Song of the Week: IU's "Modern Times"

Fresh off acting in a 50-episode weekend TV show, IU is back to her musical roots with the release of her third studio album, Modern Times.

The overall sound of Modern Times is a jazzier one than we’re used to with IU, and the “Modern Times” track might be the best one demonstrating that theme: the song is fun and light-hearted, and makes a playful reference to Charlie Chaplin, which makes sense given that the album itself is named after one of Chaplin’s most famous movies going by the same name.

Chaplin’s “Modern Times” is about how to survive in the industrialized world at the turn of the Great Depression, and IU, one of the most popular–and extremely overworked–stars in Korea right now producing projects back-to-back, might just be winking and nudging hard at the listener while she sweetly croons,

Are you in a race? Why the rush?
Like the gears in a clock
You run around the same corners, around and around

(Via Soundcloud, lyrics)