Entry-Level Carly / Next-Level Charli
My Carly+Charli lore begins like a fever dream with the song “Backseat (feat. Carly Rae Jepsen)”. This track is the decoder ring for this mix, and perfectly demonstrates the parallel, and yet forever discernible, dual earnestness that twists into the DNA-like backbone of my love of contemporary pop. The first time I heard “Backseat” I was so challenged by it I almost left the room. I was already a closet Carly Rae fan from the moment I first heard “Call Me Maybe” [1]. Lots of friends I knew tried to reject the song for being vapid and dumb in a way that was so annoyingly, and, in retrospect, obviously, sexist and was so the style of the times. After “Emotion”, her second album, dropped, a cultural about-face took place and all was corrected as she became an undeniable indie institution, at least in west philly. People would still pointedly praise the production over the song-craft but that's what you get for hanging out with audio engineers. A win is a win; those were happy days. Enter Charli XCX with “Backseat”: A song full of brilliant twists and turns meta-modern memes: Car tire squeals; brand watermarks; and overwhelming shrill synths. Whatever my initial repulsion was, it didn't last long. I imagine I was trying to keep to myself that I loved it and was embarrassed to admit it to those around me. Life is weird and sometimes I would find myself trying to fit in with the folks around me (at that time punks and DIY singer/songwriters) more than I actually wanted to. I was probably at one of those junctures. At any rate, my love is no secret anymore.
Charli+Carly woke something in me. They helped me soften and chill, but also get back in touch with parts of me that had been hiding for a time. I don't feel like going into detail here, but I will say it felt like being myself. Learning and singing these songs is something I can own the whole way down. The femininity of it; I could live in the hyper-emotion; the melodrama; the biggest feels. And down at the bottom of it all is something so earnest, playful, and joyful. It's also wonderfully silly, endlessly campy, and effortlessly delightful.
The goal of this playlist is to chart the perimeter of this femme-pop continent. Any release by either artist is deep enough on its own where I don't know what I could possibly add to that discourse by making an hour-long playlist. Charli even does sequel songs sometimes?? How do you make room for those??? It's nutz! While I did consider attempting to show those arcs I decided I was overthinking it (shocker). Sail around a bit and find your own entry point. Hopefully this mix does what it says on the tin. <3
~c
Check out the music video. It totally owns. ↩︎