Throughout every stage of my life, I guess I have a certain album to go along with how I'm feeling at that point. Yes, I went through my pre-tween emo-esque phase where I thought I was cool if I listened to Avril Lavigne and Evanescence. Those were the days when I was heavily influenced by what other people thought of me. Now, I honestly don't give a fuck and I can confidently say that makes me a much happier person.
But to get to my actual point, I think I've found my soundtrack of my summer. Robyn's Body Talk Pt. 1 seems to articulate my feelings so accurately it almost scares me. Coming back home from college after a year of fun and freedom has been a messy transition, one that still throbs painfully from time to time. My free spirit feels trapped under rules and stuck in a city where dreams wither like the lawns fried by the burning desert sun. Robyn's lyrics poignantly address these suppressed feelings I have inside. In "None of Dem," she laments about how nothing in her life is what she'd hoped it would be, "I'm so bored in this town/ take me away from here/ play some kind of new sound/ something true and sincere." A similar sentiment is echoed in "Cry When You Get Older," where she points out the negative aspects of suburbia, "Then endless incomprehensible boredom takes ahold again." I sit there thinking oh my god that's my life right there.
And yet even though all of these ideas are less than pleasant, ("Dancing On My Own" talks about not being noticed by someone no matter how hard you try) the way in which she delivers them with her slightly accented voice and a booming dance anthem sound, you can't help but want to get up and move. Robyn knows and understands these feelings and she doesn't like them, so let's banish them. We can banish them by enjoying ourselves, even if we have to dance on our own; it's better than not dancing at all.
Her music is clearly pop music, but it is intelligent pop music. Robyn has been around the music business longer than any of the latest teen queens; she knows her shit. Her voice needs no auto-tune or over produced background music to overshadow sub-par vocals too often found in pop music today. Her vocal ability is showcased in the album closer, "Jag Vet En Delig Rosa," a Swedish jazz song from the 60's, in which her voice reminds me of Bat for Lashes with it's ethereal quality. It's a lovely end to an album filled with big sounds and big thoughts. She recently announced that Body Talk Pt. 2 will be coming out September 6th, hopefully with Pt.3 coming before the end of the year as well. I anxiously await both albums.
So now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dance.
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Youtube - Dancing On My Own
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