Dynamic, Meaningful Context: "Beaches" by beabadoobee
An Essay on Différance, Synchronicity, and a Pop Song
I have always had a love-hate relationship with beaches. I have no aversion to sand, unlike a certain Skywalker. Au contraire, I adore the scent of sea spray, the squish of sand beneath my feet, the cries of mischievous seagulls, and the rhythmic ebb and flow of the waves. Sitting on the shore, I feel the trappings of the internet age fade away—social pressures and digital distractions fading like sand through my fingers. There, I find myself approaching equanimity.
A few years ago, I went an entire summer without visiting one—a heretical admission for any Northeasterner, especially a Rhode Island native. It was never so much the beach qua vacation destination that got my goat. My quarrel was never with the beach itself, but with the company I often endured. As the oldest of seven, family trips were frequently chaotic, transforming what should have been a sanctuary into stress. Reconciliation came at Chilson Beach in Franklin, Massachusetts, a secluded spot at the edge of a beaver pond. Here, reading, writing, and observing the natural world restored my focus and brought peace.
Last summer, I resolved to visit an oceanside beach at least once. A pond enclosed by woods, Chilson Beach, charming though it is, could not compare to the expansive horizon of the ocean. I ended up visiting multiple oceanside beaches, each offering a sense of calm that anchored me amid everyday chaos.
On the way home from the final beach trip of the season, something uncanny occurred: a song I had never heard before began playing through my car stereo. It opened with a guitar strumming. I paused mid-sentence and glanced at the display. The song was “Beaches” by beabadoobee. As my partner and I had just been at the beach, the moment felt like Jungian synchronicity: “meaningful coincidence, i.e., an acausal connection” (Jung 10). The instrumental intro drew me in, and by the first verse, I was utterly captivated. I listened to it on repeat for days—much to my partner’s consternation.
What made the song grip me so profoundly? Its uncanny resonance with both my personal history and perceptual world. This essay analyzes that resonance, the dynamic, meaningful context of “Beaches,” through Derridean différance, psychoanalytic theory, and ecocriticism.
1. Definitions
An approximate comprehension of a given signifier’s significance is better than nothing, but precise expression outstrips educated guesses. Whether serving as an introduction or refresher, the following sections will clarify, in sequence, differance, psychoanalysis, and ecocriticism—providing valuable tools for the analysis to come.
1.a. Redefining Derridean Différance
In his essay Différance, Jacques Derrida coined “différance” as a provisional name for “sameness which is not identical” (Derrida 586). The ‘a’ where an ‘e’ would be incorporates both aspects of the verb “to differ.” These aspects are difference (“distinction, inequality, or discernibility”) and deferral (“spacing and temporalizing that puts off until ‘later’ what is presently denied”) (586). With that ‘a’ differance encompasses both the “spacing/temporalizing” of differing and its being “movement that structures every dissociation” (586).1 Derrida argues that differance is not a “word” or “concept,” but rather the “origin or production of differences and the differences between differences, the play [jeu] of differences” (587).
Derrida’s explanations can be convoluted and diffuse; his discussion of differance is no different. This first definitional section distills differance—the provisional name—into three words: “dynamic, meaningful context.” Since differance eludes direct perception through sight and sound, defining it as “dynamic, meaningful context” provides clarity and concision (589). While differance is “immediately and irreducibly multivalent,” this new definition will be even more so, as it becomes more readily accessible through refinement (591). This will make clearer the connections drawn throughout the analysis.
Julie Rivkin summarizes Derrida’s essay Différance as follows: “Derrida describes the process of spatial and temporal movement that he claims makes all thought and all reality possible” (585). The dynamic element lies in the ‘process,’ the ‘movement,’ and the ‘making.’ The meaningfulness resides in the ‘thought,’ in the significant aspects of ‘reality’ that are made possible. The context is the ‘network’ and ‘trace’ of similar differences within “networks of differences” (585).
In a vacuum, absent dynamic, meaningful context, a factor—whether an “idea” or “unit of language,” for example—lacks “substance,” “identity,” and significance (585). Furthermore, differance is described as “the nonfull, nonsimple ‘origin’…the structured and differing origin of differences” (594). This is what dynamic, meaningful context is: the partial, complex origin of differences and, perhaps, of all thought and reality.
To further substantiate that differance is “dynamic, meaningful context,” I reference Derrida’s assertion in That Dangerous Supplement: “supplement” is “another name for differance” (618).2 Derrida writes, “[t]he supplement supplements…adds only to replace” (613).
A brief aside: this is why I prefer the term ‘supplementary’ over ‘counter’ in the “counter-canon,” as discussed by Pippa Marland in Ecocriticism (1773). The adding and replacing inherent in ‘supplementary’ is better for communication insofar as it imparts intent without carrying the implicit combativeness and negative connotations associated with ‘counter.’
Digression aside, Derrida also writes that “the supplement is an ‘exterior addition’” (614). Thus, dynamic, meaningful context is exterior—it adds to and replaces previous understandings of significance. This occurs within an economy (such as a text’s, for example) or network of differences, a concept Derrida addresses when he refers to “the economy of a written text,” speaking of the text’s relational dynamics with its meaningful context—such as influences or traces from other texts (618). He writes that this economy is “circulating through other texts, leading back to it [the given text] constantly, conforming to the element of a language and to its regulated functioning” (618).
This circulation of meaning recontextualizes the text. In other words, this economic circulation is a part of dynamic, meaningful context—of differance/supplement, but I repeat myself.
Derrida’s work demonstrates that differance/supplement must be defined as “dynamic, meaningful context.” To resolve any ambivalence or doubt, the following offers further corroboration that dynamism, meaningfulness, and context are independently necessary elements of differance/supplement and, thus, integral to my definition.
Regarding dynamism, references to deferring, play, and movement all highlight the dynamic nature of differance/supplement.
As noted earlier in this section, the concept of deferral (“[putting] off until ‘later’”) is incorporated into differance by the ‘a’ where an ‘e’ would be (586). Derrida introduces the concept of the “play [jeu] of differences” on page 587, as previously mentioned, and revisits it on page 590. Play, particularly in the context of a game, occurs according to rules (even if those rules merely dictate engaging in activity for recreation rather than occupation) (“Play”) (“Jeu”). This both emphasizes the dynamic nature of differance/supplement and reinforces its role as the “structured and differing origin of differences” (594). The ‘differing’ is evident in the play, while the ‘structure’ is suggested by the rules that govern play.
Dynamism is further present in the previously mentioned “movement” of differing (586). On movement, Derrida discusses the deferral that occurs with the “movement of signs,” stating that differance/supplement is “the movement of play that ‘produces’” differences and the effects of difference (592, 593–594). With these considerations, if differance/supplement were to be defined, one word would necessarily have to capture its “dynamic,” changing, fluid, energetic, and moving nature.
Regarding meaningfulness, Derrida writes, “[s]igns represent the present in its absence” (591). Here, he refers to Saussurean signs; “[i]t was Saussure who first of all set forth the arbitrariness of signs and the differential character of signs” (592). As an example of what represents an absent present, and of that representation’s arbitrary and differential character, take the modern-day STOP sign.
Our STOP signs needn’t necessarily be octagonal and red (although they are, and surely that counts for something). The arbitrariness lies in the fact that STOP signs could just as easily have been a yellow triangle, a purple rhombus, or any other combination of color and shape. A diachronic endeavor might reveal precisely how the sign came to be octagonal and red (“everything that has to do with evolution is diachronic”), but I will leave that for another intrepid analyst (de Saussure, 220).
Setting aside arbitrary characteristics, the STOP sign represents local traffic laws and an associated abstract injunction, like “depress the brake pedal until your vehicle’s forward movement ceases, or else.” Neither the law nor the admonishment are physically present; both are absent, represented by the sign.
Similarly, the sign “beach” represents the absent sandy area that separates land and sea. “Beach” signifies not only the place (the beach itself) but also its qualitative associations—sand, tides, the border between land and sea, or perhaps between order and chaos, and so on. This is the significance, the meaning.
What a sign means, signifies, or represents is the absent thing it points to. A definition of differance/supplement would thus require a term that denotes significance or meaning. Naturally, the “distinction” aspect of differance also points to the meaning element (since a thing is partially defined by what it is not) (586). This negative identification, which determines something by what it is not, suggests a collection of similar yet distinct things—in other words, context.
Incorporating “context” into my definition, the deferred meaning within distinctions implies a context made up of distinctions (reflecting the network of differences referenced earlier). Moreover, Derrida writes, “the employment of any code which implies a play of forms…also presupposes a retention and protention of differences…a play of traces” (597).
Tautologically, the play of traces is differance/supplement, as the network of traces is characterized by that “sameness which is not identical” (586). However, it’s a bit more complex: Derrida writes, “differance is what makes the movement of signification possible only if each element that is said to be ‘present’…is related to something other than itself” (594–595). He calls this relation “trace,” stating that it “constitutes what is called the present” (595).
To constitute the present “an interval must separate it [the present] from what it is not.” This interval, which constitutes itself (“dynamically dividing itself”) is the “spacing” that Derrida “propose[s] to call…differance” (595). The present is thus the result of an interval. This interval defines itself according to the trace of the past and the promise—not presence—of the future. It, much like a beach, is the border between order and chaos.
This concept will be useful to remember in the penultimate section of this paper. Distinctions, intervals, and past and future influences (traces) make up context. Therefore, the definition of differance/supplement must include context, and thus must be “dynamic, meaningful context.”
Differance/supplement has now been distilled into dynamic, meaningful context. I will now explain theoretical perspectives integral to analysis of “Beaches’” dynamic, meaningful context. First up: psychoanalytic theory.
1.b. Psychoanalytic Theory
Just as “[p]sychoanalytic therapy is the re-narratization of a person’s life,” psychoanalytic theory serves as the re-narratization of “cultural form[s]” (Hossain 3) (Marland 1770).
Psychological criticism uncovers significance that might otherwise remain latent, reshaping the object of analysis. This process mirrors Alan Watts’ insight that “[t]he past trails behind the present like the wake of a ship” (28). Just as the ship shapes the wake, the present reinterprets the past. In this sense, psychoanalytic theory reveals the latent psychological dimensions within a cultural form’s dynamic, meaningful context—a method that will play a crucial role in later sections.
Psychoanalytic theory originates in Freud’s psychoanalysis. According to Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, “the human mind contains a dimension that is only partially accessible to consciousness,” a “centerpiece” of both psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic theory (689). Freud termed this dimension the unconscious, a repository of repressed desires, feelings, memories, and instinctual drives.
A brief discussion of Freud’s The Uncanny is warranted here. Rivkin and Ryan explain:
Freud argued that our mental lives derive largely from biological drives…As each child grows…he or she learns to repress those instinctual drives and the conscious desires they instigate…such repression creates what might be called a second self, a stranger within…This, for Freud, explains why people experience what he calls ‘uncanny’ feelings of doubleness that consist of a sense that something strange coexists with what is most familiar inside ourselves (689).
My initial encounter with “Beaches”—the serendipitous synchronicity—can also be understood as Freudian uncanniness. Freud writes: “an uncanny experience occurs either when infantile complexes which have been repressed are once more revived by some impression, or when primitive beliefs which have been surmounted seem once more to be confirmed” (736).
The meaningful coincidence I experienced certainly aligns with the second sense. Hearing “Beaches” on the way back from the beach was uncanny like other instances of “involuntary repetition,” such as repeatedly seeing the same number or stumbling into the same place during a day of travel (Freud 728–729). It was uncanny qua an encounter with what revives previously surmounted “primitive beliefs” (i.e., ideas of returning from the dead, casting injurious curses, etc.) (735–736).
After all, doesn’t everyone know Jung was a mystic? That his ideas aren’t reflective of reality? That meaningful coincidences don’t just occur acausally? Of course, I had long ago surmounted any primitive, Jungian beliefs—until my initial encounter with “Beaches.” Now, it once again seems as though acausal, meaningful coincidence—synchronicity—can, indeed, occur.
The uncanniness of that moment of synchronicity deepens the further I dive into the dynamic, meaningful context of “Beaches.” Just as the ship dictates the wake, the present perspective enhances the uncanniness of that initial synchronicity. Now, speaking of dynamic, meaningful context, ships, wakes, and waves…
1.c. Ecocriticism
In any discussion of beaches—or a song named after them—it would be remiss to overlook ecocriticism.
Pippa Marland defines ecocriticism as “an umbrella term for a range of critical approaches that explore the representation in literature (and other cultural forms) of the relationship between the human and the non-human” (1770). “Beaches” is one such cultural form, with the non-human encompassing the environment, which is “ultimately, ‘everything’” that is “also in the process of constant change” (1770). Beaches themselves—the sandy border between land and sea—embody this dynamic natural environment.
Most of the ecocriticism framework I employ aligns with the “first wave,” emphasizing the “intense individual connection with the landscape” or environment, despite any “uncritical understanding” this may involve, alongside Lawrence Buell’s “checklist” for an “environmentally oriented work” (1773–1774). However, I will also incorporate elements of “material ecocriticism” (the fourth wave) in a later section, which foregrounds two key ideas: a) humans are “substantially and perpetually interconnected with the flow of substances and the agencies of environments,” and b) “there is no definitive break between…material and spiritual phenomena” (1781–1782, 1783).
This perspective highlights humans’ “multiple embeddedness” and the intricate consequences of our entanglement with the environment—“investigating the complex…implications” being part of the remit of fourth-wave ecocriticism (1781–1782, 1785).
In combination with this framework, I introduce the notion of the human being as, in a sense, microcosmic. Things are rarely as simple as they appear—as will become evident in the forthcoming analysis of “Beaches” by beabadoobee.
2. Analysis
With the definitional groundwork established, we now turn to the dynamic, meaningful context of “Beaches.” First, we analyze the backstory and relational dynamic between the artist and the auditor. This is followed by an analysis of first the music video and then the lyrics. The backstories of both beabadoobee and myself illuminate the uncanny impact of my initial encounter with the song and inform the present inquiry.
2.a. beabadoobee, Yours Truly, Head Injuries, ADHD, and So On
Beatrice Kristi Laus—known as Bea, or by her stage name, beabadoobee—is the singer-songwriter behind “Beaches,” the 11th track on her 2024 album This Is How Tomorrow Moves (Poggi) (Tate). Given her role as the creator of this compelling work, a brief, psychoanalytically inflected exploration of her background is warranted, followed by an analogous examination of the audience—namely, myself.
“Beaches” is beabadoobee’s “absolute favorite moment” on the album, described by her as “my favorite song I’ve ever written” (BEABADOOBEE, IN HER OWN WORDS) (Hughes). She wrote it at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studio in Malibu, drawing inspiration from the beach and the studio’s white walls, both referenced in the lyrics: “‘Cause days blend to one when I'm on the right beaches/And the walls painted white, they tell me all the secrets” (Cafolla) (0:35).
The song’s resonance is amplified by her own lived experiences: at seven, she fell down a flight of stairs, which contributed to academic struggles (“I just got really stupid, and I couldn’t do maths”) (i-D Meets: Beabadoobee, 1:14).
Born in the Philippines, she moved to West London at three, where she “felt like an alien” in her “majority white school,” while navigating family difficulties (Joshi). As a teenager, she faced expulsion and struggled with substance use (Joshi). This backdrop shapes the emotional depth and vulnerability of her music.
The artist is one thing; the audience another. My own experiences echo aspects of Laus’s life, including head trauma and periods of self-medication. One aspect of my background that differs from Laus’s is my ADHD diagnosis.
I mention our backgrounds (including my diagnosis) for two reasons. Firstly, there is significant overlap between the symptoms of trauma and ADHD, particularly in relation to difficulties with concentration and learning, distractibility, inattentiveness, hyperactivity or hyperarousal, and emotional dysregulation (Staniland) (Effa). This overlap will be important in the following sections. Secondly, individuals dealing with these symptoms often find it challenging to maintain focus and combat distractibility, as they must constantly “direct their attention” (Quinn). “Elements of nature, like a fire or flowing water, draw on a different kind of attention that’s more gently engaging,” providing respite, especially for those with ADHD, trauma, or a combination of both (Quinn).
The beach, unsurprisingly, offers me this restorative effect. In both our cases, constant engagement with internal and external pressures makes the beach—a space of respite and recalibration—particularly significant.
With these backstories in mind, we can now turn to the music video, where environment, embodiment, and symbolism intersect.
2.b. Music Video
The “Beaches” music video situates the song as a fully realized cultural form—lyrics, instrumentation, vocals, and visuals—suitable for ecocritical analysis. The set is covered in sand, with a blue backdrop enclosing the band: electric guitarist, bassist, drummer, beabadoobee herself. A leafless tree stands at center stage, while her acoustic guitar rests in the sand until picked up.
According to Marland, “Lawrence Buell formulated a checklist of four ‘ingredients’ of an environmentally oriented work.” In the music video, with the instruments and individuals positioned in nature, the nonhuman environment serves as both a “framing device” and a suggestion that “human history is implicated in natural history,” evidenced by the indents in the sand left by footprints and instruments (1773). This fulfills the first ingredient.
Another implication of human history in natural history occurs repeatedly throughout the video. This element is Laus reclining beside a goat on an iceberg in the sand. This is lyrically explained (see 2.b.i), but also reflects humanity’s planetary impact. As the video progresses, the footprints exponentially multiply until water wipes them away. In subsequent shots of the goat, the iceberg is surrounded by this water, mirroring the melting caused by unnecessary, human-driven climate change.
This water can be viewed both as the byproduct of melting ice and as the tide. The remaining three ingredients—acknowledging nonhuman interests, holding humans accountable to the environment, and depicting the environment as a dynamic process—are addressed by this melting/tide movement and other developments that occur with the onset of the second verse (1773) (1:15). The once leafless tree is now in full bloom. The band is shown standing in a foot of water, their pants wet where the fabric has soaked up the tide.
The incorporation of the tide and the tree’s cycle demonstrates nature’s process of being and becoming, indicating its “interest” (if that is the right word). The “interest” of the environment is to be and become: the tree blossoms, the tide comes in, and this dynamic process impacts humanity.
The music video shows the environment as something to which humans are accountable, not least with the band’s moistened britches. It is a dynamic process rather than a constant—ice melts, trees flower, tides wax and wane. This satisfies all of Buell’s criteria, making “Beaches” an environmentally-oriented work.
The tide continues to rise, and the band continues to play. They jam, kick water at each other, and laugh (you can’t stop the rain when it starts to fall, so dance in it!). Both the individual relationship with the environment (from each band member’s perspective) and the interconnectedness of humans within the environment are showcased in this medium.
The past, present, and future unfold in parallel with the linear progression of time in the music video. When that linear movement stops with the song’s conclusion, the band walks offstage with soaked clothing and smiling countenances.
Before I likewise conclude, while theoretical definitions, backstories, and music videos provide valuable insights, there is another crucial part of “Beaches’” dynamic, meaningful context to explore.
2.b.i. Lyrics
A few lyrics directly connect the theoretical perspectives and information discussed earlier. In the opening lines, beabadoobee sings, “Spinning out on what to say or what to do/Finding reasons for my constant change in mood,” evoking the emotional turbulence associated with brain injury, trauma, and self-medication.
The next line, “Said I'll see it to believe it, but who knows the actual truth?” partially explains the appearance of the goat on an iceberg in the sand in the music video.
While this line highlights Laus’s ambivalence and doubts, it is also sung as we are introduced to the goat. I can hear the skeptics now, “She had a goat in her music video? On an iceberg? In the sand? I’ll need to see it to believe it.”
This is emblematic of the playful aspect of beabadoobee’s masterpiece—the layered significance of each line is accessible only through consideration of the relevant components of the “Beaches” puzzle, namely, the music video, the song’s production, and the singer/songwriter behind it all.
The chorus—“‘Cause days blend to one when I'm on the right beaches/And the walls painted white, they tell me all the secrets”—refers to Rick Rubin’s studio in Malibu, and the inspiration and reprieve Laus found there.
This line echoes the exhaustion associated with constantly redirecting attention—something that resonates deeply with me. Once at the beach, especially after enduring a long, noisy car ride with fuming family members, I find all my worries fade away. The longer I gaze into the distance, the more my mind shifts into a calmer, less frenetic state of mind. In this sense, I am a conditional form, shaped by my environment. As mentioned earlier, I approach equanimity when my attention is smoothly and gently beckoned by beach scenery.
Regarding the next line of the chorus, “Don't wait for the tide just to dip both your feet in,” beabadoobee explained, “I think it just encapsulates…if you get an opportunity like this, don’t do it half-arsed” (referring to the opportunity of working with Rick Rubin) (beabadoobee 1:43:30). While this line carries a moment-specific, production-specific meaning, it also conveys a broader message. In this sense, the lyric can be interpreted as an encouragement not to take a moment for granted, not to let imposter syndrome hinder progress, and not hold back due to timidity.
The second verse (“Find it hard to say I know that I’m alright/Took a while for me to finally realise/That when I see it, I’ll believe it/Giving me a peace of mind”) explores psychological obstacles like unbelief, inhibition, and shaky self-esteem.
Laus reflects on her journey of maturation and how she navigated this process. She acknowledges that the development was challenging and that it took time for her to understand what she needed (and needs) for peace of mind.
The bridge further addresses these anxieties with the line, “‘Cause some days I’m afraid to fall down.” Here, Laus reveals her uncertainty; as the bridge melts into the final chorus, she showcases the solace and resolution provided by the beach. The lyrics highlighted thus far are rich with psychoanalytic significance, offering insight into Laus’s state of mind. Furthermore, they flow seamlessly with the instrumentation and music video.
That being said, there is one specific lyric that stands out, even from its own prior uses. I have so far neglected to mention the final line of the verses and choruses. This is the pièce de résistance…
2.b.ii. Pièce de Résistance
For the fifth and final time, Laus sings the closing line, “‘Cause I’m sure now, I’m sure.” Her vocals gently fade as the band continues to play for another half minute. This line serves as the pièce de résistance, resonating with smooth, familiar, and passionate instrumentals. However, distant, poignant echoes in concert with instrumentation are not the only significant elements of this moment.
In this closing line, Laus opens up “Beaches” to the incorporated analysis I have been constructing. Let’s recap.
The present is both itself and an interval intertwined, retaining the trace of the past and potential of the future. This process is spacing, differance, supplement, or “dynamic, meaningful context.”
An eternal intermediary, the present (dynamic, meaningful context) is marked by and fluidly transitions into the past and future, moment by moment. The unconscious becomes conscious—recognizable—in the form of the uncanny.
Processes of constant change encompass everything: the environment, the flow of substances. Humans are subject to multiple embeddedness and are, in a sense, multiple embeddedness in microcosm or “imitative resemblance” (Rapaport 119).
There is no definitive break between material and spiritual phenomena. Being is the cosmos (the cosmos is being), evermore folding potential into being, and then into the past, into what has been. A human being is been, being, and becoming—past and potential in the present, the play of traces, differance itself. A human being is that border between order and chaos.
What symbolically sits between land and sea, changing with each wave? The beach. What is another word for beach? Listen closely: say the word “sure” aloud. Do you hear it?
In her final line, “‘Cause I’m sure now, I’m sure,” Laus pronounces her encounter with the uncanny. She acknowledges her conscious awareness of being being itself (that she herself is being itself, albeit in microcosm). She recognizes and declares that she is that border between order and chaos, the present.
She embodies the Derridean present, interval and all. She is herself and the symbolic order in microcosm—being—marked by the traces of what has been (the past) and what is becoming (potential).
Ultimately, she represents everything in the process of constant change. She is the instantiation of multiple embeddedness—past, present, and future—of differance, synchronicity, phenomenological indistinction, and being.
In her final line, in her expression of certitude, beabadoobee embodies differance, becoming the very essence of dynamic, meaningful context. She represents the present presenting itself in its ever-unfolding state, the “eternal now” (Watts). She is the beach, the shore—the space where land and sea meet, constantly shifting and redefined by the waves.
This metaphor, laden with near-infinite significance, hides in her last line’s double-entendre, subtly capturing the depth of the theoretical framework established.
With each return to “Beaches,” the weight of Laus’s declaration becomes more profound. It is a powerful reminder that a simple, counterintuitive step of reflection can uncover otherwise inaccessible significance.
3. Conclusion
Accessing a cultural form’s dynamic, meaningful context facilitates apprehension of otherwise unreachable significance. Consideration of dynamic, meaningful context combined with theoretical perspectives attuned to its particular aspects further promotes understanding. This method of inquiry, when imitated, increases and enriches artistic appreciation and experience, respectively. Let revelation emerge wherever analytical light shines.
I first encountered “Beaches” on August 11th, just two days after its release. This uncanny instance of synchronicity immediately captivated me. By the time my Spotify Wrapped was released on December 4th, I had listened to “Beaches” a total of 509 times, placing me in the top 0.001% of the song’s listeners worldwide. The reactions I have received to this information have been justifiably incredulous. Perhaps the results of this inquiry will clarify how and why “Beaches” struck me so profoundly—vindicating my chronic listening.
I can imagine a future where I might tire of “Beaches”—overexposure has made me allergic to many dopaminergic things. But until such a day arrives, I will firmly assert that “Beaches” is my favorite song. Of this, I’m shore.
Works Cited
Beabadoobee. “Beaches.” YouTube, uploaded by beabadoobee, 7 Aug. 2024,
“BEABADOOBEE, IN HER OWN WORDS.” Hits Daily Double, 15 Oct. 2024, www.hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=343039&title=BEABADOOBEE-IN-HER-OWN-WORDS.
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Brown, Bill. “Thing Theory.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 28, no. 1, 2001, pp. 1-22.
Cafolla, Anna. “Beabadoobee Cover Interview.” Cosmopolitan, 14 Nov. 2024, www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a62775210/beabadoobee-cover-interview/.
Derrida, Jacques. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, pp. 586–630. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
De Saussure, Ferdinand. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, p. 220. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
Effa, Cecilia. “The Link Between ADHD and Trauma.” Medical News Today, 3 Jan. 2024, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adhd-and-trauma.
Freud, Sigmund. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, pp. 717–738. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
“Term Paper Assessment Content.” ENG 501: Literary and Cultural Theory, taught by Dr. Jennifer Holl. Blackboard, Rhode Island College, 29 Aug. 2024, https://blackboard.ric.edu.
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Hughes, Mia. “The Story Behind Every Song on Beabadoobee’s New Album ‘This Is How Tomorrow Moves’.” Stereogum, 9 Aug. 2024, www.stereogum.com/2275334/the-story-behind-every-song-on-beabadoobees-new-album-this-is-how-tomorrow-moves/music/.
“i-D Meets: Beabadoobee.” YouTube, uploaded by i-D, 6 Oct. 2022,
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Joshi, Tara. “How Beabadoobee found her roots.” GQ, 11 July 2022, https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/beabadoobee-interview-2022.
Jung, C. G. “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle.” Princeton University Press, 1973.
Latour, Bruno. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, p. 1713. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
Marland, Pippa. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, pp. 1770–1787. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
“Play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play.
Poggi, Maria. “Beabadoobee Channels Her Inner Lizzy Grant.” Office Magazine, 9 Aug. 2024, www.officemagazine.net/beabadoobee-channels-her-inner-lizzy-grant?page=8.
Quinn, Lauren. “ACES expert: Nature exposure can ease ADHD symptoms.” ACES News, 5 Oct. 2023, https://aces.illinois.edu/news/aces-expert-nature-exposure-can-ease-adhd-symptoms#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMost%20of%20the%20time%2C%20they,attention%20that%27s%20more%20gently%20engaging.
Rapaport, Herman. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, p. 119. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
Rivkin, Julie. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, p. 585. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Michael. Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Rivkin, Julie, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017, p. 689. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ric-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7103984.
Staniland, Jessica. “The Inattentive, Impulsive and Hyperactive Child: Is Childhood Trauma Buried Amongst ADHD?” Child Development Clinic, Dec. 2019, https://www.childdevelopmentclinic.com.au/adhd-and-complex-trauma.html.
Tate, Sarah. “Beabadoobee Reveals the ‘Very Gen Z’ Backstory Behind Her Name.” iHeart, 30 Sept. 2024, www.iheart.com/content/2024-09-30-beabadoobee-reveals-the-very-gen-z-backstory-behind-her-name/.
Watts, Alan. “Alan Watts: The Eternal Now.” Archive.org, 1 Sep. 2024, https://archive.org/details/alan-watts-the-eternal-now-720p/Alan+Watts+The+Eternal+Now+(1080p).mp4.
Watts, Alan. “What Is Zen?” Terebess Asia Online, https://terebess.hu/english/watts-What-Is-Zen.pdf.
On the use of “differance” without the accent mark: this is the expression employed by Derrida in Différance and That Dangerous Supplement.
On the use of “differance/supplement”: I will use “differance/supplement” rather than either term in isolation as supplement is another name for differance.