You cannot be listening to the radio these days without having heard of The Weeknd. The broody artist and his dark, artfully produced PBR&B tracks stand aloof and apart from the rest of the bright, plastic world of pop music like Gatsby at one of his wild parties.

One of the reasons The Weeknd (or Abel Tesfaye) has captured the imaginations of listeners worldwide is his ability to spin a story out of his music. His entire body of work creates a character sketch of a tragic and menacing Lothario. Quite a few twenty somethings can (or would like to) relate to the feeling of hedonism induced emotional exhaustion evoked by his music.

Here are three instances where The Weeknd manages to tell a story through his music:

The Hills

This song is a perfect example of The Weeknd’s storytelling. It is a tale of a woman cheating on her partner with Abel.

“Found out I was coming, sent your friends home

Keep on tryna hide it but your friends know”

This is contrasted with Abel’s own lack of emotions and inability to connect with the woman.

“I only fuck you when it’s half past five

The only time I’d ever call you mine

I only love it when you touch me, not feel me

When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me

When I’m fucked up, that’s the real me, babe”

This nocturnal affair set against a sample from Wes Craven’s “The Hills have Eyes” makes for a moody and powerful piece.

2. Lonely Star

Perhaps one of The Weeknd’s most melancholy songs. It is about a girl Abel has nicknamed “Thursday”, because that is the only day they spend together.

The song has a spoken verse interlude that says it all:

“If, all I could say is if

Promise me you won’t regret me like the tattoos on my skin

Let the wrong doing come to me

One day I’m hoping that you will remember me

When you fuck them you’ll see my face

My body is yours

Give them any other day but Thursday

You belong to me every Thursday

I wait for you

I’ll be beautiful for you

Every Thursday

I exist only on Thursday”

3. House of Balloons

Sampling Siouxsie and the Banshee’s, the first half of “House of Balloons/ Glass table girls” could be The Weeknd’s darkest, most menacing track. Some might say this song is bit too abstract to really tell a story. However I would point out the lyrics

“If it hurts to breathe

Open the window

Oh, your mind wants to leave

But you can’t go

This is a happy house

We’re happy here

In a happy house

Oh this is fun”

Implying a lot while saying little is a trick any storyteller has to learn. And the lines above imply a whole strange world of meaning. It creates an image of a nightmarish party gone wrong as well as an ironic metaphor dealing with the The Weeknd’s destructive habits.

And so the angel voiced Lothario continues to sing, drawing people in his with his tales of debauchery and numbness. Let’s hope he continues to stay exciting with his upcoming album “The Beauty behind the Madness.”

Do you think I have missed out on any of The Weeknd’s most exciting songs? Comment your favorite below.

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