Album Review: Tickets to My Downfall

Machine Gun Kelly, better known as MGK, wrote a pop-punk album this year differentiating and further distancing him from the rap category and transitioning him supposedly into the punk rock scene. 

“My Ex’s Best Friend.” In this song, MGK talks about how he falls in love with his ex’s best friend, not knowing how the love of his life has been in front of him the whole time. My favorite line from the song is “You know my ex, so that makes it all feel complicated, yeah.” In this line, MGK states that since this new person knows his ex, it’s hard for him to make a decision because he doesn’t want to hurt anybody. I kind of resonate with this because sometimes my friends get in a situation where they’re upset with each other and I don’t know whose side to pick. 

“Drunk Face.” In this song, MGK talks about how he’s still young and still making decisions that aren’t necessarily smart but he can get away with it because he is still young. I love this song because I connect to it. I know that I’m getting older so I need to take advantage of the chance to be a kid. I want to stay a kid for as long as possible.

“Title Track” is the first song in the album and he talks about how he sold tickets to his downfall and he saw his friends sitting in the front row. This means it’s almost like his friends want to see him fall and they don’t want to support him. I connect with this song because It’s I’ve seen some of my friends almost like to see me down and it seems kind of funny because friends are supposed to help each other out and want to see each other go places, yet people can betray you so fast or they can be dishonest with you so easily.

“Play This The Day When I’m Gone”. In this song, MGK writes a goodbye note to all of his fans and the people he loves. If he suddenly dies, he said in a statement to play this song in his memory. Also, in this song, he talks about how he’s struggling with his anxiety and sobriety even at the age of 29 and I feel like I’m going through that at the age I am right now and I feel like I have a connection with him on a deeper level. It’s like he’s going through some of the stuff I’m going through or he’s already been through some of the stuff I’m going through. 

At first, I didn’t really like MGK, but after listening to this album I feel like I connect with his music in a different way than I did with other artists. It’s like I had somebody telling me it’s not going to be okay but motivating me to keep on pushing so that I can be successful.