand the numb. Hang on, it gets better. There is light. Speak to a family member, speak to a friend. If you can, go to a therapist. These things are not something we should be ashamed of. You are not broken. You can go on to do all the things that you wanna do in life, I promess. Above all, the reason I shared this is because, above all, your life is always worth living. Please, never ever take your life from us. We need you. We’re enjoying this human experience together. So, spread the love, see the light in the world, turn off the internet for a while and see each other’s faces and eyes, and feel each other’s hearts, and exist, and just… love. That’s it, it’s simple. This is a song about that, it’s called Demons”.
-Dan Reynolds, Lollapalooza Chile 2018
This man had me fuckin crying my eyes out in that crowd. I don’t think I need to say any more than that.
