"Strobe Light" Analysis By: Lilian Delcid

Very often, I will decide to discover some new songs, and that was the exact mindset I was in when I found this song. Just by starting with a song that I already love, and out of all the songs I found, this one made it into my list of favorite songs in general. It has an amazing meaning, and an amazing beat. I listened to some other songs by the same creator, including the other songs in this series (“Hello Strobe,” “Strobe Last,” and “Goodbye, Mr. Remember”). I loved all of the songs that he made, so, imagine my dismay when I found out the creator of all these amazing songs, Ryo Mizoguchi, passed away a few months prior. Now for just a bit (a lot) more information on the song and it’s creator. This is a song that was released in 2011 by Ryo Mizoguchi, under the screen names PowaPowaP, and siinamota. This song, like the others in the series, is a remix of the original song “Goodbye, Mr. Remember.” A song with the same lyrics and message. The order the songs came out in was “Goodbye, Mr. Remember,” “Strobe Light,” “ Strobe Last,” and “Hello Strobe.” Some other random facts about Ryo Mizoguchi:

• He was born and raised in Japan
• He died last year, and how it happened was never revealed.
• His last song, “Aka Pen Onegaishimasu,” (As far as I can tell, in english this is, “A Red Pen, Please.”) was released just a little while (an hour) before his death, and because of the song’s abrupt ending and depressing message, a lot of people see it as a suicide note
• The company he was signed to is called GINKO
• He worked with Vocaloid, the main voices in his songs being IA, Rin, Gumi, and Miku (Vocaloid is a voice synthesizer program that is mainly used for singing).

My interpretation for this song is that you have to learn and struggle to find who you are, but you have also lost your motivation, this song is about that struggle of not having the will to move forward through the horrible things. There are a few metaphors in this song, the most frequent one being, “Hora, mata,” or, “Hora,” which translates to “Here, again,” or, “Here.” This is most likely used to represent where the more negative way of thinking originated.

By using allusion, Ryo Mizoguchi conveys the idea of moving forward through hard times. In the 7th line of the song, Miku (the Vocaloid program used for this song) is singing about trying to start walking, to be specific, she sings (I will be using the english lyrics) “Maybe I’ll try to start walking?”(“Strobe” 7) The way this was used, it was meant to represent trying to get past something you don’t have the motivation or drive to get through. This is also reflects upon Mizoguchi’s own life, who was suffering through depression.

Also, this song used repetition to make sure you remember to try and help people through their day, even if it seems pointless. For example, Miku sings, “If we could put into words every second we live on/We feel ourselves live on/like scattering words about.” (“Strobe” 10-12). The message of this is that helping, even if you don’t know that you’re helping, by trying to make someone laugh, or just making random small talk, can help.

So, I obviously love this song, I wouldn’t write an essay about it if I didn’t. But, my favorite aspect of this song is the story. And I am not talking about the message, but the actual heart-wrenching story it tells underneath the upbeat and fun rhythm. The story of this person who thought they knew everything about themselves, but after slowly realising the opposite, they find themselves lost and depressed, not being able to do anything more than day-to-day activities. They are stuck in an endless loop, trapped and alone, looking up to someone who left them behind. Looking up to someone who was able to move forward, without them. This person is only loosely referenced at the end, by the way. Regardless, this story is one that really captivates me. But, nothing is without it’s flaws, even if this is only me nitpicking at an amazing song, and my nitpick is this: This song would be a little better if it had used either the Solid Append, or the Soft Append. “Append” is referring to the different ways that the voices can sound, Solid is stronger and more even, while Soft gives the song a mysterious and gentle feel. Though they are polar opposites, I feel that either one would have given the song a better atmosphere.

In conclusion, Strobe Light is an amazing song that tells a fantastic story, giving the realistic message of the fact that finding yourself is a task that seems --and is-- almost impossible. I feel this connects to me because people are always asking me what I want to do when I grow up, when the truth is that I have no idea. I feel like there is a lot of pressure put on people like me, and, sure, it isn’t the worst, but it is still very stressful. But, if there’s anything to take away from this song it’s this: If you don’t know what you are going to do, or even what you should do right now, just know that bad things always pass. And, yes, I know how cliché that sounds.