Imogen Heap - Headlock

Published Sunday, November 27, 2005 by Abby | E-mail this post

“You say too late to start/ Got your heart in a headlock/ I don’t believe any of it.”

I didn’t realise how much of life I lead instinctively until it was two am and words were falling from my mouth that a year ago, it would have been inconceivable to utter out loud. It’s not just that I trust my emotions, it’s that now I think I understand the cost of over-ruling them with reason and habit. Those structures of interaction we inherit and never seem to break free from; I know now the damage they do in a way that my teenage self was still figuring out.

So they way that I respond to this song – to Imogen’s music - on such an instinctive level makes it that much harder to vocalise. The way she builds that reality; so subtly layered with powerful cello undertone and the rush of synthetic bass – it just seems to trip along my neural paths in a way that goes beyond what can be analysed with an apt phrase or two.

Usually, when I can’t form the coherent thought to express myself, I ramble – hoping that my excess of words will somehow align themselves in the air in front of me, shaping some clarity from the confusion. But this pulls me back into silence; away from the words that build my world, into nothing but the ring of blood in my body and god, that sense of possibility.

Download
Bonus: ’Daylight Robbery’
Buy ‘Speak for Yourself’ from her iStore

6 Responses to “Imogen Heap - Headlock”

Anonymous on 12:22 AM

Great post! Imogen's record is my favorite of the year aside from Goldfrapp's. And to think she made the thing in her own tiny studio, pretty much all by herself. THAT is a gift!
Anonymous on 5:21 AM

Tip: When rambling, use words that you know the meaning of.
Anonymous on 7:22 AM

I didn't know the album was such a solo effort - makes me even more impressed!

And ted fred? You win the petty bitching award of the day. Enjoy!
Anonymous on 4:49 PM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous on 10:39 PM

Since 'hide and seek', I've been starving for more. She's the best thing I've heard in months, and I'm inclined to at least partially attribute that to her self-production, since it allows her to make music exactly as she hears it in her head, rather than turning the material over to someone else for reinterpretation.
Look at prince, r.kelly, d'angelo, marvin gaye, etc. Even John Lennon and Brian Wilson are scoring hits these days with much more solo efforts.
Anonymous on 10:40 PM

Since 'hide and seek', I've been starving for more. She's the best thing I've heard in months, and I'm inclined to at least partially attribute that to her self-production, since it allows her to make music exactly as she hears it in her head, rather than turning the material over to someone else for reinterpretation.
Look at prince, r.kelly, d'angelo, marvin gaye, etc. Even John Lennon and Brian Wilson are scoring hits these days with much more solo efforts.