She wields the latter to excellent effect in the frequently downloaded “Unstable,” a not-so-thinly veiled recollection of her days playing keytar in the dance-rock outfit Cobra Starship, with whom she toured extensively. (That track is so beloved by Jordana’s legion of online fans that a handful have gone so far as to create YouTube videos to accompany it.)
Not that Jordana is a one-note gal. “Sweet Rosalyn” is a contemporary “I lied on the stand for you, baby” torch song, and “Young Love” is a balls-out alt-rock classic in the making. Equally at home performing pop, new wave, hip-hop, rock, disco and various combinations thereof, she’s also skilled in piano, guitar, the aforementioned keytar and a host of electronic music-making tools.
And she knows how to pick collaborators. She’s recorded with up-and-comer Secondhand Serenade and written with Colby Odonis (“What You Got”), currently signed to Akon’s Konvict Music, as well as *NSYNC’s JC Chasez and The Summer Obsession’s Lucien “Luke Skywalker” Walker. Skywalker is a particularly apt partner, as evidenced by his rhyming on “Nymphomaniac” and “Unstable.” “Madonna was my idol growing up,” Jordana volunteers, “partly because she always collaborated with such great people.”
Another influence, The Beatles, inspired Jordana to add guitar to her repertoire. “I started taking piano lessons when I was four,” she says. “But then I fell in love with the Beatles. I went from singing their songs to wanting to play their songs – on guitar. I thought guitar was the cooler instrument.” She remembers seeing and being “all over” Sade, Whitney Houston and New Kids on the Block, but it was Debbie Gibson who really inspired her. “I was drawn to her,” she confirms. “I thought I was just like her because she sang pop music and she wrote her own material, and I was writing songs just like hers.”
Jordana’s first composition, written when she was seven, was about a lost dog named Chessie who was wondering around the ranch where she and her family vacationed. She recalls, tongue firmly in cheek: “It had two chords, D minor and A. It was sad but still poppy, with a monster hook. And it had that great chorus lyric: ‘I love Chessie.’”
Come middle school, Jordana tried to put together a band. “But I was the only one who took it seriously, so I was forced to become a solo artist,” she says. Her efforts paid off in high school when she was asked repeatedly to write songs for the school musical. “That was my reason to live,” she insists.
Raised in Old Bridge, N.J., Jordana lit out for New York City at 17. She fell in with Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit crowd, and eventually found herself in a studio with Wyclef Jean, who encouraged her musical ambitions, and, of all people, Tom Jones. During these vagabond days, she occasionally found herself homeless, which she’d remedy by spending the night at Penn Station or couch-surfing, i.e. “meeting people at clubs and staying with them for as long as they’d have me.”
Clubs were also fertile ground for performing, employment and gathering ideas. A stint as a go-go dancer was particularly instructive. “I loved the music,” she says. “I’d hear it in my head after I left the club and it would inspire all these melodies. By the time I got home, songs would be pouring out of me.”
It was also at a club that she met Cobra Starship frontman Gabriel Saporta, whom she’d seen perform years before. She marched up to him and, after very little preamble, said, “I should sing in your band.” “Of course he said, ‘I’m singing,’” she relates. “So I said, ‘I can play any instrument in that band; what do you want me to play?’ And that’s how I ended up in Cobra Starship playing keytar.”
Her tenure in the band saw her sharing stages with Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, 30 Seconds to Mars and Jack’s Mannequin, among others. She also appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” playing “Bring It,” Cobra Starship’s contribution to the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack.
In 2007 her membership in the group was revoked, about which Jordana remains philosophical. “Gabe gave me a huge break,” she says, “and he really inspired me. Being in that band was an important experience for me. I’d watch Gabe onstage every night, and it just made me want to write and sing and do my own thing.”
Her own thing took a giant leap forward after an afternoon of playing Guitar Hero with a seven-year-old. He subsequently turned her on to the recording program GarageBand. “I bought a Mac that day,” she says, “and started playing around on GarageBand. I recorded a bunch of songs” – some of which feature her dog barking in the background – “and put them up on MySpace, and all of a sudden people were contacting me and telling me how much they liked my music.” Music-industry types began sniffing around not long afterward.
Jordana, meanwhile, is well on her way to amassing enough material for an album, with “Nymphomaniac” likely its first single. This would surely please the commentator who recently opined on the music site www.threeimaginarygirls.com: “If you … have spent the last several years lamenting the dearth of upper-middle-class suburban wink-wink hip-hop song recasting, you will dance the dance of joy when your ears are massaged by the songs ‘Nymphomaniac’ and ‘Barbados.’”
Speaking of the dance of joy, Jordana declares: “A lot of people complain about where music’s going these days, but I like it. I love progressive, innovative, crazy dance music and I hear interesting stuff like that all the time. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither do I.”
Twisted Up
Elisa Jordana Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's something about you I cant explain
You play the field and there's no way to keep my head in the game
I'm sentimental and it's little things that make this way
Sometimes you're hot, sometimes you're cold
That's why I don't feel safe
I'm so twisted up
Unravel every piece of me
Your devils tail wrapped around my angel wings
I'm so twisted up
I'm so twisted up
I click through pictures of you, yeah, you look so innocent
What happened to the person that I knew back when we first met
Now everything's an argument, I get so sensitive
But then you kiss me on the neck, you know I'm sensitive
I'm so twisted up
It's so hard to leave
Unravel every piece of me
Your devils tail wrapped around my angel wings
I'm so twisted up
I'm so twisted up
I can't think straight, I don't know what to do
I'm so confused, I'm so confused
I love you, but I really wanna know whats up
I'm twisted up, I'm twisted up
I'm so twisted up
It's so hard to leave
Unravel every piece of me
Your devils tail wrapped around my angel wings
I'm so twisted up
I'm so twisted up
I'm so twisted up
It's so hard to leave
Unravel every piece of me
Your devils tail wrapped around my angel wings
I'm so twisted up
I'm so twisted up
In Elisa Jordana's song Twisted Up, the lyrics suggest a feeling of uncertainty and confusion in a romantic relationship. The singer expresses an inexplicable attachment to their partner, despite their behavior that may not be trustworthy or consistent. The singer is sentimental, and the small things in the relationship hold value to her. However, she feels on edge because of her partner's hot-and-cold behavior, which leaves her feeling insecure and uncertain.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I'm so twisted up," which seemingly represents the internal turmoil and confusion that the singer experiences throughout the song. The lyrics suggest that the relationship is emotionally taxing and overwhelming, as the singer states that she can't think straight and feels incredibly confused. Despite the chaos around her, she admits that she loves her partner, but she wants to know what's going on and why she feels so twisted up.
Overall, the song's lyrics convey a sense of longing and confusion within a complicated romantic relationship. The singer's attachment to her partner is complicated by his actions, leaving her feeling unsure about their future together.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't know what keeps me here
I am unsure of why I am staying in this relationship
There's something about you I cant explain
There is an inexplicable but powerful attraction that keeps me attached to you
You play the field and there's no way to keep my head in the game
Your unfaithful behavior causes me to feel insecure and unsure about our relationship
I'm sentimental and it's little things that make this way
I am a sentimental person and small gestures or memories hold great significance to me regarding our relationship
Sometimes you're hot, sometimes you're cold
That's why I don't feel safe
Your unpredictable behavior leaves me feeling unsafe and unsure of where I stand in the relationship
I'm so twisted up
It's so hard to leave
Unravel every piece of me
Your devils tail wrapped around my angel wings
I'm so twisted up
I'm so twisted up
The turmoil within me is so great that it is difficult to leave you as you have a hold on both the good and the bad parts of me
I click through pictures of you, yeah, you look so innocent
What happened to the person that I knew back when we first met
Now everything's an argument, I get so sensitive
But then you kiss me on the neck, you know I'm sensitive
I look at pictures of you and remember the innocence I saw in you originally but now everything is an argument that causes me to be overly sensitive. Your physical affection takes advantage of my sensitivity.
I can't think straight, I don't know what to do
I'm so confused, I'm so confused
I love you, but I really wanna know whats up
I'm twisted up, I'm twisted up
I am struggling with clarity and am very confused as to what to do in this relationship; I love you but I need to know what is goin on.
Contributed by Julia Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
WhatFC
Chrissy is addicted to social media affirmation. If she was so distraught over the anniversary of losing her baby, perhaps spend the day in quiet reflection with family, not clout chasing on social media. I don't always agree with Heather, but in this case she's 100% right.
Cici G
👌🏻
Jessica Gallipeau
Unfortunately Ms Tiegen is getting a taste of her own medicine... and unlike the many unsuspecting and often innocent targets of her rage tweets, she deserved it.
In comparison to her history of mean teasing, underlying your jokes are good intentions- in this case you were pointing out her hypocrisy. The fact that she’s using her tragedy to manipulate the situation is so on brand with her history of bullying.
You’re fabulous, a delight, and you have a kind heart... something money can’t buy.
Much love and can’t wait to hear this week’s Patreon 😘♥️
Jessica Gallipeau
@Lovey LOVE thanks Lovey! I just call it as I see it and I'm so tired of the double standards 😉
S.Punkie
Unfortunately????
S B
The perfect response doesn’t exi- you nailed it!
Joyce Dominguez
Perfectly said. 👏 👏 👏
Doreen Daykin
Well said!!
B
Elisa is so funny, charming and has great chemistry with Heather. The ghost story cracked me up. I hope Heather invites her back to talk hot topics.
Emily McQueen
I went back and found the ghost story episode. With this additional context, I was like crying laughing watching it.