pop ozymandias syndrome

from Wikipedia:

"The lyrics of each of the stanzas differ entirely from Bowie's. The subject of the song has been updated from that of irony-touched love in the shadow of the Berlin Wall in Bowie's version to the present-day street-life interactions of a couple. The title of the song also drops the extra quotation marks that are present in the title of Bowie's song. In that song, the extra quotes in the title were an affectation meant to invoke an ironic mood."

i mean...

off-topic (opposite of topic?) but other other bowie adjusted lyrics -- "the man who sold the world" (k cobain) -- "i gazed a gazely stare at multimillionaires i must have died alone"

Panic! At The Disco - Emperor's New Clothes

I am so much more than royal
Snatch your chain and mace your eyes
If it feels good, tastes good
It must be mine
Heroes always get remembered
But you know legends never die

X Ambassadors - Renegades

So, all hail the underdogs
All hail the new kids
All hail the outlaws
Spielbergs and Kubricks

It's our time to make a move
It's our time to make amends
It's our time to break the rules
Let's begin...

feel like "Pompeii" was also working something close to this grain - more in affect and associations (doomed legendary city, walls crashing down - EPIC SHIT) than the actual plot which is more of a breakup-at-the-end-of-the-world kinda thing.

ozymandias, meet mans zelmerlow

What if I’m the only hero left
You better fire off your gun
Once and forever

He said go dry your eyes
And live your life like there is no tomorrow son
And tell the others
To go sing it like a hummingbird
The greatest anthem ever heard

We are the heroes of our time
But we’re dancing with the demons in our minds

We are the heroes of our time
Heroes

But were dancing with the demons in our minds
Heroes

We are the heroes of our time
Heroes

feel like ground zero for the current manifestation of this (which is maybe lessening somewhat now?) was diamonds by rihanna. even tho it's a personal description of how ecstasy makes the user feel (which is maybe the subtext to a lot of these actually??) it ties that feeling of intense, positive intimacy to a vast, universe-large invincibility. fuck it man i don't need a coat! but mate it's freezing! I'M LIKE DIAMONDS IN THE SKY

and she's back:

But everyday, hey, wasn't lemonade
I was afraid, once a nigga graduate
Would I be okay?
So I prayed and I prayed
It's Rihanna, nigga
My constellation in space
Warp speed, Doctor Spock couldn't chase, nigga

I don't know what you've been told
But this girl right here's gonna rule the world

-"Sit Still, Look Pretty" by Daya, who hasn't had a Hot 100 hit since 2016's "Sit Still, Look Pretty"

How can she record another hit, she's busy ruling the world?!?

^extremely valid point