In housekeeping news, I’m moving this newsletter to a weekly, rather than bi-weekly, basis. Issues will come out at 9am on Saturday. Cheers!
I recently saw a festival lineup so stacked that its poster was near impossible to read. Squinting and zooming, I saw near the bottom of the page something that made my heart almost stop: Lorde.
I scoured the Internet for more updates, but it seems that she’s still working on an album the way that Frank Ocean is “working on an album.” She has a new book coming out, a memoir about her trip to Antarctica. Producers confirm that they’ve been collaborating with her. Update accounts (I’m sure running a Lorde update account is much like running an update account for Kate Bush, or a rock) post random photos of her from her friends’ Instagrams; she’s alive, but she’s not promoting anything anytime soon.
After years—years—of radio silence from the matriarch of popular music, Lorde is headlining a festival in 2022. And if anyone could show up to a festival and play an album that came out five years ago, it’s Lorde, but I doubt that she’d play shows—in Spain no less—out of the blue. In my eternal optimism, I’m going to take this announcement to mean she’s releasing a record in 2021.
That, my friends, is reason to celebrate. Everyday I think about how much I need new music from Lorde and everyday I have to live without it. Finally, there is a glimmer in the distance. I’m considering going to Spain.
“Hard Feelings/Loveless” has Jack Antonoff written all over it. The electronic elements of the distorted synth and vocal effects appear on other songs Antonoff produced, like “New York” by St. Vincent and “Getaway Car” by Taylor Swift. It’s a song about falling out of love, realizing that you need to move on:
I light all the candles
Cut flowers for all my rooms
I care for myself the way I used to care about you
I just discovered this performance when I was doing research for this issue. I love how stripped down it is, how Lorde is wearing a vintage floor length dress with Adidas Superstars. More than anything else, Lorde is unapologetically herself. She’ll take as much time as she needs with her record and will continue doing performances like this one, exactly the way she wants to.
I have this auxiliary playlist of songs that make me feel like I just knocked back a triple espresso. It includes “Water Under the Bridge” by Adele, “Africa” by TOTO, “Believe” by Cher, “Green Light” by Lorde, and the Betty Who cover of “I Love You Always Forever.” I can’t really make heads or tails of why these songs have such an effect on me; their chord progressions aren’t similar or unique enough to be the culprit, nor is the lyrical content cohesive. Regardless of reason, these songs do something to me. I started making this list because of how intense my reaction was the first time I heard “I Feel It Coming” off the Weeknd’s Starboy (2016).
Daft Punk’s involvement in the song is clear, from the warm synths to the muted funk guitar. The Weeknd’s signature smooth tenor voice in conjunction with the electronic production is compelling to the point of irresistibility. It turned out to be the last song Daft Punk ever worked on before breaking up in 2021. This additional significance secures this song a special place in my heart.
While this playlist is full of such songs—“Can’t Do Without You” by Caribou is perhaps the only EDM track that I can genuinely say I love—I’ll write about just one more. “Boys” by Charli XCX is, quite frankly, a perfect song. It sounds simple, sweet; the many elements are cleverly staggered so as to highlight the use of space. Coming in at just under three minutes, it’s the perfect bite of bubblegum pop.
“Boys” made end-of-year lists for many critics, including NME, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone. Part of its infectious appeal is the way that Charli talks about these boys, the idea of them. While in an entirely different genre, Taylor Swift gets at that same anticipatory, pining logic. She sings in “august”:
To live for the hope of it all
Cancel plans just in case you'd call
The Mario Kart sample is cheeky, but never crosses the line into obnoxious. It’s the iconic sound that signifies the receipt of a coin, when the character jumps up to snatch the glowing gold disc from where it rotates, gently bobbing just out of reach. It has become synonymous in popular culture with a reward, a boost, and it is used to sublime effect in “Boys.” This song feels that good.