Speedy Ortiz ‘Villain’

I had the best dream the other night. I dreamt that I was singing the opening song from The Lion King, ‘Circle Of Life’ and I was absolutely killing it. I was performing to a group of school friends and teachers, nailing complicated runs and belting for my life as backing singers chanted along with me. I don’t know what this dream says about me – maybe that I am still, in a way, trying to prove myself to the people I knew at school through social media humblebrags and carefully posed selfies. I’m sure we are all guilty of doing it to a degree; otherwise why would people turn up to school reunions? Not to reconnect with old friends, that’s for sure. Much of our adult lives are spent trying to prove that you are no longer the little dweeb you were in secondary school – even if you very much still are the little dweeb you were in secondary school. It makes me wonder how people sought validation before the internet existed; perhaps by having the nicest front lawn in the street, or a bigger car than your neighbour. Even so, I bet self esteem issues were much less prevalent in teenagers and young adults. ANYWAY, today I’m listening the new single ‘Villain’ from Speedy Ortiz. With growling bass lines, dissonant and disjointed guitar riffs, and deadpan vocals, the new track deals with the ‘mental gymnastics’ victims and survivors of sexual harassment have to do in order to cope with their often conflicted feelings. These challenging themes are dealt with superbly in the accompanying video, portraying the harasser as a creepy 60s B-Movie fish headed alien. Check it out.