Bold and beautiful, Megan Dixon Hood’s “Alias Grace” is a spellbinding adventure that helps us see through the noise and consider what matters most.
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Trust is a complex cookie, especially for those of us living in the information age. We can read countless reports and analyses, thought pieces and Tweets about a person – more than enough data to come to any conclusion, whatsoever – without once thinking through their side, seeing things from their point of view. Megan Dixon Hood’s “Alias Grace” is therefore an important piece of music, in that it compels us to use reason in formulating our opinions by looking at situations and people from multiple angles. Empathy matters, perhaps now more than ever before.
“Quiet now, don’t you wake the beast”
You could never speak in silent tongues
Or maybe you just choose not to care,
Or maybe you just choose not to care,
But I can hear you,
You want me to hear you
Listen: “Alias Grace” – Megan Dixon Hood
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/352851755?secret_token=s-8ogKX” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Alias Grace,” the latest single from Megan Dixon Hood (out November 17, 2017 via PoppaBubbleHead Records). Hailing from Cheshire, England, singer/songwriter Megan Dixon Hood weaves a mesmerizing web of alternative folk warmth as she embodies the title character from Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel, “Alias Grace.” Through soft, cutting harmonies and hauntingly emotive singing, Hood beckons us deeper into the viewpoint of the accused.
We’re forced to ask ourselves: Do we truly believe someone innocent until proven guilty?
There’s a girl and she’s standing in the night
Auburn hair, bathing in the moonlight
And did you see me with your own eyes,
Did you see me with your own eyes,
Or are you lying?
I think you’re lying
“‘Alias Grace’ was inspired by the book of the same name by the author Margaret Atwood,” shares Megan Dixon Hood. “The song itself takes on the perspective of Grace, suggesting the idea that she did not commit the crime, yet the rumors spread quickly and she is aware that she is seen as the ‘beast’ despite her beauty and mild manners. The tone is somewhat sarcastic, as she invites the listener to ‘step into’ her skin, to see for themselves what her life is really like and make their judgments that way.”
“Alias Grace” proves both compelling and timely, cheeky at times in nature but altogether serious in terms of the ramifications. What’s at stake when we forsake empathy? We lose thought; the ability to make judgments on our own. We succumb to the masses, becoming just another sheep in the herd of groupthink.
Sometimes I whisper to myself at night
I need to hear a voice from the other side
Step into my skin
I have nothing to hide
I wish to ease your troubled mind
Step into my skin
I have nothing to hide, hide
Hood hits a sweet high in her chorus, crying for us to step into the skin of another. It’s an impassioned plea that stays with us, if not for its powerful visual, then for the sheer magnificence of the artist’s voice. “I have nothing to hide,” she swears in a moving tone. Can we bring ourselves to believe her?
At 19, Megan Dixon Hood is well beyond her years in terms of lyrical prowess, song depth, and musicality. Her latest release finds her blending those three talents together in glorious harmony, much to the listener’s pleasure. Bold and beautiful, “Alias Grace” is a spellbinding adventure that helps us see through the noise, and consider what matters most.
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photo © 2017
