Pairing 11 Iconic Paintings To Lorde’s Melodrama

Summertime is in full swing which means it’s that time of year again to press play on Lorde’s discography. From Pure Heroine to Solar Power, Lorde seems to never disappoint eager fans. It’s been 7 years since Lorde’s greatest project, Melodrama, became ours. Mega Lorde fan or not, you’ve probably heard a majority of the songs on the album and related to many. It’s about growing up, making mistakes, falling out of love with yourself and others, and finding what makes life exciting. 

But, what makes Melodrama so iconic? We have to start with the cover art. It’s literally art that if we saw it walking through the MoMA, we wouldn’t think twice. The hues of blues, browns, and pinks on the cover give the songs so much life and really remind us that making timeless music, like that on Melodrama, is a true form of art. 

Here are 11 iconic paintings that pair perfectly with each song on the album. 

‘Green Light’

“’Cause honey I’ll come get my things, but I can’t let go/I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it/Oh, I wish I could get my things and just let go/I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it”

When thinking about lighting in famous paintings, we first thought of Nighthawks by Edward Hopper. The subtle green lights shining in front of the diner add so much dimension to the painting, just like ‘Green Light’ adds character and depth to Melodrama.

Find Nighthawks at The Art Institute of Chicago.

‘Sober’

“We’re king and queen of the weekend/Ain’t a pill that could touch our rush/(But what will we do when we’re sober?)/Uh, when you dream with a fever/Bet you wish you could touch our rush/(But what will we do when we’re sober?)”

Whether you are a wine girlie or a beer girlie (or neither!) you probably recognize Bacchus by Caravaggio. This painting portrays a young Dioynusus (or Bacchus in the Roman language), the God of Wine, inviting viewers to join him for a glass of red wine. The Greeks had it pretty great, huh? If we could eat grapes from the vine under the Grecian sun all day, we would. Lorde‘s music is the closest we come to a perfect summer vacation!

Find Bacchus at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

‘Homemade Dynamite’

“Might get your friend to drive, but he can hardly see/We’ll end up painted on the road, red and chrome/All the broken glass sparkling/I guess we’re partying”

When we listen to ‘Homemade Dynamite’ we envision a room up in flames (metaphorically or literally) either because the music is just that good or because of a different reason. For this reason, we paired the third track on the album with The Burning of the Houses of Parliament by J.M.W Turner and William Turner. Turner’s painting mixes beautiful hues of red and orange that almost make the viewer feel calm amid the chaos. This mirrors how we feel when we listen to Melodrama.

Find The Burning of the Houses of Parliament at The Tate in London, United Kingdom.

‘The Louvre’

“Our thing progresses/I call and you come through/Blow all my friendships/To sit in hell with you/But we’re the greatest/They’ll hang us in the Louvre/Down the back, but who cares—still the Louvre”

This is one of our favorite, if not our number one, track on the album. Blasting this song on full volume makes us want to run down the miles and miles of halls in The Louvre with our besties and Lorde herself. Naturally, we went with the most famous painting housed in The Louvre, The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.

Find The Mona Lisa at The Louvre in Paris, France.

‘Liability’

“They say, “You’re a little much for me/You’re a liability/You’re a little much for me”/So they pull back, make other plans/I understand, I’m a liability”

A famous painting that evokes feelings of horror, sadness, and grief is The Scream by Edward Munch. The beauty of art is that each person who views (or listens) to it, can interpret it differently. That’s how we feel about ‘Liability’ and The Scream. Some may find it beautiful, others may feel uncomfortable. How do you interpret these two pieces of art?

Find The Scream at The National Museum in Oslo, Norway.

‘Hard Feelings/Loveless’

“Hard feelings/These are what they call hard feelings of love/When the sweet words and fevers/All leave us right here in the cold-old-old/Alone with the hard feelings of love/God, I wish I believed ya/When you told me this was my home-ome-ome”

When deciding which painting to pair with ‘Hard Feelings/Loveless’ we wanted to pick something that evoked heartbreak and pain. Ophelia by John Everett Millias is stunning, yet quite painful to look at. A young woman bathed in flowers, lying in a pool of water, yet we cannot tell if she is miserable or simply full of bliss. Is this what it feels like to be “alone with the hard feelings of love?”

Find Ophelia at The Tate in London, United Kingdom.

‘Sober II (Melodrama)’

“All the glamour and the trauma/And the f***** melodrama, whoa, whoa/All the gun fights and the lime lights/And the holy sick divine nights, whoa”

You know we couldn’t forget about the man himself, Vincent van Gogh. He’s created dozens of iconic paintings that we know very well and love today. But, have you seen The Drinkers by Vincent van Gogh? It features his same artistic flair that makes his work stand out, but also relates to the themes in ‘Sober II (Melodrama).’

Find The Drinkers at The Art Institute of Chicago.

‘Writer In The Dark’

“I am my mother’s child, I’ll love you ’til my breathing stops/I’ll love you ’til you call the cops on me/But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power/I’ll find a way to be without you, babe”

The lore behind this song cannot go without a quick mention…but, what does the song really mean to us? Writers, and creators alike, are often misunderstood but quickly become the ones to be celebrated later on in life for their accomplishments that were once taken for granted. One of our favorite paintings depicting a writer is that of Emile Zola by Edouard Manet. The scattered feather pens and messy workspace is so relatable!

Find Emile Zola at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France.

‘Supercut’

“So I fall/Into continents and cars/All the stages and the stars/I turn all of it to just a supercut”

Deciding to chase a memory so far away from your mind is a hard decision to make. Whether that’s in love or in familial relationships, sometimes things happen that we wish to forget about altogether. The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí reminds us of those themes. We can try our hardest to erase our memory, but it always remains persistent. The clocks draped over various objects remind us that time cannot be warped, no matter how hard we wish it to be.

Find The Persistence of Memory at the Museum of Modern Art.

‘Liability (Reprise)’

“And maybe all this is the party/Maybe the tears and the highs we breathe, oh no/And maybe all this is the party/Maybe we just do it violently”

Every time we listen to this song we get quite emotional. We can never stop the tears from falling down, so we just let ourselves feel all the feels that Lorde evokes within us. To match with us, we’ve chosen Crying Girl by Roy Lichtenstein. We love the style of art that Lichtenstein took with this painting and hope that Lorde gains inspiration from it for future cover art!

This painting is currently not on view.

‘Perfect Places’

“All of the things we’re taking/‘Cause we are young and we’re ashamed/Send us to perfect places/All of our heroes fading/Now I can’t stand to be alone/Let’s go to perfect places”

When we think about perfect places and perfect landscapes, we instantly think of Claude Monet. Our favorite Monet is The Artist’s Garden at Giverny. If we could escape to any place, it would be the garden portrayed here. Perfect places are full of brightly colored flowers and the serenity that nature brings. How would you paint your perfect place? Or, how would you write about it in a song?

Find The Artist’s Garden at Giverny at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France.

Which song on Melodrama is your favorite? Be sure to let us know by tweeting us at @thehoneypop or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.

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