Five Years of “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships”

Ava Wilson, Reporter

December 8, 2023

Pitchfork

On Nov. 30, 2018, The 1975 released their third studio album, “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships”. Following the success of their first two albums, this album earned The 1975 their third-consecutive number one album on the UK charts. In addition, “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships” was nominated for and won the 2019 “Album Of The Year” at the BRIT awards. The accomplishments associated with their first two albums as well as their 2019 tour following the release of their third album helped increase the band’s popularity tremendously. After being out for five years, here are the clear fan-favorite songs from “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships”:

“It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)”: Disguised in this upbeat and seemingly happy song is the struggle of heroin addiction as experienced by The 1975’s frontman, Matty Healy. Dark lyrics such as, “Collapse my veins, wearing beautiful shoes” are contrasted and hidden by catchy guitar patterns and an overall cheery sound. Totaling over 290,305,460 on Spotify, “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)” remains a popular classic on the album even five years after its release.
“Love It If We Made It”: Confirmed by Healy to be about a sense of hope in uncertain and dangerous times, this song is also seen to touch on global conflicts and even includes remarks from former president Donald Trump. As one of the first songs by The 1975 that touches on the topic of politics, the popularity of “Love It If We Made It” has withstood any backlash received due to its lyrics as it currently has over 226,782,963 streams on Spotify.
“Be My Mistake”: Contrasting the other most popular songs on the album, “Be My Mistake” dives into guilt and the inability to forget a previous partner while maintaining a very raw and emotional tone. Although vastly different from the other tracks on the album both lyrically and musically, “Be My Mistake” remains the third most popular song on the album to date, with over 191,618,164 streams on Spotify.

After being out for five years, “A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships” has helped pave the way for The 1975’s success and contains some of the band’s most popular songs of all time.

Story continues below advertisement

Donate to The Tower

$570

$650

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of The Tower and John Adams High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributor

Ava Wilson, Reporter

Ava Wilson is a senior at John Adams and is very excited to begin working as a reporter for The Tower. After high school, she plans to attend college for a career in the medical field, despite her dislike towards the idea of more school. Her plans after college are to work hard, make lots of money, and retire early to become a trophy wife. As a player for the John Adams tennis team, Ava also enjoys listening to music, watching movies, going to concerts, and baking. With her biggest interest being music, she is looking forward to writing countless articles on upcoming and recent albums. When around friends, Ava is sure to share in the conversation, but also appreciates some alone time once in a while. During this time, she can almost always be found watching a movie; usually one she’s seen a million times already. Ava would consider her biggest accomplishments to be her 10+ year long friendship with her best friend, Sofia Nevala, going to three The 1975 concerts within a year, and surviving chemistry sophomore year. Although school isn’t her favorite thing in the world, Ava is sure to try her absolute best in every class, no matter how many little worksheets she fails. Finally, Ava is a person you can rely on for anything, whether it be advice, a favor, or just a friend to talk to. Her biggest hope is to be content with her future and to still have the amazing friends she has today. Ava is thrilled to be a member of The Tower and write about what she loves.