Welcome to mixed feelings’ Hyperspecific, a profile series of increasingly intimate questions in which we ask our favorite artists, scientists, musicians, and the like to unveil their innermost selves — their weird existential musings.
Despite feeling deeply special, my connection to Lucy Dacus probably mirrors that of many others. In 2018, a close friend of mine shot off a message to me with the song “Night Shift” right after one of my messy breakups. “This will help,” she said.
To this day I consider “Night Shift” to be one of the greatest breakup songs of all time, (if my esteem means anything) (if it doesn’t, this fact has been corroborated by countless publications and playlists). Somehow her lyrics encompass all the stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — and it managed to keep my head above water as I experienced the same. Poetry.
“The first time I tasted somebody else's spit, I had a coughing fit
I mistakenly called them by your name
I was let down it wasn't the same”
This introduction allowed me to expand my Lucy horizons. When I came out in 2019, the underpinnings of queerness in Lucy’s music resonated with me. I consumed Home Video whole, when it was released in 2021. The boygenius EP and the record live en permanence in my brain, as they do in culture.
Now, with Forever is a Feeling waiting patiently in the wings for its grand debut in March, I found Lucy Dacus herself seated in front of me, answering our silly-goofy questionnaire, Hyperspecific. Her speaking voice, much like her singing voice, feels ethereal, while also somehow holding the wisdom of the world. She wears a navy suit with a golden hummingbird pin on her lapel, an auspicious symbol for her and the boys, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, and I think for me, too.
Read below for her loves, her peeves, her smoothie order, and so much more. I’ll be here shaking off my starstruck dust. —
LEVEL I
Something you’re always hoping people bring up in conversation when you first meet.
When people talk about their dreams. I know that some people hate it when people talk about their dreams, but I think you learn so much about someone, not just about what they dream about, but how they tell stories. Sometimes someone will explain a dream and you're like, “I'm so lost.” But if someone can tell the story of their dream really well, they're taking you on a journey. I really like that [quality] in people.
A positive trait people always tell you you have.
Good listener *gags*. Someone will say, “God, you're such a good listener.” And I'm like, “yeah, you talked the whole time.” Not across the board — I am pretty interested in anything that's happening, but sometimes it's like that.
One destructive trait you know you possess and wish you didn’t.
I guess if we’re going surface level, I have a lot of little [ticks]. It's literally destructive. I'll [pick my fingers] and do it until there's a big crater in my finger and I won't even notice it's happening. But I feel like that's not the tone of what you're asking. Honestly, being a good listener is a double-edged sword because if someone's giving a lot of themself and you're just listening and not giving back — maybe protecting yourself from intimacy — that ultimately is destructive to your relationship. So it's not all it's cracked up to be.If a bodega were to name a dish after you, what would it be? (Be specific.)
I can either tell you the sandwich I've been eating recently or the smoothie I've been making recently. Which one do you want to hear?…So it's a Turkey sandwich with butter lettuce and whole-grain mustard on Dave's Killer Bread. And then the smoothie is a banana, cashew butter, oat milk, blueberries, occasionally a scoop of vanilla ice cream, agave…Oh, and ice.One song that makes you feel understood.
Do you know “Less of a Stranger” by Julia Jacklin? I love Julia Jacklin. That song is about her mom and how she wishes her mom was less of a stranger…just a song about that dynamic and imagining if [she and her mom] have parallel thoughts. That kind of blew me off my feet.Something you think is wildly underrated.
Plasma trash converters. I'm so serious. Here's the pitch and this might be a little bit wrong. Here's the bad stuff about it. They cost $50 billion or something to make. Also plasma…who knows if it's good for the environment or not?
But here’s what it does: You can put any waste into it. You put any trash, like biohazard waste or anything at all. [The converter] heats it and then three products come out: potable water, biofuel and slag. And slag is a material that you can use to pave roads, you can reheat it and it will become thread, and they have made slag into nets that soak up oil spills.These things do exist and the countries that have them, all their trash has gone away.
Their landfills are empty now! So I think they're underrated. $50 billion? I get it. You don't want to spend that, but we spend it on the military anyways, so let's just carve it out as a one-time deal.
LEVEL II
A movie or TV show you watch when you want to self-soothe.
Survivor. It’s the War and Peace of reality TV. I've seen every season except for the most recent because I don't really watch TV that much. But I am showing a very close friend Survivor right now and I have an abridged essentials version…I have a favorite player and I won't say if they won or not. It's Cirie Fields.
Your problematic fave artist/actor/character/musician (dead or alive). And why?
There are no problems with anything that I like. Everything I like is flawless. Question over.What’s the first fandom you lost yourself in.
I grew up watching Gilmore Girls. My mom and I would watch that. I have rewatched it a bunch. Actually, maybe my problematic fave is Gilmore Girls because their relationship is not one to envy or emulate. I didn't know that watching it [the first time] and I feel like if I rewatch it ever again, it's going to be sad.
I tried to show it to a partner of mine and it wasn't as fun as I thought it was going to be. But, I will say the lesbian equivalent of [Jess Mariano] hit my line for the [hot masc open call]. I can't believe I found the perfect use of TikTok on the eve of its death. I am just thrilled by that.
Something you bought recently after LOTS of research.
Compression socks, get on it! It's not just for the elderly. Get compression socks, especially when you fly. Last time I had Covid, the only symptom I had was that my lower legs were super sore and I was just like, what's wrong with me? They’re so comfy, but get the right size. If you get the wrong size it can be really tight. That’s where the research came in.
What’s the most random thing that you have in your home that always requires explanation?
We have a ton of cool art that friends have made. People often ask about the art.
LEVEL III
What’s an anecdote you usually tell to describe how you were as a kid?
I loved Wicked growing up. The first time I visited to New York, my dad made me a book for Christmas that said: “Once upon a time, a girl and her father took a train…” He illustrated everything, saying she stayed in a hotel and ate huge pancakes. He found this diner nearby, with these huge pancakes. Then, on the last page, was tickets to Wicked and it was the greatest thing.
I was 10 when we saw it, and I loved it. Then my mom got me the book. Then [I’m reading it] and in the first 50 pages there’s like beastiality. So, knowing God was watching, I gave it back to my mom and said, “Children shouldn't read this.” And then she read it and was mortified. She tells that story about me all the time to people. I was like, “I'm going to get in trouble somehow for having read this.”What is your low-key hell and actual heaven?
Two low key hells: Shoes that are too small and rogue Uber drivers. Have you ever had an Uber driver lock the doors and keep talking to you? That's not even low-key hell, that's like, am I about to die? One time I had an Uber driver have me sign his shirt before he would let me out of the car. Another time, I had an Uber driver say “I 3D printed this Glock,” held up the car, put the car on auto steer, fully turned around both hands and face towards me and was like, “Hold this gun. I am so dumb. I shot a hole through the pocket of my pants. There's no safety by the way.” And then was like, “Y’all are cool. Want to go get tacos?”Actual heaven…I wanted to say good sex, but I'm blushing to say that. But it's kind of, I mean it kind of like seriously, that's what people should be raising the bar on. Their expectations don't settle. You should not be settling for less than heaven there. But also, I think sometimes for me it’s shows. Sometimes I'm doing a show and I just feel like it’s heaven on Earth to do this and be a part of a lot of people’s joy.
What is your most unhinged coping mechanism?
I'm not brave enough to really answer this! I'm one of those people that when I'm really anxious I'll just fall asleep, get dizzy or fall asleep. I guess the real answer is I have a dissociative issue that is sometimes a superpower.
Random thing you hate so much for no apparent reason.
Those little things that connect the sunglasses on both sides, not all of them. The chains are fine. It can be chic. It can be done chic, but it’s usually what sunglasses they're attached to…you know what I'm talking about…it's like curved to the face, rainbow, and it's often the person wearing them. In fact, put that on a dyke and you're probably fun and cool. But if there's a boat shoe involved, if there's a pair of shorts with more than four pockets…I'm giving myself chills right now.How you exit a party.
Really depends on the day. Sometimes it's like…I hug everyone, have a little chat with everyone…making who I'm with uncomfortable because they're ready to go and I just have to say bye. I will also tell people , sometimes at the start of a party that I'm leaving soon just so that they can emotionally prepare for me to dip without warning.How you wanna go (either un-seriously or seriously).
I dunno how I want to go, but I think I want to be buried under a tree. I'm not even going to talk about it that much. It'll make me cry.
it’s a great day to love lucy dacus
screaming, crying, throwing up, wailing, gnashing of teeth, etc.