The Significance of Hozier
Description
Andrew Hozier-Byrne, better known as Hozier, rose to fame in late 2014 with his hit song “Take Me to Church”. Already successful in the United Kingdom, the release of this single made him a well-known name in the United States. Hozier’s music contains rock ‘n’ roll and RnB influences. According to Ehrlich’s (2014) interview from MTV with Hozier, Hozier’s exposure as a child to blues music through his father, a drummer in a blues band, as well as his love for rhythm and blues, featured in the music produced by Stevie Wonder and rock musician Sting, caused him to have an appreciation for these two genres (Ehrlich, 2014). It is apparent through his album From Eden that rock ‘n’ roll and RnB music play an …show more content…
According to Campbell, Fabos, and Martin (2015), authors of Media & Culture: Mass Media in the Digital Age, musicians of the 1950s utilized rock ‘n’ roll to “[culturally reflect] the social and political tensions” of the time (Campbell, Fabos, & Martin, 2015). Similarly, Hozier uses “Take Me to Church” to address the differing views between the Catholic Church and the public. Hozier does this by making a metaphor between the Church and his lover. The analogy becomes apparent when he says “My Church offers no absolutes / She tells me, "Worship in the bedroom."” This line clearly demonstrates the comparison between the Church and his lover. He continues the metaphor singing that he will “worship” and offer himself to his lover even though that may make him unclean. Through his lyrics the listener can interpret that Hozier disagrees with the Church’s view of sex as a sinful act. Hozier uses “Take Me to Church” not only as a song with a catchy melody but also as a way of making a social commentary on the Church and the way that he feels it treats love. This shows Hozier’s ability to create a song with meaningful and relatable lyrics that people want to listen …show more content…
Someone who likes “Take Me to Church” will enjoy From Eden because the album contains the RnB and rock ‘n’ roll influences found in the hit single. It will be interesting to observe whether Hozier is able to continue to achieve similar success with the rest of his albums. Over the years I observed that musicians that stray from the norms of popular music, simple melodies with simple lyrics, tend to not receive the recognition necessary to stay on the charts. While I do acknowledge that Hozier’s writing skill and composition skill are amazing, I understand that when it comes to music, marketability is what truly matters for success. Other musicians, such as Ed Sheeran, dealt with the same problem. For example, Sheeran’s first album Plus, which contains Sheeran’s voice and an acoustic guitar, achieved moderate success. While his second album Multiply, which incorporates traits typically found in generic popular music such as, less acoustics and more backtracking, produced more successful singles. It will be interesting to see whether Hozier will yield to the trends of mainstream music or whether he will maintain his rock ‘n’ roll and RnB
Description
Andrew Hozier-Byrne, better known as Hozier, rose to fame in late 2014 with his hit song “Take Me to Church”. Already successful in the United Kingdom, the release of this single made him a well-known name in the United States. Hozier’s music contains rock ‘n’ roll and RnB influences. According to Ehrlich’s (2014) interview from MTV with Hozier, Hozier’s exposure as a child to blues music through his father, a drummer in a blues band, as well as his love for rhythm and blues, featured in the music produced by Stevie Wonder and rock musician Sting, caused him to have an appreciation for these two genres (Ehrlich, 2014). It is apparent through his album From Eden that rock ‘n’ roll and RnB music play an …show more content…
According to Campbell, Fabos, and Martin (2015), authors of Media & Culture: Mass Media in the Digital Age, musicians of the 1950s utilized rock ‘n’ roll to “[culturally reflect] the social and political tensions” of the time (Campbell, Fabos, & Martin, 2015). Similarly, Hozier uses “Take Me to Church” to address the differing views between the Catholic Church and the public. Hozier does this by making a metaphor between the Church and his lover. The analogy becomes apparent when he says “My Church offers no absolutes / She tells me, "Worship in the bedroom."” This line clearly demonstrates the comparison between the Church and his lover. He continues the metaphor singing that he will “worship” and offer himself to his lover even though that may make him unclean. Through his lyrics the listener can interpret that Hozier disagrees with the Church’s view of sex as a sinful act. Hozier uses “Take Me to Church” not only as a song with a catchy melody but also as a way of making a social commentary on the Church and the way that he feels it treats love. This shows Hozier’s ability to create a song with meaningful and relatable lyrics that people want to listen …show more content…
Someone who likes “Take Me to Church” will enjoy From Eden because the album contains the RnB and rock ‘n’ roll influences found in the hit single. It will be interesting to observe whether Hozier is able to continue to achieve similar success with the rest of his albums. Over the years I observed that musicians that stray from the norms of popular music, simple melodies with simple lyrics, tend to not receive the recognition necessary to stay on the charts. While I do acknowledge that Hozier’s writing skill and composition skill are amazing, I understand that when it comes to music, marketability is what truly matters for success. Other musicians, such as Ed Sheeran, dealt with the same problem. For example, Sheeran’s first album Plus, which contains Sheeran’s voice and an acoustic guitar, achieved moderate success. While his second album Multiply, which incorporates traits typically found in generic popular music such as, less acoustics and more backtracking, produced more successful singles. It will be interesting to see whether Hozier will yield to the trends of mainstream music or whether he will maintain his rock ‘n’ roll and RnB