Life is for the living.
–Langston Hughes
Death is for the dead.
Let life be like music.
And death a note unsaid.
Cigarettes After Sex is a pretty cool name for a band. I was blissfully unaware of their existence just over a year ago until I stumbled upon Falling in Love from their second album, Cry.
I’ll admit, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Their songs are melancholy and categorised under dream pop, slowcore, shoegaze, and even as ambient pop.
When I first heard Falling In Love, I thought the lead singer was female. Only later did I discover that the mesmerising, androgenous voice belonged to Greg Gonzalez, who founded the band in El Paso, Texas, in 2008. If you’re familiar with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star (particularly Fade Into You), you will understand why Cigarettes After Sex are sometimes compared to them.
My current favourite song is Apocalypse from their self-titled first album, released in 2017. It only started gaining traction in 2022 following extensive use on TikTok. It has over one and a half billion streams on the Spotify music app, while the music video has over two hundred million views on YouTube.
The title of this post is taken from the lyrics below:
You leapt from crumbling bridges watching cityscapes turn to dust
Filming helicopters crashing in the ocean from way above
Got the music in you, baby, tell me why
Got the music in you, baby, tell me why
You’ve been locked in here forever, and you just can’t say goodbye
Kisses on the foreheads of the lovers wrapped in your arms
You’ve been hiding them in hollowed-out pianos left in the dark
Got the music in you, baby, tell me why
Got the music in you, baby, tell me why
You’ve been locked in here forever, and you just can’t say goodbye
Your lips, my lips
Apocalypse
Your lips, my lips
Apocalypse
Go and sneak us through the rivers
Flood is rising up on your knees
Oh, please
Come out and haunt me, I know you want me
Come out and haunt me
Sharing all your secrets with each other since you were kids
Sleeping soundly with the locket that she gave you clutched in your fist
Got the music in you, baby, tell me why
Got the music in you, baby, tell me why
You’ve been locked in here forever, and you just can’t say goodbye
You’ve been locked in here forever, and you just can’t say goodbye
Oh, when you’re all alone
I will reach for you
When you’re feeling low
I will be there too
lenny unencumbered 
The song is playing in the background as I write this comment, Lenny. I love the vocal quality. It’s just as you described. “Their songs are melancholy and categorised under dream pop, slowcore, shoegaze, and even as ambient pop.” Yes, and it’s the kind of music I enjoy. Thanks for sharing the lyrics. 😀
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I seem to be drawn to melancholy songs in my senior years. I hope it’s not a sign of anything but exceptional taste. 😁
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Lol. I’m sure it’s exceptional taste. Couldn’t possibly be anything else.
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