Key Lyric: “Like fruit.”
Froot describes the year of bedrotting I did following everything that happened with BC. My senior year spent in bed. Some fruits go to school to ripen, and some rot.
Additionally, I’ve restyled the song quite dramatically from Marina’s original. This is because of the chords I’ve used. See, my version of Froot has the same chords as “Mary Did You Know?” It was not even intentionally done: But I hope it evokes the catholic song! It’s one of my favorites.
Purpose (Why this song?)
Froot is an interesting one here. I originally recorded a demo that speaks more-closely to the original song by Marina and the Diamonds. It was major key, upbeat, and included every lyric (something that can’t be said for the version that made the album). I had been recording this demo while working on another track that was based off a remix of “Your Type” by Carly Rae Jepson I made in grief after finding out my old roommate was getting married to a woman (I know lmfao). The track came together well, but I kept coming back to the thought that I really didn’t want this album to be about any sort of romantic love and a story that doesn’t actually mean that much to me. The thing is, though, I LOVED the beat I made for “Your Type.” It was strange and sexy to me. So I was not willing to let the album release without incorporating its production into something else, somewhere on the album.
Then, one night as I was lying in bed with the project file open, i had the idea: Sing froot. And I did: Lying in bed with my computer’s microphone, I sang froot over and over again. I whispered it, I sang it with the harmony from the chords, I added stupid little adlibs… so on and so forth. The important part was that I was in bed. I thought it was just being stupid and silly, but as I listened back, I realized that it was good enough that I’d be fine with others hearing it… And well, how fun would it be to have a song that I could say I recorded in bed!? And in that moment, Froot went from a simple demo that copied the original to a Frankenstein baby of my cover of my remix of Your Type by Carly Rae Jepson… made in bed 💋
The Creative Process:
Enjoy the behind the scenes of this song’s construction!
Sonic Identity
Froot aims to provide a sulty sound that embodies a sort of rot through the seasons. Every 8 bars, the song switches to a different season in order to demonstrate the passage of time. The changes are subtle enough to not read as seasonal shifts, yet are integral to the song’s energy throughout.
Core Sounds
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Storyline
One of the key aspects in this story of my PTSD is the misunderstanding that my community had over it. Specifically, in how I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder during the whole ordeal. I’ve come to learn that I have PTSD, not Bipolar Disorder; but for years, I took mood stabilizers and considered myself of that set of symptoms in a way that ultimately did a lot of damage. I look back on that time with frustration, as even in the moment I stood by having PTSD over anything else and was ultimately proven right. But I can’t separate the mania and depression from this story. As Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows is a reflection of my “Mania,” Froot is the resulting depression that happens after the burst of energy.
I spent my entire Senior year depressed, following everything that happened. In my eyes, back then, that depression was a result of the mania and had a mechanical aspect to it. In the time since, I’ve come to understand it as the type of depression that occurs because a person has every reason to be depressed. I was depressed. Through that time, I became friends with my bed. And so this song is paying homage to that.
Key Moments
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Before the final chorus and song outro, I have a section that centers vocals that have been pitched down considerably. I sang those lyrics with the intention of sounding commanding, envisioning myself as a sweaty athletic coach instructing my team to strut it out. It becomes an important moment in the song as a short shift in energy before exploding into the track’s finale, making the loud finale sound even louder than it actually is.
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As previously mentioned, this lyric is the reason for Babylon’s inclusion on the tracklist of this album. Already a cute cheeky line from the original, my rendition allows the lyric to become a play on words referring equally to the Era “Before Christ,” B.C, as well as the instituion of “Boston College,” BC.
Within the song, the line is emphasized through some additional background harmonies and a little chipmunk voice saying “oh, nice!” It kinda sounds like “all night,” too, which I like. Both work for the line!
