WILDCARD: Florence + The Machine

The Introduction

Recently, I have become obsessed with Florence + The Machine. My German roommate in Paris actually introduced me to this artist in the fall and it seems she is starting to become pretty well known here in the states as well.

Why Florence + The Machine?

The songs written and performed by this woman are some of my favorites. Depending on whatever kind of mood I’m in I can always listen to this album and enjoy it. In fact, it is one of those albums that I can click on and use as inspiration while writing or background noise for studying. It’s beautiful. In general, I always find it hard to find an entire album that I can truly admit that I love, but this time I can honestly say that I am addicted to her sound.

So I did Some Research

This album has a very strong underlying theme. LOVE. What else would I be talking about here? Throughout the album it is apparent that Florence Welch is pulling from her personal experiences. It sounds as if she is detailing her life’s lovers and breakups. I cannot help but feel like this artist has a broken heart, although she takes a more angry approach to her songs than many of our poets did this week. Additionally, many of the songs actually have a very strong melancholy tone that sound as if the artist’s heart was crushed. And when Florence Welch was asked to interpret some of her songs she told reporters, “A lot of the songs are based on what keeps me up at night, that state between waking and dreaming. I guess the things that keep me up at night aren’t exactly nice things. I’m not naturally an aggressive or angry person, so I think it’s kind of a thrill for me to explore these themes. It’s exciting to push it as far as I can, to see how dark you can get.’’ This is true: The album is not the happiest you could ever listen to, but I like how it expresses emotions that we have all felt at some time or another. It’s a great combination of somberness, calmness, anger, lust and frustration. In comparison to the lyrical poems that we read this week, I really enjoy how broad Florence’s emotional spectrum is. I love reading or listening to something that can take you from one stage to the next in a fluid movement. I am clearly a child of my generation, as can be seen with my difficulty to make a connection, other than to respect, the works that we read this week.

The Album

Lungs by Florence + The Machine

• Dog Days Are Over
• Rabbit Heart
• I’m Not Calling You a Liar
• Howl
• Kiss With A Fist
• Girl With One Eye
• Drumming Song
• Between Two Lungs
• Cosmic Love
• My Boy Builds Coffins
• Hurricane Drunk
• Blinding
• You’ve Got the Love

Here is the music video to Cosmic Love. It is one of my favorite songs and I think works perfectly with this weeks lesson.