Music Notes

NbHD, by OneRepublic

Next up is a deep cut from the 2016 OneRepublic album Oh My My. It's called by a trendy abbreviation for the word "Neighborhood."

Sound:
Totally eerie, with lots of reverb and a touch of background fuzz (I questioned the integrity of my earbuds while writing this…) Ryan Tedder shouts the chorus and speaks the verses, without too much of his signature melisma.

Perhaps the most striking part of NbHD is when the lady, Santigold, enters at the bridge. It's hard to not get goosebumps as she builds her part up to the final chorus. I'm not familiar with her, but I really admire what she contributes to this song.

Theme:
Ryan has said that NbHD is a song about the refugee crisis… which is enough to know. I mean to say, I hardly need to figure out which crisis he might have had in mind. There are so many refugees in today's world, both physical and metaphorical.

He employs language so symbolic and cryptic, it fills my head with ideas far and wide. This song was just waiting for a story to be written from it, which leads me to…

Significance:
NbHD has captured my imagination since I discovered it in 2017, with its mysterious drama and poignant message. When I chose Oh My My as my album to write to for last year's "Musicology Anthology"  I was especially excited to bring this track to life.

Last summer, I was steeped in Islamic evangelism because my mom would binge watch Dr. Zakir Naik and other Muslim teachers every evening. I picked up little idiosyncrasies of the culture, and channeled them into the story for NbHD, trying to capture the theme of Middle Eastern refugees while maintaining a strictly fantasy setting. The story I came up with won second place at "Senior Center Forum"  and a glowing review from a fellow author.

This is a song I'll always appreciate on many levels.

NbHD  (13+) Fly! Closer to heaven and far from hell... #2321635 by Amethyst Agape Angel

Words: 323.