𝔾𝕆𝕃𝔻𝔼ℕ ℍ𝕆𝕌ℝ – Paparazzi Activity #1

eureka

alt text

in conversation with Spectrum; nostalgia, songwriting, and what’s next
bitchin’ digital: 04.24.20
shot and styled by Eddie Lindsey

It’s mid-afternoon when I arrive at Elysian Park. The sun has just begun to set on the horizon, painting the landscape in a soft light. Photographers like to call this time Golden Hour; the perfect time to shoot outdoors. That’s why I’m here, after all, to shoot a friend. I arrive fifteen minutes early to set up, but, to my surprise, the subject is already sitting on a bench with a cup of iced coffee. And that’s not the only surprise she has in store.
My first reaction when I see Natalya Pendergast is to gasp. I blink, halfway convinced this is an illusion created by the setting sun. When we hug, I run my hands through her hair, just to make sure. No wig here, folks!
If the fact that we’re not being mobbed for selfie requests says anything, I’m not the only one who’s having trouble recognizing her. See, I know Nat as a friend. However, to the general public, she’s 𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓶, international singing sensation and otherworldly witch.
“I know, I know! Holy shit, right?” She grins, indicating to her brightly-colored hair.
Holy shit is absolutely right. Spectrum’s turquoise locks are famous the world over. The yellow, orange, and red ombre she’s sporting now is an abrupt departure. When I asked what prompted the abrupt change, she tells me it’s exactly that; 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮. Just the type of cryptic answer you would expect. So I prompt further. Is this a temporary thing, or will she go back to blue?
“Eventually…maybe.” She shrugs. “For now, it’s an experiment. I’m evolving into something new.”
This constant evolution has been part of the Spectrum mythos from the beginning. In her debut album, 𝓐𝓷 𝓞𝓬𝓮𝓪𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼, the singer synthesized Lovecraftian imagery with deep space metaphors to turn herself into an otherworldly siren. 𝓜𝓲𝓬𝓻𝓸𝓯𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓼, her second album, saw Spectrum take on more of an anti-heroine role in the form of a city-bound entity in pursuit of justice. But what can we expect from this new Spectrum? Is she building towards her highly-anticipated third album?
“To be honest, I’m not sure who this new me is yet,” she tells me. “All I know so far is she’s bright, sunny… colorful. The rest I’m still figuring out.”
Looks like we’ll have to wait on that answer yet. In the meantime, who’s ready for a game of Song Association? We don’t have much time, but, lucky for me, my guest already knows the rules. Her lips curl into a wicked smirk.
“Alright,” Spectrum says, curling her fingers invitingly. "𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓽 𝓸𝓷."

♫ 𝔻𝔸ℕℂ𝔼: 𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖, 𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 - 𝔽𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕆𝕦𝕥 𝔹𝕠𝕪 ♫

Dance, dance, we're falling apart to half time
Dance, dance, and these are the lives you love to lead
𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮, this is the way they'd love
If they knew how misery loved me
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

“What a perfect way to kick this off,” Spectrum smiles once she’s finished singing. “𝓕𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓴 𝓣𝓻𝓮𝓮 is a classic.”
For those uninitiated, my friend here is referring to Fall Out Boy’s seminal second album, where 𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮, 𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 originally debuted. If you doubt it’s importance, Spectrum presents a very convincing argument.
“It was really formative for me. 2003 to, like, 2012 was like the golden age for emo music. That was the first genre I discovered for myself, and since it wasn’t exactly playing on pop stations, I had to go out and find it myself. It was so much different than the bubblegum party tunes that were everywhere else in the early 2000s. Not shade to, I dunno, the Jonas Brothers - but that kind of music didn’t appeal to me in the same way. Plus, Fall Out Boy had some of 𝓽𝓱𝓮 best lyrics. The way they were able to write puns into songs about such dark, complex things…Genius! I could probably go on for days about their instrumentation. Everyone else was using 808s, so live drums were a revelation. The odd time and key signatures you didn’t really hear anywhere else - those guitar riffs! Not to mention the aesthetics.” She pauses the verbal avalanche to fan herself. Then she starts laughing, indicating to her current get-up. “Clearly I’m still a fan.”

♫ 𝕋ℝ𝔼ℕℂℍ: 𝔾𝕦𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕊𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕤 - ℍ𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕥𝕠𝕟 ♫

Sir, he knows what to do in a 𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓱
Ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean—
Hamilton!
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

“Oh, wow, outing myself as a former emo kid, and now this? We’re two for two!” Spectrum laughs. “Though I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was a theatre kid. I mean, look at me! You know how happy I was when they released this theatrical recording? I really hope this sets a trend and makes Broadway productions more accessible.” She shakes her head at herself. “But, really, I can’t rap. And definitely not like Daveed Diggs. There are probably only a handful of people on Earth who can do what he can. Have you listened to his work with clipping.?” When I tell her no, my friend looks devastated. “You gotta!” She insists. “Their latest album, 𝓑𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓕𝓪𝓷𝓰 - it’s a concept album based around horror movies, but it also speaks to our current socio-political climate. It’s honestly a work of genius.” Her next words are delivered directly to the camera. “Mr. Diggs, if you ever need a soprano vocalist on a project - I’m available.”

♫ 𝔻ℝ𝔼𝔸𝕄𝕊: 𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕤 - 𝔽𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕄𝕒𝕔 ♫

It's only me who wants to wrap around your 𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶𝓼
And have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

Listening to an artist on the radio is a completely different experience compared to hearing them sing live. A good performer will make you feel like you’re the only person in a packed auditorium - or, in my case, a public park. Chills don’t even begin to cover it. (Sorry, Z.)
Spectrum coos when she’s finished singing, eyes closed and a hand over her heart. “One of my favorite songs of all time,” she tells me. “𝓡𝓾𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼 really is one of the greatest albums that’s ever been made. You can’t believe how excited I was when I was given the chance to cover it. Plus, I got to make some amazing friends out of it. Not a bad deal.”
She’s talking about her duet with British alt-pop band Some Serious Side-Effects at the 2017 American Music Awards. I know I’m not the only one who remembers that performance - Spectrum’s first at an awards show. No doubt Laurence Wickersham, lead singer of 3SE, has a hard time forgetting the time they shared on stage. The world watched as the woman before me was able to completely disarm a seasoned performer with a single flick of her wrist. That moment cemented Spectrum as one of the top live acts of our time.
When I ask her about it, she just laughs. “You mean Laurie’s 𝓯𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓬 doubletake?” She shakes her head. “What can I say? I never miss a chance to place someone under my thrall.”

♫ 𝕎𝔸𝕍𝔼: 𝔾𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝔹𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖 - 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕒𝕓 𝕗𝕠𝕣 ℂ𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕖 ♫

But if you let me be your skyline, I’ll let you be the 𝔀𝓪𝓿𝓮
That reduces me to rubble, but looked safe from far away
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

“Okay, I need to make a confession,” Spectrum tells me, wincing extra hard. “I actually wasn’t a fan of this album when it first came out. Death Cab has always been one of my favorite bands, since high school, actually. They’re right up there with Fall Out Boy for formative artists - like, they were one of the first bands I really followed, album to album. But then 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓼𝓾𝓰𝓲 was so different from the rest of their stuff.” 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓼𝓾𝓰𝓲 was Death Cab’s eighth album, released in 2015 in the wake of lead singer Ben Gibbard’s divorce from Zoey Deschanel. “The album’s a lot more, I dunno, lowkey. But I’ve been listening to it a lot more recently. I feel like I finally get it.”

♫ 𝔹𝕃𝕌𝔼: 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕔𝕖 - 𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 ♫

Was it the 𝓫𝓵𝓾𝓮 night, gone fragile?
Was it about the men, in wonder steady going under?
Was it the light ways, so frightening?
Was it the two wills? One mirror holding us dearer now
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

“This song is really fresh on my mind because it was part of 𝓒𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓻 on my last tour,” Spectrum explains. I ask her to expand, and she does. “So, everyone knows I got my start by posting covers to YouTube.”
Her old channel, SpectrumMusic, is still available. Though a fair number of videos have since been hit with copyright strikes, the videos are still available if you know where to look. Tones are a dedicated bunch.
“Covers are still very much a part of who I am. On tour, I keep a rotating list, so it’s different every night. 𝓣𝔀𝓲𝓬𝓮 was one of my favorites because I actually played guitar for it! My performances rely heavily on dance, so I don’t get many chances to play, well, any kind of instrument. I actually wrote the cover arrangement for this song with Pedro, my touring guitarist who’s been with me since the beginning. He’s such a good friend, and an amazingly talented rhythm guitarist, and I wanted to give him the chance to show off. And then he pulled out one of the catchiest hooks I’ve ever heard! Seriously, I couldn’t stop singing my little ending riff for weeks. I definitely want to keep it in the lineup for future tours.”

♫ 𝕍𝕆𝕀𝔻: 𝔻𝕠𝕖𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 - ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℚ𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟𝕤 ♫

And if I am cast out 'cause I wanted some more
And if this guy dances way too close to the shore
And if I could just push this door chalked on the wall
And if after the 𝓿𝓸𝓲𝓭 there's somewhere else to fall
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

“Oh, damn, I wish I could remember the lyrics in the original French. They’re so beautiful.” Spectrum stops to sigh. “Not that the English version isn’t also wonderful. I’m kind of in love with both. And I’m definitely in love with Chris. I’m so lucky to consider her a friend. What a tremendous talent - and such a beautiful soul too! I’m a huge fan.”
I am too. When I ask how they met, her eyes light up.
“It was at Out Magazine’s out100 party! We started talking about how exciting it was that there are so many emerging artists who openly identify as queer and we just really hit it of. I’m not saying that there weren’t always queer artists, of course - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Freddie Mercury, 𝓣𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓲𝓴𝓸𝓿𝓼𝓴𝔂. It’s just…the groundwork they laid is a large part of what allows us to be so visible now.”
Here, here!

♫ 𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋𝕊: 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 - 𝔼𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 ♫

You show the 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

Spectrum’s an artist who’s known for her powerful belt, but few also remember her as a soprano. She showcases this part of her range now, hitting notes few other artists dream of with the ease of breathing.
“Sorry, that was probably obnoxious,” Spectrum chuckles. That last vocal run has gathered the attention of several other park goers. She blows kisses to them before continuing. “Ellie Goulding was such an inspiration to me when I first started making my own music back in high school. 𝓛𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 came out in, what, 2010? The way she layered vocals - I hadn’t seen anyone do that outside of Bjork. 𝓘 wanted to do something like that.” She shakes her head at something far off. “You know, one of my first videos on my old YouTube channel was actually a cover of 𝓞𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓨𝓸𝓾. It was really an experiment. The song has this really neat, kinda sparse instrumentation and I wanted to play around with that. So I DIY-ed the beat and did the rest a capella. Well, okay, I modulated one of the high tracks, but those notes were totally out of my range.”
Considering the talent she displayed no less than five minutes ago, that seems hard to believe. “Alright,” I ask. “A contest between two of the biggest sopranos on the radio, you and Ariana Grande; who’s winning?”
“Oh, Ari. No contest,” Spectrum says immediately. “I don’t even have a whistle register.”

♫ 𝕊𝕆ℕ𝔾: 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 - 𝔼𝕝𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝕁𝕠𝕙𝕟 ♫

And you can tell everybody this is your 𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓰
It may be quite simple, but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you're in the world
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

Within seconds of starting, Spectrum jumps to her feet, urging me up too. She takes my hands in hers, spinning me around as she serenades me. The two of us sway to the melody and I even find myself singing along. How can you resist Elton John?
“One of these times, I’m not going to say this is one of my favorite songs, I swear,” Spectrum promises as we return to our seats. “But I grew up with this song. Literally! Long story short, my uncle works in sound design, so he outfitted our house with all kinds of speakers. Every night, my parents and I would pick a different CD - okay, I’m old, so sometimes they were cassettes - and that would be the soundtrack for dinner. My parents were really anti-TV growing up. Anyway, this is pretty much the only album I picked.”
She looks ready to move along when a sudden thought comes to her.
“Did you know this song was actually written about another man?” She asks. I did not, but given the singer, I’m unsurprised. “Well not a particular man. But Bernie Taupin, Elton’s songwriter - you know, Jamie Bell’s character in 𝓡𝓸𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓷? - he knew Elton wasn’t going to be singing about women any time soon. Of course, coming out wasn’t exactly an option in the seventies either, so he made sure to use second person pronouns in this song.”
Now, that sounds familiar. I ask her if that was part of her inspiration for 𝓔𝔁𝓲𝓽 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓯𝓽 and her smile glows. Her famous breakup song off her first album, which not only debuted at Number Three on the Billboard Charts (her highest debut to date), was also what allowed her to come out. Like 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓢𝓸𝓷𝓰, the song avoids gendered pronouns. However, Spectrum used the song’s music video to explicitly reveal that it was written about another woman.
“Will the public ever learn who inspired 𝓔𝔁𝓲𝓽 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓯𝓽?” I ask.
“That’s her decision to make,” Spectrum says with a shrug. “She knows. That’s enough for me.”

♫ ℂ𝕀𝕋𝕐: 𝔹𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 - 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕖𝕖𝕜𝕟𝕕 ♫

I look around and
Sin 𝓒𝓲𝓽𝔂'𝓼 cold and empty
No one's around to judge me
I can't see clearly when you're gone
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

The words fall from her lips easily, like she’s sung them a hundred times. Sure, we’ve all been singing The Weeknd’s latest hits on repeat recently, but this is different. It’s like listening to a Shakespearean actor launch into their favorite monologue. Spectrum’s next words confirm my suspicion.
“Okay, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret here. Promise not to tell anyone?” she says, then flashes me one of her world famous winks. “Remember how I mentioned 𝓒𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓮𝓻 earlier? Well, let’s just say 𝓣𝔀𝓲𝓬𝓮 isn’t the only song I know how to play on guitar.”

♫ 𝔹ℝ𝕆𝕂𝔼ℕ(ℍ𝔼𝔸ℝ𝕋): 𝕄𝕚𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕗𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 - 𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕞 ♫

Wake up
Lose my 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓴𝓮𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽
I will
Say no more
And walk away
[𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕟]

“Ugh, is it totally gauche to sing one of your own songs in these things?” Spectrum asks after finishing. Meanwhile, I’m a little starstruck at hearing those infamous opening vocal runs. I shake my head and assure her it’s what most singers do for this challenge. “Oh, good. I was trying to avoid it, but you got me with the last one. Should we start setting up for the shoot now?”
“What’s the rush?” I ask. “It’s your song, why don’t you tell us more about it?”
Spectrum just shrugs. No doubt this is a question she’s heard before plenty of times. After all, it was the title track off of her current album. “It was a bit of a hard song for me to write,” she explains. “When I was working on this album, I was specifically asked to write a breakup song for it - probably because 𝓔𝔁𝓲𝓽 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓯𝓽 did so well. But my last breakup was in college, so I had to dig deep and face some pretty tough memories for that one. Or, well, it 𝔀𝓪𝓼 my last breakup.”
It isn’t hard to guess where her thoughts went. Her split last month with supermodel Remington Devereaux has been all over the news. Only time will tell if Spectrum’s next album will include an allusion to this more recent breakup. No, really. I asked her point blank if we could expect any new music inspired by current events in her life, but she only gave me that devilish smile of hers.
“Shame you can’t see through the fourth dimension, my friend,” she told me, sounding more like the 𝓔𝓵𝓭𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓓𝓮𝓲𝓽𝔂 we all know and love. “Then you would already know the answer.”
For now, I’ll take that as a 𝔂𝓮𝓼.

super huge shoutout to @ayzrules and @alexx for help with the coding, format, and characters + everyone in 'razzi for collaborating on the word selection!!!