SUPERHERO: New Video!
Superheroes are [ You | Me | Them ] aka Us
There are quite a few ABCs1 on Substack and I just happen to know some of 'em. Visceral Adventure, aka Tonika Todorova, is an artist I instantly connected with and so of course I had to give her an airport code name. TNK is a deep thinker and a prolific producer (top-notch videos, plays, writing, music, and more). So much so, she gives me output-envy (yeah, me!) You wouldn’t believe it, considering that, like me, she has lots of jobs too) but in addition she is the doting mother of three boys.
She and I have been working on finishing this collaboration for a bit and actually, her part was finished a while back but launching OLA was delayed. Everything in its right time however! It’s so perfect that the video for this song is coming out today — Winter Solstice, the hinge of the year — which signifies a promise that light will return, even after the deepest darkness. Relates mucho to how this song originated.
Here it is now: TNK’s video to MPX’s Superhero… enjoy!
But first, my old Superhero videos…
Superhero is the first song and the second track on MPX’s album #2, The Good, the Beige and the Ugly. Soon after that record came out, I made these two little teaser videos (each one about a minute long) with some ridiculously cute little teasers who just so happen to be part of my family.
Superhero - Part I
Superhero - Part II
But that was approximately 13 years ago. My nieces and nephews are so much bigger now, though still ridiculously cute.
And now Le New Vid!
Lyrics
I remember the day I was born
All the love and every choice was mine
A perfect thing in a miniature form
Yes, I was blessed with infinite ways to shineTané! Mané! Enné! Ammé!2
I remember the day I was born
I could fly, I could hover above the trees
’Twas so easy for me to transform
See I’m a flower, a river, a swarm of beesTané! Mané! Enné! Ammé!
Tané! Mané! Enné! Ammé!Why look outside for your guides
When the superpowers are clearly ours
When I look within, at all I’ve been
And all I’ve seen and all that means(Tané!)
You’re a Superhero!
(Mané!)
I’m a Superhero!
(Enné!)
They are Superhero!
(Ammé!)
We are Superhero!I want as much as the day I was born
No more players in masks and revolving doors
I’m leaving your uptown tattered and torn
Whilst you’re downtown clapping and begging for more(Tané!)
You’re a Superhero!
(Mané!)
I’m a Superhero!
(Enné!)
They are Superhero!
(Ammé!)
We are Superhero!
Henné?!3(Babies4 giggling to fade out...)
What’s It All About, Pixie?
In case it wasn’t obvious, Superhero is about the quiet power of ordinary people. You, me, them… all of us. We are powerful beyond measure, if only we recognized it.
To be frank, when I started writing this song, I was stuck in a deep depression. I had spent months in shock after going through something rather unpleasant.5 I couldn’t shake the sadness off and I turned the blame entirely inward. I should have known better, I kept telling myself. That spiral of shame and self-reproach entrenched the pain further into place.
As I walked around my world, I would sometimes see the pure, innocent faces of babies and found myself wishing I could start my life from scratch, without having made mistakes. (As if! But does anyone relate?!)
Oh, to be a blank slate! With every choice ahead of me…
Babies have always struck me as extraordinarily intelligent, energetically at least. So innocent, open and curious. That thought sparked the lyrics that would eventually set the tone for my second album.
And as so often happens through creation, the dejection slowly faded and I gained new insights. Writing, recording, and shaping my second album became part of my healing. The pain receded from my psyche, and I emerged feeling, in a way, like a blank slate, feeling excited and open again.
However my songs, all my work, are never about just me. This one was also inspired by people in my life, especially my mother and youngest sister, who continually amaze me with their strength, kindness, and capacity to love.
And it’s so fitting that TNK (← oh em gee, click to read this incredible story of hers) collaborated on this particular song with me. She is a real life superhero! (and not just because of the events in that story, although that one is pretty crazy…).
You don’t have to wear a cape, or have literal “superpowers,” but through small acts of courage, tenacity, and resilience, you can become a SUPER version of yourself. The song Superhero is a reminder that you don’t need fame or extraordinary abilities to change the world—being a real live human being in our increasingly artificial world is enough.
Feel free to send this song to anyone who you believe is a real life Superhero… they might appreciate hearing it. I’m dedicating it to Tonika!
If you would like to purchase this song, you may do so here:
All sales allow me to make more music…
Absolutely Brilliant Creators.
These words are Gujarati (an Indian language, my mother tongue) for
| You | Me | Them | Us | or | To You | To Me | To Them | To Us |
Gujarati for “Innit.”
The two giggling babies at the end are my twin nephews, Shyam & Arjun (who you can see in the Superhero, Part II, small teaser video), when they were less than a year old. Their mother — my sister — was tickling them. Such a cute lovely sound!
There are a few clues in my second album…
 | A guest post by
|
Oh what joy it is to collab with talented folks! MPX, your music has a way of lifting the spirits even when shit’s blowing up all around! I’m forever grateful to be invited on the journey. 🙏 and for my airport name! And to be able to call you a friend! You, me, us, them! ❤️
“Superhero is about the quiet power of ordinary people. You, me, them… all of us. We are powerful beyond measure, if only we recognized it.”
This is a recurring theme in my work, dating back to my first published essay from 1998 (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/from-the-archives-my-first-published), where I wrote:
“It was this realization, in part, which led me to write in my journal, nearly four years ago, that ‘my characters are the ordinary and the common, the oft-neglected and forgotten, the vessels of beauty and originality that go unnoticed or ignored.’ At the time, I was frustrated by the dearth of ordinary people—tired, plain-looking, and financially-challenged people like myself—in the literature, film, and art I was currently exploring. Where were people who delighted at locking gaze with a blue jay, who nibbled hangnails, folded laundry, bounced checks, and overslept? Sure, they were there. But only as secondary characters, only as mundane silhouettes, as expendable anecdotes or paradigms of boredom. They were never the center of attention, never what the story was *about*.”