Here Jeff Magnum sings about an abusive home situation and
two young people retreating to be with each other. This reminded me of Lullabies for Little Criminals when Baby’s
relationship with Jules is falling apart so she spends and less time at home and
finds comfort in Xavier.
2. "Panty Lies" - Sonic Youth
Kim Gordon’s tone is evocative of an angry, angsty teen girl
rebelling against her parents, who is reminiscent of Baby modelling for herself
the socks Alphonse gave her (“little girl playing in the closet”). The anger
around underwear is also similar to how angry Jules becomes when he sees Baby’s
wearing the socks.
Morrissey sings about young people meeting up where they’re
happy to reflect on life and death, which is what Baby and Xavier do when they hang
out after school and do their homework. The tone of the song is also happy and
innocent, like the nature of their relationship.
The angst of the guitar distortions paired with the sublime
tone of the song invokes strange mix of anxiety and relief, similar to Baby’s
feelings when she realises Alphonse is dead and during her reunion with her
father. Meanwhile Baby is going through heroin withdrawal, which is felt in the
disorienting fuzz of this shoegaze song.
This song is reminiscent of
Patti and Robert struggling and working to become artists. The lyrics “True
love turned to sickness in my body / stayed up all night” is
resonant of the times they would stay up all night making art, and the physical
and emotional turmoil that living this way caused them.
After leaving the Hotel Chelsea, Patti and Robert move to an
apartment with two bedrooms, however neither can sleep the first night without
being in each other’s arms. This song reminds me of that night. Moreover, the
lyrics “Mirroring a staggered youth / Flowered with nerves and
shadows and truth” are reminiscent of “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg and the unease and
uncertainty of youth.
This song’s connection to Patti and Robert’s date on Coney
Island does not end in the songs’ names. Patti describes the ease of that day
where they were just themselves and did not care (Smith 110); the tone of this
song reflects that ease and simplicity of their relationship. There is also a
gloomy, melancholy feel to the song that is similar to how Patti describes Coney
Island’s “gritty innocence” and “bygone days” (Smith 109).
In “A&P” Sammy is bored of his repetitive, mundane job
and the likelihood of the rest of his life following this pattern. This song expresses
his frustration and desire to break out of this life: “Through
all these wasted days / never thought / that I'd end up this way
/ and I know / it's gonna stay the same / I thought I would be
more than this.”
In “Where Are You Going, Where
Have You Been?” Connie retreats from her family life by going off to the mall
with her friends and spending the day eating hamburgers with boys at the drive-in restaurant: “Milkshakes and cat eyes / Lipstick and french fries.” But the song also
touches on the anxiety Connie senses being a young girl: “Internalize so much
but so little / Don’t make us feel
belittled, world.”
The bedroom pop’s song dreamlike quality is suggestive of
the theory that Connie’s confrontation with Arnold is a dream. The woman
speaking at the end is also similar to the radio host’s voice heard in the
background throughout the skirmish. Her voice is annoying as she talks about
pseudo intellectual self-acceptance crap, which reminded me of Connie’s mom.
"lonely boy goes to a rave" - teen suicide
"Eternally Teenage" - Tomorrows Tulips
"Long Hair" - Drowners
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