Early life
Phoebe Lucille Bridgers was born on August 17, 1994 in Pasadena, California, where she was raised. As a child, Bridgers made extra money by busking at the Pasadena Farmers Market. Bridgers is a graduate of the Sequoyah School in Pasadena and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She spent some of her childhood in Ukiah, California.
Career
Early in her career, Bridgers played guitar and sang lead vocals in Einstein's Dirty Secret and played bass in Sloppy Jane. Bridgers' career came to light when she met American singer-songwriter Ryan Adams through mutual collaborator Harrison Whitford. Adams produced her major label debut 7", Killer, and released it on his record label, PAX AM in 2014. During this time the two began a romantic relationship. In early 2016, Bridgers supported Julien Baker on her 2016 East Coast tour.
2017–2018: Early beginnings and Stranger in the Alps
In June 2017, Bridgers signed to Dead Oceans. On September 22, 2017, she released her debut album, Stranger in the Alps, to generally positive reviews. The album was produced by Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska. On March 12, 2018, the social networking site Pebbal named Stranger in the Alps the best album of 2017.
On March 3, 2018, Bridgers appeared on CBS This Morning: Saturday and sang "Motion Sickness" and "Scott Street".
Bridgers's song "Safe at Home" was featured on season 3, episode 5 of the ABC Family show Switched at Birth. Season 3, episode 17 featured her song "Ask Me To/Steamroller". Her song "Georgia" was featured on season 8, episode 2 of the ABC show Castle. The track "Smoke Signals" appeared on season 1, episode 7 of Burden of Truth. Her song "Funeral" was featured near the end of season 3, episode 2 of the FOX show Lethal Weapon. Her song "Motion Sickness" was featured on the Netflix television series Trinkets and on season one, episode 3 of 9-1-1: Lone Star.
In May 2018 Bridgers was featured on a remake of the Lord Huron song "The Night We Met" for the soundtrack to season 2 of the Netflix television series 13 Reasons Why. In 2019, Bridgers teamed up with The National's Matt Berninger to record a track for Between Two Ferns: The Movie called "Walking on a String" and appeared in the film. The song was released on October 17, 2019.
2018–2019: Boygenius and Better Oblivion Community Center
In 2018 Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus formed the group Boygenius. They released three songs in August 2018 and subsequently announced an EP and a tour. The EP, boygenius, was released on October 26, 2018. Bridgers and Conor Oberst revealed their new band Better Oblivion Community Center on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and released their eponymous debut album in January 2019 (released through Dead Oceans). On January 26, 2019, they were interviewed on CBS This Morning Saturday and performed "Dylan Thomas" and "Didn't Know What I Was in For". The show ended while they performed "My City". Bob Boilen, creator of NPR's "All Songs Considered" and the NPR "Tiny Desk" video series, said of their album, "Better Oblivion Community Center came as a surprise to us all this year and, at the moment, their self-titled release is my favorite record of 2019. It's that rare musical partnership where each injects vibrancy into the other's creative side."
2020–present: Punisher
On February 26, Bridgers released the song "Garden Song" alongside its music video.
On April 3, The 1975 released their single "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America" from their upcoming album, Notes on a Conditional Form on which Bridgers featured. She also features on three more songs from the same album.
On April 9, Bridgers released the song "Kyoto" and announced via an Instagram post that her second album, titled Punisher, would be released on June 19, 2020, but was released a day early on June 18, 2020. She stated, "I'm not [delaying] the record until things go back to 'normal' because I don't think they should. Here it is a little early." The album received widely positive reviews and made its debut at number 6 on the UK album charts week ending July 2, 2020.
On October 5, 2020, Bridgers and Dead Oceans partnered to create a new record label called Saddest Factory.
While awaiting the results of the 2020 United States presidential election on November 3, Bridgers tweeted that she would cover "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls if Donald Trump lost. The cover, which was recorded as a duet with Maggie Rogers under the name Phoebe & Maggie, was released exclusively via Bridgers’ Bandcamp page for one day only on November 13 and was downloaded 28,000 times, with proceeds going towards Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action organization to promote fair elections in the state of Georgia as well as nationally. Though the song was available for one day, Billboard confirmed it would have been eligible to top their Digital Song Sales chart. On November 10, Bridgers announced an EP of four reworked tracks from Punisher titled Copycat Killer that was released digitally on November 20. On November 23, Bridgers released a cover of Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December" through Dead Oceans, with proceeds going towards Los Angeles' Downtown Women's Center.
Bridgers garnered four nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Alternative Music Album.
On December 1, 2020, Bridgers released a music video for the song "Savior Complex". It was directed by actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge and stars Paul Mescal. She featured on the Kid Cudi track "Lovin Me" which appears on his album Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, which was released December 11.
On March 14, 2021, Bridgers attended the 63rd Grammys ceremony with her mother Jamie and her brother Jackson. she wore a skeleton outfit designed by Thom Browne. Though Bridgers did not win any grammys she did post a picture on Instgram of her empty handed with the caption " heres a picture of me with my grammys."
Personal life
Bridgers is bisexual. Bridgers dated Ryan Adams beginning in 2014, before eventually breaking up; her song "Motion Sickness" is about the end of their relationship. Along with several other women, Bridgers accused Adams of sexual misconduct in a 2019 report by The New York Times. She is a pescetarian. Bridgers' mother, Jamie, is a stand up comedian and often tells jokes about her daughter.
Motion Sickness
Phoebe Bridgers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I miss you like a little kid
I faked it every time but that's alright
I can hardly feel anything
I hardly feel anything at all
You gave me fifteen hundred
To see your hypnotherapist
I only went one time, you let it slide
Fell on hard times a year ago
Was hoping you would let it go and you did
I have emotional motion sickness
Somebody roll the windows down
There are no words in the English language
I could scream to drown you out
I'm on the outside looking through
You're throwing rocks around your room
And while you're bleeding on your back in the glass
I'll be glad that I made it out
And sorry that it all went down like it did
I have emotional motion sickness
Somebody roll the windows down
There are no words in the English language
I could scream to drown you out
And why do you sing with an English accent
I guess it's too late to change it now
You know I'm never gonna let you have it
But I will try to drown you out
You said when you met me you were bored
You said when you met me you were bored
And you, you were in a band when I was born
I have emotional motion sickness
I try to stay clean and live without
And I want to know what would happen
If I surrender to the sound
Surrender to the sound
The lyrics of "Motion Sickness" by Phoebe Bridgers narrate a story of an intense and toxic relationship. The singer expresses a paradoxical feeling towards her ex-partner. On one hand, she hates him for what he did to her, but on the other hand, she misses him like a little kid, indicating that her emotions towards him are complicated. She admits to having faked her emotions in the relationship, revealing that it was unhealthy for her. The singer describes experiencing emotional motion sickness, a feeling that she cannot control, and is also looking for a way out of this relationship.
In the second verse, the singer reveals that her ex-partner had paid for her to attend hypnotherapy, but she only went once. Despite this, he let it slide, demonstrating his enabling nature. The singer acknowledges that she fell on hard times a year ago and was hoping he would let the matter drop, but he didn't. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the singer's emotional turmoil.
The bridge features a series of rhetorical questions and statements directed at her former partner. The line "And why do you sing with an English accent?" refers to the singer's former partner who was in a band and sang with an English accent but was not from England. The final line "Surrender to the sound" is an invitation to let go of the negative emotions and surrender to the music.
Line by Line Meaning
I hate you for what you did
I resent you deeply for your actions
And I miss you like a little kid
I feel a strong sense of loss for you, similar to how a child misses a loved one
I faked it every time but that's alright
I pretended to be okay with the situation, but that's okay because it's over now
I can hardly feel anything
I have difficulty experiencing emotions after what happened
I hardly feel anything at all
My emotional state is severely compromised
You gave me fifteen hundred
You provided me with a sum of fifteen hundred dollars
To see your hypnotherapist
So I could receive treatment from your hypnotherapist
I only went one time, you let it slide
I only attended one session, and you didn't hold me accountable for not going more
Fell on hard times a year ago
I experienced financial difficulty a year ago
Was hoping you would let it go and you did
I had hoped you would forgive my lack of attendance, and you did
I have emotional motion sickness
I experience intense feelings that cause physical discomfort
Somebody roll the windows down
I want fresh air to help alleviate my discomfort
There are no words in the English language
There are no words I can use to express my feelings accurately
I could scream to drown you out
I could yell loudly to try and distract myself from my thoughts
I'm on the outside looking through
I feel like an outsider observing what's happening
You're throwing rocks around your room
You're expressing your anger physically
And while you're bleeding on your back in the glass
You're hurting yourself in the process
I'll be glad that I made it out
I'll be relieved that I was able to remove myself from the situation
And sorry that it all went down like it did
I'm remorseful for how everything turned out
And why do you sing with an English accent
I'm confused as to why you sing with an accent that's not your own
I guess it's too late to change it now
I think it's too far along for you to change your accent now
You know I'm never gonna let you have it
You know I won't let you off the hook
But I will try to drown you out
But I'll try to distract myself from my thoughts by other means
You said when you met me you were bored
You told me that when you met me, you were uninterested
And you, you were in a band when I was born
You were already performing in a band when I was born
I try to stay clean and live without
I try to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle
And I want to know what would happen
I'm curious about the outcome
If I surrender to the sound
If I fully immerse myself in music, what would happen?
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Marshall Kenneth Vore, Phoebe Lucille Bridgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Loty van Toulon
on Ask Me To
Well I am tired, f being sad
I feel it when I wake up
And it just stays bad
Hits me like a sickness
A steamroller
And it makes me wanna lay down
and get run over
But then I see you, always smiling
Makes me wanna touch you
and keep from dying
Chorus:
You’re a, brother to me
you’re my partner in crime
You’re the feeling I get
when I’m feeling fine
And part of me wants you,
but most of me needs you
so i wont fall, unless you ask me to
We talked for hours
Untill finally
the sleep takes over
the enphedomine
and in the darkness
I feel your fingers
they don’t touch me
but there’s a danger
You’re a, brother to me
you’re my partner in crime
You’re the feeling I get
when I’m feeling fine
And part of me wants you,
but most of me needs you
so i wont fall, unless you ask me
You’re a, brother to me
you’re my partner in crime
You’re the feeling I get
when I’m feeling fine
And part of me wants you,
but most of me needs you
so i wont fall, unless you ask me to