We Belong in Heaven
There are few things that bring as much excitement to the general pop cultural zeitgeist (and to my personal life) than Harry Styles. In an age where artists put out music and projects faster and faster at the expense of any critical thought into the art they are sharing with the world, Harry is always a breath of fresh air.
I still remember hearing his first solo single, Sign of the Times, nearly 9 years ago and feeling both deep emotion and a sense of confusion on why I was feeling this way. Only after I sat with the song and lyrics for a time did I understand the story Harry had laid out, and what a way to come out with a solo career after years of One Direction (whom I also love dearly).
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Aperture, and particularly the music video for this new lead single, gave me the same feeling as I felt in my childhood bedroom all those years ago listening to HS1’s lead single for the first time. I was unsure if I personally liked the choice of music style he was going for — I am less privy to “sound forward” music as disco tends to be. After I watched the music video for the first time I was left even more confused. It was strange at first viewing — why is Harry fighting and then dancing with a seemingly random man? As most good art does, it sits with you. So for a few days, in my moments of solitude, I would think about Aperture, the man and Harry, and what was Harry hoping to share with me.
I also misheard the lyrics of the song, in the chorus when Harry repeats “We Belong Together” I kept hearing “We Belong in Heaven” — further confusing me, but this thought also finally led to my understanding of what I believe Harry was hoping to convey. When the song starts, he is alone, and he states that he is going on Clean (also a great TS song).
Over the last few years, I’ve been dealing with what one could call paranoia, following a serious case of B12 supplement overdosing and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, I also feel like I am going on clean. This sense of paranoia is now, finally, slowly easing away from the edges of my side-view — I understand Harry and Aperture’s music video.
Harry is alone in his hotel room, but he decides to leave and venture out, perhaps wanting to be part of the world or community or society. He sees someone, at first he is suspicious — thus starting the chase and fighting, and then the eventual tumble down the spiral staircase. This — I understand deeply. It is becoming more and more commonplace to be suspicious of others, sometimes for no apparent reason at all. It feeds this paranoia and ultimately breaks down opportunities at community and our shared humanity.
What would happen if we had less paranoia, and didn’t immediately feel suspicious of our neighbors? After tumbling down the stairs, there is a shift and Harry and the stranger see each other and realize they are both human, and this turns to love visualized through dancing and acrobatics and a general fuzzy feeling for a viewer watching Harry Styles being spun around. There is a beauty in seeing others past the armor of a stranger, and imagining what would happen if we were friends, if we treated one another as part of one community — that maybe, we all do belong together.
