In 2003, the Dresden Dolls released a song called “Missed Me” from the point of view of a young girl being abused by ‘Mister,’ an older man, and courting his attention in a naive sort of way. It’s an uncomfortable piece with the rhythm of a stalking scene in a horror film but the monster’s all too real. Fast-forward fifteen years to lead singer Amanda Palmer’s newest release, and I kept thinking about the little girl in “Missed Me,” now all grown-up, at the mercy of Harvey Weinstein.

 Scored with soaring strings by British film-music arranger Sketch & Dodds, “Mr Weinstein will see you now” builds like the crashing emotional climax of a devastating narrative — and it should, given the material. Palmer muses, “I’ve been fiddling in my own head for months with ideas for songs and tunes to address the #MeToo movement, and it’s such a hard thing to write about it. It’s so personal to these women, these stories, and it felt too wrong to write something funny and cabaret, the topic is too harrowing. It’s not surprising that, just like the movement itself, it took two women getting into a room together, comparing notes and joining forces to create something almost like an anthem for taking back our narrative.”

As a long-time Palmer fan, I confess that when I heard the title of the song, “Mr Weinstein will see you now,” my first thought was, oh god, not you, too, Amanda. Was this, I thought, what was behind the struggles with record labels and famously going indie? Was it the one story that this brave, candid woman couldn’t bring herself to tell? “I don’t know if most people will even understand this song,” writes Palmer, “and I don’t care. The women we wrote it for will understand.”

I would go farther than that. I think most women would understand this song, in particular the layered voices of Power and Palmer creating the sort of second-guessing, reflexively gaslighting internal monologue that too many of us are familiar with. There’s a special anxiety in being a woman navigating rape culture that I’ve never heard captured as well as it is in this song. Proceed with caution, especially this week. We’re all fragile right now, with our human rights being debated on the national stage, but if you can bear it, have a listen. The song is powerful.

 

Amanda Palmer is speaking at the ILFDublin on Saturday 26th May with journalist Laurie Penny, and performing at the RDS on Monday 28th May.