Song 13 // Caroline Polachek - "So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings"
And I'm out at a party, they're playing our song
I cry on the dance floor, it's so embarrassing
Don't send me photos, you're making it worse
'Cause you're so hot it's hurting my feelings
Never has a song about physical attraction for someone sounded like such a sharp pang, and in this instance the “someone” could easily be an entirely different life. To provide more context, it’s been exactly a year since I saw Caroline Polachek live at The Fonda Theatre in what would turn out to be the last show that I attended before the world turned upside down.
So let’s dive into the aesthetics of our hurt feelings.
Not like I'm counting the days
But it's been twenty-five
You're out there killing the game
But damn, I miss you tonight
Caroline Polachek has been honing and experimenting her musical prowess since her first indie band, Chairlift. But it’s her most recent album and solo major label debut, “Pang,” that exhibits Caroline’s most singular work to date.
The entire album weaves and expands upon the boundaries of pop, electronic, and avant-garde. It’s a truly sonic, as well as visual, experience made iconic by her idiosyncratic and powerful vocals.
I get a little lonely
Get a little more close to me
You're the only one who knows me, babe
So hot you're hurting my feelings
Can't deal
“So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” is one of the more playful songs from the album with its ‘80s vibe provided by the Juno-60 synth. To accompany the melody are Caroline’s vocals that tempt us with playful banter and the acute suffering from missing someone. Not only that, but the full spectrum of her singing is on display with a well placed vocal guitar solo.
She is the modern day equivalent of Kate Bush and Enya.
With all the X-rated dreamin'
Back on the coast-to-coast life
You know I live for the hustle
But damn, I miss you tonight
The chorus accumulates with more longing each time, spiraling into an amusingly infectious song that begs to be played again as you synchronize your clapping with the beat. Despite the tears and hurt feelings, the song can still make the best of the situation and of the dance floor.
This vision comes to fruition in the music video for the song featuring Caroline performing an elaborately choreographed dance against the backdrop of hell — it’s Persephone dancing away from her painful feelings of loneliness.
You're the only one who knows me, babe
So hot you're hurting my feelings
// press play
Side B: Bonus Track
Are you as obsessed with this song as I am? Then the next step is to queue up A.G. Cook’s PC Music-style remix to take Caroline’s vocals and song to the extreme limits. A perfect blending of hyperpop and experimentation.
View past songs here. Do you know someone who’s so hot they’re hurting your feelings? Send them this newsletter and let them know.