I was watching Snail Mail’s Tractor Beam and I found it very relatable
Tractor Beam opens Ricochet, and Lindsey Jordan has said she wanted that first song to feel somewhat hopeful while balancing the heavier themes of the record. The alien abduction imagery came from Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, used as a metaphor for time lost to dissociation, which might be part of why it lands so close.
Just saw snail mail live a few weeks ago <3
which line got you? her lyrics have a way of landing a little too close sometimes
I can’t say I can point to one line from this song. But in terms of landing a little too close, I was got by the whole album. It’s all about death and I’ve had death anxiety my whole life. Death anxiety is what made her write this album too, if I remember correctly. It sneaks up on you and then you focus on it so much that it’s all you can think and write about.
Here’s a line though not from Snail Mail “Wish I could write songs about anything other than death”. That’s Sprained Ankle by Julien Baker
That line is from the title track of her 2015 debut, which was recorded pretty much one mic, one take at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, and you can hear how bare it is. If that record lands for you, Turn Out the Lights from 2017 carries a lot of the same weight.
that julien baker line is brutal. does listening to that kind of record help with the anxiety or does it feed it?
It helps you get it out of your system. It’s way worse to feel like you’re the only one who’s experiencing it
makes sense. somebody else saying the scary part out loud takes a little of the weight off
