I chose Alec Benjamin (1994-present) because I have been following his music for a few years now, and I think his story is very interesting and unique. These past few weeks we have been looking at a lot of artists from the past and Alec Benjamin's story is very new and different than others. When he was still enrolled at the University of Southern California, he was signed to Columbia Records, and soon after he dropped out of college he was dropped from the record label, at the same time as his first major heart break. After being dropped from the label, he knew he needed to be heard in other ways, so he began going to concerts of major artists and playing for the long lines outside of the stadiums. He played for the lines of artists like Troye Sivan and Shawn Mendes, and passed out business cards. He posted a lot of demos on youtube and was soon discovered by another record label (Atlantic Records).
He has mentioned in a few interviews that he sees himself as a storyteller. His first album, Narrated For You (2018), was written from the perspective of a narrator. His second album, These Two Windows (2020), was written from his own perspective, more in first person. Him being a rising artist, it is interesting to watch how he has edged away from typical pop music and is taking his own path in creating music. One of his songs, Six Feet Apart, was created near the beginning of quarantine and was written and produced completely over FaceTime. Some of the other songs on his newest album include I'm Not a Cynic, Alamo, and Mind is a Prison.
Lyrics:
Mind Is A Prison - Alec Benjamin
I don't live in California, I'll inform you, that's not where I reside I'm just a tenant, paying rent inside this body and I Got two windows and those windows, well I'll call them my eyes I'm just going where the wind blows, I don't get to decide Sometimes I think too much, yeah, I get so caught up I'm always stuck in my head I wish I could escape, I tried to yesterday Took all the sheets off my bed
Then I tied up my linen with five strips of ribbon I found Scaled the side of the building I ran to the hills 'til they found me And they put me back in my cell All by myself, alone with my thoughts again I guess my mind is a prison and I'm never gonna get out So they tranquilized me, analyzed me, threw me back in my cage Then they tied me to an IV, told me I was insane I'm a prisoner, a visitor inside of my brain And no matter what I do, they try to keep me in chains Sometimes I think to much, yeah, I get so caught up I'm always stuck in my head I wish I could escape, I tried to yesterday Took all the sheets off my bed Then I tied up my linen with five strips of ribbon I found Scaled the side of the building I ran to the hills 'til they found me And they put me back in my cell All by myself, alone with my thoughts again I guess my mind is a prison and I'm never gonna get out Said even if it's true, no matter what I do I'm never gonna escape I won't give up on hope, secure another rope And try for another day Said even if it's true, no matter what I do I'm never gonna escape I won't give up on hope, secure another rope And try for another day Then I tied up my linen with five strips of ribbon I found Scaled the side of the building I ran to the hills 'til they found me And they put me back in my cell All by myself, alone with my thoughts again I guess my mind is a prison and I'm never gonna get out
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Alec Benjamin / Alex Hope Mind Is A Prison lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc
Song Analysis: Alec Benjamin starts the song talking about how he doesn't live in California, but his own head. His eyes are his "two windows", which is what the album These Two Windows is from the perspective of. Then he says that he has no power over what happens, and he sort of just goes with the flow. Then he tries to escape from his mind and ends up being pulled back to his thoughts. He uses the metaphor that his mind is a literal prison to show this. Alec Benjamin has said in multiple interviews that he has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and that is what this song is about. He said in one interview with Genius "I'll overthink anything. Reorganizing the refrigerator, if I've done it the right way, you know... there are so many ways to do it. How do you know that you've really chosen the most efficient way to reorganize your refrigerator?"
From following Alec Benjamin for the beginning years of his career, it has been interesting to see how he writes and creates music, and how open he is in his songs about how he is feeling. The song Mind Is A Prison stuck with me because I feel like I relate to it a lot. Because I struggle with some depression and anxiety myself, his songs are kind of like an expression of how I feel sometimes, especially with this song, though I feel that way for a lot of his songs. I think it is because he writes honestly without trying to hide anything about himself or his thoughts.
In 2019, I went to a concert of his, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was a small concert, and because there was no seating, I ended up in the front. It was also his first concert of the tour, and you could tell he was nervous. Since then, especially over quarantine, he has been getting a lot more active on social media, and becoming a lot more confident with his work. I was supposed to see him in concert again in April, but the concert got canceled due to Covid-19. It was eye opening to see that in only a year he had gone from a tiny venue in San Francisco to one of the biggest.
His music is very relatable because he is also relatively young and he still sings about when he was around my age, and it makes his music a lot more interesting and catchy to me. After listening to his music a lot in my house, my family started listening to it as well, and he has become a favorite artist in my family.
(These are some photos I took at his concert in San Francisco. They were taken with an iPod Touch so please excuse the blurriness.)
Conclusion: Many of Alec Benjamin's songs have impacted me these past few years, but Mind Is A Prison stuck with me most of all. His creative lyrics and chords create music that is unique and special. His music inspired me to start learning more advanced guitar riffs, and singing better. His music has inspired me to be a better musician, and I believe it will keep doing that for me and others in the future.
Citations:
Bruner, Raisa. “Alec Benjamin Is a Pop Storyteller for the Next Generation.” Time, Time, 21 June 2019, time.com/5607474/alec-benjamin-interview/.
"Alec Benjamin - The Story Behind The Story - Mind Is A Prison" uploaded by Alec Benjamin, 6/11/2020, https://youtu.be/wGiycOkbxok
Alec Benjamin "Mind Is A Prison" Official Lyrics & Meaning | Verified" uploaded by Genius, 2/4/2020 https://youtu.be/hbmTwSfQxOs
Photos:
Maddie Felton, Alec Benjamin in San Francisco #1, 3/29/19, August Hall, San Francisco.
Maddie Felton, Alec Benjamin in San Francisco #2, 3/29/19, August Hall, San Francisco.