An Analysis of Radioactive by Imagine Dragons


    Greetings everyone. Today I will be discussing the meter and texture in one song of my choice. I spent a few mind numbing minutes in attempt to find what the perfect song would be. After this difficult decision I came to the conclusion that, Radioactive by Imagine Dragons, was the top contender for the job because the song contains such strong, powerful emotions.

     My first task at hand was to listen to the song and attempt to determine how many beats it was made up of. In order to not distract my roommate from her exciting read of the Trail and Death of Socrates, I put my headphones on and started counting the beat. I started off just listening to the normal pop version of Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. At first, I had a hard time nailing what the beat exactly was because all the different drumming threw me off. I then continued on listening and I believed it was out of 4 beats. In order to clarify my answer I listened to a piano version of the song to hopefully solidify my beliefs. The simplified version of the song did help me come to the conclusion that it was indeed 4 out of 4 beats.

     I finally wanted to dissect Radioactive further for texture. The song paints such a powerful image for the meaning is so significant.  In my opinion, it is more or less about waking up one day and deciding to live your life with a new, better direction than you were before. It is a song of empowerment to starting a revolution within yourself and becoming who you want to become. Radioactive is such an incredible piece because you can detect multiple genres in it. The three genres distinguishable are the obvious Pop, Rock, and Dubstep with the rhythmic and powerful baseline. The texture of the song is no doubt influenced and created by all three genres. When I first listened to the beginning melody of the song I thought the texture was homophonic; the melody was simple and accompanied by chords. Rather quickly the song abruptly changes and I began to think the texture was polyphonic because the song became much more complex: there are drums, vocals, a strong baseline, etc. The chorus also has several layers with a melody, chords, and a layer of oohs and aahs. The songs texture helps to make the song powerful and emotional that captivates the listener in wanting to make a change. Or in better words of Imagine Dragons: “I’m waking up, I feel it in my bones. Enough to make my system blow. Welcome to the New Age.” 

 Piano Version:




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