Hikikomori

Album: Conatus (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Zola Jesus is the stage name of the Russian American singer/songwriter Nika Roza Danilova. She was raised in Merrill, Wisconsin on over 100 acres of forest and started singing early on, buying voice lesson tapes and opera sheet music at the age of 7. Danilova started performing opera when she was 10 years old, and in her teens she started to experiment in a more rock-orientated format. She said that by adopting a stage name after Jesus Christ and the French writer Émile Zola, she consciously wanted to alienate her peers. Danilova released her debut full-length album The Spoils in 2009, while studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • This track from her third album, Conatus, is named after the Japanese phenomenon of young people who can no longer cope with the demands of the outside world, and so go into self-imposed exile by shutting themselves in their apartments for years at a time. Danilova told NME: "It was about how, if I never left my house or my room, that'd be just fine by me."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Desmond Child

Desmond ChildSongwriter Interviews

One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.