The song “Love Me or Not” by Dub FX is somewhat of a typical break-up song about someone who is having a hard time coping with the recent end to a relationship. Within the song, the lyrics talk about how you never know what tomorrow will bring and no matter what happens today, tomorrow will be another day. Though this is somewhat of a typical breakup song, it is much more uplifting and focuses more on what the artist is doing to move on with his life instead of the actual break up itself. What I like about this song is that though it is directly referencing lost love, the message can be applied to any situation. The lyrics say that even though you may not want to move on, time doesn’t allow you to stay dormant for too long. Each day the sun rises and sets and you can either decide to embrace each day, or not. With this he is also saying to embrace your feelings. He states that though you can never forget the memories you shared with this person and that they will always have their part in your story, you ultimately have the decision to turn the page. This is an extremely nice, mellow song that is easy to listen to and also easy to connect with. In essence, I really am a fan of this song and Dub FX in general.

This song also has a really great combination of music and lyrics. The song begins very softly with the deep backup vocals almost giving the feel that the sun is rising and that something new is about to begin. The backup vocals also give the song almost an African feel which could tie into the artist’s Australian roots. The entire time the singer’s voice just has a certain sound to it that allows you to feel what he’s feeling-if you’re not already-and connect to him in a personal way. You can tell that this song is most likely based on a very personal and real experience of the singer. Just the fact that the lyrics are revealing such emotions and blatantly stating how hard the break up is with “I’m not getting used to this new solitude,” and “I’ve got to keep my emotions together” allows more of a connection to develop between the artist and the listener which is very important in the music industry. The lyrics lead you to believe that maybe this isn’t the first time that this couple has broken up and that this time is different making it harder for both parties involved. Though the song is very soft and still has a sad tinge to it, it also has hope intertwined within it and is on the verge of upbeat showing that life isn’t over even if a relationship is.

Dub FX is the stage name for Benjamin Stanford, an Australian street performer who is mostly a one man band. Stanford takes almost an a cappella approach to his songs by recording one beat and having it play on repeat while recording another beat on top of it in order to create the sound of the complete song. It really is extremely cool to watch and hard to imagine how he can create each part of the song only using his mouth. There are many videos of him doing this very thing though he also incorporates different interesting instruments to add texture to his songs. Though I’m not sure that this was the inspiration of the song, Dub FX is pretty much known to always be with his girlfriend who also appears in many of his songs and videos. I can’t help but wonder if he is referring to a break up between the two of them.

I would recommend Dub FX to anyone who likes upbeat, almost reggae-like music. For people who don’t like this kind of music I would still strong recommend watching the videos of Stanford creating the sounds because it truly is an amazing process and really entertaining. In particular, this song is inspirational for someone that is trying to cope with a difficult break-up, but also for people who just need a little motivation or need to move on from something.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCTdKiIhdVk

Song Making Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiInBOVHpO8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bioYs6oAD8g

Lyrics: http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/dub-fx-lyrics/love-me-or-not-lyrics.html