Warpaint - What's in a name?

Warpaint

I really like Warpaint. I really, really like Warpaint.

Warpaint is an indie rock piece hailing from Los Angeles that make chilled-ambient-rock-pop kind of stuff that feels effortlessly cool but also permeating raw energy. Like a colourful flower sprouting out of a crack in the roadside. There are elements to their sound I find hard to straight up define - their sound is aggressive yet relaxed. A chilled out militancy that everyone can enjoy; I can hear influences from genres like grunge, noise, chamber-pop, lo-fi and grrl but driving along with my mum on the way home from the shops she remarked how she liked them. Which is a huge step in Mother/Son music relations.

Family aside one thing I really want to talk about is Warpaints name.

What’s in a name?

Warpaint has strong connotations. Even just the word War is strong within the mind, it pulls up every conflict, from global wars to angry neighbours. War is a powerful word in the English language stirring and instantly recognisable - I’m reminded of the last part of the film The Fifth Element where Milla Jovovich foolishly googles the word. Paint obviously isn’t quite so strong a word within itself but combined with war we have the image of Native Americans and tribesmen or ancient honorable warriors that cover themselves to signify allegiance to a tribe or just to scare the shit out of the opponent. These days I suppose also as camouflage. Again this idea of militancy reverberates through this.

The second undertone to this name is the use of the phrase ‘war paint’ to describe make-up. “Is that you putting on your war paint?” is a phrase most people in Britain will at least be familiar with. I kinda feel like this jibe is a bit derogatory but harmless - the sort of thing you’d expect an old dear grandad to come out with. The use of this term seems to imply a joke within - a person wearing make-up is by no means going to war, maybe heading out for a night on the town - a humorous to add this slant to it, if a little old fashioned (ITS 2014 GUYZ ZOMG).

Here I feel there’s an appropriation going on here. A reclaiming of the phrase for the better. A group of people embracing a term and using it as their own. The name is almost a perfect mix of aggression and femininity. Reflecting their music. Harsh yet soft.  

Looking at one of Warpaint’s most successful videos on Youtube: Disco//Very - Keep It Healthy (Two of their songs back to back) they walk down the road dancing and singing - which to me is very reminiscent of a hip hop video - along to lyrics such as

‘Don't you battle we'll kill you,

Rip you up and tear you in two’

It is laid back, almost ethereal in its execution despite the obvious aggressive intent in the lyrics. I read somewhere that they do take inspiration from hip hop music and this obviously shows, however they take the usually overly masculine and antagonistic lyricism that prevails in hip hop and turn it into their own. It is softened but the threat and urgency is felt. This subversion ties in beautifully to their name, their perceived attitude and music they make.

The overall image of a group or band is important and always has been. The name of a band is often the first thing we hear of, if not a song itself on the radio or in a podcast. The music is, of course, what we judge first and foremost; however after this we look at the group - not just as in physical terms but also the image we create in our minds eye. We look to project certain values onto the music and we ourselves feed them back onto ourselves. Take Nirvana as a pick out of the air example; here is an anarchic, gritty, rebellious sound but ultimately had mass appeal. There is a tenderness underneath however, especially apparent on the MTV Unplugged gig. Cobain's lyrics speak of anxiety, being an outsider and depression; things that I think many people can relate to. But how much people take away from their music is essentially up to the person themselves be it the sheer energy and fist-pumping riffs or the more darker elements of humanity, because like all art (or anything everything really) it is subjective. Nirvana was an interesting band name because they were anything but, adding to that rebellious image.

Digressing back to Warpaint I feel this mental image is incredibly strong - things like being aggressive yet feminine - they actively fulfill this through their music alone. And the problem with a band like Warpaint which pulls so many influences from across the board is that it could turn into a big pile of shit. It could just be a mish-mash of ideas with no full form or function, forgotten as a band with some good ideas but lacking direction. Gladly this is not the case.

Here’s the ultimatum. What the name Warpaint and the band have is ‘subtlety’. They don’t encourage you to immediately decide who they are and where they’re at. They hint surely, but it demands slightly more attention, to look a little bit closer and take away your own meaning. Which all good art should do.

What’s in a name?

Pure loads min.