wake up! it’s time to rebel
By Mackenzie Wagner
On July 24th, the popular British band The 1975 deactivated their social media accounts and fans immediately prepared for some exciting news. This was similar to 2015 when the band first deleted their accounts while preparing for their sophomore album, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, without warning, leaving fans to speculate. This time around, fans were not worried as they knew the band must be preparing for their anticipated new album, Notes on a Conditional Form. After the band deactivated their social media accounts for the day, they released the newest version of their self-titled track, “The 1975”, which has been the first track on every album the band has released. “The 1975” has had the same lyrics since the band’s self-titled album, but their third album will not start with the typical “Go down, Soft sound / Midnight, Car lights” lyrics that listeners expected.
The band’s third album will start with a speech from Greta Thunberg, a sixteen-year-old climate change activist from Sweden. Throughout the track, the band’s ambient sounds accompany Thunberg’s warnings and concerns about climate change. Thunberg articulates a clear issue that needs to be resolved with an incredible sense of maturity and awareness. While the track is far from what fans expected, it sparked an important conversation about how climate change is being neglected.
On the track, Thunberg says that we are in the middle of a “climate and ecological crisis” that can no longer be ignored. The track emphasizes that we, as humans, have failed to fix climate problems in the past but we have the power to save our planet if we all do our part. Thunberg states that there is no gray area to survival, we either “choose to go on as a civilization or we don’t”. Throughout the track, Thunberg makes it clear that is our choice to make the systemic and individual changes to stop the emissions of greenhouse gases and to be more considerate of our climate. The track brings attention to the crisis we are facing and the consequences we will face if we do not act now.
The first track off Notes on a Conditional Form may not have been expected, but has received positive feedback thus far. In addition to spreading an important message, the band’s income from this track will be pledged to Extinction Rebellion, a movement dedicated to preventing mass extinction. The next track off the album is called “People” and will be released on August 22nd. While a few songs are expected between now and the album release, listeners can expect to hear Notes on a Conditional Form in its entirety by February 2020.