SOUNDTRACK–NILÜFER YANYA-“In Your Head” (2019).
I only recently started paying attention to Nilüfer Yanya since I found out she’s be opening for Sharon Van Etten in a couple of weeks. I was intrigued by her, but wasn’t blown away. Then she released this song which really changes the dynamic of her music. Although really all she’s done is add some big fat fuzzy chords to her simple poppy music.
But there’s nothing wrong with big fat fuzzy chords.
She doesn’t have a lot of music out–a couple of singles–so this brash rocker may be a change of style or might just be another style she does.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about her is her singing voice, which is full of British vowels and a kind of staccato delivery. Unlike overblown pop divas, Nilüfer sings like a young punk over some vintage sounds.
[READ: January 29, 2019] “What Can You Do with a General”
This is a Christmas story of sorts. John and Linda are married with grown up children. While Linda is on the phone, John is in the hot tub waiting for her. But when she arrives she said that Sasha’s flight is delayed. Which means she’ll land right during the holiday traffic. Also Andrew (Sasha’s boyfriend who has children and who Linda assumes is still married) won’t be able to make it either.
Sam arrived first. He drove down in his used car. He had called his parents far too often to debate whether or not to buy or lease a sedan. But Linda took the time to go over everything with him. He was hooking up the iPad–trying to convince his parents, who assumed it was broken because the battery ran out–that they liked would like streaming music better than their cds.
Chloe came next. She said she had driven a half hour with the gas light on. When her father chastised her for this, she ignored him and played with the dog instead.
She had to be gentle with the dog because it had recently had a pacemaker installed. Now John, who didn’t particularly like dogs to begin with, was on routine watch for this poor creature who could no longer run or jump or do much of anything. This also sounds like the set up for a Christmas sitcom, but it’s not,.
John tried to engage with his kids but “sometimes their rudeness left him breathless.”
Linda picked up Sasha who returned home in a frenzy–lost luggage and a dying battery. When she came down from upstairs she was wearing a sweatshirt from the college that her sister went to.
Sahsa made cracks about the dog–imagine being a dog and being ready to die and they you’re cut open and then you’re still alive. He hates us. Linda had prolonged the dog’s life for the kids.
John remembered back to live action Disney films when the were kids. he fell asleep while they were watching one now.
When he woke up Sasha had already gotten into her Christmas presents–well, everyone’s presents. “The box was on the counter I just opened it. Sorry.” “Was it addressed to you? You just do whatever you want?”
They were DNA kits for everyone. Sam was delighted but Sasha said it w s just like giving your DNA to the police.
John decided to take Sasha to the mall to get her some clothes. She was on her phone most of the time. And when he tried to speak, it made him angry. So he dropped her off and went to his office nearby–just for some peace and quiet.
I don’t understand the title at all but I assume this is an excerpt from a novel and not a short story.
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