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 Title: Stop Looking Artist: Carmen Grant Genre: Indie rock, folk rock, blues rock Released: November 12th, 2013 Album: "Mercury" Length: 3:56 Label: Permanent Reminder For a while, Carmen's fans were beginning to think that Carmen Grant would never return to the airwaves. After a wildly successful triple platinum EP, Carmen released one single off of the EP, and then disappeared. She briefly reappeared a few months later, releasing another single - "Not Going to Lie" - off of her newly upcoming album - which was originally titled "Speak Soft," but has recently been changed to "Mercury" - and then disappearing from us all over again. Her listeners going to start getting abandonment issues if she keeps this up. But now it looks like Carmen is finally back to stay, releasing another single from her upcoming album, this time titled "Stop Looking." In her EP and her first single, Carmen Grant had shown exactly what kind of music she was going to be making: The kind that makes you want to curl up and cry. In this single, she seems to be doing no different, and you don't see anybody complaining.
The song starts off with a slowly played electric guitar, which is soon accompanied by a soft fiddle, making the listener think, "Oh, Carmen. It's so nice to have you back, throwing the sound of a fiddle into a relatively contemporary song. Please don't ever stop doing what you're doing." Carmen seems to respond to them by beginning to sing, and making all of their hearts melt. In "Not Going to Lie," her listeners remember Carmen's soft voice and the way that every emotion echoed through her voice and into our hearts. "Stop Looking" is no different. Carmen Grant holds nothing back as she lays out her heart and soul for all to hear. There are points in the song where it seems like the guitar is going to overpower Carmen's voice as the emotion of the song over takes her and she drops into a tone slightly louder than a whisper. By the end of the song, when Carmen's voice completely fades out and all the listeners are left with again is that guitar and the fiddle, they feel thoroughly emotionally exhausted, as if they've experienced all the hurt Carmen has experienced in her life in a four minute time frame.
Although "Not Going to Lie" told the rather empowering story of a girl just wanting to sleep with her ex and then never see him again, "Stop Looking" has a slightly dark - yet still unbelievably upbeat - message to it. The song starts with Carmen talking about one of her past relationships, stating that there are things in her life that nobody needs to see - "Desk drawers filled with picture frames / Postcards tucked in underneath." It's obvious that there's a part of Carmen Grant's life that she doesn't want to think about all the time, but that she doesn't want to forget either. She goes on to explain that it was a young love that she had, and the boy moved away, leaving her all alone. It's a sad story, and one we know all too well. The expectation for a song like this is for the singer to start crying about how much they miss their ex and how much they wish they could have the old times back. But not with Carmen Grant. Although its very obvious that she does miss her old lover and wants him back, she goes on to tell her listeners - especially the ones that have perhaps gone through something similar - "But don't get down / Good things come when you stop waiting around / Good things come when you stop looking / Don't get down, you've just got to stop looking." The chorus throws the listener off immediately, as we were already mentally preparing ourselves for the sob fest of the century. But no. Rather than explicitly say all the emotions that she is feeling towards this situation, Carmen instead offers sound advice about not getting down on yourself if she can't find love again, because love will find you in the end. She goes on to talk about the good things in her life, like her family, the control that she has over her life, and a career that she loves. Of course she's still upset over losing somebody that she loves, but she recognizes that there are other things in life to be happy about. As she finishes the song, she sings, "There are some things I used to be / Won't you find the will just to remind me? / Because you are so safe inside my memory / Like the scar underneath my knee." She is still very much in love with this man, and she'll keep him locked inside her memory forever, like a scar. At the end of the story, the listener is left to wonder if Carmen Grant really does think that good things will come if she stops waiting for them, or if she's just saying that to try to reassure herself that everything is going to be okay.
I've got a long, long list of things
That no one needs to see
Desk drawers filled with picture frames
Postcards tucked in underneath
We were only young when we moved away
It went on and on for years
You fell in love and now you live in the city
Now I'm my own company out here
But don't get down
Good things come when you stop waiting around
Good things come when you stop looking
Don't get down, you've just got to stop looking
There are some things that I believe
Like if you've got nothing, you've still got your family
And when you are no one, you're still the queen
And there's not a dollar enough in the world that would make me not sing
But don't get down
Good things come when you stop waiting around
Good things come when you stop looking
Don't get down, you've just got to stop looking
There are some things I used to be
Won't you find the will just to remind me
Because you are so safe inside my memory
Like the scar underneath my knee
Good things come when you stop waiting around
Good things come when you stop waiting aroundSOUNDS LIKE:
Cat Power - Good Woman
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