Melancholic sentiment seems to be in the air for alternative artists toward the end of 2016. Lana Del Rey was quoted by The Guardian as saying she "can't wait to die already", agreeing that early deaths such as Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouses' seem poetic and glamorous, with no disrespect to the artists of course.
"I would be scared if I knew death was coming, but…" she trails off (The Guardian, 2016).
Other artists have demonstrated equally melancholy behavior. Grunge artist Eris recently tore down all of her social media photos, replacing them with photos of a text caption reading "deleted". All of her latest releases were deleted as well, being replaced with a single sad song called "Safe and Sound" (source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBfJqXhCVro). "Safe and Sound" can only be described as a self-protective lullaby.
Is the appeal of death to these artists it's mystery or its promise of an end to a difficult-to-read auto-biography? What do you think?
The Guardian's Interview with Lana Del Rey
"I wish I was dead already," Lana Del Rey says, catching me off guard. She has been talking about the heroes she and her boyfriend share – Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain among them – when I point out that what links them is death and ask if she sees an early death as glamorous. "I don't know. Ummm, yeah." And then the death wish.
Don't say that, I say instinctively.
"But I do."
You don't!
"I do! I don't want to have to keep doing this. But I am."
Do what? Make music?
"Everything. That's just how I feel. If it wasn't that way, then I wouldn't say it. I would be scared if I knew [death] was coming, but …"
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