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Pop Music Catch-Up (with DJ John Michael)
105 Plays1 month ago
DJ John Michael returns to "Homophonic" for a much needed pop music catch-up! We kick things off with a chat about JADE’s “IT Girl,” detour to Swedish one-hit wonder Amanda, and groove through Katy Perry’s “143” and its deluxe edition’s bonus tracks. Together we also dissect Lady Gaga’s latest hits, speculate on Beyoncé’s postponed announcement, and drop takes on Madonna and Stuart Price working on new music, and Ellie Goulding’s collab with Anyma.
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Transcript
Introduction and Excitement for DJ John Michael
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to a Homophonic, everybody. We are joined by one of the greatest guest of all time, DJ John Michael. Thank you. um I'm really excited that you're here today. I feel like it is. OK, so here's the thing.
New Show Start and Pop Music Catch-Up
00:00:17
Speaker
We started our I started the show in December and we've recorded a bunch of episodes and and we dropped them all at once. But here's the thing. When the last show ended and this new one started, there's been a lot of like music releases or at least like things that have been happening that I just feel like we haven't had a chance to really touch on. yeah And plus, there's like new music releases already that have been happening this year. So I felt like it would be a good time to maybe just do like maybe a pop music catch up.
00:00:44
Speaker
Absolutely. Because there's just so much to just like, yeah, there's like so much to digest.
Anticipation and Release of 'It Girl' by Jade
00:00:50
Speaker
Where do we start? i Well, I feel like It Girl by Jade just came out. ah Let me tell you, so when the song finally dropped, I said, because Brian, I woke up that morning and Brian was just like, oh, Jade dropped her song. And I was like, I already know. I was like, I hope it brings Zach a lot of peace. I was like, I really, I was like, he has been edged by this song for so long.
00:01:14
Speaker
Let me tell you what, Jade was not letting me come for about six months. At least. At least. And let me tell you what I have to say. After all this time, here's the thing. Here's the thing. I love the song. It is a fucking banger. Yes. You know what I'm gonna say. I know what I'm gonna say. I think I know what you're gonna say, but I think I... Go ahead, go ahead. Okay, it's two and a half minutes. That was where I figured you were gonna start.
00:01:43
Speaker
And so and and here's the other part. So it's two and a half minutes. And here's the thing. I know. I i know I beat it. it it's I'm beating the dead horse. Right. We're beating it. We're beating it off. But but here's the thing. there There are plenty of short songs that I enjoy. And um just for just for reference, ah the I think you might be the only other person in the world that will even get
Amanda's Music and Maverick Records Impact
00:02:06
Speaker
this. But I was listening to Amanda.
00:02:13
Speaker
Just Amanda. I know exactly where this is going. i her out and It wasn't even Everybody Doesn't, which was like the minor hit single. Oh, wow. Not a deep cut. Name another person in 2025 listening to a an Amanda deep cut. People, listeners right now are like, who the fuck? Right, right.
00:02:38
Speaker
Yeah, so it was the song. OK, I'm trying to remember the title of it. It was ah it was called No Pressure. Oh, ge I was going to say she said she's got this very sort of like safe sex mantra in all of her songs.
00:02:50
Speaker
Yeah. Like they like maybe like celibacy type of thing. Right. Possible. Like maybe I have to go back and like revisit her career quote unquote. But and so to answer I'm sure everyone's like okay who the fuck is Amanda? Amanda long story short it was I had no idea that I was even talk about this today.
00:03:10
Speaker
But Amanda was Maverick Records, which was Madonna's record company that she started in the 90s. That was basically their answer to Britney Spears in like 2000, 2001. They were just a little too late.
00:03:24
Speaker
Just a smidge too late. Just a little too late to so to hop on that. I felt by that point.
Songwriting and Production of 'It Girl'
00:03:29
Speaker
Yeah, in the words of JoJo, just a little too late. Right. and um But this album was produced, I believe, by the Merlin music team, which I believe contained Blood Shy. I think so, yes.
00:03:42
Speaker
And so it's great pop music. And this song, particularly No Pressure, it goes like, don't push, don't rush, don't sacrifice our love. And I was like, listening to it at the gym today and I was like- Let me tell you, you made her sound a lot more melanated than she is. Right? Because Amanda is the whitest of white girls. She is white. And let me tell you what, looking at, you know what, maybe, maybe we need to have, I joked about this on the episode that I just released today, but like,
00:04:12
Speaker
I'm not kidding you, I think it would be a really funny episode to do a white women of color episode. Stop. Because as soon as you said it, a list appeared in my mind. ah Literally, and and Amanda, if you look at her album cover, I don't know if I still have the CD, I'd have to like rummage through, but like I used to own the album and she she looks melanated. Was she? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was definitely of the time, but. Oh, for sure.
00:04:39
Speaker
Anyway, that's my long story about that song that I was singing was two and a half minutes and I loved it, right? So bringing it back to it, girl, bringing it back to it, girl, because nothing says it girl like Amanda, this slice of Swedish pop, the biggest it girl that's ze that the world has ever seen.
00:04:59
Speaker
Um, but it girl. So here's the thing. Two and a half minutes. OK, I can I can deal with that. The thing is, is that there have been snippets floating around the Internet literally since August. She teased the song with the release of Angel of my Dreams at a release party, knowing full well that her fans were going to record it and post it all over the Internet because she knew it was a banger. It is a banger.
Teasing Songs and Its Impact on Fans
00:05:27
Speaker
And little did we know all of the snippets were actually just the entire song in little pieces. The entire song in little pieces. And I have to. So it felt very anticlimactic, I have to say. I definitely see that I did not follow this as closely as you did. So I think I'm less affected by that. What I will say is that.
00:05:50
Speaker
and i don't I don't want to shade the songwriters or even the producers because I feel like they're all of the elements that I love about pop music, especially girl pop music, are there. Yes. This song, and I could be completely wrong and it could be a stylistic choice, but this song to me feels like the product of a few
Jade's Streaming Numbers vs. Industry Perception
00:06:15
Speaker
songwriting sessions with people who were not in the same room who you take the top line, I need you to write a bridge, I need you to write the verse, I need you to write the chorus, and then they sort of frankenstein it together as how it feels because it starts off with, I gotta be honest, if you told me it was Ava Maxx, I would have believed you. Oh, interesting, yeah. Like, as soon as it starts, I thought it was that other song, the... and no and Whatever that Ava Maxx song is, because they all sound like that.
00:06:45
Speaker
yeah And again, no shade to Ava Maxx. I like her a lot. yeah So it starts off with that moment and I'm like, oh, okay, cool. Chorus Open, like this is fun, whatever. And then it goes into that sort of like Angel of My Dreams type sound. But the songwriting team for this song is completely different than all the other ones. I feel like so far, It Girl, Angel of My Dreams, was it Midnight Cowboy? With the three? Yeah. I think they had- In Fantasy. In Fantasy. I think they had similar songwriters for different bits, but this one is completely different. Like one of the Writers is Lost Boy, the producer, Peter Rycroft, who wrote Padam Padam, heffro co-wrote. Was it James Abraham, who's done tons of stuff, but most famously known for Cher's DJ Play of Christmas song. Famous, oh my God, yes.
TikTok's Influence and Potential Ban Impact
00:07:31
Speaker
And then ah Lauren Aquilina, who wrote most of Rina Sowayama's Hold the Girl with her.
00:07:37
Speaker
Yes, yes, yes. And then and then also produced by circuit. Correct. So bringing it back to the Ava Max of it all, who right ah was I did they date or were they that makes so much more sense, if if true.
00:07:51
Speaker
Yeah, if true not trying to spread rumors, I don't know. i I thought I heard that they had dated at one point. I could be wrong. But law either way, circuit was basically Eva's longstanding producer, but kind of like her red one, if you will. um Right. And yeah, and.
00:08:12
Speaker
So yeah, so that makes sense why you got a little of Ava max in there. And i but it feels like that I think that you might be right about the Frankenstein of it all. Because the song was originally titled that showbiz baby.
00:08:26
Speaker
That was the original title of the song. But when the fans started going nuts and kind of dubbed the song It Girl, she changed the title to It Girl, which makes sense. Like fans were like, myself included, seizing over this for the last six months. um And so the reason why I think that you might be right is that it kind of goes back to the, I am the It Girl, I am the It Girl.
00:08:52
Speaker
part like kind of halfway through the song. yeah And it does it works, but it does feel like I was like, I don't know if that was necessarily supposed to happen there. It felt very, I don't know. There are some pieces where it just transitions really quickly. And I'm like, okay, all right, all right, now we're in this part of the song. Okay, okay, now we're here, now we're here. like Things are moving really fast. And it just, I don't know, something about it feels a little like piecemeal
Critique of Katy Perry's Album '143'
00:09:15
Speaker
to me. Again, right not a bad song, totally love it, is a banger, 100%.
00:09:21
Speaker
Like you said earlier, it literally is everything I want from a like pop song, especially when you're going kind of going down the club route. It is cunty, it's fierce, it makes me feel like the baddest bitch in the room. yes I just want it to be longer. and i know And i I have to say, you know, Z machine and I talked once before where he ah was telling me about like the reasoning why artists kind of tease songs for an extended period of time for independent independent artists. I get it. I understand the reasoning. But even then, like Z machine doesn't tease a song for six months. Right. I think that I think the one time he did that was he when he
00:10:00
Speaker
Uh, showcased like the chorus of the radio, like back in like March of 2023, and then released the song in like that September. Right. But like that was, like but he also didn't like edge the song that way. It was like, he basically was showcasing a demo and he was like, should I finish it? Um, and that was my easy machine impression. Sorry.
00:10:22
Speaker
and so Yeah, but um Yeah, I just you know, and and I have to say I am gonna own the fact that I was letting myself get edged like that and Like cuz like I would live there were days where I would just revisit that snippet over and over and over and over again I like knew the choreography at one point I was like hes tooul But I think it's also like, because even when I think of like, um thinking of Rina Sawayama when Hold the Girl was coming out, the part that she teased was the big moment where like the modulation happens into the bit inside and with the drums and close to one, leave it on your own, that whole thing. yeah And when I heard that, I was like, oh my God, it's her edge of glory. It's her, it's her, I don't even, know about Gypsy, like what's the other Gaga? Like, you know, like it it was just like one of those, I was like, this chorus is so anthemic, whatever. And then the rest of the song didn't seem to go with it as much. no And I was just like, oh, oh, oh, okay, okay, oh, this is different. This is not how I thought this was gonna go.
00:11:28
Speaker
I feel like that is the more common thing that we're going to see continue to happen in this industry right now because of things like that with the Frankenstein. I feel like that's what's happening. And I don't know if that is necessarily a smart move because you're going to then end up with fans extremely disappointed in a song. Right. yeah And you're you're going to get people who then are you know either not going to stream it or you're not going to get.
00:11:54
Speaker
You're not going to get additional people loving on the song that way. I don't know. I just don't feel like it's a smart move to tease a song for I think if you were if you're going to use the song, do it for like three weeks, four weeks max. But then like don't tease the entire ps song.
00:12:13
Speaker
I just, i you know what, I feel like nobody knows what they're doing anymore. If I can be quite honest.
Lady Gaga's 'Die with a Smile' Success and Future Plans
00:12:20
Speaker
Like that's so that's what the industry on on the whole is giving me is that it just, everybody's just kind of throwing things at the wall to see what's gonna stick. Because I mean, even if you look, and again, this is not everything, but yeah if you look at the streaming numbers between all the songs that Jade has put out, there is a huge drop off from Angel of My Dreams but streaming wise.
00:12:42
Speaker
yeah Like and I mean it girl obviously just came out and that's right pretty well but Fantasy and Midnight Cowboy were out for a while now, right? Which one came first? Was it Midnight Cowboy? Midnight Cowboy and Midnight Cowboy was kind of, she she said it was a quote unquote, like promo single, like a kind of a teaser moment to right to satiate fans until Fantasy came out. And here's an honest- But even just looking at it this way from a data point, Angel of My Dreams on Spotify alone has 44 million streams.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah. Midnight Cowboy, 4 million streams. Fantasy, 6.8 million streams. And then It Girl, obviously 1.5 million as of right now. Interesting. So looking at that, I feel like like when I look at Jade, she doesn't strike me as a top line artist. Like she is because she's who she is. like And of course, i would I would see her as being like the It Girl, so to speak. Yeah.
00:13:42
Speaker
But from like a record company perspective, I feel like they'll almost treat her more like an indie. Like, Angel of My Dreams did numbers and did really well. So there was additional versions. There was promo appearances. There were different things that she was doing with that, whatever, whatever. As the next ones roll out and the numbers drop and drop, labels get less interested. And then it's just like, well, maybe we're not going to do a video. Maybe we're not going to, whatever. And things start to kind of, you know what I mean, come off the table. So it's like,
00:14:10
Speaker
I don't, I agree with you. I don't think it's smart to tease a song for six months, especially if it's going to be so short. Right. Because again, it feels like a letdown and I totally get that, but I don't, I just don't know that there's anybody who knows what the right thing is to do, especially now that there's a looming TikTok ban on the horizon as well. Right. That the implications of what that's going to happen in the music industry alone for independent artists, it's going to be terrible.
00:14:35
Speaker
the international implications that that has, the power that that has. It's very that, but it is true because like it's such a metric that they use when they come to meetings is just to, this is how many creations, this is how many TikTok streams, this is how many impressions, this is whatever. And now it's like none of that, that's not a thing anymore.
00:14:54
Speaker
This is where I have to say then do your fucking job and stop relying on, sorry. I don't even, no, no, no, but this is the thing. I think that, and I would have normally have said that, but the reality here of what's happening yeah is the labels are doing massive layoffs. It just happened last year. Over the last few years, everybody did massive layoffs. And so now you have a smaller team who's being told, well, you know, we don't really need A and&R people. We have people, whatever. Digital marketing can handle that. This one can handle that. so the A and&R people that were the ones that were caring for the catalog of Whitney Houston, for the catalog of Madonna, for the catalog of, be ah well, Beyonce's Beyonce, for the catalog of like Mariah Carey. you know There was a lot of people that were invested and were, rollout plans were thought about and what are we gonna do? And we're gonna live with the single for a minute before we go to the next one. But now it's so quick, so fat. you know It's the thing that we have to say.
00:15:45
Speaker
Nobody puts out albums anymore. and the yeah puts that out out of single it burns out put out a single number it burns out right nobody puts out albums anymore you know no one die live yeah yeah And I always come back to that, but it really is true. Like the the actual industry of the music industry is really, it feels like a ah complete free for all right now.
00:16:02
Speaker
it really has and I want to also preface by saying that like I love Jade. I think that she has been put every song that she's put out has completely captivated me. I think that she's so interesting. I think that she gets it. She wants to be an it girl. Yeah, she she wants to be a main pop girlie and she is dead like Dell, like, what am I trying to say? Hellbent? Dead set against dead set against, you know, trying to she's she's trying to give the most. Right. And that's, and that's what I just thought was interesting to it, girl. I'm just very curious there. I feel like something happened behind the scenes because the way that it was being teased, especially with the choreography moment with the same um outfit from the angel of my dreams video,
00:16:49
Speaker
It felt like It Girl was maybe and intended to be the second single. And then for whatever reason, they went with Fantasy as the second official single, but then they put out Midnight Cowboy before that. and Which I got to be honest, like if It Girl was the second single, it would have made a lot more sense to me because it sounds sonically more like Angel of my dreams. And I'd be like, all right.
00:17:12
Speaker
This is what she's giving us and I'm totally here for this. Yeah. It's the big pretty chorus and then the the crazy kind of like Charlie XCX versus. Yeah. And maybe they did that on purpose because like maybe they were like, well, we don't want people thinking that the entire album is going to sound like this. So maybe they were like, well, let's put out. I don't know. I don't know what the reasoning was. Anyway, long story short, I don't think that it's Jade's fault necessarily the way that this rolled out the way it did. And no, but what i what I want for Jade is to have even just a quarter of the career that Kylie Minogue has.
00:17:41
Speaker
Literally, that's what I want for Jade, right? Like I don't see her. It's not it's not a Taylor Swift. It's not a Madonna It's not a it's not a Katy Perry even yeah It's like I your it feels like she's she can do the Kylie Minogue thing and she can keep the gays really close and she can put out the dance Albums that the gays are gonna love and support and buy the tickets for the tour and do the merch and buy the albums about vinyls but Yeah Like, oh yeah I feel like if she's smart and the right gaze around her, that's where her effort should be. And I feel like that's, because if you look if you think about it, the music that she's put out, it's really not mainstream. Right. It's not. like it's No, it's clear. It's very for us. Yeah, absolutely. Which thank you.
Speculation on Upcoming Announcements
00:18:20
Speaker
Yeah. And we love you. You are the girl. yeah You are the girl. Well, speaking of making music for the gays, there is an album
00:18:29
Speaker
that came out back in September, that we were both very, very, very excited about. I know that I was excited about it. I know that I was really wanting this person to really have their comeback.
00:18:44
Speaker
And unfortunately, the album didn't necessarily deliver the way it had intended. And i've had we've had plenty of time to sit on it, and I wanted to talk about it, and we just have haven't gotten there. And so I want to talk about 143 by Katy Perry. OK. Now, i listen right I listen to this album on the way home today, just to sort of give myself a refresh. And all of my feelings about this album still remain 100% true.
00:19:09
Speaker
They say, okay, so like like I'll let you take the reins on this. like ah How do you feel about 143? The biggest failure of this album, and there's a few, and I don't think that there is major as everybody, as the internet made it seem, because when I listen to it again today, a lot of the songs ah in their core are not bad songs, and they're actually pretty standard Katy Perry songs. like There's really nothing like bad about most of them. There's a few that I'm like, all right, we could have left this one, but whatever.
00:19:39
Speaker
right I do still 1,000% believe that whoever decided to sequence this album in the order that they did, did the biggest disservice to this album because it's starting the way that it did. First of all, I get it, Women's World was the single, so we make it song number one. I totally get it. like that's It's very old record label idea. It absolutely should have been the last song.
00:20:03
Speaker
It should have been how the album closed and not started. It should have started with the run from either, and what the order is doesn't matter, but Crush Lifetimes, All the Love and Nirvana, that should have been how the album began.
00:20:17
Speaker
it would have started with a bang, it would have started with tempo, and it feels strong. And if you listen to the album this way, and I promise you, if you sequence it this way, and start with that group, and then you sort of bring in, because I felt i feel like what they did is they were just like, put all the features in the front so everybody will see who's on the album when they look. And you'll see that it's 21 Savage and Kim Petras and Dochie, which I get, but like,
00:20:42
Speaker
Gimme Gimme Gorgeous and He's Mind for tracks two, three, and four are all so slow. And it's such a drag even from the ridiculousness of woman's world.
00:20:54
Speaker
Right. Especially when she's been on this promo tour saying, I'm giving you BPM. She literally said that several interviews. I'm giving you dance music. Right. And so I'm like, okay, fine. It's there, but it's just by the time that you get to it, you've had to listen to Woman's World, which again, the internet went crazy about.
00:21:13
Speaker
Gimme Gimme Gorgeous and i'm his He's Mine are fine, but they're sort of the more hip-hop leaning ones. And yeah again, not unlike other Katy Perry songs that we've heard in the past, but it's a really hard start for an album, yeah especially for one for someone who makes like bubblegum pop music.
00:21:32
Speaker
Right. And damn, the the fact that you just said that because you said it should start with what what crushed lifetimes all the crush lifetimes, all the all the love and Nirvana. Now how that plays out, it could stay in that order. It doesn't have to because I feel like, again, this is just how my neurotypical mind works or my neuro divergent mind works. lifetimes is too slow to come after crush. I feel like lifetimes should have started probably and then crush all the love and Nirvana.
00:21:59
Speaker
Yeah, interesting. Because again, Lifetimes was a single, which I still stand in the fact that they were just like, when they heard Ariana's Yes, And, they were like, oh, put this one out. Put this one. This one sounds a little bit like that. um But I feel like if you start the album there, give those songs the run, then even know even even keep artificial. That's fine too. I feel like Truth and Wonder, they can sort of stay near the end, but then take Gimme Gimme Gorgeous and I'm Him, He's Mine, put him after that.
00:22:28
Speaker
and then end with maybe Truth and Wonder. I feel like those are fine where they are. One day when we're older. Yeah. it's ah it's it's a ah and so ah you know Do you know who Rachel Platten is? She's fight song, right? Yeah. i Yes. yeah And I don't know what that specific genre of white woman music is, but it's like that wide leg pant, CVS, short haircut, pumpkin. Girl, that's so fucking it.
00:22:59
Speaker
good spice far that is yeah That is what I'm gonna call it from now on. You have done it. That's the one. That's it. That is it. Pumpkin Spice Pop. That song, Wonder, is Pumpkin Spice Pop. Absolutely. yeah It's very Rachel Platt and Fight song. It's very Sara Bareilles Brave. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And i no no shade to any of those women. I love all of those women, but it's very that specific. And then, The Deluxe, which again,
00:23:27
Speaker
While to me, right, because like you gave us four more songs, two of them are... I don't know how to describe it except to say...
00:23:38
Speaker
There is a company that does, you can sign up with, it's called Epidemic Sound, if you are unaware. Yes. you Yes. And for, they give you access to a library of music that you can use, which is royalty free, that you can use on all your social media and stuff like that. And you pay like a service, a monthly fee or whatever, and you can use any of the music. These two songs, even Okay, which is also pumpkin spice pop, sound like royalty free music to me.
00:24:03
Speaker
you are hitting it the nail on the head right now, to me. Now, I say this to say that I think a lot of the songs themselves are not bad songs, but I do think that the production doesn't do enough for the songs, because even the dance ones, and this is, I'll let you speak after this. Nirvana is a great track. All the Love, super fun Katy Perry song. Crush, same. But the original productions are fine.
00:24:31
Speaker
right They're just fine. Like there's nothing special. They're not even like done to a point where I'm like, oh, these are so current and they sound so good and they make her sound so of now. They don't. They just make her sound. It's fine. It's just fine. It's just fine. Yeah. i i I can't really put my finger on it. I think I said to you and some other people that I feel like the album was created with gays in mind, the gays in mind, but didn't consult any gay people in the creation of the album. And I laugh because I know Ferris, who is an openly gay man, is a co-writer on the album, but I'm just kind of like, I listen to it and I'm just like, because I'm i'm like, okay, I'm trying to sit there and and think like, okay, you're making a dance album, right? So I'm trying to think of like my favorite dance albums,
00:25:22
Speaker
that have come out in the last 25 years, right? You've got obviously Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor, which I think is probably now the blueprint for a lot of the pop girlies making dance albums, right? We have one of our personal favorites, Gloria Estefan's Gloria, another top to bottom dance album. Cher's Believe. Believe. We have Chromatica, right? Like we've got all of these great dance albums that really encapsulate different types of dance music throughout them.
00:25:51
Speaker
It's not one note. It's not the same thing. This album, I guess you could say in a similar fashion, you know, you do have the more hip hop oriented songs. You have the pumpkin spice pop of Wonder, but then you have this like you have like maybe five or six tracks that are dance songs that sound dated in a way. Yeah.
00:26:16
Speaker
And, but also lack the energy and the fun parts of dance music, which is build ups, breakdowns. And again, not to beat the already fucking dead splattered horse, but short songs, it's hard to do those things. Half the fun of dance music is the anticipation. And so, and the fake out beat drop in Nirvana, where you said- That annoys the hell out of me.
00:26:44
Speaker
what That's why I started working on a remix of that one, because I was like, how is there no, I was like, there's no payoff. Yeah, I was like, literally, I was like, i that frustrated me. I will say.
00:26:58
Speaker
I have tried giving the album some listens and like you said, there are several, songs the songs are not necessarily bad. It's just the simplicity of it all, which sometimes simplicity is excellent, right? That's what makes pop music sometimes really great. But it's a little too just generic. It's a little too, like you said, like royalty-free, H and&M, I don't know. Right, right. zara Right, Zara, right. Yeah, it was just really, really frustrating. All that to be said though, all the love to me. It's so good. Is the standout track and is actually a really great song. Yeah. Yeah. I think all the love and Nirvana I think are the strongest songs for me of the album. Yeah. I think Crush probably comes in as well. Yes. I do i would like artificial a lot.
00:27:48
Speaker
artificial, I'll have to, well, I don't know if I want to revisit the big. Well, and you know, like, because I feel like with her, like it's, I feel the bits in like all the love and Nirvana feel like prism and like the walking on an air of it all. Like it gives me that sort of harkening back to that. But it's like, I don't know. Like the Kim Petrus one would have been fine because it's very like,
00:28:11
Speaker
I don't know, like it feels like a striptease song. Like you're going to go and see like a girl, like could just really do like a number with that. It gives me that. um But it just, yeah, I don't know. I just don't know. Again.
00:28:23
Speaker
like Dua Lipa, we have a problem where you're coming out and saying you're making this type of album. And then when you give it to us, it's like, hmm. Yeah. Which, which I, you know, I feel like I, it just, it does make me wonder one day as a general rule. I don't want songs with kids.
00:28:42
Speaker
don't want songs with kids, if that's even a child, that is like ah some auto-tune person, like who even knows. But I just need, what do I need? I i don't know. I don't know. like i just Again, I feel like, again, and I know that a lot of this is is Dr. Luke type stuff and there's that whole thing, whatever, but yeah I just,
00:29:08
Speaker
I almost feel like now she's running into the same issue that Mariah had with Jermaine Dupri for so long, where it was like every single album was like Jermaine Dupri for a while. And I was just like, oh, we're still giving the same exact type of like 95 beats per minute, like R and&B type, whatever. like And I felt like that carried over through a few of Mariah's albums where I was like, we gotta leave Jermaine Dupri for a minute, like yeah work with someone else. yeah I feel like maybe Katie might be running her course with the Dr. Luke of it all.
00:29:36
Speaker
Well, I was going to say, I think that that's the thing is that like, if I, the way the album rollout feels and the way that everything just kind of transpired, I, it feels like, cause obviously Katie is known for her huge hits between 2000, what was it? 2008 to 2013, 14.
00:29:53
Speaker
and And, and again, when we say huge hits, it's not just like huge hits, like she's got how many diamond singles, which means they sold 10 million each. Like that's a lot. Yeah. Even in the digital era, right? What's easier to achieve these types of feats. There are, there's, I don't think anyone else who has that many diamond singles. Like, that no, like her run is historic for sure. Her catalog is wild.
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, but so it feel but then obviously she fell off with the witness era and then fell off even further with smile. And these are all the things that I find so curious too because it like it always seems to coincide with it's always around the same age. Hmm.
00:30:36
Speaker
And I don't think that's a coincidence, like the history of ah following pop music. Like I don't feel like there's a a coincidence. I didn't dislike Witness as much as everybody else did. so um Yeah. Yeah. But I, and again, even this album, I don't dislike this as much as everybody else seems to dislike it. I i will also say I do not stand for Katy Perry hatred. I think that she's great. I've seen her in concert many times. I think that she's fantastic. She's got,
00:31:02
Speaker
great acapellas. She does a lot of great background vocals on her tracks. Like she really, the talent is there. I got to give it to her. Yeah. Yeah. And I feel like between like her and J-Lo are the ones that I feel like I'm constantly like, nope, I don't want to hear it. Nope. Right. Nope. And you know what I have, I have to say, speaking of J-Lo, I mean, like J-Lo, Katy Perry was absolutely slaughtered by, you know, Stan Twitter and just social media. Oh, did you just hear my grinder go off?
00:31:30
Speaker
but
00:31:33
Speaker
You better work, bitch. Yes, oh my gosh. um by And today we have a sponsor. It is Grindr now. Sponsored by ah Top Looking for a Bottom Too Long.
00:31:45
Speaker
um And oh what was I saying? Oh, she's just like kind of going through life right now. We're completely unbothered and just like putting up. And I have to say, even though I've been disappointed as a whole in the project, as a whole Grindr,
00:32:02
Speaker
Um, I, I have to give her her props for being like, at least surface level to the public. Right? Like, I don't give a fuck. Like, whatever. Like, I'm just going to continue promoting it. Allegedly, there's a remix album in the works. um I really hope that's a thing.
00:32:23
Speaker
I am willing to give it a second chance with the remix album because here's the thing. I hated the deluxe tracks. I'm not going to even lie. Like every single one, there was, I think, uh, it was the one note, no tears for new year's, e no tears for new year's was the only one that I was okay with. Yeah. And.
00:32:41
Speaker
I have to say, like, ah kind of going back to the teasing of it all, like, before the album came out, before even Woman's World was announced, she teased that she wrote a song with Lukala. And there was a TikTok where they they posted and she was like, don't say anything. And she was saying something about how like they wrote her biggest song yet or whatever. That song ended up being the song OK.
00:33:04
Speaker
I, okay. I, you know, it's, look, I can't, I can't defend her on everything. I just have to say, it's, it's, it's, it's like, come on you guys. like Like, yeah. Yeah. That don't sit there and be like, this is my biggest, this is, you're going to say the person who sings firework, the person who sings teenage dream, the person who sings dark horse, you're going to sit there and say that that's one of your biggest tracks yet. Right.
00:33:34
Speaker
Come on. Well, and you know what? For all of the hate and everything else that this album has gotten, Woman's World has more streams than Angel in My Dreams. I mean...
00:33:47
Speaker
Let's celebrate that. I right i mean, 48 million. The one with Kim Tetris, 11 million. I'm his, he's mine with Dochie, 30 million. Like the albums doing like every song is in the millions except for three of the deluxe tracks. Even OK has 3.7 million streams. Crazy. That's wild. 3.7 million people made a choice.
00:34:09
Speaker
3.7 million made a choice and they stuck by it and we want to celebrate that. We we celebrate you said 3.7 million people. Exactly. um But yeah, I will give the remix album a chance because one, I love remixes to allegedly Mia Moretti, who's one of her friends.
00:34:30
Speaker
who remixed Peacock for the Teenage Dream era, one of my favorite remixes, um allegedly did a remix for this album. So I'm just, i'm I am here for it. I'm willing to give it another chance.
00:34:42
Speaker
um We'll see, we'll see what happens. Yeah, I look, I, it's never gonna be the end of Katy Perry. No. You know, like it's, if Witness and Smile wasn't, 1432 is not gonna be the end of Katy Perry.
00:34:59
Speaker
right yeah you know She's still got bangers in her, I do believe it. And I think that it's, again, ah you know what I hope the dance thing happens and I hope the dance album is great and I hope that is super successful for her. So maybe it's a flag to be like, oh, maybe I should do more of this. yeah That's what I'm hoping. Yeah. So I guess more to come with Ms. Perry, but we'll see. Yeah. um But another person released shortly after, I guess, you know, one could say the the
00:35:30
Speaker
the Britney to her Christina, if you will, Gaga released, finally released disease in back. Well, gosh, it was like shortly before Halloween. Yeah. And Oh my God. Yeah. What is time? Right? That's so weird. Oh my God. and Yeah.
00:35:47
Speaker
We are recording this on January 14th. Beyonce was supposed to. So Beyonce was supposed to release or make an announcement today. We have been speculating for ages about what what that could be. Ages meaning like what? Three weeks. Right. But she did postpone it ah because of the wildfires. and and And truly, I think they can speak for both of us condolences and and without a doubt comfort to everyone affected like that's truly devastating. It's unbelievable the things that I'm seeing.
00:36:17
Speaker
That said Beyonce was supposed to make an announcement today. Anyway, I was starting to talk about disease and then somehow got, oh, I was just talking about the date today. That's why. Um, just people are going to be like, wow, chaotic. Right. Right. Right. Pull it back. Pull it back. Two stars. Yeah. Oh my God. Um, but anyway, disease Gaga.
00:36:38
Speaker
What are your thoughts? i I like it. I think it's great. I love the music video. Is the machine cover your ears? Right. I love the music video. I think it's it's an interesting for a single choice if it's indicative of what the album is, which feels like it probably is with Cassette Philstein's involvement among other producers. I think that I don't know. I'm very, very curious because it doesn't seem like we're getting light pop from Gaga. It feels like this is going to be a darker album. Right. Well, so I watched her Rolling Stone like kind of like making of the track thing. I don't know. if you so I didn't see that. It's good. Oh, I got to watch that. It's fun. It's a fun watch. I think i want to say it's like 20 minutes and she's kind of just breaks down the track and how they created it. It was a very fun watch. I i
00:37:32
Speaker
I have to say i I actually messaged Z machine about this. I was like, I've never seen and I keep I mentioned him because he's a huge Gaga fan to everyone listening. um But I messaged him and I was like, I don't think I've seen her this happy.
00:37:47
Speaker
ever. She seems is incredibly happy and just in love with her music and just anyway. um So that was really cool. i I'm with you. I mean, it's definitely not a Gaga track as far as lead single terms goes.
00:38:06
Speaker
It's not a song like Bad Romance, right? Or a song like, I'm trying to think, ah Applause, Born This Way, like that really kind of stuck out and like had a lot of huge replay value. I personally do like it. I like it a lot. um But I have to say also just looking back about on the promo of it all, and the way that they released I With a Smile in August,
00:38:33
Speaker
You had Joker come out the following month. And then you had this song come out. You know, Joker flopped, unfortunately, her Harley Quinn album. I don't want to call it a flop. I don't think it was ever in intention. It was right on a companion album. You're going to see that album will probably like all of her jazz albums. I think those will endure for a very long time. Yeah. And I think it's actually really smart. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it was a surprise release.
00:39:02
Speaker
to compete to be a companion with the album or with the soundtrack with the. Sorry, I like what am I even saying with the movie? And ah so I don't really consider it like a proper album in the sense of like, oh, yeah, we can talk about its success or whatever. Like it's right. Right. It it was clearly not meant to be some sort of huge commercial thing. um But I don't think anyone expected the runaway success of Die with a Smile.
00:39:31
Speaker
Die With a Smile as of the recording of this podcast on January 14th at 6.57 PM Eastern Standard Time has, and this song came out when? August, like 25th or something like that? August 25th, 1.5 billion streams. Billion with a billion. Like that's wild. Wild. Because if you, right, like if you look like some of her like poker face has one point has less streams than die with a smile. That's insane. That's wild. Right. Like, that's what I said. So like, when you start to like, look at the numbers, like, and again, I'm not ah streaming numbers can be inflated. It doesn't really mean all that much to me. Right. Like, same let me go down like, all right. Where's chromatica? Okay.
00:40:27
Speaker
Rain On Me has 1.1 billion streams. It's the only billion track on that album. The rest are all in the millions and hundreds of millions. So it's like but Rain On Me came out that 2020.
00:40:40
Speaker
So in 2020, Rain On Me was released and it has 1.1 billion. Die With a Smile was released a handful of months ago and has 1.5 billion. That's That's crazy. Crazy. And Stan Twitter really likes to sit there and be like, Oh, it's only because of Bruno Mars. It's only because of bruno Bruno Mars. And I was like, No, it's because these two, both of them, these two powerhouse people in music.
00:41:05
Speaker
came together and actually made a great song together. Right. not It's not just someone hopping on a feature, which there's nothing wrong with that. No. We love we love a feature. Yeah. But like there is a difference between someone just hopping on someone's track and then creating something together. Right. like There is no doubt in my mind when I listen to that. I'm like, these two were in a room together, writing a song, doing the thing. like it feels You get it. You feel it.
00:41:31
Speaker
Yeah. And it's just I'm sorry, like the the the work will always speak to that. Yeah. And she she, you know, the way it was, again, speaking of just i ah not or I don't think that anyone really knew that this was going to be as successful as it was, is that the song was intended to be a droplet single. um She had made mention that it was not part of her record upon its release. And now.
00:41:56
Speaker
She is telling people that it is on her record. And I think that we saw disease. People keep calling disease a flop. But I think that hurt her and her team intentionally stalled the promotion of disease because they saw that die with a smile is just going and going and going.
00:42:16
Speaker
Oh, for sure. And I'm sorry, like you can't yeah die with a smile. Disease has 112 million streams on Spotify alone. You cannot call that song a flop. No, like not at all. If you want to talk about its cultural relevance, we can debate that all day because I don't believe it has a ton. But as far as it being a flop, that's ridiculous. And Stan Twitter is small.
00:42:36
Speaker
Ridiculous. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's just it's fascinating to see. you and And I feel like that happens a lot with Gaga. I feel like there's been a several moments throughout her career where her her and her label and like had intended to release a certain song as a single. And then they pivoted. I think Venus is a really good example where they Venus was originally supposed to be the second single off of Art Pop. um But they released ah Do What You Want as a promo single.
00:43:05
Speaker
countdown single or whatever back in the iTunes days, RIP. And they that song took off. Yeah. And so they they pivoted and said, you know what, you guys love the song so much, we're gonna make this the official second single and said, and Venus never got a proper release. Right. And so and then also edge of glory was in a similar fashion.
00:43:25
Speaker
Um, Judas was released as it, and also I, you know what, while we're on this topic, you're like justice for justice for no, here's the thing there. I saw a tweet a few, I guess it was a couple of months ago now. Um, but someone had said, but someone was talking about like Judas and it's like, just talking about how like it just caused so much controversy and stuff like that. Yeah.
00:43:53
Speaker
As a young adult, when that song came out, ah Don't get me wrong. Of course, it's it's as it's a pop song using biblical references. It's going to rub feathers, right? But it did not make the the the conservatives weep at all, ah at least here in America. it did Yeah, no, I do not recall that being a thing and that at all. And in fact, I would argue that Judas kind of upon release was underperforming the way that they thought
00:44:27
Speaker
it was going to perform, um which then when they when they released Edge of Glory as a promo single from the album, that song took off. And so then they pivoted and changed it and kind of decided to do both singles at the same time. And they gave us one of my, what I will go on record as saying is the worst Gaga video. Yeah. I think out of all of them, it's the worst and it's it upsets me to no end.
00:44:51
Speaker
Yeah, and it's very clear, I believe that there was a treatment, there's that there are there's a lore around that, do you know the lore? I've heard some of it. i Allegedly, I don't know if it was Joseph Kahn or if it was, oh my God, who directed I'm a Slave for You? Francis Lawrence. Oh. Francis Lawrence. One of them I believe was connected to the video. And I believe that there was a creative differences, if you will,
00:45:21
Speaker
So then, therefore, Gaga was left at her own devices, and I believe self-directed the video with the time that she had allotted in her schedule at that time. Right, right. No, again, I get it. Sometimes it happens, like, Britney's break the ice, worst music video. Oh, my God. Yeah, that, like, um like animated. I don't need it. No. I don't like animated music videos. You know what? I don't mind if it's done right or if it's an integration, but, like,
00:45:51
Speaker
I would just rather honestly like somebody edit some concert footage together. Give me something where it's like it's actually her and it's fierce or whatever. Even give me one of those like what they used to do like if they didn't have a music video they would just do like a montage of them on tour while the song is playing and it's like moments. so Give me something interesting not an animated the only one like right When I think of animated like the beginning of Tony Braxton's He Wasn't Man Enough For Me, that's the only animated part that I want in a music video where it's just the unzipping of the thing. oh yeah oh Which is like looking back, like what was that all about? It like didn't matter. It was in the budget. Put it in the video. je That's it. Who cares? They said, this is going to start out with a cartoon of Tony Braxton being a superhero.
00:46:37
Speaker
And honestly, where's the follow through? That's the comic I want. Tony Braxton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Come on, when is it gonna happen? We've been waiting. yeah Oh my God. It's hysterical. See, my mind my mind went to Madonna's music. Similarly, there's like an animated video in the middle of the video. Yeah. Gotta block that out. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I know. It's like, yeah, it's strange. It's very strange. but I don't remember what we were talking about now. We went on so many tangents down there. That's it. We just so sort of went all over the place. We went all over the place. But yeah, I mean, all that to be said, I'm very excited for Gaga's new album. Oh, beyond. Oh, beyond. Absolutely. Like it's the one I'm looking forward to the most. Yeah, I would say because of the L.A. wildfires, I think that we're going to see a lot of people kind of delay some projects and things like that. I know that yeah the weekend already delayed his album by a week. I am very excited to hear his album, too.
00:47:34
Speaker
Me too. There's ah there's some like rumored features on the album that have not been confirmed. um Well, and I hear that he's also doing different styles and that there's there's like more upbeat stuff. So I'm like, all right, i't maybe this is him. Because from what I understand, so like I went to for in Vegas for New Year's. We went to go see the Italian DJ, Anima. And I don't think that's how you say it. I've never heard anybody say it. um yeah Everybody's out here saying it different ways.
00:48:02
Speaker
But he, I believe, is one of the creative directors for The Weeknd's tour. Oh, interesting. I think for this album, because there was like a post where he had put up on his page.
00:48:12
Speaker
about doing the creative stuff for, I think, Hurry Up Tomorrow. I have to look. I could be completely wrong. I'm pretty sure that that's, hold on, let me pull this up. That would be amazing, yeah. So I'm like, if, because when I went to go see him, he also played a remix that has not been released, ah of hit that he did for Blinding Lights, which is excellent. You can see this. Oh, really? Yeah, there's tons of videos online, but it's it's it's really, really good. Yeah.
00:48:36
Speaker
I mean, speaking of Anima, that collab that he just put out with Ellie Goulding. Ellie Goulding, I obsessed. Obsessed. The music video and the fact that you saw this in the sphere. I got to tell you. What was it like seeing it with your own two eyes? First of all, it's so much bigger than you can imagine. What it looks like on a screen, it's so different in person. I can't even describe that. The way that it is set up because it's in the round,
00:49:06
Speaker
There's 140,000 speakers in the venue, so there is no dead pocket. It's not like when you go see a event like when you go see Madison Square Garden and you go see a show there, they have the stacks of the speakers that are hanging from the ceiling and they're pointed out into various directions to give the most amount of coverage. This is the complete opposite of that. There is coverage no matter where you go, so there is no directional sound like ah you would at a regular show, which I don't think you even realize or can appreciate until like you kind of leave or you go see another show because all of a sudden it's just like, oh wow, that really was so different. So the sound, beyond. Absolutely love it. Visually, yeah if you're on the floor, your neck is going to bother you for a little bit at the end because it's so big. like It got to the point where I was like, oh, all right. I was like, enough. I'll watch it online. I was like, it's too much now.
00:49:52
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's, God, what a venue. And now they're building other ones. I think they're building one in Dubai. I heard there might be one in Miami. I don't know. Oh, my God. I heard there's gonna be one in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That's what I'm hearing. I'm hearing. Huge demand. Huge is true. Right? Oh, my God. But that being said, I mean, I'm glad I went to go see that because it was the first EDM show. But I would go see anybody there, even if I don't even care for the artist, because it's such an experience.
00:50:20
Speaker
Like I didn't want to go to see great The Grateful Dead. I didn't want to go see YouTube, but I'm like, shit, I would go see YouTube there. Absolutely. Why not? Like that would be cool. Even the Eagles, like I saw a clip of them doing Hotel California on YouTube and they're, you know, 127 years old and they're not doing much on stage. It's just them standing there playing the guitar, but the visuals that they made around them. And I'm like, that's a show like that's at least worth going to see. Anyway, i'm I'm on a tangent, but.
00:50:45
Speaker
Really, really good. The one with Ellie Goulding obsessed. The ah FK twigs remix is easily going to be in my top five on my Spotify rap this year. I'm calling it. That's an album. Oh my God. Her album, I think comes out what? Yes. Week of the week after. I think so. Yeah. Oh my God. I can't wait either. I've loved everything that's come out so far. Yeah. Even the visualizers, like everything that she, because I didn't even realize that she had done a separate performance because she, she did perform with Anima at the sphere.
00:51:12
Speaker
but she also did a separate performance where there's a visualizer from another party where she performed his remix. Did you see that? yeah I just saw all this this week. I didn't know that those things existed. I had only seen the one like seven minute video.
00:51:23
Speaker
Right. We're right. Yeah. And and and I love it. Everything that the aesthetic that she has done with this, it's it's I'm blown away. i've I will be completely transparent. FK's music up until now has not really necessarily been my thing. I appreciate the creativity, though, right and her her visuals, her dance moves. Yeah.
00:51:43
Speaker
I've always been incredible. um I did like Glass and Patron, um but this is obviously a little bit more up my alley. And I'm very curious to hear the rest of the album. um So far, she's knocked it out of the park. Beyond. I cannot wait. And this is this this is, I'm waiting for a tour. I would like to see something like this live and see what that'll look like. I feel like she's gonna put on a ridiculous show.
00:52:06
Speaker
Oh my God, I can't even imagine the shot she would put on. I want i wonder what type of venues she could pull. I don't know. I mean, here in New York, I'm thinking it's probably like a terminal five type venue. Um, I don't have anything comparable in Michigan that I could say that to. I don't know. ah yeah I'm like, I'm like the intersection. right but i mean like well I don't, I don't think it's like a Madison square garden. I don't see that for her, like a stadium. Sure. Like 20,000 seats. That's big.
00:52:36
Speaker
I don't know about that, but maybe I don't know. I'm here for whatever it is. Lots, lots of little Twiggy's tweet. What would that be? what Faggots? A bundle of sticks, if you will. A bundle of sticks just waiting for Miss Twigs to get on stage. yeah but honestly And also just to touch back one more time, like Ellie Goulding, it's been a long time. Where's the album?
00:53:04
Speaker
It's been a minute. yeah it It has been a minute. Well, less didn do of um I was going to say she had an album come out, I think shortly before Miracle came out. And then I don't think anything was that. I don't want to say that I want to say that that album was not commercially successful, at least in the terms of the way that her previous so releases were. Right. Miracle free with a bit. And then, yeah, she did to the two Caliara songs. You know what, though, some of these so on her album, they did numbers.
00:53:34
Speaker
Well, no, I think that there was an album that came out because you're looking at are you looking at higher than heaven? Higher. Oh, wait. Was that 2013? No, no, 2023. Sorry, 2023. Oh, OK. I was going to say I was like, I say 2013. Sorry, that's my dad. You did. OK. Oh, my God. No, it's OK. I I was about to have a heart attack. I was like, what is time? I was like, am I in in a simulation? Right. But yeah. ah But then I was going to say that, yeah, the two Calvin Harris songs came out in the last two years or whatever.
00:54:03
Speaker
which I liked. I really like. Yeah, they're really good together. They definitely they they definitely work really well together. They do. Yeah, I don't know. I feel like you know what, like she's one of those people where it's like, girl, just give me a dance album. Yeah, right. like Speaking of dance music for sure. Right. And I feel like that was one of the issues with the higher than heaven album is that I was just like, it's not enough dance. Like, I feel like that's what you're known for.
00:54:27
Speaker
The way that you said the way that you just said, there's not enough dance. It made me think of the I don't see enough color. Right. It is very that not a lot of dance and not a lot of dance. I don't see enough dance. Right. Why is no one ready? Why? ah Literally, you've had hours and hours to prepare. Oh, God. Yeah. But see, like I was going to say just even to the numbers, like hypnotize the NEMA one. It's already a two million.
00:54:55
Speaker
Just came out. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good track. And I'm, you know, fingers crossed for maybe some remixes and extended version. The music video is such a fun, so simple. But that's a great way of like, you know, I know that music video budgets are not necessarily there now, especially for dance artists.
00:55:15
Speaker
Right. And so I'm like, what a great way to make a simple yet impactful. It kind of gave me Bjork vibes in a way. Totally. This hunter video where she it's just, you know, just her head and then there's the did the animated effects. I think that I mean, yes, stunning. Absolutely stunning. I wonder who directed that video. I have it's probably just the Whatchamacallit, because he has like a very specific team of like visual artists that work that oh cool. So like every single song, if you go through his singles, like this one just came out you sexual happened. um Angel in the dark was another one. And they all have their specific visual that goes with them.
00:55:55
Speaker
Okay, so I think it's right. So it's like they obviously recorded Ellie like just with a in a black room and she just did her thing and then the visual artist just sort of picked it all apart. Yeah, he's like, I'm gonna make it look like your face is just like gonna just fall apart, right? And like a cool sexy way and also like as somebody who has to render like for music like when I have to render big files and like how yeah When you have to render a video file that size, like what is the computer that you're using? Because I don't think people understand because like when I see people talking about, there was, Anima got a lot of pushback online from people that are just like, oh, it's the same thing in every video, same visual, same robots, same whatever. And I'm like, do you have any idea the amount of work that goes into this? Like Brian rendered a 12 minute video that we recorded when we were
00:56:42
Speaker
out just like recording like the road as we were driving. That video took an hour to render. Yeah, it's insane. For a 12 minute video. I can't imagine what the process is for making the sphere videos. Right. Because I'm like to see something that is so not distorted and it's so crisp. Right. On such an enormous like I don't think people can appreciate or even begin to fathom what it takes to make that happen. It is an enormous amount of work.
00:57:09
Speaker
I would think that the days to export something like that, that's insane. Has to be wild, so I'm ranting again, but yeah. No, I so I want to go back to the Beyonce of it all really quick because you're supposed to make that announcement today. What what do you think is going to happen? We don't know. So her announcement was supposed to happen today. Again, it was it's January 14th on the recording of this episode. We don't know when she's going to make the actual announcement now. What do you think is going to be? First of all, like the reason why I still pay for title is because I live in fear of Beyonce dropping an announcement that I don't. Now I have to live in fear again. I was like, Finally, my anguish is ending today. And now Beyonce, you're what? With an undetermined date? Right. I got to wait till every night at midnight to go to bed now just to be sure. Right. Right. Come on. Bad girl. Come on. I know. People have been running wild theories. Look, I'm just calling. My hat in the ring is it's a tour. That's what it feels like. It feels like it's a tour. I want it to be the visuals. I don't think it is.
00:58:12
Speaker
Yeah, it feels like a tour. um What's interesting is that when I was talking with Jeff about it, he, he you know, he made a good point. and He was like, you know, there's not, it's not that people don't like cowboy. I mean, there are a lot of people that don't like cowboy Carter, sure but there's not the energy behind it that there was with Renaissance. no And so he's like, I don't know if people are clamoring for a cowboy Carter tour. I think that this once Once Beyonce saw, and again, this is just my wild ass theory, but once Beyonce saw what was happening with the pandemic and the government and everything else happening here in America, when she switched and was just like, no, let's give them Renaissance, blah, blah, blah, whatever. yeah I feel like now everything that she has done, and I saw it with the Beyonce bowl performance,
00:59:04
Speaker
there is a very specific <unk> intention with this album. like Renaissance was like, energy, for the gays, give the girls, collect the fans, Vogors, here you go, like this is this is what it is, and we know what we're doing. This, everything feels super intentional, like there is messages and moments, and there always is, but I feel like the timing of what's happening with the government currently in America, um because this album feels so based in American culture,
00:59:33
Speaker
yeah and is such a thing about American culture. And I saw people talking about how they were just like, well, you know, we don't we didn't want an album celebrating America. Is that what you think this album is? Because it's not. Because it certainly is not. It certainly is not celebrating America. Like there's literally a song called American Requiem that starts the album anyway. But I feel like she's got a thing in her head of things on this tour.
00:59:55
Speaker
that if she doesn't say them now and do them now, the opportunities will not present themselves with future bodies of work in the same way. I feel like with the attention, the country of it all, the red, white, and blue of it all, I feel like it's very like she has to live in this moment and give the full thing to get it all out yeah before going on to whatever the next thing. Because I truly believe whatever next whatever is next is already done, printed, cut,
01:00:22
Speaker
It's being sent to the vinyl plants. Things are already in motion. I believe she's ahead of it like that. But I do think that she has more to say for this. I'm excited. I can't wait because I'm sorry. I can't wait to see what it is. Finally, I saw choreography for Texas Hold'em. Beautiful. I need more. I need more. Stunning. Give me choreography for Tyrant. Give me the choreography for Sweet Honey Buckin was excellent. Yeah.
01:00:47
Speaker
Can I tell you that? So when I was home for Christmas, we were my sister came home and and my niece and nephew were there and we were all and the in the living room and we were trying to decide what like movie to put on. And so everyone was like being like, I want to watch this, whatever. So I sneakily like logged in onto the Netflix on my phone and I just hit play on Beyonce Bowl.
01:01:13
Speaker
And I was like, I was like, Gweny, I think you're really going to like the singer. That's my niece. She's six years old. And let me tell you what, she was glued to the TV. You got to start them when they're young.
01:01:27
Speaker
And like and she loves the song Jolene by Dolly Parton. So when that song started, she she goes, she goes, that's not her song. And I was like, I was like, well, I was like, Dolly, let her sing it. And she was, oh, OK. And but she loved it. And then she she looked at me at when it was over or when when Texas Holden was finished, she looks at me and she goes, is there going to be any more songs?
01:01:54
Speaker
It was ah it was so precious. I was like, oh, my gosh. So then I started playing a little bit of a homecoming for her. And then like ah ah when when formation came on and she's like, what do you fuck me? Good. I think I was like, oh, we got to change it.
01:02:15
Speaker
But I was very proud. I was like, I think I turned her into a little be hiver. I hope so. Yeah. Gotta start them when they're young. Gotta start them when they're young. We do. We do. Oh my God. Well, I'm excited for this year. I think there's a lot more to come with music. Madonna's in the studio with the Stuart Price. You know what? I'm trying to not even let myself think about that too much.
01:02:41
Speaker
Same. Yeah. Because like I know that she's so politically minded and she must be losing her mind with everything that's going on in the country. But at the same time, like because my instinct is to be like, well, maybe we'll get another confession. No, I have to temper myself. I don't think that's what's going to happen. Right. Yeah, I do believe it would be a dance album.
01:02:59
Speaker
I do feel like it's gonna be a dance album. I mean, she's alluded to back when she did what back when she released the remix album a couple years ago before the tour. ah She did a questionnaire thing where they had mentioned that they were like, if you want to if you were to revisit another style of music, what would what would you do? And she said, house music. And so with Stuart Price being on board for this album and her tweeting, you know,
01:03:24
Speaker
Confessions 2.0 or something like that. like It would be cut quite rude if it wasn't. If she's like, this is my new album, 143. Yeah, 143 acoustic version. america Madonna 341. Yeah, right exactly. Oh my God. I would be like Madonna. And don't even get me started on the Max Martin thing. like That was rude too, but it is what it is. I really hope it happens in my lifetime.
01:03:53
Speaker
We'll see. I mean, maybe maybe they'll rework. I mean, I know that she's notorious for writing songs, then reworking them with other producers. So maybe that's true. What will happen? That would be kind of wild. A song written by Max Martin produced by Stuart Price.
01:04:06
Speaker
Yes, please. Yes. I'm down. Oh, my God. Yes. Dear God. Yeah. But i don't know I think we've got some exciting things this year, music wise, you know, Beyonce's announcement, Madonna, I'm sure that plenty of others. There's other people like that I'm sure that I'm blanking on right now. But Jade, her her album's coming out this year. So I think I think it's going to be a very interesting year.
01:04:29
Speaker
Yeah, me too. I'm excited. Yeah. Well, it comes to that time in the show, John Michael, for a song that you feel like is not talked about enough. Do you have a song? no so I do, and I think that it's gonna be really, really random, and I actually put this in my last DJ run on Peloton because I normally, I love the remix of this song and probably have played that more in my life, the That Kid Chris remix. um But even the original is so good as and as a pop R and&B song, Monica Get It Off. ah Yeah! ah Easily, I think, hands down, my favorite Monica track.
01:05:13
Speaker
It's so good. And I love it. The way it's so good. I love the way that they're like, that they kind of do the whole like DJ thing. Like, wait, wait, wait, we're going to run this back. And then they kind of rewind it and then like start literally kind of started over. Right. So fun. So fun. A Missy Elliott feature, which we love. It's a great Missy Elliott feature.
01:05:31
Speaker
Great feature. Yeah, and it's such a good sample using the set it off sample from the 80s by a strafe so good great sample so good but like that whole part where she just How to energize on my neck, my back, my thighs. Yes. It's so good. It's so good. I live. It really is. Yeah. Great. That's a great song. It really is. And for me in Gay Club Land, and when that song came out, that Kid Chris mix was everywhere. And I used to play the hell out of that. And I love, love, love. It's one of my favorite remixes of all time.
01:06:07
Speaker
But I put it in the cloud. I was like, you know what? We're going to start this class off with this. And I'm just going to see because I think it's just the right vibe. Absolutely. I love that. That's so good. Which ride is this? this ah ah No, it's my run with Adrian. OK. It was my oh on the track. Oh, fun. Yeah, from last month.
01:06:22
Speaker
And as soon as I picked it up, I was just like adding that to my list for my next appointment, my next thing with Zach. My next appointment? My next appointment with Zach. With Homophonic, Dr. Homophonic. I love that. What would you kind of stylize? So the original version of the track? The original version is definitely R&B. R&B like hip hop, but that specific sound, I'd love that like sound. It's very like it's 80s because it's like it's almost a direct sample. Like it's so much of the original track is sampled in that.
01:06:52
Speaker
I love it so much. and So we must be on a similar wavelength because I have... and I'll even reference this because I texted you about it. but um i you know There was a an R and&B singer by the name of Cisco who had all of our hearts and souls back in. And other parts. And other parts. Lots of other
Sisqo's Solo Album and Cultural Influence
01:07:18
Speaker
parts, maybe. Lots of parts.
01:07:20
Speaker
um where back in the late 90s, early 2000s, he was very big and he released a solo album, Unleash the Dragon. Everyone knows Thong Song, right? Everyone knows Thong Song, everyone knows, well, I don't know if everyone, this is, ah it's one of those number one singles, Incomplete, it went number one, but like, do people actually remember Incomplete? Probably not. Like, probably not, right? Definitely not white people. Right. Definitely not white people. Definitely not.
01:07:46
Speaker
But the lead single from the album would be probably my actual favorite single from the album. It was a song called Got to Get It. So good. And so good. And specifically, I want to call out the super Jupiter remix that I had never even heard before in my life until they had put the like he had like a special deluxe version that was like released in international territories back when the album was like actually out in physical form.
01:08:15
Speaker
And um it had like a bonus CD, DVD with like you know all but all the jewels and love from the 90s and the early 2000s gave us. And this remix was on there. And I was like, super Jupiter remix. I was like, what is this? I'm like, I color be intrigued. And I listened to it. And it is in a similar. It's not exact. So don't like.
01:08:38
Speaker
take this as you will, but like similar to get it off, just a similar type of sound with just that like, I don't know, just like a really great almost like, I don't know how to describe it, but I just, I love that sound of like the hip hop R and&B of that time. And it's just such a fun remix and I was like getting my life to it. And then that inspired me to then text you. Which no one on earth would have texted me this.
01:09:07
Speaker
No, no other person except for me. I texted John Michael and I was like, do you have the full club or I know I wasn't even that I said, is there a full club version of Jonathan Peters remix of Got to Get It? Because I had the radio at it on a CD single, but I was like, I've only ever seen a radio at it. I've never heard anyone mention a club version. Thank God for you because you had it like a crazy person. and yeah But like you know we've got to keep these things alive. Look, I fully believe that the world has put, at least me and you, we have found each other for some other purpose that involves music somewhere down the road. I haven't figured out what that is, but there's something. And I do believe that.
01:09:55
Speaker
So, and I think that it has something to do specifically with this type of music. yeah but Yeah, for sure. Yeah.
Pitching a Dance Music Show Idea
01:10:01
Speaker
Maybe we need to start pitching this like show about dance music to a streamer. Like maybe we just need, I don't, we'll figure out, we'll ask chat GPT how to fucking do it and we'll start doing it. Cause let me tell you what, I think that would be such a fucking cool show to just kind of unearth. And it doesn't have to necessarily be dance music, but like. Well, but I think it also like it would it would speak to so many different fans. Like we talk about the dance music of this era, but also like the people that they were doing dance remixes for are like enormous stars. So it's like there's right. It's not like it's this this this music that nobody's ever heard of. It's like, no, it's like big music. That's you know, that was a thing. But yeah, the dance. We'll call it the dance dance. Oh, my gosh. Cisco, I would like to personally thank you for making me wake up one day and be like, oh, I'm also attracted to men with silver hair.
01:10:49
Speaker
Thank you. I'm not even kidding. I so I'm sure I think was my actual sexual awakening but Cisco I remember watching the wild wild west video. ah I'm not a fan of the song but that video with the way he looked in that video.
01:11:02
Speaker
Let me tell you what, I was like, I've never seen lower rise leather pants. Right. Right. And I was like, I am very curious. Just pull them down a little bit more. Cisco, no, you better don't. Let me see what you got going on. I want to see that while I'm out west.
01:11:21
Speaker
Oh, yeah. That man was hot. Yeah. Yeah. Cisco, we love you. We do. We love you. We love you. Well, everyone, thank you for listening to another chaotic episode of Homophonic. I'm sure I can't wait to listen to this back and be like, wow, we were we were on something. We we talked about nothing for an hour and 20 minutes. We certainly did. We said we felt that time real good. Well, until next time, everyone, thank you so much for listening and peace out.