Charli XCX

this type of thing is really muddy these days

1. "producer" means something different now than it did before protools. in the context of major label pop in 2017 it means the person or people responsible for the sounds you hear on a song that aren't human voices. even then, it's usually not that simple - many producers rely on commercially available sample packs as building blocks to construct their songs, which are sometimes elaborate enough to encompass entire chord progressions or instrumental leads. most big-name producer brands don't actually do very much production at all, instead relying on stables of uncredited ghost producers to generate ideas for them. there's no way of really knowing what a pop producer actually did to earn their production credit, and anyone capable of clarifying it is usually under an NDA

2. a popular artist will always get a songwriting credit whether they contributed to the songwriting or not. to make things more complicated, artists who receive bullshit songwriting credits often have outsized and delusional perspectives on how important their contribution was - audiences tend to be ignorant of what producers and songwriters actually do, but artists are often even moreso. they tend to genuinely believe that the twenty minutes they spend changing a lyric in the second verse was the key contribution that turned the song into a hit. major label pop artists these days are often actual teenagers who have no understanding or appreciation for the craft of songwriting. they sincerely believe that bob dylan also made music by talking to max martin about his day for a little while and then coming back the next day to find a completed song waiting to be recorded

it is impossible to fully settle arguments like this because the credits that are generally made available to the public are completely false most of the time and even the people who were in the room when the song was made don't have all the facts about what exactly happened

that said, charli actually does write and she's great at it

well, yeah, barring something like the Robin Thicke deposition it's impossible to fully settle arguments about this, but it's a whole new level of stupid to suggest that someone who makes a significant part of her living as a professional songwriter does not in fact write.

(also, pop artists might be actual teenagers, but songwriters tend to be older [because 25-year-olds are decrepit] and often either used to be "legit" solo singer-songwriters [bonnie mckee, sarah hudson, etc.] or aspired toward it)

Seriously though who has ever questioned Kate Bush, Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos?

http://americablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/The-spanish-inquisition.jpg

iirc bonnie and sarah are both around the same age as katy perry

well I mean pre-one of the boys katy perry would have also fit the category

listening to TRUE ROMANCE for the first time in a couple of years. holds up pretty well! why haven't i liked anything she's done since (apart from "boom clap")?

nothing else she's done really sounds like it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPRy1B4t5YA

Hopefully this will be enough of a hit so we actually get the album.

Glad she's not trying to be all punky anymore.

this is fab!!

👀 'They're doing all the sexy things that girls usually do in music videos' @charli_xcx reveals the all star cast in the video for 'Boys' pic.twitter.com/vAH0yDXxvl

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) July 26, 2017

immediately loved this one

it was produced by a guy who has done stuff for terror jr, and you can def hear that muted narcotic thump thing going on but it's a little more playful than i.e. kiaara or what not, feels like her song

it is very lovely

This was a good read.

http://www.stereogum.com/1954158/so-is-charli-xcxs-album-gonna-come-out-soon-or-what/franchises/the-week-in-pop/

Apparently her third album isn't coming out until next year now!

I just hope that the viral clip is enough to get "Boys" on the radio so that people will actually care about a new Charli XCX album, whenever it gets here

holy shit this is so good

it is.

i'm rooting for charli xcx but ugh, the fat jew in the video :(

and cameron dallas? yuck

1. Joe Jonas
2. The Fat Jewish
3. Max Hershenow
4. Charlie Puth
5. Joey Bada$$
6. OLI SYKES 💕
7. Cameron Dallas
8. Sage The Gemini
9 - 10. Chromeo
11. BRENDON URIE 💕
12. Caspar Lee
13. G - Eazy
14. Stormzy
15. Denzel Curry
16. Amine
17-18. Ezra Koeng, Mark Ronson
19. MNEK
20. Rostam Batmanglij (VW)
21. DON'T KNOW
22. DAN SMITH 💕 (Bastille)
23 - 24. Flume & A.G. Cook
25- 26. Wiz Khalifa & Ty Dolla $
27. Tinie Tempah
28- 30. The Swet Shop Boys
31- 33. WSTRN
34. Taka
35. Carl Barat
36. Barns Courtney
37. Connor Franta
38. Shaun Ross
39. Fai Khandra
40. Will.i.am
41. Tommy Cash (rose dude)
42. Jack Guinness
43. Diplo (guy with the puppies)
44. Laurie Vincent (guy w baby)
45. JACK ANTONOFF 💕 (GLASSES) AKA FROM FUN & BLEACHERS AHHH.
46- 47. Tristan Evans & James McVey (dudes with the cake)
48. Tom Daley
49. Frank Carter (candle fingers)
50. The Cobrasnake (cam dude)
51. Fred Macpherson
52- 56. Mic LOWRY (DUDES IN PINK)
57- 58. THEY (BASEBALL BATS)
59. Theo Hutchcraft (pink boxing gloves)
60. Buddy (nice butt sign)
61. JOHN GOURLEY 💕 (PORTUGAL THE MAN) (GETS TATTOED CHARLI)
62. Shokichi (cup in hand)
63. Liam Fray (phone on hand)
64. Jay Park (floating flamingo)
65- 66. Prince & Jacob (beachball)
67. D.R.A.M (smashing tvs)
68. Shamari Maurice (wearing crop top)
69. Tom Grennan
70. Jay Prince (brown jersey)
71. Khalid (holding colorful pups)
72. Poets
73. VANCE JOY 💕 (takin a bite of something)
74. MAC DEMARCO 💕 (LICKING GUITAR)
75. KAYTRANADA
76. CHARLI HERSELF 💕

(that was borrowed from the yt comments)

lotta terrible boys in that video

i guess there's a boy for everyone (to be annoyed by)

Didn't recognise any of 'em! Assumed they were just random, er, boys. Great song.

the Cobrasnake in 2017?

Yea I thought these were all random dudes and Mac Demarco.

p humane to get the fat jew and charlie puth out of the way early

the sound in the chorus is almost exactly "mario gets a coin", right?

Yeah, fitting that D.R.A.M. is in the video having used the same sound on "Cha Cha"

I'm a sucker for that mario coin sound. DRAM did it better but still I can't resist it.

i'm always rooting for Charli XCX to do something better than those other people's hits she's on, but disappointed by the song. that coin sound is regrettable - it becomes
cringe-inducing by the end, for me.

video would be better if it had some GOP limelighters. surely Boehner, Ryan, Kasich and Carson would have been up for some carwash / lawncare action.

kind of amazing nobody's made a youtube of that actually

enjoying Pop 2, especially Backseat and Femmebot

wow

this is the charli album I've been waiting for

just three songs in and I'm floored

just saw this in Spotify - is it a proper album?

it's a 'mixtape' and basically it's Number 1 Angel part 2

I have no idea how to differentiate between mixtape and album in this case. is it just because there is no physical release?

not to taint opinions out of the gate, but PC Music is all over this. it's also very good, Out of My Head in particular.

no physical release + no real label support yeah

her next 'proper album' was finished like a year ago iirc but has been held back endlessly. after the afterparty is supposed to be on it and id imagine boys too

after a few more listens I feel pretty confident saying this is both her best album and the best PC Music-adjacent release

Checked this out after the year-end polls and Backseat has been in my head for days.

I’m a dreamer

https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-charli-xcxs-new-song-5-in-the-morning/

New Charli XCX song. I can't listen to it at the moment.

test

ok, was having a weird posting problem for a minute there. Also this:

i am going to release a lot music this year. and a lot of videos. you’re gonna be so fucking sick of me.

— CHARLI XCX (@charli_xcx) May 30, 2018

not good at all yeesh

tbh

this feels like it was from the same sessions as After the Afterparty because it's just as dull

I've only casually kept up w/her since "Boom Clap" (which I loved); but a track like this seems to erase everything that was distinctive about her... it's super generic and could be anyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHnWzQp_Ehw

still waiting for her to release Girls Night Out which she's done live a lot and it owns