Table of Contents Show
Lebanese-American musician Samia Finnerty’s — more commonly known by the stage name, Samia — modesty was encompassed in a question she lightheartedly asked to her Los Angeles (LA) audience during her 2022 Loving U, Thanking U Tour:
“Did my mom pay you to be here?”
Born in LA but whose adolescence was spent in New York City, Samia got her start by attending open-mic nights in the Lower East Side and Manhattan when she was a teenager. She was greatly inspired by the music of The National and Nirvana, which colluded with her love for poetry to turn out the metaphor and imagery oriented singer-songwriter on airwaves today (( Amour, Cheri. “New York songwriter Samia Finnerty proves that no one puts baby in the corner.” The Line Of Best Fit, 18 August 2020. )).
Although her musical beginnings were unassuming, Samia has never been a stranger to the entertainment industry. Her parents are actors Dan Finnerty and Kathy Najimy (( “Samia (musician).” Wikipedia, 2022. Accessed 6 March 2022. )) the latter who is well known for her roles in Disney’s Hocus Pocus (1993) (( “Hocus Pocus.” IMDb, 2022. Accessed 6 March 2022. )) and as Peggy Hill in Fox’s King of the Hill (1997-2010) (( “King of the Hill.” IMDb, 2022. Accessed 6 March 2022. )). Hence, why she joked if her mom had paid off her large audience at LA’s El Rey Theatre. Regardless of one’s opinion on Samia’s unavoidable nepotism—which has always been a known fact — the singer has continued to garner praise for her own writing abilities in online publications, most notably Pitchfork, where her 2020 debut album The Baby scored a 7.9 out of 10. “The images [Samia] produces range from realistic to metaphysical, but they’re always evocative and sensory,” (( Bardhan, Ashley. “The Baby.” Pitchfork, 3 September 2020. )) the review states.
Naturally, the answer to Samia’s initial question about being paid by her mother was a resounding, “No,” with concertgoers raising their arms and voices in protest. Instead of Peggy Hill, folks were there for her “evocative and sensory” music — which cannot be exemplified more than on track five of “The Baby,” “Stellate,” where Samia explores the depths of a relationship sans any equity or balance. Through notably strong imagery and complementing music production, “Stellate” showcases a heartbreaking vignette in which a lover gives once, and takes always.
“Stellate”‘s Theme
In an interview, Samia described “Stellate” vaguely, as, “a note to [herself] trying to make peace with old traumas,” (( Chelosky, Danielle. “Samia Breaks Down Her Debut Album “The Baby” Track by Track.” FLOOD Magazine, 28 August 2020. )) a tactic many artists use to allow their audience their own interpretations of the art. Considering this, it’s important to acknowledge one cannot know what “Stellate” is definitively about, but drawing on Samia’s tendency to portray exhausting romantic relationships, it is not unfounded to believe “Stellate” does the same. The verses and chorus are crafted in tandem with the instrumentation, and it all speaks for itself — candidly.
Verse One: Setting The Scene
The first verse of “Stellate” presents the listener with a clear picture of the narrator’s relationship, why they wish to take care of them so tenderly, the most illuminating lines being:
“You made your car a vacuum / You pulled over too / So when you let me out / I owed my life to you.”
(( “Stellate.” Genius, 2020. Accessed 6 March 2022. ))
Here, Samia makes it clear in her lyrics that there is a sense of obligation present in this relationship that sprouts from an act of care. The unnamed lover provided the narrator with a temporary place of safety, a “vacuum” (( “Vacuum.” Merriam-Webster, 2022. Accessed 8 March 2022. )) in which no other matter or, more likely, dangers could get to them, and so, in return, they owe everything — their “life.” She builds this story of love and unfairness by establishing images of devotion and power imbalance early in the song, a thread the audience can easily follow throughout.
Verse Two: Defining “Stellate”
In the second verse, adoration is explored again, with wistful lyrics that describe the narrator’s wish to play their lover “records” and “hold [their] hand.” Samia utilizes this section of the song to build up the narrator’s devotion to their significant other, while cleverly opting out of addressing anything their lover does for them. It’s as if the only presence in the relationship is the narrator and the narrator alone.
She invokes the title of the track in this verse:
“Show me where you are stellate / I’ll stick the needle through.”
(( “Stellate.” Genius, 2020. Accessed 6 March 2022. ))
Stellate has two specific meanings. One being as an adjective, “resembling a star,” (( “Stellate.” Merriam-Webster, 2022. Accessed 8 March 2022. )) and the other, a noun, stellate ganglion, which is a “collection of nerves” (( “Stellate Ganglion Blocks.” Cedars Sinai, 2022. Accessed 8 March 2022. )) in the neck. There is a therapy called stellate ganglion blocking, which consists of getting an injection to anesthetize the nerves in order to relieve pain they can cause throughout the body. Due to Samia’s use of the word “needle,” the song presents this double meaning. One in which the narrator’s lover resembles a star — shining, so beautiful, and horribly out-of-reach — and, where the point is hammered home again, the narrator will perform any remedy for their lover to feel good again.
Verse Three: Imperceptibility Of The Self
This verse climbs towards the climax of the song and comments even more decidedly on the imperceptibility of the lover. It is the first time one can sense a storm on the horizon. The narrator expresses how their lover is struggling with opening metaphorical doors, so they “lay down on the kitchen floor” with them. Next, the song builds on another layer of this unbalanced relationship,
(( “Stellate.” Genius, 2020. Accessed 6 March 2022. ))
“I put one of your vellum / Between my face and yours / So through the vellum / You’d discern my face from yours.”
Connecting to the imagery of them laying on the kitchen floor, the narrator takes a piece of vellum, “fine-grained unsplit calfskin prepared for writing on or for binding books,” (( “Vellum.” Merriam-Webster, 2022. Accessed 11 March 2022. )) and places it in between them and their lover, the end goal being discernibility. Here, it seems that the narrator is having a moment of realization and plea— their partner is emotionally absent because they believe the narrator is an extension of themself and not their own autonomous being. The deep devotion the narrator has displayed, and the thoughtlessness of the lover, have morphed the relationship into one of extreme reliance on the only person who is taking action. The narrator is hoping this vellum trick will force their partner to see this separation, and in turn, acknowledge their devotion and agency.
Verse Four: Unwavering Love And Cruelty
Unfortunately, verse four confirms that this situation will not change for the narrator.
“I wanna wake you up / Show you the boat I bought / I want to go sailing with you / To someplace we are not / You buy me a big bucket / I scream into that / And when it overflows / You want your money back.”
(( “Stellate.” Genius, 2020. Accessed 6 March 2022. ))
They continue to wax poetic about their devoted, somewhat naive, intentions, reverting to the childlike images of running away together, and although a metaphorical curveball of potential care is finally thrown by their lover — by way of getting them a “bucket” — they are stripped of it immediately after it overflows. One expression of slightly distressing emotion by the narrator, and they’re abandoned by the person they’ve gone to the ends of the world for.
Chorus: Cyclical Devotion
As the song continues into its last chorus, there is a sense of futility.
“You know it / But I can say it for you,” repeats over and over, like the choruses before.
(( “Stellate.” Genius, 2020. Accessed 6 March 2022. ))
The narrator now understands they’re only seen by their lover when convenient, but even then, they’re not allowed to be themself — just an extension of their partner, completing whatever tasks are needed to make them feel cared for. The first couple of choruses in the song are prefaced with the more ambiguous verses — the listeners unaware if this relationship is truly unsalvageable — changing the meaning of the repetition from futile, to an expression of love of the most unselfish form.
The song fades out after a few cycles of repetition with these ten lyrics, and the audience is left wondering if the narrator will ever leave their apathetic partner.
The Production
The vocals and instrumentation throughout “Stellate” also play a large part in building this artful and meticulous presentation of one-sided love.
Considering the instrumentation, Samia utilizes small, deliberate changes to emphasize the relationship growing more and more co-dependent, and more and more unfair. For example, a low guitar strum with reverb is consistent throughout the track, and is the only thing complimenting Samia’s soaring vocals during the first two verses; however, the first chorus introduces a drumbeat that not only highlights the change in intensity from verse to chorus but also tangibly pushes the song into the more revealing lyrics found in the third verse. Additionally, while the instrumentation is fairly bare for the first half of the song, the last chorus explodes with sound, incorporating the low guitar strum and full drums at high volume — emphasizing the narrator’s realization about their mournful relationship.
Samia’s vocals, which ordinarily shine, make an even greater difference in “Stellate.” She showcases her controlled voice in the first two verses of the track, again, only accompanied by the low guitar strum, and as realizations begin, her vocal control becomes more unhinged and expressive. This is best witnessed in the choruses, where she begins to crescendo with each one, “You know it / But I can say it for you” becoming less an act of adoration, and more a painful obligation as the song continues. Finally, Samia’s decision to incorporate a male vocal in the rest of the choruses after the third verse solidifies the idea that the narrator is unfairly becoming one with their partner. Samia’s voice melds together with collaborator Whistler Allen (( “Whistler Isaiah.” Genius, 2022. Accessed 11 March 2022. )), sonically showcasing how the subjects in the song are melding together as well.
Strength In Specificity
Samia’s strength is in her specificity. Crafting a song about imbalance, and at worst, cruelty, in relationships has been done before and will be done again; however, what makes “Stellate” a standout in this genre is the unique imagery and thoughtful song production Samia imbues it with. The audience witnesses crystal clear images of vacuums, stellate ganglion, needles, vellum, and overflowing buckets, along with deliberate music production that not only complements the lyrics but pushes their meanings further. Vividness, and in turn, ardent feeling, is inescapable as these scenes burn in one’s mind.
With “Stellate,” Samia allows the audience a glimpse into a relationship that is unmistakably star-crossed, but not for trite reasoning. There are no disapproving stares and no feuding families, just an individual who sacrifices everything, and another who offers nothing in return.
