In 2022 artist Djo released his second album, “DECIDE.” The album was extremely successful and has begun trending again in the past few months thanks to the sixth track, “End of Beginning.” Djo creates a unique, melancholic, electric, and melodic album that you could melt into.
With the album’s recent re-spark in popularity, many may be wondering who Djo is, what his songs are really about, and how this album is still relevant to listeners two years after its release.
The face behind Djo is none other than well-known actor, Joe Keery, but by now this is a very well-known fact. The whole reason behind Kerry’s use of this alias is because of his reputation as an actor. He is mainly known for his role as Steve Harrington in “Stranger Things,” and while Keery has been incredibly successful because of this, it has overshadowed any other work he’s done. So he created “Djo,” not to hide from his name, but embrace anonymity fully.
“DECIDE” consists of 13 tracks, with a total runtime of 36 minutes.
The album opens with “Runner,” this song sets the tone for the rest of the album and establishes the themes of change, growth, and perception. The song itself is fairly simple the chorus stays the same throughout the song, repeating the lines: “Love and hate decide, Money grows and dies, People never change, But I have to try, try, try, try.” These bold lines combined with the fast, upbeat tempo, create a feel of excitement. The pace gradually increases as the song continues, it reminds me of when you’re going on a run. You start slow, but once you get over the hurdle of beginning, you gain this newfound sense of motivation and energy. This song isn’t a critical, melancholic view of society, but instead is a promise of not conforming. Keery uses the metaphor of “turning the other cheek” to show how even though society and people are unchanging, he will turn the other cheek, he will try, and he will change. At first glance the title may suggest that Keery is running away from the problems he faces, however, the lyrics prove that he is actively running toward his problems.
The next track “Gloom” blends directly into the end of “Runner,” creating a seamless blend between tracks. “Gloom” was one of the first singles Keery teased before releasing the entire album. In contrast to the hopeful feel of the previous song, “Gloom” is harsh, and angry, it’s raw and emotional. Keery talks about walking out on a friend who wouldn’t listen to him, so he walks out. He also deals with appearance and perception in this song, focusing on articles of clothing and hair. When I first listened to this song right after its release, I was in a very confusing, irritating part of my life. I resonated with Keery’s feelings of being fed up, of wanting change, of finally standing up for yourself. The outro continuously repeats the statement “I’m ready to go” at the end of each line, and the tempo, along with Keery’s voice amps up and increases its pace. This always creates a feeling of restlessness in me, of needing to move, needing to escape. I’ve often listened to this song while running because of this feeling, something about it makes you need to get up and just go. One of Keery’s greatest strengths is being able to put listeners in his shoes, not only are his songs already relatable, but he knows how to connect to others on another level. I can’t help but agree and feel the emotions he’s trying to portray, especially through this song.
The next three songs “Half Life, “Fool,” and “On and On” deal with Keery’s relationship with fame, his fans, and social media. In “Half Life” He describes life on social media as someone living a half-life, not fully present or aware, and how it’s used as a form of escapism. If you’re stressed or burdened by something just, “Watch a video, don’t fret about it.” This is meant to be ironic, one video can’t fix all your issues, but that’s often what people try to do. I have been a victim of what is known as “Doomscrolling.” It’s when you sit on your phone and scroll endlessly. Because you may be bored, or want an escape, maybe you just need a break from something. Keery illustrates this in “On and On” as he describes what it’s like to scroll and “Feed the algorithm.” But often I’ll sit down and not realize just how much time is passing, just how much time I’ve wasted. And I’ve found that it never really helps, if anything I’m worse off than I was before I went on my phone. There’s so much information to process, and with an algorithm that is designed to show you more and more of the content you like to interact with, it’s easy to get trapped. “On and On” is a hidden gem in this album, and one of my personal favorites.
Keery’s music has increased greatly in popularity recently thanks to social media. Each time I’ve seen someone discover his music the conversation tends to go something like this: “Have you listened to Djo? Did you know that it’s actually Steve Harrington from ‘Stranger Things’ singing!” Keery’s music is immediately overshadowed by his acting. And I don’t mean to say that people intentionally do this, as people we like familiarity, we like making connections, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But so much of his talent is dismissed when he is only referred to as the actor from “Stranger Things.” This is the reason for Keery’s use of “Djo,” it’s an attempt to separate himself from the preconceived image fans have of him. While performing he also wears a wig, sunglasses, and a fake mustache, so at first glance he is unrecognizable. This struggle between personal identity and perception is something that Keery continuously explores during the album, especially in the past three songs that I mentioned. But I believe his sense of self is highlighted in the sixth track, “End of Beginning.”
“End of Beginning” has by far been my favorite song ever since the album’s release. This year it has been trending all over social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. At first, I was a little irritated, “It was my favorite song first! Why is it so popular all of a sudden?” That is what I would think. But I’ve come to realize that when something is so popular, there’s a reason for it. This song is all about Keery looking back on his past, the very beginning of his career, and saying goodbye to that. That time in his life has ended, and now he is ready to move on to the future of his career. Keery sings about nostalgia and the loss of adolescence, unlike the rest of the album this song is considerably more slow. He talks about his time in Chicago before his acting career hit off. Chicago seems to provide a sense of comfort and belonging to Keery, and he longs to feel like that again. During the bridge, he repeats a phrase, “You take the man out of the city, not the city out the man,” you can leave a place, or a “city” in this case, but that city never leaves you. The experiences you have and the people you meet somewhere become a part of you, for better or worse. I always listen to this song when I’m walking around campus, or whenever I’m going somewhere alone. “End of Beginning” provides me with a means of catharsis, it deserves its popularity and is a song that I believe everyone should listen to. It’s rightfully one of Keery’s best songs.
I have a few friends who went to his concert about two years ago, and they both described to me what they felt about Keery’s music, as well as him as a person.
Jakob Venegas, a Junior at Roosevelt, shares his favorite memory he has of Keery’s concert.
“I had a conversation with Joe Keery of Djo, and it’s maybe my favorite memory of all time!” Venegas explains.
Marley Gulline, another fan of Djo, shares her opinion of the album.
“I freaking love the album!” Gulline exclaims. “It’s way different from his ‘Twenty Twenty’ album but in a good way. It adds a sense of depth into his career. How he feels isolated from the fame and fortune, and then other people. He explains how the identity he has is kinda like not apart of him, and it’s implied through the lyrics.”
It would be hard to go into extreme detail about every song because I would never be able to stop writing. If you haven’t listened to this album yet I highly suggest you do. Keery’s music is something that can’t be easily described, each of his songs is unique and he never tends to stick with one thing. Keery doesn’t play it safe with his music, he is honest and transparent in all his lyrics, and that is something to admire. “DECIDE” is streaming on all music platforms! I also suggest listening to his very first album, “Twenty Twenty” as it is a masterpiece in itself.
