If there's anything Lorde made abundantly clear on her sun-kissed third album Solar Power, it's that she's enthralled by the sublimity of the natural world. And perhaps the record was a commentary about what a hindrance it can be to be so transfixed by, say, a body of water, that she's physically unable to restrain herself from taking a dip — no matter if billions of gallons of sewage have routinely been dumped into it.
During her show in Washington, D.C., last night (August 29), the pop star revealed to the audience that she had spent an earlier part of yesterday swimming in the Potomac River — an act that was banned in the 1970s due to dangerous pollution levels in all D.C. waterways.
The city's aging combined sewer system "routinely discharged 2 billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater each year into the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as Rock Creek," according to WTOP News's Neal Augenstein. The water's safety can change daily, "depending on rain, temperature and other factors."
But that didn't deter the artist — or perhaps she didn't know.
"I was thinking today, I was lying in the Potomac River..." she trailed off, perched on a staircase-looking piece of her stage set as the audience erupted in laughter, ahead of reportedly adding: "I love getting to swim in water where I'm playing, it makes me feel like I know you a bit better."
During her show in Washington, D.C., last night (August 29), the pop star revealed to the audience that she had spent an earlier part of yesterday swimming in the Potomac River — an act that was banned in the 1970s due to dangerous pollution levels in all D.C. waterways.
The city's aging combined sewer system "routinely discharged 2 billion gallons of combined sewage and stormwater each year into the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as Rock Creek," according to WTOP News's Neal Augenstein. The water's safety can change daily, "depending on rain, temperature and other factors."
But that didn't deter the artist — or perhaps she didn't know.
"I was thinking today, I was lying in the Potomac River..." she trailed off, perched on a staircase-looking piece of her stage set as the audience erupted in laughter, ahead of reportedly adding: "I love getting to swim in water where I'm playing, it makes me feel like I know you a bit better."
While the water quality of the river has improved overall, Lorde's fans were concerned for her wellbeing. Swimming in D.C. waterways is still banned, due to contamination from stormwater runoff, algae blooms and bacteria, as per the river's official website.
"Oh, I think all is well," the singer-songwriter told fans she met after the show. "But now I know why you were laughing! I'm happy to be a D.C. meme, you know."
Hopefully she didn't swallow the water or have any open wounds — we can't afford to lose our weird elder stateswoman like this! (Then again, she could end up giving Grimes a run for her money in becoming the first post-human pop star.) In our non-professional medical opinion, drinking a river's worth of cranberry juice and maybe getting a Tetanus shot would be recommendable.
Lorde was already memeified earlier this year for clips of her shushing the audience while touring the exceptional 2017 sophomore album Melodrama; she simply knows how to maintain an album cycle's brand.
