"Manic" by Halsey shows off the most intense parts of her mind
- MySweeterPlace
- 26 de mar. de 2020
- 6 min de leitura
Atualizado: 10 de abr.
Halsey: “Manic”
Released: January 17, 2020
Label: Capitol
Genre: Electropop, hip hop, alternative rock
Producers: Alex Young, Andrew Jackson, benny blanco, Brenton Duvall, Cashmere Cat, Duck Blackwell, FINNEAS, Fred again.., Greg Kurstin, Halsey, Jasper Sheff, John Cunningham, Jon Bellion, Lido, Louis Bell, The Monsters & Strangerz, Ojivolta, Pdogg & Suga (BTS)
Writers:
Alanis Morissette, Alex Young, Ammar Malik, Amy Allen, Andrew Jackson, Andrew VanWyngarden, benny blanco, Brenton Duvall, Cashmere Cat, Dave Lubben, Delacey, Dominic Fike, Duck Blackwell, Ed Sheeran, FINNEAS, Fred again.., Greg Kurstin, Halsey, Happy Perez, Jasper Sheff, John Cunningham, Jon Bellion, Jordan K. Johnson, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Snevely, Lido, Louis Bell, Mark Williams, Mike Farrell, Nate Ruess, Nick Kobe, Noonie Bao, Romy Madley Croft, Sarah Aarons, Scott Storch, Stefan Johnson, Suga (BTS) & Timbaland
After "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" (2017), the New Jersey singer invites us to enter his complicated world on "Manic," her third studio album. "Manic" is the autobiographical portrait of Halsey, a young woman who appears to be in a hostile and lost world. This album is a document of her life: of her loves, pain, hopes, and barriers that she faced. In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Halsey described "Manic" as "hip-hop, rock, country, fucking everything - because it's so manic ... It's literally just like, whatever the hell I wanted to do; no, there was no reason why I couldn't ".
She opens her record with "Ashley," a title taken from Ashley Nicolette Frangipane's name. The track ends with a snippet of Kate Winslet's speech from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004): "I'm just a fucked-up girl looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours".
"Clementine," the second track, was released on her 25th anniversary (September 29, 2019). The song title was also inspired by the character of Kate Winslet from the movie above. This song explores the internal battle between not needing anyone for support and entrusting too much in those surrounding you. "I don't need anyone/ I just need everyone and then some." This concept, needing emotional support while still pushing those around you away, is notably visible in "I HATE EVERYBODY." "So I'll just hate everybody/ Well, then why can't I go home without somebody?/ And really, I could fall in love with anybody who don't want me/ So I just keep sayin' I hate everybody/ But maybe I, maybe I don't", she sings.
One of the highlights is the next one, "Graveyard." The song had an emotional tune, and it's vulnerable and relatable. It's about being in love with someone who is in a bad place and loving them that you don't realize that you're going to that wrong place with them. "They say I may be making a mistake, I woulda followed all the way, no matter how far/ I know when you go down all your darkest roads/ I woulda followed all the way to the graveyard."
"You should be sad" is a country-influenced track. Halsey pours out her frustrations about a previous relationship while throwing in some subtle jabs about her ex's character in the process. Here, she's brutally honest. "You're not half the man you think that you are/ And you can't fill the hole inside of you with money, drugs, and cars ", she begins before alluding to a past miscarriage. "I'm so glad I never ever had a baby with you /'cause you can't love something unless there's something in it for you." The shadiest bop.
"Forever… (is a long time)" showcases the journey of falling in love and then sabotaging it with your paranoia and insecurity. It was written on the piano in her living room. "I spent a long time watering a plant made out of plastic/ And I cursed the ground for growing green/ I spent a long time substituting honest with sarcastic/ And I cursed my tongue for being mean."
"3am" is the aftermath of "I HATE EVERYBODY." Halsey is almost desperate to talk to someone on the phone. In doing so, she tries to escape from the thoughts that can leave her in a negative state of mind. The song ends with a John Mayer voicemail introducing her- probably- the most acclaimed song, "Without Me." This song dives into the personal feelings of Halsey after being in a very public relationship.
The next track, "Finally//Beautiful stranger," narrates her first meeting with an ex-boyfriend and collaborator, YUNGBLUD. The pair talked about the day they first met, with Halsey telling 97.1 AMP Radio: "I hit him up and was like 'Do you wanna go have some drinks?' […] We met up at a bar, total stranger, I've never met him before".
Halsey showed pop culture references throughout the album: specifically, film samples from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and then is another cult favorite, 2009's "Jennifer's Body." The horror film stars Megan Fox as possessed teen Jennifer on a revenge streak against the boys in her hometown, and Amanda Seyfried as her best friend Needy. Halsey ties in the film at the beginning of her song "killing boys." In the sample, Needy says to Jennifer, "you're killing people." Jennifer replies, "No! I'm killing boys. Boys are just placeholders. They come, and they go." "Killing boys," it's about what a woman should be after a breakup, be a strong and independent woman.
Near the album's end, the singer shows us his more personal side in "More." Halsey details the battle with endometriosis in this song, which led to three miscarriages. "This was the most personal song to write. I wrote the lyrics to this one in less than 5 minutes. It's a love song, but not tot a romantic partner. To someone in the universe who doesn't exist yet. But will one day…" she said via Spotify.
"Still Learning" is about how Halsey still struggles to love herself despite achieving great success with her music. As she confesses, "I should be living the dream/, But I go home and I got no self-esteem."
The album perfectly ends with "929", from Halsey's birthday, September 29, 1994. She gives a rundown of her twentysomething angst: loneliness, anxiety, real estate purchases, and others. "I remember the names of every single kid I've met/But I forget half the people who I've gotten in bed, "she sings. This track is brutally precise and sensitive and feels like a letting go of old traumas. "Lost the love of my life to an ivory powder," she laments. "But then I realized that I'm no higher power / And I wasn't in love then and I'm still not now /I'm so happy I figured that out."
The Interludes:
The album features three guests across its 16 tracks, each given their own "interlude" – both a break from Halsey's regular programming and a complement to it. The interludes represent different relationships in her life: Dominic Fike is the first to appear on "Dominic's Interlude." Dom represents brotherly love. Later, on "Alani's Interlude," with Alanis Morissette, they talk about loving women, representing sexual and professional empowerment.
The last interlude is with Min Yoongi, who goes by Suga, from the K-Pop group BTS, on "Suga's Interlude." The track recounts the experience of falling in and out of love with music. The introspective song acknowledges the fear of letting go and accepting such thoughts and concerns.
"Manic" presents us, for the first time, Ashley – no masks, no distractions.
Favorite Lyrics on the album: Editor's Pick
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