september summary
hilary duff's forthcoming comeback, cool long jackets, the Oasis show that changed everything for me, back-to-school season, manifestations, and a state of the union on solo male popstars
“I’m doing better; I made it through September,” as singer Maisie Peters sings in her mid-tempo growth anthem “There It Goes”. On the list of songs that are framed around the month of September – of which there are quite a lot – this one ranks pretty high. In no particular order, other favorites include:
“Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day
“It Might As Well Rain Until September” by Carole King
“September” by Daughtry
I was talking to a few coworkers earlier this month about how little we’ve been able to shed the anxious anticipatory feeling that comes with September and, more specifically, back-to-school season. September stands symbolically for so much. But for me, it always feels like the real start of the new year rather than January 1. Perhaps that’s because the Jewish calendar starts over in September on Rosh Hashanah; perhaps it’s because my body will always associate the first few weeks of autumn with a chance to make a new impression, a chance to reset because of how important I always felt the first day of school was.
The end of this particular August and beginning of September brought so much to me:
Sharing a family-style dinner with my nearest and dearest to ring in my 26th year. The sangria was flowing and I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for my friends and the life I’ve built that I have very few photos from that night – which is how you know it was a good time.
Attending 4 bucket-list concerts of mine: The Fray at Pier 17, Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden, Oasis at MetLife Stadium, and HAIM at Madison Square Garden. These four shows raised the bar for any future concert experience for me. All four are artists/acts I have seriously followed for approximately half of my life and I cannot believe I got the chance to see them all live this summer. More on this later.
Waking up to see pictures of Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson reunited at a pub, seemingly having a ball and potentially filming something. Not much more to say there. I find it devastating that tragedy is what brought these feuding former bandmates together, but I’m glad that at the very least it seems that they’ve buried the hatchet and stopped wasting life’s precious moments fighting on Twitter.
Starting and finishing Love Life, an HBO Max original limited series now no longer on HBO Max and instead on Netflix, in just two weeks. Never have I ever been so engrossed in a limited series the way I devoured this show. I’ve somehow not heard anyone talk about it and I have zero clue why. Perhaps it’s because the-world-according-to-Deux-Moi decided that Anna Kendrick is the same brand of annoying as they once unfairly deemed Anne Hathaway. But Kendrick absolutely crushes as the lead in the first season and William Jackson Harper picks up right where she left off in the second. It’s a show with a structure unlike any other I’ve seen. Each season follows the interpersonal relationships of one character, mostly their romantic and sexual relationships but also touching on their friendships and their relationships with their parents. Every episode is devoted to telling the beginning, middle, and end of their relationship with a person. The show is structured this way to elucidate that every person you have a relationship with changes you, teaches you things, and leaves a ripple in their wake when they leave. It’s meant to show that every step one takes leads them indubitably to where they’re supposed to be in the end, with whom they’re supposed to be with, no matter how much time it may have taken. It’s an absolutely stunning series with real, complicated characters and dialogue that sounds the way we all talk. Though the pacing of the last few episodes was a bit too quick for my liking, I thoroughly enjoyed watching and would highly recommend. BTW: I’m now trying out Somebody Somewhere since HBO really does give us the best originals! Jeff Hiller is an undeniable star.
“Just Try Not To Worry, We’ll See You Someday”: How Oasis’s Gallagher Brothers Pulled Off The Greatest Reunion Concert of All Time
“Try not to put your life in the hands of a rock ‘n’ roll band,” Noel Gallagher warns on the second verse of “Don’t Look Back In Anger”. “Don’t Look Back In Anger” marked the first Oasis single that Noel sang lead on. It has all the prototypical markers of an Oasis song: a stadium-sized chorus with a Beatles mantra at its center, a distinct guitar riff that sticks in your brain and feels like it’s always somehow been there, and uplifting but slightly platitudinal lyrics. Through it all, there’s that persistent hope. A hope that some find to be a fool’s errand and others are heartened by. This is a band that often puffs out its chest, calling themselves the greatest of all time, so “try not to put your life in the hands of a rock ‘n’ roll band” is a surprisingly self-aware lyric from them.
Oasis is a Britpop fan’s ultimate fantasy. Fronted by the messy moptop Gallagher brothers, Oasis has both the melodic prowess of The Beatles and the attitude and swagger of The Rolling Stones. This lethal combo makes it truly difficult to not want to put your life in the hands of this rock ‘n’ roll band. Oasis’s central 20-year brotherly rivalry has threatened to transform their public image from hitmakers to lowly Daily Sun headline-makers. They are, at their core, an unreliable band to root for and they know it. As Liam Gallagher recently said at one of their reunion shows: “nice one for putting up with us over the years. We are hard work - I get it”.
I attended Oasis’s first night at MetLife on August 31st, where – aside from the rock and roll stars – Adidas jerseys and bucket hats and beer breath unified the crowd. Not even at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour did I see this much official and unofficial merchandise; it was a true anomaly to see anyone not repping. Perhaps it’s because of the Gallaghers’ fervent fandom of British soccer team Manchester City (known affectionately as “Man City” to Brits, Ted Lasso watchers, and anglophiles alike) whose fans also take pride in showing up logo-ed up. On the elevators up to the 200s section where my seat was, concertgoers started singing Oasis’s biggest hits. In the parking lot, I saw a woman wearing mesh high socks screen-printed with Noel and Liam’s faces. I saw a black SUV with a scrawled quote each from Noel and Liam on opposite doors; these were seemingly some of the tamest words either brother has ever uttered, by the way.
Shortly after Cage The Elephant finished their opening set, the stadium’s screens lit up with newspaper clippings and social posts from when Oasis announced their long-awaited reunion last year. It’s difficult to overstate just how unbelievable it is that it actually happened, so they reminded us.
In 2018, Liam compared his older brother Noel’s wife at the time to Vladimir Putin. Noel once said of Liam: “he’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup”. Liam once said of Noel: “I’ve had more fun with a tin of sardines”. In an interview with The Guardian, Noel brought their mother into it: “I liked my mum until she gave birth to Liam”. And then there was that time Liam named Noel as the Villain of the Year when asked on the NME Awards red carpet, saying he’s worse than Donald Trump or Kim Jong-Un. So, when they reassured us in 2002’s “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” that we shouldn’t worry, that they’ll “see [us] someday”, the sentiment was not exactly believable. Liam once threw his tambourine at Noel during a 1994 gig and Noel once bashed Liam with a cricket bat during the recording of their second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?.1 But somehow, after all of that antagonizing and much more, the brothers let bygones be bygones. They even marched onstage hand in hand. Ended the show in embrace as fireworks cracked open in the sky.
I am a romantic at my core. I’m a sucker for a happy ending like this. I’m not naïve to the Goliath effort it must have been to put this all together and wrap it up in a neat bow. I’m not naïve to the fact that the group – brothers and former bandmates alike –must’ve only agreed to this reconciliation if there were inconceivable sums of money involved. But I also know this: this reunion could’ve happened any time in the last two decades and received the same reaction from Oasis acolytes and casual “Wonderwall” fans alike. Bearing witness by being at this concert felt like watching a new chapter be written in a book the world thought was closed by lock-and-key.
Many have already waxed poetic about the cosmic force of this show, but it will always bear repeating and repeating over and over again. Up in the bleachers, the floor bounced as we did the Poznan to “Cigarettes and Alcohol” – a tradition Oasis fans adopted from Man City fans. Arms around shoulders, backs turned, jumping in unison.
In so many ways, this custom is a fitting shorthand for how Oasis’s songs make us feel. Like we’re knit together, jumping in unison on and on forever. It’s not just that the songs rock, but it’s that they’re packed with air-tight, indefatigable hope. They’re almost religiously bullish. On “Acquiesce”, Noel’s voice soars with this sentiment: “because we need each other, we believe in one another”. On “Live Forever”, Liam sings Noel’s aspirations and makes the recklessly optimistic pursuit of eternal life cool (something he’s always done so effortlessly): “we see things they’ll never see / you and I are gonna live forever”. He doesn’t merely invite us to believe; he figures we must because doing anything else would be sacrilegious. To ourselves, to our future, to the conceit of the band.
For the two hours I stood in the bleachers singing along, I felt it. I believed them. You and I are gonna live forever.
For more on this exact show, read comedian Alex Edelman’s guest essay for Rolling Stone and Steven Zeitchik’s recap for The Hollywood Reporter. I particularly love Zeitchik’s subtitle for his piece: “Unruly, undigital, and fiercely communal – the Gallagher Bros.’ U.S. swing is everything our techno-entertainment isn’t. Which is exactly why we need them”. Bars.
Here’s a list of catalog cuts I’ve had on loop since my show, in case you’re looking to delve deeper into their discog:
Hilary Duff Is Returning To Music. Let’s Talk About It.
Yes, you read that right: Hilary Duff is returning to music.
This is significant news for the SLEEPER HIT community for a number of reasons including but not limited to that Hilary Duff is returning to music and there’s a nonzero chance that Kara DioGuardi could be involved in the composition of aforementioned new music. If you are unfamiliar with the work of one Kara DioGuardi, I promise that you are not. Loyal reader, we’ve been over this before but I will refresh your memory. Ms. DioGuardi is the foremother of bratty teen pop-rock. The writer behind hits (and sleeper hits) by Ashlee Simpson, Ashley Tisdale, Britney, Demi and the JoBros, Kelly Clarkson, Miley (and Hannah), Lindsay Lohan, and many more who loom large in my herstory books. DioGuardi had a brief but impactful stint as a judge on American Idol, the eighth and ninth seasons’ feisty counterpart to Paula Abdul’s sweet disposition and nothing-burger comments. DioGuardi veered more for constructive feedback and tough love while sitting in her judge’s chair, an approach I most resonated with as a 10-year-old with a voracious appetite for brutal criticism. But we must go back, back to the beginning: Hilary Duff is returning to music.
Duff is known best for her portrayal of Y2K Disney Channel icon Lizzie McGuire and as the singer of Laguna Beach theme song “Come Clean”, but her Metamorphosis album (the one “Come Clean” comes from) was a true blueprint for tween stars looking to branch out from their TV roles and express themselves through music. Her impact reverberated throughout Disney, but also sparked a chain reaction over at Nickelodeon – where Jamie Lynn Spears would become a chanteuse herself (with one semi-hit to her name: the Zoey 101 theme song) and soon thereafter Miranda Cosgrove would go from random dancing on iCarly to recording albums totally indebted to the Duff Supreme. There is no “Kissin U”, no “Dancing Crazy” without “So Yesterday” and that’s a fact.2
Hilary Duff is now married to Matthew Koma of the alt-rock group Winnetka Bowling League and it’s been confirmed that his fingerprints will be all over the forthcoming comeback record as well. Koma is a venerable songwriter in his own right; he is credited as a co-writer on Zedd and Foxes’ Grammy-winning stone-cold classic “Clarity”. He also served as an opening act on LMFAO’s Sorry For Party Rocking tour in 2012, which earns my utmost respect. Not to mention that Koma dated Carly Rae Jepsen from 2012 to 2015 while working together on Jepsen’s sophomore album Kiss. This man carries the weight of a zillennial’s world on his shoulders and I believe he will be a suitable collaborator for Duff’s next traverse into music. Cin cin to Hilary, spelled with only one “L”. We love you, girl.
Please enjoy a brief list of my personal favorite Duff lyrics:
“If the light is off, then it isn’t on” from “So Yesterday”
“If you can’t do the math, then get out of the equation / I am calling you back / this is star 69”3 from “The Math”
“You seem to like me better when I creep” from “Party Up”
“Try’na fit a square into a circle was no life / I defy” from “Come Clean”
“Going out is better than always staying in” from “Come Clean”
“Why not…take a crazy chance? Why not…do a crazy dance?” from “Why Not”
Lastly, a moment of silence for one of the greatest recorded live performances of all time: Hilary Duff’s Today Show performance of “With Love” from 2007’s Toyota Concert Series.
I lied; I have more to say.
Just a mere two years later, Hilary Duff starred as Dan Humphrey’s blonde-of-the week on Gossip Girl. If you thought the light was draining from her eyes in the Today show performance, you should give Gossip Girl season 3 a watch. Her rendition of Lady Gaga’s “LoveGame” is truly awe-inspiring, the scene I’d probably name as the number-one most uncomfortable scene in the series.
That being said, Hilary has taken some much-deserved time away from the spotlight since her run on the so-bad-it’s-good Sutton Foster-led dramedy Younger in the late 2010s and I trust that her hunger for delivering glittery pop bops has built up quite a bit. We are much overdue for a Duffaissance and I have unwavering faith that she will meet the moment!
Miscellaneous Pressing Matters:
Dreamgirls Fall 2026 Broadway revival announcement. Dreamgirls is a musical extremely close to my heart, not only for the obvious reasons (Jennifer Hudson) but also for its roots in The Supremes’ story. As a pop music history aficionado, it just speaks to me. Even more exciting is that the revival’s team has begun a global star search in hopes of finding undiscovered talent to fill the roles in the main cast. I think we’re sorely in need of fresh faces on the stage and screen to root for. It’s a perfect show to be conducting a star search for since the songs are unbelievably difficult to pull off vocally. As strenuous on the vocal chords as “And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going” is, it also mandates a depth of emotion that only the most skilled actresses can access. If all goes according to plan, we should be in for a treat. As of now, the revival will begin Fall 2026.
Lilith Fair documentary, produced by Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy. I have been on the frontlines begging for a 2025 Lilith Fair or at the very least a re-appreciation for this festival and thankfully Dan Levy pulled through for me. If you are unfamiliar, Sarah McLachlan (the one who sings “in the aaaarmmmsss offff the angeeellll… flyyy awaaaay”) founded Lilith Fair in 1997 to be a fully female-focused music festival. Primarily attracting rock and folk artists like Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, Fiona Apple, The Indigo Girls, and Lisa Loeb, the festival also included artists like Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, and Missy Elliott. In the summer of 2010, McLachlan and her festival partners brought the show back with main-stage acts like Brandi Carlile, Cat Power, Mary J. Blige, Janelle Monáe, Ingrid Michaelson, and SLEEPER HIT favorite Colbie Caillat. MARINA (née Marina and The Diamonds), Kate Nash, and The Weepies took the second stage. Erin McCarley – take a shot every time a SLEEPER HIT figure has performed at Lilith Fair! – also performed a set.
The origin story of the festival goes a little like this: McLachlan became increasingly fed up with concert promoters and radio stations refusing to let two female musicians play back-to-back. Yes, this really happened and this was in 1996! Not in the 50s or 60s! But the late ‘90s! So to bark back, McLachlan booked Paula Cole (famously the voice behind the Dawson’s Creek theme song “I Don’t Want to Wait”) to join her on tour and prove industry moguls who advised against it wrong. The tour was incredibly successful and the rest is history.
McLachlan started the Lilith Fair tour and traveling festival to give disenfranchised women musicians a place to play without being blacklisted. But what it became was a safe space for women and LGBTQ+ women to find community together. So, one could say, McLachlan is like music’s Susan B. Anthony. Anyway, the doc dropped earlier this month and I have yet to tune in but every promotional clip I’ve seen and interview I’ve read about it has gotten me amped up. They even tapped Olivia Rodrigo to feature in the doc and speak about how the festival and its trademark artists inspire her, which is the most perfect synergy to me. Especially coming after the recent Woodstock ‘99 doc, this one – titled Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery after one of McLachlan’s biggest and greatest hits – feels like it’ll honor a piece of live music history that is oft-forgotten and should not be.
Glen Powell’s interview on Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast. The most notable development here is not just that Glen Powell name-checked many Mary Kate & Ashley films (green flag), but that Glen Powell auditioned for the role of Glee’s Sam Evans years ago. In the interview, Powell reveals that Chord Overstreet – who landed the role and nailed it – was his roommate at the time that they both went out for Sam. What song did he sing for his audition? Why, it was “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars, of course. The song looms so large in the Sam Evans character trajectory, so I am having trouble imagining what Powell’s rendition would sound like but I am nonetheless intrigued by this breaking news.
The leopard jacket I passed on at The Vintage Twin on Orchard Street. Leopard print is a kryptonite I picked up from my late grandmother. I view it as a neutral. But I sadly had to let this one go.
I felt it would overwhelm my petite frame which is a general issue for longer jackets and coats for us shorter folk. But the red lining on the inside, the shape… it’s all perfect and I hope it found a good home. Important addendum I had to include while editing this issue: I recently came into possession of a custom wool coat with a chic mink collar that my grandmother wore in her twenties! They really do have a point when they say that you have to let some things go so that better things can come!
Mariah Carey playing tracks from her unreleased grunge album Somebody’s Ugly Daughter at an Apple Music-hosted event. If you don’t know, now you know: Mariah Carey made a Hole-esque album in 1996 around the time of her Butterfly era under the moniker Chick that never truly saw the light of day. As part of Carey’s promotional run for her new album Here For It All, she sat down with SZA to give all the exclusives about it and SZA is the one who convinced the diva herself to play them for the crowd at the event.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserI am positively shaken up about this as someone who really wants all music to sound like the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack. I’ve known about Carey’s lost album for a while, but have never seen her this enthused talking about it and we can thank the lovely and ever-effusive SZA for that.
Chappell Roan bringing out Nancy Wilson from Heart at her Forest Hills Stadium show. As someone who sang “Alone” by Heart for her college a cappella audition, this means a great deal to me. I’ve been quietly approving of Roan’s live cover of “Barracuda” since she introduced it into her set last year, since she’s got the pipes for it and not many do. Heart is one of the most famous bands ever and yet they feel supremely underrated; I’m glad that Roan is providing an entry-point for her younger audience to get into them.
Getting On My Soapbox About:
Does anyone in the SLEEPER HIT community remember the name Cody Simpson? I would venture to guess that a slice of you do, but the real question is this: has anyone in the SLEEPER HIT community recently checked in on our flash-in-the-pan Australian pop prince? I, for one, have and this is a man with potentially the most side quests I’ve ever seen. This may seem more like a “where in the world is [insert name here]?” segment, but trust that I leave it for this section to inspire us all as only the vocalist behind seminal classic “iYiYi” could.
But first, a brief history: Cody Simpson began his career as one of the first tweens to try his hand at replicating the Justin Bieber success story. With his platinum blonde swoop and bright blue eyes, he seemed to be ripe for the job and would be able to do it with ease. But, save a handful of hits that appealed to Justice’s most active clientele in the early 2010s, Simpson did not reach the peak of the mountain Bieber built. And that’s totally okay; who could? Simpson is a household name that is now most associated with other baby Bieber variants like Austin Mahone, Shawn Mendes, and MattyBRaps. But lest we forget, Simpson got Flo Rida to hop on his track and that is something none of the others have been able to do.
In the last decade since Simpson became the brand ambassador of Build-A-Bear workshop, Simpson has:
Competed on Dancing With The Stars
Dated Kylie Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Miley Cyrus (the latter of which gave us the absolutely gorgeous acoustic number “golden thing”, where we hear most prominently that his squeaky prepubescent voice did eventually deepen into a rich baritone)
Participated in Australia’s version of The Masked Singer
Joined Australia’s national swim team and completed Olympic trials, but retired from swimming after failing to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics
Starred as Skye Masterson in the Opera Australia’s production of Guys and Dolls. And he made sure to let everyone know he’s still got it.
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He was also nominated for GQ’s 2022 Sportsman of the Year award as part of their annual Men of the Year Awards – which, side note, is an insane name for an awards show. Cody is also consistently dropping fantastic covers on TikTok, the most recent being his rendition of Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need”!
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Need I go on? I think not. Simpson is not often included in the cultural conversation about ephemeral male popstars and he deserves his moment. This is it. I’m now blasting my expertly curated and focus-group-tested playlist “justice/dELiA*s in 2013” and you should, too:
Oh, and while we’re on the topic, I hope I am not the only one who remembers Justice-backed band New Hollow. My sister may or may not be still Facebook friends with one of the members. But that’s a story for another time.
Rapid Fire Recommendations:
JADE’s debut album. If you’re in the market for an off-kilter pop record, you will find it in JADE’s That’s Showbiz, Baby. The title is quite corny, but the material is there in abundance. I would not classify it as a no-skip album, but I find myself returning to “Unconditional”, “Self Saboteur”, and “Lip Service” the most. There’s Giorgio Moroder, Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Donna Summer, and Diana Ross inspiration all over this album.
Going to an analog photo booth. I recently visited the famed Old Friend photo booth on the Lower East Side and it spat out the sweetest sepia color-graded photos. Not every booth works for everyone, but I recommend going to one in your free time to have some fun and a little vanity. I am quite sensitive when it comes to taking photos of myself and looking at photos of myself, so this was a good exercise for me. I also famously love tangible, physical media so getting a paper copy of the photo strip was a treat. Tiny wins!
Booking a weekend trip away from your city. This month, my sister and I booked Montréal for October. I need to do this more, but for now, I’d love any suggestions of things to do and places to go there!
Signing up for any free giveaway you can. I completely forgot that I had done this, but I apparently enrolled in a giveaway for free tickets to New York’s edition of All Things Go festival at Forest Hills Stadium and scored ‘em. Not everything is the viral red bathing suit scam from years ago! Sometimes you get to see Djo and Lucy Dacus live for free!
Olivia Dean’s new album The Art of Loving. Another album I wouldn’t say is necessarily a no-skip, but it’s ear candy if you’re a fan of Adele’s 19 and 21 albums. Dean is drawing upon Nancy Meyers soundtrack sonics and adding Burt Bacharach flourishes4 all over the album as well, especially on my two highlights “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” and “Let Alone The One You Love”.
Watching Role Model’s Celebrity Substitute episode in full. This man has charm, the likes of which we have not seen in a long time from a male musician. Hosted by Julian Shapiro-Barnum of Recess Therapy viral fame, Celebrity Substitute sees all kinds of famous people attempt to teach elementary schoolers new skills. This episode, Role Model – a.k.a. Tucker Pillsbury – led the classroom in songwriting exercises and eventually led the students in a rewritten singalong of his hit “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” which became “Sally, When The Juice Runs Out”.
This is A+ level propaganda for anyone who is even remotely a Role Model skeptic. I think it’s impossible to not smile while watching.
That’s about it, folks. We’re ending on a pretty lovely note, courtesy of Role Model. I hope your 80-degree autumn is off to a great start and I’ll see you next time. Ciao!
Sleeper Hit #14: Charlie Puth’s sophomore album Voicenotes. This is my formal acknowledgement to the public that I am responsible for at least a quarter of this album’s streaming numbers; I have been since 2018. This album found its way onto my desk once again following Puth’s 4-night residency at The Blue Note, which is an artist/venue pairing that pleases me greatly.
Let me start by saying this for context: I historically have not had an easy road with Mr. Puth. Voicenotes is the only one of his albums that has resonated with me and its quality is so good that it’s unbelievable that he hasn’t made anything worth spending any time with since – except if we’re talking about “Girlfriend”, a one-off single after post-Voicenotes.
B.C.V. (Before the Common Voicenotes), I turned my nose up at his constant mentions of having perfect pitch, his brown-noser-know-it-all-in-your-music-theory-class attitude, his lyrical slights towards Selena Gomez (who was simply just not that into him), and the fact that he really did put out a song with the unsavory hook “let’s Marvin Gaye and get it on” with Meghan Trainor of all collaborators.
An old friend told me about Voicenotes and I proverbially dug my heels into the ground until finally giving it a chance a year after it dropped. I was proven wrong and have seen it as a pop textbook for solo male stars ever since – the likes of which only comparable to FutureSex/Lovesounds. The album has its pitfalls – namely “Patient” and the regrettable duet with James Taylor I refuse to refer to by name. But it also has the bass line of “Attention”, the one-two punch of “BOY” and “Slow It Down” (co-written by Hall and Oates), a heavenly Boyz II Men feature, and “Somebody Told Me” which provides much-needed insight into just how toxic Selena Gomez’s dynamic with Justin Bieber really was. Charlie Puth was really the other woman in that whole situation.
From top to bottom, Voicenotes is a pretty pristine album where the melodies are molasses sticky and the harmonic changes are actually demonstrative, conclusive evidence of Puth’s musical superpowers. Parasocial side note: as a faithful believer in the friends-to-lovers trope thanks to movies like When Harry Met Sally and Love, Rosie, Puth’s love story with his now-wife endears me to him even more. His wife Brooke is someone he grew up with and was a family friend before she was Mrs. Puth; despite her immaculate IG feed and mastery of the slick-back bun, she is – by all accounts – a normie.
Voicenotes is an incredibly bitter album, with a defensiveness and indignant victimhood that comes through most on “Attention”, “The Way I Am”, “L.A. Girls”, and “BOY” so it’s also a lovely happy ending for him that may find its way into the new music he’s started to tease. I have not taken to any of Charles’ music since Voicenotes, but would love to be proven wrong. Maybe just maybe his wife-guy material is what will bring me back into the Puthian fold. We will just have to wait and see!
The cricket bat sold at auction, by the way, because of course it has.
Side note: we need to talk about Miranda Cosgrove’s song “Shakespeare”, which contains the following lyrics: “do you like Shakespeare? Jeff Buckley?” Soooo true.
In case you forgot, “star 69” (*69 on a phone keypad) are the numbers you dial to redial the last person who called you, even if they blocked their Caller ID. It’s genius shorthand to use at this point of the song and I mean that genuinely.
I desperately need an Olivia Dean BBC Live Lounge cover of “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again”, my favorite Bacharach song sung by Dionne Warwick. A song that actually uses the word “pneumonia” in its lyrics and rhymes it with “phone ya”. Incredible.