{"id":2447366,"date":"2019-08-09T08:36:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T14:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=869019"},"modified":"2019-08-09T08:36:40","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T14:36:40","slug":"the-breakdown-finneas-explains-overwhelmingly-personal-song-i-lost-a-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/music-news\/the-breakdown-finneas-explains-overwhelmingly-personal-song-i-lost-a-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"The Breakdown: Finneas Explains \u2018Overwhelmingly Personal\u2019 Song \u2018I Lost a Friend\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Finneas<\/a> discusses the creation of and inspiration for his single \u201cI Lost a Friend\u201d for the first installment of Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2018s new series \u201cThe Breakdown.\u201d The track is one of three new singles he has released this year in between touring with his sister Billie Eilish<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a point at my life in the beginning of the summer last year where a close, long-term friend of mine and I sort of had a falling out and stopped talking,\u201d Finneas recalls. \u201cI wanted to be really careful with writing this song. I think it\u2019s really easy to be the altruistic hero of your own narrative and story. I wanted to be really careful to not do that in this song.\u201d<\/p>\n

He describes the process of writing the song as \u201ctalk-through,\u201d meaning finding rhymes after setting up a line. He illustrates this by performing the pre-chorus. \u201cI know I\u2019ll be alright\/But I\u2019m not tonight\/I\u2019ll be lying awake\/Counting all the mistakes I\u2019ve made\/Replaying fights,\u201d he sings.<\/p>\n

Dissecting the pre-chorus further, Finneas reflects on how common it is for him (and others) to stay awake at night \u201creplaying fights,\u201d as the lyric goes. \u201cI find that when I\u2019m in an argument and I\u2019m angry, I can\u2019t even form a sentence well,\u201d he says. \u201cYou say something and then later you\u2019re like \u2018That\u2019s not even what I meant at all!’\u201d<\/p>\n

For the production, he wanted a sound that reflected the story. He found a synthesizer that sounded like a static-y radio frequency.<\/p>\n

As personal as the story was for Finneas, it carries a universal appeal with many fans of the song messaging him about their own friend break-ups in recent months. \u201cI think it\u2019s a funny thing! I think in modern communication studies, we put a lot of emphasis on our relationships and our family relationships. Our relationships with our parents, and our siblings. I felt that there was this gap in content about communication with people who are super close to you in your peer group,\u201d he explains. \u201cJust an overwhelmingly personal song.\u201d<\/p>\n