By: Makenzie Morales, Graduate Assistant
This image was originally posted to Flickr by Krists Luhaers at https://flickr.com/photos/96459815@N03/34914133554.
This one is for all the music lovers out there. One of my favorite music artists, Julia Jacklin, just released her third studio album, Pre Pleasure. Julia Jacklin creates music of the indie folk variety, and I strongly encourage you all to give her a listen. While I simply cannot stop spinning Pre Pleasure, the focus of this Thought of The Day will be analyzing her second studio album, Crushing. Crushing was released in February 2019 under Polyvinyl Record Co. Not to be dramatic, but my life changed that day. When I reflect back on my undergraduate experience, I instantly hear Crushing. Crushing was released at a time when I needed it most, and it brought my friend group indescribably close to one another. Despite the fact that we were all experiencing similar feelings of isolation, loneliness, and anxiety, we weren’t able to verbalize these feelings with one another until Crushing gave us the avenue to do so. I love Crushing for more than just personal reasons, though. Julia Jacklin thoughtfully and poetically crafts together songs that all listeners can truly resonate with. Crushing is about heartbreak, self-discovery, and the power reframing can have. The opener for the album, ‘Body’, reveals itself slowly through the chord progressions, unraveling the pain that seeps through the lyrics. As Julia describes it herself, ‘Body’ is like “a very long and exaggerated sigh”. Instrumentally, ‘Body’ is simply a repetition of the same chords. Lyrically, Jacklin doubles down on this repetition with the lyrics, “I guess it’s just my life / and it’s just my body”. In this, Jacklin is referring to the exhaustion from “fighting the good fight”. Sometimes, you just aren’t up for the fight. To fight for basic human rights, to fight for a space at the table, to fight to simply exist is…exhausting, and sometimes you just want to throw your hands up and say, “enough! I guess it’s just my life, and it’s just my body.” Not to be misunderstood, though, ‘Body’ is not about accepting the general lack of respect people have for women and non-binary folks’ bodies, it’s about reconciling with the messiness of it all, and finding a way to provide yourself with enough comfort to just exist in your own skin. On the next song of the album, ‘Head Alone’, the lyrics “I don’t want to be touched all the time / I raised my body up to be mine” echoes the sentiments explored in the first song. By the end of the song, Julia emotionally repeats the lyrics, “So I’ll say it until he understands / you can love somebody without using your hands”. It’s clear to the listener that at this point in the album, she is going through the process of mourning the uncomfortability of being in a body that does not always feel her own, and re-claiming it. Towards the middle of the album, we hear this reclamation peak in the song ‘You Were Right’. Lyrics such as “Started listening to your favorite band the day I stopped listening to you / You were always trying to force my hand, but now I’m listening because I want to”. She ends this song with “Started feeling like myself again the day I stopped saying your name.” It is evident that she has successfully navigated this heartbreak, and has begun to explore herself and her identity without the attachment of another. By the end of the album, lyrics such as “I’ll be ok / I’ll be alright / I’ll sleep well soon / Get through the night” finish the Crushing by informing the listener that pain is cured with time.
The takeaway of this TOTD is this: (1) Listen to Crushing by Julia Jacklin. (2) Sometimes art can be a really helpful avenue for grieving. Whether it’s journaling, poetry, music, painting, drawing, or anything else, the process is as important as the end result. Julia Jacklin has decided to share this extremely intimate piece of music with us, but the most important piece is that she was able to move through this difficult process of grief through her art. As classes advance and deadlines approach, it is a helpful reminder to take space for yourself to do the same. Albums like Crushing remind us of our humanness, and the importance of taking care of yourself and others while we all strive to simply exist.
Interested in sharing your own "Thought Of The Day" or TOTD? Email us at wss@msu.edu.