Variety Blog Update - AJR’s ‘My Play’
I listened to a song lately that was so painfully sad to a point where listening to it made me visibly distressed. But I mean this in a very good way.
If you haven’t heard the musical emotional ballad that is the song “My Play” by musicians Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, then I suggest taking a good long look and listen to it’s story. At the heart of it, it’s a song about Divorce. But it’s more than that in a lot of ways.
For those of you that have a family with a good number of divorcees or even family squabbles, or even family that no longer talks to each other - this song speaks to you in a way that lets you know that your family troubles are common. But it lets you know that even though these things do happen it can still have a heavy impact on a person who’s grown up in those environments.
The song is from the perspective of a child who strives to bring his family together with his imagination and creativity. Believing that if his lighthearted imagination can help him escape the reality he’s in, that it can do the same for his family too.
This character makes up a play, a story, something to tell his family to keep them in the same room. Stating, “I just really wanna show you my play, and I don’t wanna do it for dad at his new place, I don’t wanna do it twice cuz it’s not the same.”
This song can really strike personal notes with people who have had these experiences, and even some who are wary of being in relationships, fearing similar experiences down the road.
AJR has been and continues to be a band that is very open and personal with every song they write. Songs that show fear, failure, insecurity, optimism, sadness, and vulnerability in a way that only they truly know how to describe.
I cannot recommend their music enough. They’ve come up on their fourth album now, and while each one seems to strike a different tone, they each carry a hopeful and understanding message about simply being human.
