Pop Loser: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Charli’s Version)

Welcome back to Pop Loser! This week, Charli XCX announced a new album, Joanna Newsom got her own holiday, Jack White debuted his “art,” and not even Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan will play at Trump’s Great American State Fair. Madonna shared a special message for Pride Month. Plus, Bob Dylan will be in town this weekend, and my enthusiasm might surprise you.

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This Week in Music

Pour one out for the R-Day lineup announcement! The Georgetown music fest will return September 12 with Chicago indie rock trio Dehd, local post punk band Telehealth (who recently signed to Sub Pop), Spokane’s psych rock outfit Kadabra, and Seattle emcee Lace Cadence. The festival is free and unticketed (just show up!), with proceeds from the beer garden benefitting the Georgetown Business Association. 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Charli’s Version). Charli XCX announced her new album, titled Music, Fashion, Film (out July 24), with an album cover that’s already rivaling the iconic puke-green Brat. Shot by Aidan Zamiri (director of The Moment), the cover features gods of each discipline: John Cale, Marc Jacobs, and Martin Scorsese, posed in a run-down kitchen. While I immediately questioned her choice of elder white men for the cover, Charli explained to journalist Shaad D’Souza that it’s all a matter of personal taste: “Everybody has their own opinions on who their trifecta of those people are, so it’s kind of fun seeing everybody else’s interpretations of that.” My holy trinity would be Nina Simone, Betsey Johnson, and Agnès Varda. What about you?

Mark your calendars for Joanna Newsom Day. On Wednesday, Nevada City mayor Adam Kline announced that the harpist and folk prodigy will be celebrated every May 27. Following the honor, Newsom gave a 15-minute acceptance speech, expressing that the holiday “means more to me than a Grammy or any other award could.”

Pop music incoming: Ariana Grande dropped a new song this week, “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” the first single from her upcoming album Petal (out July 31). The song is dreamy, soft, and synthy—I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Taylor Swift also announced that she’s written a song for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. “I Knew It, I Knew You,” out this Friday, is written with and produced by Jack Antonoff and is reportedly inspired by “Jessie’s ongoing journey.” 

Jack White makes “art.” The White Stripes frontman unveiled his visual art exhibition, These Thoughts May Disappear, at a London gallery on Friday, and the internet is not impressed. His “work” consists of found objects, furniture, and installations that look like piles of trash spray-painted in primary colors, or, as the Guardian put it, “like a 12-year-old visiting Tate Modern for the first time.” Sorry, but it’s giving Adrien Brody. 

Speaking of embarrassing functions, Trump’s Great American State Fair is falling apart (surprise, surprise). Of the artists scheduled to perform, six have already dropped out, including Bret Michaels, the Commodores, Martina McBride, and Fab Morvan (of Milli Vanilli). So far, Vanilla Ice is the only act that has officially confirmed his participation, telling TMZ, “I don’t even vote, so I don’t even care.” And continuing, “I’ll go play for Putin and I’ll play in Iran if you want. It don’t matter.” How charming.

Now, please enjoy a very special Pride message from Madonna, as she lies on her bathroom floor (next to a clamshell-shaped toilet) while smoking a blunt. 

Music Events Worth Your Hard-Earned Money This Week:

Great Women of Folk and Country: Pride Edition! June 4, Royal Room, 7:30 pm, all ages

Isobel Campbell June 4, Tractor Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+

Kendall Lujan June 4, Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+

The Fin June 4, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+

Acapulco Lips, Daisychain, Peyote Ugly June 6, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+

Bad Girls Do It Better June 6, Massive, 8 pm, 21+

Pride at Mr. B’s Mead Center June 6, Mr. B’s Mead Center, 1–11 pm, all ages, donations encouraged

Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, John Doe Folk Trio June 6–7, Chateau Ste. Michelle, 6:30 pm, all ages

Rostam: American Stories Tour June 7, Crocodile, 8 pm, 21+

The Human League, Soft Cell, Alison Moyet June 8, Marymoor Park, 6 pm, all ages

The Songs That Keep Me Up at Night:

“Handle” by Ravyn Lenae

Ravyn Lenae’s new single is perfectly genreless. There are glimmers of nostalgic R&B, shoegaze, and radio pop, but no label feels quite right. My crystal ball tells me that her upcoming album Blue Island (out August 7) will mark her breakthrough into the mainstream, or at least become favored by critics. This first single already reminds me of creative peaks like Grimes’s on Art Angels or Spellling’s The Turning Wheel. 

“Oh, Sister” by Bob Dylan 

Not to be “that guy,” but if you dislike Bob Dylan, it’s probably because you haven’t heard the right songs. Dylan’s 1976 album Desire is perhaps his most underrated and, in my opinion, his most beautiful. With backup vocals by Earth angel Emmylou Harris and violin by Scarlet Rivera, the glittering feminine elements perfectly balance Dylan’s gravelly vocals and turn his sound into something really, really sweet. Apparently, he hasn’t performed this song live since 1990, but the man is unpredictable, so my fingers are still crossed that he’ll play it at Chateau Ste. Michelle this weekend. 

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