#difficult lovers

[weaversweek]

"Vampire" and "No degree of separation"

Another pair into the #FearOfMu21c project, crowdsourcing the greatest singles of the 21st century. Here’s an index post.

Vampire - Olivia Rodrigo

The greatest singer-songwriter we've found so far this decade, Olivia Rodrigo rose to fame through the Disney Channel. Remember the Disney Channel? It was very decent - well-written sitcoms, acted by great talent. "Bizaardvark" gave Olivia a break, "High School Musical The Series" gave fame.

"Driver's license" was a stone-cold heartbreak song for the dark days of early 2021. "Good 4 u" was full of outdoors excitement, and the album "Sour" held together well. What's Olivia going to do for the second album, "Guts"? Take "Driver's license" and make it nastier.

"Vampire" follows the same aural template as "Driver's license" - it's a melancholic piano ballad, sung in a musical theatre style so we have to hear the words. But rather than stalk him, Olivia takes control of her life, mercilessly disassembling his older ex's manipulative behaviour. Olivia's anger and exhaustion rises through the song, reaching a crescendo of fury as she spits out the title line.

Sounds like nothing else around right now, and all the better for it. Written by Olivia and producer Dan Nigro, it's song of the year, quite clearly.

No degree of separation - Francesca Michielin

Honouring the intention of sponsor Arron, I've limited myself to five songs from Eurovision Song Contests; two very easy picks from Junior, three from Senior. And with two SESC coming through from last year's Uncool50, there's just one place for another song. "Hard rock hallelujah", "Taken by a stranger", "Molitva", "Rhythm inside", "Arcade" - all were inflection points in the journey of European pop, all were worthy of a nod.

But the place goes to "No degree of separation", written by Fabio Gargiulo, Cheope, Norma Jean Martine, Federica Abbate, and Francesca Michielin. The song finished second in San Remo 2016, and with the winner deciding not to perform in Eurovision, the spot was given to the runner-up.

This is a slow-burn love song, Francesca sings of a deep emotional connection that has crept up on her. "È la prima volta che mi capita / Prima mi chiudevo in una scatola (It's the first time it’s happened to me / Before I just used to shut myself in). The second chorus dips into English, to convey the message even more clearly.

The best thing about "Nessun grado di separazione" is Francesca's voice! A beautiful tone, conveys everything she wants to say almost before she's enunciated the lyric.

It's a beautiful song, perhaps too beautiful for the big loud Eurovision Song Contest (see also: "Perta", "Amnesia", "This is my life"). Following this number 1 single in Italy, Francesca's continued to record albums, and returned to X Factor Italia to work with 2020 winner Måneskin.

[metamorquoth]

“Don't you ever get tired of reading?" she asked. "You could hardly be called good company! Don't you know that, with women, you're supposed to make conversation?" she added; her half smile was perhaps meant to be ironic, though to Amedeo, who at that moment would have paid anything rather than give up his novel, it seemed downright threatening.”

Italo Calvino, Difficult Lovers