Check It Out:
Lorde's Pure Heroine
October 21, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
from a reader
A refreshing and funky pop album was released recently that Revolution readers should check out. Pure Heroine is the first album by Lorde, a 16-year-old from New Zealand with a unique and stirring voice. Her first single from the album, "Royals," has been pumping on the radio waves for a couple months and has over 5 millions views on YouTube. The song is full of sass and finger snapping, about being a teenager "not proud of my address in a torn up town no postcode envy" and it goes up against the crass consumerism and celebration of wealth that dominates so much pop and hip-hop these days. She sings, "But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece, jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash, we don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair..."
She also stands out in her views of how women are seen, "I'm sick of women being portrayed in this way" referring to a pop song from a young woman whose theme she characterizes as "when you're ready, come and get it from me." The album as a whole is real interesting musically—a fusion of styles with a hip-hop influence... some songs are spare and rhythmic and others with a richer mélange... it's a real contribution to the culture overall and makes you want to dance.
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