#adolescent sex album

[china-my-china]

David Sylvian Fluff where reader falls off bed while sleeping and wakes up on the floor please! 🥺❤

David Sylvian 💙

"Are You Okay, Hun?"

>< 1978 ><

•••

It was a boring, rainy afternoon ans you were taking a nap at a hotel in England

David was smoking his cigarette in the porch while looking at the landscape in front of his beautiful blue eyes

And you were peacefully asleep

You moved and somehow you fell off the bed, that's when you woke up

You gasped and looked all around, scared

Then you sat up, but still didn't leave the floor

"S/N?!" David called you and ran over

"Ouch!" You exclaimed to yourself and tried to get up

"Ooh, dear!" David walked towards you and helped you get standing "Take care, how did you move so much? You're not like this usually"

"I don't, i just did!" You said and sighed "ouch!" You complained

He could see you couldn't take your hand off your wrist

He grabbed your hand and softly massaged your injured wrist, hurts a lot

He got some ice and put it on the injury, it melted and then both of you lied down, but before this, Sylvo got up to throw his very worn cigarette away

Both of you fell asleep, together ♡

[soft-dark-vintage-blog]

I think it's so fucking clever that Hozier put Jackie & Wilson and Someone New back to back in his self-titled album. I mean, they're two ends of the same situationship and depict so well the current dating culture in general. Jackie & Wilson is that needy, hopeless, lonesome state where u just really long for companionship, connection, and stability. It doesn't matter with whom, it doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter how. Every person who crosses your path seems the one because you craft an idealized version of them in your mind. On the other hand, Someone New, besides keeping partially the idealizing strangers theme, goes for a more hedonistic route. It rejects the prospect of a stable relationship that leads to the traditional path of marriage and family in favor of exploration, the pleasures of the flesh (not necessarily only sex), adventure, and excitement. Yet it gets even more interesting if you consider that the persona is the same in both songs, but in different moments of their life (we all have been in both positions at least once). It beautifully captures how the experience of being a young adult is so much different than it once was. It brings up the contemporary developmental psychology that rejects that view of adulthood as the absolute end of development. 

I particularly like to think about these songs through the concept of emerging adulthood and how, due to the cultural and economic changes of our times, the self-exploration, construction of identity, and the "not really knowing what you wanna do with your life", that is usually expected only in adolescence, stays with us for longer nowadays. We're always changing, we'll be always developing till the day we die, and developing doesn't necessarily mean going forward.

Sometimes we take a few steps back, and that's completely okay. We can be Jackie & Wilson one day, Someone New the next one and then Jackie & Wilson all over again. So in this essay, I will discuss Hozier's discography through the views of contemporary developmental psychology and the common themes with 20th century Latin American poetry…

(My grammar in English is not the best, but I swear I'm not that illiterate in my first language)

[meowlfoy]

06/2024

ᯓ★bambi's record: June

―୨୧⋆ ˚ Artists of the month ⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

ᡣ𐭩 Lana del rey

My queen my love and my inspiration. I think she could be on top of my artists list for long enough. I've been listening to her much more recently

ᡣ𐭩 Chappell Roan

Love this wiw princess. Her songs resonate with me deeply and with my personal romantic experience with women.

ᡣ𐭩 Ayesha Erotica

Who doesn't love this sl*tty big juicy woman? Heavy bimbo energy femme fatal but make it pink and sparkly

ᡣ𐭩 Night club

Band that doesn’t disappoint. I love their retro style with electronic vibes

ᡣ𐭩 Ten (10) CM

Korean calm chill artist. Loved him since day one and go to his profile every time i need something relaxing or little bit sad but beautiful

―୨୧⋆ ˚ Top 10 tracks ⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

01 ᡣ𐭩

fluorescent adolescent by artic monkeys

I love monkeys with my whole heart more then almost any band, this months i felt extremely nostalgic with them and lana and couldn't resist listening to this song

02 ᡣ𐭩

flesh & bone by sammy rae & the friends

I LOVE this kind of jazz and you should too!!

03 ᡣ𐭩

stupid in love by max, yuniin

I can't describe how much i love this song it’s just perfect in every way, it's catchy sounds gentle and voices!!!! their voices just HIT

04 ᡣ𐭩

the girl, so confusing version with lorde by charli xcx, lorde

girly girl song! hearing this song legs ask to move move

05 ᡣ𐭩

licky hérve radio edit by larry tee

Ive been listening to this song a lot imagining myself in edits or like in a runway as a model

06 ᡣ𐭩

andromeda by weyes blood

need a song to slow dance to? or maybe cry? this one is for you

07 ᡣ𐭩

le temps de l'amour by françoise hardy

do i need to say anything? just check it out. it's sexy and sensual

08 ᡣ𐭩

you wish by flyana boss

you must've heard this song in tiktoks, it's so groovy and bad bitch energy coded

09 ᡣ𐭩

war isn't murder by jesse welles

great touching song about war. you can get a hint it's about Palestine mostly but about any other war too. folky sounding!

10 ᡣ𐭩

black rose by taemin, kid milli

taemin and everything he does is epitome of sex what else can i say

―୨୧⋆ ˚ Albums ⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

ᡣ𐭩 AKMU, Love episode

akmu makes me see the world through gentle rose glasses

ᡣ𐭩 Charli Xcx, Brat

slaying this queer a*s

ᡣ𐭩 The smiths, hatful of hollow

Classy band everyone should listen to at least once

ᡣ𐭩 Fiona apple, Tidal

Everyone knows this wonderful singer nothing add besides how good she is and she is

ᯓ★Editor’s note

Hii!! I’ve been inspired by @huellitaa and decided to do my own monthly records.

I love music dearly and want to share stuff that i found or hyper fixations i got this time! Hopefully you will like it~ You can text me your songs recommendations i will happily check them out ⋆⭒˚.⋆𝜗𝜚

[rickallensbarefeet]

Japan/Steve Jansen appreciation post because I love him. Everybody go listen to their album Adolescent Sex RIGHT NOW

[jeffament]

tagged by @amygdalae thank youu!!!!🫂

i did this one a lil while ago but i’m gonna use different albums this time >:) no pearl jam or nephilim bc i know they’re like 90% of my personality

i taggggg @scrapsatmidnight @synthwife @geffenrecords @interimsliebenden @l0st-d0gs @brltpop @brettyimages :)

[respectthepetty]

RTP! Your post about the posters in Sand’s room made me go and listen to AM and I’ve had it on a loop for days that album fucks SO HARD

Anon, it was actually @colourme-feral's post -> link here.

I just added my love for Arctic Monkeys' AM in the reblog because I really love the album. Like I wrote, the album feels like the vibe of the show since every song deals with messy relationships and sex.

I love that Jojo is making playlist for each character to show how integral music is to the series because I LOVE music. I still mute my shows, but I do appreciate the influence of music on the series, and how it is used to conjure up the emotions that go along with the song.

Which is why I love that Jojo mentioned the opening sequence was inspired by Fiona Apple's "Criminal" because . . .

"What would an angel say, the devil wants to know?"

When the video came out, there was backlash because of the song's lyrics and the nature of the video. The Wikipedia entry doesn't do it justice with its notes that "it explores themes of voyeurism and adolescence" and "the song is about 'feeling bad for getting something so easily by using your sexuality.'" People wanted the video off the air, and slut shamed the singer. On top of that, the director is Romanek, who also directed a lot of famously controversial videos like Nine Inch Nails "Closer" and if you don't know that song, it features lyrics like "I wanna fuck you like animal. You get me closer to God" and the video features BDSM and crucifixes (VegasPete anyone?).

The video for "Criminal" shows the singer in different layers of undress, but it was a testament to the "heroin chic" style many supermodels (e.g. Kate Moss) portrayed at the time aka looking super skinny and having sunken features like they had done heroin, and how models also looked almost childlike, so it was Lolita, but with adults.

Then, a taste of the lyrics:

I've been a bad bad girl I've been careless with a delicate man And it's a sad sad world When a girl will break a boy Just because she can Don't you tell me to deny it I've done wrong and I want to Suffer for my sins I've come to you 'cause I need Guidance to be true And I just don't know where I can begin What I need is a good defense 'Cause I'm feelin' like a criminal And I need to be redeemed To the one I've sinned against Because he's all I ever knew of love

It sounds familiar right? The entire opening sequence is inspired by the video, but one person in particular just really resonates with CRIMINAL!

And after this last episode . . .

Heaven help me for the way I am Save me from these evil deeds Before I get them done I know tomorrow brings the consequence At hand But I keep livin' this day like The next will never come

Boston is the devil.

[brltpop]

So i was tagged by the always lovely @sibelin to list 9 albums I've been listening to lately, thank youuu 🥰

Tagging: @wellenklavier @cochinitapibil @jeffament @wereonlydollparts @like-a-million-suns @jaz-zmatazz @ruztyryan and whoever wants to do this!

The color scheme wasn't on purpose, i just arranged them to look satisfying hehe ALSO I'd be lying if i said I've been listening to aaaaaall the songs from these albums so I'll just list the ones I have:

• from Adolescent Sex: Don't rain on my parade, transmission

• from Everybody wants to shag... : Soft enough for you, sex (pussyface)

• from Afraid of sunlight: Live forever, mirages, king, icon.... ugh this album is so good 😩

• from Solitude standing: In the eye, wooden horse, calypso, iron bound/fancy pantry... 😗👌

• from Fourever: Sad ending, let me love you

• from Black friday: Answer phone, black friday and spinning

• from All things must pass: Let it down, i'd have you anytime

• from Naked eyes: WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT, voices in my head, promises promises

• from Amor minimal: La ironia de las rosas, amor minimal

✌😎

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 783: Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

I'm not sure when In the Aeroplane Over the Sea became so divisive. It's a love it or hate it record. Even its early advocates have taken to a certain reevaluation of Neutral Milk Hotel, with the asinine "they're not even the best Elephant 6 band" hot take becoming fairly standard music snob commentary. If Olivia Tremor Control or Apples in Stereo had blown up instead, I'm sure they'd face the same criticism. Honestly, I'm not even sure when this album became popular enough for it to have an intense cult following and adamant detractors, but for me, this album was a complete game-changer when it came out in 1998.

I had a college radio show when the station manager added Aeroplane to the "indie" rotation. DJs were required to play a certain number of songs from the three-dozen-or-so albums in the rotation of their assigned genre, and being that I was officially an "indie" DJ, I had to break up my playlists of hardcore records with the occasional "college rock" tune from the station manager's weekly picks.

I abhorred the majority of stuff in the indie rotation, but I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I remember begrudgingly picking out the Neutral Milk Hotel CD simply because it was on Merge Records, which meant it might at least sound like Superchunk, and playing it on air without previously hearing a note of their music. I don't even remember which song I played, but I was so blown away that I smuggled the CD out of the DJ booth and took it home.

Stealing from the radio station was bad business, though I knew more than a few fellow DJs who supplemented their personal music libraries with stolen promo albums. I mean, who was going to miss a Big Boys LP from the station's neglected vinyl closet? But to steal a CD that was currently in rotation? That was risky.

I couldn't help it. I was so fascinated by what I'd heard that I was willing to risk getting busted. I took the CD home and immediately put it on the stereo, sat on the couch, and listened to the whole album with my undivided attention.

It was 1998 and I was a twenty-year-old hardcore kid. I had begun to feel a little bored and underwhelmed by the lack of sonic diversity in the punk world and had begun listening to a lot of folk and country music when I got tired of listening to music where I was getting yelled at. So when the opening chords of acoustic guitar kicked off "King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1," my ears perked up. Jeff Mangum's voice---double tracked and compressed to a rich, almost-in-the-red saturation---comes in with his cryptic lyrics describing a tumultuous childhood and adolescent sexual awakening. An accordion and bass creep into the mix as the song builds to the climax, only for the band to switch gears into "King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 2 and 3," where Mangum repeatedly professes his love for Jesus Christ against a backdrop of fuzz bass, dissonant singing saw, and tape manipulations. The song eventually explodes into a blown-out punk-tinged pop tune where everything---acoustic guitar included---is cranked to the point of distortion.

Every song seemed to offer something new: the horns and woeful singing saw of the title track, the austere performance and stream-of-consciousness lyrics on "Two Headed Boy," the mournful Eastern European-influenced instrumentation of "The Fool"... it all flowed together like some strange collage of yesteryear sounds, but pushed to the limits of a DIY recording studio's compressors. And in the center of it all was Jeff Mangum---an untrained singer with crystal-clear diction weaving Burroughs-esque vignettes that were purportedly inspired by Anne Frank. There were references to the loss of childhood innocence, war, death, sex, communism, and religion, but all described in a detached and surrealist manner. The music exuded joy, but the lyrics seemed more like excerpts from The Naked Lunch.

I can't understate how much this recalibrated my brain back in 1998. The year prior, all my friends had fallen head over heels in love with OK Computer. While I have since grown to appreciate Radiohead, I did not share my peers' initial enthusiasm. As far as I was concerned, any major label band with a big recording budget and a hot producer was capable of making a lush record with all kinds of cool sounds and wild guitar effects. But Aeroplane? This sounded like a bunch of down-and-out weirdo college kids with their grandparents' instruments making magic in some basement recording studio.

I loved the music, but I was particularly drawn to Mangum's lyrics. I gravitated towards punk as a teenager because the music actually seemed to mean something. Minor Threat sang about being an outsider. Dead Kennedys sang about the cultural climate of the late '70s / early '80s. Minutemen sang about history and how the present reflected the past. Even my love for country and folk music centered on protest songs, outlaws, and earnest heartbreak. But I was reaching the point where it felt like all the bands I loved were singing about the same thing. Rebellion felt codified. You had to sing about certain things or the zines wouldn't like you. And along came Neutral Milk Hotel where the lyrics were somehow borderline non-sensical while simultaneously seeming far more earnest and honest than anything else I was listening to at the time.

Aeroplane didn't leave my 5-CD disc player for the remainder of the '90s. And I am still upset that I was just a few months shy of turning 21 when they opened for Fuck at a bar in Seattle that summer. Within a year Botch would write and record "C. Thomas Howell as the Soul Man," a song that's essentially about feeling that the earnestness and honesty of hardcore was being replaced by lyrical formulas. In hindsight, I can't help but think that Neutral Milk Hotel had showed me that you didn't have to sing about animal rights or hating cops to be profound or passionate. And I also can't help but wonder if the fuzz bass breakdown in that song was a subconscious homage to the bass tone on Aeroplane.

Twenty-five years later, I can't say that I listen to Aeroplane all that much anymore. At some point I learned every lyric and chord progression on the album. I'd heard bands like Bright Eyes and The Decemberists borrow heavily from Neutral Milk Hotel without actually capturing any of their wonder, mystery, or charm. Long story short, I got too familiar with the record and bummed on the imitators they spawned. So maybe in some sense I do understand why people are so critical of the album. But listening to it this morning, I still think it's a fantastic record and I can't deny how it completely altered my listening habits. Aeroplane is one of those records that impacted me in a way only a handful of other albums have in my lifetime. And for that reason, I'll always be a fan.

[china-my-china]

David Sylvian 💙

"In Love With My Friend"

> 1978 <

You were fixing your makeup, you wore some glamorous purple dress, then you finished and now sat on the bench and when you less expected, Sylvo gets in

He looked at you, suprised

"Wow, S/N! How can you look so... oh my god!" He smiled and walked towards you, who smiled

"Thanks David, i appreciate that!" You smiled

"You look GORGEOUS! S/N you should look at yourself more than once!" He exclaimed and turned you to the mirror

And now you were looking at yourself in the mirror again, you did REALLY look gorgeous!

"I don't know where you got this dress but it was not a bad choice. It fits really well with your body shape." David smiled and looked at you, again from your head to your feet

You smiled again, you could see David turning around and grabbing something from some of the tables around his dressing room, then he comes over to you

You looked at him by your mirror view, he had a hair brush with him, he started brushing your hair softly

"Your hair's beautiful!" He smiled as he brushed your hair

You didn’t even reply, but by the blushing, it was clear that it kinda made you happy

"I won't brush it much" David stopped brushing your hair

He embraced you by behind your back and you blushed, so did he!

— She's so cute! I want her for me!" David's thoughts said to him himself

You smiled and feels him leaning his head onto his shoulder, then you did the same. The view of his bleach blonde hair to your hair color made a nice match

Also the different haircur models

You spent 2 minutos embraced with Sylvo, when someone knocks on the door

He opened the door and said :

"Oh, hi! Steve! What's going on?"

"Well, nothing happened. I was just looking for you. Anyways, time to go! We're done with everything. Rich, Mick and Rob had left already" Steve said

"Oooh, okay!" David said and then turned back "Hey, S/N!"

"Yeah?" You turned over

"Wanna come with us?" He asked

"Of course i do!" You smiled and grabbed your backpack

He smiled and took your hand with his, everyone left David's dressing room

The other members have already left, and now there was just you and the Batt brothers

You all got home, Steve closed the door and David sat on the couch

"S/N!" Steve called ya

"Oh! What?" You turned joined him in the kitchen

"There is this chocolate right here, i decided to give you because it was the only one left, also that i know you love strawberry flavoured desserts. So, take it! That's yours!" Steve smiled

"Ooh, nice. Thank you, mate! That's so sweet from you!" You smiled

Steve was not in love with you, but he was also your best friend so of course he would give something really sweet, like ; exactly, some chocolate!

You drank some water and then sat next to David in the living room, he said :

"Oh hey, lovey!"

"Hello again!" You smiled and hugged him

"Is there any leftovers? I'm so lazy to make dinner!" Steve said as he opened the refrigerator

"Oh god, lemme go there" David said "And Y/N, have some rest, you need it"

"I really do!" You giggled and got up, holding your backback

You got into David's room and then you wore your pijamas after having a soft and warm bath, you brushed your teeth and then you got hair down and lied down on his bed

You covered yourself with a blanket, then David got into his room

He smiled to see you and then :

"Hey, love... dinner's almost done, would it bother you to get up and go?"

"Oh, no it wouldn't! I'm going" You got up

You walked downstairs with him and everyone had dinner, it was delicious and then everything was sleeping

David embraced you while you slept, and that's how he fell asleep

•

First time writing a Japan/David Sylvian fanfic, really happy

Hope you like it, mostly Japan and David fans

I worked hard on it and i hope it's worthwhile 🤍

- Maria 🤍

[daggerzine]

“I am a Cliché” A documentary film about Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex (2021- review by Dina Hornreich)

There is a so-called “Afro Punk”

<https://www.spoonersnofun.com/afropunk> movement which is yet another tangent to consider upon adding the social construct of race to this ongoing mix of sex & gender rock’n roll activism which allows us to arrive at another level of understanding entirely.

Kimberlé Crenshaw calls this approach “intersectionality” which (in a nutshell) can be explained thusly: if we all live under this male white corporate tyranny which favors a “mythical norm” (cf: Audre Lorde) by promoting greed, violence, & misogyny (i.e. toxic masculinity); then black men may have some advantages because (at least) they are still male, and white women may have some advantages because (at least) they are still white.

But what do black women have working in their favor? <insert cricket noises here>

Enter Marian Elliott (i.e. Poly Styrene) who was a pioneer amongst the outsider world of rock’n roll n*ggers (sic) who found little camaraderie amongst the punks in whom she sought substantial inspiration in the late 1970s. She was very different amongst the regular lot of Sex Pistols inspired bands like Joy Division or even the Slits <https://www.slitsdoc.com/>.

However, her legacy continues to inspire droves of feminist/black punks who also perpetuate this unending dire feeling that needed, wanted, and deserved to express share with an audience. From zines like Osa Atoe’s “Shotgun Seamstress” <https://softskull.com/books/shotgun-seamstress/> to Rachel Aggs’ variety of bands (Shopping, Trash Kit, and Sacred Paws) <https://www.lostmap.com/visitations-rachel-aggs>, her influential contributions remain impeccably unassailable.

When I first discovered her music in the summer of 1995, I was living on a kibbutz in Israel near the city of Netanya which was likely the optimal time and place for me to best appreciate her shrieking critiques of consumer culture and its perpetuation of misogyny, racial oppression, and gender essentialism. It remains the first and only time that I ever looked at the cover art for a recorded album and felt entirely at home in my own skin (before I even opened the package!); and then listening to her music clearly solidifies that sentiment even further.

At that time, there was little else that could validate at the same level of impact that purchasing a copy of “Germ-free Adolescents” at a record store in the bus station in Tel Aviv as it did for me in 1995. In fact, when I returned to the US for my junior year of college at the end of the summer, my male friends relentlessly teased me about the obvious similarities I shared with Poly; and then refused to concede that she was equally important to the movement as Joe Strummer more readily gets recognized. The only legitimate piece of music writing that I could find which seemed to do her work justice was a brief chapter in Richie Unterberger’s 1998 book “Unknown Legends of Rock'n'Roll" <http://www.richieunterberger.com/ulrhome.html>.

The radical ways in which she was spotlighting the propagandistic nature of advertising as it relies heavily on manipulating (and otherwise exploiting) human emotional vulnerabilities (involving guilt, shame, and blame) just to sell consumers a completely fabricated self-concept of gender identity. As a young British woman of partial Somali descent (on her father’s side), there is no respite from her internalization of the stigmas that her innate differences invited (given the experiences that her appearance manifested); and so the overwhelmingly complicated struggles that she faced on a regular basis made every waking moment of her life an arduous endeavor. It was a relentless onslaught of arduous challenges with very little recognition for the substantial emotional investment that she threw into her every effort with almost nothing to show for it at the end. Pills, drugs, and similar remedies are poor distractions from this harsh realization.

The film reinforces how the “punk” label often reveals itself to be an increasingly illusory category – given some of its more “miscellaneous” categorical aspects – and an overall lack of coherent focus which only suggested that its purpose was merely allowing for our ongoing right to be asserting our existence in a cruel and unjust world.

We are not people who were built with the solid foundation to layer on so much pressure given that fragility; as such, she eventually collapsed (mentally, physically, and socio-emotionally) from the toll that trying to find validation in a scene that only mocks any level of commercial or mainstream validation at its outset. So she escaped to the religious fervor of the Hare Krishna movement in India; and struggled in her more conventional roles as wife, mother, etc. I’m not clear on how she elected that particular community, as I’m inclined to think her father may have been Muslim, but I am not really sure how supportive they were for those endeavors.

Because she stood up for herself in these unsustainably creative and political ways leaving herself immeasurably depleted while lacking the resources to keep herself going, there was no escaping the stigmas of successive “breakdowns” – and other concomitant pathologies which only punish her for taking that kind of artistic risk in her work in the first place. (It seems inappropriate for her estranged daughter to even weigh in on such matters, in the first place.)

It’s not clear if she was ever able to take a step back to fully appreciate such influential contributions, and it seems Celeste made this film simply to be able to do that work for her own healing in order to have a more peaceful ending. (Eventually, there was another iteration of her band, X-Ray Spex, involving collaborations with her daughter prior to her eventual passing to breast cancer.) I often wonder how successful most “rockstar” types can be as parents given the demands of that kind of career; especially back in the 1970s. It’s a very demanding lifestyle even though music is considered “the language of the spirit” (and punk didn’t always have that unifying, healing kind of creative vibe).

“I am a cliché” clearly provides ample testimony to the limitations for trying to thrive as a feminist punk rocker while trying to negotiate a suffocating oppression that is created by male white corporate tyrants looking for “the next big thing.” No matter how much Poly tried to find solace from being a trailblazer, the limited availability of resources for supporting this kind of endeavor made the toll of that risk completely unsustainable. There is no glamorization of her life despite these accomplishments, but her legacy remains all the more significant as a result.

www.polystyrenefilm.net

[juliewsz]

Álbuns da minha vida!

Eu vi meu amigo compartilhando os álbuns favoritos dele (link) e achei muito legal, então vou fazer o meu também!

⚠️ Aviso: Os álbuns não estão seguindo uma ordem específica!

Grace - Jeff Bucley

claro que "Grace" tinha que estar nessa lista.

Esse é o único album do Jeff buckley e que recentemente fez 30 anos que foi lançado! A sonoridade da voz do Jeff é perfeita, é triste mas que tem uma força enorme. As letras das músicas desse álbum são lindas e fazem me questionar se ainda existe algum homem com o amor tão profundo quanto o de Jeff.

Também amo o jeito que ele mudava a letra the "lover, you should've come over" na versão ao vivo.

The New Abnormal - The strokes

esse álbum praticamente descreve meu ser. Eu sinto que ele é um álbum muito pessoal, as composições são algo que refletem algo maduro e nostálgico.

Também amo que escolheram uma arte do basquiat para a capa do álbum.

"But then it don't make sense when you're trying hard

To do the right thing, but without recompense

And then you did something wrong and you said it was great

And now you don't know how you could ever complain"

Cigarretes After sex - Cigarretes after sex

eu AMO todas as músicas desse álbum.

É claramente um slowcore que é tão equilibrado que é quase ambiente, as musicas parecem fumaça no ar.

As letras são românticas e doloridas com significados por trás.

Submarine - Alex Turner

que trilha sonora incrível.

é leve, calmo e romântico. Me traz muito o sentimento de entardecer frio e assistir o por do sol na praia.

2 - Mac Demarco

É um álbum com letras realistas e sinceras.

Com uma sonoridade nostálgica e gostosa de se ouvir.

Fuzzy Brain - Dayglow

esse álbum é extremamente nostálgico pra mim. Eu escutava muito ele e um da clairo quando descobri ter um estilo meio indiezinho.

É fofo, animado e nostálgico, deveria ter mais reconhecimento.

Favorite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys

Esse álbum é muito tumblr 2014, e aqui estou eu colocando ele no meu blog depois de 10 anos.

Esse marcou muito o início da minha adolescência quando eu finalmente decidi ouvir as músicas que minhas primas escutavam na minha idade.

Pra mim é um álbum muito sentimental, que tem um mix de emoções. Assim como estar na adolescência.

É isso, tem muitos outros álbuns que eu amo muito, mas esses que eu citei tem um lugar guardado no meu coração. 💕

Créditos ao Rafael que fez um post lindo que me fez refletir sobre esses álbuns que são tão especiais para mim!

[fitrahgolden]

Lilies and Soap: 4 - Nothing at All

“Did you know you carry Heaven with you?

I can feel it calling, from below

Won't you let me find it?”

“Nothing at All” by Lilies and Soap.

Lyrics by A. E. Bridgerton.

—

Both Kate and Anthony had written and recorded songs about sex before. It had never been a big deal. They were more or less mature about it. Perhaps they would tease each other when they first read the lyrics the other had written, but certainly by the time they were recording the song, they had gotten all the giggles out, and it was just about giving the performance the song deserved, and appreciating the art that they were lucky enough to be able to bring to fruition, just like with any other song. 

So, Anthony had no idea what was wrong with him while he was in the studio with Kate, recording "Perpetual Commotion," one of the songs for their next album, which they had decided to call "Old Light."

Kate was the sole writing credit on this one and, as happened from time to time, Anthony found himself more than a little curious about who the song was about. On the surface, yes, the song was about sex. If that was all there was to it, it would be pretty uninteresting. But, as was always the case with Kate's songwriting, there was more going on than meets the eye, more of a story being told. Not just body, but heart and soul as well.

Anthony had known Kate for almost six years, most of her adult life. And, sure, it was possible to form intimate bonds in one's adolescence, but "Perpetual Commotion" was profound. It was mature. It was intense. It only made sense that the lover it was about was from her time at uni at the earliest, Anthony thought as he found himself more and more fixated on figuring out the answer to this question.

Yes, he could just ask Kate, but that felt too invasive. That's what he told himself, anyway. However, a nettling voice in the back of his head was telling him that the reason he didn't want to simply ask her was that, in reality, he didn't want to know. What if it was someone he was acquainted with? What if it was someone she was currently seeing? They worked so much, spent so much time together, that knowing the details of each others' personal lives just kind of happened organically. But of course Kate wasn't obligated to tell him anything. Maybe there was someone in her life. Maybe she was keeping it from him on purpose. Maybe that’s why she was so upset a few weeks ago.

And so Anthony found himself going into the day's studio session obsessively jumping with Herculean effort from conclusion to conclusion. It was a terrible headspace to be in if he wanted to perform at his best, to be in the moment.

At this particular moment, Kate was singing the verse that had been haunting Anthony the most.

"With you, I will die a thousand little deaths

Hoping to survive, rationing our breaths

Don’t know how to think, don’t know how to talk

Full of you, feeling you, don’t know how to walk

You’ve left me no choice but to learn how to float

Crimson memories of you own me, tracks on my throat

You are the best thing I've ever worn

I've never felt more beautiful

I’ll never be more beautiful"

The words made him think less about who the song was about, and more about putting himself in that person's shoes. He couldn't help it. She sang with so much emotion, there were real tears in her eyes. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold. And he felt himself being transported into that room with her, wherever it was. He imagined what it would be like, sharing in that transcendent experience, completely giving oneself over to someone else and feeling like it’s the only reason to exist.

Forgetting himself completely, all Anthony saw was a bright, ethereal vision of Kate. He’d never thought about her like this before. Or, at least, something about it felt new.

“Tony?”

“Hm?” Anthony didn't realise how out of it he was until he looked around at Kate next to him, and then, on the other side of the glass, Alice, who was their engineer, Tom, and Benedict, who was shaking his head in the corner. 

“You missed the cue.” Kate raised her eyebrows at him. "You alright?"

“Oh, sorry. Fuck, sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, guys.”

Anthony was able to keep it together for the rest of the session–more or less.

—

“This is my first choice.” Anthony said confidently.

“I don’t know. The first album was just me on the back.”

“Well, it happened to be the best picture. You agreed.”

Kate shrugged. “I did, yeah. I don’t know. I think this one is my favourite.” She pointed at the computer screen to a close up shot of Anthony’s hands. “You have nice hands.”

“You think I have nice hands?” Anthony looked over at her and Kate was hoping she wasn’t blushing hard enough for him to see.

“Yes, OK? Don’t let it go to your head, though I’m afraid I’m already too late.”

“Yep, you are. Anyway, about the photo: absolutely not.”

“Absolutely not?” Kate laughed at the finality of his answer.

“Yeah, veto.”

“And exactly how many vetos do I get?”

“You don’t need any because we’re going with this one. It’s just the best one, Lamb.”

Anthony looked at Kate with more intensity than this photo selection session warranted.

“Fine. It’s the tentative choice.”

“Excellent.”

“Tentative, Tony.”

“Sure.” Anthony poked Kate in the side and she smacked his back in retaliation.

Benedict gave a quick knock before walking into Anthony’s flat.

“Hey, guys. How’s the album art coming along?”

Kate and Anthony spoke at the same time.

“Ready for the graphic designer!”

“We still need some time.”

Benedict looked between the two of them with a mocking grin.

“O…kay. Well, either way, we need to get going to make it to lunch with Siena and her people on time.”

Anthony shot out of his chair. “Oh, yeah. Cool, let’s go.”

He seemed quite keen, and Kate tried her best to keep her expression neutral. She had attempted to prepare for this. And now, in the face of it, she immediately knew there was no amount of preparation that could make this any easier.

—

“Oh, my gosh! It’s been ages!” Siena gave Anthony, Kate, and Benedict all hugs before everyone sat down.

Anthony saw Siena, who looked even better than she did when they were all at the RCM, and thought that maybe he actually cared to know whether or not what Benedict and Colin said about her having a crush on him was true. Maybe he’ll investigate later.

“I know I saw you two at Highest Point a couple years back, but we had basically no time to talk. How is everyone doing?”

After a catch up chat, during which Anthony noticed that, while Kate was definitely being friendly, she wasn’t really adding much to the conversation when she wasn’t being addressed directly. She ordered a drink, which she never did during business meetings, no matter how casual. Lastly, she was fiddling with her necklace like mad. Taking advantage of Siena and Benedict going off on a tangent about some story from school, Anthony put a hand on the back of her chair and whispered, “You OK, Lamb?”

“Yep,” Kate answered with a bright smile. “It’s… It’s nice to reconnect.”

There was something off, but they unfortunately didn’t have time to get into it now.

—

The conversation finally turned to business. Siena explained to the best of her ability what she was looking for for her next album how she wanted to incorporate L&S’s sound. All parties agreed that the best next step was to have an informal studio session to have a first crack at honing in on the direction they want to go.

Benedict and Siena’s manager looked at their calendars and picked a place and time for the session as the lunch meeting came to its natural end. Kate exhaled a sigh of relief that it was over. Of course, they would be spending plenty of time with Siena in the upcoming months, but for now Kate just wanted to go home and do whatever she could to get her mind off of everything for the time being.

“What have you got on?” Kate asked Anthony as she put on her jacket.

“I, um…” Anthony looked back towards Siena, who returned the eye contact. “I’m gonna hang back,” he said sheepishly.

Kate nodded rapidly and forced a smile. “Right. Of course. The other reason for this meeting.”

Anthony shook his head, but he was smirking. “Eh, I figured, ‘Why not?’”

“Yeah, of course. Why not? Though, I wouldn’t say ‘why not’ to Siena. Just some friendly advice.” If Kate wasn’t ready to bolt before, she certainly was now.

Anthony leaned in and whispered, “Wish me luck.”

“Good–” Kate choked and cleared her throat. “Good luck.”

As Kate punished herself further by watching Anthony walk over to Siena, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to find Benedict offering her a warm smile.

“Hey, seeing as neither of us drove here, do you fancy finding a pub and getting absolutely hammered?”

Kate genuinely laughed for the first time in two hours. “At 3pm?”

“Sure. I don’t have anywhere to be. Do you?”

Kate shook her head.

“Excellent. Let’s go somewhere and talk about absolutely anything as long as it has nothing to do with…” He looked over at Anthony and Siena talking. “Well, let’s just call it ‘work,’ eh?”

“That sounds perfect. Thanks, Ben.”

[cyarskaren52]

Jack Harlow Is Serious About This

By Ross Scarano

Photography by Stacy Kranitz

December 11, 2020

Jacket, $2,850, and shirt, $875, by Louis Vuitton Men's

Somewhere amidst the green hills of West Virginia, in the kind of club that offers bottle service to its VIP customers, there’s a woman in possession of Jack Harlow’s heart.

He flew into Pittsburgh—the nearest major airport—before driving into the wild and wonderful heart of Appalachia for a club appearance. At the club, he met a bottle girl who stopped him cold. If you were unaware that West Virginia had bottle girls, so was Harlow. “I found out just shortly before you did,” he deadpans over a video-less Zoom call.

She’s been on his mind since, and because everything in Harlow’s lyrics really happened, she’s in his music, too. Track three on his debut album Thats What They All Say, his first full-length release since his smash single “Whats Poppin” (and its star-studded remix) shot up to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance, to be precise.

Thats What They All Say will likely be one of the biggest albums of the year, and the bottle girl makes her cameo early, on “21C/Delta,” a mellow two-part journey into 21st century romance as experienced by a 22-year-old rap star who claims few vices outside of sex. In fact, Harlow is something of a strip club aficionado—when the Los Angeles Clippers point guard Lou Williams was allowed to leave the NBA bubble in July to attend a memorial service, it was Harlow’s Instagram photo that revealed that Williams had also found time to stop by Atlanta’s legendary Magic City. According to Harlow, there are no hard feelings and the video for his single “Tyler Herro” was shot on Williams’ home basketball court.

But he’s too decent a guy to say anything more about his brief encounter in Appalachia. “I don't want to ruin this person's life,” he says. Fingers crossed, this will not devolve into a “Courtney from Hooters on Peach Street”situation.

Jacket, $1,750, and pants, $600, by Room Service Los Angeles / Earrings (throughout), his own

Harlow was introduced to hip-hop around age seven by his mother Maggie, who played The Marshall Mathers LP and other landmarks of the genre while driving around their home of Louisville, Kentucky. Her trip to buy Kanye West’s Late Registration is one of his earliest memories. “She told me all the words I was about to hear but wasn't allowed to say,” he told me. Around the same time, he remembers his teachers praising his writing. “In first grade, I was writing personal narratives and persuasive letters,” he says. “That's when I knew I enjoyed words.”

After years of adolescent grinding in the mixtape circuit in Louisville, supported by his parents and grandmother, Harlow recognized that in order to progress he needed to be at the center of American music culture. So in 2017 he moved to Atlanta, where he met hip-hop veterans DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and Leighton “Lake” Morrison, who signed him to their label Generation Now in 2018. The mixtapes and EPshe made in Kentucky often felt too try-hard, both in terms of the attempts at comedic wordplay (“Like blue jeans at the state fair, I might cut you off straight mid-sentence”) and the self-seriousness that Harlow deployed as a counterbalance (a ride past his elementary school on “Eastern Parkway” becomes an opportunity for a belabored metaphor about states of matter). He describes those early records as “forcefully goofy,” so much so that he felt uncomfortable playing the music “in front of girls.” Atlanta gave his music a new sense of nonchalance; he learned to relax his grip. “I'm doing a much better job of representing who I am off record, on record,” he says.

Blazer, $1,025, and turtleneck, $750, by Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh / Sunglasses, $625, by Vintage Wood Collection

“I’m signed to the gatekeepers,” Harlow raps on the intro to Thats What They All Say. Often when gatekeepers are invoked in rap, it’s to decry the (white) executives, radio programmers, and members of the Recording Academy who prevent authentic music from truly succeeding, or, conversely, amplify the wrong things. But for Harlow, gatekeepers means Black men with impressive industry bona fides who vouch for him. Drama hosted the Gangsta Grillz mixtape series, where Lil Wayne did some of his most sublime work; Cannon produced a number of the highlights across those mixtapes; Lake managed both Drama and Cannon, along with the aughts R&B star Bobby Valentino for a period.

“I don't know if [credibility] is a requirement to have success, but it's important to me,” Harlow says. “When I was shopping around before I signed I wasn't like, ‘I’m not signing until I find some Black gatekeepers.’ But I’m proud to be signed to them.” Cannon says “gatekeeper is simply a word that says, ‘Hey, you belong here’”; Lake says that Harlow is “driven and trying to move in an urban space, and one thing that I appreciate about him is he's open to a conversation.”

A successful white rapper will always have to reckon with the fact that their skin color lends a commercial advantage. But these are times of particularly intense scrutiny about the ethics of cultural appropriation. The release of the artwork for Thats What They All Say, which depicts Harlow signing autographs for a racially diverse group of children while sitting in a luxury vehicle next to a faceless brown-skinned woman, prompted much ado on social media. But rather than, say, rush out a Macklemore-esque apology, he’s not sweating it. Harlow’s touch stays light.

Not everyone has welcomed his rise: In 2019, labelmate Lil Uzi Vert posted a photo on Instagram of Harlow with a clown emoji superimposed over his face after Harlow made his support of the label clear in response to Vert’s criticism of it. (Lake says he appreciates Harlow’s solidarity.)

Suit, $1,850, by Grayscale / Turtleneck, $590, by Thom Browne / Boots, $515, by Raf Simons / Watch (throughout), his own, by Rolex / Ring (throughout), his own

Harlow wants his name (and debut) to be mentioned among greats like Drake and Kendrick. The wide audiences they found and the respect they commanded for their technical abilities—he wants those things too. Drama, Cannon and Lake push him: 48 hours before Thats What They All Say was supposed to be completed, Harlow says Drama told him that “the greats would do a new intro.” In the final hour, Harlow recorded “Rendezvous,” a bars-forward salvo that sets the tone for the level of candor found in the album’s best moments. Cannon, who thinks “all the greats are honest,” encouraged him to rap with increasing frankess—a key skill in the age of the vulnerable rapper. “Nobody really knows who you are,” Cannon remembers telling him. “We have to know who you are, whether we like it or not. Whatever comes out, that's going to be our truth.”

Thats What They All Say is a concise coming-of-age story that marks significant improvement from his previous work. He’s trying the right amount, and the humor feels natural rather than overdetermined. When he raps with Lil Baby, the star of hip-hop in 2020, he doesn’t sound out of place. But above all, the project is animated by Harlow’s belief that he can be “honest about anything.” That can mean sexual adventures like the story of the bottle girl, or mishaps like the digital-era tragedy on “Way Out”: “I’m in the mountains out west on the tour bus texting a chick I used to mess with/Got her in the bed doing video shoots, tried to send one to me but it didn’t go through: damn.”

But Harlow can also be reflective about his flaws (he’s been seeing a therapist recently). He recounts running into someone he used to sleep with at a party for over two-and-a-half minutes on “Funny Seeing You Here,” an X-ray of early-twenties awkwardness that culminates with Harlow’s admission that, as a romantic partner, he can fall short:

You used to say her man was trash and tell me about the way he’d act

I would shake my head until I realized I’m the same as that

Now I wonder do she tell her man that I’m a trash dude

And would he shake his head until he realized that he was trash too?

On the album’s outro, “Baxter Avenue,” he stops pondering the vicissitudes of casual humping and turns his attention to race and his mixed crew. “Always wondered to myself if I could really be the leader to a group of brown-skinned boys when I’m not brown-skinned,” he raps before clocking the differences in their upbringings. Sounding genuinely unsure, he raps about wanting to share his success and wealth, and wonders what it would look like to do that fairly. He says it’s the kind of song that will be “tough to sit in a room and have other people hear.” According to Cannon, that’s exactly the sort of honesty he pushed Harlow toward.

Watch Now:

Jack Harlow Goes Undercover on Twitter, Instagram and Wikipedia

The song will start a conversation, something Harlow relishes. On the day he released the album artwork, the invite-only, audio-led social media app Clubhouse, which has become more and more popular as a gathering place for music industry real talk, hosted a vigorous debate about it. “I didn't tune in for a second,” Harlow says. “But a lot of people I’m close to did. There's no way we could have dressed that cover up, race-wise, without causing a discussion. If they had been all white, it would have been ‘Why are you whitewashing?’ If it had been all Black, it’s like, ‘Where’s the white people?’” Harlow thinks the cover reflects the city and scene he comes from. “If you come to our parties or the kickbacks we have with 20 people, it looks like [the cover].”

Lake chalks the conversation up to “everybody's in the house and has nothing but time.” Though he acknowledges that Harlow’s trio of label execs don’t always agree on his artwork choices, he says the critics “thought about [the artwork] in way more detail than Jack did. People that don't know Jack would maybe question it, but if you know him, that's him, 110%. He's a white artist in a Black genre, and he's attracted to women of all races, colors, creeds, everything.”

Painting, “Buster”, by Jaime CorumJacket, $2,850, and shirt, $875, by Louis Vuitton Men's / Pants, $820, by Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh

If you still take issue with his decision to cast a faceless Black woman as his love interest, the title is directed at you: Thats What They All Sayis meant to be an all-purpose retort. “It’s how I feel about any criticism or praise that I'm receiving,” Harlow says. “You really can't tell me anything I haven't heard before.”

Still, he does hear it. Though he’s stopped searching his name on Twitter, he hasn’t stopped reading his reviews and knows he’ll take in the latest round of press. (He doesn’t need the WiFi password to recall the 5.6 Pitchfork score for his 2019 release Confetti.) “I’m just too much of a narcissist,” he says. “I always catch ‘em.”

Blazer, $1,025, turtleneck, $750, and pants, $920, by Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh / Boots, $990, by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane

At one point on Thats What They All Say, Harlow says that “all the rappers I love most at one point got called a fake.” Among others, he means Drake. From the occasional singing to the subject matter, Harlow is a student of the great Canadian, and he has Drake’s confidence too. Accusations of fakery never slowed Drake—he only became more powerful. Reflecting on Drake’s ability to overcome gives Harlow comfort. Like Drake, Harlow works hard at this. His seriousness is part of what makes it possible to root for him. That he’s more interested in reconnecting with the West Virginia bottle girl than trying to resolve the ills of the world with his music doesn’t hurt either.

Ross Scarano is a writer and editor from Pittsburgh.

PRODUCTION CREDITS: Styled by Metta Conchetta

Sent from my iPhone

[jeffament]

japan adolescent sex is such a perfect album. i’m

[freakingoutthesquares]

Preaching From The Pulpit Words: Roy Wilkinson, Photographer: Karl Lang Taken from Sounds, 27 June 1987 Transcript: Acrylic Afternoons

Sheffield popsters Pulp are creating a haunting music which is virtually without peer in the Britain of 1987. We meet them on the eve of the release of their new LP 'Freaks'.

The album's called 'Freaks', for as the opening line proclaims, "Nature sometimes makes mistakes". There they are over there, and if you must avert your eyes, don't cover your ears because Pulp have a qualification for you. "These freaks we're talking about, they're just normal people gone a bit wrong. It's sad but don't bother crying: they still eat and drink and watch TV just like anyone else. And they smoke."

The freaks who populate this record's "ten stories about power, claustrophobia, suffocation and holding hands" are resolutely ordinary, characters you're far more likely to see through the front room windows than down at the fairground. In fact, far from being Pulp fictions, these blighted souls are very real: a lot of them play in the band, and if that sounds funny then that's alright, because Pulp are comic band. I know this because their singer and lyricist Jarvis Cocker told me: "A lot of our songs deal with fairly mundane things which are a bit over dramatised - it's a bit like a comic."

As well as being a bit like a comic, Pulp are a bit like a mixture of slapstick comedy and some understated macabre novels. I know this because I read it in a magazine. Then again, you should never believe what you read and in the light of Jarvis' claim that his namesake Joe once installed a gas fire at his house, it's difficult to know whether to believe him. The one thing you can safely say about Pulp is that they are out on a limb, one that may or may not be reconnected to a body with seven more and two heads.

Pulp are a Sheffield band and 'Freaks' is their second album, following 1983's long forgotten 'It' and a handful of singles, and houses their current 45, 'Master Of The Universe'. Pulp's core of Cocker and violinist/guitarist Russell Senior are creating a haunting music which is virtually without peer in the Britain of 1987, their nearest relatives being The Band Of Holy Joy. The similarities come with the way both have fostered a host of neglected styles (waltzes to crooning balladry), transmuted mundanity into a grotesque, projected an overriding mood of melancholy and drawn on a wealth of literary references.

Pulp have been compared to anything from Brecht to author Ian McEwan to Mills & Boon. Along with books they've been juxtaposed with buffoons, a pre-AIDS epidemic of jesters that includes Leslie Crowther, Peter Glaze and Charles Hawtrey. It's a curse the band have mixed feelings about. Jarvis: "All those references make us seem a bit contrived when hopefully it's quite raw, getting at emotional nerve endings. It's not as if we go, 'let's do a song about the latest novel we've read'. I don't mind people comparing us to Ian McEwan because I like his stuff (psycho sex dramas) but when someone says Charles Hawtrey (Carry On's bespectacled, ineffectual butt), you don't think 'cheers pal!'." Russell: "In Sheffield we get more 16-year-old kids at our concerts than we do post graduates in Cabaret Voltaire studies."

Pulp songs are direct, stripping emotions down to a naked unsightliness and then coating them with a pervading sense of gloom. "I've never been a very carefree adolescent," says Jarvis. "I wouldn't go out with me if I were you. All those types of songs are basically about one girl who I went out with and unfortunately it went from being quite an innocent thing to being a very traumatic thing without either of us knowing why. The freaks thing is like getting divorced from the rest of the world through something like that relationship. The other reason we called it 'Freaks' was because we always get called freaks, the escape party from One Flew Over A Cuckoo's Nest, stuff like that. When we play live, everybody dwells on the fact that I'm thin with specs, he (Russell) looks like Count Dracula, Candida (keyboards) although she's 23 looks 14, while Pete (Bass) looks like a football hooligan. We were always getting called freaks so we thought let's call the LP 'Freaks' just to... put two fingers up."

As far as Jarvis is concerned he's not an eccentric. Throughout our conversation he maintained a slightly resigned blank faced jocularity but keeps his speech prosaically direct, miles away from the contrivance that Pulp's press might lead you to expect of this 23-year-old with his long limbs and disgusting brown crimplene 'slacks' which terminate six inches short of his ankles: as does Russell, a slight man of 26 with a ghastly pallor and a down at heel clerkish air.

Nonetheless this pair's conversation does dispel a lot of Pulpish preconceptions. It does, that is, until you ask them what they do in their spare time. It seems that this pair have a sideline which is Dickensian enough to fit in with their public image. Get down on that Davenport for these two Arthur Negus' of rock are heavily into... antiques. "Antiques Roadshow is our favourite programme," says Russell. "Our ambition is to see one of our records on there. If you want any 50's art deco then Jarvis is your man. I like Italian 17th century paintings but I haven't been able to get hold of anything yet. That's what I'd eventually like to deal in because I like beautiful things. At the moment I can only afford ugly things."

Frustrated sensualists priced outside paradise, that's Pulp for you.

[heyits-mars-x]

Olivia Rodrigo and the New Era of Punk

Note: The following essay is one that I wrote last year for a writing class. Some information may be slightly outdated since we live in the age of the internet; where things are constantly changing.

On May 21st, 2021, Olivia Rodrigo, an teenaged musician, released her debut album, SOUR, and the world imploded. Well, not actually, but the album did resonate with millions of listeners, especially young women coming to age in a new era of social media and global unrest. Rodrigo’s popularity after the release of SOUR spread across genres, and it wasn’t long before someone said: 

“Hey, this chick is kinda punk.”

From that moment on, the people of the alternative music scene were getting into vicious arguments regarding the validity of that statement. Newer generations (or anyone who wasn’t a middle-aged, straight, cisgendered, white man) had Olivia Rodrigo’s back, defending her against the people who claimed she was simply a poser. I am one of those supporters, and I believe Olivia Rodrigo has successfully written punk music because not only does she fit the mold of a young, punk artist, but also because some of her music stylistically fits into the most broad definition of punk music. Genre lines are blurred, and if you look back at most episodes in alternative music history, punk was the grandfather for the modern subgenres of emo, metalcore, and pop punk.

Since she is a new artist, it is important to understand Rodrigo’s background. Olivia Rodrigo was born on February 20th, 2003, and is currently nineteen years old. Before she burst into the spotlight and became a household name, she was an actor in Disney’s High School Musical: The Series and Bizaardvark (“Olivia Rodrigo”). During the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodrigo, like everyone else, occupied herself with hobbies while being cooped up indoors. Thus, “driver’s license” was born (Rodrigo, 2021, “Bio”). Once released, “driver’s license” took the world by storm. Soon after that, SOUR debuted. Rodrigo had done it again - her music could be heard everywhere. It is now September, and her music still plays on repeat on radio stations and social media trends. After that, it was only a matter of time before the masses felt the need to categorize Rodrigo and her music. Her sound was unique, so people turned to the only genre they could think of: punk.

Punk also has its own history, originating in the US and the UK at roughly the same time - the 1970s - and evolved almost accidentally from wannabe rock bands playing in their garages and producing a more raw, unpolished sound (Savage). Punk’s most attractive feature was that it was ugly. Bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Ramones brought aggressive attitudes, fashion, sounds, and lyrics to the rock and metal scene (“What is Punk Music?”). Musically, punk is fast, loud, messy, and often lacks a more melodic sound. Lyrically, punk music is gritty and controversial (“What is Punk Music?”). The pioneers of punk were angry adolescents, and they made sure the world heard their rage through bold, anti-establishment lyrics. Social commentary is a must in punk music (Savage). Many people argue that punk is now dead and gone, but I believe not only is it still alive and kicking, but also Olivia Rodrigo has successfully made modern punk music. 

Starting off with the hit single featured on the SOUR, “driver’s license.” This song is often considered the one that made Rodrigo so popular amongst not only the younger generations who watched her acting career begin, but also older listeners who still related to the raw pain of a teenaged heartbreak. Upon the first listen, “driver’s license” is an emotional, melodic song about the pain experienced after a breakup (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). Compared to most punk music, “driver’s license” lacks a fast-paced, messy sound. Of course, there are always softer or more pop renditions of punk music (such as the widely popular subgenre of pop punk) but the sound of “driver’s license” still does not fit into that category either. It is not an acoustic song either, reminiscent of Neck Deep’s “December” or “A Part of Me,” that is common amongst pop punk artists. Lyrically, “driver’s license” is obviously filled with emotions, but the anger only shows in one line in the chorus, “I guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me,” (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). The emotional aspect of Rodrigo’s lyrics do mirror the aggressive nature synonymous with punk music often, but their delivery in “driver’s license” is much cleaner and more melodic than typical punk music.

Possibly one step closer to punk music is “deja vu.” Musically, “deja vu” is more fast paced, and the drums do add some edge to the overall sound (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). Her lyrics, once again, are very emotional, but their delivery is more pop than punk up until the two minute 45 second mark, when the song begins to ramp up in tempo, and the drums also kick into gear. During the last bridge to the end of the song, it could even be argued that the vocals become messier, even nearing the scream-sing vocals that are a trademark of punk music (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). However, I still do not think “deja vu” encapsulates Rodrigo’s ability to write punk music.

While “driver’s license” and “deja vu” may have not delivered that true punk spirit through sound and music, “good 4 u” turns the tables. Yes, it is undeniable that “good 4 u” is extremely similar to pop punk group Paramore’s iconic song “Misery Business,” and many accused Rodrigo of stealing from Paramore. On the contrary, as of September 2nd, it has been acknowledged that Hayley Williams (Paramore’s vocalist) and Joshua Farro (former Paramore guitarist) were co writers of “good 4 u” and do receive royalties from the song (Trapp). As previously mentioned, “good 4 u” does achieve the iconic pop punk sound especially reminiscent of  “Misery Business,” with gritty bass, guitar riffs, and drum rhythms (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). However, if “good 4 u” had been a little less melodic and had a little more anger, it would truly be the punk song I am looking for. Regarding the lyrical composition of “good 4 u,” Rodrigo shows anger and angst, and even the delivery shows that emotion (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). While it may not be the most punk-like song on SOUR, “good 4 u” certainly adds an edge to Rodrigo’s discography, leading us to believe that she absolutely can write a true punk song.

Arguably the runner-up for the “most punk song on SOUR” award would be “jealousy, jealousy.” This song is filled with gritty instrumentals, highlights on the bass and clashing piano notes (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). The seemingly random key-smashing of the piano during the bridge of “jealousy, jealousy” is a very unique and edgy touch as well. Without a doubt, the lyrics of the song are punk. Rodrigo delivers an angry social commentary on the age of social media, the expectations placed on teenage girls, and the effects both have on a modern young woman’s attitude towards herself and others (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). Original punk music was angry at the world, and in the case of “jealousy, jealousy,” Rodrigo explores the hot topic of what it’s like finding your identity, especially as a young woman in an age of parasocial relationships with people from all over the world. Once again bringing it back to the bridge of the song, Rodrigo’s vocals are truly punk; she is angry, shouting, and messy (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). All things considered, “jealousy, jealousy” finally showcases Olivia Rodrigo’s ability to be a true punk artist . . . but there is one song left that is arguably the iconic punk song of the album, which sparked the debate of “is Olivia Rodrigo punk?”

Last, and absolutely not least, “brutal” encapsulates the true nature of punk music. Opening with delicate strings, a static-filled recording of Rodrigo saying “I want it to be like, messy,” launches listeners into an fast-paced angst-filled song (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). The song lacks a clear melody and Olivia’s vocals are loud and pessimistic - definitely mirroring the trademark punk vocals of garage bands (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR, “What is Punk Music?”). The lyrics themselves are a direct social commentary on being a modern teenage girl and how it feels when young women consistently fail to meet the impossibly high expectations placed on them. The main line that makes the song so recognizable, “god, it’s brutal out here,” perfectly encapsulates the attitude of punk music and culture (Rodrigo, 2021, SOUR). The attitude of “brutal” easily fits into the anti-establishment culture of punk music, and boasts Rodrigo’s ability to be a through-and-through punk artist if she so chooses.

At the end of the day, SOUR as a whole cannot be placed under one singular genre. Olivia Rodrigo has shown that she is an eclectic artist capable of putting out music of almost any style. Unfortunately, many of her songs are predominantly pop-themed, like “driver’s license,” and “deja vu,” but that simply shows her talent when such songs are compared to her edgier pieces. Despite her strong pop influence, Olivia has given us songs like “jealousy, jealousy” and “brutal,” that are successfully punk, while in a very modern sense. It is actually very interesting to see the routes alternative music as a whole has taken to get to the modern day era of punk, and I would argue that Olivia Rodrigo’s edgier tunes will lead younger generations to dip their toes into the water of alternative music and allow it to evolve even further. than it already has. 

Works Cited

“Olivia Rodrigo.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm7111120/bio. 

Rodrigo, O. SOUR. Performance by Olivia Rodrigo. Geffen Records, 2021.

Rodrigo, Olivia. “Bio.” Olivia Rodrigo, Geffen Records, www.oliviarodrigo.com/. 

Savage, Jon. “Punk.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/art/punk. 

Trapp, Philip. “Paramore + Olivia Rodrigo Were in Talks before 'Good 4 u' Emerged.” Loudwire, Loudwire, 2 Sept. 2021, loudwire.com/paramore-olivia-rodrigo-good-4-u-writing-credits-hayley-williams-before-release/. 

“What Is Punk Music? Meaning, Artists, Culture & History.” Pro Musician Hub, 22 July 2021, promusicianhub.com/what-is-punk-music/.