Julia Shapiro of Chastity Belt, Childbirth, and Who Is She? has just released her debut solo album, Perfect Version. In an exclusive interview with KEXP, Shapiro told us why today's Song of the Day is her favorite song off the new LP.
That song to me... There's like a few different layers to it, but it's kind of about like being here with being alone. And feeling pressure from people to be looking for some kind of romance or partnership and just being like, "Okay, I'm fine alone right now." Which is how I really felt at the time. I wasn't ready for anything. And I guess I was kind of fighting the societal pressure of coupling up. Even if it was in my head or whatever, it might have been. Just like, "I can't believe how much revolves around the idea of being with another person."
It's like when you're single, you just really realize it. I mean, I'm still single, but at the time I was like, "I'm really into being single." [laughs] I was pretty into like living on my own and then spending all the time alone for the first time in a while because I hadn't really had that. I was constantly on tour. I didn't really have like a space of my own. So, I was just kind of savoring that [feeling].
At the time, I mean, we went to Hawaii with some of my friends for my 28th birthday and we went night swimming the last night, playing in the ocean. And there was a new moon, so it was completely dark, and the ocean was like the same color as the sky and it just felt like this void. And I kind of also sing about that in the song. And it's just like that to kind of go together. It's just like this empty space and silence and being alone.
It's kind of like an abstract song. It's not really about just one thing. And if you're not here you can.