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MattyHealyThe1975January13London.jpeg

Matty Healy from The 1975 Is On His Dumb Rockstar Era

By Alberto Cox Délano | Celebrity | February 16, 2023 |

By Alberto Cox Délano | Celebrity | February 16, 2023 |


MattyHealyThe1975January13London.jpeg

Before we start, if you have no idea who Matty Healy or The 1975 are, stop that. If you are a regular reader of this site, evidence shows that you’re somewhere in your late-20s or your mid-40s. You’re too young, in absolute terms, to be all “I don’t know what those words mean.” You can say that about famous TikTokers, at best you can act befuddled about Post Malone, but come on. Come on. Don’t be a Boomer, you need to at least be aware of music made after 2015.

So, if you’re not aware of who these people are, let me sum it up for you as a favor, but for the love of Liberation Theology Jesus, you need to catch up: Matty Healy is the lead singer of a band called The 1975, which despite its name is a very Millennial rock band, and correspondingly, its sound is based heavily on late 80s Pop Rock, but they have explored a lot of other sounds. Let’s face it, they’re pretty good, also very Millennial in that their lyrics trudge between being self-aware and hyper-earnest. For better or for worse, they are the most popular Rock act in the World right now that is not a legacy act (you heard that? That was our man Petr spontaneously combusting in anger).

Matty Healy has become a heartthrob, partly because he’s good-looking in that very British-Indie-Rock guy way: very skinny, disheveled hair, pretty-but-not-too-pretty-face, pitchy voice. But also, because he has cultivated the image of woke, Millennial hot mess. A dream-boyfriend, but also a fuckboi, but also an ally. He is A LOT. And goddamn if he hasn’t been TOO MUCH during The 1975 latest tour.

Coming on the heels of an acclaimed new album and their first tour since the Pandemic, it would seem that Healy had some pent-up … energies to release. In short order, he did an ironic Nazi salute, was almost about to say something stupid about racism when his bandmates cut him off Oscars-style, ate a whole steak of raw meat (oh god, he isn’t reading Jordan Peterson, is he?), and has been kissing fans in the audience with their previous consent. He has also tried to broker a peace deal between the Gallagher brothers, who’d probably set aside their differences to bully him (he is a nepo baby too).

Frankly, most of this stuff is tame compared to what rock stars got into … just twenty years ago. But just a week ago, Matty went on Adam Friedland’s podcast, and he went the full white cishet guy on a podcast. You never go the full white cishet guy on a podcast. He started by insulting Scotland by saying that “There’s Scottish Gaelic but Scottish is its own language which is just retard English.” This was followed by edgelord impressions of Hawaiian, Chinese, and Japanese accents, while accusing Harry Styles of queerbaiting (human beings can’t queerbait). He is yet to publish a NotesApp apology or have a crying meltdown on stage.

Do you know that famous quote by George Clooney? Of becoming frozen in the age where you became famous? Well, Matty Healy is in his early 30s, and The 1975 have been popular for over a decade now. I would chuck all this up to him still being a twenty-something. Also, when it comes to Millennials, the 30s are the new 20s in general (we might finally have made bank by our mid-40s), which probably furthers Healy’s ally-but-edgelord antics.

The problem is that Matty and The 1975 have a Millennial and Gen Z audience, people whose fandoms fall into one of two camps: Irrationally defensive or hyper-nitpicking “everything-is-problematic” scolds. Matty Healy is unique in that he provides fodder for both camps. For that reason alone, watching him be a trainwreck, ironically or not, still makes him one of the most interesting mainstream artists right now. Excuse me, he is one of the most interesting white, male, cis, mainstream singers out there. More than Harry Styles, more than Ed Sheeran, and certainly more than Adam Levine. Hell, even more than Drake. And the music is ten times better.

I get his appeal and why he is off-putting, and perhaps that makes enjoying The 1975’s music a pain: You just know they’re going to get canceled for real one of these days. This forces me to go the full Boomer: The 1975’s music is too good, so someone needs to grab that Matty Healy boy and whip him into shape. I’m not saying you should turn him into Chris Martin, but Foals’ Yannis Philippakis rocks hard but he seems to be a total sweetheart. I’d recommend he be set up with a slightly older woman instead of random, hipstery models.

“She’s American” will forever slap tho.

Alberto Cox is planning, in case The 1975 gets canceled, to beam his mind “Travelers”-style back to 1985, and make music copying their entire catalogue.