The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, December 1, 2016 — 3B

If you have any interest in 

fashion, you are likely familiar 
with Mallory Merk, whether you 
know it or not. The 16-year-old 
Louisiana native has been featured 
in the likes of Teen Vogue and 
Refinery29, with an Instagram 
presence deserving of that kind of 
attention. Raking in 35 thousand 
followers 
as 
of 
Wednesday, 

she has accumulated a photo 
repertoire like no other, featuring 
everything from bold street-style 
snaps to candids with her bud, 
A$AP Rocky. A unique middle 
ground between dainty redhead 
and groundbreaking tomboy, it 
would appear that Merk’s outward 
appearance is what propelled her 
into ubiquity.

There is more to every story 

than meets the eye, though. In the 
case of Miss Mallory Merk, music 
is what bubbles between the lines.

“I first started making music 

when I got my first family 
computer,” she said in an interview. 
“I was probably about 10. I used to 
make voice memos on my phone 
and edit them in GarageBand.”

I know what you may be 

thinking, and the answer is no. 
Merk is not another pretty face 
with a platform and a hobby. She 
released her debut EP, MM & HH, 
this past August at the age of 15. 
Produced by Dallas band Herrick 
& Hooley, each song’s bluesy 
undertones and quippy, youthful 
lyrics feel practically hypnotic. The 
entire project possesses a depth 
that one would never expect from 
a member of today’s supposedly 
scatterbrained youth.

“My inspiration for MM & HH 

came from all over my life, coming 
of age,” Merk said. “ ‘Puppy Love’ 
was all about literal puppy love. 
‘Gold’ was about my questioning 
if I’m ready or even worthy of 
what I’ve been given in this life. I 
always think, why me? MM & HH 
was about trusting myself and my 
art. Hunter Lewis from Herrick & 
Hooley told me once that without 
Alabama Shakes and Bryson Tiller 
there would be no MM & HH. I 
thought that was pretty funny, but 
it’s really true. I also draw a lot of 
inspiration from Amy Winehouse, 
Frank Ocean and ’90s R&B. ”

There is still an elephant in the 

room: under what genre, if any, 
does MM & HH fit?

“I have a term for my music I’m 

trying to coin,” she said, laughing. 
“It’s Trazz. Trap-Jazz music.”

All elements of this narrative 

point to one conclusion: Merk 
means business. The model and 
songstress is not old enough to buy 
lottery tickets, yet her resume is 
unparalleled.

“My modeling career really 

kicked off after I modeled for 
Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 2 zine 
when I had just turned 14,” Merk 
said. “I was so happy to be launched 
into the fashion world in such a 
beautiful way. My favorite memory 
as a model was probably having my 
face done by Pat McGrath and her 
team for the first time. It was really 
a dream come true. She’s a queen 
and an amazing artist and soul.”

It may be difficult to imagine 

a teenager juggling one career of 
such brevity (read: Kanye West 
and Pat McGrath) while trying to 
kickstart another. According to 
Merk, however, her two passions 
live hand-in-hand.

“Modeling has played a huge 

role in my music career,” she said. 
“When I do a shoot or editorial I 
like to push for the client to write 
about my music or to plug my 
talent and true passion in one way 
or another. Also, modeling was the 
original way that my face got out 
there and so popular, so I have my 
looks and ability to put my whole 
heart into everything I do to thank 
for the success of my music.”

Now, wait just a minute. What 

about school? Do kids still do that 
in 2016? Apparently, the answer is 
yes. Though we may never know 
how, Merk confirms that she finds 

time to attend an ordinary public 
high school.

“Balancing high school with 

studio time and everything else is 
really challenging,” she said. “To 
be honest, it’s almost impossible. 
If I can get real for a second, 
something is always lost, whether 
that be relationships, friendships, 
family time, schoolwork or a 
creative outlet. Lately, I’ve been 
feeling my friends slip away, my 
real friends. I miss them. I miss 
my family. I feel like I don’t talk to 
them enough.”

How, then, does our fiery-haired 

protagonist find the strength to 
move forward?

“Balancing isn’t the word,” she 

said, “It’s a pendulum. Swinging 
back and forth from being mentally 
healthy 
and 
making 
music, 

modeling, doing schoolwork and 
seeing family to the opposite. Every 
day is a balancing act for me, it’s 
very tiring. That’s why I meditate, 
pray and align my chakras to keep 
my head in the right place.”

Merk is certainly cut from a 

special cloth — a “Jane” of many 
trades, if you will. If she has come 
this far already, one can only 
imagine what she will be capable 
of later in life.

“In the future, you can expect 

the unexpected. Expect something 
you’ve never heard before. Expect 
my whole heart through my music. 
Expect my whole personality 
through my modeling. And always 
expect great things, so you can be 
happy upon receiving art that’s 
better than great.”

The story of Mallory Merk has 

only just begun.

ARTIST
PROFILE

IN

MALLORY MERK

Malllory Merk (middle) is a musician and model from Louisiana.

TESS GARCIA
Daily Arts Writer

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

Last 
summer, 
I 
managed 

to 
find 
myself 
cross-legged 

on a dock, overlooking the 
hazy emerald mountains that 
surround 
New 
Hampshire’s 

Lake 
Winnipesaukee. 
Sitting 

amid 
12 
other 
students, 
I 

awaited the start of an academic 
class that focused on the “uses 
of the erotic.” Did I attend this 
class because I assumed it’d be 
largely sexual in nature? Maybe. 
Nevertheless, in 90 minutes, the 
word “erotic” took on new, much 
more profound, meaning. The 
class utilized Audre Lorde’s 1974 
essay “Uses of the Erotic: The 
Erotic as Power,” in which she 
boldly defines the erotic as “a 
measure between the beginnings 
of our sense of self and the chaos 
of our strongest feelings.”

After familiarizing the class 

with Lorde’s definition, our 
instructor 
requested 
we 
go 

around and name what came 
to mind when we heard the 
word “erotic.” Immediately, the 
seductive beats of Chet Faker’s 
song “Cigarettes and Chocolate” 
flowed into my brain.

I’ve 
always 
chased 
the 

goosebumps, 
the 
body-

inhabiting emotion that music 
sends through me. I vividly recall 
being the only kid in the fourth 
grade choir who volunteered to 
sing the alto part of “Carol of the 
Bells”(you may know this part as 
the “ding, dongs”). While all my 
peers begged to sing the popular 
melody “Hark, how the bells! 

Sweet, silver bells,” I preferred 
dwelling in the harmony; it was 
easier to get lost the depths 
of the blending voices, in the 
depths of my own feeling.

It goes without saying that 

nine-year-old me did not identify 
my soul-stirring response to 
harmony as “erotic.” But, as 
Lorde describes the erotic, music 
has always been “a reminder of 
my capacity for feeling.” Thus, 
I turn to music to enhance 
the feeling of my everyday 
experiences. Music holds the 
potential to summon the erotic, 
and illuminate our lives with 
what Lorde identifies as the 
“kind of energy that heightens 
our senses and strengthens all of 
(our) experiences.”

The value in the erotic, and 

music’s ability to access it, 
stretches 
beyond 
individual 

experience. One of its uses, 
according to Lorde, is uniting 
those who share moments of its 
electric emotion. She accents the 
erotic’s ability to “be the basis for 
understanding much of what is 
not shared between us.” Emotion 
is humanity’s common ground, 
but it’s rare we allow ourselves to 
indulge in such rawness together.

I crave that rawness, though, 

and utilize music to ease the 
human 
connection-hindering 

fear of displaying intense feeling.

For 
instance, 
“Rivers 
and 

Roads” by The Head and the 
Heart has been the deliberate 
soundtrack to multiple “endings” 
in my life. The wistful harmonies 
of the chorus, “rivers ‘til I reach 
you” fueled the collective tears 
of my high school friend group 

before graduation — but only 
after the classic, “NO oh my GOD, 
this song makes me cry” remark. 
Though just a playful plea, it 
revealed the power music has 
over us, as well as our aversion to 
the vulnerability of the erotic.

Shared 
erotic 
connection 

doesn’t have to be somber, though. 
We’ve all been at that lackluster 
party that makes an 360 degree 
revitalization when that one 
guy puts on “Mr. Brightside.” 
Suddenly, the room is bouncing 
in nostalgic camaraderie to the 
tune of its infamous guitar intro. 
The night is heroically saved, and 
The Killers’ energy miraculously 
carries over into the night, alive 
even when that one girl (me) 
turns on “Macarena.”

Be it getting goosebumps at 

a choir concert, sobbing to the 
cliche “Rivers and Roads,” or 
head-banging to a dancefloor 
classic, both music and the erotic 
come in many forms — sort of like 
love. Lorde explains, “the very 
word erotic comes from the Greek 
word eros, the personification 
of love in all its aspects.” When 
we realize the erotic within 
ourselves, we’re realizing our 
deepest capacities for love — love 
for ourselves and love for others.

That tingly, wide-eyed magic 

that music ignites in me defies 
logic — it’s like momentarily 
falling 
in 
love 
— 
and 
it’s 

frighteningly vulnerable to feel 
so deeply. But when I find myself 
scared 
away, 
uninspired 
or 

settling, I know I have Chet Faker 
to tune me back into the erotic 
— Audre Lorde’s erotic — that I 
discovered on that dock last June.

AVERY FRIEDMAN

Daily Arts Writer

Finding the erotic subtext in Chet 
Faker and The Head and the Heart

Chasing the goosebumps and emotions that music sends through me

Rumor has it we’re ordering Pizza House. Baked and 

Buzzed have relegated me to be the Designated Orderer. 

Morale low. THERE SHE IS. Looking good Lizzie. 

Why does cartoon Lizzie have boobs? Is that really 

necessary? Remind me to never get bangs. And she 

has an iBook? Slow down. Little brother is spying 
on her in the bathroom?! This is some Freudian 
sh*t.

WAIT ... this is JUNIOR high? SHE IS 

DEFINITELY 20 IN THIS MOVIE. Mrs. 
McGuire looks like a young Meryl Streep. 
Gordo’s here! The original Chase Matthews. 
Gordo means fat in Spanish. This teacher at 

this “graduation” just referenced Ebola. Disney 

is always ahead of the curve. I remember being 

nervous for Lizzie the first time I watched her give 

her commencement speech. Now I’m in college and 

I’m laughing. Capital One ad in the airport?! I see you, 

propaganda. God, the little brother is still creepy. Two weeks in 

Rome?! With a high school principal whom the students have yet to meet? Sounds good. Buzzed thought 
the dad was hot at first, but now disagrees. I SEE FROSTED TIPS! Ethan is here! Gordo’s hair looks like 
mine. Why is the popular girl wearing a khaki pantsuit? Secretary Clinton? Disney was ahead, I’m telling 
you. Alright, look at the hotel room. It is covered in marble. IN COMES PAOLO! Kisses?! Oh, right, this is 
Europe. They’re drinking Pellegrino now. Imperialism lives. This milkshake is thick like Paolo’s accent 
should be, but is not. OK, wait. Paolo is kind of hot. This isn’t fair, the pretty girls get everything. Curse you 
Hillary (Duff, not Clinton, who already has that in the bag).

 “You’re such a good friend.” Oof. Poor Gordo. MY FAVORITE SCENE IS HERE. THE FASHION 

SCENE. IT IS TIME FOR THE IGLOO DRESS. Baked just said, “I think this movie exaggerates.” This 
screenplay was definitely forged from a Mad Lib book. In Rome, everything is marble. Did you know? 
Hold up. Lizzie’s family literally just got on a plane to visit her. She is only gone for two weeks. Joanne 
the Scammer would’ve swindled the heck out of this little girl. Also to be noted: no way did Hillary Duff 
receive any form of dialect lessons for her Italian alter ego, Isabella. But oh, my, is she steamy. It’s been 
revealed! Paolo is a diva! What a pickle he and Lizzie are in. One second, why doesn’t Gordo want to get 
with Isabella? 

PERFORMANCE TIME. Paolo can’t sing! Ha ha! Girls rule, boys drool, in every country! The emblem 

of modern Italian culture has been dismantled. Turns out Buzzed sang this song in the high school talent 
show. I am happy and you should be, too. Lizzie and Gordo are “sneaking away.” KISS! KISS! (I know they 
kiss.) She kissed him and he threw up the rock horns in response. Why has no boy ever thrown up the 
rock horns for me? - Tess Garcia, Daily Arts Writer

“The Lizzie McGuire 

Movie”

in this series, three daily arts writers 

in varying states of mind do the same 

activity and write about their experiences.

this week’s event:

Don’t remember this intro. Looks like some Agent Cody Banks and Cadet Kelly 

shit. Oh wait never mind it’s just Lizzie McGuire’s mean af little bro. “The tide 

is high” just came on and I highkey wanna dance and sing but I’m too 

high and don’t know all the lyrics TBH. The cartoon version of 

Lizzie has small boobs #why. I only saw this movie once 

in theaters in 2003 so this is hella nostalgic. Wait 

Lizzie has an iBook??? Damn the movie 

really is from 2003. Also why is her 

brother spying on her, like that’s 

some demented Hitchcockian voy-

eurism shit. Live action and animation 

mixed make me uncomfy. Gordo, what a homie 

#thatjewfrotho. LIZZIE’s TEACHER JUST MADE 

A REFERENCE TO EBOLA WHAAT. Lmao Lizzie looks 

like she’s 40 but she’s graduating from eighth grade AND she’s 

going to Rome?? Lizzie’s graduation speech is cringeworthy af. Fun 

fact: the woman who plays Ms Ungermeyer voiced Lois from Family 

Guy. She’s such a savage in this movie. Buzzed thought Lizzie’s dad was hot lol. 

The plane scene is cute, I’m surprised Gordo and Lizzie never smashed. Lol I just 

remembered when Lizzie first sees Paolo and he says in a shaky Italian accent “Isabella??” 

Europeans are so funny. The dialogue is corny as heck. But the cinematography’s not terrible. 

Wait isn’t Paolo like 20?! Kinda pedophilic if you ask me. Is his bodyguard always there? Bored said 

everyone’s sunglasses looked horrible before 2009. Exposition scenes are the worst. Paolo is such a shallow 
motherfucker, he is the original fuccboi. I’m laughing at everything SOMEBODY HELP ME. Never mind, 
Lizzie just said Paolo is 17, I still see several red flags. Gordo is so hardcore friendzoned. The soundtrack is 
bomb, 8.5/10 would recommend. I think this movie exaggerates the effects of mainstream media too much. 
My friend just said Paolo looks like Fez from That ’70s Show and I TOTALLY AGREE. Wait Lizzie just did 
a cartwheel handstand, stop the FUCKING panini presses. Damn Ms Ungermeyer and the bodyguard are 
lowkey fuckin, I feel like she wears the [CENSORED] in this relationship. Paolo’s line delivery is so FLAT. 
His Broken English is making my insides explode. Oh they’re singing the slow version of This is What 
Dreams Are Made Of fuck me up. Love the last performance, like Lizzie singing with the brunette version 
of herself is amazing. The kiss between Gordo and Lizzie was weak as hell but it’s ok cuz they’re both awk-
ward! What a journey it’s been you guys. 

 -Daily Arts Writer

Damn I love this song … “The tide is high but I’m holding on.” 

Sing it cartoon Lizzie. High key though bless Hillary Duff for not 
becoming a trainwreck like some of the other Disney channel stars. 
I used to play the game boy version of Lizzie McGuire and it was 
fun as hell.

Why the fuck is Lizzie going to Rome for her 8th grade 

graduation I wasn’t even allowed to leave my neighborhood in 8th 
grade. Her dad is hot ?? maybe ?? I hate that Miranda is not in this 
movie. Bored is noticing stuff that I cannot pick up on but that’s OK 
she’s doing well. Gordo definitely smoked pot in junior high. Real 
question though: Where does Lizzie McGuire live?

I’m some Franzia and beers deep … Lizzie and Gordo need 

some too. Also Paolo is definitely 18 something years old and that 
is just pedophilia-ish right there. Also Paolo, to be honest, I totally 
would. Why can’t I go to some foreign country and look like an 
international pop star that’s so unfair. Drinking Pellegrino water, 
Gordo? That’s some bougie ass shit. Crap, we devoured that feta 
bread. Also, Lizzie is walking around the streets of Rome at 14 by 
herself, but I would high key be shitting my pants with my braces 
and American eagle shirt. THIS SOUNDTRACK IS BOMB WTF. 
Gordo is a good friend too, like why does no one go for the nice boys 
anymore ? Baked loves mentioning that Gordo is Jewish. Should I 
put alcohol in my Pizza House milkshake? 

Palo is a poser and I feel like I am the cartoon version of Lizzie 

Mcguire. This movie kind of has no point but maybe I’m just being 
cynical? Lizzie has a hot outfit on and Baked says, “she looks hot for 
an eighth grader,” and when did this turn so sexual? lol she falls on 

baked.buzzed.bored.

the red carpet. This movie is way faster when you are drunk. Damn Lizzie is in such a pickle with Paolo rn. 
God dammit Paolo you suck cheers to Lizzie and Isabella #girlsruntheworld Just remember they are singing 
in the Colosseum HOW. LIZZIE IS SINGING WITH THE BRUNETTE VERSION OF HERSELF GOALS, 
MAN, GOALS. But, is this is what dreams are made of? The booty shake IS the best part of the entire film. 
THEY KISS I REPEAT LIZZIE AND GORDO kISs. -Daily Arts Writer

