Rina Sawayama's 'other' anthem "Flicker"

I am late as fuck with this. But those who still stick around in this bitch know how it be with posts around here. Sometimes they be brand new and sometimes they be brand old. But this is a song on which I wanted to post about back when I first heard it and I just...forgot...then got tag team smash attacked by life.

Back in November Rina released what is possibly the second single from her oft mentioned, long awaited debut LP, which was preceded by "Cherry" in August, which was a coming out of sorts. Whilst "Cherry" was a song about the gay jumping out, "Flicker" is a song about the 'other' jumping out and telling haters that they can stay wishing.

At a time when world is on fire and burns those who are different, it's nice to have a pop song from an artist who falls into that 'different' bracket to release a song like this. Monsters may come out of the wood work and claim Lady Gaga done did it with "Born this way" and they wouldn't be wrong. But Rina's "Flicker" does more for me. And the self acceptance sentiment just means more from a girl who hasn't been born into a form of privilege. Not to take away from Lady Gaga's life experiences, but her form of difference is that she's an oddball. But she's a white oddball. So she can stop being an oddball. Rina is a Japanese born Londoner who happens to also be queer. She can't stop being Japanese and she can't stop being queer.

Rina's songs have always touched on things close to her heart and her identity. But where-as before the meanings of her songs felt like they were somewhat buried or coming off as though they were referring to somebody else, Rina now seems to be a lot more direct in her songwriting and taking greater comfort in writing them from her perspective as she continues to grow and realise who she is.

I wish Rina had shot a video for "Flicker". It would have been cliche as fuck, but a celebration of queerness in a video would have gone down a treat. Pretty much the video that Calvin Harris and Sam Smith did for their song "Promises". Them white boys coming out with that video made me roll my eyes so hard it gave me a migraine, but that's a whole other discussion.

Rina. I need that album bitch. And I need it this year.