Author: thimai

Lyrics continued from last week, “The Body is a Blade” by Japanese Breakfast. I think the lyrics in this song convey a lot in a few words. A message that tells the listener to trust the power they hold. I was especially drawn to the titular line ‘the body is a blade’, a reference to Ocean Vuong’s poem “Headfirst”. Though in the original poem, it’s used in almost in a malicious way, suggesting one’s body is a weapon to do harm onto others. Here, Japanese Breakfast talks about the body as a tool to carry you through the difficulties of life. To visualize these lyrics I wanted to show a character’s internal struggles as walking through a field of tall grass. Overwhelming and all consuming, it must feel like there’s no way out. But the act of moving away from the thought of giving up and choosing to move forward allows the body to literally act as a blade, making a new path.

TW// slight gore in this week’s comic (non-detailed wounds/guts)

Read More

Lyrics from “A Portrait Of” by Sorority Noise. This impactful song expresses the singer’s desire to help his friends through their mental health issues while also dealing with his own. Though the song is full of powerful lines, I particularly liked the lyric: “so I’ll say it again and again / and again and again / and again and again / and again and again / I’m not trying to say it’s easy / but I’m trying to say it’s fine”. I like how simple the line “it’s fine” is. The singer’s not saying that the struggles his friends face are meaningful, or to ignore or get over them. He’s just saying that “it’s fine”. To me it seems like he’s trying to get his friend to simply be okay with going through the hard parts of life, as they’re impossible to avoid.

Completed piece with lyrics from “Obsession” by The Cairos. To me this song seems to be talking about how inherently meaningless obsession is. There’s no basis for what the protagonist is after, but then there’s seemingly no reason for anyone to be doing anything. An earlier lyrics goes, “I’m confused by the world / it turns and there’s no point”. I think a forest is a good setting to visualize this confusion and sense of being loss, the tree branches filling up the panels. The protagonist watches others try to travel through the woods, but finds that there’s nothing pushing them forward, and there’s no easy way for them out either. Despite not knowing why, the protagonist continues on, obsessed with something they can’t explain.

I’ve split these lyrics into two posts, the part 2 will be out next week! The lyrics I used are from the song “Obsession” by The Cairos. The full verse is: “For no reason at all/ I moved through all I could/ unsuspected at all/ I spied but found no haunt/ well it’s just as complex as I thought/ and I’m so unsatisfied” I interpreted this song as an ambitious person trying to understand what it is they’re actually chasing, and what the point of their obsession is. Visualizing this verse, I wanted to show the character climbing higher and higher in a forest for seemingly no reason. They just believe it’s what they should be doing. They decide to watch others as they make their way through the same forest. In comparison, their path looks easier. In the next part I’ll be showing that the other path is just as complex as the climb, with no reason behind their trek either. The last line will show the character’s confusion with all that’s going on, unable to see the end of any of it, “and I’m so unsatisfied.”

Lyrics from “Killer Whale” by Boyscott. I interpreted this song as a story about two people who’s lives rely on each other. Personally, I relate this song to my brother and I. We’ve been close our entire lives, so it feels as though we’re permanently tied, both by family and what we’ve been through. The song puts an emphasis on ‘home’ and the idea of leaving and coming back to it. As each person goes through their own struggles in life, it seems like the other acts as an anchor. They both try to be there for each other while also trying not to get lost themselves. I wanted to visualize this connection through a red cord tying the two characters together. As the first character ‘loses heart’ the cord unravels, loosening its hold on the other. I think this push and pull of needing another person can be seen in a lot of different relationships, but this is how I hear the song!