Context – cooking dinner

Tried my first Hello Fresh meal tonight.  It was a delightfully spring-y Vietnamese inspired sandwich with ginger-roasted mushrooms, vinegar slaw, and a sriracha mayonnaise.  Would recommend.

I’d also recommend this album by Lorde, Melodrama.  It reminds me a lot of that Katy Perry album that just came out in terms of general tone and range of options, but I expect these sounds from Lorde more than Perry so I’m giving her a pass.  Lorde has always had this dark and melodramatic tone (didn’t even mean to but leaving it in well after I figured it out), and whenever Katy Perry tried it (I’m looking at “ET” mostly) it didn’t really work for me.  Katy Perry is too plastic (but not necessarily in a bad way), fun-loving, and optimistic for this brooding bass that’s sweeping pop music in 2017.

If I had it my way all pop music would still be from summer of 2008.  Or thereabouts, at least.  The Black Eyed Peas were in the middle of a remarkable comeback, Lady Gaga was hitting her stride, Rhianna had that song about falling in love in a hopeless place.  Everything had this upward quality you could really dance to, or at least throw your body around to.  I’m not saying you can’t dance to this or to the new Katy Perry, but I don’t know how.  I’m aging out of the pop demographic, y’all.

But I can still listen to pop and enjoy it for what it is, and coming from Lorde this sound is closer to a 7 than Perry’s 5-6.  It’s all about managing expectations and meeting them head-on.  If you’re going to completely circumvent the path you’re on,  you best do it so well that I follow you along for the ride anyhow.  Taylor Swift pulled this off with 1989.  Paramore is mostly pulling this off with After Laughter.

Lorde isn’t pulling this off, but as I said this is in her wheel house.  And as much as it’s not my wheel house, it’s not bad and doesn’t rub me the wrong way, either.  All in all I’d say it’s worth your attention if you’re into 2017 pop like I’m into 2008 pop.  If you’re a grumpy 30ish year old like myself maybe check out Sturgil Simpson’s album from last year, which I’ve been giving a few more listens and it’s spectacular.  Utterly spectacular, y’all.