"Tilted"-Christine & the Queens
This wonderfully mesmerizing synth-pop song has been bouncing around in my head ever since I witnessed Christine & the Queens' choreographed act on stage as part of the Coachella Music Fest last April. I should have written something about this hypnotic yet danceable Euro-track that day, but -- for some reason -- I let it slide.
Then yesterday -- as I sat numb absorbing news of yet another deranged murderer taking the lives of so many beautiful souls in the name of hate during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice -- I was brought back to Christine and her message of acceptance. Not only of others, but more importantly of oneself as well.
"Christine" is the androgynous, non-sexualized alter-ego stage-name of five-foot tall French-native Héloïse Letissier, and the non-existent "Queens" is just a tribute to the drag queens she met in London who inspired her to lose her inhibitions and turn all of her energy and uncertainties into a career in music. Héloïse explained, “Christine was a statement about being an unusual little thing... moving and loving people.”
I was immediately attracted to her song "Tilted" with its quiet, steady pulsing synthesized beat and its bilingual we're-all-just-a-little-bit-crazy message. She said it was about, "making an easy song with an uneasy subject. It’s about feeling out-of-place, not finding your balance, or being depressed even, but with playful images, with a song you can dance on."
Speaking of playful, I was immediately taken by the line, "I'm doing my face with magic marker/I'm in my right place, don't be a downer..." which I perceived as just another way of saying; Go ahead -- it's okay -- let your freak-flag fly! On the other hand -- although I haven't the slightest idea what she's saying -- Christine's soft and crisp French-styled rap during the middle-eight is delightfully unique and très mignonne.
By-the-way... If you ever have the chance to see Christine & the Queens live, GO! It's pop performance art at its most tilted.
