Marina & The Diamonds!

Too lazy to dissect (and incapable of doing it in terms of music theory), but one thing I particularly like in her songs is how often they go through a lot of changes. Multiple choruses. Coming out of a chorus and arriving somewhere new melodically, rather than returning to what came before. Etc.

She has a song which gets into the Libra thing (though not in a way I'd expect):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG6BrtIRd9w

Lots of stuff of hers on youtube that I haven't noticed until now. Not necessarily great but it's actually pretty good.

How many of her songs are out there online already that weren't on the album?

Most of the Mermaid vs. Sailor ep (which is really just crude bedroom demos and, truthfully, not so great). Everything else ended up on the album pretty much, but "Numb" and "Hollywood" were significantly bettered by the time of the album recordings.

Some of this stuff sounds pretty good to me. Better than the fucking Bush Tetras. (Why the Bush Tetras I'm not sure except the raw demo quality of some of this leaves it sounding a bit post-punk at times.)

Saw a (song-by-song) interview with Marina in which she said that "The Outsider" was the song that had the most takes. Interesting to me because I guessed a long while back that "I'm a fucking wild card" would be the segment that had that massive number of takes that one of them had. She didn't mention that particular line, but it seems like something she would struggle with. (I no longer listen to this album all the time, but do throw it on pretty frequently. It's sounding good tonight.)

Oh yeah, and she got all indignant in the interview, because the interviewer tosses off something like: "So was 'The Outsider' done pretty quickly in just a few takes?'" And she responds: "Why would you say that?" (or the like). I guess I should just find it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qq4AYyKa1s

haha!

She looks nice & Greek there, too, I must say.

Maybe from those outdoor concerts giving her some more color.

these interviews are really interesting, thanks. particularly the way she almost disowns 'girls'.

The thing I like most about her reception by the music press is that there's a genuine interest in the process. Nobody ever digs this deep into La Roux's motivations or techniques, they don't care about Shakira's writing trials and errors. Marina is sort of an open book that way.

If this is really the track-list for the U.S. release, I don't like what they've done with the sequencing. This may be a bit knee-jerk, but I think "Numb" is a bit too much of a downer as a closer, though maybe it's how she's feeling at the moment. "Guilty" was also a downer in a way, but it feels like the most personal revelation on the album, so coming at the end it felt like a sort of climax. Also, the abrupt ending seems to form a circle with the beginning (and its "hyper-meta" lyrical theme, which gives "Are You Satisfied?" a certain thematic abruptness).

Interesting that "Seventeen" comes back from the dead for the US version. While I doubt she'll have a big radio single, that's one of her better chances.

Hmmm. I don't know. I like that song reasonably well, but I think some of the others might have a better chance. Like what? well maybe Hollywood, maybe Shampain, maybe even Mowgli's Road or I Am Not a Robot--probably I am dreaming though. Kind of hoping they will at least get a lot of college radio play (but maybe they already have).

This is blowing my mind again at the moment. So musical is what it comes down to.

Well I. . .

Video for "Oh No" just showed up. Bright and shiny!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr-SqRWImmI

Hmmm. It's okay. The derriere of the dancer in blue is kind of subverting any pop self-critique going on here, but I don't take the pop critique angle that seriously to begin with. A bit much that Marina ends it with the same smile that "Hollywood" ends with (if I recall corretly).

can we talk about that video? it's so painful it needs a safety word

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4D1HSL7P98

reminds me too much of this video in a not good way

I don't know why I'm cutting her slack for being a giddy 23 year old, because I'd crucify anyone else who did that probably. tbh, I'm not listening to The Family Jewels with the regularity I used to, but I still think that in five years she'll be better instead of worse.

It's a bad video. I'm not listening to the album as much as I did initially--but why would I? Things rarely stay in such heavy rotation for me for long. I still love it though.

Such a clever album

I didn't get that "Shampain" was a play on words – I was too dazzled by it fror the first 10 or so listens.

Also I think I would marry this chick. Is that legal over there?

sort of

Yay! Abbott's on board!

"Shampain" was my favorite of hers long before the album, and it's still my favorite now.

gonna give this a good listen btw - sounds like I might approve - although I am v work-busy so verdict might take a while to arrive

She's only two years younger than me so it won't be too weird.

I think she's dating one of the dudes from Hurts, but I'm sure they swing.

Still my second favorite album of the year!

I think she's brilliant musically and I expect her next album will make more of a dent.

http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b448/wotyougot/theo-marina2.jpg

I could beat this dude! I'll just start doing light eye makeup and dark lips so she & I contrast.

Having been introduced to 'I Feel Love' a little earlier I'm struck by how much in that vein 'Shampain' is!

I love "Oh No!" – I relate to the lyrics 90-100%. Plus it's just good uncut pop.

As discussed upthread, she's kind of unique in that her songs are an autobiographical open book without all the flowery songwriter poetry. Pre-major label days, her blog posts on (lol) Myspace were just like her songs. In fact, The Family Jewels is kind of like a blog set to music.

IDK I wouldn't say it's poetry free – like I said, I feel like it took me forever to figure out the conceits in Shampain. OTOH I see why choruses like "I feel numb most of the time" make you say blog-to-music. I'm just a poetry stan (or poetry "dave") at heart, hence the defensiveness.

I do agree w/you, though. She expresses a lot of feelings that are mundane* and vulnerable at the same time, feelings that don't end up in pop lyrics too often.

*not meant perjoratively

she is the frank capra of girlpop

lol

can't remember how banging Capra's tunesmithery was.

not as banging as this i reckon

Speaking of banging, I just watched the "Oh No!" vid and she draws a rainbow in the air. I am taking this as a "yes" to my proposal.

She told me on twitter once that she loved me because of something I wrote. I wish I would've screengrabbed it.

:D

"easy to be sleazy" <3 <3 <3

She told me on twitter once that she loved me because of something I wrote. I wish I would've screengrabbed it.

Yes, I would have wanted to archive that somehow.

I saved it as a favorite tweet, but about two weeks later it was gone. I gather she deleted it on her end.

Thus, our affair was short-lived! ;_;

The Library of Congress announced it was going to archive Twitter, but I don't know when that started (or much of anything else about it).

She probably wrote a song about it but realised it wasn't very good