Love in Times of the iPod: Listening to Javiera Mena

Abstract

This article presents two approaches to Chilean singer-songwriter Javiera Mena’s album Mena (2010). First, I capitalize on Mena’s interest –expressed poignantly in her lyrics– in speaking for her generation, to explore what her oeuvre proposes regard- ing the listening practices of the millennial generation. I argue that the album Mena constitutes an apologia for millennials’ preference for the consumption of experiences over the acquisition of material objects. This defense is particularly notable because it defies an extensive genealogy of critiques of this generation’s relationship with popu- lar music. Secondly, through the analysis of lyrics, music and video clips, I study the construction of lesbian subjectivities in the album. I argue that the album Mena puts forward the notion of an ideal homosexual couple, one devoid of artificial gender and sex differences, and founded on reciprocity and egalitarianism.