Saturday, January 2, 2016

"4 Degrees" by Anohni

Antony Hegarty (previously here) has transitioned and is now known as Anohni. And her first release under her new name is "ANOHNI: HOPELESSNESS" out in the spring of 2016. In an interview with a fan site, she said, "The record is as different as could be from my previous work. I am not sure that many of you who prefer the early chamber music style will enjoy it! It is a dance / experimental electronic record with quite a dark thematic undertow. It is an album I felt very compelled to produce."

And you can't get darker than this view of climate change. The title of this song, "4 degrees," references a 2015 study which found that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, the Earth's temperature will rise by four degrees Celsius by the end of the century, threatening one-sixth of the world's species with extinction. To make a point, Anohni here wears the attitude of someone who insists that a global difference of 4 degrees is inconsequential. But if one blithely takes that position, then one must accept the inevitable, violent consequences which she outlines in the painful, shocking lyrics. The music too is large, urgent, and unrelenting. She says, "I have grown tired of grieving for humanity, and I also thought I was not being entirely honest by pretending that I am not a part of the problem. 4 Degrees is kind of a brutal attempt to hold myself accountable, not just valorize my intentions but also reflect on the true impact of my behaviors."



It's only 4 degrees, it's only 4 degrees
It's only 4 degrees, it's only 4 degrees

I wanna see this world, I wanna see it boil
I wanna see this world, I wanna see it boil
It's only 4 degrees, it's only 4 degrees
It's only 4 degrees, it's only 4 degrees

I wanna hear the dogs crying for water
I wanna see fish go belly-up in the sea
All those lemurs and all those tiny creatures
I wanna see them burn, it's only 4 degrees

And all those rhinos and all those big mammals
I wanna see them lying, crying in the fields

(I want to see them burn)

I wanna see them burn, it's only 4 degrees
I wanna see them burn, it's only 4 degrees

I wanna burn them, I wanna burn them
I wanna burn them, I wanna burn them

I wanna burn the sky, I wanna burn the breeze
I wanna see the animals die in the trees
Oh let's go, let's go it's only 4 degrees
Oh let's go, let's go it's only 4 degrees
Oh let's go, let's go it's only 4 degrees
Oh let's go, let's go it's only 4 degrees

I wanna burn them, I wanna burn them
I wanna burn them, I wanna burn them

http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/

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