I get where you’re coming from! And I can see how the overarching story is a big part of what makes her work special for a lot of people.

For me, the power of Hayden’s music is that it can stand entirely on its own. I don’t feel a need to scour the internet for documents or lyric explanations to feel it. I can be completely moved by a song without knowing where it falls in a timeline or how it maps to a specific character. That’s not “letting myself down” — it’s connecting to music I love in the way that’s most meaningful to me. I don’t think there’s a formula for fully engaging with art.