Passion Pit, Sleepyhead | Bangerz N Bopz 🔥

In the 8^th edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥, we highlight “Sleepyhead” performed by indie pop act,  Passion Pit. 

Bring on the bold, fierce songs! Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 serves up background info and insight into songs of various styles, especially songs that raise eyebrows and/or stir the pot.  Featured records can be classic or brand new. In the 8^th edition of Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 (2023), we break down 🎵 “Sleepyhead” performed by 🎙 Passion Pit.

🎵 “Sleepyhead” is a fascinating song by indie pop act, 🎙 Passion Pit, the brainchild of 🎙️ Michael Angelakos. Even though “Sleepyhead” never charted on the pop charts, it has been certified double platinum by the RIAA 💪. This unique record was written by Angelakos and 🎼 ✍ Mary O’Hara. So, how does Irish soprano and harpist Mary O’Hara come into the picture, exactly? Her song, 🎵 “Oro Mo Bahidin” is sampled. In the intro of “Sleepyhead”, O’Hara sings: “Oíche Fheíl / Oíche Fhéil Eoin / Ní thiochfaidh mé aniar.” The Gaelic lyrics reference St. John’s Eve, a midsummer festivity, while O’Hara famously asserts, “I will not come back.” Prior to O’Hara’s contributions, lyrically and musically, novelist and poet, ✍️ Jack Kerouac also appears in the intro of this gem from 💿 Chunk of Change (EP): “And everything is going to the beat.” Enigmatic, isn’t it?

Providing background on “Sleepyhead”, Michael Angelakos asserts:

Honestly, the samples usually tell the story. Was really into Mary O’Hara, listening to lots of Irish folk music. But I had been making a lot [of] Passion Pit material. I hadn’t sampled anything that heavily before. But I realized I had a song that was kind of doing what that song was doing already (melodically). In the end, I finished it in less than 2 hours… And the sound in the beginning was an accident — had some plugin turned on accidentally that reversed the whole song and this one drum loop.

Cool 😎 stuff! 🎛 Chris Zane produced the record, characterized by its thrilling samples, ultra-colorful backdrop, and distinct vocals and lyrics from Michael Angelakos.  Honestly, there are few songs that sound like it. Following the intro, Angelakos gives us two verses. At the end of the first, he sings, “Flicking fire like saltwater into my eyes / You were one inch from the edge of this bed / I drag you back a sleepyhead, sleepyhead.” Intriguing. In the second verse, he sings, about lions “Crowd your bedrooms like some thoughts wearing thin,” and, later adds, “My beard grew down to the floor and out through the doors / And of your eyes, begonia skies like a sleepyhead, sleepyhead.” Wow. The poetic lyrics make “Sleepyhead” the aughts classic that it is.  Depending on who you ask, people have varying interpretations of the song – lots of them.  🔗 Songfacts notes (via The Sun), Angelakos states, “Originally it [Chunk of Change (EP)] was a Valentine’s gift for my girlfriend that was never supposed to go beyond her ears. She put up with a lot of my shit and was a saint for it and that is the theme of a lot of the EP.” The sleepiness of 🎵 “Sleepyhead” seems negative, despite the exuberant sounds of the instrumental. Furthermore,  the context of Angelakos being an imperfect boyfriend also suggests this record is not-so-happy.

🎙 Passion Pit • 💿 Chunk of Change (EP) • 🏷 frenchkiss • 🗓 2008

Passion Pit, Sleepyhead: Bangerz N Bopz 🔥 No. 8 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; frenchkiss; cottonbro studio, Harry Shelton, Kool Shooters, Lucas Pazeta, Mavluda Tashbaeva, Teddy Yang, Wesley Souza from Pexels]