Welcome to OPE!, the ranch dressing of music blogs by Brady Gerber. OPE! is a daily blog, but this weekly newsletter includes more song reviews, my favorite links of the week, and exclusive essays. All typos are intentional.
Well, hello there. How are you?
This was a relatively quiet week for me, mostly me keeping my head down on some new freelance work and finally watching OJ: Made in America (back on Netflix) while slowly making my way through Ripley. Not too many links this week, though I think every link is a 100/10 but who needs math.
Anyway, let’s get to the dang thing. Here are this week’s links and songs.
MY FAVORITE LINKS OF THE WEEK
Conan O’Brien on Hot Ones was tremendous. (Y’all know how much I love Conan, but this is a great showcase of how you can be silly and wise.)
You know what else was tremendous? Ryan Gossling and Mikey Day as Beavis and Butt-Head. (Papyrus 2 was also funny.)
A data analyst on how he’d learn how to become a data analyst if he could start over in 2024. (I’m currently teaching myself Tableau Public, welp.)
Ariana Grande, Beyonce, etc remain on TikTok … despite the current UMG Ban … and songwriters are feeling the pain the most. (Another reminder that celebrity musicians, as much as we love them, are not our friends!)
THIS WEEK’S MIXTAPE
3.5/4
OPE! is all about song reviews, yet Cindy Lee decided to gloriously smear our good name and release a new album only on YouTube (and on some Geocities website linked above) and package the whole thing as one continuous listen. Most artists I come across while doing research for OPE! also pull this “We can’t spell ‘poptimism’ or ‘Bill Clinton’ so we’re just gonna be weirdz’ bit. Most of these artists also don’t get 9.1 Pitchfork scores. I’m quite a fan of this album. It reminds me of Deerhunter’s best albums where the most boring songs are upfront but they do their job of setting the scene and getting you into a trance so that you quickly lock in to want to stay on YouTube for two straight hours. An electronic album made only of guitars? Sprawling yet not lazy. Can’t wait to see more folks discover DIAMOND JUBILEE. Watch the Zoomer nerds now kickstart a Geocities fad.
Katie Pruitt - “Self Sabotage”
3/4
Phoebe Bridgers if she was more of a Jaco “Portrait of Tracy” head and her entire personality didn’t scream “Did you know that I’m from LA! !! !!! hahaa hah ha!!!” I’ve been listening to more Glen Campbell ever since I moved to LA, so I especially like the idea of someone like Katie Pruitt, who I think could be in the same room as him. Very into this idea of Hoodie Country that could soundtrack a bonfire of sad Midwest youth group teens or a Target.
3/4
Dog bless the theater kid with a truckload of confidence. Jhariah is a compelling and clear talent as a singer and performer. I wonder what he would sound like if his manager emailed him a LinkedIn Learning Course on singing with melody and not just spamming listeners with church choir yelling. When “impressive” is almost “interesting.”
Jamie xx - “Baddy On The Floor” (feat. Honey Dijon)
3/4
I like “Baddy On The Floor” and I am now officially worried about the new Jamie xx album. In Colour had to grow on me but I now appreciate it as the last gasp of optimism of the early 2010s among music fans who don’t have any friends outside of New York or Los Angeles. I can’t think of “Baddy On The Floor” as any gasp or any reach for anything other than an AT&T commercial. This better be the most interesting filler track on his new album. Yes, a filler Jamie xx track is more interesting than anything I could dream up. Still, a “yikes” 3 out of 4.
And that’s it!
Until next Wednesday, as always.
With love and all the other good things,
-b
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Original OPE! logo by Claire Kuang. Words and cartoons by yours truly. Stock photos by Substack unless credited. Animations made using FlipaClip and EZGIF. All typos are intentional.