“Adult” is a loaded thing to call someone in this day and age, since adults have basically wrecked our planet. But for Chromeo, to be an adult doesn’t mean being a cog in the square world’s machinery. Rather, it signifies evolution, sophistication, and nuance. Aging like wine or cheese, not like fruit or milk. While we do so, how much of our groove do we actually choose to hold on to? Chromeo says: “all of it.” As you already know (unless you’ve been living in a vibes vacuum since the early 2000s), Chromeo is the paramount funk band of our time. Friends since childhood, Dave and Pee have built an empire of soigné, danceable, and intelligent music over the course of two decades. Few duos can claim this kind of psychic togetherness and evergreen staying power. Really, who else? One must venture into the stratosphere to find precedents. And now that Dave’s double-breasted suits are popping and Pee’s turtlenecks are in effect mode, it’s safe to say that we can rely on Chromeo to stick around for years to come.
Wait, do you want to hear something really adult? Try this on for size: the anguish of late-stage capitalist monogamy is very much a thing. Here, we come to the essence of Adult Contemporary, the most lyrically cohesive Chromeo opus to date: it’s a 14-track meditation on mature relationships. This is perhaps best conveyed in the song “BTS,” which sounds like a classic Chromeo funk jam but, as is often the case with these guys, hides a deeper message. An ode to just going to sleep (“rest can be Better Than Sex”), it’s about that moment in an affair of the heart when you can just say, “Baby, this week was a doozy and I really just need to crash.” How real is that? Or there’s a song like “Personal Effects,” in which Dave reminisces over a partner after seeing her phone charger left at his house. Modern romance, indeed. Throughout the album, songs function like short stories, each a variation on what it’s like to be in love in 2024 – from joyful commitment to crippling co-dependency, from the platonic to the profane. It’s no picnic…yet lo and behold, it can also be hilarious, and Dave and Pee tackle it all in their signature straight-faced style. Lest we forget the core Chromeo value: there is no such thing as irony.
Onto that other word. “Contemporary.” An interesting choice for a band who has always been equally of-the-moment and openly indebted to its ancestors. But in an era when everything is available all the time, seamlessly melding together the new and the old might just be the most contemporary act an artist can commit. Chromeo offers us a singularity of funk, with music more elegant and considered than ever before. Take for instance the lush horn arrangements on “Words With You” and “Lost And Found” or the banging electro-synths in “(I Don’t Need A) New Girl.” This is Chromeo in full two-man studio muso mode, danceable and delicate, simultaneously wielding deft live instrumentation and a relentless four-on-the-floor kick drum that scans the entire record. For the first time in a while, it really is a tandem affair. The previous albums were very much about collaborating. Getting other people involved and going big. Adult Contemporary is more ambitious specifically because it revolves solely around two besties at the top of their game, doing absolutely everything on their own. Hence a deeply intimate feel, with Dave and Pee accomplishing two things at once: getting back to basics in terms of method while also expanding the songwriting and atmosphere. The Chromeo blueprint of maximum funk earnestness sits front and center.
So with that in mind, we invite you to join not only our contemporary times but also the ranks of the grown. Contrary to our infantilizing culture – which would prefer you stunted –, adulthood is a blast. And with a soundtrack such as Adult Contemporary, it’s a place of pleasure, discernment, groove, and comradeship. Come now, dip your toe into the infinity pool of maturity. You’ll find yourself, before too long, happy to evolve funkily alongside Chromeo.
Come Alive
Chromeo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never wondered which way you would go
You woke me up from my slumber
Now let me make you work slow
It's not a lot, but all I want to do
Is skip town on a weekend with you
There's still so much to discover
There's still a lot we don't know
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
Come alive (come alive)
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
You're working double just to have a life
I like to think that it's just a phase
Treading anything that takes your time
Seconds pass and you're on your way
Help me understand what you need
Help me figure out what isn't right
Consider swimming if you start to sink
Or you could get left behind
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
The night shift
The day shift
We could go anywhere and they won't say shit
I wish I could lay you down right now on the kitchen floor
'Cause we got something so real
However they feel doesn't really matter no more
So let's see you walk up out of that door
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
Come alive
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
Come alive, come alive (come alive)
Come alive
Come alive, come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
Come alive
The lyrics of Chromeo's song "Come Alive" speak about breaking away from the everyday routine and choosing to live in the moment. The song opens with the singer confessing that he asked for the phone number of the woman he is singing to from her boss. The second verse describes him realizing that this woman could be the one to bring him out of his mundane life and literally wake him up from his slumber. He wants to skip town with her and discover the world together. The chorus urges her to come alive, to let loose before she loses her mind from the pressures of work, "they got you under pressure, doing overtime."
In the bridge, he throws caution to the wind and tells her that they can go anywhere together, and how he wishes he could lay her down right now on the kitchen floor, because their connection is so real, and the opinions of others don't matter anymore. The final chorus reiterates the message, urging her to come alive and make a change in her life.
"Come Alive" is a favorite among Chromeo fans and has received significant airplay on the radio. The song was first released in January 2014, as a part of their album "White Women," which included other popular songs such as "Jealous (I Ain't With It).
Line by Line Meaning
I asked your boss for your number
I wanted to contact you so much that I approached your boss for your number
I never wondered which way you would go
I was always sure you'd reciprocate my feelings
You woke me up from my slumber
You brought excitement and energy into my life
Now let me make you work slow
I want to spend time with you and pace our relationship slowly
It's not a lot, but all I want to do
I don't want anything extravagant, just to spend my time with you
Is skip town on a weekend with you
I want to go away for a weekend together to explore and enjoy each other's company
There's still so much to discover
We haven't explored all the exciting and unknown aspects of each other yet
There's still a lot we don't know
We don't have all the answers about each other yet
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
I want you to become more vibrant and lively
Give it up, girl before you lose your mind
Don't work too much and forget to enjoy life
I can tell if you realize, I can tell
I can see the toll that overworking is taking on you
They got you under pressure, doing overtime
The expectations at work are putting a lot of pressure on you and forcing you to work overtime
You're working double just to have a life
You're putting in twice the effort just to maintain the lifestyle you have
I like to think that it's just a phase
I hope this is just a temporary situation for you
Treading anything that takes your time
You're so busy working that you don't have time for anything else
Seconds pass and you're on your way
Time seems to be flying by for you
Help me understand what you need
I want to learn more about what you require to be happy
Help me figure out what isn't right
I want to help you realize what's going wrong in your life
Consider swimming if you start to sink
If things get worse, you might need to take drastic measures to fix them
Or you could get left behind
If you don't take action, you might miss opportunities and fall behind in life
The night shift
Working late at night
The day shift
Working during the day
We could go anywhere and they won't say shit
We can do what we want and not care about what others think
I wish I could lay you down right now on the kitchen floor
I desire intimacy with you in this moment
'Cause we got something so real
Our relationship is genuine and strong
However they feel doesn't really matter no more
Other people's opinions about our relationship are no longer important to us
So let's see you walk up out of that door
Let's leave everything behind and start living the way we want to
Come alive (come alive, come alive)
I want you to become more vibrant and lively
Come alive (come alive)
I want you to become more energetic and active
Come alive (I can tell if you realize, I can tell)
I can see that you're not truly happy and I want to help you find joy
Come alive, come alive (come alive)
I want to see you become more vibrant and passionate
Come alive
I want you to start living life to the fullest
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Patrick Gemayel, David Macklovitch, Chazwick Bundick
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DrBeauHightower
This is what I was listening to when I started hitting on my future wife, had my confidence to the Max 🙌🙏
@guitarman64100
this is the cutest shit ever omg
@EkayYT
Nice bro!
@KRodBabay
What do you listen to when you need to crack Jon Jones’ back?
@nozrep
hopefully she has not turned back into a mannequin yet 😅
@L30GH05TDUD3
Ah yes, the memories of this song and many other awesome songs in Forza Horizon 2 on the Pulse Radio while cruising in my Shelby GT500 or my Lambo Huracan really gives me nostalgia feelings! I don’t regret it Thank you FH2 for those moments! :’)
@soupisamyth
The nostalgia from this song is insane, I would always wait so long for it to come on
@freddieparrydrums
Yeah man, FH2 my first Forza
@camronbrown2780
Love it
@tmann9neyrgsalazar993
@@freddieparrydrums same