"Follow You" by Imagine Dragons, Friday, February 11, 2022

I'm a music snob. I'll admit it. That snobbery can make it take a long time for me to come around on some bands or artists who I dismiss as phonies. Sometimes I never come around to an artist. Sometimes that group becomes one of my favorites. Then there's Imagine Dragons, a band I have one of the most complicated relationships with. I could write a pros and cons list that would fill a blog post or twenty about this band. But instead of talking about how sickeningly synthetic most of their albums taste, how much I want to exit the conversation when someone says something like "I really like indie bands like Coldplay and Imagine Dragons," or the good points about how the band deals with faith deconstruction or champions LGBTQ+ rights, I'd like to talk about how one mediocre got stuck in my head today.

Imagine Dragons' lead singer
Dan Reynolds performing live
I WANNA PUT YOU IN THE SPOTLIGHT. I watched the music video for “Follow You” last year shortly after its release. The video stars It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actors Kaitlyn Olsen and Rob McElhenney as a presumably married couple. The wife surprises her husband with a private concert with whom she thought was his favorite band, Imagine Dragons. The husband thinks he's about to watch a private show with fellow Las Vegas band, The Killers. It was a surprisingly self-aware move on behalf of Imagine Dragons to include the dialogue between the couple. The video was partially inspired by the thousands of shirtless concert pictures of lead singer Dan Reynolds circulating on social media. “Follow You,” simultaneously satisfies thirsty fans and meme-ifies the band. Beyond the thirst trap and the humor, I thought the song was just about average, and I wouldn't be revisiting it. But then there was Song Exploder.

IF THE WORLD ONLY KNEW WHAT YOU WERE HOLDING BACK. Musician and music-lover Hrishikesh Hirway talks about why he started his podcast, Song Exploder when giving his TED Talk last year. He wanted to explore the stories behind why his favorite artists chose to write their songs a certain way. He says that since he started his podcast, his musical tastes have expanded. I have to say that listening to any artist talk about their craft gives me a new respect for it, even if I don't like it on the initial listen. Last year, Dan Reynolds broke down "Follow You." Rather than recalling the episode point-by-point, I would recommend listening to this episode and the 200+ episodes in the series. Reynolds talks about how the song is about rebuilding his relationship when he was on the brink of divorce. He also talks about how the band recorded it in two different ways. The band took influence from The Beach Boys, and one version sounded much less Imagine Dragons-like. In preparation for today's post, I also listened to "Follow You" in the context of its critically mixed album Mercury --Act 1. This may be the second time I've listened to a (mostly) complete Imagine Dragons album. It was almost as if each song was a different genre, and each genre was begging to be developed more. "Follow You" is sandwiched between two hard-rock tracks. And this makes me sad. Song Exploder shows me that Imagine Dragons has potential. Rick Rubin is one of the biggest rock producers in the music business. That's what makes Imagine Dragons an enigma. They could be awesome, but instead, we're left with something blasé.

Song Exploder Episode:

Official Music Video: