I’ve been listened to Greatest Hits by Waterparks for months now and it has not gotten old even a little bit. I was just screaming along to it as I picked up some groceries! I was having a great time.
Just like with Fandom, I wrote up these notes while I was listening to the album at some point a few months ago and sent it over to Awsten, because I am a nerd. He loved it, and said that I was about 98% there with my analysis—and we talked about that last 2% I missed a while after that, which you should be able to read sometime soon (I’m not sure how much I can say about that right now but I’m excited for it).
So while there are a few things that were illuminated for me since then, I haven’t altered this since I sent it to Awsten. Here’s my analysis/sort of review for Greatest Hits.
1. Greatest Hits - I feel like this accomplishes a lot with literally one lyric. It completely sets the tone for the whole album musically, but also thematically; the concept of a dream lays out the multiple dichotomies I think the album is exploring. One being dream vs. reality, going back to the idea of the Dream Boy, with fans' perceptions of you vs. what you're really like, which is explored in a ton of songs on here. And then, expanding off that, the idea of the love and fulfillment coming from fans vs. the fulfillment of your real, personal relationships. Next being the idea of a dream job (chasing your dreams etc.) vs. the reality of that job, your expectations for having a career as a musician vs. how it really is and the effects it has on your mental health and daily relationships. Then finally how sleep is meant to be a relaxing, rejuvenating thing, but sometimes it can be the opposite and let you be consumed by anxieties and nightmares in the dark (which itself can be a metaphor for this dream job). There's also just a lot of dream/sleep imagery in this entire album, your ass is sayin "good morning" a lot on here. And then FINALLY there's the idea of Greatest Hits (which is namechecked in Snow Globe too) which to me feels like...a band's Greatest Hits album is considered all the best songs from their career, the best that they have to offer. But here it's presented as the Greatest Hits of yourself, the best parts of you--or if not the "best," then at least what the Defining Things about you are. Both what you think they are and what strangers think they are but also the idea that maybe the best of you and the best of what this industry has to offer isn't good enough because you're still not as emotionally fulfilled as you want to be. Which as your friend is depressing to write!
2. Fuzzy - Man I loooove this song. The grooviness on this entire album is just completely my shit. We jump right into the sleep/dream-related imagery in this one with "Demons drive a limo / Straight up to my window / I hide under my pillow / Welcome to the intro." A limo obviously represents expensive shit, Cool Stuff, stuff that comes from achieving great success in your career. But with a demon driving it, you know it's not going to be easy to get those things, and that's an important theme through the album. You try to play "hide and sleep" to avoid these things, to slip into a dream where they no longer exist, but they're unavoidable even there, because after all it's all tied to your dream job. Btw the black cat/I jet thing is cute. This is also the first of several songs where you mention "Me, Myself, and I," breaking yourself into three distinct parts, which is a theme that'll get explored more in Secret Life of Me and other songs.
3. Lowkey as Hell - I feel like this is hitting mostly at the dream job vs. reality dichotomy, and in pretty obvious ways lol. Becoming more and more successful, but still feeling lonely and potentially unfulfilled; you still want the success and the cool stuff that comes from it, but at the same time you just want a day off to hang out with your friends and for your mind to let you be content. More dualities with lowkey/highkey and diva/sweetheart and see you/be apart etc.
4. Numb - This obviously has to do with a theme that recurs a lot through the album, about getting fake love from fans--they love you for your art, which is often about the worst parts/times of your life, rather than for yourself. I also love the line "The more I wrap myself up / The more I'm coming undone" which comes into play later in the album in more direct ways. We also have a bunch of dualities here, pointing out the contradictions of the fanbase with you being a black hole/constellation, depressed/on vacation, and we have the second occurrence of dividing yourself into Me, Myself, and I. Also dig the references to Fandom and Tantrum lol.
5. Violet! - Another pretty obvious one, working on the idea of literally reality vs. dream as well as fan relationship vs. personal relationship, with this stalker thinking they have a much deeper connection to you than they actually do. A pretty extreme example of something you've explored before with fans overstepping boundaries and thinking they know who you are despite you only presenting a part of yourself to them, either on social media or in your songs.
6. Snow Globe - When I heard the demo for this song, I enjoyed it but I didn't really get it, I guess. This song really benefited from the full studio treatment because now with all the added depth and texture it really really shines. And hearing it within the context of the full album, the lyrics hit a lot harder too. This feels like the most important song on the album cause it really just encapsulates all the themes huh? And you even drop the album name! So of course it's important. Everything is touched on here. We have the dream/sleep imagery, we have the false-feeling love from fans that is nice, but starts to lose its meaning when you hear it so much and for no real reason (like saying a word over and over until it just sounds like a random sound than a word with meaning) while saying your heart is shut from the anonymous "you" and saying "you need more from me." Then we have sleep not really being a rejuvenating thing because you haven't slept much lately, kept up til 3am by these dark thoughts. Then the dream job vs. reality, dead since 2016 when Cluster/Double Dare came out. Inviting someone to shake your life like a snow globe, disrupting everything inside, fuck your plans--the plans haven't worked out exactly how you pictured them anyway, so maybe you need something to shake them up and things will settle differently after. The chorus of this song also hints at what's to come in track 17. "In the daytime I get to debate myself" -- and then you list all the things that you're saying to yourself as you go to sleep, echoing in the last song when you say "If you could see the things that I see when I sleep, then you'd be paranoid like me." These hateful thoughts are some of the things making you paranoid and you can only briefly make them go away in the daytime when you busy yourself with other things
7. Just Kidding - Man I love how groovy this song is, as I've told you before. "The worst of me" feels like you think of it as your Greatest Hits. A good look at the way the dream job negatively affects your mental health; constantly checking your phone, whether it's for social media engagement or communication from label/management/whatever else. Constantly feeling like everyone hates you because of any slight misstep you may make (or even if you don't make one, just for being you). That being an important part because a fan's support can flip at the drop of a hat. "All the love I get is fake." If it was real love they wouldn't assume the worst of you, like when you didn't tweet "BLM!" because you were instead actually at protests and stuff, but because you didn't tweet about it (dream vs. reality again) they assumed you didn't care and were a piece of shit. And a callback to Numb in here, where you admit that even if you feel numbed from the negative attention and feelings it still hurts in a way. And then with the voice from the intro saying "And repeat," it harkens back to just a few lines before where you say this is all cyclical, it's gonna happen again and again and again.
8. Secret Life of Me - This song makes the album's themes of duality literal by there being two of you. Wishing there were more of you--not just one, but maybe 9 more--so that you could do all the things you want. Not only could you pursue all the creative endeavors you want, but some of you could also spend the day with your friends, one of you could spend the day finally relaxing, etc. The bridge of the song is literally about creating a dream world where you feel safe and happy and better than you do in reality. But your life is so consumed by the music and everything that comes attached to it, including presenting yourself a certain way for the public, "real life never feels like it's mine." It feels like the real you is potentially slipping away and being replaced by the one that you have to put on for everyone else. The very end saying "Live a secret life for fun / Away from anyone and everyone" meaning that if you can just get away from all this, you can be yourself again.
9. American Graffiti - I like the metaphor of graffiti--a cool, stylish, pretty picture--being the version of yourself that the public knows and tries to relate to. And I know you tweeted a photo of your multicolored hair calling it graffiti so now that color makes sense for this era! I also like it because graffiti is inherently an art form that isn't necessarily preserved forever. Sometimes it's washed away, it's painted over completely, or it's added onto by other graffiti artists. But anyway this song goes right back to the previous song with the line "If all I'm here to do is relate / Maybe I should try to live one normal day" - you feel like your whole existence revolves around writing songs for people to relate to, and yet you never get a day to just be yourself and live your life, so if you can't do that then how can you write anything relatable? And it can also be interpreted as if all day every day is dedicated to The Life of a Musician, then how can you write anything that a normal person would relate to? And then we jump into the chorus where we drive this point home: "You've been reading/seeing all about me / And you're loving what you've found." People are reading your tweets, seeing the words/images/songs you post, and to them that's all you are. Which makes sense, because they don't know you! But a lot of them lack the self-awareness that THEY DON'T KNOW YOU. The stuff you post about yourself is not the entirety of you, it is not your Greatest Hits, there is more to you that they are not exposed to. But you put it out there anyway for them to relate to, for them to feel safe and happy with, even if you don't feel that way. "If you need me / I'm here now." It's a parasitic relationship where the public gets all the emotional fulfillment out of it and you get none, which we see with the end of the song. "Usually I'm all I've got / Lucky for me I don't need a lot."
10. Paranoid - Now we're getting into the more cynical, satirical, self-aware side of things. Laying out how you're aware of the shortcomings of this relationship with fans, but you've learned to live with it even though it makes you paranoid and anxious and uneasy all the time. "I learned to live with these eyes / Hands in my pockets." You also put some literal contradictions/dualities in here to go with the overarching theme of the album: Alone but surrounded, breathing/drowning. But despite the fun- and sarcastic-sounding nature of the song it does get darker as it goes on and hints that maybe you don't have as much of a handle on it as you claimed and that you might end up cracking and having a Britney Moment at some point if the pressure doesn't let up at some point.
11. Fruit Roll Ups - Another song that fell flat in the demo for me but the final version is one of my favorites on the album, finally being able to hear your full vision for it. It's a really gorgeous song. You're a fuckin troll for naming the song Fruit Roll Ups and then namedropping fruit by the foot in the very first line. But hey there's another duality lmao. I like the slow, pretty nature of this song finally giving us a chance to breathe in this album. A pretty song about this person you're singing to who finally helps you calm down, helps you shut out all the bullshit from the outside world, illustrated by all the talk of the shit you have in your apartment--fruit by the foot, Capri Sun, sick lights, etc. Last song you're a little bitch because you're just a lil stinker, but now you're a little bitch simping for this person that you just want to shut away with. But you even acknowledge that this could crumble away if they stop texting you.
12. Like It - Now we're getting abrasive and buckwild after that calm few minutes. The insanity of the music in this song is just so dope, it really does go hard as hell hahah. This is you finally getting fed up with the facade and letting your frustration out. The entire chorus is addressed to "you" but it feels to me like you talking to yourself. Telling yourself you deserve a couple bad hair days--with so much of your Public Persona circling around the color of your hair, part of you just wants to be able to spend a day not giving a shit about what your hair looks like. Hoping the car's AC breaks, the phone screen cracks, all the "Cool Stuff" (big house, cold rings) that comes from this lifestyle breaking so you can get back to just yourself, which I think is embodied by the line "I'd like it even more if you called me." But of course it could also be taken more literally and wishing that someone would just call and talk to you because you like it. And then we're back to the dream job vs. reality with "do I do this for a living or a death." Also suit/straightjacket, another duality.
13. Gladiator - And of course this lil interlude is 100% about the fans vs. reality, them not really caring about your wants or desires, they just want MORE CONTENT. Even if it means you're numb from it, even if you're wishing to die like in Just Kidding, it doesn't matter, they just want CONTENT because that's the nature of their relationship with you and they want to maintain that "healthy" relationship. And yet you have to continue fighting because your career is dependent on them, the stadium full of people, because without them it's all over. The only way to keep on fighting is to "come out of your human self," completely detach the public persona from your real self, so that maybe you can have so much of a distinction between the two that their perception of the Persona doesn't negatively affect your mental health because YOU know it's not the real you.
14. Magnetic - It's hard to not lose yourself if you do that, though. Here's the even darker exploration of the theme about the duality between dream you and real you. If you create a different You to project to the public, but then your career takes over your day-to-day more and more (like you've already said it does), that means you're the Other You all the time and then when are you ever your real self? And if you're never your real self then is that your real self anymore? Before you wanted to branch of and have multiple selves in Secret Life of Me but there's a danger to losing the real you. You're presenting this other version of yourself all the time ("I'm fucking up / I'm recording it / I'm projecting big / Through a tiny screen") but eventually they're so detached from the real you--"I see the posts, I see the tweets / I see his face but he's not me"--and now you know it's not you, but it's the you that you feel you have to continue being, and you're asking "Why did I do this?" You're doing it because you need the career to continue its upward trajectory, you're doing it because part of you DOES want that "fake love" from the public ("you're all we want and more"), possibly because you feel unfulfilled from your personal relationships (which is partially because so much time is dedicated to the Other You, so it's basically an ouroboros, it's cyclical)--but you know that you hate all this and you hate what it's doing to your life, yet you keep doing it. "I'm magnetic to the things I hate the most."
15. Crying Over It All - Now we get into the aftermath of a life like this. Again the dreaming imagery, wanting to imagine a life where you can get everything you want, all the stuff and the success, without your real self fading and all your personal relationships suffering. Eventually you feel like this lifestyle will go away--you'll be done making music and the most hardcore fans will move on, and you hope that enough of your real self and your friends are still around, including this person you're singing to. When you're swallowed down by this lifestyle, you're telling yourself it's for their benefit as well as your own. But you're failing to connect with them, to love them the way they should be loved. "Please make me sane for you" being a callback to Stupid For You, you want this relationship to bring you back to yourself and make everything right again. You want everything that a normal, healthy relationship should bring: the excitement (fireworks), intimacy (softest words), happiness (what you deserve), and to feel like you're even actually ready for something like this again (to unlearn my hurt).
16. Ice Bath - Back to telling yourself to wake up from this bad dream again. This song feels like the opposite of the previous (another duality!) where instead of it being a dream about the soft, sweet love you want, it's an examination of the "distorted" love that you feel like you're actually bringing to the table (whether that's true or not). But even if your personal relationships are screwed up, at least you're continuing to be successful in your career (what's important / my shirt's imported / I pray for more shit / like that would help me). This also has one of the most cutting, depressing lines on the whole album to me: "I only see my friends onstage / So cut the check / or cut my neck / with a new set of car keys" (lots of suicide imagery on this damn album). Your life is so consumed by the job, you don't ever see your friends unless it's in a business context, whether that's literally on stage performing or if it's filming a music video or recording a podcast or whatever else (I'm sorry!! :'(((( ugh). In this song you also acknowledge that letting the work consume your life and become the Defining Thing about you isn't good or healthy, and you hope that you still have time to right the wrongs. You say knowing is the first step, "but knowing that won't make letting you down hurt less" - even if you understand what's going on, and you regret it, you can't help but feel the guilt about how it's affected your relationships--just because you know it's a problem doesn't necessarily mean you're gonna stop and that hurts. Again, you wish for more time--like you did in Secret Life of Me--because if you have more time, you can have time for everything--career, friends, romance, all of it--without sacrificing any one part for the other. But that's just a dream.
17. See You in the Future - Everything you want on album 3 meaning the stuff mentioned in WWHN--cold rings, jetpacks, etc.--if you're achieving all this success, then how come you still aren't happy? It's also interesting that in this song you say you don't want to reveal too much in the music, "But what's a meltdown between friends?" You spend an entire album describing this parasitic relationship between you and the fans, and how they are not actually friends with you or know the Real You, but then in the closing track you call them your friend. Also back to more sleeping imagery - "If you could see the things / That I see when I sleep / Then you'd be paranoid like me" and "I could fill a university with all the things that keep me up when all I want is sleep." The idea that sleep is not a rejuvenating experience for you, this bad dream is poisoning everything. Just like how everything you're putting out there is poisoning the minds of the people who look up to you because they're creating this obsessive, unhealthy relationship with you. And we bring back the lines from Fuzzy about demons driving the limo up to your window. Then we also dive into one of the recurring themes of the album about Cool Stuff linking to career success, talking about Elon Musk's fuck-ugly Cybertruck, which immediately leads you into spiraling about losing all this success at the blink of an eye (I originally typed "blink of a hat," wtf?). And if you've created this Other You for the sake of your career, being consumed by it until the Real You is gone, then if your career ends and the Other You disappears, then there's no You anymore. Who are you then? We're brought back to lyrics from Numb, where you said "The more I wrap myself up / The more I'm coming undone." The more you hide away the Real You, the more your life is unraveling. "Everything I know is gonna kill me in the end, but we'll get there when we get there" is another acknowledgment of how you know all of this is bad for you but you feel the compulsion to do it anyway, you'll deal with the consequences later. And then we pull in perception vs. reality again talking about how magazines and the public make you feel inadequate, which then leads into the recurring theme about giving up your personal relationships to achieve this success. You keep giving the public more and more until the Real You is gone. But you'll deal with the consequences later--maybe you'll see the Real You in the future. And that is a very grim note to end the album on.