Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Friday Music: Full-on First Person

Lilith __

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 23:27:41 +1200

level-headed and sharp

There is also a nice piece on her in the Guardian.

Matthew Littlewood

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 21:52:56 +1200

She's young, talented and I really hope she can build on her success. And if she can't that's cool too, I've really enjoyed her music thus far, as have many others, and that's enough.

What I really like about the single "Royals" is how much it's stripped back to the…

Bart Janssen

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:29:11 +1200

I find it disturbing that it is seen as being sexually provocative.

The only behaviour deserving of criticism here is that of those seeing her as provocative.

She's young, talented and I really hope she can build on her success. And if she can't that's cool too, I've really enjoyed…

Richard Stewart

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:01:21 +1200

Oh my what a brilliant night of great music. I was a little surprised at how much the crowd thinned out after the Picassos set; the Doo Riffs topped the evening off nicely.

Lilith __

Sun, 30 Jun 2013 13:09:55 +1200

A lovely interview. She's very charming.

Sacha

Sun, 30 Jun 2013 12:41:03 +1200

Interesting NY Mag interview includes this:

I was surprised how few photos of you are out there. I figured, as 16-year-old, you’d have years of selfies online.
Ha-ha. I’m quite selective about imagery. I like that cleanliness. They Google you and they see the one photo of you. Only now…

Hebe

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 22:24:18 +1200

Exactly. There's an element of playing in front of the mirror, trying out persona.

peter mclennan

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 21:14:02 +1200

for those who missed it, full video of Hallelujah Picassos set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbO_rw3YLws

JacksonP

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 18:34:13 +1200

Yay!

I really enjoyed last night. Few pictures from the show.

David Saunders and Street Chant.

Orchestra of Spheres.

Hallelujah Picassos. (They were so great).

Robyn Gallagher

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 14:54:13 +1200

I see this girl as open, showing vulnerability even. I find it disturbing that it is seen as being sexually provocative.

In a way it's a quintessential experience of being a teenage girl. There you are, wearing that cool skirt from Glassons you just bought, trying to be cool, trying…

Russell Brown

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 11:01:01 +1200

Well, David Saunders with Street Chant was, by general acclaim, a highly successful experiment that should be repeated.

And Flying Nun nerds will doubtless be excited to know that they covered the Alpaca Brothers' 'The Lie':

http://youtu.be/Y-7Xq0kJNv0

Yay!

Hebe

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 00:06:55 +1200

I see this girl as open, showing vulnerability even. I find it disturbing that it is seen as being sexually provocative.

Lilith __

Sat, 29 Jun 2013 00:00:50 +1200

Just for comparison, this is a young woman being provocative at the camera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

BenWilson

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 22:50:22 +1200

Is it possible for a female performer to appear in a music video without being seen as sexually provocative?

Don't know, but old men who look for long periods of time at young girls, staring directly into their eyes, are considered creepy. It's a hard feeling to shake, even though…

Lilith __

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 21:08:52 +1200

The way she looks at the camera is confrontational. But does any closeness the viewer feels have to be a sexual intimacy? Couldn't it be empathy, or sharing a confidence? I feel like Lorde's telling me a story, or a secret.

Is it possible for a female performer to appear…

BenWilson

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 20:42:59 +1200

She is a talented teen, no more. There are tons like her out there, there is nothing in her music yet that screams superstar to me.

Perhaps not but there's also nothing that screams "couldn't be a superstar" either. I like both her hits. That's a bloody good ratio for…

Robyn Gallagher

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 16:40:48 +1200

It's hardly as if they're going for the Humbert Humbert market.

Heh, just imagine if Lorde had made a version of the "...Baby One More Time" video with her surly Takapuna Grammar mates.

Sacha

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:57:28 +1200

About the on-camera-all-the-time aspect, I found it interesting to compare the original clip for Royals (by the same director as Tennis Court):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFasFq4GJYM

with its re-cut for the US market:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc

and note that Ella deberately chose to keep herself out of early publicity around her music.

Max Rose

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:41:44 +1200

Quite. I don't think that's the case at all.

I've just had the chance to watch the Tennis Courts video, and it looks like someone said to the director: "You know the whole Lolita thing? Simpering schoolgirl, heart-shaped glasses, ruby lips sucking a lollipop? Can you do something as far…

Russell Brown

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:39:35 +1200

I suspect her music producer has been well chosen, he’s using her talent and voice well.

It's Joel Little, formerly of the fairly derivative local pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse, who really seems to have found his niche. He co-writes and produces.

I'm told that when Lorde was younger, it was…

Russell Brown

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:34:05 +1200

It’s hardly as if they’re going for the Humbert Humbert market.

Quite. I don't think that's the case at all.

Max Rose

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:12:24 +1200

Mind you the whole Lolita Lana Del Rey meme that seems to be going on right now isn't really to my taste, it is a bit tortured and a little bit pedobear creepy for me.

Projecting, much? I haven't seen the videos yet, so I don't know what she looks…

Hebe

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 13:55:46 +1200

I like that Lorde and her dark pop: tints of shoe-gazing and Katy Perry-when-she-was-good magimixed into her own blend. Great. And 16!

Robyn Gallagher

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 13:05:24 +1200

It doesn't help that the Lorde video refuses to do a traditional lip-sync, which some people find really really irritating. Like what the Pixies did with their "Here Comes Your Man" video.

It takes major presence to hold the camera like that for a whole song – like Sinead O'Connor…

Lilith __

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 12:58:09 +1200

I absolutely love the Tennis Court video, it's mesmerising.

If the sight of a young woman singing makes you uncomfortable, I think that says more about you than it does about her.

Kyle Matthews

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 12:41:40 +1200

I am not sure what the whole fuss about Lorde is all about. She is a talented teen, no more.

If Justin Bieber can be selling his bazillionth whatever based on looking cute, I'm happy with Lorde doing well based on been a talented teen. Particularly that freakin talented -…

Sacha

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 12:26:18 +1200

I am not sure what the whole fuss about Lorde is all about

Knock me down with a feather.

Hadyn Green

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 11:51:19 +1200

It’s an achievement that sees her become the first local female solo act to ever have two number one songs

Wait, she's from New Zealand?! TIL

Russell Brown

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 11:41:59 +1200

I am not sure what the whole fuss about Lorde is all about. She is a talented teen, no more. There are tons like her out there, there is nothing in her music yet that screams superstar to me.

Billboard seems pretty excited about her US radio debut.

And as…

Tom Semmens

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 11:26:59 +1200

I am not sure what the whole fuss about Lorde is all about. She is a talented teen, no more. There are tons like her out there, there is nothing in her music yet that screams superstar to me. Time will tell, I guess. Mind you the whole Lolita Lana…

Hadyn Green

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 11:15:18 +1200

That Lorde video reminds me of this one
http://vimeo.com/67356505
where a rotating light completely changes the actress's expression

Public Address

Fri, 28 Jun 2013 11:15:17 +1200

Discussion from blog post.