Fine Lines
A Vulture series in which artists break down lyrics to their latest album.
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Mannequin Pussys Marisa Dabice gets a distant, weary look in her eyes when she recalls 2021.
There wasnt space or time for us to write.
The resulting project,I Got Heaven, spits, sobs, and screams, sometimes all at once.
I dont like when those worlds exist separately from one another because they are very intertwined to me.
Animals dont always have control over their circumstances.
That line was also inspired by our live shows.
Was this song always intended to kick off the record?No.
I also felt that it had to be the first song.
Its like swinging on the chandelier,Here we fucking are after being away for years.
How are these ideas related to you?Im particularly proud of that run of lines.
If I want to walk by your side, thats going to happen without a leash.
Youwrote, Self-hatred is taught to us so how do we unlearn it?
But Nothing Like is a bit more of a fairy tale.
It doesnt feel true to my perspective until the end.
I think thats one of the most evil mythologies of our time.
That singsongy thing came out as soon as I changed the tuning.
But then I couldnt get away from them.
It made sense to allow this song to be a little childlike because its about fantasy and desire.
Theres something immature about having a crush.
I also was just thinking about theFeistsong, like this is a moment to do 1234.
Youre gonna fuckinBegAnd heelAnd learnOnly way thruIs healAnd learn
I love the interplay between heel and heal.
Theres one side that wants to scream and yell at the world and blame everything else.
Then theres the other half that can give a shot to tell you to just slow down.
The first half of the song is this person screaming about all these things that are going wrong.
Marisa, you adopt a snotty Valley-girl voice on this song.
Whats the deal with that?This song started as that vocal affectation.
I think those are honest questions to ask yourself.
This was also the event that led to the formation of Mannequin Pussy.
I was feeling very intense anger and despair and didnt know what to do with it.
We talk a lot about this as a band.
Theres something very divine about the intersection of bodies.
To recognize your own body as possibly being built for the pleasure of another feels very devotional to me.
I dont consider the title Split Me Open to be graphic or obscene in a porn-daddy way.
It would have been easy to end this album holding hands with someone.
But at the end of this record, its still a solitary figure walking alone.
