TV Obsessive
Phoebe Bridgers, “Kyoto”
Hawk: Despite cancelling my Sirius subscription and losing access to the embarrassment of riches that is the service’s lineup of programs, I’ve still found plenty to listen to thanks to The Colorado Sound, a public access station in my area. One such earworm that I’ve really taken a liking to is Phoebe Bridger’s “Kyoto.” The song places Bridgers in the city of Kyoto and the lyrics flow in a sort of conversational, observational style that sound like a breakup ballad but, according to Bridgers, actually refer to imposter syndrome, her desire to visit Japan, and the prospect of playing her music in the city.
The song itself, which employs everything from guitar to synth to horns, feels richly layered and immediately put Bridgers on my radar. I was also delighted to find that her debut album was titled Stranger in the Alps, a direct reference to the infamous TV edit of The Big Lebowski when Walter (John Goodman) repeatedly shouted a profane phrase while trashing someone’s car. The rest of the music Bridgers has put out is just as good, and she’s got such a distinctive voice and style that it’s hard to resist remaining in my car when I recognize her on the radio.
A perfect companion to the song is the video, and in writing this blurb I learned that Bridgers originally planned to shoot the video in Kyoto but, due to the pandemic, had to resort to filming in from of a green screen. The end result plays a huge part in the video’s personality, as Bridgers, in her trademark skeleton outfit, sings in front of cycling images ranging from city images to pictures of nature, reacting to them with comfortably lo-fi editing reminiscent of a well-worn VHS tape. I particularly like how hard the production team leans into the quarantine-imposed shoestring vibe, such as during a “flying” sequence when the fan used to blow her hair back for the effect was clearly pushed into the frame and directly into her face. By the end, Bridgers is rescuing her bandmates from Godzilla, and the whole vibe as a contrast to the lyrics works perfectly for the visual style of the video.
I’m really excited for what Bridgers does next, not only for her creativity in her writing but also how well she makes the instruments in her songs interface with each other. Kyoto is a satisfying song with an even more satisfying video and I can comfortably place her towards the top of my list of artists I can readily recommend to my friends.
Those are our recommendations this week! What are yours? Let us know in the comments!
