tgs 2/11 - taylor swift had a bad day

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read to the end for Flavor Flav meeting boygenius

hello friends and welcome new friends to the ‘ten good songs’ newsletter. this week our fun little club grew 3x larger, and i just love every one of you. thanks for giving this little thing we do here a chance. moving forward, you can expect music news, commentary, random funny stuff, and, of course, ten good songs. i hope you enjoy and if you unsubscribe you are dead to me!

title tracks

THE UNIQUE STAKES FOR USHER’S SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCE (NPR)
did you know that artists don’t get paid for performing the Super Bowl? kind of fucked up because artists have been getting fucked over by the ‘you’re being paid in exposure’ line since the dawn of time. in the end, what it means is you have to capitalize on this performance like when Rihanna advertised her beauty brand mid performance (and now she is a billionaire.) so how is usher capitalizing? well, he is a part of the zeitgeist again, even though the anticipation for his performance has been noticeably cooler than last year’s half time hype. and he just released an album that is pretty good (even though i find his music to be indistinguishable from The Weeknd.) i’m calling it now, the final step to this equation is announcing a tour as soon as the curtain falls. honestly, i like Usher. doubly so ever since Hitch came out (i am an iceburg.) i hope the strategy works out for him.

TAYLOR SWIFT AND THE GOOD GIRL TRAP (CULTURE STUDY)
we all saw taylor at the grammy’s (woof) but i haven’t seen anyone sum up the reaction to the cringe better than Anne Hellen Peterson of the Culture Study newsletter. icymi, taylor made tracy chapman’s legendary return all about herself, then she won album of the year and used her speech to promote her ANOTHER NEW ALBUM (jfc), embarrass her friend, and have an incredibly awkward interaction with boygenius (yikes.) listen, one night doesn’t define a person, but for most people Taylor has been a name in a headline, and seeing this side of her in the spotlight can be defining for many and shows the fragility of her PR winning streak. if i was Taylor’s agent, i would tell Taylor that she’s literally had the best year of her career, and she should take a year off,. my prediction for 2024? the taylor fatigue will set in hord.

A PITCHFORK REVIEW I AGREE WITH (PITCHFORK)
this week i stumbled upon a band called The Last Dinner Party and felt a familiar chill shoot down my spine. it’s the same shiver i felt when my good friend pointed out to me how meteoric and spontaneous Wet Leg’s rise was, and how he was convinced they were… (cover your ears) an industry plant. for TLDP, they just released a slick, highly produced freshman album to the admiration of critics and fans everywhere, and i couldn’t help shake the feeling i was being pandered to. don’t get me wrong, there is unquestionable, gobsmacking talent here. but i don’t like music that feels like it was made in a lab for our enjoyment. and for the first time in a while, it seems like Pitchfork agrees with me! fucking bonkers. regardless, i wish them luck as they inevitably take over the world.

best new albums

welcome to the first edition of our weekly album reviews section. since we only talk about good music here, we will use a scale of '“really good” to “really really really good”. reviews will be one sentence only.

💿What Now by Brittany Howard (funk/psych/soul/rock)
👍👍👍really really really good - this album is a box of chocolates that slaps so hard and if you even remotely liked her debut album or her work on “Sound and Color” by the Alabama Shakes, you will love what she does here.
⭐Standout Tracks: “I Don’t” “Patience” “Every Color In Blue”

💿Dusk by Darryl Rahn (indie rock)
👍really good - i’ve always had a soft boi spot for Darryl and his songs that focus on how all we humans interact and waver between rock and singer/songwriter.
⭐Standout Tracks: “Nothing Ever Happens” “Easier By Now” “Angels Bowling”

💿Drop 7 by Little Simz (rap/electronic)
👍really good - an intense EP with tons of frenetic energy and is begging to be remixed so you can dance to these tracks in the clurb.
⭐Standout Tracks: “Torch” “Far Away”

💿Two Star & The Dream Police by Mk.gee (atmospheric rock)
👍👍really really good - Mk.gee spent a lot of time on tour with Bon Iver and Dijon and it shows here in his lush soundscapes that are catchy and sound like they were recorded in a cave.
⭐Standout Tracks: “Alesis” “New Low” “ Little Bit More”