Through Half-Shut Eyes

Disclosure featuring Lorde “Magnets”

There’s a lot of songs about cheating, or being the other man/woman, but I like the particular tension in this one. Lorde is basically singing about going after a coupled person and knowing it’s the ~wrong~ thing to do, but enjoys feeling like she has some sexual power, and can’t help but get excited about it. The really potent line in this song is “pretty girls don’t know the things that I know,” which you can unpack in many ways but every time, it’s from the point of view of someone who’s internalized the idea that they aren’t sexually attractive. Disclosure’s track keeps the mood sexy, but subtly tense and unstable – you get the feeling of excitement, but also the nerves and nagging conscience. When she sings a line like “let’s embrace the point of no return,” it’s like someone playing a role, and trying out an identity to see if it fits. If you change the tone a bit, this scene can easily be played as a comedy.

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