“Lonely is the Muse” by Halsey, Friday, October 11, 2024
I’m probably not the only one who thinks of Halsey as a pop singer. It’s forgivable considering the singer’s breakthrough hit was a feature on The Chainsmokers’ biggest hit “Closer,” and her Spotify top songs also sound like late ‘10s electronic songs. Halsey’s pop career was a deliberate effort after she was featured on “Closer.” Her second and third albums, hopeless fountain kingdom and Manic were described as more “radio-friendly” than her debut BADLANDS. But after earning a solo number-one Billboard Hot 100 with the song “Without Me,” Halsey’s musical style has shifted from radio pop. Her fourth album explored industrial rock and alternative rock especially with If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’s Nine Inch Nails production team of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. On October 25, Halsey is set to release her fifth album, The Great Impersonator, and the singles from the album take similar influence as the singer’s previous album.
I ALWAYS KNEW I WAS A MARTYR AND THAT JESUS WAS ONE TOO. Ashley Frangipane, known by her stage name Halsey, hasn’t had an easy life.
Frangipane was born to a white mother and an African-American father in New Jersey. Her parents dropped out of college because of the pregnancy. Halsey attempted suicide at 17 and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She started taking drugs soon after being hospitalized for almost three weeks. She was accepted into the Rhode Island School of Design, but dropped out to attend community college, unable to fund her education. She later dropped out of community college and her parents kicked her out of the house. She was homeless, staying with friends in New York, particularly spending the most time around Halsey Street Station, eventually adopting the name as her stage name. Halsey told Rolling Stone that by the time she was kicked out of the house, many of her friends were “degenerated stoners,” sometimes drinking Red Bull to stay awake for days because it was safer to stay awake for fear of being raped in the night.
I MINED A COUPLE DIAMONDS FROM THE STORIES IN MY HEAD. Tuning the guitar at the beginning of “Lonely is the Muse,” the second single from The Great Impersonator, is a jarring start to a grungy- ‘90s alt-rock-flavored track. Cranberries-like heavy guitars and overdubbed voices of Halsey whispering and sometimes speaking in a creepy little girl voice leading up to a Lacey Strum scream from Flyleaf’s grungy 2006 debut album center the song on the influences she heard from her mother--Nirvana, Alanis Morrissette, and the Cure. “Lonely is the Muse” musically packages a song full of pain. It’s a song in which Halsey draws on the pain she felt throughout her life, but there’s a particular focus on the time since she began her professional recording career. On Halsey’s last album, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, the singer discusses single motherhood, celebrating her femininity and nonbinary identity. The Great Impersonator adds themes of Halsey’s health struggles. This year, the singer revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lupus and a T-cell disorder. This adds to a list of other health issues that the singer has been diagnosed with. “Lonely is the Muse” deals specifically with unfulfilling relationships with individuals who are attracted to a lonely and broken. Halsey calls out the exploitative nature of these people who view her as a muse rather than a rounded character. She reminds herself of her own worth, but ultimately loneliness and being unrecognizable for her efforts are a constant “martyrdom.” The grunge and emo styles illustrate Halsey’s loneliness. Selfishly, I'm happy that this style of music is finding a place in pop culture again.
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