So, this is the first and probably only edition of my so-called series "UNRAVEL", where I open up a little bit about a character, artist or series of my liking.
This edition was presented on an online meeting with the director of the English school I have now graduated from. I presented Marina and the Diamonds, the singer who has meant the world to me since I found her songs on Apple Music back to maybe 2017, or so.
Without further ado, let’s get into it. It’ll be divided in slides, just the way it was presented to Mrs. Jackie.
Slide 01. Cover.
Good morning! What’s shaking?¹ Today I’m going to be presenting to you my brand new series called "UNRAVEL". On this presentation, I’ll be talking about my favorite singer on Earth, the one and only MARINA! Let’s get into it!
Slide 02. Summary.
Before I start, I’d like to review the topics I’m going to be presenting, so that you won’t get lost in the middle of it. Firstly, I will talk a little bit about her biography, what her name is, where she came from, etc. Then, I’ll proceed to tell you all about her albums and what the most impressive things from each one of them are from my perspective. Let’s dive into it!
Slide 03. Biography and Early Career.
So, according to her page on Wikipedia and a bunch of other more reliable sources, not only did Marina choose "and the Diamonds" to be her artistic name because of her last name (Diamandis), but also in order to celebrate her fans, those so-called diamonds. She was born on October 10th, 1985, so she’s a f…ing Libra! She’s also of Welsh-Greek descent, which explains how beautiful she is.
In spite of having five studio albums so far, her first release was an Extended Play (EP) called "Mermaid vs Sailor", which I have honestly never listened to nor do I intend to do so in the near future. So, yeah, this is a pretty good warm up, and I hope you’re interested in getting to know her better.
Slide 04. The Family Jewels.
Her first studio album was entitled "The Family Jewels" (and she may or may not be referring to a man’s genitals here). One of the main topics of discussion on this album is what she identifies as "the seduction of commercialism". Interestingly enough, the two songs that caught my eye the most were "Oh No!" and "Are You Satisfied?", both of which criticize how petty our very existence has turned into.
I do relate to the lyrics of "Oh No!" when Marina sings about being eagerly focused on the prize. On the other hand, "Are You Satisfied?" gives me the feeling that by the end of my journey I’ll feel some sort of emptiness and won’t ever get satisfied with how much I’ll have achieved by then.
Slide 05. Single Artworks (The Family Jewels).
Here are some single artworks. Here we have "Hollywood", then "I’m Not A Robot" and last but not least "Oh No!". People say she used to look like Catherine Zeta-Jones back in the day and judging by these single covers I agree.
Slide 06. Electra Heart.
I believe I’m being fair when I point out that this album is a fan favorite. According to some, Electra Heart is her best work of all time. Unfortunately, I don’t see eye to eye with such nonsense since she has released a better one called "FROOT", which we’ll be discussing next.
Two of my favorite songs from this album are "Fear & Loathing" and "Living Dead". The lyrics presented on the slide got me thinking that I have to concede not all people is out there to screw us over. In fact, very few of them care about us whatsoever. "Living Dead" gives me chills because I shudder at the thought of never getting to live love. It’s definitely such an unpleasant, disturbing feeling.
Another great thing about Electra Heart are "The Archetypes", which are "Housewife", "Beauty Queen", “Homewrecker” and "Idle Teen", all of which will be briefly discussed on the following slide.
Slide 07. The Archetypes (Electra Heart).
So, these are the four archetypes of Electra Heart. Housewife is present on the song called "Valley of the Dolls" (one of my favorites, too!), which portrays women getting addicted to antidepressant pills. Beauty Queen is Electra’s side presented on "Fear & Loathing". I could not think there was a relation between the two of them at all, since I consider the Beauty Queen to be a conceited woman. Homewrecker is basically "a person who ruins a home". She could be someone’s husband’s mistress. Idle Teen is presented on the song "Teen Idle" as an idle, suicidal girl.
Slide 08. FROOT.
It goes without saying that FROOT is Marina’s best album ever. I highly agree with this statement and so do the critics. This is sheer perfection! In spite of not liking only one or two songs from FROOT, three of them are to my liking the most and they are "Forget", "Savages" and "Immortal".
Forget has spoken to me in so many levels and has taught me so much that I couldn’t leave this song out of the Top 3. I did struggle to forgive and to overcome the resentment I had towards some hurtful people of my past. Savages unveils the hypocrisy of the judgmental people around me. She did not mince words while calling out hypocritical religious people. Immortal is just so beautifully written and has such an awesome and thoughtful musicality that it is probably my favorite song of hers.
Slide 09. FROOT of the Month (FROOT).
Just a fun fact: back to the FROOT era, each song was represented by a certain fruit. For instance, "FROOT" was related to grapes, "Forget" to apples and "Immortal" to blueberries.
Slide 10. LOVE + FEAR.
"LOVE + FEAR" is Marina’s fourth studio album and the first under her new artistic name, "MARINA". Period. It is a two-sided album with eight songs from each side. Out of the chosen songs, I picked one of the "LOVE" side and the other from the "FEAR" side.
It’s a known fact that this album failed in catching the fans’ attention to the point it is considered Marina’s worst album. If you keep an eye out for the lyrics, it might be her only album not to feature themes associated with depression and narcissism.
In my point of view, both of the chosen songs complement one another. On one hand, "Enjoy Your Life" reminds us that we usually have very little power to control problems in our lives to the point we might as well end up having to live with them. Consequently, we ought not to hurry. On the other hand, "Karma" adds up some sort of saying "see what happens when you try to avoid the outcome of your own actions?".
Slide 11. Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land.
"Ancient Dreams" is Marina’s latest album. If I may have a say in the matter, that girl went off and spoke out against capitalism in a way no other singer is doing. And it shows on her song called "New America", where she doesn’t mince words to tell on the USA for they have f.cked the chain food.
"Flowers" is a rather personal, delicate song to me cause its lyrics say something about how tempting it is for an individual to give up at the very end of a traumatic journey. Pretty much how I felt a couple of times during my time at the entrance exam for the Navy. Nonetheless, above all stands "Happy Loner". God knows how badly I wish she would’ve released that song much earlier. It almost feels like Marina sang it directly to me, so relatable the lyrics are.
Slide 12. Deluxe Edition Album Cover (Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land).
This is the album cover for the Deluxe Edition of the album which featured three additional songs, "Happy Loner", "Pink Convertible" and "Free Woman".
Slide 13. Special Thanks.
So that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this presentation and I look forward to hearing from you which aspects need improving. Here are the references and my special thanks to my English teacher² and to the director of the BRASAS branch I used to study at.
– Tria. May 28th, 2022.
- I learned this expression by listening to the podcast called "All Ears English". I highly suggest you hear it!
- In spite of having noticed some other mistakes/poorly-structured sentences, this one caught my eye the most. Instead of "For he who have…", please consider it being "For he who has…". I am not sure there is a grammar rule related to this, but right now it looks to me as though it is only a mistake.
– Tria. August 13th, 2022.
