Madeline Kenney’s “I’ll Get Over It”: Accepting Change
I live in fear of people getting sick of me. I’m afraid of happy smiles becoming forced, of conversations rushed to an impatient end, of “let me know how I can help”s turning into “oh what is it now”s. It’s only happened a few times in my life, with friendships that ran their course, but […]
Taylor Swift, “All Too Well”, and The Importance of the Key Chain
I suppose this is as good a time as any to write about Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift has had the kind of career that college professors make courses about. One course could chart her transformation from country darling to pop megastar, perhaps analyzing the changing definition of what it means to be “authentic” in pop […]
“Two Ribbons” by Let’s Eat Grandma Charts the Changes of a Friendship
My sister and I are not twins–she is a year and four months older than I am–but we’ve been mistaken for twins before. We spoke the language of twins. We weaved together inside jokes and shared experiences and we draped them over ourselves, like a quilt kids crowded under to tell ghost stories at slumber […]
Jenny Hval’s “Jupiter,” Disorientation, and the Prada Marfa
Somewhere in the endless desert of West Texas, there is a Prada store. Cream-colored awnings shade the entrance from the brutal heat, displaying the name of the Italian fashion house as though it was on any upscale high street and not in the middle of the Trans-Pecos. Handbags and shoes are on display, artfully lit, […]
Retrospective Review: Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen”
Some time in 1980, Stevie Nicks was talking to Jane Petty, the first wife of the late Tom Petty, about when she and Tom had met. Jane said they had met “at the age of seventeen,” but due to her thick Southern accent Nicks had misheard her. “No,” Jane corrected, “age.” But Nicks was undeterred; […]
“Little Consequence” by Hannah Ashcroft: A Sobering Reality Check
There are few things more ego-threatening than trying to succeed as a creative type. Whether you’re looking for someone to publish your manuscript or just seeking a full-time job, you are in competition with hundreds, if not thousands, of other people. You will measure yourself against them and find yourself lacking. You will be rejected, […]
“Calming Night Partner” by Land of Talk: An Unsettled Breakup Narrative, With Hints of Hope
When I saw the title of Land of Talk’s new song, “Calming Night Partner,” it was on a list of other new releases from indie rock artists. And yet as I scrolled on, the phrase kept bouncing around in my head, as odd yet evocative phrases often do. “Calming night partner.” Not a boyfriend, not […]
“Double Rapture” by Sis: Pulsing, Poetic Sensuality
Poetry is not any one thing. It doesn’t have to rhyme, and it doesn’t have to be formatted in neat lines. It can be about anything, and it can evoke any emotion. Some people can be snobby about it, but that’s not poetry’s fault; other people can scorn it altogether, but that’s not poetry’s fault, […]
MJ Cabra on “Meadow Hugs” and Accepting That You’re Not OK
“Meadow Hugs” is about trauma, but it doesn’t sound like it at first. A new song by the Atlanta-based singer-songwriter MJ Cabra, “Meadow Hugs” starts right out of the gate with an energetic breakbeat and some lush, lovely synth chords. I’ve always associated this sort of sound with a sort of optimism–vintage video games, joyous […]
“Mycelium” by Mother Sun: Connection and Understanding Through Mushroom Colonies
Q: Why does everyone at the science fair want to hang out with the mycologist? A: Because he’s such a fungi! Hahaha! Do you get it? Fungi? Fun guy? Ah, we have fun here at Two Story Melody. Consider, my dear readers, the humble mushroom. What a whimsical bunch they are! An astonishingly diverse collection […]
