Song of the Week: FK THIS

This week the lovely members of the SB Family group voted for the excellent FK THIS, beating our namesake by a narrow margin (we'll get to that, one day!).

If you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend you acquaint yourself with it, which you can do below.

Wrapped neatly between Off the Bone and Chillin' in the Kitchen on the Soul Boy III album, FK THIS is a short song that packs a lot in. At first glance, it's an unassuming, kind of quiet song, much like the video for it. The perfect picture of less is more.

The main theme is a fairly common one in The Skinner Brothers canon - that of being down on your luck, depressed, but also defiant. Zac somehow manages to touch on these themes in completely different ways each time, so you never get a sense of repetition.

The verses are slow and melodic, intertwined with a delicious synth sound that's reminiscent of the 80's, yet is something completely different. As ever, Zac brings a new and highly original twist to sounds that we're almost, but not quite, familiar with.
Despite being just under two minutes long, FK THIS is lent a lot of heft by the weight of the lyrics. This is another of those times where I have to disagree with Zac's self assessment that he's "rubbish at lyrics". In fact I rate them so highly that I'm going to attempt a full breakdown. So buckle up! Or stop reading, it's entirely up to you.

"I've got a head full of get rich schemes
Pockets full of Kings and Queens"

Those gentle, solemn opening notes usher in these opening lines that paint us an image of a poverty stricken dreamer. One who is willing to take chances (or gamble) on whatever opportunity may come along, invented or otherwise. It's highly relatable - so many of us have been in that position in life, some much longer than others.

My own get rich schemes have included getting up at the crack of dawn to do car boot sales on a Sunday morning, selling random tat on Ebay, soap making, selling Avon cosmetics and Reiki healing (that one got as far as learning how to do it and buying a massage table, until the penny dropped that actually I wasn't great at being that close to complete strangers). Needless to say, none of those things made me rich, or indeed anywhere close. At least not monetarily.

"Don't fucking smile at me
Coz you're mean like my Twitter feed"

That first line can only be dreamt up by somebody who has been through some things, and has developed a bitter distrust of people. I know, because I've been there too. It's not a nice place, definitely not an attractive one, but sometimes experience leads you there and you just have to work your way through it.

The follow up line is simple yet genius. I think we all completely get the meaning behind this one - it portrays a place populated with people who mostly only look out for themselves, to the extent that others are treated with hostility. Ah Twitter, you began life with such hope and excitement, but you did indeed turn into a place full of shallow hatred.

The line also serves as a really nice contrast to some of the old school sounds in the music - using this analogy brings us right back into the modern age. You couldn't have written that line in the 80's.

"Cold like the BBC
Stars of the CCTV
No money so I get no sleep in
And staring out my windows peak"

This pre-chorus section continues to lay out the feel of a world that's isolating and cruel, building tension before we head into the chorus. "Cold like the BBC" implies a world that's uncaring and detached (the BBC being traditionally known for its impartiality). It's also of course very rooted in British culture, being one of our most well known institutions. It's nowhere near as impartial (or trusted) as it once was but the meaning stands nonetheless.

"Stars of the CCTV" is an utterly genius line, reinforcing that sense of isolation. As a society, we are all constantly watched, but never actually seen. 1984, anyone?

The final two lines of this segment are pointing out the direct correlation between money and health (insomnia brought on by stress in this case). There's no doubt that the struggle and stress of living in poverty has a direct impact on your health and indeed life expectancy. Which makes me wonder if the words "windows peak" are a play on the term widow's peak? Yes, I know that refers to a hair line, but it also has the word widow, which would tie in with the whole life expectancy thing. I may be reaching there, trying to channel my inner Knox Hill (and likely failing miserably)!

Now we're heading into the chorus, and the pace of the music picks up and swirls you along with the lyrics, feeling like a welcome hug, a temporary reprieve from the harsh realities of life.

"So I'm gonna go and dance with my best friend
Get a drink coz I'm bastard depressed and
Ain't nobody telling me I ain't the best man
Except the mirror in the bathroom reflections like"

What's the best, or rather the easiest, way to deal with your troubles? A nice bit of escapism of course! Drinking and dancing is probably one of the most common antidotes to stress. It's a temporary fix only, but this chorus illustrates nicely a feeling that's very familiar to a lot of us.

The latter two lines connect really nicely with the rest of the song, adding an edge of defiance "Ain't nobody telling me I ain't the best man" but also acknowledging that feeling is short lived in the final line of the chorus.

I'm pretty sure that last line also connects with the song Mirror in the Bathroom by The Beat. It's a song that I've loved for decades, and not only does it have a similar feel in musical tone, the lyrics touch on psychological themes of self examination, isolation and failing coping mechanisms.

The Beat were a very popular ska band, and it's well known that Zac is a fan of the genre. I'd be surprised if this was an accidental reference, especially as the word reflections directly follows bathroom!

"You ain't no 10 you're a fallen 6
Too fat, too thin, lemme get my kicks
Ain't no politician in the world tell truth like this
He said, she said, I said, FK THIS"

The numbers 10 and 6 could just be referring to the obvious - somebody who isn't the person they were, or hoped to be. I have a vague suspicion that it may also be football related. Zac has said that while he's not a football fan as such, he has spent a lot of time around the culture. I'm pretty clueless with football, but Google Gemini tells me that 10 is an attacking midfielder while 6 is a defensive midfielder that acts as a shield for the defence.

So it's possible that it's some kind of metaphor for an internal battle between two sides of the psyche. It's also very possible that I have no clue what I'm talking about too, but I thought it noteworthy enough to mention anyway!

"Ain't no politician in the world tell truth like this"

"Truth" being the words you (and others) use to beat down your sense of self worth until you lose all sense of self and hope, ending with the sentiment of "fuck this" once you've finally had enough of it all. It's that place you're in when you're feeling so worn down by the world, and so beaten by your own inner demons (truth!) that you reach boiling point and have just had enough. I'd guess it's a pretty common feeling, especially among those of us prone to depression.

I suspect this line is mostly referring to self truth, the punishing kind of truth that can only be told by that hateful inner voice. This is Zac, expertly portraying yet again these highly relatable tales of what it means to be human, with a rawness that invokes both empathy and sympathy.

"Now I'm standing on Oxford Street
Box full of Krispy Kreme
Came for the gold paved streets
Left like a fucking creep"

The final verse, before the repetition of the chorus (alongside the pre and post chorus segments) is a detailed painting of the loneliness and isolation we've heard about from the beginning. A sole figure, stood on one of the busiest streets in London, with a box of Krispy Kreme (which I'm now craving, thanks for that!). If we assume said Krispy Kreme is being eaten, this is presumably another, if shorter lived, attempt at escapism. Or at least self soothing. We all love a bit of comfort food! For me, that's especially true when I'm in the middle of a depressive episode, so again, that fits.

"Came for the gold paved streets" is of course referring to the cultural myth that the streets of London are paved with gold. So he's specifically talking about London. We saw how that goes in Lonedon, a song that's very much thematically connected to this one.

Those gold paved streets are, of course, a complete lie. It's an idea that's been around for a long time (since at least medieval times, with the story of Dick Whittington), sold to entice people to the city with the idea that it's easy to get rich in London. Realising that lie, our man leaves. The word "creep" is an interesting choice that adds a sense of shame and self-loathing, one that I've felt many times myself. It's yet another instance of vulnerability that makes us want to reach out and hug that guy, tell him it's ok, we've all been there and things will get better.

Zac's vocal performance feels warm and casual, with an edge of detachment and despair. It suits the song perfectly and serves to bring you even closer to this intimate feeling portrayal of a day in the life of a man struggling to find his place.

FK THIS takes us on a journey of raw vulnerability, cynicism and self examination, deftly weaving in pockets of criticism on modern society. In the end, it's a very human story, and the song as a whole almost feels like a hug of solidarity for those of us who have lived through similar thoughts and situations.

I love it!

FK THIS is part of the album Soul Boy III, which you can buy from Bandcamp by clicking the button below.

Buy the album on Bandcamp