Bedroom Demo's 1 & 2

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Bedroom Demo's 1 & 2 ~

Dropslide

I spent a while, probably too long thinking about the possible meanings of drop slide within the context of this track. In the end I decided that the most seemingly simple answer might be the best one. To me this track is about two people in a progressing relationship and it has reached a point of no return; a moment where things will be taken to the next level or they’ll end. The drop slide is the representation of this leap you are taking and unlike a physical slide you don’t know exactly how steep this drop will be or what will be waiting for you on the other side of it. You have to push through the fear in hopes that in the end it will pay off. It is certainly not an easy thing to do and if it was easy then well I don’t think it would be worth trying.

Cos every time I meet you it's so new

Find out bout your family, find out bout you

Maybe I'm stuck in what I know

And who I know how to be

I need to get past, the point of no return

So close, then gone in a flash

Are you gonna be the face I can’t get out

My mind

3, 2, 1, drop slide

Will you be my weakness

Close the gap between us

Everybody's strangers

But I think we might change this

This track does a great job at outlining the sort of thoughts and doubts a person would likely have in this situation. “Maybe I'm stuck in what I know, And who I know how to be” and “I need to get past, the point of no return.” It is just spectacular, I wish I had something far more eloquent to say but I do not. It is a marvelous track, listen for yourself.

Starved of You

Starved is one of those words that is used so casually and often it has lost much of its weight. As you are probably aware; it means to suffer severely or even die. This track does a superb job of getting across what it's like to be starved for someone else. I enjoy the way it compares this yearning for someone to starvation. If you have ever been anywhere near starving then you know that it is both a physical and emotional sensation much like the bliss and agonies of love.

And there’s nothing I can say when you look at me that way,

And I feel wanted.

Like a photographic flash, splintered light turns me to ash,

And I crave your touch.

In this wilderness I never knew,

Fending for myself, I’m starved of you.

Intoxicated, I never knew,

I could be so full of life yet so starved of you.

Two lines in this always seem to strike me the hardest: “like a photographic flash, splintered light turns me to ash” and “Intoxicated, I never knew, I could be so full of life yet so starved of you.” Such sharp and vivid descriptions are a hallmark of Natalie’s songwriting.

Heart Tracks

The rhyming in this track is absolutely spectacular; it doesn’t matter where I may be if I am listening to this track I have to sing along. Fellow shoppers and pedestrians walking through town have had to suffer through my rendition of this track on more than one occasion.

You’re a glitch in my system manual

There is no page on a thing so animal

You wouldn’t give up your dream for me and I like that

Tell me is it ok

If I soften my skin for you

I think maybe I’m here to stay

Scared to move forward but I do not wanna go back

You write your stories and I’ll write my heart tracks

Disconnected wires hang free in the circuit I’m so wonderfully disconcerted

“You’re a glitch in my system manual, there is no page on a thing so animal.” Not only does this sound amazing but presenting the idea that each of us humans have a manual which contains all of our typical quirks, behaviors and the like is something I thoroughly enjoy. I have always thought this track to be about a progressing relationship in which the two people desire to help each other fulfill their dreams. To say that meeting someone can cause glitches in your normal behavior is such an ingenious way of stating it. Continuing on the “wonderfully disconcerted” being wonderfully confused in this context just makes so much sense; this all paints a very identifiable picture.

While I feel this way about all of Natalie’s songs it is especially true of this one. There is a magnificent complexity to her music. I always feel that I am only gleaning just a tiny bit of what’s on the surface and there is far more that I am not recognizing.

Up in Smoke

When something goes up in smoke it fails or ends without anything being achieved and yet this track gives it a different meaning.

Don’t try to hide cos I wanna take you in

Wanna rub your atmosphere onto my skin

I can see everything

You’re my hallucinogen

I can see everything in the sharpest detail

Sober but you’re the best thing I’ve ever inhaled

Stay in my lungs so If we go up in smoke

You’re by my side

You’ll never go

The line “Wanna rub your atmosphere onto my skin” has always stuck out to me. I am perplexed by what it might mean. I would guess that in this context atmosphere has something to do with pervading tone or mood and I would assume this person has an exciting and interesting mood that surrounds them since you want to rub it onto your skin. As far as what exactly that process entails well it could mean many different things. This along with the imagery of going up in smoke but doing it together are very interesting and they speak to the extraordinary way Natalie expresses herself and the brilliance of her writing.

Balancing Act

Balancing: to keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall; offset or compare the value of (one thing) with another. It is something in which the difficulty varies greatly depending on the situation and context.

I don’t sleep for 7 days

The world is bleak

And I feel crazy

And then I wake

Some sunny day

Everything’s great

I feel amazing

And this balancing act has got me fallin every day

tap my head & I’ll crack I need to feed you anyway

morning night I never know when I existed right

yeah this balancing act is just that

I look up at the tallest buildings

rise on up octagonal feelings

feel you bubble tease me at the edge

suddenly the sun is shining

I forget my soul was cryin

I’m in trouble

I enjoy how the track illustrates the back and forth of life; how quickly the pendulum can swing from one side to the other. There is no solution offered in fact it’s the opposite which is part of the reason why I find this track so relatable from the beginning to the end.

Bedroom Demo’s 1&2