sadmanbarty
Well-known member
.
Dido
- Thread starter sadmanbarty
- Start date
sadmanbarty
Well-known member
Life For Rent
The prominence of the breath in the vocals. Intimacy.
The arrangement speaks to this. Acoustic guitars, obligatory singer-songwriter shakers, spoken word singing, tender synth pads like pale sunlight reflecting through cotton curtains on the face of sleeping lover.
But of course there's a twist. It's the brutality of intimacy. the sad reality that in all serious romantic relationships we open ourselves up to reveal our darkest selves. all relationships become subsumed in the resentment of your partner never living up the promise they once were. and of course the rarely acknowledged agony of knowing that they only ever loved a pretence. that you're just as much of a failure, if not more so.
"it's not as if I mind that your heart ain't exactly breaking"
that pre-chorus is deadly, evoking every time a partner says something diabolically cruel and tries to temper it by dismissing it as merely a slip of the tongue or fleeting feeling.
"it's just a thought. only a thought"
the chorus portrays love as ultimately transactional and even more chillingly, her life itself.
but like lionel ritchie's 'easy' this song finds salvation in separation with the near buhddist line "nothing i have is truly mine".
the drums kick in after this revelation. she has a renewed determination. lyrically she reflects on dreams lost and now sees no reason to abandon them for the sake of a lover.
the separation-as-salvation is realised with the gospel claps of the second chorus and the choirs of the last.
cyclically we return to where we start. a capella. intimacy. and breath.
The prominence of the breath in the vocals. Intimacy.
The arrangement speaks to this. Acoustic guitars, obligatory singer-songwriter shakers, spoken word singing, tender synth pads like pale sunlight reflecting through cotton curtains on the face of sleeping lover.
But of course there's a twist. It's the brutality of intimacy. the sad reality that in all serious romantic relationships we open ourselves up to reveal our darkest selves. all relationships become subsumed in the resentment of your partner never living up the promise they once were. and of course the rarely acknowledged agony of knowing that they only ever loved a pretence. that you're just as much of a failure, if not more so.
"it's not as if I mind that your heart ain't exactly breaking"
that pre-chorus is deadly, evoking every time a partner says something diabolically cruel and tries to temper it by dismissing it as merely a slip of the tongue or fleeting feeling.
"it's just a thought. only a thought"
the chorus portrays love as ultimately transactional and even more chillingly, her life itself.
but like lionel ritchie's 'easy' this song finds salvation in separation with the near buhddist line "nothing i have is truly mine".
the drums kick in after this revelation. she has a renewed determination. lyrically she reflects on dreams lost and now sees no reason to abandon them for the sake of a lover.
the separation-as-salvation is realised with the gospel claps of the second chorus and the choirs of the last.
cyclically we return to where we start. a capella. intimacy. and breath.
blissblogger
Well-known member
you know who was a massive fan of Dido? Mark K-punk - our co-founder.
luka
Well-known member
You beat me to it
pattycakes_
Can turn naughty
Dido, Travis, Coldplay
This is why the mayans ended the calendar around 2k
This is why the mayans ended the calendar around 2k
comelately
Wild Horses
Yeah I always liked that one despite myself.
sadmanbarty
Well-known member
Here With Me
the pioneering drill track.
reimagining jungle in the womb. masculinity, an apparition. vaporous agency. surrender.
apathy- “i don’t want to move a thing”… “i can’t”.
the parasympathetic nervous system. “resting”. a bleeping sine wive that sounds like a heart monitor. 83 bpm
the vocal yet again starts with a breath. but reversed and warped. phantoms. “i can’t breath”.
ethereal synth pads.
it marks the death of the 90’s in many ways. the nods to jungle synths. the death of the damsel in distress. every female pop star since has at least had to feign some degree of empowerment. dido’s whole identity is entirely reltive to her fellas. “i can’t be, till you’re… with me”.
in the final shot, drill is born. her face masked, with a single word taking the place of her identity.
“revolver"
the pioneering drill track.
reimagining jungle in the womb. masculinity, an apparition. vaporous agency. surrender.
apathy- “i don’t want to move a thing”… “i can’t”.
the parasympathetic nervous system. “resting”. a bleeping sine wive that sounds like a heart monitor. 83 bpm
the vocal yet again starts with a breath. but reversed and warped. phantoms. “i can’t breath”.
ethereal synth pads.
it marks the death of the 90’s in many ways. the nods to jungle synths. the death of the damsel in distress. every female pop star since has at least had to feign some degree of empowerment. dido’s whole identity is entirely reltive to her fellas. “i can’t be, till you’re… with me”.
in the final shot, drill is born. her face masked, with a single word taking the place of her identity.
“revolver"
comelately
Wild Horses
I always find 'first videos' interesting in that often the pop star in question hasn't yet 100% honed their visual persona yet. You can see it in 'Baby One More Time' or 'Supersonic', and you can see it here too.
vershy versh
Well-known member
Why's everyone suddenly talking about Dido again? I keep getting "Thank You" recommended on the front page of YouTube.
it's just passionless trip hop isn't it? Given i never liked the original portishead version which could be seen as more overflowing with despairing passion not sure why I could open myself up to dido. I think it's not so much her lyrics that bother me but the downtempo beats. Reminds me of Mogwai in some regards, like millennial advert music.
barty actually did a good post about it in the tricky vs goldie thread. I think that's ultimately my main stumbling block with her. Yes I know Dido and Tricky are coming from somewhat opposite universes, but they ultimately both fit into the downtempotronica trend, Tricky's version is a bit darker and a bit more skunked out and more 'urban' but it's a similar sort of post-club home listening dynamic...
luka
Well-known member
The spice girls thread was part of this series