Songful Style: “Record Player!”

Holy heatwave, Batman! It is just plain miserable here in Central Indiana. Most of you can probably tell I’m a night owl. The temperatures have been in the 80s at 11:00pm! That’s approximately 29C! Thank goodness we have central air. The heat also makes my hair go flat right away which makes me feel even more awkward in front of the camera. Add to that that Nigel can’t yet stand, and my photos are a bit wonky! Anyway, welcome to the last Monday in June and another edition of Songful Style! Suzy and Shelbee decided to riff (see what I did there) on Style Imitating Art only with music! Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, Suzy of Suzy Turner, and I make up the bloggers in this group. You can find all of us on our blogs and Instagram.  Our ensembles (pun intended) may be inspired by the lyrics of a song, the artwork of the album cover, maybe the MTV video, or even a memory the song evokes. I chose this month’s song. Last month, Shelbee selected “Fat Bottomed Girls.” Oh, and there’s a link party, too!

The artists…

Daisy the Great is a an indie pop band with Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker as the lead singers and songwriters. Other members include Briana Archer, Matt Lau, Bernardo Ochoa, and Matti Dunietz. Dugan and Walker are definitely the stars of the show, though. They met while studying acting at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. In 2016, they formed Daisy the Great, a name which just sorta came about for no actual reason other than that daisies are pretty. “Yeah, something that is pretty…” Walker paused for a moment. “It’s something that is naturally feminine and delicate, and putting ‘the Great’ with it is making it more amplified (source).”

A little more…

When the two got together, Dugan and Walker first planned to write a musical. As they began writing the songs, they realized how closely their thoughts aligned and decided to form a band instead. One of the things that sets them apart is the way they write so that both sing lead at the same time. It’s not really melody and harmony, but it’s more two people singing the same part. Dugan and Walker remain close friends and even finish each other’s sentences.

Still more…

Their first EP, I’ve Got a Few Friends & I Wish They Were Mine was “released” in 2018. Their debut album, I’m Not Getting Any Taller, came in January 2019. I’m guessing the EP was self-produced, and the album was put out by their record company. It contained “The Record Player Song.” Its lyrics are the ones appearing below. In 2021, it became a TikTok sensation which brought it to the attention of Jack Met, AJR’s lead singer. A remix, featuring AJR and new verses was released on August 31, 2021. That song, known as “Record Player,” has more than 22 million streams on Spotify. It has also accumulated over 270 million views on TikTok.

Finally…

The group is still touring, and Duggan and Walker continue to be besties. You can read two really good articles here and here. Reading between the lines, I get the feeling the two are happy to be in a semi-successful band, but, mainly, they are just about being joyful and spreading joy!

The song…

What it means…

I think this song is about someone who struggles with self-doubt and self-confidence. I would have really been able to relate to this song when I was in seventh through tenth grades. I always felt a bit invisible. I used to say I was not one of the it girls, but I also wasn’t one of the out girls. I was in the middle (hmmm…imagine that) and got along with both groups. But, I think if you look even closer at the lyrics, you feel the pain of someone who really has no clue who they are…are they even visible to the people around them? Do they matter to anyone? It’s got this upbeat melody running throughout, but the message seems rather morose. And, yet, there’s also a sense of beginning to understand who they are…dyeing their hair (even though it didn’t come out the way they wanted), wearing vintage dresses (in 2014 that wasn’t really a thing, was it?), and yet remembering climbing in trees and scraping their knees. You know, when I think about it, this song could be my theme song! I loved to climb our apple tree when I was a kid and always had scraped knees and toes. I wouldn’t have had a clue about vintage dresses back then, but I definitely gravitated toward fabrics that would have seemed vintage. And, if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I do love the fun colors in my hair! Huh…imagine that! Somehow or other, these two got into my head and created a song for me!

The video…

There are two “official” videos for this song. The first is the video for the original song. The second is for the remix. I think it’s the more interesting. The third is another video of Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker “out in the wild.” The fourth is an animated version. I think it’s really intriguing they made so many videos!

Interesting covers…

This video is a bit over an hour long. The description says it’s for neurodivergent people as well as “people that love getting their heads flossed.” I didn’t listen to the whole thing, but feel free to do so and let me know what you think (it’s really just repeating a few lines over and over)!

Here’s another video for the neurodivergent. It’s a little different from the first, but it does just repeat the same few lines over and over again. It’s also almost 2.5 hours long!

Wow! This is an a cappella version by a group called Take Note a Cappella, and it is quite simply amazing! I could never snap my fingers in time like they are, or, at least not in time with them!

Here is a YouTube short…it just keeps repeating so it’s really only a few seconds long.

The singer says YouTube destroyed the video quality, but her audio seems a little off, too! But, I do like that she’s in a tree!

My interpretation…

OK, work with me here! At first, I was going to wear one of my vintage April Cornell dresses that come far below my knees. I consider them vintage because I know I bought them more than 20 years ago! But, they didn’t strike the right chord with me (pun intended). One of the things I noticed in a couple of the group’s videos was that they often like to wear black jeans and a black tee. I don’t own any black jeans (that currently fit) so I went with these dark grey Wit & Wisdom jeans that do fit. Next, I looked through my black tees, but the contrast was too much. Then, I spotted this tee from Old Navy. Those flowers could be called daisies, right? I decided to give it an asymmetrical look by pulling it up at the side and putting a hair tie around it on the inside. Do I love this look? Not really. It’s something I would have worn years ago, but it’s just not me these days!

The Lewk!

It was just too hot to pull out any boots (like the singers are wearing) so I went with my Born milk maid clogs. I added some sparkly earrings from J Crew and a wrap bracelet from Stella and Dot. When it’s this hot, I just don’t feel like wearing much in the way of accessories.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

I first heard this song a couple of years ago and was caught up in the melody. It’s a bit of an earworm, isn’t it? I do wish one of those videos had had something I could have worked with. But, I’m betting Shelbee and Suzy will have wonderful looks! So, can we talk? Did you listen to those neurodivergent videos…all the way through? What do you think of the difference between the original version and the remix? Which do you prefer? Which cover version is your favorite? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Thank you so very much for reading today’s post. I hope you enjoyed it. I also very much appreciate those of you who comment, email and/or subscribe. It’s what keeps me going! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

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Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

And, now, it’s your turn!

Please link up your favorite posts, DIY, baking, gardening, fashion…you name it…as long as it’s family friendly! Link up with me, visit a couple of others, and leave a comment or two! No worries if you don’t have a blog, just look around! You may find a new blog just waiting for you!

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