Peep the new video to Nivea’s newest song, “Love Hurts”.
I am a fan of Nivea’s music, because she seems to have some artistic control, she has a strong pen game, a lovely voice and most importantly (for this blog entry at least), she wears her heart on her sleeve. She has her fun club songs, swagger and confidence songs, but she also has love songs that seem to express from the heart her emotions (check “Complicated” and “ILY”). This new track is no different. What strikes me about the song and particularly about the video is how fearless she is in confronting her imperfections, her indiscretions and her pain. By getting Lil’ Wayne (her ex and babyfather) to star in the video as her love interest, she’s vividly bringing to life her regret. There’s no subtext – only text. Personally I don’t know how wise it is to be so utterly open with your conflicted emotions and reliving your love found and lost for all to see, but it’s undeniably brave and makes for compelling reading and listening.
I remember when I started my course at uni and I told a couple of people that I had some of my music on myspace. One of them who went and listened to it said that he was really surprised how deep the lyrics were for someone of my age. I think part of it is to do with my upbringing, seeing my parents constantly battling, going back and forth between love and hate, raging arguments that occasionally got quite violent. As a child, it was a lot to handle and I don’t think that it’s something that ever leaves you, although I also readily acknowledge that many people go through a lot worse. But that was more than enough for me to handle. I think that being taught from an early age that “love is pain” is a realistic but not particularly healthy lesson to learn, and I often wonder how I ended up as seemingly well-adjusted as I have! *insert laughter here* I think that’s why I’ve often had tortured feelings for people I can’t have, why I blatantly have control issues (being conscious of power games), daddy issues and have emotionally attached myself to older, bad-boy style men, and why I was so nervous in starting my current relationship. It took me about a month and a half to really see and appreciate how lucky I am, how wonderful my boyfriend is and to learn just to breathe, take it easy and start to be open to him about my vulnerabilities, my flaws and all.
Who knows what will happen in the future? But right now, I am learning that although sometimes love does hurt and has hurt me in the past, it doesn’t always have to be that way. Love can lift you up, and should lift you up more than it tears you down. If I were either of my parents, I would have gotten divorced. But although as a child I prayed for that nightly at times, I am glad that they didn’t and I admire their strength of commitment even though I still wholeheartedly believe that if it were me, I wouldn’t have deemed it worth it to go through what they went through. But my parents’ relationship is not really any of my business – it’s between them and I can only complain when their shit affects me (which I do, when appropriate). When does the point come when you put yourself first, your sanity and your heart? Watching the above video, I wonder if Nivea has really started putting herself first or if she’s still in the midst of an emotional battle and a broken heart? It is compelling viewing and listening, but it also really makes me think and I wonder if heartbreak and anguish is something a singer has to go through in order to really be able to write heartfelt lyrics and lend vocal credence and soul to singing those lyrics. I guess that that’s why I had that feedback (and received comments on my lyrics and vocals throughout my singing ‘career’ to date) from my songs on myspace. To me, my lyrics can and will get deeper as I continue to write and record, and my voice is edgier and more soulful live than it is on record. (Those are my shortcomings with the technology, which is a constant work in progress!)
In short, I (like Nivea, I suppose) wear my heart on my sleeve, feel pain and am glad to be finally learning to appreciate love without the hurt that has come with it in the past, both in what I’ve experienced and also what I’ve learned from those surrounding me. I wonder if however, Nivea is torturing herself further by putting herself back in the situation with having Weezy in the video. For me, that reenactment would rip me apart inside. However she manages to keep it together, she’s a braver person than me and I salute that commitment to artistry and to baring one’s soul.
. I post this only to ponder the thought of social media etiquette. Just because it’s so easy to touch base, to be heard, to communicate – where does one draw the line between sharing and, uh… over-communicating?
Excision on Myspace
Excision on Twitter
Excision on Soundcloud
