8. Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band
Though Dave Matthews first said it was about the worship of a lady, Crash Into Me has been generally praised as a classic love ballad. But when Matthews provided the whole background—that the song is written from the point of view of a voyeur, more precisely the kind of disruptive person that would necessitate calling the police—the song’s actual tone takes a very darker turn. This disclosure makes many of what many regard as a love anthem even more uncomfortable.
Examining the lyrics via this prism makes them even more unsettling: “I watch you there through the window and I stare at you” loses any meaning when one realises the narrator’s actual nature. A masterwork in musical misdirection, the song’s lovely melody and Matthews’ subdued vocals deftly hide its unpleasant story. Though Matthews’ own admission of the song’s darker intentions, this conflict between its romantic sound and its eerie subject matter has produced an unusual dynamic whereby many listeners still consider it as a love song. The song reminds us strongly of how context can drastically change our impression of art and how sometimes the line separating passion from romance becomes shockingly hazy in popular music. Given Matthews’s reputation for a good public image, his own admission adds still another level of complexity to this already multifarious tune.
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