Billie Eilish has surprised us all with an EP called Guitar Songs, featuring two brand new songs, “TV” and “The 30th.” Co-written and produced by Billie’s brother and collaborator FINNEAS, Guitar Songs is the first musical follow-up since dropping 2021’s Happier Than Ever.
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In a recent interview with Zane Lowe the singer said “The 30th” was written last December and was the first track she wrote following 'Happier Than Ever.'
“That’s why it’s called ‘The 30th’ because something happened on November 30th, and it had just been the most indescribable thing to have to witness and experience. I had been writing down all these thoughts that I was having,” Eilish said. “I was with Finneas, and I was like, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what you were planning on doing, but we need to write this song about this right now.’”
Throughout the tender track, Billie sweetly sings, describing some type of incident. As the song builds she questions on the bridge, “what if it happened to you on a different day? / On a bridge where there wasn’t a rail in the way? / Or a neighborhood street where the little kids play?” Before reaching the crescendo, settling with the lyrics, “You’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive.”
As for “TV,” if that sounds familiar to some, it’s because Billie’s already been testing out the politically-charged new song on tour. Though that doesn’t stop her from getting “shivers” every time she hears it.
As Eilish told Lowe, the songwriting process for “TV” stretched out over several months, due to tour life being quite demanding. That said, once they did have time, they wrote the first verse fairly quickly, finishing up the rest of the track a few months later, following the leak that the Supreme Court had plans to reverse Roe v. Wade, which the song references.
“The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial / While they’re overturning Roe v. Wade,” she sings, over broody guitars.
“FINNEAS and I really wanted these to be yours as soon as possible,” Eilish said in a statement about the EPs release. “So here they are!! Performing ‘TV’ on tour was such a highlight for us too, so we took the audio from the first night we played it in Manchester and put it in the song. I get shivers every time I hear it. Hope you love the songs and thank you for letting us share our music with you.”
Listen to “The 30th” and “TV” above.
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