Holter, a Los Angeles native, grew up in a musical family. Her father plays guitar and once performed with Pete Seeger. Her mother, Carole Shammas, is a prominent academic and currently holds the John R. Hubbard Chair in History at the University of Southern California. Besides playing and recording music, Holter tutors students and works with a nonprofit organization for teenagers in South Central Los Angeles. After graduating from CalArts, where she studied composition, Holter contributed songs to multiple compilation albums in 2008. She performed in the LA Road Concert with the Open Academy Youth Orchestra on Washington Boulevard in 2009. The following year she began playing with Linda Perhacs' band. In 2010, she released a CD-R titled Celebration and a collection of live recordings.
Her debut studio album, Tragedy, was released in August 2011 on Leaving Records. Inspired by Euripides' Greek play Hippolytus, the album received generally favorable reviews and was named one of NPR's "Best Outer Sound Albums Of 2011".
Holter released a second album, Ekstasis, in March 2012 on the RVNG label. The album drew comparisons to works by such artists as Laurie Anderson, Julianna Barwick, Kate Bush, Joanna Newsom, Grouper, and Stereolab, and received many positive reviews. Holter spent three years making the album, whose title comes from the Greek word meaning "outside of oneself." The music video for album track "Moni Mon Amie", directed by Yelena Zhelezov, was also released in March.
In addition to collaborating with other California-based musicians like Nite Jewel (Ramona Gonzalez), Holter recently released her third album, Loud City Song. Unlike her first two albums, which were recorded mostly alone in her bedroom, Holter recorded Loud City Song with an ensemble of musicians
Maxim's I
Julia Holter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do they have more important things to do?
What of hearts in diamonds?
Oh I don't understand
I don't understand
Into Maxim's we will see them walk
Will they eat a piece of cheese or will they talk?
By night we are inquisitory birds
Some nights we are asked if we ever tire
Of gazing at their heels and everyday desires
Remember every dewy tale written of their loves?
Compare them to the ones they touch in front of us
We do not dance a story for you
Gil Blas bored whispers awakening the beast in me
Go!
Find your feet
Drink some blood
Say it to my face
If you want to be starting something
If you want to be starting something
The lyrics of Julia Holter's song "Maxim's I" seem to portray a sense of detachment and confusion. The first line, "Tonight the birds are watching me," creates a sense of being under scrutiny or judged. The second line, "Do they have more important things to do?" suggests a feeling of worthlessness or insignificance. The following line, "What of hearts in diamonds?" could be interpreted as a rhetorical question about the value placed on material possessions.
The chorus offers a picture of people at Maxim's, a famous restaurant and nightclub in Paris. The singer and those with her are watching the socialites as they enter, and she wonders if they will indulge in small talk or just nibble on cheese. The observation continues as the night goes on, and the singer becomes cynical about the subject of their conversations. The last lines suggest a desire to break away from this scene, to find their own feet and identity.
Overall, the song seems to be a commentary on modern-day society's superficiality and how people can become trapped in the shallow, consumerist culture. The singer wishes to escape from it, to live a more authentic and meaningful life.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight the birds are watching me
The present surroundings may be insignificant to others but they are closely watching and observing me
Do they have more important things to do?
Is it futile for me to share what I see with them? Do they have more pressing matters to attend to?
What of hearts in diamonds?
The complexities of emotions and relationships that are masked by material possessions confound her
Oh I don't understand
She is struggling to make sense of what she perceives
Into Maxim's we will see them walk
She is gazing at a couple and imagining their lives as they step into the iconic restaurant in Paris
Will they eat a piece of cheese or will they talk?
This seemingly trivial question reveals her sense of alienation and distance from their lives
When they're loud enough we can hear their words
Their petty conversations and trivial musings seem amplified in the surrounding silence and darkness
By night we are inquisitory birds
She sees herself and others as nocturnal creatures that are always curious and observing
Some nights we are asked if we ever tire
She wonders if anyone else feels the same sense of weariness and detachment from these rituals of daily life
Of gazing at their heels and everyday desires
She is lamenting the shallowness and banality of modern society and its fixation with status and material possessions
Remember every dewy tale written of their loves?
She is contrasting the idealized love stories of literature with the disappointing and mundane realities of modern romance
Compare them to the ones they touch in front of us
She questions the authenticity and sincerity of the public displays of affection she sees around her
We do not dance a story for you
She is asserting her independence and autonomy from the expectations of others
Gil Blas bored whispers awakening the beast in me
She is alluding to a novel that explores the dark and seedy underbelly of humanity
Go!
She is urging the listener to take action, to assert themselves and engage with the world around them
Find your feet
She is encouraging self-discovery and finding one's place in the world
Drink some blood
This cryptic line may symbolize indulging in one's own desires or passions
Say it to my face
She demands honesty and authenticity in communication and relationships
If you want to be starting something
She quotes a Michael Jackson song to convey the idea of taking initiative and making things happen
Lyrics Š DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: JULIA HOLTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@verygrayshark2155
An indestructible type of feeling. A perseverance. I put Julia on & lay in the dark.
@minimax8509
Just heard this at the end of "Bleed for this'.... wow, what a song!
@orbitalforest
MINIMAX
same here , great film as well.
@michaelpaul2CMTB
Me too! Awesome movie and truly haunting tune! :)
@user-tl2cs6wv8b
MINIMAX Both the film and soundtrack were awesome!
@slimsalwaysfaded69
is this El-P produced?
@ninadagostini478
Me too! That movie has such an amazing soundtrack
@christiandamore4284
She has one of the most beautiful voices in history and the fact she was never really known was criminal.
@peterrabson3383
This is wonderful, thanks Julia for making this dreamy jazz song.
@anhoipolloi8670
You can hear it, you can feel it, in those 55 seconds in the beginning, that magic is coming.