Yeah Yeah Yeahs - “Turn Into”
It’s terrible to compare songs. It’s like forcing children to fight. But although “Someone Like You” has become the go-to break-up song, I still prefer “Turn Into.” While Adele sings romantic boilerplate (“I couldn’t stay away/I couldn’t fight”), Karen O’s lyrics are piercing and idiosyncratic. The line “That girl you found keeps that window closed” strikes me on every playback. Who doesn’t feel that they can feel things the new boy or girl will never dream of? It’s a song of becoming: after a break-up, turning into someone as heartless as you; that new girl, turning into whatever you want; “turning all of this around behind us.” And the acoustic guitar turning into in electric guitar; a piano rising into an even higher pitched guitar. The sadness of those opening lines has imperceptibly become joy, without ever diluting or turning its back on that original feeling. Its euphoria still pricks, still draws blood.
