Thursday, January 9, 2014

On Lorde and the inevitability of beauty


It was the weekend before Halloween. We were leaving the masquerade party, and I was a little jolly, throwing my mask in the backseat, trading my feathered fairy wings for an inherited faux-fur coat.

We were driving up to the mountains, just the two of us. We were going to go sit on the porch and stare up at the stars. The stars in the rural mountains are very different from the stars in Charlotte. 

And I'd heard "Royals," just like everyone else, and I liked it, just like everyone else. On the ride up, we listened to the entire album "Pure Heroine" all the way through, and I loved it. 

It was just a ride in a car, but it was a pretty magical night. We got to the house, went out on the porch and saw that snow had fallen. And there were those stars. 

I go through phases of my life that are connected to an album. This is definitely a Lorde phase. Mostly, I listen to it as my husband drives, my legs propped up, crossed on the dashboard. The other night, we were listening to it as the sun was setting, hitting Charlotte's rush hour, but the whole world was so beautiful. The setting sun streaking the sky with red, the headlights of the cars coming towards us, the red taillights of all the cars ahead of us moving away, just streams of light. The world was big and full of possibility. 

Sometimes I think about the world and about becoming a mom and all the things that are terrible, all the things I would want to shield a kid from. 

But lately, I've been thinking about how beautiful things are. Beauty is inevitable. You can't avoid it. It's coming for you. 

And sometimes I think about having a daughter, and I wonder how I can protect her in a world that's so harsh. Girls are sexualized so early. Worth is based on looks. Pop stars are naked a whole lot. A whole lot.

But there's always resistance. There's always another option.  

I wrote a little while ago about Bob Dylan and how I don't think today's pop stars have his artistry, his soul. But I take it back. I really like Lorde. She's, what? 17? And she's full of straight-up awesome. 

As seen here:


10 comments:

Eleni said...

Ooh, I like it! I wonder if you might also like Jesca Hoop? There are similarities, I think.

I often think about how difficult it must be to raise a daughter in this day and age, too. Fill her with good stuff, I guess. Be honest, and tell her over and over again how amazing she is.

Laura Jones said...

oh, i'm definitely having a lorde phase, too. love her! x

Randi said...

I'm generally unplugged from the world of pop culture, and usually lost in music created before I was born, but you may have just sold me on Lorde.
This post was beautiful. I want to be reminded that the world is beautiful.

Jane said...

i actually just happened across her song team and fell in love with it.. then i saw how old she was and i was like whaa? so talented!

Connie said...

Oh Sarah, you are such a beautiful sensitive old soul. It IS a tough world these days. There's just so much coming at us all the time. Lorde really is amazing and well, you know I'm a Dylanophile. You are right on track.

A Very Sweet Blog said...

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Melancholy and Menace said...

Such a lovely post :)

Peaches McGinty said...

beauty does come for you, despite life's grim qualities there is always a glimmer of something wonderful, I really liked this post so much, so beautifully written - I will have to listen to Lorde tomorrow bah! (it's 11.57pm, not long in from work) x x x

Sonya Mann said...

I love Lorde's music and her hair is glorious, but she really annoys me as a person. Her criticisms of other artists really rubbed me the wrong way. I mostly forgive her, since she's so young, but it still bugs me.

Indigo Violet said...

I may be showing my age, and being a traitor to my countrywoman, but I don't like Lorde much. I don't like the cheesy synths and 80s percussion.