“The Sound” by The 1975, Monday, July 31, 2023

It’s been an interesting year for The 1975, to say the least. While frontman Matty Healy’s habit of shit-posting and provocative goofball answers in interviews had been a norm for the band, polarizing fans of the band, earlier this year Healy’s alleged relationship with Taylor Swift made the band even higher profile. While the two are (supposedly) no longer romantically entangled, last week Healy’s controversial antics made global news headlines again.

I CAN’T BELIEVE I FORGOT YOUR NAME. Last weekend, Matty Healy and the 1975 had a festival in Malaysia canceled and the band, including Healy, was banned from the country. The reason had to do with protesting the country's controversial anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Following a rant about the laws put in place by the country's Muslim majority, Healy took bandmate Ross MacDonald and kissed the band's bassist. Reactions around the world to Healy and the company's protest have been mixed. First to criticize the band was Malaysia's LGBTQ+ population, who despite facing fines and up to 20 years in prison, feared that the band's protest set them back years in their fight for equal rights.  Others fear that The 1975 may have sabotaged Malaysia and other countries' attempts to enter dialogues with the Western world. Japan is facing pressure these days to legalize same-sex marriage as they are the only G7-nation not to allow gay marriage. In his rant in Kuala Lumpur, Healy told the audience, "I do not see the point of inviting The 1975 to a country and then telling us who we can have sex with." Healy similarly faced criticism for kissing a male fan in Dubai in 2019. 

A SIMPLE EPICUREAN PHILOSOPHY. So perhaps the "white savior" complex might be a fitting tagline for Matty Healy. You may call him childish or even a "slacktivist"--an activist who does absolutely nothing for the cause other than raising awareness. The son of British television actors and stated to have "grown up around queer people," Healy's activism has been called childish and haphazard, even dangerous. However, Matty's own sexuality has been questioned on many occasions, so much so he makes a joke about it on the single "The Sound" on the band's second album. The song seems to be clearly about a girl, but the singer has openly supported the LGBTQ community throughout the band's career, even to the point where many have mistaken the singer as queer. While many bands have toned down their support for the community when touring in certain countries, The 1975, by conviction or stupidity or a little of both have decided to make a statement on tour. Even the band Muse whose concept albums about draconian government interference changed their setlist in Malaysia following The 1975 incident. Healy seems to be the only one calling out the Muse's hypocrisy. Is Healy the ally the community needs? Probably not. But in a time when there is such a stark difference between Hollywood and Western Europe and the rest of the world, I think that issues like this are only going to get more pronounced. Especially if Gen Z is as queer as the Internet would have us believe.

Read the lyrics on Genius.