Last night, while swiping through TikTok until my thumb hurt during my bedtime, I saw something that startled me. It was this video of Matty Healy from The 1975 performing on stage in Brighton, England:
To the untrained eye, this probably means nothing. A famous musician supporting the nationwide strikes of workers in industries from healthcare to railroads? That’s actually pretty cool. And he autotunes it before kicking off with the band’s 2018 hit “TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME”? What’s not to love? When you live your life in that kind of blissful ignorance, I’m jealous. Because to me, it only means one thing: The 1975 are back on the road after a holiday break, and soon I’ll be inundated with videos of all of Healy’s onstage antics again, tormenting myself with my love of the man.
I was right this morning when one of my co-workers posted this video to Slack and remarked that they “really don’t care about this guy”:
God I wish that was me. Which one you ask. The girl getting her thumb sucked or the person who doesn’t care about this guy? My legal team advises me not to answer this question, but I’m not a coward, so I’ll tell you straight away that the answer is both. If you don’t fuck with Healy, that’s totally fine. But maybe this video has got you a little curious, and you’re wondering what the heck this guy’s business is. Let me try to answer your questions as best as I can.
Why is he sucking that thumb?
Well, in the past he’s been known to kiss fans (of any gender) on stage, so I’d say this is a step up. But to answer your question, it’s because he plays the character of a dirtbag rock star.
Is he actually a scumbag?
I don’t know the man, but I think he’s just a troll. He’s friends with some of the Dimes Square set, and you’ll likely get a better sense of his mood by checking out the slideshow of memes he posted at the end of the year. Trigger warning I guess one of which is a picture of the twin towers collapsing where someone sketched two people having sex.
And such people?
people love it. Not only does The 1975 have a fan base absolutely insane for this behavior, but the band is loved by critics, many of whom heralded their latest album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, as one of their best.
I still don’t think I like this guy.
That’s so fair.
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