Music Review: Ingrid Michaelson "Girls Chase Boys"

Ingrid Michaelson

Girls Chase Boys

Album: Lights Out

Year: 2014

          Ingrid Michaelson can longer tolerate the mind games in relationships in the              well-adjusted “Girls Chase Boys.”

             Nonchalant synths open the single, setting a composed tone.  In the chorus,  She rubs her temples and wonders why he couldn’t have told her he wasn’t interested. He need his space and there is a possibility they could get back together..He probably has found another pretty thing to keep his attention. (“All the broken hearts in the world still beat/Let's not make it harder than it has to be/Ooh... it's all the same thing/Girls chase boys chase girls/ All the broken hearts in the world still beat/Let's not make it harder than it has to be/Ooh... it's all the same thing/Girls chase boys chase girls.”)

               She had given him too much credit. He seemed to be above the relationship doublespeak. However, she’s not going to cry over him for weeks, thinking it was a love that will never be. She thanks him for being honest and would like to be friends, too. There is no need for her to be open and give any part of herself away to him. The relationship is done. (“I'm a little let down, but I'm not dead/There's a little bit more that has to be said (oh oh)/You play me, now I play you too/Let's just call it over.”)

            The chorus is sung again.

            After the chorus, she says “chase girls chase boys chase boys chase girls.”

            He apologizes to her, saying he wishes things would’ve out between them, It’s just now isn’t the right time. She responds that it’s ok. She thinks to herself there is no chance she will ever trust him again. Before they leave, he gives her a hug and a peck on the cheek. He tells her to keep in touch. She says she will, too. However, she knows it’s the last time she will ever see him. (“I'm a little bit home, but I'm not there yet/It's one to forgive but it's hard to forget/Don't call me, I won't call you, too/Let's just call it over.”)

             The chorus is sung again.

           After the chorus, she says “chase girls chase boys chase boys chase girls” again.

            In the bridge, she says she still in one piece. She hasn’t fallen apart. She still has a belief in love. She knows she will find the right person for her eventually. (“I got two hands, one beating heart/And I'll be alright, I'm gonna be alright/Yeah I got two hands, one beating heart/And I'll be alright/Gonna be alright.”)

           The chorus is sung twice. She adlibs “everything’s going to be fine” and “everybody loves you” towards the end.

            At the end, she says part of the chorus to end the single. (“Ooh it's all the same thing/Girls chase boys chase girls.”)

          Michaelson’s poised vocals are familiar with the breakup speeches. To her, they are insincere and have no meaning. It’s all become part of the game, which she would like to avoid playing. In the meantime, if she will take up an activity. If she finds someone, great. If not, there wasn’t a loss.

         The practical “Girls Chase Boys” will keep moving forward, knowing it’s not the world of end of the world if a guy doesn’t like her.