Welcome back to Pop Loser! This week, Angine de Poitrine shared a photo with Shania Twain, Noah Kahan got Kidz Bopped, and the world lost beloved musician and comedian Oliver Tree. I will share my favorite song from Olivia Rodrigo’s new album. And, this is your annual reminder to listen to the 2000 album Saints & Sinners by British girl group All Saints.
Subscribe to Pop Loser here!
This Week in Music:
This week in Strangerland, I interviewed singer-songwriter Kinsey Lee about her debut solo album Cold Cuts, and Grace Madigan profiled Sacha Maxim (aka DJ piojin), the owner of Latin record pop-up Disco Mundo.
Let’s go Filles! On Tuesday, Angine de Poitrine shared a photo of themselves in their masked polka-dot glory alongside country pop queen Shania Twain. Why? The Canadian phenoms were filming an episode of Later… with Jools Holland, which airs June 21.
Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide” got Kidz Bopped. On KIDZ BOP 53, the ever-evolving children’s singing group revamped the folk-pop hit to something not just more kid-friendly, but more pro-cop. The original lyric “I can’t recall the last time we talked about anything but lookin’ out for cops,” was changed to “I can’t recall the last time we talked about anything but hanging with the cops.” Kahan himself weighed in, writing, “Such a specific choice.”
Remember that video of Amanda Seyfried playing “California” on the dulcimer? Apparently, she didn’t learn that just for fun, but for a Joni Mitchell biopic. The actress revealed to British GQ that she learned several of Mitchell’s songs in preparation for the film, and even spent an evening with the icon. “I sat on the floor petting one of the dogs. She told me a lot of stories,” Seyfried said. The film was eventually shelved, but a new film is now in the works, reportedly directed by Cameron Crowe and starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Meryl Streep, both playing Mitchell at different points in her life.
Do ya think I’m lying? On Saturday, Rod Stewart’s team shared a statement cancelling his upcoming live show in California, writing, “On the advice of his doctors and following a diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis, he is unable to take the stage this evening.” Then, just 24 hours later, Stewart shared a video of himself on a private jet to Boston with his sons to see the World Cup game between Scotland and Haiti. Fans in the comment section were understandably pissed. Stewart later released his own statement, writing, “Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not. I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to my fans.” He has since cancelled two more shows in Colorado.
Bob Dylan speaks! For Trump’s 80th birthday, the New York Timesasked several American treasures, including Liza Minnelli, Dionne Warwick, and the notoriously reclusive Bob Dylan, about the best and worst parts of living through eight decades. Dylan offered, “The best thing about being 80 is that you outlive the clocks that have been chasing you. It’s freedom from that lie that anything was ever under control. You don’t chase the parade anymore. You’re an old king from some vanished country. You’re harder to program. You’re not rushing to become anything and you’re not haunted by things that you did. You’re haunted by how little of it really mattered in the way you thought it would.”
RIP Oliver Tree. The California-born musician and comedian, best known for viral hits “Miss You” and “Life Goes On,” died in a helicopter crash in Brazil, along with five others, on Sunday morning. Pop star Melanie Martinez, who used to date Tree, paid tribute to the 32-year-old, writing, “He was so dedicated to his art, which I admired and respected so deeply. I think everyone who knew him will look back at those moments of laughter and joy he so easily sparked.”
Music Events Worth Your Hard-Earned Money This Week:
Natalia LafourcadeJune 17, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Sera Cahoone Live In-StoreJune 17, Sub Pop Waterfront, 5 pm, all ages
Celebrating the Miles Davis Centennial with Miles Electric BandJune 18, Town Hall Seattle, 8 pm, all ages
Carson Daniel (Album Release), Zailee Haze, AsterhouseJune 19, Rabbit Box Theatre, 9
pm, all ages
Juneteenth with Duality, Manwell, Black DiscsJune 19, Cherry Nightclub, 10 pm, 21+
Lucy Clearwater, Nat Meek, Drew Martin June 19, Fremont Abbey, 8:30 pm, all ages
Gia Margaret, Brendan Eder EnsembleJune 20, Fremont Abbey, 8 pm, all ages
Great Womxn of Disco & FunkJune 20, Royal Room, 8 pm, all ages until 10 pm
Sister Nancy, the Rootsonic Band, Dub Lounge International, DJ Indica JonesJune 20, Nectar Lounge, 8 pm, 21+
The Songs That Keep Me Up at Night:
“The Cure” by Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo’s third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, dropped on Friday, and this is the one song I can’t stop thinking about. While the instrumentals can be likened to early Foo Fighters and Mellon Collie–era Smashing Pumpkins, it doesn’t overtly sound like another artist, which is often my critique of Rodrigo’s catalog (Rodrighoes, don’t come for me!). Her harmonies are stunning, the lyrics are some of her most complex, and the music video is one of her best.
“Black Coffee” by All Saints
When British pop girl group All Saints released the bedazzled Saints & Sinners album in the year 2000, I think I was too wrapped up in the Spice Girls to have noticed them. Now, 26 years later, I’m obsessed. The album is a perfect combination of teen pop and adult-contemporary pop à la Madonna’s Ray of Light or Dido’s No Angel. I can’t stop thinking about the lyrics of “Black Coffee,” particularly “Daydreamin’, chain smokin’ / Always laughin’, always jokin’.”
