Madonna in an MDNA era shoot by fashion photographers Mert Alaş and Marcus Piggott.
MDMA has long been closely intertwined with music. It’s many festival and nightclub-goers’ drug of choice, and for good reason: it has a way of making every song sound infectious and every flashing light look vivid and brilliant.
It’s not surprising either that a whole lot of artists have chosen to sing about this energizing, psychedelic substance. Here are the funniest, realest, and most poetic songs sung about MDMA.
MDMAmazing by Beans on Toast
Perhaps the most straightforward of the bunch, this song is relatable AF to anyone who’s rolled at a music festival. Beans on Toast narrates all the best and worst parts of an MDMA trip, from “we danced to an unknown DJ and sneaked a little kiss” to “I’m gurning my face off, but I’m really really glad.” It ends on a less cheerful note: “Well I’ve missed my lift to London / my moneys all been spunked / I’ve even lost my mobile phone/ I think I’m fucked.” But it’s all good, because then his dancing/kissing partner comes back with acid. All’s well that ends well.
“We Can’t Stop” by Miley Cyrus
Is she singing “dancing with Miley” or “dancing with molly”? The eternal question. The truth is, it’s intentionally ambiguous. “If you’re aged ten [the lyric is] Miley,” she told The Daily Mail. “If you know what I’m talking about, then you know. I just wanted it to be played on the radio and they’ve already had to edit it so much.” With lyrics like “Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere / Hands in the air like we don’t care,” it’s easy to see how it could be molly, which Cyrus has called a “happy drug.”
“Take Ecstasy With Me” by The Magnetic Fields
This dreamy, nostalgic song will likely conjure memories of your very first roll. The Magnetic Fields convey the joyful and easily distractable state one might be in under the influence of MDMA with lyrics like, “I want to slide down the carpeted stairs / Or down the bannister / I got a new kaleidoscope / And I got a stack of records / It’s on your head so don’t dare move / We could be happy just listening to your pulse.”
“Molly” by Tyga
In this song, Tyga is on a mission: to find molly. He enlists the help of Siri, whose voice rhythmically repeats “molly” throughout the track, and raps about an adventure that seems to involve a number of other substances as well: “Weed so loud it’s distorted / Got champagne and we pourin’ it / She poppin’ it and she snortin’ it.” Let’s just hope he’s not mixing all these drugs.
“I’m Addicted” by Madonna
Madonna’s love for MDMA is well-documented; she did, after all, name one of her albums MDNA (presumably a portmanteau of MDMA and DNA) and ask a crowd at the music festival Ultra, “Have you seen molly?” She also sprinkles her fair share of MDMA references into her music. In “I’m Addicted,” she compares it to a lover, singing, “Now that your name / Pumps like the blood in my veins / Pulse through my body, igniting my mind / It’s like MDMA and that’s OK.” She then sings “I need to dance,” which… yeah, sounds appropriate, and closes the song by repeating the letters MDMA repeatedly.
“Empire State of Mind” by JAY-Z featuring Alicia Keys
“Came here for school, graduated to the high life / Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight /MDMA got you feelin’ like a champion / The city never sleeps, better slip you a Ambien,” JAY-Z raps in this song. Great rhyme, though again, let’s hope he’s not actually combining those drugs.
“We Found Love” by Rihanna
Is the “hopeless place” Rihanna found love in an MDMA trip? Some think the “yellow diamonds” in the lyrics represent molly, but the real giveaway is the video, where Rihanna and actor Dudley O’Shaughnessy skateboard (possibly a subtle reference to rolling?) and have passionate sex amid montages of pills and dilating pupils. Anyone who’s ever taken MDMA with a partner will feel heartbroken by the unbridled joy shattered by the devastating comedown in this video.
This Thursday, funeral services and city-widecelebrations were held across Los Angeles to honor slain rapper Ermias Joseph “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom. Shot fatally outside Marathon Clothing, a store he co-owned near the intersection of Slauson and Crenshaw in South LA, on March 31 by a man policed have identified as Eric Holder, the Grammy-nominated rapper and activist made a name for himself by putting out a series of mixtapes from the mid 2000s onward, finally releasing his acclaimed debut LP Victory Lap just last year on his own label. Admired for his integrity, Nipsey remained staunchly independent and had previously invested in STEM programs for inner-city kids.
Nipsey’s emotional farewell was held at Staples Center and attended by more than 20,000 people, including fans, loved ones, and a few famous faces, too. Tributes poured in from Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Barack Obama, Snoop Dogg, and longtime girlfriend, actress Lauren London, with performances from Jhené Aiko, Stevie Wonder, and others. While his funeral procession, for the most part, brought many LA residents together, violence erupted on Thursday afternoon when a drive-by shooting at 103 and Main resulted in another senseless death. Tragically, this would’ve been the last thing Nipsey wanted; he was set to meet with LAPD officials to find ways to end gang violence in his community, despite his former affiliation with a sub-group of the Crips. His death is still under investigation but appears to stem from a personal conflict and is not believed to be gang-related. He was 33.
That New New
I never need to watch another music video (or eat another potato) again thanks to this starchy bit of Tierra Whack genius.
Kaytranada teamed up with VanJess for “Dysfunctional,” a teaser single for the as yet unannounced follow-up to 2016’s 99.9%.
Hand Habits’ placeholder LP came out in March and remains one of the best of the year thus far; check out this video for “wildfire,” which was inspired by the recent California wildfires and makes a poignant statement about our 24-hour news cycle.
Ahead of their May tour with Refused and the Hives, Bleached have returned with a stripped down song called “Shitty Ballet,” their first single since 2017 EP Can You Deal?
Emily Reo’s Only You Can See It is out today, and she’s shared the video for its lead single “Strawberry” to celebrate.
Mega Bog has released the first single from their forthcoming concept album Dolphine (out June 28 via Paradise of Bachelors).
SASAMI put together a video starring her grandma for the single “Morning Comes,” from her excellent self-titled debut, out now.
Blonde Redhead frontwoman Kazu Makino is going solo with her forthcoming album Adult Baby (and she’s launching a record label of the same name). Details are scant for now, but there’s a video for the vibey first single, “Salty,” which features Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mauro Refosco (of Atoms For Peace), and Ian Chang (Son Lux).
Aldous Harding is back with another song from her forthcoming LP Designer, out April 26 via 4AD.
Atlanta’s Mattiel has announced the release of their sophomore album Satis Factory via ATO Records (out June 14) with a fun video for lead single “Keep the Change.”
Brooklyn band Crumb prep their debut full-length Jinx for release in June with a video for its lead single, “Nina.”
Jackie Mendoza continues her streak of beguiling biligual electronica with “Mucho Más,” from forthcoming LuvHz (out April 26 on Luminelle Recordings).
Clinic are set to release their first album in seven years, Wheeltappers And Shunters, on May 10 via Domino Recordings. After previously sharing a video for its first single “Rubber Bullets,” the art-rock weirdos return with “Laughing Cavalier.”
Longtime Animal Collective videographer Danny Perez has directed a truly bizarre Dating Game-meets-Beetlejuice video for the title track to Panda Bear’s recently released Buoys.
Recent Partisan Records signees Pottery have shared another single, called “The Craft,” from their No. 1 EP, which comes out May 10.
Feminist art-punk quartet French Vanilla have a new LP coming out on June 7 called How Am I Not Myself? and have shared its lead single “All the Time.”
Amsterdam’s Pip Blom drums up some anticipation for Boat (out May 31 via PIAS/Heavenly) with a video for latest single “Ruby.”
Courtney Barnett shared Tell Me How You Really Feel outtake “Everybody Here Hates You” ahead of its official Record Store Day single release for Rough Trade (the exclusive 7″ will also feature B-side “Small Talk”).
Watch Fanclub’s Leslie Crunkilton play a crushed out ghost in the video for their latest song, “Uppercut.”
If you’re missing SXSW, The Pinheads have your cure – their video for “Feel It Now” compiles footage from this year’s festivities, including the band’s set at Burgerama 8. The Aussie’s sophomore record Is This Real comes out May 24.
West Virginian indie rockers Ona release Full Moon, Heavy Light on May 10 and have shared its mellow second single “Young Forever.”
Jesca Hoop has signed to Memphis Industries for the release of her next LP STONECHILD, which arrives July 5. It’s first single, Shoulder Charge, features Lucius.
Swedish supergroup Amason announced the August release of their first record since 2015’s Sky City with a new single, “You Don’t Have to Call Me.”
The National shared a cinematic video for “Light Years,” from I Am Easy to Find, out May 17.
End Notes
Now in its 12th year, Record Store Day promises another Saturday afternoon of rare releases, in-store performances, and general celebration of all things vinyl for dedicated crate-diggers and more casual music fans alike.
Radiohead has issued a statement on the now-concluded investigation of the 2o12 death of their drum technician during a stage collapse in Toronto.
A new clip for Perfect, the Eddie Alcazar film being released by Brainfeeder’s recently-established movie production house, features snippets of its soundtrack by Flying Lotus (who says his next LP is ready).
Vampire Weekend will celebrate the release of their next album Father of the Bride with three New York shows in Buffalo, Kingston, and a day-long affair at Webster Hall that includes a bagel breakfast, pizza lunch, and three separate sets (including one that will consist of the new LP in its entirety).
Coachella is upon us! In addition to the premiere of Childish Gambino and Rihanna’s Guava Island film, the festival will feature Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Janelle Monáe, Anderson .Paak, Maggie Rogers, Kacey Musgraves, Christine and the Queens, the first US appearances by Black Pink and Rosalía, and more. But the legendary fest hasn’t been without conflict; Solange dropped out this week, citing production issues, and a worker was killed in a fall setting up for the fest last weekend. In happier news, a new doc about Beyoncé’s epic headline performance last year is set to hit Netflix April 17; watch the trailer below.
Sometimes, artists drop subtle drug references in their songs that you wouldn’t notice unless you carefully studied the lyrics. Other times, they put it right out there, with drug-inspired imagery splattered all over their videos.
If you want to vicariously experience a trip, consider these videos your pathways into the brain of someone on drugs.
The Dandy Warhols’ “Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth”
Aside from the fact that the Dandy Warhols are dressed up as literal syringes while singing “heroine is so passé,” the colorful retro outfits, cartoonish background, and balloons look like they’re straight out of a trip.
Afroman’s “Because I Got High”
If you’ve ever failed at adulting due to illicit substances, Afroman feels you, and his enactment of all the dumb shit he’s done while high is undoubtedly good for a laugh.
Tyga’s “Molly”
In a very thinly veiled drug reference, Tyga pulls up to a party in a car as Siri announces “Hi, I’m looking for Molly.” The bright colors, wild dancing, and pills in the club suggest that Operation Find Molly succeeded.
Of Montreal’s “Paranoiac Intervals/Body Dysmorphia”
This song may not explicitly reference LSD like “Lysergic Bliss,” but it sure looks like the video was made on it. Kevin Barnes’ reflection blurs and warps in funhouse mirrors as he sings about “counting wolves in your paranoiac intervals.”
Rihanna’s “We Found Love”
This tragic video captures the insurmountable joy of rolling with a significant other as well as the utter devastation of the comedown. The reference to “yellow diamonds” in the lyrics led people to speculate about MDMA references, and the pills and expanding pupils in the video leave no doubt.
A$AP Rocky’s L$D (LOVE x $EX x DREAMS)
The “L$D” in this song ostensibly stands for “LOVE x $EX x DREAMS,” but the video makes the double entendre clear. If you’ve ever wondered what an acid trip is like (and a good one, at that), look no further than A$AP Rocky’s journey through this glowing neon city.
Mike Posner’s “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
Posner has said that this song is about a real experience taking a “mystery pill” in Ibiza, which made him feel “amazing” until he came down and “felt 10 years older.” Based on the creepy video, this seems like a trip that’s better off experienced vicariously.
Animal Collective’s “Brothersport”
I’m pretty sure this song is not about drugs, but the video, well, is a drug. Take a look at the cartoon dinosaurs, painted eggs, and singing tadpoles and you’ll see what I mean. But I can’t be held liable if you actually lose your mental faculties in the process.
Last week on September 7th, Mac Miller died at the age of 26 from a drug overdose in his LA home. Since his passing many celebrities such as Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore, Childish Gambino, J. Cole, Ariana Grande and many more paid tribute to the rapper. Earlier this week thousands of Mac Miller fans held a vigil at Pittsburgh’s Blue Slide Park – the namesake of his debut album. The blue slide had a fresh coat of paint and Miller’s grandmother made an appearance that evening thanking fans.
Fashion Week
Rihanna closed out New York’s fashion week with her Savage x Fenty Lingerie Show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard celebrating women of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities. Her runway show included plus sized models and two visibly pregnant models, one of whom went into labor backstage. The line mixes organic and futuristic concepts, and according to Rihanna is “what we hope to see in the future: women being celebrated in all forms and all body types and all races and cultures.”
Cardi B and Nicki Minaj had an altercation at the Harper’s Bazaar Icons Party. Cardi threw a red high heel at Minaj while yelling that Minaj talked trash about her child. Cardi B was escorted out of the party with a bump on her head. Cardi issued a statement on Instagram, and Minaj responded on her Beats 1 Queen radio show denying she ever said anything about Cardi’s child and claimed Cardi B built her career off of “sympathy and payola.” Cardi responded on Instagram with videos of fans screaming her lyrics at her concerts early in her career prior to radio play as well as the list of 2018’s top Hip Hop Albums (Cardi’s Invasion of Privacy in the top three), with the caption “NUMBERS DONT FUCKIN LIE.”
Peter Verzilov, a member of Russia’s political punk band Pussy Riot and publisher of independent news website Mediazona, was hospitalized on September 11th and is currently in critical condition. He began showing symptoms of losing his sight, speech, and mobility shortly after a court hearing, leading his friends and partner to believe he had been poisoned. Verzilov is currently being treated at the toxicology wing of Moscow’s Bakrushin City Clinical Hospital, though the details of his diagnosis or treatment have not been released.
The New New
Lana Del Rey released the first new song “Mariners Apartment Complex” she recorded with Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff. She will be releasing another track, “Venice Bitch,” on Tuesday, although the album won’t be out until 2019.
The Smashing Pumpkins are releasing their first album in almost 20 years featuring founding members Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin, along with guitarist Jeff Schroeder. Their first single “Silvery Sometimes” was released this week; the full album will drop November 16th on Corgan’s label Martha’s Music.
End Notes
Apple will no longer provide the dongle adaptors for headphones free of charge with the iphone.
Spotify is lifting the 3,333 song download limit for offline listening and increased it to 10,000 songs.
NEWS ROUNDUP: Rihanna, Lauryn Hill, Pitchfork & More
By Jasmine Williams
Rihanna Snaps Back
Rihanna has publicly accused Snapchat of victim shaming after the social media app displayed an advertisement the referenced Chris Brown’s 2009 brutal assault of the mega-star. The ad, for online game, “Would You Rather?!” makes light of domestic abuse by asking viewers if they would choose to “Slap Rihanna” or “Punch Chris Brown?” After fans pointed out the despicable ad spot Rihanna used major Snapchat competitor, Instagram, to make a statement, posting:
“I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb! You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it!!! This isn’t about my personal feelings, cause I don’t have much of them…but all the women, children and men that have been victims of DV in the past and especially the ones who haven’t made it out yet ….you let us down! Shame on you.” -Rihanna
Snapchat responded with an apology and has since blocked the advertiser. On the same day that Rihanna made her statement, Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat decreased by 7%. Don’t mess with RiRi!
The Pitchfork Lineup is Here! And, Lauryn Hill is Back?
Any fan of Ms. Lauryn Hill will tell you, she never really left. However, years of super delayed shows, on-stage tirades, and uneven performances have given the former Fugees member a shaky reputation when it comes to live shows. Now, Pitchfork Music Festival has upped the ante by putting the spotlight on Hill for the 2018 edition of the fest which also marks twenty years since the 1998 release of her seminal (and singular) studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The controversial artist headlines Sunday’s lineup. Although the spot is being billed as an “anniversary performance,” there’s no telling what will actually happen on stage, especially given the fact that Hill has not always been friendly to her caucasian fans and Pitchfork isn’t exactly known for their diverse crowds.
The 2018 Pitchfork music festival runs from July 20th through 22nd in Chicago and also includes Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Big Thief, Fleet Foxes, Blood Orange, Chaka Khan and many more.
Other Highlights:
Yo La Tengo’s fifteenth album, There’s a Riot Going On, is out today! Arcade Fire premiered a short film this week while Courtney Barnett, Vic Mensa, and David Byrne all debuted new music videos. Jack White will be playing a “no phones allowed” show at Warsaw in Brooklyn on March 23rd. To gain access to tickets for the Greenpoint concert you have to purchase tickets for this summer’s Gov Ball. MTV is doubling down on their shaky reboot of TRL. Earlier this week Say Anything debuted a new song at SXSW. Tour announcements abound from Fleet Foxes, Liz Phair, La Luz, Beck, Culture Club, and many more, coming to a venue near you. A signal switch in airwaves may be coming soon – IHeartMedia has filed for bankruptcy. In local news, DIY Brooklyn venue, Silent Barn, is closing on April 30th.
Twenty-one-year-old alternative-R&B artist Sam Austins released a fun as hell single this week, named after Rihanna’s cosmetic line, “Fenty.” The song is a lighter follow-up to Austins’ anxiety-ridden 2017 debut album, Angst, and celebrates widening cultural perceptions of beauty. The release was accompanied by a massive billboard in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood that shows a gorgeous Austins donning bold lips and a glimmering eye, a testament to his allegiance to the brand.
Although Austins isn’t the first hip-hop artist to challenge societal stereotypes of beauty, masculinity, and gender, he is one of the few. While icons like David Bowie, Prince, and Boy George made room for more fluidity in the rock/pop realm, hip-hop culture has been historically less forgiving of alternative expressions of masculinity and style. Frank Ocean helped in starting to shift hip-hop’s homogeneous image in his 2017 music video, “Nikes,” where he spends part of the video clad in eyeliner and glitter. Austins’ glamorous cover art follows suit and has inspired people all over to share their own versions of feeling themselves.
Since the release of “Fenty,” dozens of fans – including beloved Detroit visual artist, Ellen Rutt – have sent Austins and his affiliated residency, Assemble Sound, videos of themselves singing, dancing, and glowing the fuck up to the infectious song. Produced by Sergio Romero and Detroit’s Ice Pic, the song’s bouncy beat and entourage of background hype-men are the perfect compliments to Austins’ feel-good lyrics: “I’m still fresh off the drop like it’s Fenty / Sitting front row at the show like a Fenty.” There’s arguably no better high than feeling like you are Rihanna.
“Fenty” is a continuation of Austins’ artistic evolution and an excuse to sing into your selfie camera at full volume, no matter who you are.
When you hear the phrase “sex, drugs, and rock and roll,” you usually picture male musicians: Lou Reed croaking out the words to “Heroin” or “Waiting For My Man;” The Weeknd’s famously numb face; Kurt Cobain finding God in “Lithium;” The Beatles on LSD; Neil Young’s coke booger immortalized in The Last Waltz.
Stereotypes about drug users aren’t flattering to any gender, but female celebrities are held to especially high standards of behavior, with sex, drugs, and other supposedly hedonistic behaviors deemed “unladylike.” Maybe that’s why more women seem to avoid drug references—and why those who make them convey a special brand of “IDGAF.” Being unladylike, after all, is part of many artists’ images. Here are some women who have changed the public’s perception of women and drugs through drug references.
HALSEY
Halsey sprinkles drug references throughout her songs, which looks like a way of solidifying her image as a rebellious woman, until you realize few of them actually describe her taking drugs. “Are you high enough without the Mary Jane like me?” she sings in “Gasoline,” inspiring a remix by K.A.A.N. titled “Mary Jane.” In “Hurricane,” she sings of someone who “tripped on LSD, and I found myself reminded to keep you far away from me.” “Colors” centers on another toxic person: “You’re only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope.”
These songs may tell an anti-drug message, but in “New Americana,” she sings, “We are the new Americana, high on legal marijuana.” Confirming that “we” includes her, she said at the 2016 VMAs, “I smoke a lot of weed.” Altogether, her songs give an (accurate) picture of drugs as potentially both positive and destructive.
But Miley’s not ashamed of her drug use. “I think weed is the best drug on earth,” she said in a Rolling Stone interview. “One time I smoked a joint with peyote in it, and I saw a wolf howling at the moon. Hollywood is a coke town, but weed is so much better. And molly, too. Those are happy drugs – social drugs. They make you want to be with friends.”
She did, however, announce last spring that she’d stopped using alcohol and drugs. “I haven’t smoked weed in three weeks, which is the longest I’ve ever [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][gone without it],” she told Billboard. “I’m not doing drugs, I’m not drinking, I’m completely clean right now! That was just something that I wanted to do.” Her reason? “I like to surround myself with people that make me want to get better, more evolved, open. And I was noticing, it’s not the people that are stoned.” Halsey might beg to differ.
RIHANNA
Rihanna’s “We Found Love” video is believed to be an ode to the relationship-healing powers of MDMA, with montages of pills, raves, and expanding pupils as she and a male actor rekindle a dying love, though she then appears to leave him after they crash back to reality. The lyric “yellow diamonds” is thought to refer to the drug. But mostly, Rihanna’s a proud stoner, singing in “James Joint,” “I’d rather be smoking weed whenever we breathe.”
NICKI MINAJ
From raving about a guy who “might sell coke” in “Super Bass” to saying she’s “high as hell, I only took a half a pill” in “Anaconda,” drug use is one of the many things Nicki Minaj is unapologetic about. She also establishes herself as defying conventions of femininity by dropping sports references in her songs. (Billboard counted 42.)
MADONNA
With music embracing female sexuality and celebrating clubbing as a way to lose your inhibitions, Madonna created a new archetype of femininity. MDMA was such a central part of this image, she named an album (and a skincare line) MDNA. But when she tried to speak to a younger generation of drug users, it backfired. “Have you seen molly?” she asked a crowd at Ultra, eliciting criticism from Deadmau5 and Paul van Dyk. In response, she claimed she was simply referencing a Cedric Gervais song, tweeting, “I don’t support drug use and I never have.” One notable exception: urging a lover to “get unconscious” in 1994 hit “Bedtime Story,” which she promoted with a pretty trippy video.
JENNY LEWIS
Like most of Jenny Lewis’s music, her drug references paint depressing images. In “Rabbit Fur Coat,” she sings of her estranged mother, “She was living in her car, I was living on the road, and I hear she’s putting that stuff up her nose.” In the eponymous track for her first solo album, “Acid Tongue,” she sings, “I’ve been down to Dixie and dropped acid on my tongue, tripped upon the land ’til enough was enough.” But drugs seem to be a thing of the past for Lewis. Later in the song, she sings, “To be lonely is a habit like smoking or taking drugs, and I’ve quit them both, but man, was it rough.”
JANIS JOPLIN
Long before Halsey or Miley Cyrus, perhaps the OG of female stoner artists was Janis Joplin, whose ode to marijuana, “Mary Jane,” is somewhere between a celebration of the drug’s benefits and a confession of addiction. “I spend my money all on Mary Jane,” she sang. “Now I walk in the street now lookin’ for a friend, one that can lend me some change, and he never questions my reason why ’cause he too loves Mary Jane.” Of course, she would later lose her life to another addiction, dying of an accidental heroin overdose.
AMY WINEHOUSE
Aside from publicly refusing to go to rehab, Winehouse referenced her drug habits in lyrics like “I’d rather have myself and smoke my homegrown” in “Addicted” and “You love blow, and I love puff” in “Back to Back.”
In 2007, she toldRolling Stone that the change in her musical style from jazz to R&B reflected a change in her drug of choice from weed to alcohol. “I used to smoke a lot of weed,” she said. “I suppose if you have an addictive personality then you go from one poison to the other. The whole weed mentality is very hip-hop, and when I made my first record, all I was listening to was hip-hop and jazz. The weed mentality is very defensive, very much like, ‘Fuck you, you don’t know me.’ Whereas the drinking mentality is very ‘Woe is me, oh, I love you, I’m gonna lie in the road for you, I don’t even care if you never even look my way, I’m always gonna love you.'”
ELLA FITZGERALD
Drugs were a central part of 1930s jazz culture, and Fitzgerald was no exception. In “When I Get Low I Get High,” she sang about numbing her pain with drugs, and a few years later, she got more explicit in “Wacky Dust,” a song about a substance that “gives your feet a feeling so breezy” and “brings a dancing jag”—presumably, cocaine. It ends on a less celebratory note, though, warning listeners that “it’s something you can’t trust, and in the end, the rhythm will stop. When it does, then you’ll drop from happy wacky dust.”
TOVE LO
“I can’t lie,” Tove Lo told BBC of “Habits (Stay High),” whose video features her downing drink after drink at a club (and whose lyrics reference the munchies). “What I’m singing about is my life. It’s the truth. I’ve had moments where that [drug-taking] has been a bigger part than it should be. It’s hard to admit to, and I could filter it or find another metaphor for it — but it doesn’t feel right to me.”
“There are so many dudes singing about the same subject,” she elaborated to Untitled. “I wonder if they get the same question or is it because I’m a girl that people ask me, ‘Don’t you feel like you have a responsibility to be a role model?’ And I think: do I have that [responsibility] more than dudes because I’m a girl and I sing pop? I think there’s a kind of denial on how much drugs are a part of people’s lives.”
I Googled how long it takes for milk to go sour, and unless Becca Ryskalczyk can chug a gallon in 2 hours and 45 minutes, I shouldn’t bring it as a gift. Granted, almost accidentally killing a musician would be such a throwback to when I started Morning After, and I do love things coming full circle. But the milk is supposed to be a gesture of good will, to replace the (benignly expired) bottle drained on New Years Eve for makeshift White Russians.
Becca is the leading lady of Bethlehem Steel. Her gift, heard best on Party Naked Forever, is in utilizing a light and sweet voice for a kaleidoscope of emotions. “Deep Back” breaks my heart, “Untitled Entitlement” pretty much captured the current national mood of seething anger and disgust (and the line “sometimes I can’t tell if I’m real anymore” gutted me on a personal level). And yet there’s no fear in raging, either; Bethlehem Steel’s landscape of sound is both fuzzy and ferocious, delicate and dangerous, as all good things should be.
Truth be told, tho, Becca stuck in my mind as a good subject for this column after an encounter at a party in October (she came highly recommended by Jordyn Blakely). And because, in a weird twist of fate, it was in her apartment that I ended 2017. And what was 2017 but the year of a kaleidoscope emotions?
So once again, I find myself braving the (milkless) Brooklyn tundra at the dawn of a new year.
THE SCENE: Becca shows up to Sunshine Laundromat wearing pants-on-pants, a pink Northface (her first, despite misgivings from her SUNY Fredonia days), and excuses herself to glitter-up with one of those Fenty Stix. I’ve never been here, but the flickering pinball-arcade-slash-bar-slash-literal laundromat is her favorite spot.
I grab some sort of holiday ale (I don’t want the holidays to end) in the meantime. It’s, tbh, super late in the afternoon but these days my mornings have started later and later. Plus I brought a scone from Starbucks, so as far as I’m concerned this is a canon breakfast.
When Becca gets back I learn that she’s big, big, big on pinball – it gives her some respite. A while ago she quit smoking, which gave her an out from social interactions that went on too long. “And now I just find the pinball machine in the bar,” she explains later.
I try to be a gentleman and ask what machine is her favorite (Jurassic Park is good; The Big Lebowski is like her White Whale because it’s always out of order). But then, I see it.
“OH THERE’S THE ADDAMS FAMILY PINBALL MACHINE,” I scream. “Can we do that?”
Yes.
4:33 I suck at the Addams Family so we try our luck with Elvira next door and I ask about New Years Day. “How was clean-up the next day?”
She smiles.”I don’t know – I was working. I got home and my apartment was clean. It was magical.”
“So magical! I only got to see two rooms but I liked the entire wall that had streamers.”
“Oooh, it’s down,” she says.
My face drops. “What happened?”
“It was smelling really weird, and then it dyed our wall blue.”
“Was it like, dollar store streamers?” I ask, as if 75% of my apartment isn’t a collection of Dollar Tree finds.
“It was. It was definitely smelling like a dollar store and making me feel sick and sneeze a lot.” That’s fair; sometimes beautiful things can be toxic and wall-damaging.
We suck a little bit less at Elvira, and that’s a huge comfort.
5:08 Meanwhile, at the Jurassic Park machine we talk about resolutions and maybe Jeff Goldblum a bit (“So hot.” “SO HOT.”)
She mulls over her wish for 2018 as a plastic raptor pops its head up for a charming shriek. “I want to be…less anxious.”
“Do you have a plan of attack with that? Because I haven’t found one for my anxiety yet.”
Becca’s idea is more about streamlining her responsibilities, rather than spreading herself too thin. “Maybe I just should be doing less,” she ponders. “Just not taking on a lot of unnecessary things, like ‘I need to plan three things all at the same time.’ And then it’s just TOO much. Or ‘I need to be social’ but really I just want to eat stew and watch The Office.”
Word. “That sounds like a perfect life plan and anyone who loved you would not keep you from doing that.”
The secondary goal is to get more into make-up, and she’s currently obsessing over Rihanna’s line.
“It’s the galaxy palette, look at that shit,” Becca says, gleefully pulling up the sparkling polychrome on her phone.
I do my best raptor impression in response. “That’s fucking gorgeous.”
“I know.” She goes back to the Goldblum-sanctioned game.
“Wait, which color do you want the most? Gun to your head? If you could only have one.”
“The blue,” she says decisively, and I look back at the pallette.
“The dark or the light?”
“Fuck, the light,” she says, almost panicked as she taps on the side buttons. “The light right now.”
I look through Rihanna’s collection through the spiderweb of Becca’s iPhone screen, feeling highly uncertain I could ever pull off a seaweed-colored mouth.
“You can wear green lipstick if you want,” Becca says encouragingly. Apparently getting into cosmetics is sort of a new-old thing; she was all about covering her face in her teen years, and then entered a make-up sabbatical. She had this epiphany where she thought, “Why the fuck do I need to wear this?” But once the “need” was taken out of the question she was firmly in the camp of “This is so much fun!”
“Before I would wear it because I was really self-conscious. Like I’d wear concealer and eyeliner and I couldn’t leave the house without my nails painted,” she explains. “And something flipped. So now that that’s behind me and I want to go all the fuck out there for ME. There isn’t any anxiety of, ‘Oh I can’t let anybody see me without eyeliner on.'”
And that’s the right reason to wear make-up. It’s what Rihanna would want.
5:46 At this point I’m onto another Holiday Ale and Becca’s getting reflective over her Miller High Life. It’s a tough subject: the loss of Shea Stadium. I know, I know, we’re all still fucked up about it. But she grew with it as a sound intern, then worked there, and even practiced in the venue.
“It was really special. I left for a year to go to Vermont to build this camper house and then with the last days I was on tour. I missed… everything. But I was building this fucking house to live outside of Shea.” She laughs half-heartedly. “It’s so crazy, it’s so sad.”
Her own emotional kaleidoscope shifted from being upset to getting angry. “I went into Henry Rollins mode and was like ‘Everyone in fucking Williamsburg can all get fucked, fuck this, fuck that guy, let’s destroy the world.'” (Split second pause.) “In a positive, ‘Keep DIY alive sort of way.'” She’s still great at capturing the collective mood, though.
“I think I definitely just kind of repressed a lot of Shea things because I left,” she says. “I had my nights while I was on tour… like I was playing shows and going to National Parks. And one night I found myself in a field of wild sage -”
“Where did you find a field of wild sage?” I ask, incredulous, almost dropping my ale. “Where did you go where that was a thing?”
She pages through her memory. “Arizona…? It was some government public land spot. And I just remembered taking a ton of it. I was making these cartinis which were just warm gin and warm olives.”
“I love gin but I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“I made like a huge one in my plastic cup. And I picked up all this sage and was throwing it into a fire. And that was the last night of Shea and I couldn’t be there,” she concludes.
There’s something charming about the off-beat ritual. We all say good bye to things in different ways.
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Relevant found items from scenic Mary Grace’s room.
Speaking of which, fuck, I need to say goodbye. I eat my cranberry scone on my trip home, the sky pitch black above me. When I get home my NYE dress is still brightly ultraviolet on my floor, the brocade remnant of 2017: the year of a kaleidoscope emotions.
Wanna know a non-secret? I’m a big, big advocate for expressing those blue and red toned feelings, turning it into art, or having it fuel a story. But I also love being able to be naked with someone, emotionally naked, not just in a boned-all-night-to-Belle-and-Sebastian kind of way. This scene, at its most earnest, bonds people together into this drunken web of catharsis. And among all the loss and chaos, that was the bittersweet revelation of at the end of 2017.
Not everything that ends has to go sour, because you can always take that leftover pain and turn it into something wonderful to share with someone. You can throw out those beautiful, lethal streamers and finally feel like you can breathe. You can pick up a make-up brush again for the right reasons and not the wrong ones.
Not every ending is an ending. Sometimes it’s an evolution.
“Work, work, work, work, work, work/You see me I be work, work, work, work, work, work,” she barks through the café sound system – as if she knows.
Another sunny day in the neighborhood. It is loping along at a drowsy pace. Parks are barren – full of empty benches. There is no line at the post office, and my favorite corner in the local coffee shop is dutifully awaiting me. I’m not dreaming. I’m not lucky. I am unemployed. And it’s just a weekday.
As luck would have it, I’ve been laid off three times in the past three years. Downsizing, outsourcing, budget cuts, project fulfillment – I’ve seen it all, and yet each time it hits me like an uppercut…like getting dumped when you thought everything was going awesome. And everything was going awesome…until it wasn’t anymore.
Another song comes on: Elvis Costello’s embittered “Welcome To The Working Week” off 1977’s My Aim Is True. I envision Costello back in the early ‘70s, working as a data entry clerk for Elizabeth Arden and hating every minute of it. “Welcome to the working week,” he sneers. “Oh, I know it don’t thrill you, I hope it don’t kill you/Welcome to the working week/You gotta do it till you’re through it, so you better get to it.” The irony of course being that it is the workless week(s) I have to get through now.
But this time ‘round I am not alone. It wasn’t long ago when I told my friend M that everything was “going to be ok!” M had recently been laid off from her job of five years, and I assured her that she needn’t self-flagellate for collecting unemployment.
“The idea that going through a period of unemployment is being lazy or counterproductive to society is bullshit,” I argued. “That’s just a false, capitalistic construct that a lot of developed countries don’t abide by. Look at Sweden! They get artist grants on the regular! Paternity leave! No one calls the Swedish lazy!” I consoled M with fervor, hoping to empower my hardworking pal who’d fallen on hard times. “You’re going to LOVE unemployment! Hell, I wish I had been on it longer!”
Somewhere in the distance, Riri sang and wagged a finger, “When you a gon’ learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn”? Before I could answer, I was plunged into joblessness. Again. I turned to find that ardent part of myself, the one that I’d dispatched to boost M’s confidence. She was nowhere to be found.
On Monday, in broad daylight, M and I sat on her couch; updating resumes, drafting emails, and calling the New York State Department of Unemployment Services, which has constructed a densely layered multiverse of automated menu options, dead-end key commands, and spontaneous call terminations. Dante himself could not have imagined this many circles of hell. The Specials’ bristling cover of “Maggie’s Farm” bleated from M’s tablet. I repeatedly punched zero in the hopes of being delivered to a real-time human, but was escorted back to the beginning of the menu options instead.
Veterans of creative industries get it. Writers, actors, magicians, poets, clowns, and yes, musicians; it’s a hard life making a living. Like Rihanna and Elvis Costello, Dolly Parton knew all about werk when she wrote “9 to 5,” singing the sour truth in that sweet, sweet voice: “Workin’ 9 to 5, whoa what a way to make a livin’/Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’/They just use your mind and they never give you credit/It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it.”
In this time of uncertainty, I tell myself that it’s important to have historical perspective. It’s crucial to remember that bitching about work (or lack thereof), is as human as bipedalism, and has likely occurred since the dawn of occupation. While Rihanna today sings, “You see me do me dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt,” a 12th century blacksmith has surely larked, “You see me do me smelt, smelt, smelt, smelt, smelt, smelt,” and so on and so forth. Throughout history, where there has been work, there has been animosity; where there has been unemployment, there has been languor.
Hating your job is a time-honored tradition. So too is fearing eternal joblessness, and, as Bill Callahan sang in the ‘90s, longing “to be of use.” But why are we reduced to this? Why is our identity plastered slapdash around a core of employment? They don’t live like this is in Italy, right?
Perhaps philosopher Henri Lefebvre explained it best in his 1968 page-turner, The Sociology of Marx: “– man loses himself in his works. He loses his way among the products of his own effort, which turn against him and weight him down, become a burden.” Or, as Morrissey sang, “Frankly, Mr. Shankly, this position I’ve held/It pays my way, and it corrodes my soul/I want to leave, you will not miss me/I want to go down in musical history.”
I think about how Morrissey once worked as a hospital porter, and, perhaps annoyed that everyone around him was more miserable than he, quit and went on the dole. The Smiths frontman then used the bulk of his unemployment benefits to buy concert tickets. Morrissey sings about jobs more than most pop stars, and has certainly had them, making his claim in 1984’s “You’ve Got Everything Now” that he’s “Never had a job/Because I’ve never wanted one,” only half true.
Jeff Buckley was a Hotel Receptionist. Alanis Morissette was an Envelope Stuffer. Looking through a list of “51 Jobs Musicians Had Before They Were Famous” makes me feel better for some reason. Ian Curtis worked as a Welfare Officer. Chuck Berry (RIP), a Beautician. Rod Stewart dug graves. Henry Rollins managed a Häagen-Dazs ice cream shop in DC.
I wonder if, while scooping equal portions of Rocky Road and Butter Pecan into a waffle cone, Henry Rollins was thinking of a passage from The Communist Manifesto: “…labourers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity, like every other article of commerce…” “Much like this sugary, frozen treat,” mumbled the pre-Black Flag muscle man. While dipping the high-piled scoops into a vat of rainbow sprinkles, Häagen-Dazs Rollins must have pondered Marx and Engels further, noting that, “…the work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and, consequently, all charm for the workman. He becomes an appendage of the machine…”
But let’s face it, ice cream Henry – we’re all appendages of the machine with or without those pesky day jobs – no matter how you scoop, sprinkle, or dip it. If you look to The Jam’s lay-off-themed “Smithers-Jones,” you’ll hear the tale of an obedient, white-collar worker who gets the axe. The suit-wearing title character arrives at his long-term office job one Monday only to be told, “There’s no longer a position for you/Sorry Smithers-Jones.”
And then there’s good ‘ol Morrissey again, who famously sang, “I was looking for a job, and then I found a job/And heaven knows I’m miserable now.”
Oh, c’mon Moz, it ain’t alllll that bad. When talking to my sister about my recent loafer status, she assures me that things could be much worse. At least I don’t have to dig graves like Rod Stewart. At least I don’t have to work in a slaughterhouse like Ozzy Ozborne. I have friends and family who love me, an awesome part-time writing gig, and, unlike my sister’s new puppy, Darwin: at least I don’t have eczema on my butthole.
Yesterday, artist Told Slant announced he was canceling his SXSW performances after discovering the something alarming in the artist contract – there’s a clause stating that “foreign artists” performing on certain visas may not participate in unofficial showcases and that doing so “may result in immediate deportation, revoked passport and denied entry by US Customs Border Patrol at US ports of entry.” The managing director of SXSW has been busy doing damage control, first stating that Told Slant put two portions of the contract together to make it seem worse than it is (which Stereogum quickly debunked) before backtracking to say the clause is meant to deal with more serious infractions than playing unofficial shows. The Future of Music Coalition published a breakdown of the controversy as a mounting list of artists get serious about possibly boycotting the festival. Victoria Ruiz of Downtown Boys has started a petition to remove the clause from the contract.
Rihanna Honored By Harvard
Havard named the singer Humanitarian of the Year and received the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award for starting a nonprofit that helps Caribbean children who are attending school in the United States, starting an oncology and nuclear medicine center in Barbados, and her Believe Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children around the world. Go to 1:13 in the ceremony’s livestream to watch her speech.
Other Highlights
Lady Gaga will replace Beyonce at Coachella; Lorde, Cold War Kids, and Thurston Moore all released new videos and music; check out the awesome winners of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest; members of Wilco/Deerhoof/Minutemen formed a super group; and a Roger Waters album is coming in May.
The incomparable maven of Detroit pop, Bevlove released her EP Talk That Shit last week which pop, locks and drops feral beats with a disciplined hip-hop assertiveness that undoubtedly rewires the game.
The 5-track EP is unexpectedly varied but remarkably consistent. It’s as if each song is a chapter describing the same night out documenting the fun, the madness and the humanizing need to not go home alone all filtered through Bevlove’s prismatic scepter of diva-dom. Yes, Lady Love reigns supreme on Talk That Shit but unlike other commanding, radio-ready pop endeavors, there is nothing isolating or exclusive about this particular journey into Detroit’s after-hours and Bev’s sexified psyche. It’s a call to bad bitches and vulnerable vixens to not just get lit, but to shine through the club fog and to rise above the unreturned text messages from that dude.
Opening with “Do What I Say,” a BDSM, girl-gang anthem that self-satisfies without apology leads into “Freaks” which modernizes Whodini’s 1984 classic and acts as a word of warning to future gentrifiers and suburban visitors. Then comes Bev’s brand of satiated delicacy with “Save Me” which doesn’t stray sonically but explores her range of tenderness and soaring vocals that are reminiscent of vintage Rihanna. Bev’s emotional duality is a vibrant essence especially when she goes from achingly wanting someone to stay and save her and flips the script on “Leave With Me” which details a one night stand and mixed signals, where (once again) she takes control; the EP’s constant and Bevlove’s secret weapon. Collectively, Talk That Shit is an immovable powerhouse that is relevant yet stays two steps ahead. However, the closing track “Champagne Bubbles” is unbelievably self-realized and there’s no doubt that Beyonce herself would envy the song start to finish. From the placement of vocal flight and the cathartic, heart-opening sonic build, “Bubbles” is a complete thought and is evidence of Bevlove’s inevitable ascent to the next-next level.
Beverly Johnson is Bevlove, Detroit‘s premier pop goddess. She writes. She sings. She’s changing the game. Produced by SYBLYNG and Assemble Sound and directed by Detroit visual wonder-kids The Right Brothers, “Do What I Say” dropped last night at midnight. Relevant both conceptually and sonically, the track proves that Bevlove is more than a breakthrough, she’s a wrecking ball.
“DWIS” acts as a seductive instructional and a warning for future lovers, victims and anyone who dare take on Bevlove on the streets or in the sheets. “DWIS” could easily be the sequel to Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have my Money” and the video could be the more sinister, less PG sister to rival girl-gang in Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” The video features some of Detroit’s favorite bad girls following behind leading lady Love with torches and man eating scowls, ready to attack. Flashing to smokey dance scenes and the ultimate pink confetti girl party. Where “DWIS” bares its visual duality is when we see Bevlove in bed with white feathers floating around her lingerie clad angel self, making us believe she is to be trusted. But we know better. Bevlove uses her vocals as a Trojan horse, delivering the lyrics “Such a fucking lady/tonight I’m going to take control.” Her voice breaks into another stratosphere, departing from her hardened hip-hop cadence to reveal ethereal tones and a richness that Beyoncé herself would envy. The song is perfectly crafted with everything that makes a song raunchy yet radio ready and impossible to shake from your head. The catchy hook, the bass beat and choppy hip-hop delivery is current enough to blend in and original enough to set its own precedent for badass-ery. The video celebrates women and flips the script on sex, desire and not taking shit. Bevlove is a great reminder of why you should get you a girl that can do both.
Let’s admit it: 2014 has been a rough year for news. Missing planes, police killings and various states’ decisions to limit women’s access to health care (all together now, deep breaths) are just a few things that happened. So, to brighten things up, I’ve rounded up my favorite style icons from the music world. These ladies go outside the circle of accepted streetwear to find their own unique looks that we all should aspire to.
Zola Jesus/Nika Danilova
Zola Jesus is one of my personal style icons. Her style is dark and minimal, yet still edgy and cool. My favorite of her looks this year was the promotional photo passed around for her album Taiga. In it, she’s wearing a black dress that has what looks like a leather corset and this huge plate that looked like she cut out a circle and stuck her head through. Straight, long dark hair and dark red lipstick. Perfect.
Annie Clark has always had a cool style, but when she died her hair white/lavender/gray to serve as the look for her new album and tour, things got even better. The best way to describe her look is futuristic rocker chic. Even just the album cover of her latest release has her looking regal as she sits on her thrown, wearing a long sleeved, floor length dress. Even when she was featured in Time Out New York wearing a simple crew neck black dress, she still looks dazzlingly otherworldly. If her look is of the future, then I’m on board.
No matter her hair color this year, Grimes kept it fresh. From cutting her hair into a super short straight bang to wearing sparkly gold blazers, a Simpson’s themed sweatshirt or a yellow fuzzy sweater, her style is always keeping our attention. She wears what makes her happy and that is that. She’s one of several younger female musicians who aren’t afraid to be adventurous with her outfits. And thank goodness.
All I really need to say about Charli and her look is “pussy power.” She’s tough and fearless and sexy, in the best way. She’ll wear bomber jackets and platform heels and whatever the hell she wants. So much black fishnets, leather, choker collars, plaid miniskirts, fringe and two-piece matching outfits. And she has a sour-but-sweet attitude to top it all off. We’re so in love.
Lucky for us, when the Haim sisters get dressed, we get three times the style. All of them have different taste altered to their liking, but it’s the same aesthetic: girl rockers who are here to kick some ass. Lots of black leather and denim jackets. You’re likely to find Este sporting either a dress or a skirt/crop combo. Alana has a more edgy look, more likely to pair leather with neon colors. Danielle pulls off the menswear look with button ups and blazers. Each of their looks compliments the others. It’s almost like they have some sort of sisterly telepathic energy that runs through them, keeping their styles together.
Is there a year that Beyonce doesn’t run the fashion game? This year she kicked it up with her concert outfits with her On The Run Tour with Jay Z. Leotards for days. And Bey is the one to rock them all. The 7/11 music video where she wore variations of underwear and sweatshirts, and even an upside down visor that looked like a crown. Then there was the gold sequin Tom Ford jersey. Really, there’s nothing left to say.
Do I really need to explain why the 2014 CFDA Style Icon Award winner is on this list? From baring it all at the awards ceremony in an Adam Salman dress to kicking it in a tee and cuttoffs in her ever-changing hair colors, RiRi has a fearless attitude when it comes to how she dresses herself. Vogue praised her style and put her on their March fashion cover and W did the same with the coveted fall fashion September issue. And she was recently named creative director of Puma. She truly shined this year and we should all be paying attention.
I don’t care for Taylor Swift. Not my music, not my thing. But I do have to admit that the girl really upped her style when she ditched her former permanent uniform of sundresses and long curls for a more retro style and long bob. She really came into her own. When she’s not wearing glittery crop tops and high-waisted skirts while performing, you can find her strutting around New York in shirtdresses, button ups, and even… pants. Maybe hanging out with Karlie has rubbed off on her? Whatever it is, it’s working. So props to you, Tay Tay, even if you hold you purse really weirdly.
