“People” by The 1975

The 1975’s “People” is a song which reads like a manifesto of youthful angst.  In the song, Matt Healy speaks of his own anxieties but does so in such a way that he basically attributes it to his entire generation. And while the singer has already reached 30-years old at the time of the release of this track, you can say that he is speaking for every likeminded individuals his age and younger.

And for the sake of clarity, you can classify his range of emotions into two related general categories – pessimism/concern and anti-social tendencies. As for the former sentiment, he feels that economically, politically and environmentally the world is going to shambles. So accordingly he calls upon the audience to “wake up” and take action to prevent such undesirable outcomes. In fact it would appear that he is so appalled by the situation that, as expressed in the pre-chorus, he no longer decides to participate in society, instead opting to stay inside the house.

However in the chorus he clearly states something like an overall desire to interact with “people”, thus the title of this song. That being said, there are only certain types of people that he and others in general like to deal with.  And it seems that the main characteristic such desirable individuals possess is a liveliness and spontaneity commonly found in youth. So once again, this track reads like an ode to young people. In fact Healy forcefully exclaims “stop [expletive] with the kids”. Who exactly he is speaking to is not specified. Though all things considered he is likely speaking to various authority figures who he feels are somehow negatively impacting the youth.

Conclusion

So it would seem that, from an ideological perspective, Healy’s goal on “People” is to be the mouthpiece of the younger generation. And in addition to insinuating that they should be bolder in shaping the future, he also depicts

Release Date of “People”

The 1975 released this track through a number of labels (including Interscope Records) on 22nd August, 2019. It is the lead single from the band’s Notes on a Conditional Form album.

Did the members of 1975 write “People”?

Yes, all four members did. The songwriting credits for this track are therefore as follows:

• Matt Healy
• Adam Hann
• Ross MacDonald
• George Daniel