For anyone who follows Jess Rona on Instagram, it should be no secret by now that, thanks primarily to dogs of celebrities in L.A., the emphasis on and importance of dog grooming has become chicer–and more desirable as a career–than it ever was. And what was ever to be ashamed of anyway? Wanting to spend time cozying up to dogs is a rightful life passion (minus the part where there’s any anal glands involved).
Slightly deglamorizing the concepts behind Rona’s Instagram is Anna of the North with her latest single, “Used to Be,” from an as of yet untitled sophomore album. Opening with Brady Daniell-Smith’s more than semi-erotic electro 80s synths, one has to acknowledge there’s a certain playful allusion to bestiality as Anna of the North cradles a mangy wet dog. And yet hanging out with canines is a beautiful (and cost-free–sort of, if you’re not paying for such expenses as grooming) simplicity that speaks to the lyrics, “Now you’re spending all your money on things you don’t need/When all that really makes you happy are the things you can’t see/Our shit, it shouldn’t be this hard, you know that love is for free/So come and spend a little time on me/Remember how we used to be.” That last line possessing a certain dual meaning about how two lovers used to be in the early stages of their relationship, as well as how we as a collective society used to be–that is to say, not quite so materially driven as a result of influencer culture of the variety that serves as just one of many reasons why we foolishly tend to stay glued to our phone.
With a bridge that repeats the line, “How you spend your time,” Anna of the North reminds us that it’s become increasingly difficult for most to employ the Italian philosophy of “dolce far’ niente” when we live in a world that specifically conditions us to feel guilty for doing such things as spending hours cradling dogs, even if it’s what makes us truly happy. Slo-mo shower scenes of dogs also heighten just how happy it could make you, by the way. Especially if you were a dog groomer [nudge, nudge].
And as Anna of the North serenely blow drys both one of the dogs in her aesthetic care and herself, it is as though she is at one with nature. She even poses a series of questions to one very confused black and white dog (including “How’s your sister, do you miss her?”) to prove the extent of how much she cares. Because when you focus on what’s real, perhaps maybe it makes you a kinder and more caring person. Antiquated concepts that began to fall off in the late 90s. But Anna of the North really does give a shit–because no one holding a dog and serving earnest boy band looks while dancing to her lyrics could possibly fake that.
By the end, Anna of the North has reached new heights of canine empathy by herself getting in the dog shower. So if this whole pop star thing doesn’t work out, this video could easily serve as a dog groomer resume.
