C&CM: Consequential Lyrics

 
If you like your pop music with meaning, there's a very high likelihood that you've chanced upon a lyric that has touched a nerve.

In August 2013, Cassettes & Chocolate Milk launched the Consequential Lyrics project.

The project involved Missy El (the girl behind all the tapes and the milk) curating weekly 40 minute podcasts looking at those the stories we extract from those very eloquent moments in pop.

Lyrics from Queen, The Beatles, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, The Smiths, Erasure and Roxette were ripped from their context and liberally re-interpreted. As expected, there was a hefty amount of heartbreak and personal revelations, but it didn't end there...

The final episode of Consequential Lyrics was entirely made up of contributions from fans of C&CM. Music lovers, writers, broadcasters and musicians shared their own consequential lyrics, describing the stories associated with their own profound lyrical moments. Here's how the series turned out:


On September 6th 2013, Consequential Lyrics and its accompanying zine was officially launched in Melbourne's Sticky Institute. Here are the guests' lyrical revelations and here are the antics from the party.

Consequential Lyrics ultimately turned out to be a success, with its content achieving 24,000 Facebook Likes and 600 Facebook Shares. Personal highlights included the involvement of various personal and musical heroes: the Queen essay and episode being published on Queen's Official Website, Per Gessle urging Roxette fans to check out the bonus episode, both on Facebook on Twitter and even a thank-you from Vince Clarke.

In September 2023, Consequential Lyrics celebrated its 10th anniversary with a C&CM podcast.
5 comments

5 comments:

Dom said...

So, I'm probably not going to get around to recording you a thing, but I thought I'd share my favourite lyric anyway:
"We don't throw our hands up like we don't care anymore / We throw our hands up like we don't care anymore"
P.O.S. - Paul Kersey To Jack Kimball

11:31 PM
Eleanor said...

Thanks for sharing your lyric, Dom! :D

4:50 PM
James! said...

Dom! What a surprise to see a POS lyric here and what an even better surprise that it's one of my favorites. It's one that I turn over and over and over in my mind throughout the whole song! :)

1:13 AM
Margaret said...

Hi Miss E, I am reading your article on Queen and am completely transported - remembering back to 'the day' in London when I took them so for granted. They were just there. (Which is a good way to be.) Margaret

8:52 AM
Eleanor said...

Thank YOU, Miss Margaret! I'm so jealous you were there to witness it all! Saying that, I'm relieved to think that my words managed to transport you back to such a time and place. We can only really appreciate how brilliant it was when it's over! x

12:11 AM

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