upper class, Coco Elane if u knew (2021)
American novelist and Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway began his career as a journalist, and this early experience influenced his writing style, even as he transitioned into fiction.
At The Kansas City Star, the newspaper he initially worked for, Hemingway often had to report on current events with limited context or interpretation, and on top of that, he was constrained by strict word counts. These conditions led him to develop a minimalist style that later became known as the "iceberg theory" or "theory of omission" and which focused on surface details while allowing deeper themes to remain merely implied. Hemingway believed that a story's true meaning should not be obvious; instead, it should emerge subtly from what is left unsaid.
This theory immediately comes to mind when listening to today’s song “if u knew”, a collaboration between Leipzig-based musician upper class and Bernese viola player, producer and singer Coco Elane. The lo-fi indietronica gem features only one verse—“If you knew what I know / You would have said nothing”—leaving plenty of room for interpretation. And yet, the story it tells feels incredibly rich. Don’t you think?
Start the conversation
Become a paid member of The Rest to gain access to the comments section.