This was great. I loved Beth's writing and how she played with the word mfer. Beautifully done.
I was not familiar with these artists or tracks. Vocally they didn't blow me away (sorry, I grew up with Mariah and Whitney, probably the hardest to beat as far as female pop singers go), but I liked the production in all three of them, especially Espresso. The beat is irresistible.
What I found quite interesting from all three tracks is how "timelessly retro" they feel.
For full disclosure I couldn't even finish listening to Hot to Go (definitely not for me), but Please Please Please and Espresso are two I can see myself playing again, especially the latte(r) 😉 (this pun might not work unless you read it with an English accent, but it was too tempting not to throw it in there).
Thank you sharing your thoughts on Carpenter and Roan. I’m glad you listened. For Roan, you may consider “Casual,” and “Good luck babe” as well and see what you think. Espresso is a bop!
Also, thank you for sharing your flattering words on my guest post. It means a lot. 🥹
Ok NEWSFLASH- Joshua Bassett just released an album!! And the single is a bop “Biting my tongue”
Per Variety: “I’ve been through some of the best and worst years of my life,” Bassett tells Variety. He quickly admits that “The Golden Years” was essentially a form of therapy to cope with the latter. “Music is one of the only ways I can really process my emotions. I wrote a lot of songs in five minutes or less — I’m not saying that to brag, I just got to this place where I could just kind of vomit it out.”
"At first blush, the Rodrigo-Carpenter dynamic doesn’t seem to be that different from the way culture has always pitted pop princesses against each other. Whether it’s Britney and Christina, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, Brandy and Monica, or Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, there’s always been an inclination that every female pop star needs a rival.
Thanks to the alleged love triangle, Rodrigo and Carpenter have that built in. They have very thinly veiled songs about each other — a territory some of those past “rivals” have never really ventured in.
But what makes the Rodrigo-Carpenter dynamic unique is that they’ve both figured out how to make the “rivalry” work in their favor, embracing their respective images even while leaving the specific rivalry behind. They’re each more famous than their supposed feud. They’re each more famous than the boy, too.
Both singers make art that illustrates that liking boys is a humiliating experience. Rodrigo’s music is all about getting dumped by losers; Carpenter’s is about how all these losers are obsessed with her. Being dumped by a guy who dresses up as Sharkboy is equally as pathetic as dressing up as Lavagirl with that same guy."
Wow, thanks for this and you’re right. There’s nothing new here about the young female pop star slander narrative.
I think for me it’s more looking at myself in the mirror and understanding I’m a consumer of that recycled story (new characters and faces) probably based on repeated exposure which is why it was nice to be challenged by a fresh untainted perspective of my daughter. This isn’t entirely a 1:1 analogy but I felt complicit in my acceptance of the BS and disdain for the “homewrecker” in much the same way as I imagine season 1 of “The Morning Show” is showing how Jennifer Aniston’s
Character accepts Steve Carrell’s Mitch and all the subtle and not so subtle perpetuated forms of misogyny. Its a stretch, I’ll give you that but I had to equate it to a show!
The thing I appreciate about the Vox article is that it makes clear that there are two separate questions:
1) How do we respond when we're introduced to someone based on gossip about them personally, rather then the work?
2) What is the interplay between the gossip and their work?
In some cases the response is, essentially, "you can like or dislike the person but that's separate from how you feel about the music." In this case, he argues, the way the music plays off the gossip is interesting and useful context.
What - you didn't follow the Rodrigo/Carpenter drama? Nick, I thought I knew you, now I have no idea who you are...🤪 Thanks for filling in the gaps. I do think that it's interesting that the pop stars of today are able to better navigate the exploitative machinations of the press and social media far better than their predecessors.
Thanks for this post! I knew the Sabrina Carpenter song recently went to number one but I'd not heard it until now. I get the catchiness of it for sure. I think I prefer her other current hit, Espresso, though. Maybe I need to hear this one more! It's already ringing in my ear! I'm also familiar with the Chappell Roan song thanks to Substack. It hasn't quite made my weekly Top Ten but I also get the allure of it. There are two songs right now that are not on the Hot 100 but I find irresistibly catchy that I wish more people would check out. One is Midnight Ride by Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue, & Diplo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKtOo5vwPVg. Another one is Foster the People's Lost in Space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UsXq64gl58. These guys have been make some great pop music for over a decade now that has found a loyal following (like me!) but has never hit the level of their first hit, Pumped Up Kicks.
Dan, that Orville Peck/Kylie Minogue song is so great! I have been a fan of both for a while and had no idea they were recording (and performing) together! And the FTP song is also fantastic! Both of them have a strong disco energy — especially “Lost in Space.” There are lots of great summer bangers this year for sure!
I agree that “Espresso” is more addictive and earwormy than “Please Please Please.” But I tend to gravitate to the songs that make my body move.
This was great. I loved Beth's writing and how she played with the word mfer. Beautifully done.
I was not familiar with these artists or tracks. Vocally they didn't blow me away (sorry, I grew up with Mariah and Whitney, probably the hardest to beat as far as female pop singers go), but I liked the production in all three of them, especially Espresso. The beat is irresistible.
What I found quite interesting from all three tracks is how "timelessly retro" they feel.
For full disclosure I couldn't even finish listening to Hot to Go (definitely not for me), but Please Please Please and Espresso are two I can see myself playing again, especially the latte(r) 😉 (this pun might not work unless you read it with an English accent, but it was too tempting not to throw it in there).
Thank you sharing your thoughts on Carpenter and Roan. I’m glad you listened. For Roan, you may consider “Casual,” and “Good luck babe” as well and see what you think. Espresso is a bop!
Also, thank you for sharing your flattering words on my guest post. It means a lot. 🥹
Thank you, Beth! I'll check them out!
Ok NEWSFLASH- Joshua Bassett just released an album!! And the single is a bop “Biting my tongue”
Per Variety: “I’ve been through some of the best and worst years of my life,” Bassett tells Variety. He quickly admits that “The Golden Years” was essentially a form of therapy to cope with the latter. “Music is one of the only ways I can really process my emotions. I wrote a lot of songs in five minutes or less — I’m not saying that to brag, I just got to this place where I could just kind of vomit it out.”
Yay Beth!!
Love you Beth Lisorgsky!
Aww thanks so much Kym. Feeling is mutual!!
And so sorry to have misspelled your name....
It’s happens Kim! Oops I meant Kym! 😂
FWIW, not having followed the Olivia Rodrigo / Sabrina Carpenter drama at the time, I found the vox explainer helpful: https://www.vox.com/culture/2024/5/14/24155699/sabrina-carpenter-espresso-career-olivia-rodrigo-explained
---------------quote-------------------
"At first blush, the Rodrigo-Carpenter dynamic doesn’t seem to be that different from the way culture has always pitted pop princesses against each other. Whether it’s Britney and Christina, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, Brandy and Monica, or Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, there’s always been an inclination that every female pop star needs a rival.
Thanks to the alleged love triangle, Rodrigo and Carpenter have that built in. They have very thinly veiled songs about each other — a territory some of those past “rivals” have never really ventured in.
But what makes the Rodrigo-Carpenter dynamic unique is that they’ve both figured out how to make the “rivalry” work in their favor, embracing their respective images even while leaving the specific rivalry behind. They’re each more famous than their supposed feud. They’re each more famous than the boy, too.
Both singers make art that illustrates that liking boys is a humiliating experience. Rodrigo’s music is all about getting dumped by losers; Carpenter’s is about how all these losers are obsessed with her. Being dumped by a guy who dresses up as Sharkboy is equally as pathetic as dressing up as Lavagirl with that same guy."
Wow, thanks for this and you’re right. There’s nothing new here about the young female pop star slander narrative.
I think for me it’s more looking at myself in the mirror and understanding I’m a consumer of that recycled story (new characters and faces) probably based on repeated exposure which is why it was nice to be challenged by a fresh untainted perspective of my daughter. This isn’t entirely a 1:1 analogy but I felt complicit in my acceptance of the BS and disdain for the “homewrecker” in much the same way as I imagine season 1 of “The Morning Show” is showing how Jennifer Aniston’s
Character accepts Steve Carrell’s Mitch and all the subtle and not so subtle perpetuated forms of misogyny. Its a stretch, I’ll give you that but I had to equate it to a show!
The thing I appreciate about the Vox article is that it makes clear that there are two separate questions:
1) How do we respond when we're introduced to someone based on gossip about them personally, rather then the work?
2) What is the interplay between the gossip and their work?
In some cases the response is, essentially, "you can like or dislike the person but that's separate from how you feel about the music." In this case, he argues, the way the music plays off the gossip is interesting and useful context.
What - you didn't follow the Rodrigo/Carpenter drama? Nick, I thought I knew you, now I have no idea who you are...🤪 Thanks for filling in the gaps. I do think that it's interesting that the pop stars of today are able to better navigate the exploitative machinations of the press and social media far better than their predecessors.
Thanks for this post! I knew the Sabrina Carpenter song recently went to number one but I'd not heard it until now. I get the catchiness of it for sure. I think I prefer her other current hit, Espresso, though. Maybe I need to hear this one more! It's already ringing in my ear! I'm also familiar with the Chappell Roan song thanks to Substack. It hasn't quite made my weekly Top Ten but I also get the allure of it. There are two songs right now that are not on the Hot 100 but I find irresistibly catchy that I wish more people would check out. One is Midnight Ride by Orville Peck, Kylie Minogue, & Diplo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKtOo5vwPVg. Another one is Foster the People's Lost in Space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UsXq64gl58. These guys have been make some great pop music for over a decade now that has found a loyal following (like me!) but has never hit the level of their first hit, Pumped Up Kicks.
Dan, that Orville Peck/Kylie Minogue song is so great! I have been a fan of both for a while and had no idea they were recording (and performing) together! And the FTP song is also fantastic! Both of them have a strong disco energy — especially “Lost in Space.” There are lots of great summer bangers this year for sure!
I agree that “Espresso” is more addictive and earwormy than “Please Please Please.” But I tend to gravitate to the songs that make my body move.
Yes, it's important to keep the body moving! All of these songs get me movin' and groovin'!