Marc Shapiro - Lorde

Copyright 2014 Marc Shapiro
This edition published in 2014 by Omnibus Press
(A Division of Music Sales Limited, 14-15 Berners Street, London W1T 3LJ)

Cover design: Ruth Keating

EISBN: 978-1-78323-335-9

The Author hereby asserts his / her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with Sections 77 to 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages.

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of the photographs in this book, but one or two were unreachable. We would be grateful if the photographers concerned would contact us.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

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Nancy Shapiro, my wife and love, forever and always.

My daughter, Rachael.

My granddaughter Lily.

My agent, Lori Perkins.

Riverdale Avenue Books, which continues to fight the good fight.

Mike, Brady, Fitch.

The great authors. The great musicians. The great artists.

And finally to Lorde. True uncompromising intelligence does not come along too often. We should fully embrace it when it does.

AUTHORS NOTES

Stop the Presses! Most of the reigning pop music idols in recent memory would have trouble spelling pop.

Trust me, Im not quick on the trigger when it comes to slamming easy targets. But after penning two books on Justin Bieber and following the exploits of a bunch of people named Katy, Selena and some blokes named One Direction, I think it is safe to say that these people are not rocket scientists, and that their level of talent and charisma makes them ideally suited for the teen idol circuit.

But candidates for Mensa? I dont think so.

Dont get me wrong. These pop stars are very good at taking orders. Hand them a pre fab song and, to a person, theyll sing it, no problem. Put them on tour and theyll respond by entertaining the masses in a high tech, polished, superficial way. Give them some sanitized talking points to toss out to the press and theyre all over it. But an original thought, opinion or even an ounce of enticing creativity? Dont bet the farm on that one. Puppets on a string? The perceptive Eight Ball says yes. But this is the generation that is perceived as having a short attention span and being blandly superficial. So whos to argue with the easy way out?

All of which brings me to the fact that writing a book about Lorde is such a joy. Because Lorde, quite simply, is smart. Book smart as opposed to street smart. Yes, I realize the former is a dying skill set and the latter is the order of the day, Lorde is decidedly the exception.

There are no easy answers when it comes to this seventeen-year-old wunderkind. Her worldview does not allow for anything less than inquiring and persisting. Lorde may not have all the answers but she puts up a fairly convincing argument that she does.

For openers she read books. Books without pictures. Real adult books. Books your parents most likely read. In fact, she reportedly had read over a thousand of them, by authors such as Raymond Carver, Sylvia Plath and J.D. Salinger, all by the time she was twelve. Lorde can talk philosophical and sociological issues until the cows come home.

Her much publicized take on feminism is quick and easy and, most of all, makes sense. And at the end it will make cold, logical sense. If you want to know what real feminism is all about in 2014, forget Gloria Steinem. Just ask Lorde.

This seventeen-year-old is wise beyond her years when it comes to that decades old philosophy. And when she was administered IQ tests at the ripe old age of six, the consensus was that she was six going on twenty-one. She was writing short stories long before she could chronologically qualify as a teen.

Lorde was looking at the world in an honest, intellectual way before she was a teen. Youve got to love it.

And so it is more than a little surprising to discover that at a time when she could easily qualify for a masters program at any major university, she has chosen to put that future aside, in favor of becoming the biggest pop star on the planet.

And yes, readers. She can spell pop.

Lorde writes lyrics the way she thinks. She could easily write boy meets girl radio- friendly product but has chosen her own way, an often contemplative, borderline high-brow way of looking at teen angst and day-to-day life of those who traditionally appear rootless. It is a style that is deep, very inward-looking but one that, when combined with melodies and choruses, is very familiar to the modern/progressive/fringe music movement.

Lorde waves her flag of independence high. She revels in the fact that she writes her own songs, controls what goes on behind the scenes in the business side of the music business, and regularly does verbal battle with people twice her age, and still comes out smelling like a rose.

Lets face it, to wear a Cramps T-shirt for a Rolling Stone cover shoot is the height of independence. No, Lorde is not a perfect creation. But then what would you expect from a seventeen year old? She has been known to be spontaneous to the point where independence blurs over into asinine behavior. But she is smart enough to realize that being very young and being an ass just comes with the territory Before she moves on and makes up for it with something insightful and smart.

Lorde is anti-pop in the best possible way. She speaks her mind rather than mouthing public relations platitudes and is not afraid to air those opinions and convictions. And if somebody gets hit by her intellectual fallout, well thats too bad.

This young woman is just too smart and honest for words. She not afraid to take shots at her pop music peers and has done so with regularity. Occasionally she has backtracked on such attacks but has even couched those missteps in a coat of logic and reality that would have most people think she was actually right the first time.

Her life and approach is minimalist, from her Goth/Thrift Store chic she wears both on and offstage to the hypnotic way she moves in concert. Its all so inventive and free-thinking. It almost seems too good to be true.

Lorde still lives at home. She actually likes her parents. Shes extremely smart with her money and youve never seen her in The National Enquirer or on TMZ.

Almost as an afterthought is the fact that, at the ripe old age of seventeen, she has accomplished pop music world domination while diligently keeping up her grades at the local public school and hanging out with life-long friends from back in the day.

Yes, youve seen her at the high-end parties of late. But shes never been anything but polite, considerate and respectful. Her parents have taught her well.

So there you have it. Lorde: Your Heroine is a look at how the singer and the person got to be that way. Obviously there is a lot more to come because it would be a downright shame for somebody who has it this together to fall by the wayside.