Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead

[Nekujak]

This is Olivia Rodrigo's latest release and it immediately caught my ear when I first heard it.

The chorus is the overwhelming highlight here, which has an unexpected old-timey feel with big stacked harmonies and a very lyrical and catchy melody. It just sounds so different than all the songs out there with melodies that typically span a range of only 2-4 notes. And I can't get the overall vocal sound of the chorus out of my head - it's a brilliant production.

I've seen some reviewers mention this song has shades of 80s new wave and synthpop, but I'm hearing elements that reach much further back. To me, the chorus sounds like it could be right at home as a traditional folk song. For example, I can easily imagine Peter, Paul & Mary singing it.

The other interesting thing about this song is the phrasing of the lyrics and how they meld with the melody. I'm deliberately linking the lyric video below (as opposed to the music video) to focus on the delivery of the lyrics, which I find somewhat unexpected and unusual in places - for instance, most of the first verse and the "feminine intuition" line in the chorus. I definitely wouldn't have come up phrasing like that. On the one hand it's fresh and clever, but on the other, it also feels like the lyrics were simply pasted on top of the melody with no regard to any synergy between the two. Either way, the result makes for interesting ear candy.

The lyrics also have some interesting words to latch onto, like "walls of Versailles", "Pisces and a Gemini", and the Cure reference in the first verse.

Kudos to Rodrigo for not having an army of songwriters attached to the song. It's just her, the producer, and one other writer.

Enjoy!

​

 

[Reid Rosefelt]

Another song I love that she wrote with producer Dan Nigro.

 

[BDT]

This is Olivia Rodrigo's latest release and it immediately caught my ear when I first heard it.

Yep.
I don't particularly like her singing style, but she and her songwriting partner Dan Nigro make a great team.
From the lyrics to the melodies to the overall production, everything is very, very good.
Gives me hope for the future of (pop) music.

 

[Polkasound]

The other interesting thing about this song is the phrasing of the lyrics and how they meld with the melody. I'm deliberately linking the lyric video below (as opposed to the music video) to focus on the delivery of the lyrics, which I find somewhat unexpected and unusual in places - for instance, most of the first verse and the "feminine intuition" line in the chorus. I definitely wouldn't have come up phrasing like that. On the one hand it's fresh and clever, but on the other, it also feels like the lyrics were simply pasted on top of the melody with no regard to any synergy between the two. Either way, the result makes for interesting ear candy.

This is the part that turns me off because to me, it sounds like desperately-crammed lyrics. A famous person could get away with it [e.g. Max Martin's "now that I've become who I really are..."] but the rest of us would be crucified for our impropriety.

The line about Versailles... I get it. It fits. But it also sounds like a desperate rhyme because it abruptly interjects academia into a simply-written song. Think of how many young girls are going to be singing..." verse eye" without knowing what it means. And then looking up the lyrics and still not knowing what it means. I would have opted for an alternate lyric there.

But take my opinions with a grain of salt because I'm pretty rigid when it comes to songwriting.

Overall, it's a well-produced song for the target market. Its simplicity is its strength, and I give it a lot of credit for that. The chorus is easy to sing and so many young women can relate to the lyrics, resulting in an ingenious hook.

I've seen some reviewers mention this song has shades of 80s new wave and synthpop, but I'm hearing elements that reach much further back. To me, the chorus sounds like it could be right at home as a traditional folk song. For example, I can easily imagine Peter, Paul & Mary singing it.

Yep, I hear both. The turnaround has a distinct 1980's retro feel, and the harmonies invoke a "Mamas & the Papas" 1960's sound.

 

[Nekujak]

Yep, I hear both. The turnaround has a distinct 1980's retro feel

Yes, instrumentally, it definitely harkens back to the 80s. The solo break even lifts the first part of the instrumental hook from the Cure's "In Between Days". I keep expecting it to continue with remainder of the Cure's hook.

This is the part that turns me off because to me, it sounds like desperately-crammed lyrics. A famous person could get away with it [e.g. Max Martin's "now that I've become who I really are..."] but the rest of us would be crucified for our impropriety.

It's interesting that you mention this, because as I've been listening more closely and critically to the song, I've begun to notice more and more how the synergy between lyrics and melody is somewhat clumsy, and in fact, in one particular instance, it's what most songwriters would consider flat out wrong.

In the first verse, the line: "I hope you never finish that beer" places the word "that" on the strongest note of the melody. Academically speaking, this is a clear songwriting no-no. If this were submitted in a songwriting class, the teacher would likely throw it back for rewriting.

But delving deeper, I noticed the third co-writer on the song is Amy Allen. I had never heard of her, but when I looked her up, I was floored by her credits. Graduating from Berklee College of Music, she's been nominated 3 times for the Songwriter of the Year Grammy and won twice, her list of writing credits reads like a who's who of contemporary pop royalty, and since 2018, she's penned 11 top 10 hits in the US (even more internationally) with dozens more in the top 40. She's practically a modern day Diane Warren. So how could this gifted songwriting giant make such an obvious writing gaff?

I've come to several conclusions:

• As you say, a famous artist can more easily get away with breaking rules and norms. After all, fans are already on Rodrigo's side and want to see her succeed. This was actually my wife's first reaction, and she loves the song.
• Maybe sloppy songwriting doesn't matter as long as you have one undeniably irresistable element in the song, be it the chorus, an instrumental hook, a unique sound, a production technique, whatever... anything that makes the audience want to hear it again and again, and happily overlook any lesser parts of a song to get to it.
• Perhaps the traditionally accepted rules of songwriting are simply not that important when it comes to song appeal. We songwriters might bristle at the transgressions, but there are countless songs that from a purely academic perspective, are poorly written yet have achieved the highest levels of success and acceptance. It's sort of the same with mixing - great songs have succeeded in spite of objectively bad mixes.
• And maybe Amy Allen, the music industry, and today's listening audience know something I don't. Maybe what's considered acceptable and commercially viable has evolved and changed into something I don't recognize. There are certainly many contemporary pop songs I simply don't grasp. Just one example for me is Ariana Grande. She's a phenomenal singer, but I can't recall any of her songs - they just seem like a wash of musical noise with no strong melodic hooks. But that doesn't seem to matter to the rest of the world.

Anyway, the undeniable fact remains, I simply enjoy listening to this song, warts and all. Whatever magic ingredients got stirred into the songwriting cauldron on this one, it resulted in some serious musical mojo.