Summer Hits: Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u (with Jessica Hopper)
Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s summer breakup anthem \u201cgood 4 u\u201d is filled with the kind of ebullient angst that makes us want to spontaneously dance around our house and belt the lyrics out with abandon. Whether it\u2019s the creeping baseline that pulls us in, or the cathartic release of the chorus, we can\u2019t get enough of this track. And we\u2019re not alone, it seems. The song debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and like its predecessor \u201cDriver\u2019s License,\u201d has fueled and been fueled by viral TikTok memes that helped solidify the song\u2019s position among 2021\u2019s summer jams.\xa0\n\nThose TikTok memes range in format, but tend to play off of one unavoidable observable of Rodrigo\u2019s \u201cgood 4 u\u201d - just how beautifully it syncs up with Paramore\u2019s 2007 pop-punk \u201cMisery Business.\u201d The two songs share some of the most common building blocks in pop music, from their 4, 1, 5, 6, chord progression to the opening note of their choruses. Those links have led critics and fans alike to wonder aloud if \u201cgood 4 u\u201d indicates the emo-slash-pop punk revival we discussed back in May is here to stay.\xa0\n\nIn the second installment of our Summer Hits series, producer Megan Lubin goes searching for the musical roots of Rodrigo\u2019s ebullient angst, and uncovers two histories - the first is the sound of emo as it branched off of punk music in the 1980s, and the second is of women raging on the microphone through time, from the blues to country, to Olivia\u2019s chart-topping confessional.\xa0\n\nLubin gets help from the rock critic Jessica Hopper, who reminds us of emo\u2019s gendered origins: \u201cIt became prescriptive. The narrative was always girls were bad and they never had names\u201d and takes us on a journey through Rodrigo\u2019s rage-full forebears. We\u2019re still thinking about her lines about women in pop and the boxes we try to put them in. \u201cPeople just need to stop trying to draw it back to something that a man did before, and realize that teenage women have completely remade the landscape of top 40 pop in the last 15 years.\u201d\n\nMore:\nJessica Hopper\u2019s The First Collection Of Criticism By A Living Female Rock Critic\nHelen Reddington \u201cThe Forgotten Revolution of Female Punk Musicians in the 1970s\u201d\nnikjaay\u2019s \u201cmisery 4 u\u201d mashup\n\nMusic\n\nOlivia Rodrigo - good 4 u\n\nParamore - Misery Business\n\nSex Pistols - Anarchy in the U.K.\n\nThe Clash - London Calling\n\nMinor Threat - Straight Edge\n\nRites of Spring - Drink Deep\n\nDashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities\n\nBessie Smith - Devil\u2019s Gonna Git You\n\nNina Simone - Break Down and Let it All Out\n\nAlanis Morissette - You Oughta Know\n\nMiranda Lambert - Mama\u2019s Broken Heart\n\nCarrie Underwood - Before He Cheats\n\nTaylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together\n\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices