Welcome to another edition of Music Match-Up, where literature meets music. Today is another YA-Indie pairing. See what you think of what I’ve paired here.
Eleanor & Park // “State Hospital”
Eleanor & Park is a heartbreaking story of young love. Two misfits come together in the jungle of high school. It begins on the bus, which right there tells you how awkward these two teens are. Their awkwardness is actually the best part because both Eleanor and Park have a challenging home life. Eleanor’s is the most tragic, though. She’s been kicked out of the house–unwanted by both her mother and father. When she’s finally allowed to return, she–along with her mother and siblings– are at the mercy of a drunken stepfather. Eleanor wears oddball clothes and has to hide all of her belongings. She can’t even take a shower without fear of her stepfather watching. Her whole existence, apart from her time with Park, is so sad. My mental images were just a cloud of gray.
In this song (by Frightened Rabbit-my favorite band!), a girl is born into a grave. She’s a slipped disk in the spine of community, a broken elevator anthem. She’s forced to be brave. But her blood is thicker than concrete, so all is not lost. And that’s how I imagine it for Eleanor. She was born into a grave, but all is not lost for her either.
