Demi Lovato's 'Commander in Chief' Is Bad But the Sentiment Is Good, Please Just Vote
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Demetria, honey, I’m sorry, no: Demi Lovato, “Commander in Chief”— Listen, I always want the best for Demi Lovato and her lil’ friend Poot, but I cannot abide this protest anthem because my patience for protest anthems is very, very low at this stage in the game. As a song, I don’t love it, but her message imploring people to vote is good, and everyone should. There’s a man in a MAGA hat in here? This entire video reminds me of that Maroon 5 video with all the famous women, except this time it’s actors. Or real people. Or actors! I don’t know. The song is bad, the sentiment is fine, and mostly, please just vote, thanks. —Megan Reynolds
Papi, si: Bad Bunny ft. Ivy Queen and Nesi, “Yo Perreo Sola” (Remix) – No matter what anyone else says, the original of this track was the song of the summer, particularly because we were all, in fact, perreando sola. But the addition of her royal majesty Ivy Queen, who hasn’t aged since the day I was born, elevates this song from good to pendeja power anthem of the winter. It is a blessing for the ears. —Shannon Melero
Sure, but also, weird?: Sharon Van Etten, “Let Go” – This cinematic Sharon Van Etten tune—written in collaboration with film producer Giorgio Angelini and composer Mike Semple for the forthcoming documentary Feels Good Man about the creator of the Pepe the Frog meme—is sparse, written around an ascending guitar riff that sounds like a scale, her distinctive voice placed low in the mix, fading into the background as the percussion builds. It’s really beautiful, far better than it needs to be for a movie about a Nazi frog, but what do you expect? It’s Sharon Van Etten. —Maria Sherman
Y: The Body, “A Lament” – Not for the faint of heart, noise duo The Body have a way of structuring distortion like a symphony—they build, they collapse, they break, they haunt like an opera in hell, built of broken instruments. “A Lament,” crawls under the skin and sits in your gut, a palpable, uncomfortability. Listen with the lights down low. —MS
Yes!: Cakes Da Killa x Proper Villains, “Don Dada” – Look, I don’t have much to say about this track or this video, but I’m glad that Cakes is back making the fun, energetic music that attracted me to him in the first place. The only bad thing about this song is that I can’t dance to it in the club. What else will this virus take from us?! —Ashley Reese
Y: Ribbon Stage, “Rid Myself” – Surely I’ve sung the praises of New York’s Ribbon Stage in this space before—but hell, I’ll do it again, so few things feel as good as this—“Rid Myself,” a quick minute-15 of lo-fi, noisy indiepop, self-contained and self-assured, fuzzy and familiar. I wish it went on endlessly, but the most satiating and sweet songs never do. —MS
What’s “yes” in saxophone?: The Weeknd featuring Kenny G, “In Your Eyes (Remix)” – This is the second attempt to get this song off the ground and onto airwaves (a remix with Doja Cat dropped this summer to apparent apathy by listeners). I’m not mad at that at all, as I think this song is lovely and deserving of mass adoration. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t it achieve it, except maybe for the Weeknd himself—his former No. 1 “Blinding Lights” barely budged from the Top 5 all summer on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s still at No. 6, after 45 weeks on the chart. Anyway, a stunt such as this full leaning in to the ‘80s sensibility by slapping on pop sax titan Kenny G is just fine in my book. Note that Kenny G doesn’t really wail on the song until its final 45 seconds but once it hits it’s like being in the most comfortable dentist office waiting room of your life. —Rich Juzwiak
Papi, si: Bad Bunny ft. Ivy Queen and Nesi, “Yo Perreo Sola” (Remix) – No matter what anyone else says, the original of this track was the song of the summer, particularly because we were all, in fact, perreando sola. But the addition of her royal majesty Ivy Queen, who hasn’t aged since the day I was born, elevates this song from good to pendeja power anthem of the winter. It is a blessing for the ears. —Shannon Melero
Sure, but also, weird?: Sharon Van Etten, “Let Go” – This cinematic Sharon Van Etten tune—written in collaboration with film producer Giorgio Angelini and composer Mike Semple for the forthcoming documentary Feels Good Man about the creator of the Pepe the Frog meme—is sparse, written around an ascending guitar riff that sounds like a scale, her distinctive voice placed low in the mix, fading into the background as the percussion builds. It’s really beautiful, far better than it needs to be for a movie about a Nazi frog, but what do you expect? It’s Sharon Van Etten. —Maria Sherman
Y: The Body, “A Lament” – Not for the faint of heart, noise duo The Body have a way of structuring distortion like a symphony—they build, they collapse, they break, they haunt like an opera in hell, built of broken instruments. “A Lament,” crawls under the skin and sits in your gut, a palpable, uncomfortability. Listen with the lights down low. —MS
Yes!: Cakes Da Killa x Proper Villains, “Don Dada” – Look, I don’t have much to say about this track or this video, but I’m glad that Cakes is back making the fun, energetic music that attracted me to him in the first place. The only bad thing about this song is that I can’t dance to it in the club. What else will this virus take from us?! —Ashley Reese
Y: Ribbon Stage, “Rid Myself” – Surely I’ve sung the praises of New York’s Ribbon Stage in this space before—but hell, I’ll do it again, so few things feel as good as this—“Rid Myself,” a quick minute-15 of lo-fi, noisy indiepop, self-contained and self-assured, fuzzy and familiar. I wish it went on endlessly, but the most satiating and sweet songs never do. —MS
What’s “yes” in saxophone?: The Weeknd featuring Kenny G, “In Your Eyes (Remix)” – This is the second attempt to get this song off the ground and onto airwaves (a remix with Doja Cat dropped this summer to apparent apathy by listeners). I’m not mad at that at all, as I think this song is lovely and deserving of mass adoration. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t it achieve it, except maybe for the Weeknd himself—his former No. 1 “Blinding Lights” barely budged from the Top 5 all summer on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s still at No. 6, after 45 weeks on the chart. Anyway, a stunt such as this full leaning in to the ‘80s sensibility by slapping on pop sax titan Kenny G is just fine in my book. Note that Kenny G doesn’t really wail on the song until its final 45 seconds but once it hits it’s like being in the most comfortable dentist office waiting room of your life. —Rich Juzwiak
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