Xiu Xiu: Born on a Dancefloor

Xiu Xiu was born on a dance floor, arriving alone at the club and going home alone from the club. The music has been called “self flagellating”, “harsh”, “brutal”, “shocking” and “perverse” but also “genius”, “brilliant”, “unique”, “imaginative” and “luminous.” Starting in isolation in San Jose, California in 2002, Xiu Xiu has relentlessly toured all over the world since. San Jose is a rotten place to be, so relentless touring was a way to get AWAY! There have been a total of seven line-ups with the newest and best being Angela Seo, Bettina Escauriza, Marc Riordan, Devin Hoff, and Jamie Stewart. They are currently cluster bombed around America in New York and Durham, NC.

Over the course of 15 7″s, five EPs, six collaboration albums and eight full lengths Xiu Xiu has never shied away from any topic that is honest and meaningful to them. Their songs are about gender dysphoria, suicide, loneliness, going insane, child soldiers, the tsunami in Indonesia, hideous sex, the Sanrio character Pandapple, abortion politics, incest, cats, queer life, being raped by the police and the individual responsibility of U.S. military personnel for the families they murder. Somehow within all of this, cuteness attempts to find a way to embrace death and horrible emotion.

The new video for “Honeysuckle” certainly embodies all of these elements and finds it’s own way of luring viewers in. In the beginning, we are introduced to various haunting images, such as the image of a fish out of water, still breathing. We follow the daily routine of a young Asian girl, and how she battles loneliness and boredom. There is a sadness that is created within the scenes of “Honeysuckle,” but there are deep-rooted meanings that Xiu Xiu presents us with. The ever-so-truthful lyrics of the chorus “I get up, get up/ But the day is ruined again” present us with a cry for help, but is merely a type of solace for the sadness and daunting repetitiveness of being alone.