Music Review: Elastica "Waking Up"
Elastica
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Waking Up
Album: Elastica
Year: 1995
Justine Frischmann is crumbling under her need to be perfect in the anxious "Waking Up"
Fretful guitars open the single, setting a morose tone. She says she doesn't have the motivation to go to college. The constant stress of getting on the Dean's List every semester is too much to do all over again. It was hard enough to handle in high school. She doesn't want to be at home, doing nothing. It bores her and there isn't a future in it.
In the chorus, she says sleep is the only time she's relaxed. She's unconcious from the world and her problems. However, getting up in the morning is the toughest for her. Then, she has to admit to herself that she's not perfect. She tells her friend to pick a vinyl album from her shelf and play it.
A panicked guitar solo follows.
In the second verse, she says that she wants to be a famous musician. She tells her friend she hears hooks and the lyrics in her head. However, she's never felt they were good enough. She says she'll buy a guitar and find a boyfriend who will be her manager. However, if she can't be featured in Q magazine or have a classic single people will remember for years, she's not going to attempt it.
The chorus is sung once. It's followed by an guitar solo, which lasts for about a minute.
The chorus is sung again to end the single.
Frischmann's perfectionism has given her a lot of opportunity. She got into the college she wanted. All through high school, she achieved every single one of her goals. She's smart and could have the choice of any college or career she wanted. However, she's troubled that she may never live up to her potential. Her family and friends thought she would be traveling the world and mingling with artists. However, once she began submitting her photographs to magazines, she was rejected. She believes all her intelligence was a lie and that's she a fraud.
"Waking Up" has a character that is usually vilified in pop music. She's the all-around girl who has the right clothes and amount of brains. Everyone is always competing with her. Elastica, however, make the girl a three dimensional character. However, she feels like nothing and that it's all undeserved. In the end, she's as flawed, if not more so, than anyone else.
Album: Elastica
Year: 1995
Justine Frischmann is crumbling under her need to be perfect in the anxious "Waking Up"
Fretful guitars open the single, setting a morose tone. She says she doesn't have the motivation to go to college. The constant stress of getting on the Dean's List every semester is too much to do all over again. It was hard enough to handle in high school. She doesn't want to be at home, doing nothing. It bores her and there isn't a future in it.
"I'd work very hard but I'm lazy/I can't take the pressure and it's starting to show/In my heart you know how it pains me/A life of leisure is no life you know."
In the chorus, she says sleep is the only time she's relaxed. She's unconcious from the world and her problems. However, getting up in the morning is the toughest for her. Then, she has to admit to herself that she's not perfect. She tells her friend to pick a vinyl album from her shelf and play it.
"Waking up and getting up has never been easy/Oh oh I think you should know/Waking up and getting up has never been easy/Oh oh I think you should know/Oh oh I think you should go/Make a cup of tea and put a record on."
A panicked guitar solo follows.
In the second verse, she says that she wants to be a famous musician. She tells her friend she hears hooks and the lyrics in her head. However, she's never felt they were good enough. She says she'll buy a guitar and find a boyfriend who will be her manager. However, if she can't be featured in Q magazine or have a classic single people will remember for years, she's not going to attempt it.
"I'd work very hard but I'm lazy/I've got a lot of songs but they're all in my head/I'll get a guitar and a lover who pays me/If I can't be a star I won't get out of bed."
The chorus is sung once. It's followed by an guitar solo, which lasts for about a minute.
The chorus is sung again to end the single.
Frischmann's perfectionism has given her a lot of opportunity. She got into the college she wanted. All through high school, she achieved every single one of her goals. She's smart and could have the choice of any college or career she wanted. However, she's troubled that she may never live up to her potential. Her family and friends thought she would be traveling the world and mingling with artists. However, once she began submitting her photographs to magazines, she was rejected. She believes all her intelligence was a lie and that's she a fraud.
"Waking Up" has a character that is usually vilified in pop music. She's the all-around girl who has the right clothes and amount of brains. Everyone is always competing with her. Elastica, however, make the girl a three dimensional character. However, she feels like nothing and that it's all undeserved. In the end, she's as flawed, if not more so, than anyone else.