Lykke Li's Sadness is a Blessing

I came across this little clip on a favorite blog Hey, Lady Grey (thanks Vanessa!) and had had had to share it. It actually came out today so this is hot off the press. Enjoy!



I love her because she's so artistic. I get the feeling everything she produces is considered with her utmost attention. I feel like she has a vision and she doesn't stray from it. I don't get the vibe that too many musical artists out there have a vision (Gaga aside), they just put out stuff and hope people like it. Anyway I love the aesthetic of this clip, and that you can hear some 60's Motown influences in there. Sidebar: I love my Motown. Her dress and dancing make her this wispy ethereal little thing, and with the  bittersweet melody... it's kind of haunting. Maybe I just watched it too many times in a row that it lured some sort of sadness out of me.

How do you feel about the notion that sadness is a blessing?

I could not agree more. Secret: I have spent years in therapy (like since I was 12, sortathing) and have come to the conclusion that you only get over something once you've sat with the sadness. To let it take over, however, is not easy nor is it always an option. Sometimes it takes an asshole being rude on your preferred form of public transportation or a senile old man calling you fat (true story: happened this week) to tap into those darker places that are normally inaccessible. Because you aren't really mad at the chump who keeps on 'accidentally' grazing your boob on a crowded bus, that shit doesn't shape or haunt you, but it will piss you off enough to touch on the things that do. Every time I do, I feel more and more free from the constraints of that underlying sadness.

The other side of the coin is indulging in sadness. I think that can be dangerous and one needs to set a limit to it. You can get stuck there. That kind of self-absorption, it can be intoxicating and beautiful and selfish and deluding. "For sorrow, the only lover I've ever known..." I think that's probably the kind of sadness she's singing about. Sadness for the sake of being sad.

Anyway, that's my two cents. On a more uplifting note, here's another not so new but beloved nonetheless clip of hers.



Credits: Images: All images borrowed from lykkeli.com Clips: Sadness is a Blessing; Directed by Tarik Saleh, Director of Photography Carl Nillsson via Hey, Lady Grey. I Follow the River: unknown via lykkeli.com