Melvv’s “Blank” Provides the Sound to Ponder Life’s More Complicated Questions

How can we continue to care when desensitizing ourselves seems easier?

Melvv

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

This week: “Blank” by Melvv (Atlantic Recording, 2019)

Why we’re into it: A track for those days when you accept that life sometimes is so overwhelming, the best you can do is just feel…nothing. 

Melvv has long distinguished himself by creating the kind of tracks that stand out from those by similar artists.The electro-bops from “Heatwave,” “Babe,” and “Lifeline” all have stood the test of time. But “Blank” feels like a deeper dive into the artist’s psyche, making this his best piece of work to date.

The pleading vocal feature on the track, belonging to Kennedi, provide emotional depth and clarity that Melvv has not fully explored in the past. “I’m drawing a blank/How did it feel to be feeling something?/I’m drawing a blank.” She sounds full of anguish, while Melvv’s undercurrent of pulses and production techniques underscore the sense she lost in a state of questioning herself. And yet, the result is an oddly buoyant track with dark undertones. An especially striking, moment of self-realization, comes at the beginning of the chorus: “Well/Oops I don’t think I do why/Do I do what I do.” Sometimes, isn’t ignorance really bliss? 

There’s a real darkness in the realization of the emptiness that lurks within each of us. Terrifying? Yes. But essentially, it’s also what makes us human. It’s the ability to combat the blankness and feel emotion, care for others, and realize there’s more to give to the world than our own petty hangups. Many of us have asked ourselves, how do we continue to care when there’s nothing inside driving us to do so? A possible answer can be found is the emotional solidarity from bits of art that prove we aren’t alone. While we continue to ponder over life’s eternal questions, “Blank” joins us and provides some tunes to ease the way.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate