So, I’ve written previously about Kimbra, and her excellent live mash-up of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” and Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels”. But she’s so creative that I’ve got to talk about her again. You may recall her as half of 2012’s impossible-to-avoid collaboration with Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know.” ) Originally from New Zealand, she’s been performing and recording for nearly 20 years, and has built up an impressive body of work that includes strong musical productions but also fascinating and beautifully-crafted music videos and live performances.
After listening to some of her recent work, and specifically her breakdown of the primal “Top of the World” on the fascinating podcast “Song Exploder” (also highly recommended: their episode on REM’s haunting “Try Not to Breathe”). Kimbra is one of the most creative musicians I’m aware of at this current moment, alongside Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond), Emily Wells, and San Fermin.
(Note: if you’re going to listen to the Song Exploder about the song, do that first. What follows riffs on her comments about the lyrics to the song. All of my external links should open in a new tab, so click the link and we’ll be waiting here for you when you’re done.)
What’s so interesting about the song, aside from the primal, throbbing urgency of it (which, as she mentions the schoolyard-rhyme aspects of some of her vocal parts, remind me of the immortal “Iko Iko” as performed by the Dixie Cups, with some of the studio percussion done by hitting an ashtray) is the actual theme of the lyrics. In a time when a reality TV star occupies the highest office in our nation, and the internet has ushered in an utterly new starmaking machine; when “viral” marketing pitches pretend that anyone can become an online sensation, and when a great deal of popular music celebrates one-upmanship and endless competition, the idea that power and celebrity might be intoxicating and unhealthy is something of a lost concept and one that feels relegated to genre fiction.
Much like the whip-smart lyrics of the astonishing Fiona Apple, Kimbra has often had a wry sensibility about her, but this song really astonished me, both musically and conceptually. From a creator’s perspective, it was interesting hearing how she had to ruminate on the beat itself, and how the song pulled on so many elements, from brainstorming sessions with Skrillex and Diplo to a native setting on a 70s-era synthesizer.