EMOTION
Carly Rae Jepsen
2015

Poptimism’s original incarnation won out of self-evidence. The original concept of poptimism is that pop music (as defined less by radio format and more by its relationship to disco, Max Martin and Madonna) is worth taking seriously in the same way as rock music. First coined in 2004, poptimism flourished with the early careers of Beyonce as a solo artist, Rihanna, Robyn, Lady Gaga – these albums are phenomenal, the songs enduring, the standards high. We’ve now hit a second wave that establishes that anything commercially successful must have inherent critical esteem. With maybe the sole exception of Maroon 5, who may be too crassly commercial and anonymous to defend, I’ve seen vociferous defenses of just about every artist with a radio hit this past decade. It’s frustrating because I want to find good music and want to know who to trust.

The rock critics who’ve integrated some pop music have kept space in their hearts for Carly Rae Jepsen, making her a borderline automatic answer for what “good pop music” someone might want to listen to instead of [insert musician people are going to yell at me for saying they made a bad album.] Her reputation for making more thoughtful, higher quality dance pop began with Emotion, or more specifically with the release of “Run Away With Me,” a song with a saxophone intro riff that served as her call to action. Within a year, she was the favorite new pop star of podcasters, rock critics, and millennial gays – but, with the exception of “Cut to the Feeling,” a song she made for children’s animated film Leap/Ballerina, she never really charted again. It feels just as contrarian to argue the market got this wrong, that the post-Robyn yearning of Dedicated or the 70s throwbacks of The Loneliest/Loveliest Time should have made her a superstar. But I can still feel strongly that “Too Much”, “The Loneliest Time,” and “Boy Problems” are all way better than [okay okay stop throwing things at me this is the problem i know i know]!

P.S. To be honest, sitting down to write this one, the first thing I want to talk about is the damn sweater. The original is a 1973 Valentino sweater, though in 2015 they reissued it. I’ve been fixated on it as a favorite garment for almost a decade now. If I could get something similar, it’d be my go-to pride gear until I wore it to shreds. The Chevron, the sleeve asymmetry, the lack of clearly identifiable pattern in the color sequencing – pop music demands an aesthetic, and that sweater is as sticky as many of the songs themselves.

Emotion betrays a lot of the standard practice of modern pop songwriting. It’s not edgy or especially personal in subject matter. Most of the songs have a minimum of four songwriters between music and lyrics. The songs are silly, very clean, mostly a lot of fun. There’s a couple that are hornier than others (“All That” with music by Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes, bonus track “Black Heart”) and a couple that are more general audiences in their aim (“I Really Like You,” lead single with a Tom Hanks music video, “Boy Problems”.) On paper, it’s the album for everybody and nobody designed by committee in the 2010s.

The secret to that formula is just getting a really great committee. Jepsen didn’t necessarily need to keep making pop music, working on Broadway as Cinderella in a Rodgers + Hammerstein production. “Call Me Maybe” gave her the clout and freedom to make whatever she wanted. As a result, she exhibits the creative control in choosing collaborators she actually admires, from Hynes to Ariel Rechtshaid (“Climax,” “Ring Off”, “Take Me Apart”) to Rostam (Vampire Weekend). It’s an organic collection of really smart people who contributed something alternative.

I can’t think of a better nine track run in pop music than the first nine songs on Emotion. Every summer, I have different favorites. When we were doing Maintained Madness, I recommended the title track as our entry because it has moments echoing almost every great moment of the album. The synth beat is delightful, the crescendo from verse to chorus is rousing every time, and Carly’s voice is as bright and energetic as anywhere else. But I love just as much the melancholy of “Gimmie Love,” a song which presages some of the sound of Dedicated. Today, I’m really enjoying “Let’s Get Lost,” which brings back the saxophone from “Run Away With Me” for a more 80s solo riot, a little bit sitcom, but a lot of fun. I’m still not tired of any of these songs. I suspect I never will be.

KEY TRACKS: “Run Away With Me,” “Emotion,” “All That”
CATALOG CHOICE: Dedicated, The Loveliest Time
NEXT STOP: Freetown Sound, Blood Orange
AFTER THAT: Women in Music Part III, Haim