olivia rodrigo sets a record

she talks about that here with phoebe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18UGudtPZHE

Her Tiny Desk Concert was filmed in a DMV office; nice gag!

man, could they have pushed her guitarists further off to the sides on Austin City Limits? they're not even in the straight-on shot, they're off in the shadows.

it's weird! and it feels icky.

Ended up trying to buy tix for one/either of the Greek shows (my pal & his family were in, if I could snag 'em) – it was a frustrating/depressing experience. Cool idea for her two play two shows at a smaller venue, but the scheme clearly couldn't support the demand for Time's "Entertainer of the Year."

(If my number had come up in the "Verified Fan" lottery thing, it may have gone differently. Right now, I could buy "AXS Premium" tickets for a mere $1,099 each – not including fees, that's where they get ya)

yeah I signed up for the Verified Fan thing and was notified that I'm on the waitlist last night so I think the only thing this Verified Fan service does is notify you ahead of time that you have no chance in hell of getting a ticket, saves me the time and minor stress of trying to get a ticket come 10am on Friday morning

She has a longform "Road Trip" thing on Disney+ with some nice performances (new arrangements / instrumentation) in picturesque settings.

The doc is also sprinkled with "in-studio" clips from the Sour sessions – including the moment when Dan Nigro (purportedly) hits upon the "Brutal" riff; Olivia starts improvising a melody/lyric; and (in the next clip) they record the finished song the next day. (This action is kicked off by some mini angst around needing one more "upbeat track" for the album.)

(Nigro says "I'll go home and listen to some Elvis Costello" – just kidding)

She's doing "Seether" on tour:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1hniLIF7IU

(content warning: rapidly flashing lights)

(also: severely '90s fashion)

Trying to place this into my own time frame, I decided it would have been like Debbie Gibson covering "Leader of the Pack" on her first tour.

I think your math is off... 1987 - 28 = 1959

(that's assuming you're going for that level of precision, lol)

OMG, she's also doing "Complicated":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFS1XL3ns5w

I feel like I am being personally targeted.

My math was just "teenage singer performs "feisty" female-identified song that was popular a few years before she was born", in which case I'm three years off.

Gotcha! Under the precision approach (which makes the passage of time feel even more extreme), it's like Gibson doing the Shirelles' "Dedicated to the One I Love."

on the ground report from the stage crew in Portland:

I've been working for 11 hours now...doors are in 30, we have 2 trusses to fly, drop silks to re-basket...and she's still rehearsing.

This is what occurs when it is the first show of the tour...

Debbie Gibson covered the Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night" (orig 1956) in 1989.

I uncomplicatedly love that Rodrigo is into "Seether"

if it wasn't clear, my c&p above is as much a tribute to Rodrigo's work ethic as it is the crew's

XP A real head would have covered "All Hail Me".

What I love about the “Seether” / “Complicated” covers is that yes they were big hits (and she’s a big hit artist, after all), but also they sound like her “voice” (or at least a voice not unlike hers)—if those songs didn’t exist, and she wrote & recorded them for her next album, it would feel natural. Playing old covers could have seemed too obvious and “on the nose,” but instead choosing those particular songs somehow feels like an ingenious fleshing-out of an aesthetic, it’s so perfect.

(Also, while 90s/Y2K nostalgia is obviously big right now, it doesn’t feel like she’s chasing trends as much as embodying them.)

I know it's not Team Dresch but "Seether" wasn't a pop hit in the way that "Complicated" or "Driver's Licence" were pop hits, was it? Actually seems like an interesting choice.

no, seether was a niche modern rock radio hit, 'complicated' was a pretty massive pop hit.

let me know when she does a letters to cleo song

"Seether" was also a big MTV "hit"

Sounds like Alanis showed up at Tuesday night’s show, and they did “You Oughta Know.”

between bringing up Avril a few weeks ago and Alanis on Tuesday, she sure loves her Cancon icons

I like that she's using the fact that she only has like a half hour of songs as an excuse to deliver history-of-rock education to her teen fans instead of just turning in a short set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmvQXHoCoDM

Guess it was inevitable

(Cringe factor of that video is a solid 8.5)

Jabba and Leia vibes

I think it's cool she's offering her forthcoming single in CD single format (in addition to 7")

reasonably priced as well! fully expected to see it be $10 for the CD too.

haha, i just lol'd at "Jabba and Leia vibes" before realizing it was me who wrote it.

i am so funny! (and mean.)

I mentioned that line to a few folks IRL at the time (citing you as "someone online"), and it got some good laughs.

tbf, i am someone online

anyway, i am flattered of course

back on topic: pretty stoked to hear new music from OR. i don't feel skeptical that she can do it again, though i feel like that would be a reasonable way to feel (and i have felt that way before in what feel like similar-ish circumstances).

When I saw the title, a tiny part of me hoped that it was a Sebadoh cover.

New album, Guts, out Sept. 8

(Is it just me, or is there a slight Pettibon influence in this t-shirt design: https://store.oliviarodrigo.com/products/guts-cd-vampire-t-shirt-boxset)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPNh_PBZb4

Song is good! I had (wrongly) predicted it would be a banger; was misled at first into thinking it was a ballad... and it turned out to be a hybrid deal.

It reminds me of a Jim Steinman joint – especially when it kicks into that final section.

(I was afraid the “vampire” lyrical conceit would be corny & overdone; but if anything, it feels a little underdeveloped… and the “sold me for parts” line feels like a weirdly mixed metaphor? Maybe you’re meant to think of body parts…)

The little mall-EDM drop is a perfect bit of sonic branding

She sings “dream crusher” in the clean version. That’s pretty good, I thought they’d just drop out the f-word.

"Vampire' is great, can't wait for this album

V good song

The added urgency of the drums towards the end seals the deal