Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time / The Loneliest Time

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8yrs of Emotion popped up on my insta feed yesterday and I don't know why but I instantly thought of this post and all the nostalgic feels took over.

You really sistered on this one. Thanks. x
I'm actually a bit annoyed I completely forgot "Call Me Maybe" was original released in 2011 because if we're gonna talk about the last ten years and the legacies of the artists involved, Carly's is quite a curious one.

Would it be fair to say that she maybe ushered in the idea that a pop album could be critically acclaimed, and thus, was instrumental in creating the wave of poptimism that we've been seeing in agonising death throes for a year or two now? I remember thinking around the time of Emotion's release that... she got them gals! She presented an unimpeachable album, unimpeachably. Back in the day the girls would be hobbled critically because... they were successful, or openly sexual, or working with the wrong people, or not appearing in the writing credits... and Carly bucked all of those trends they would typically use to get at a woman in pop. Charting low enough to still feel exclusive to the blogs, wearing a sweater on her album cover, a smorgasbord of Acceptably Cool Pop Producers as collaborators, and she had written everything. And of course it was all brilliant.

I might be off base, but I do remember thinking there was a bit of a sea change in the way pop albums were approached in music journalism after that. Gone was having to accept average scores and write ups full of backhanded, reluctantly given compliments, and in its place was an attitude that approached these albums in the spirit they were intended.

I also think there's a conversation to be had about how she also launched this brand of neurotic, irritating, possessive, and self-entitled Gay Twitter fanbase which Charli XCX would go on to take the reigns from, and have it trickle down to Caroline, Rina, and more than I'm probably forgetting about... but let's not sully the thread by talking about that particular... ash tray of pop music fans.

Also, in thinking about this post, I relistened to all of her stuff, which was nice. No idea why I was so damn fuming at the time, but in 2022 I can say proudly that "Party For One" might slap ferociously tbh. @Laura Vanderbooben finally won I guess.
 
I must admit now I think Carly might be better with a new label. I love that she's been allowed to grow and release whatever she likes but after all these years and all that glorious music she shouldn't be selling a few thousand copies. She has a rabid fanbase and she needs a label to court that and cultivate it along with allowing her artistic vision to shine.
 
The George Daniel remix of Shadow is nice, but doesn't add a whole lot to the song, which is basically perfect as is. It does make me salivate for the idea of an entire Club Future Nostalgia-esque mixtape of remixes of the album/Loneliest Time. I'm thinking AG Cook on Psychedelic Switch, umru on Kamikaze, Arca on The Loneliest Time, MUNA on Bad Thing Twice... I hate my brain sometimes.
 
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I wonder how that affects her record deal with Schoolboy/Interscope. He was letting her do her own thing. I’m glad she got rid of him but just concerned about her career.
 
The remix is nice but not essential. I really hope there's more to come because this is some of her strongest work. We got 5 singles with videos for Loneliest and I hope that didn't eat the whole budget but I fear it probably did... regardless Shy Boy, Psychedelic Switch, So Right, Kamikaze and then After Last Night would make such an impeccable 5 singles run... just let me dream on it. (honestly I'd be over-the-moon happy even with just super low budget visuals like Shy Boy and Talking To Yourself or more promo performances...etc anything to bask in this era longer!)
 
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