I hate these days: How Highly Suspect’s break-up song became an “anthem” in the time of COVID-19

Credit: Shervin LainezOn Highly Suspect‘s current single “These Days,” frontman Johnny Stevens wails, “I hate these days,” a sentiment that many people surely share in the time of COVID-19.

“I feel like the chorus has kinda become almost the perfect anthem,” Stevens tells ABC Audio.

“I think a lot of people are very unhappy with the state of the world, obviously,” he continues. “We’re in the middle of a crisis, [the likes of which none of] any of us in our generation has ever seen. So, a lot of people hate these days.”

Of course, Stevens didn’t mean to write about a global pandemic with “These Days.” The song, which appears on Highly Suspect’s 2019 album, MCID, was actually written about Stevens’ break-up with his ex-girlfriend.

“It’s literally about my ex-girlfriend, after we broke up, just being kinda bummed out, but still texting back-and-forth, and just kinda in a general malaise,” Stevens says of the original inspiration behind “These Days.” “I had to move from one apartment across town to a different apartment, just because it was too sad.”

Now, though, Stevens’ break-up song has found a new, more encompassing meaning. 

“I think they’re pretty direct lyrics, but they were vague enough that, especially in the chorus, it really is connecting with people these days,” he says.

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(Vide contains uncensored profanity.)