Wow have I been busy.
This summer I traveled all over the US, and last minute took a trip to Italy to show work in Matera. My grief work that I had created in the Darkroom in discussion of the loss of my grandfather and the confusion of identity with my family history really took off, and I’ve been showing it all around the world. So I have still been making work, but I didn’t have access to chemicals over the summer and I actually ended up getting hired full time by another University last minute, so I ended up switching the month of August! However, I have been building installations and creating work that is more so talking about grief and mental health and the connection of lack of feeling that I endure every day.
As most of my following knows, music is a huge aspect to my life. Albums do really pull me, and specific musicians really get me. I was going to go down every single song of Halsey’s album, but though I do love the newest album, I don’t necessarily identify with it. I haven’t grappled with death in the way she has, and sadly when I have faced death it was at my own choice and I had been okay with it. So it was hard for me to want to create that work – unlike past albums I’ve created by Taylor that were just fun for me to decipher and create because there was a bit of it I could pull from myself in every song.
MGK released a new album, and I have been a super fan for a while. Ironically, the songs that are the most sad from him are the songs that I enjoy the most – but his newest album pulls me for many reasons. His lyrics do actually have a lot of dual meanings – and I’ve watched several interviews from him where he does discuss his album and his intentions.
The name of Lost Americana hits me for a few reasons.
1. The timeliness of where America is at politically. Some of these songs serve as a duality for me for the landscape of America. MGK is discussing his identity and finally being free of ‘being cool’ and what others expect him to be, leading him to the ultimate freedom. However it’s also relearning everything he has ever known. The time he felt he thought he was the most ‘free’ he was caging himself with social norms and expectations and has stripped all of that.
Politically, the parallel for me is the idea for all of American history we have set up these lies of this country and its ‘inability’ to fail – which is just not true. It’s failed it’s citizens over and over – just maybe not the wealthy ones. Right now it feels like it’s in distress and as MGK had said about himself, he has needed to break his whole life down to build it up again, and I can see that in this album personally as I can nationally.
2. The colors are so red, white and blue with this nostalgic feel to it – reminiscent with the sound of old synths, rock and roll, and borrowed sounds from past albums of others. We even have Bob Dylan announcing the album
The poor camcorder quality, the historic voice over and the marlboro man cigarettes vibe just scream the past but never pinpoint to a specific decade or time period. It gathers all of these time periods that are gone and lost but never forgotten.
The music itself has a concept of sunrise to sunset as if you are on a road trip. MGK stated himself that people constantly refer to nostalgia as this thing with shitty film grain and quality but never a true feeling— but that’s exactly what nostalgia is. It’s the 90’s movies we grew up with, it’s road trips and the music we had to listen to with our parents over and over— so from beginning to end, you start the album with more peppy, happy, cliché music, and end with music that hits you right in the gut as you overthink everything in your life.
3. I’m a mental health girlie. After track 6 the songs begin to attack me personally. i love it.
The album, to me, doesn’t just represent a lost americana, but also being lost in america.
Being lost mentally, not knowing what to do next, trying to find a new path [in MGK’s circumstance, it’s finding sobriety] and stripping down a specific ideal notion of what you have to do, sound like, act like and finding a new path you haven’t driven down before. The first song and music video Outlaw Overture really showcase this – and the metaphors in these songs really have me so excited to discuss them.
Image Introduction
Lost Americana
A new series highlighting Machine Gun Kelly new album while also discussing the landscape of america in its current state.
lost. distressed. unknown
200 asa 35mm daylight Phoenix film
I wanted to lean into this idea of Americana, but distressed. The landscape that we know, but seeking help. This entire album is just that. His life at the lowest, reaching out for help. Scraping all he knows, going to the lowest of lows to build it up again. I feel that is the same representation as America in it’s current state. I feel no one understands critical thinking. I feel no one is willing to engage with empathy. No one considers their own hypocrisy or is willing to see where they fall short. We have people in power hungry for their own greed, ego and power, who are willing to leave others behind for a dollar. The noise is so loud – and I am seeking for the peace and calm.