album Róisín Murphy - 'Hit Parade'

[Kern]

 

[Avantpop]

the way it mega aged. tried replaying it yesterday and i was skipping 80% of the sings 

[MusicIsMyMaster]

13 minutes ago, stupidjock said:

 

oh wow need this!!

 

Deluxe coming????????

 

 - Hit Parade

- Milf Funk

+ Remixes?

Edited November 6, 2023 by MusicIsMyMaster

[bestfiction]

50 minutes ago, acidbb said:

well... im the poster lolll. i didnt delete it. reddit banned me becuz im trans.

 

original post

 

 

Raisin Murphy’s Hit Parade Is About Domestic Violence

 

I thought it was strange that the opener and closer of the album seem so much darker than the rest of the album, and the songs put together as an album didn’t really make much sense to me. Then it hit me…

 

“What Not To Do”: “Tell me what not to do,” Murphy repeats. She’s just left her ex. She wants her next person to control her, give her instructions so that she can obey and prevent the loss of this next love.

 

“CooCool”: This song is about Murphy underestimating the violence in her new relationship. She believes being hit is a positive sign of love. “I’ve lost it,” she says, implying that she’s lost love before and believes that “that ol’ magic’s back” and finds “joy” and “love” in this new abusive relationship. She’s a masochist and thinks the abuse is exciting. “Embrace your inner child / Go buck wild / It ain’t a liability” means that she’s “cool” with being with an immature and abusive person.

 

“The Universe”: The gay Karen vocals represent positive memories Murphy has with her partner, but overall, this song is about Murphy detaching herself from her family to be with her partner, most likely due to her family telling her to leave the abusive partner. She believes that her and her partner are meant to be together because “the universe” lets it happen.

 

“Hurtz So Bad”: Murphy’s partner abuses her again. “Did I ever disappoint you? / Did I disappoint you? / Did I get it wrong? / Did I get it wrong all along?” she questions repeatedly. She doesn’t want her partner to be upset, and them being upset makes her upset.

 

“The House”: Murphy is aware of the abuse, but she can’t live without her partner at this point. “All I need is you,” “I don’t want to be alone”… She’s dependent on her partner despite the abuse. And the outro, with Murphy saying “It’s lock me in / Darling?! / I can’t / I can’t get out / Where have you gone?”, symbolizes being trapped in an abusive environment and not being able to escape from the control and abuse of her abuser who clearly neglects her and her feelings/wellbeing.

 

“Fader”: “There’s no pain without the gains of feeling something true.” She believes being hit and abused is a physical sign of love. She likes the physicality of it. She thinks there’s a sense of realness in being hit. She likes the pain.

 

“Free Will”: This song is about not believing in free will, and it’s clear how this song contributes to the abuse narrative just from the verse alone.

 

“You Knew”: She knows her partner knows that they’re abusive. Here she’s actually feeling a bit rebellious, giving her partner “fair warning,” telling them to “take some sort of responsibility,” and calling them “extra” but also “innocent” since she knows they’re immature. “You knew exactly what motivates me,” she says. She knows the partner knows that Murphy likes violent physical touch, and they take advantage of that.

 

“Can’t Replicate”: “The things that you know about me / Nobody else knows about,” “nobody else sees it, no.” Murphy’s abuse and the extent of it have been kept a secret from everyone. Even though she’s starting to question the abuse, she still loves her partner, thinks they’re unique, and believes they’re meant to be together still.

 

“Two Ways”: “I’m not your girl and I don’t have the right / I’m not gonna fly into another rage.” Murphy is starting to actually realize that she can’t handle the abuse anymore and feels angry about it. “I don’t wanna kill you with the fright.” In a way Murphy knows that her partner depends on her as well, and even though they’ve hurt her, she doesn’t want the end of this relationship to depress them. And obviously the “secret” Murphy is talking about is the abuse.

 

“Eureka”: The reason the opener and closer sandwich eleven super breezy tracks is because the summery tracks represent Murphy’s delusion and fantasy, and the other two tracks represent reality. We’re back to reality here with Murphy acknowledging that she’s not okay at all. She needs to see a doctor. She needs help having her pain taken away. She wants to prevent any toxic love from happening again, and this is the first sign that she’s starting to overcome her desperation. This is why the ending of the album is somewhat positive even if “Eureka” musically leaves the album on a rather hauntingly sad note.

 

The album art: There’s a reason Murphy uses AI for the art for this era. It’s to promote this sense of irrationality that’s exhibited on most of these tracks. On the album cover, Murphy is an inflatable roly poly toy. On most of the songs here, she’s basically an object for her partner to hit. She has no free will. She has no control. She’s been filled with so much air, a symbol for unresolved issues and emotions from either her love life or other traumas, in herself. She’s a soft toy for her partner to hit, so they never get tired or painful from hitting her. Her smile is a sign that she’s mentally unstable or manic, and the black background being contrasted with her colorful surface signifies that she’s living in her own fantasy world on most of these tracks just like I previously mentioned, when in reality her situation is very bad.

 

The album title: The definition of a hit parade is a list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time. Why did Murphy name her album a title that seemingly has nothing to do with and reflects nothing about the songs on the album? That’s because this album is a RECORD of this journey of abuse that she’s been through and that’s significant to her. I kept mentioning her being hit by her partner because of the title: HIT Parade. During this relationship, she’s felt more confident and proud in her mind because she believes that she can’t lose love again if she lets her partner abuse her, but as one abusive event comes after another, she realizes that this needs to stop and this only adds to her long history of trauma. This album is about her initially internally glorifying, accepting, and then eventually struggling to come to terms with the abuse from her partner. She believed that the abuse is okay and even good, until the very end when she then realizes that she has to leave.

 

I’m a 20-year-old who’s experienced much trauma over the past decade, so this is my interpretation of the record. Let me know if you agree thank you for coming to my TED talk, and follow me on AOTY @acidbb for my review of Hit Parade y’all.

Interesting perspective. I'm not sure if I agree with the reasoning of the title but overall I think the otherwise puzzling sequencing would make sense with such explanation.

[RT Air]

The way this has become my absolute favorite album of the year 
Other girls have come and gone but I keep returning to Hit Parade

 

I also need Milf Funk on streaming asap

[MusicIsMyMaster]

17 minutes ago, RT Air said:

The way this has become my absolute favorite album of the year 
Other girls have come and gone but I keep returning to Hit Parade

 

I also need Milf Funk on streaming asap

same here. a true gem. nothing compares 

[STMG23]

2 hours ago, Avantpop said:

the way it mega aged. tried replaying it yesterday and i was skipping 80% of the sings 

For me it's the absolute biggest album of the year. After now about 2-3 weeks that I focused on other stuff, HP has hit me again tonight. It's just a masterpiece.

 

By the way, since friday I have also gotten into Hairless Toys. Just wow.

[STMG23]

I've followed Moloko and Roisin Murphy ssince the early 00s but I never really tried to get into her solo stuff. Can't even say why. Roisin Machine was the turning point. Hit Parade the zenith and now after getting into HT I just know that in 2015 I would not have appreciated the album as I do know. It's just so sophisticated and multi-layered. You gotta put in some work but once you're in, wow.

 

Ok, I am having a little bit of wine. Excuse my little essay.

 

 

[MusicIsMyMaster]

2 minutes ago, STMG23 said:

I've followed Moloko and Roisin Murphy ssince the early 00s but I never really tried to get into her solo stuff. Can't even say why. Roisin Machine was the turning point. Hit Parade the zenith and now after getting into HT I just know that in 2015 I would not have appreciated the album as I do know. It's just so sophisticated and multi-layered. You gotta put in some work but once you're in, wow.

 

Ok, I am having a little bit of wine. Excuse my little essay.

 

 

"Overpowered" is probably one of her best albums. I would do a deep dive immediately. 

[MusicIsMyMaster]

2 hours ago, stupidjock said:

 

ive replayed this several times

 

[Blue Jeans]

Not this being the actual Masochism  if so, there are so many more layers to it. I definitely didn’t expect the album to sound as dark after the singles and artwork. What a conceptual and audiophile piece of work

[Kern]

I think this theory is a bit of a reach, I think she already said this album has some dark undertones becasue it's about dealing with mortality but that's kinda all there is to it

[Winged]

My album of 2023 

[MusicIsMyMaster]

12 minutes ago, Winged said:

My album of 2023 

Same   Winged where have you been ?

[Moloko Plus]

9 hours ago, stupidjock said:

 

Oh wowwww, I need this in HQ immediately 

[tupperware]

8 hours ago, stupidjock said:

I think this theory is a bit of a reach, I think she already said this album has some dark undertones becasue it's about dealing with mortality but that's kinda all there is to it

i felt the same until i read into the complete lyrics and some of Roisin's explanations more:

 

What Not To Do:
Tell me what not to do
(I want to go outside)
Teach me what not to do
Show me, teach me, how to be
Turn me into anything you need

 

— A dark, meandering, disorienting opener to the album. All about wanting to be instructed, lead, or submissive to someone.

CooCool:
"I've lost it...", muttered as the intro to the song about falling head over heels in love.

 

The Universe:
"The universe at large is playful and terrifying. There is no discernible sense to it. The story that is always being told is on multiple levels, levels we don’t see or understand. The experience of being alive is to be continually reminded of how utterly unaware we are of what is really going on all around us."

 

Hurtz So Bad:

Did I ever disappoint you?
Did I disappoint you?
Did I get it wrong?
Did I get it wrong all along?
You were sending signals
You sent certain signals to me
Post me a bomb
And if I open it, I'm gone, gone, gone
Blowing pieces to splinters
He plays me so hard
He plays me like his guitar
He plays me so hard

He plays me like his guitar

 

— Very specific language here, about feeling guilty and insecure and wounded by the man she loves. Oddly violent lyrics about how he'd been sending "certain signals" and him mailing her a bomb, which would result in her body exploding into tiny fragments, or splinters (since she's "in pieces" already). Also, played so hard/like a guitar ... she's nothing but an object to him. Like her character on the cover, etc. 

 

The House:

Quote

Based on this short story: J. G. Ballard's "The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista" is perhaps the best-known of his stories set in the futuristic resort of Vermilion Sands. It's narrated by Howard Talbot, a lawyer who has come to Vermilion Sands with his wife, Fay, while he opens an office in nearby Red Beach. Howard and Fay move into a house on Stellavista, one of the resort's psychotropic domains, which are made of a bioplastic which shifts and reforms according to the residents' mood. But they aren't the first inhabitants of the house... and the former occupants, movie star Gloria Tremayne and her husband, architect Miles Vanden Starr – who was murdered by Tremayne while he slept – have left something of an impression on the place. And Howard was one of the lawyers for the defence at Tremayne's trial...

 

 

— So again, a song based on a couple who move into a psychotropic house affected by mood, previously lived in by a couple involved in a domestic violence murder. (And the woman's husband was the defense lawyer for the murderer.)

 

Fader:

They won't choke the life out my vain jokes
The fun'll go on, oh, oh yeah
I'll meet my maker sometime a little later
And in the meantime
To you l belong
There's no pain without the gains of feeling something true

 

— Bear with me, but she paints the first verse with an oddly specific use of the word "choke", then references death, and belonging to someone, because even when it's painful it feels "real" or "true" to her. 

 

Genius breaks down the pre-chorus well:

Quote

The Pre-Chorus adds another layer by highlighting the singer’s freedom and desire for escapism. Phrases like “Free bird, I can swerve and I can swoop” and “Could decide to ride to Venus, break the physical laws of time” serve as metaphors for breaking away from social norms and reality, a theme that resonates throughout the album.

 

The echoing line “Keep on window shopping, baby” could have multiple interpretations: a sense of persistence or continuity, which might align with the themes of resilience and freedom in the song. It usually refers to the act of looking without buying, which could imply a sort of unfulfilled desire or yearning. This could relate to the sentiment of “yearning” that is mentioned as a feature of the album.
 

The background vocals could be seen as a contrast or even an ironic commentary on the theme of freedom and escape in the Pre-Chorus section. While the singer talks about flying high and breaking the laws of physics, the “keep window shopping” line might suggest limitations or restrictions that are still in place. Considering the broader context of the song, which seems to deal with emotional or romantic relationships, “window shopping” could be a metaphor for hesitancy or caution in a relationship.

 

I'm your favourite baby, this could sustain me
You should play a love song - you can't play a love song, why?

 

— Implies conflict, or unreturned/withheld love. 

 

Free Will:

One of the most telling tracks, IMO. Almost every lyric applies. 

 

I don't believe in free will
What do you take me for?
Because when it comes right down to it
We really have no choice at all
There goes my autonomy
'Cause you're around
And I am powerless now
Would you give it back to me?
Gimme the feeling that I'm in control?
I can't conceive of free will
When you hold all of the cards

 

I used to think
I have my own life
I would delude myself
That I was going my own sweet way

 

Holding on to me
Holding on to you
We don't know how it's going to be
But we just keep holding
And getting into you
You're getting into me
And there is nothing we can do
But to fall right in
Falling into you
Falling into me
I could not foresee
Falling into

When it comes to you
It has been decided
I don't have a choice
But to fall right into you

 

Ain't no such thing as a free will
Maybe we're just all blowing in the wind
Call it fate or a destiny
I've come to terms with it getting the better of me

 

You Knew:
Don't come the innocent boy
Admit that you've got your motives
You knew exactly what motivates me
I bеlieve the rеcord will show this

 

You knew

 

— All about frustration/confrontation/emotional imbalance/power dynamics between two people.

 

Can't Replicate:

The things that you know about me
Nobody else knows about
There's a place where you are reach into me
Nobody else goes there
You must see something within me
And nobody else sees it, no

 

It's odd I should run into you
Just as I'm getting ready to run away
I was waiting for something, that thing is you
But, baby, you found me, before I found you

 

I let you see deep beneath the secret
Believe me, I eat, I sleep it
I need you, so don't you keep it
I love you

 

— Kind of trippy lyrics here about deep secrets, someone keeping tabs on her, planning on running away, codependency, knowing she can't replace him because he knows her too well or too much, there's no one else like him, etc. Idk. It's a bop, though.

 

Two Ways:

I'm not gonna fly into another rage
Not tonight
I don’t wanna kill you with the fright
I don't wanna kill you with it

 

I know you could deal with it
Put a little feeling in it
Dive down in it
I'm gonna let you drown in it

 

Every secret's safe with me
Baby, this'll stay between
You and me for forever
Take it to another level

 

Ah, just ways to make you smile
In my mind
Ah, two victims of our time
Take me back
Ah, hard mountains left to climb
But I'm going out like that
Ah, two ways to pass the time
In my life

 

— Again, shadowy lyrics with coded language like "rage", "fright", "kill", "drown", "victims", keeping secrets, death, escalation, and making a pact with someone to stay quiet, even if they only have "hard mountains left to climb" and she's "going out like that". 

 

The scrapped artwork for this track is pretty telling, too:

 

Eureka:

 

Just cut away 
Like I'm made of clay
What the doctor said
When you're underway
Just cut away
Like I'm made of clay

You can see
That there's something 'bout me
If there's a cure, I'd take it all
Just put me out
In the darkness

Take this thing
From me
 

I don’t need a love that is dead and gone

 

— I actually find this the hardest song to listen to because it makes me feel so weird/unsettled. But anyway, she uses a mysterious, scary health condition (in this case, likely a cancerous growth or tumor) as a metaphor for her relationship. She uses blunt, graphic language like "just cut away like I'm made of clay", which possibly shows how numb she's become to violence.

 

Feel free to make fun of me, but I think the album's lyrics/themes are really interesting and were completely overlooked due to the controversy. The singles did a good job at throwing people off to make it seem like an upbeat summery album, but I'm of the opinion there's wayyyy more here under the surface. The whole album makes me feel kind of uneasy now, tbh. I still enjoy it, though.  

Edited November 7, 2023 by tupperware

[campelo]

do we already have a Milf Funk link? 

 

 

[Uncatena]

hairless toys remains her best album

[campelo]

3 hours ago, ChapelHooker said:

hairless toys remains her best album

overpowered is superior 

[MusicIsMyMaster]

10 hours ago, tupperware said:

i felt the same until i read into the complete lyrics and some of Roisin's explanations more:

 

What Not To Do:
Tell me what not to do
(I want to go outside)
Teach me what not to do
Show me, teach me, how to be
Turn me into anything you need

 

— A dark, meandering, disorienting opener to the album. All about wanting to be instructed, lead, or submissive to someone.

CooCool:
"I've lost it...", muttered as the intro to the song about falling head over heels in love.

 

The Universe:
"The universe at large is playful and terrifying. There is no discernible sense to it. The story that is always being told is on multiple levels, levels we don’t see or understand. The experience of being alive is to be continually reminded of how utterly unaware we are of what is really going on all around us."

 

Hurtz So Bad:

Did I ever disappoint you?
Did I disappoint you?
Did I get it wrong?
Did I get it wrong all along?
You were sending signals
You sent certain signals to me
Post me a bomb
And if I open it, I'm gone, gone, gone
Blowing pieces to splinters
He plays me so hard
He plays me like his guitar
He plays me so hard

He plays me like his guitar

 

— Very specific language here, about feeling guilty and insecure and wounded by the man she loves. Oddly violent lyrics about how he'd been sending "certain signals" and him mailing her a bomb, which would result in her body exploding into tiny fragments, or splinters (since she's "in pieces" already). Also, played so hard/like a guitar ... she's nothing but an object to him. Like her character on the cover, etc. 

 

The House:

 

 

— So again, a song based on a couple who move into a psychotropic house affected by mood, previously lived in by a couple involved in a domestic violence murder. (And the woman's husband was the defense lawyer for the murderer.)

 

Fader:

They won't choke the life out my vain jokes
The fun'll go on, oh, oh yeah
I'll meet my maker sometime a little later
And in the meantime
To you l belong
There's no pain without the gains of feeling something true

 

— Bear with me, but she paints the first verse with an oddly specific use of the word "choke", then references death, and belonging to someone, because even when it's painful it feels "real" or "true" to her. 

 

Genius breaks down the pre-chorus well:

 

I'm your favourite baby, this could sustain me
You should play a love song - you can't play a love song, why?

 

— Implies conflict, or unreturned/withheld love. 

 

Free Will:

One of the most telling tracks, IMO. Almost every lyric applies. 

 

I don't believe in free will
What do you take me for?
Because when it comes right down to it
We really have no choice at all
There goes my autonomy
'Cause you're around
And I am powerless now
Would you give it back to me?
Gimme the feeling that I'm in control?
I can't conceive of free will
When you hold all of the cards

 

I used to think
I have my own life
I would delude myself
That I was going my own sweet way

 

Holding on to me
Holding on to you
We don't know how it's going to be
But we just keep holding
And getting into you
You're getting into me
And there is nothing we can do
But to fall right in
Falling into you
Falling into me
I could not foresee
Falling into

When it comes to you
It has been decided
I don't have a choice
But to fall right into you

 

Ain't no such thing as a free will
Maybe we're just all blowing in the wind
Call it fate or a destiny
I've come to terms with it getting the better of me

 

You Knew:
Don't come the innocent boy
Admit that you've got your motives
You knew exactly what motivates me
I bеlieve the rеcord will show this

 

You knew

 

— All about frustration/confrontation/emotional imbalance/power dynamics between two people.

 

Can't Replicate:

The things that you know about me
Nobody else knows about
There's a place where you are reach into me
Nobody else goes there
You must see something within me
And nobody else sees it, no

 

It's odd I should run into you
Just as I'm getting ready to run away
I was waiting for something, that thing is you
But, baby, you found me, before I found you

 

I let you see deep beneath the secret
Believe me, I eat, I sleep it
I need you, so don't you keep it
I love you

 

— Kind of trippy lyrics here about deep secrets, someone keeping tabs on her, planning on running away, codependency, knowing she can't replace him because he knows her too well or too much, there's no one else like him, etc. Idk. It's a bop, though.

 

Two Ways:

I'm not gonna fly into another rage
Not tonight
I don’t wanna kill you with the fright
I don't wanna kill you with it

 

I know you could deal with it
Put a little feeling in it
Dive down in it
I'm gonna let you drown in it

 

Every secret's safe with me
Baby, this'll stay between
You and me for forever
Take it to another level

 

Ah, just ways to make you smile
In my mind
Ah, two victims of our time
Take me back
Ah, hard mountains left to climb
But I'm going out like that
Ah, two ways to pass the time
In my life

 

— Again, shadowy lyrics with coded language like "rage", "fright", "kill", "drown", "victims", keeping secrets, death, escalation, and making a pact with someone to stay quiet, even if they only have "hard mountains left to climb" and she's "going out like that". 

 

The scrapped artwork for this track is pretty telling, too:

 

Eureka:

 

Just cut away 
Like I'm made of clay
What the doctor said
When you're underway
Just cut away
Like I'm made of clay

You can see
That there's something 'bout me
If there's a cure, I'd take it all
Just put me out
In the darkness

Take this thing
From me
 

I don’t need a love that is dead and gone

 

— I actually find this the hardest song to listen to because it makes me feel so weird/unsettled. But anyway, she uses a mysterious, scary health condition (in this case, likely a cancerous growth or tumor) as a metaphor for her relationship. She uses blunt, graphic language like "just cut away like I'm made of clay", which possibly shows how numb she's become to violence.

 

Feel free to make fun of me, but I think the album's lyrics/themes are really interesting and were completely overlooked due to the controversy. The singles did a good job at throwing people off to make it seem like an upbeat summery album, but I'm of the opinion there's wayyyy more here under the surface. The whole album makes me feel kind of uneasy now, tbh. I still enjoy it, though.  

Thanks for this. Honestly this review and breakdown is amazing and iconic,

 

The explanation for "The House" makes so much sense now. This made me love the album even more then I already did!

 

 

[Uncatena]

39 minutes ago, campelo said:

overpowered is superior 

if anything roisin machine comes closer to her best album tbh, Overpowered is really good but it loses steam for me towards the back half. 

[Moloko Plus]

10 hours ago, campelo said:

do we already have a Milf Funk link? 

 

 

 

it’s also on Soulseek

[MusicIsMyMaster]

Okay here me out:

 

Deluxe Edition:

 

- Flash of Light

- MILF Funk

- Hit Parade

+ Remix 1

+ Remix 2

 

[campelo]

 

 

 

 

 

[sad girl]

i actually relistened to this today and i'm a clown bc it's pretty decent