Welcome back to Pop Loser! This week, Ben Gibbard pissed people off by saying that the Velvet Underground is better than the Beatles. While I wholeheartedly agree, saying that anyone is “better than the Beatles” is a tired rage-bait tactic. But while we’re here, I also believe that Josie and the Pussycatsare better than the Beatles. Heavens to Betsy are better than the Beatles. The Smiths are better than the Beatles. Madonna is better than the Beatles. Are you fuming? Good. Keep reading.
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This Week in Music:
This week in Strangerland, I interviewed punk icon Alice Bag about the power of punk rock, why being bisexual is cool as hell, and that time Sid Vicious tried to take her mic. See Bag at the Black Lodge on July 17.
Heavens To Betsy announced their first tour in 32 years. When Corin Tucker’s pre-Sleater-Kinney band with Tracy Sawyer put up fliers for a surprise reunion show in Portland—with just a week’s notice—it sold out almost immediately. I missed out, and was seething with envy; their 1994 album Calculated is one of my most treasured pieces of music (more on that later). Luckily for us, the duo has since announced a reunion tour with a stop at Neumos in November.
Money (That’s What She Wants). Letters To Cleo singer Kay Hanley revealed to Vulture that she’s earned less than $1,500 total for her vocals in the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats, detailing that she’s been paid no residuals and compensated for just one day of labor (Hanley claims that her work on the film amounted to nearly a full month). Because of these low earnings, Hanley is now ineligible for SAG-AFTRA health insurance. Any fan of this cult classic will tell you that Hanley’s voice makes the movie. (I would know, this has been my favorite movie since I saw it in theaters at five years old.) Actress Rachel Lee Cook (who plays Josie) showed Hanley support, commenting, “There’s zero mystery here, I AM NOT A SINGER, Kay did ALL of the amazing vocals, SAG-AFTRA please help Kay Hanley get what she more than deserves ❤️😾#bewarethemusic.”
Morrissey is mad (again). Ahead of the release of the BBC’s eight-part podcast series The Rise and Fall of The Smiths, the legendary drama queen took to his website to pen a lengthy, since-deleted post, attacking his former bandmate Johnny Marr for damaging the band’s legacy for pay (which, honestly, sounds like what Moz is up to these days). “Forty years on, Marr cannot do anything with his life but look back,” Morrissey writes. “The souring of the Smiths dream unravels once again through Marr’s mechanical paces, which are by now totally predictable plot development. The outcome is never in doubt—Marr angel; Morrissey executioner…the truth is always ignored.”
This week in Madonna…The Queen of Pop appeared on the Graham Norton show last Friday to promote Confessions II with a surprise appearance from Kylie Minogue. Norton was eager to ask if the two collaborated on the new album. “Why do you have to know everything?” Madonna responded playfully. “You’re very nosy…It’s my job to be mysterious.” (That sounds like a “yes” to me!) Madonna also made headlines this week after telling Vogue Italiathat relying on AI is “the opposite of making art.” This, people, is how you do a press tour.
How brave! Singer-songwriter and daughter of JJ Abrams, Gracie Abrams, addressed the nepo baby accusations. “The nepo stuff is obviously in the discourse appropriately,” she told the New York Times’ Popcast. “I think about the privilege there, and it’s like, I had a safety net, and that allowed me the ability to experiment and to concentrate, and I had the gift of time to dedicate to doing this thing I loved. I wasn’t growing up afraid financially, and that’s the biggest deal.”
Ben Gibbard says the Velvet Underground are better than the Beatles. While promoting the new Death Cab For Cutie album on Vulture’s Good One podcast, Gibbard shared the hot take: “Their music is more interesting than the Beatles, but the Beatles are the bigger band. I love the Beatles, and I love the Velvet Underground, but the Velvet Underground are a better band than the Beatles in my view. They’re more important to me. Their music’s more impactful. It’s richer. The lyrics are more poignant and more poetic. The creative decisions are more avant-garde. The pop songs are poppier.” If this makes you angry, save your digital tears—Gibbard continued: “People are going to rage on me about it, and that’s fine. I don’t check social media ever.”
Music Events Worth Your Hard-Earned Money This Week:
Daniela Andrade July 1, Neumos, 7 pm, all ages
Summer Walker: Still Finally Over It Tour July 1, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages
In Spite of Ourselves: A Celebration of the Music of John Prine July 2, Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages
Tomo Nakayama Band, Dog Mom July 2, Rabbit Box Theater, 8 pm, all ages
Noches de Rock en Español July 3, Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+
Yaeji July 3, Substation, 9 pm, 21+
The Songs That Keep Me Up at Night:
“Wink Wink” by Charli xcx
With the opening lines, “I used to lick cream off strawberries in the summer / And maybe I fucked your dad / Just kidding, I’m only saying that for effect,” I loved this single upon first listen. The music video is also gorgeously shot and dangerously horny, reminding me a lot of Walerian Borowczyk’s Immoral Tales. And, as a Charli fan who still regularly listens to SUCKER, the indie-electronic rock sound on her newest singles feels like a return to form.
“axeman” by Heavens to Betsy
In honor of their reformation, I must take a moment to appreciate my favorite song that came out of the riot grrrl movement. This song soundtracked so many angry walks through my high school hallway. It’s also one of the few songs from the movement to acknowledge white privilege. It’s lyrically and sonically seething. When Tucker shouts, “I’m going crazy, do you wanna watch? Do you wanna come?” I felt that in my bones.
