The time has come for me to talk about how much I love Olivia Rodrigo.
When “drivers license” came out, I initially resisted listening to it because there was too much hype for it to possibly be good. I was so wrong; everything about the song turned on all the lights in the part of my brain where Carly Rae Jepsen, Shura, and Aly & AJ live. She’s an excellent singer, her writing is clever and specific, and she’s really got it out for this boy that broke her heart.
The form of the song is strange, but the fast switch between verse, pre-chorus, and chorus speaks to the Internet environment into which it’s being released, and the resulting shortened attention span. It has a bridge to end all bridges, and it (perhaps unintentionally) nods to the iconic walk up in the bass line from Adele’s “When We Were Young.” There’s an octave jump and parallel lyrical structure and then it all drops out to highlight her capacity for soft, perfectly-pitched vocals.
I’ve listened to “drivers license” more than any other song this year, until “deja vu” (“Seeing Things” by Charlie Hickey, beabadoobee’s “Worth It”, and “4th of july” by Hand Habits also make appearances). Olivia Rodrigo likes The White Stripes and The Smashing Pumpkins; she has rock influences that run deep. “deja vu” features electric guitars, an off-kilter drum beat, and industrial synths. The song was recorded partially on iPhones and in cars, because of Olivia’s demanding work schedule as an actress. It has a ton of tracks and layers, but everything has an express purpose. She and her producer dial in the details and they take the song to another level.
One time when I was a teenager I got a backstage pass to a music festival through a music school where I was a student. I met a lot of cool artists (Brandon Flowers was a highlight), but the one that stuck with me most was Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate, and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. I had never heard of him, and had only listened to one song of his before the show, “Cecilia and the Satellite.” It was about his infant daughter and how much he loved her, which didn’t really resonate with me as a fourteen year old. But he answered questions candidly and seemed genuinely interested in helping us all become musicians, and he had a couple songs about Arizona. After the Q&A at the show, I was enthralled. He was by far the best performer I saw and I’ve been a fan of his ever since. I saw him when he came back to Phoenix on the subsequent tour.
I have the unpopular opinion that 1989 (2014) is Taylor Swift’s best record; she found her footing as a pop artist after a long road as country’s sweetheart. “Out of the Woods”, “Clean”, and “This Love” are among my favorite Taylor Swift songs ever. Since then, there have been some considerable duds (some might even call Lover (2019) her flop era), but generally I like Taylor Swift as a Lorde-adjacent pop artist. Reputation (2017) is rife with missteps—anytime Taylor is sort of rapping—but there are some gems here too: “Delicate”, “Getaway Car”, “Call It What You Want.”
The vocoder work on this record is exquisite, and in reality Taylor has been writing pop songs since the beginning that were undercut by clunky acoustic production. I know that people have attachments to her early work (“Teardrops on My Guitar” was the anthem of every third grade breakup I’ve heard of), but I think we should accept Taylor’s rebranding as a sort of phoenix-from-the-ashes situation. I just hope she’s finally happy. Long live Taylor Swift.