“Liability” – Lorde

New Zealand singer and songwriter Ella Yelich-O’Connor, known professionally as Lorde, took a new step in her career when she released “Liability” as the second single from her ground-breaking sophomore album Melodrama. Up to this point in Lorde’s career, she had never released a piano-driven ballad nor written something so deeply personal for the world to listen to. However, I (and all of Lorde’s fans) am extremely grateful that she gave her listeners a taste of how great a sentimental songwriter she can be. Lorde can make the listener feel every word she sorrowfully sings because I believe she is incredibly talented, and “Liability” clearly shows her evolution from her debut album as an artist.

Lorde impressively received massive success from the beginning of her journey into the music industry. Her debut single, “Royals,” from her first EP, The Love Club, became an instant hit worldwide, peaking at number one in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100. The track also topped performance charts in several other countries and became certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than 10 million units worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. Additionally, the song was critically successful, with many music critics praising “Royals” for its songwriting, production, and Lorde’s vocal performance, and appeared on many critics’ year-end and decade-end song lists. The track also garnered two Grammy’s for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. Lorde’s impressive track record does not stop here, as her sophomore album Melodrama is widely regarded as one of the best pop albums of the 2010s and was ranked amongst the top 500 albums of all time according to rankings made by Rolling Stone.

Lorde performing live. Source

Lorde begins the track by stating how her “baby” hurt her and caused her to cry in a taxi because he confessed that he made the mistake of “dancing in [her] storm.” She compares her way of being or likeness to a storm to represent that she is tumultuous and chaotic, which is perhaps a lot to handle for someone who wants to be in a relationship with her. She has perceived that dealing with her antics has become too excessive for her significant other because he claims that “he don’t wanna know [her]” anymore. Following this, due to her sorrow from her partner’s remarks, she decides she should simply stay home with her only company being herself. She states that she will go home “into the arms of the girl that [she] loves,” with the girl that she loves being herself. She further states that she’s very “hard to please,” recognizing that she is the cause of the failure of her relationships because she is too high maintenance and requires a lot from her partners. The first verse signifies that she is unfortunately self-aware of her being a liability to the people that she loves. The chorus reinforces the thought of Lorde sensing herself as a liability as she mentions that people would say to her, “You’re a little much for me.” She then concedes her self-worth and painfully states she is “a little much for everyone.”

Then, in the second verse, Lorde reduces herself to a “toy” that people use until they become tired of her. This references the “honeymoon stage” of the relationships that she was in; people love the thrill of dating Lorde initially. However, as time progresses and they truly get to know her, her partners become exhausted from having to deal with her, making her a liability to them.

An interesting take on being a liability.

“Fourth of July” – Sufjan Stevens

In celebration of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens releasing his milestone 10th solo studio album entitled Javelin, I will be covering one of his not-so-celebratory tracks, “Fourth of July”. Very few songs have been able to make me cry when I first listen to them, yet when I first listened to “Fourth of July” I became an emotional wreck. The track is a conversation Stevens had with his mother while she was in the hospital before she passed away from stomach cancer. Although it is an extremely sorrowful song, I believe it deserves a post on my blog as it is one of the most powerful tracks I have ever listened to.

Sufjan Stevens is no stranger to the music industry, as he began his solo career in 2000 when he released his debut album, A Sun Came. However, it was not until 2015 when Stevens released his seventh studio album, Carrie and Lowell, that he would gain the most notoriety in his career. Carrie and Lowell instantly garnered acclaim from critics as it was placed on several lists from critic sites for best albums of the decade. The album was praised for its extremely vulnerable overarching theme, the depiction of Stevens’ life, and the effects of his relationship with his mother Carrie, and his stepfather Lowell. Soon after that, Stevens received even more success and attention from the general public from his involvement in the soundtrack for the popular coming-of-age romantic drama film Call Me by Your Name. “Mystery of Love” was released as a single and original song for the soundtrack by Stevens and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The song is also Stevens’ most streamed song, currently sitting at around 400 million streams on Spotify.

Sufjan Stevens performing live. Source

The track’s production, “Fourth of July” immediately creates a landscape and ambiance of heartbreak and grief. Stevens begins the song by establishing the theme, he’s grieving the death of his mother, as he sings that it was night when she died. He refers to his mother as a firefly to represent the warm light she was, and further underlines that his mom was a light in his life as he yearns to “be the sky on the Fourth of July”. In saying this, Stevens is comparing his mom to the beautiful fireworks that light up the sky on the Fourth of July, and compares himself to the night sky; the darkness that allows the mesmerizing lights of the fireworks to shine.

In the chorus, Stevens switches to the perspective of his mother. Stevens’ mother asks him “My little hawk, why do you cry?”, symbolizing the love and endearment she has for her son. She then proceeds to allude to the Tillamook Burn, a series of large forest fires that burned down the Tillamook forest in the northern Oregon Coast Range, and the Fourth of July. From these allusions, Stevens’ mother asks her son what he learned from these two instances in American culture in an attempt to make him realize that beauty, which she represents using the Tillamook Forest and the fireworks on the Fourth of July, does not last forever, and she wants to ease him into the idea that she will soon be gone.

History about the Tillamook Burn. Source

Then, in the second verse, Stevens reconciles with the fact that even though he loves his mother, she abandoned him when he was an infant due to her depression, schizophrenia, and alcoholism. He sings that his mother had a “halo at [her] head” in her hospital bed, representing her angelic appearance. However, he then questions whether or not she is truly an angelic person, since he knows a limited amount about her. In the last verse, Stevens transitions to his life right after his mother’s death, detailing that the hospital asked him whether his mother’s body should be cast. Then, in his mind, Stevens asks his late mother if she finds it all right that she will be wrapped up in cloth and cast, signifying that he misses his mother deeply and cares for how she would feel if she were cast.

Finally, Stevens closes out the song by repeatedly singing “We’re all gonna die”, emphasizing the heartbreaking and depressing nature of the song. However, I believe a hopeful connotation is attributed to this mantra, as the listener is left with the idea that they should be at peace with the concept of death, just like his mother.

“ceilings” – Lizzy McAlpine

On the first listen, “ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine starts as the quintessential love song we have all wanted but then unexpectedly shifts gears during the outro and becomes a heartbreaking reflection on a past relationship. Before we dive into the discussion, we must discuss how Lizzy McAlpine accrued such success on “ceilings.” After gaining viral traction on TikTok, which then translated into worldwide recognition, American singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine grew a name for herself as her talent shines through her songs. Her incredible songwriting and soft, stunning voice on this track were enough to entice her listeners and make them into fans.

“ceilings” was released as a part of McAlpine’s third album, Five Seconds Flat (stylized in all lowercase) on April 8, 2022. The album was well-received by critics. Before this, McAlpine had released two albums, her debut album entitled Indigo, which can no longer be found on Spotify or Apple Music, and Give Me A Minute. Neither of these albums initially ever really gained any success compared to her most recent album, however, that does not mean her first two albums are not a pleasure to listen to whenever they come on. On Give Me A Minute, Lizzy McAlpine garnered a small hit with the single “Pancakes for Dinner,” which currently sits at around 30 million streams. Nevertheless, it is apparent McAlpine was moving into the spotlight after “ceilings” as she performed on live television for the first time in her career for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Lizzy McAlpine performing live. Source

McAlpine begins “ceilings” by making it evident that she is yearning for her partner while looking up and noticing the “plaster” on the ceilings. She wants her partner to make time move faster as she enjoys spending time with them and alludes to the ideology that time moves faster when you are having fun or enjoying yourself. Then, McAlpine reinforces that she is in love with her partner by calling them “cute” and enjoying the experience of getting rained on and having her “shoes full of water”. This experience may seem unpleasant as I know I feel disgusting after being drenched by the rain, however, this showcases that whatever McAlpine does with her significant other is something that she adores, even if it is typically an unpleasant experience. She then switches the scene to her partner driving her home to drop her off after spending time together. It is displayed that she is reluctant to leave because she loves her partner’s presence, but she must leave. However, before she leaves they share a kiss in the car which invokes a reminiscent feeling within her as she feels like this moment is “like the start of a movie [she’s] seen before.”

McAlpine starts the next verse by returning to the common theme expressed in the track, she shares an intimate moment with her partner, yet she displays indecisiveness on whether or not she wants to express her love for them because she does not want to ruin the moment. She then sings that it is “lovely to sit between comfort and chaos”, which describes the predicament that McAlpine is currently in; she is in the moment where it is the start of the relationship but she does not truly know what she and this person are quite yet. However, McAlpine then begins to reveal that everything she was discussing was just a fantasy as she reveals “It’s not real”, referring to the moments she was sharing with the listener. She was just flipping through the memory book she captured of them in her mind and reminiscing. Finally, she closes out the song by once again referring to the feeling of this past relationship as a movie, however displays closure as it is now the end of the movie, and her ex-partner is left in the past.

McAlpine shows signs of getting over the past relationship she once cherished.