Mediocre’s “To Know You’re Screwed…” is a stroke of “(motherf*ckin’) genius”

Graphic by Cate Lolan-Banks

By Maura Cowan

February is a great month for existential frustration. The lethargic march of winter drags on, while the warmer days of April and May lie just out of reach. It’s like the whole world is putting off its tasks, waiting for a sign that it’s time to feel again.
What better way, then, to jumpstart our frozen hearts with a high energy anthem for the disenchanted, messy, and procrastination-prone, than with “To Know You’re Screwed is to Know a Lot,” the latest single release from LA-based rock duo Mediocre. Consisting of Piper Torrison (she/they) and recent Emerson alum Keely Martin (she/her), Mediocre gives the eternal gift of wry female-led indie rock in the vein of Metric, Stars, and other early-aughts powerhouses.

I’m a sucker for songs that start with a swing, that smack you upside the head with some power chords or clever lyricism. The track springs to life with a biting tagline: “To know you’re screwed is to know a lot/ And I’m a motherfuckin’ genius.” It’s a line that walks the tightrope between serious and silly – which is quintessential to Mediocre’s sharply self-aware charm.

Each verse hammers home a sense of pent-up emotion, a refusal to address the mounting list of problems and responsibilities in adult life even as they start to press in more and more. By the final notes, it’s hard not to feel like the song itself is trapping you (and yet, still egging you on to break free).

Sitting just around two minutes in length, it’s a tightly produced track with not a second to spare, but Torrison and Martin say what they need to say. With a killer guitar riff and a drumline like a hummingbird heartbeat, the song is catharsis in a bite-sized package.

In the days since its release, I’ve found myself bobbing my head walking down the dismal Boston streets as it blasts through my earbuds. Something about knowing that I’m not alone in feeling a lack of motivation, in getting the urge to (as the two call out in the chorus) “push it away” until warmer, more hopeful days… It's a comforting thought. 

“To Know You’re Screwed is to Know a Lot” is the first single release for an upcoming EP of the same name, dropping on April 7 through Dangerbird Records.