Lael Neale Tell Me How To Be Here (2025)
When the term “motel” was first introduced in 1925, people were understandably confused. Back then, travelers were familiar with hotels, boarding houses and inns—but what the heck was a motel supposed to be?
The word was coined by American architect and developer Arthur Heineman when he opened an establishment in San Luis Obispo—a place roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco—designed specifically for motorists traveling long distances. As the story goes, he couldn’t fit the full name he had in mind, Milestone Motor Hotel, on the sign. So he did the only logical thing: he mashed the words “motor” and “hotel” together, creating a new term that, 100 years later, instantly evokes a vivid set of images.
So, when Lael Neale sets her minimalist psych-pop track “Tell Me How To Be Here” in “The Super Eight Motel,” it’s not just the setting that’s immediately clear but also the vibe. The American musician seems to be lost and disconnected, searching for a way to feel present again. “Can you help me be here right / Tell me how to be here,” she sings, over and over. Which is also a bit funny: asking how to be in a place whose main quality is being between places.
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