"Don't Hate the Girl, Just Hate the Crime" – Mollie Elizabeth on Medical Malpractice and Stage Fright
From the Cascades of Washington State, singer-songwriter Mollie Elizabeth. Her music speaks to the weird theatre kids—the ones who love wandering fairgrounds and soaking up the spooky, hauntingly beautiful atmosphere of a Tim Burton film.
Her new single "Petty Crimes" was released on Friday, September 4th. In the song, Mollie Elizabeth reflects on the experience of not being taken seriously about her medical issues as a teenager, which led her toward destructive behaviour.
THE UNSEEN got to interview her before the release. We talked about her songwriting process, her stage fright, and her favourite horror movie.
You reference a lot of animals in your song titles: dog, rabbit, doe. Do these animals play a purely symbolic role for you or do you have a personal connection with them?
Mollie Elizabeth: Where I grew up, it was fairly isolated. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest on a mountain. So I spent most of my time with animals. I also think I've always had a more positive relationship with animals than I have with humans. I've always related to them a lot more. I learned from a very young age that animals can be brutal and violent, but only humans can be evil. And I think I've carried that with me into my songwriting. Especially with "Dog Eat Dog" and "Run Rabbit", and even going back to "Doe Eyes". There's no malice; it's only survival. That's kind of what I talk about in "Dog Eat Dog": how a fox is a fox. Foxes have to eat. Humans don't have to kidnap humans. There's a big difference, and yet foxes are seen as sneaky and sly. But they're actually not; they're just trying to eat dinner.
It's definitely great symbolism, but it's something that I've always associated myself with too.
Do you have a routine for writing music, like a special ritual or something like that?
Mollie Elizabeth: Usually it kind of comes about. I do keep an inspiration list on my phone. Any time I think of a phrase, or a concept, or a certain wording of something that I enjoy, I write it down. And I keep a playlist on Spotify of songs that I like for the instrumental aspects or the rhythm, and generally I just go from there. Usually I start with a rhythm and then see what sounds nice over it and play with concepts and boom, bam, boom. Then you've got a song.
If you had to describe them, who is the kind of person you write your music for?
Mollie Elizabeth: If anything, I write my music for a younger version of myself and the person that I've become. Just my learnings throughout life. And I think I always keep in mind a younger Molly whenever I'm writing. Also, just anyone who's similar—other young people out there learning about the world or feeling unseen and feeling strange and weird and isolated. I always keep those kiddos in the back of my mind, little misfits. I always keep misfits in my head because I've always been one. I think a huge thing for me is just creating this island of solace for all of us strange folks.
Writing can be a very vulnerable process. How do you deal with the emotions during it? Is writing the outlet itself? Or do you have a specific next step that is your outlet?
Mollie Elizabeth: It's very meditative. I usually don't get very emotional during the songwriting process. I just tap in with that part of myself and translate it into words. Usually I get emotional afterwards when I listen back to the song I wrote. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that means so much to me." But during the writing, I'm usually very zen. And just kind of, I call it word vomit, which is a gross way of putting it. But like a brain dump, just getting everything out. And I think once you find the start of a thread, you just kind of keep going. And it leads you; it leads itself. I think it's just following that and allowing that to come to the forefront.
Philine: Like in the fairy tale, Hänsel and Gretel, following the breadcrumbs.
You speak about a lot of heavier topics in your song and explain the lyrics in some of your TikToks and on your social media. Is there a specific lyric you're afraid of being misinterpreted?
Mollie Elizabeth: I don't think I'm necessarily afraid of my lyrics being misinterpreted because I know in my heart that the people who need to hear it will hear it the way that I wrote it. At the end of the day, being on social media, there's always going to be people who mishear things and want to accuse you. But I trust that my music is being heard correctly by the right ears, and that's what matters to me most. At the end of the day, if I ever need to explain myself, I'm happy to. I do like yapping. So I'm always happy to be like, "This is what this means, and this is what this means."
You've already released four songs this year, and "Petty Crimes" is coming out soon. What does this particular song mean to you?
Mollie Elizabeth: "Petty Crimes" is a very fun song, especially to come after a song like "Run Rabbit." "Petty Crimes" is about my experience of being a teenager and feeling very unseen by medical professionals. When I was really struggling with mental illness, I was misdiagnosed tons of times and put on so many medications I did not need to be on. And I think I had this realisation: I need to hit rock bottom for anyone to take me seriously. So I did, and I became very rebellious, and I put myself in situations I shouldn't have put myself into because I felt like that was the only way people would take me seriously and listen to me: if I actually became a serious problem. I needed to become a problem for anyone to offer a solution.
It's a more complex concept than some of my other songs. It means a lot to me, especially with the response I've gotten from people on social media—women feeling unseen by medical professionals and taking years to get the help they need. It breaks my heart because that's been my experience, and it's horrible that it's so universal. At the same time, this is what we need to be writing songs about and speaking up about. I don't think I've ever heard a song about medical malpractice, but if anyone's gonna write one, it's gonna be me. Someone's gotta start. It happens every day, and I think so much of my music is about how hard it is being a young woman and entering society and realising how nobody listens. And everyone is just asking me to do things, but no one really cares what I'm asking for.
You've been performing live recently. What's your favourite part about that?
Mollie Elizabeth: I'm still getting over some stage fright. I've been singing and songwriting my whole life, but it was always alone or in the woods or to birds. And being in front of people is certainly more intimidating. But the more I do it, the more fun it becomes. I've been trying to tell myself before I go on stage not to think about it as something scary, but to show and tell. I get to sing my song. Also, getting to meet people after the show and getting to chat with people in between songs. I had the most amazing experience a couple of shows ago where a group of people came dressed up like my songs with rabbit ears and gauze on the face, and it was just the most incredible feeling of "These are my people and they're here," and it's real. I think at the end of the day for me, community and connection are always at the core of why I'm doing this and why I'm putting my music out. So I would say that's my favourite part.
You mentioned having stage fright. Do you have a post-show ritual to get rid of the jitters?
Mollie Elizabeth: I do some breathing, and I also do my vocal warm-ups. Which is also great because humming activates your vagus nerve, which is calming to the nervous system. And then right before we go on stage and start performing—right now I just have a keyboard player playing with me while I sing—we open up our hands, and we open up our hearts to the universe, and we thank the universe for giving us this beautiful opportunity. And we say we hope for a good show and basically just express gratitude. I always try to express gratitude before a show because ... what a gift and what a fun thing to be able to do this.
You captioned one of your TikToks "do you want to be part of my coven?" Do you have any more witchy rituals?
Mollie Elizabeth: Not really. I feel like I'm gonna start having more and more the more I perform live. I'm definitely gonna have more and more little rituals that I do, especially as the shows get bigger and I start travelling more. But no, not yet.
Your music often has a musical theatre vibe. It always reminds me of Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. Do you have any background in musical theatre, or is this something you want to get into?
Mollie Elizabeth: I'd really have to get over my stage fright then, wouldn't I? I definitely always loved musicals. I grew up watching lots of old Disney and the original Barbie movies, but I never really had the courage to be in school plays. I still wanted to be there, so I was the assistant director, or I did something behind the scenes. But I would always kind of sing along to myself. I feel like a lot of what taught me how to write and what influenced the way I write is musicals, since I started writing when I was so young. Now that I'm a bit older, I take a lot of influence from cabaret and some more gritty musicals, and I just think that there's so much power in that sort of performance. Just the way that they're put together, it is very powerful and beautiful.
You have a song called "Dinner for One". In Germany, it's a tradition to watch the short movie with the same name on New Year's Eve. It's this old British short movie with this old lady and her butler. And all of her friends have died. So she sits alone at the table, and her butler has to role-play as every single one of her friends. And he drinks all of their drinks and so on. Did you take inspiration from that for this song?
Mollie Elizabeth: No, I have never heard of that, but I have to watch it immediately. I wrote that song before we had this realisation that I just do best writing by myself. So I can get my full story out. But I wrote that song with Casey Smith and Dean Reid, and it was about womanhood and loving yourself and taking yourself out on a date. I was doing a lot of travelling by myself, and I was like, 'screw it,' I'm gonna take myself out for coffee, and I'm gonna go to a fancy restaurant. I'm gonna be like, "Table for one," what an iconic thing to do.
Any hints on what to expect from you next?
Mollie Elizabeth: I'll tell you what I can tell you. As you know, "Petty Crimes" is coming out September 4th. I do have more tricks up my sleeve that I will be able to speak more about soon, but I am definitely still continuing on this theme of womanhood and saying the things that I'm not afraid to say but other people don't want me to talk about. About society and being a woman. I think that's the most I can say.
I personally would describe your music as haunted and fairground-esque. It sometimes has this almost gory horror element to it. Do you enjoy watching horror movies, and if so, which is your favourite?
Mollie Elizabeth: I don't like gore. I'm a very pacifistic person. But I do love a good psychological horror. I just have to close my eyes at certain parts. But one of my favourite movies of all time is Midsommar by Ari Aster, and that has definitely been a big inspiration for me. That movie is just so well made. I think something big for me is this juxtaposition between being a woman and feeling as though your whole purpose is to be pretty and delicate and gentle. I do associate myself with those things, and at the same time, I bite. I think there's something so whimsical about that. I will say I kind of associate myself with more 'children's horror,' like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, etc. I think that things don't need to be so violent to be spooky. And I think that there's something that's so empowering about being spooky and allowing yourself to be a little bit creepy, especially as a young woman. I've been really leaning into that with my music lately. I think it's fun too because then the right people hear it and love it, and the wrong people will hear it and be like, why is she making creepy sounds? Perfect, it's not for you.
Last question. What's your song for our artist recommendation playlist?
Mollie Elizabeth: This lovely small artist, Niko Rubio, just put out a single called "Tokyo". And it is so trippy and vibey and not the kind of music I would usually listen to at all because I'm someone who just kind of exclusively listens to old, old, old music. Still, I am a huge supporter of other small artists, and this song has just been stuck in my head ever since it came out, so that would be my addition.
LISTEN TO MOLLIE ELIZABETH'S NEWEST SINGLE, "PETTY CRIMES" HERE:
INTERVIEW BY
Philine
I love expressing myself through writing. But also through fashion and art. My body is a museum for all the cool tattoo artists I've come across. As a booklover and helpless (hopeful) romantic I love to indulge in the sweeter stories of life. Writing is my way of empowering women and fighting the patriarchy. I also want to bring the joy and community of female friendships to everyone through my texts. Your online bestie if you will, that shares the best books, crafts and maybe a recipe from time to time.
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