{"id":2457188,"date":"2026-06-12T23:51:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T23:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2457188"},"modified":"2026-06-12T23:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T23:51:49","slug":"olivia-rodrigos-new-album-references-another-artist-repeatedly-its-not-taylor-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/olivia-rodrigos-new-album-references-another-artist-repeatedly-its-not-taylor-swift\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s new album references another artist repeatedly. It\u2019s not Taylor Swift."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"mainEntityOfPage\">\n<div data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/article-cta\/instances\/cmqbdjh2q000ggjm8myz6gteq@published\" class=\"article-cta slate-graf&#10;  article-cta--fixed&#10;  article-cta--loading\" data-use-fallback-text=\"false\" data-fallback-text=\"&lt;a href=&quot;\/theslatest?utm_source=slate&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=article_plain_text_topper&amp;sailthru_source=Article-TopperText-CTA&quot;&gt;Sign up for the Slatest&lt;\/a&gt; to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.\">\n<p class=\"article-cta__text\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/theslatest?utm_source=slate&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=article_plain_text_topper&amp;sailthru_source=Article-TopperText-CTA\">Sign up for the Slatest<\/a> to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"128\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbdjh2q000hgjm81r8rcij4@published\">How do you review an artist like Olivia Rodrigo right now? She\u2019s arguably the biggest twentysomething pop star today, ahead of even Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish. Intelligent, charming, even <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/olivia-rodrigo-on-why-shes-outspoken-on-politics-i-dont-think-my-goal-is-to-be-liked-by-all-3950416\">politically<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2026\/may\/28\/olivia-rodrigo-responds-babydoll-dress-criticism\">outspoken<\/a>, Rodrigo writes or co-writes all her songs and has had eight top 10 hits in the past five years, including the two advance singles from her new album, and a whopping four No. 1s. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2021\/05\/olivia-rodrigo-sour-review.html\">Her 2021 debut <em>Sour<\/em><\/a> (\u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2021\/01\/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-number-1-sabrina-carpenter.html\">Drivers License<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2021\/05\/olivia-rodrigo-good-4-u-billboard-number-1.html\">Good 4 U<\/a>\u201d) recently became the first album by any female artist, including Taylor Swift, to reach <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/inmusicblog.com\/news\/olivia-rodrigo-sour-17-billion-spotify-streams\/\">17\u00a0billion streams on Spotify<\/a>. The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2023\/09\/olivia-rodrigo-guts-taylor-swift-grudge-lacy-lyrics.html\">punky kiss-off anthems of her 2023 album <em>Guts<\/em><\/a> were embraced by critics as much as the public, and the former Disney teen TV star has also won three Grammys and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Olivia_Rodrigo\">about 100 other prizes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"76\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4reo001b3b7compc4mqr@published\">Her third album, <em>You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love<\/em>, was released Friday morning. Her Gen Z and alpha fans already know what they think no matter what I might say. I\u2019m not even sure I would disagree with them that much, except that I think the album is too long at 51 minutes, compared to <em>Sour<\/em>\u2019s roughly 35 and <em>Guts<\/em>\u2019 39\u2014the title isn\u2019t the only place <em>YSPS4AGSIL<\/em> abandons her previous admirable concision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"169\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4rhw001c3b7cfcof4097@published\">So I\u2019m going to address a constituency whose views on the subject may be less preformed, who might even be a little perplexed. By which I mean fans of legendary postpunk\/goth band the Cure, whose lead singer Robert Smith appears here as the first guest feature on any Rodrigo album. The 67-year-old duets with the 23-year-old on 10<sup>th<\/sup> track \u201cWhat\u2019s Wrong With Me\u201d and even contributes a part on his signature six-string bass. Last week, the two <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7QOvUOkN1As\">premiered the song live<\/a> at the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. \u201cI just can\u2019t believe that this song exists with the person that it exists with, and I\u2019m just so fuckin\u2019 over the moon,\u201d Rodrigo said. This was not the first time they\u2019d performed together. Last summer at Glastonbury, Smith took the stage to sing \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?si=9K32r8VQ-7Sxcb_0&amp;v=AWTLuT1Rq7U&amp;feature=youtu.be\">Friday I\u2019m in Love<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?si=K9xdlBDUv52Rb20E&amp;v=MDTlUtrzeFI&amp;feature=youtu.be\">Just Like Heaven<\/a>\u201d with Rodrigo during her set, helping make it one of the festival\u2019s most talked-about events. She introduced the Gothfather as \u201cperhaps the best songwriter to come out of England.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"slate-external-video slate-external-video--default\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-external-video\/instances\/cmqbe4rbm00183b7c3y9lrnt2@published\" title=\"External Video\">\n<p><noscript><\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Olivia Rodrigo, Robert Smith - Friday I\u2019m in Love (Live From Glastonbury)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AWTLuT1Rq7U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><\/noscript><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"129\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4rmg001e3b7cqe0q1lpc@published\">It doesn\u2019t stop there. Rodrigo also invokes the Cure on the album opener and lead single \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PznkDLztID0\">Drop Dead<\/a>,\u201d singing to her prospective new love, \u201cYou know all the words to \u2018Just Like Heaven,\u2019\u00a0\/ And I know why he wrote them now that you\u2019re standin\u2019 right here.\u201d Then, what was the second single called, which comes two songs before the Smith cameo on the album? That\u2019s right, \u201cThe Cure.\u201d Mind you, it uses <em>cure<\/em> in the conventional sense, as in the thing for what ails you, not mentioning the band at all. Still, please observe the multicolored strings thumbtacked to the wall behind me\u2014the title was clearly no coincidence. Even when it\u2019s unverbalized, sonic nods to the Cure and the new wave in general are (almost) all over the album.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"137\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4rqe001h3b7cbk0avblv@published\">Why? To start, it\u2019s a family affair. Rodrigo said on Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s late-night show this week that her father has seen the Cure about 30 times. When she introduced him to Smith, her dad was in tears, she said, and he now uses a shot of them together as \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/olivia-rodrigo-dad-cried-meeting-the-cure-robert-smith-1236270383\/\">his screen saver on his phone<\/a>.\u201d (Meanwhile, she said, laughing, her metal-loving mom skipped her daughter\u2019s set at Lollapalooza to go to the other stage and watch Korn.) But on another level, I think she\u2019s turned to Smith as a muse, to help inspire her to take her songwriting to more complex zones beyond the conventional love or breakup song. As she told British Vogue in March, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vogue.co.uk\/article\/olivia-rodrigo-british-vogue-interview\">I realized all my favorite romantic love songs were beautiful because they had a tinge of fear or yearning in them<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"81\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4rtk001j3b7cnxxjr9eq@published\">For his part, Smith told Vogue that he\u2019d been a fan since he first heard \u201cDrivers License,\u201d and he bought both her previous albums on CD. \u201cAlthough most of the songs on those two albums are not really \u2018aimed at my demographic\u2019 (!), they are all so good that it is hard not to fall in love with them.\u201d And to BBC6, he said, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@bbc6music\/video\/7649093981204122882\">I genuinely love what she does<\/a>. I\u2019m slightly in awe of how easy she finds it all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"80\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4rwn001k3b7c7bg65bwn@published\">But Rodrigo isn\u2019t the only young female American songwriter to call upon the Cure as a familiar. On the 2023 single \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bIX_ouNJsTs\">Not Strong Enough<\/a>,\u201d the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2023\/03\/boygenius-record-phoebe-bridgers-album-review.html\">indie supergroup Boygenius<\/a> (Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker) described \u201cdrag-racing through the canyon\u00a0\/ Singing \u2018<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9GkVhgIeGJQ?si=tn8nHTdbMyOjdiFa\">Boys Don\u2019t Cry<\/a>.\u2019 \u201d Somewhat longer ago, Paramore\u2019s \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eFOY6KJlFEg\">Caught in the Middle<\/a>\u201d opened with a lyrical echo of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/scif2vfg1ug?si=WGuxWD9RwmWTKvD8\">In Between Days<\/a>.\u201d And Bridgers recorded her own cover of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=I5IHmwn6aGE\">Friday I\u2019m in Love<\/a>\u201d as a Spotify Single back in 2018.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"121\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4rzs001m3b7cr4ts7h6m@published\">It makes sense that a cohort interrogating toxic masculinity and the givens of gender identity might reach back to Smith. \u201cBoys Don\u2019t Cry\u201d blazed trails defying machismo, and \u201cJust Like Heaven\u201d set up its romance from the woman\u2019s POV by narrating what \u201cshe said\u201d well before the protagonist spoke for himself. And long before these artists were born, like many in the goth, New Romantic, and other subcultures of postpunk London, Smith was teasing his hair and wearing lipstick and eyeliner, as he still does, while remaining <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/OldSchoolCool\/comments\/1jj5gqy\/wedding_photo_of_robert_smith_of_the_cure_and\/\">happily married to his high school girlfriend Mary Poole<\/a> since 1988. Smith told Vogue that after they recorded together, Rodrigo continued to call him up \u201cquite a bit to talk about clothes and fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"80\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4s2u001o3b7c9jj0s8p7@published\">But the lunar pull of Smith and the Cure on Rodrigo\u2019s new album is in tension with an even longer-standing, much sunnier and blonder influence\u2014which is, of course, Taylor Swift. Even though the two had <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2023\/09\/olivia-rodrigo-guts-taylor-swift-grudge-lacy-lyrics.html\">an infamous falling-out years ago<\/a>, \u201cTaylor Swift\u201d is the essential genre Rodrigo (like many other young pop women today) has been working in since the start of her recording career, from the personal-confessional-love-story mode of most of her songs to her fondness for shout-singing bridges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"78\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4s62001q3b7cb88yecgw@published\">The pop-punk, angry-sarcastic songs on <em>Guts<\/em> were so <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2021\/05\/radio-disney-teen-girl-rock-demi-lovato-olivia-rodrigo.html\">influenced by riot grrrl<\/a> and other feminist rock foremothers (such as the Breeders, whom she toured with) that their angry and sardonic energy swept away much of the Swiftiness. But on this new album, Rodrigo\u2019s story also includes the first rush of new love; the pangs of long-distance romance, growing doubts, and slow-imploding heartbreak; and the rueful aftermath\u2014all subjects that tend to draw her back into the Swiftian stylistic universe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"58\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4s90001s3b7c21bf2jcs@published\">At the album\u2019s best, the Cure influence in many ways helps her and longtime producer and co-writer Dan Nigro (with occasional help from songwriter Amy Allen and others) keep intact Rodrigo\u2019s edge, her darker viewpoint, and her weirder sense of humor. It\u2019s as if there is a figurative, stylistic battle being waged here for Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s artistic soul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"86\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4sbx001u3b7cgslvr5yh@published\">It sounds as if the initial version of the album might have leaned more to taffeta and sparkles, in fact, were it not for the relationship in question (with some British actor, another echo of Swift) breaking up somewhere during the writing and recording process. At which point, Rodrigo told the New York Times <em>Popcast<\/em>, \u201cwe had the fun challenge of going back and actually tweaking some of the love songs on the record and making them <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/29\/arts\/music\/olivia-rodrigo-new-album-interview-popcast.html\">a little more honest and more sad and creepy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"2\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4sf6001w3b7cx3mzgve4@published\">Advantage goths!<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"45\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4sih001x3b7cak37cuo7@published\">To judge which one stands victorious, let\u2019s go through the 13 tracks\u2014a very goth number, but also a very Taylor Swift number!\u2014and ask where they fall on the Smith-vs.-Swift scale. I\u2019ll rate each 1 out of 5 batwings (Cure, of course) and\/or 5 cardigans (Swift).<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4re0001a3b7crgveey6u@published\">\n<p>1. \u201cDrop Dead\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"95\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4sog001z3b7cut6n0mw7@published\">Starting strong for the Cure side with the direct reference, of course, even if there are some Swiftian \u201cAren\u2019t we grown-up to be at a bar?\u201d overtones here too. The \u201cangel on the wall of Versailles\u201d line is solid New Romantic stuff (and I don\u2019t mean <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wyK7YuwUWsU\">the <em>1989<\/em> song<\/a>), while the unfortunate astrological-sign stuff about a \u201cPisces and a Gemini\u201d leans Swiftward. But the mock-morbidity of \u201cKiss me and I might drop dead,\u201d additionally calling to mind classic Cure album <em>Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me<\/em>, ultimately wins the song 3 BATWINGS and 1 CARDIGAN.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4riw001d3b7chuvi1bbc@published\">\n<p>2. \u201cStupid Song\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"70\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4srn00213b7cj39qwfrh@published\">The overwrought metaphors and melodrama and singspoken-then-shouted bridge are totally Swiftcore. The video that dropped Friday is even <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Rt9tW3cMLhI\">full of cats<\/a>. (But wait, could they be <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mcUza_wWCfA\">lovecats<\/a>?) Still, Swift would never pay all that off by mocking her own verbosity and even the very capacity of a song to capture real feelings, while Rodrigo sings, \u201cI want you more than any stupid song could ever say.\u201d 2 CARDIGANS, 1 BATWING.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4rmn001f3b7c9mliudmc@published\">\n<p>3. \u201cHoneybee\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"61\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4svg00223b7c9p8vyr7r@published\">Stylistically, this isn\u2019t that much like either of our lodestars, but while I can\u2019t begrudge Rodrigo her gooey love-drunk feelings here, I\u2019m not much interested in them nor in the trite piano arpeggios and string swirls that accompany them. This is more in Rodrigo\u2019s theater-kid wheelhouse; it could almost be a third-tier outtake from <em>Wicked<\/em>. The Cure would never. 1 CARDIGAN.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4rpp001g3b7ct0lzvd5l@published\">\n<p>4. \u201cMaggots for Brains\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"119\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4syg00233b7c3vrsk9vb@published\">Now this is more like it! From the opening <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2013\/12\/beat-box-review-drum-machine-gets-its-due-in-joe-mansfield-book.html\">beatbox<\/a>-plus-drums rhythm track and twangy, reverb-heavy guitar riff, Cure lovers will be head-nodding at the least. And then we get to the ultragothy chorus: \u201cI\u2019m a zombie in my body, I\u2019m a train off of the track\u00a0\/ I feel dirty, I feel rotten, and the colors are all flat.\u201d Then the titular maggots! But I especially love how she rounds that off with the kicker, \u201cBut that\u2019s just a thing that happens when my\u00a0\/ When my baby goes away.\u201d An amusingly anticlimactic and self-consciously classic-pop punch line that\u2019s less Robert Smith than Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields or, more relevant in this context, of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dcUB_2g4PQU\">the Gothic Archies<\/a>. 4 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4rt5001i3b7c56h7qk1m@published\">\n<p>5. \u201cU + Me = <\/p>\n<aside data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/in-article-recirc\/instances\/cmqbdjh2q000jgjm82ggl20zq@published\" class=\"in-article-recirc\" title=\"Slate Article Recirculation List\" data-via=\"article-inline_recirc-section-culture\">\n<ol class=\"in-article-recirc__list\">\n<li class=\"in-article-recirc__item\">\n          <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2026\/06\/disclosure-day-steven-spielberg-movie-reviews-emily-blunt.html\" class=\"in-article-recirc__link\"><\/p>\n<p>            <em>Disclosure Day<\/em> Is Like a Towering Sculpture Spielberg Has Been Molding for Decades out of Mashed Potatoes<br \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n<li class=\"in-article-recirc__item\">\n          <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2026\/06\/interview-with-the-vampire-season-3-lestat-louis-iwtv-tv-show-amc.html\" class=\"in-article-recirc__link\"><\/p>\n<p>            A Cult-Favorite Show Is Back With Some Major Changes. Not Everyone Is Happy With Them.<br \/>\n          <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/aside>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"181\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4t1q00243b7c4pcf8f70@published\">One of the album\u2019s most appealing tracks but also a dilemma for our purposes, as it is kind of a perfect union of Swiftian and Smithic values. Both thematically and musically, it could <em>almost<\/em> be one of the more upbeat coupledom songs on <em>Lover<\/em>, Swift\u2019s own album about crushing on a London boy, but it also has some very Cure-like guitar and bass tones, and maybe a little \u201cFriday I\u2019m in Love\u201d in the chorus\u2019s chord progression. The very funny fake-out of \u201cI like your big \u2026 sister!\u201d is a better dick joke than anything Swift got within screaming distance of on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2025\/10\/taylor-swift-life-of-a-showgirl-album-lyrics-review.html\">her most recent album\u2019s embarrassing \u201cWood.\u201d<\/a> But also the wink at Swift\u2019s \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2023\/10\/cruel-summer-number-1-taylor-swift-billboard.html\">Cruel Summer<\/a>\u201d is masterful in the lines \u201cThey say modern love\u2019s a cruel endeavor\u00a0\/ And to that I say fuck it, whatever.\u201d (As Kurt Cobain adds, \u201cNever mind,\u201d from beyond the grave.) Besting your bully at her own game is the dream of all the tender goth children, and also that line is rhymed with <em>leather<\/em>, so this gets another 3 BATWINGS, plus a consolation 1 CARDIGAN.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4ryt001l3b7cjg4o3tw9@published\">\n<p>6. \u201cMy Way\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"51\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4t4p00253b7c1pj4mf2t@published\">This self-declared \u201cpetty bitch\u201d song about some girl who\u2019s trying to poach her man is very mid-2010s Taylor-does-Avril, pouty and unworthy of Rodrigo\u2019s general outside-the-lines thinking on this album. The oddball new-wave arrangement does not distract enough to prevent me from wincing at lines like \u201cThat\u2019s it! I win!\u201d 3 CARDIGANS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4s25001n3b7cg8h13fc7@published\">\n<p>7. \u201cPurple\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"90\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4t7p00263b7ch1gh3o3l@published\">The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2021\/11\/taylor-swift-red-taylors-version-review.html\">color<\/a>&#8211;<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2022\/10\/taylor-swift-lavender-haze-june-bates-book-amazon.html\">coding<\/a> is one of several <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lvHZjvIyqsk\">Swiftlike<\/a> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2026\/02\/taylor-swift-opalite-billboard-hot-100-song-ophelia.html\">tropes<\/a> in here, but it\u2019s got some fine narrative details, and it\u2019s in a spacious musical mode that doesn\u2019t feel boilerplate. In a real goth song, the troubling line \u201cWe fought about who I\u2019m hanging out with, like a real couple\u201d would have deeper consequences. But the repeated \u201cI\u2019ll melt with you\u201d lines are clearly a reference to the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/LuN6gs0AJls?si=Df4LfH6qfnfHaV8p\">Modern English \u201980s-night classic<\/a>, which <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cly83elvz70o\">she\u2019s told the BBC she wants as her wedding song<\/a>, so big new-wave credit there. 2 BATWINGS, 2 CARDIGANS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4s56001p3b7csphrlik2@published\">\n<p>8. \u201cThe Cure\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"135\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4tb200273b7ci878imj4@published\">Again, not about the band, but still. And <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=B402rKl4bUg\">the video<\/a> (like <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/store.oliviarodrigo.com\/?srsltid=AfmBOorQcE3m0L753Tufee09ZOAR1znspgw-03S4ukm-CloQT0xkV_wa\">Rodrigo\u2019s website<\/a>) does use one of the vintage Cure typefaces, from the cover of the aforementioned <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kiss_Me,_Kiss_Me,_Kiss_Me#\/media\/File:The_Cure_-_Kiss_Me,_Kiss_Me,_Kiss_Me.jpg\"><em>Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me<\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s also probably the album\u2019s most successful realization of the paradox articulated in the title, asking how someone can be in love and still unhappy. Maybe, she realizes, the mistake was in expecting a relationship to fix deeper problems in the first place. But also, when she sings the line \u201cIt\u2019ll never be the cure,\u201d she could mean that no matter how much he loves her, it\u2019ll never be as good as a Cure song, couldn\u2019t she? One of the album\u2019s best, sounding mostly just like Rodrigo and no one else, but for the goth themes of poisons and apothecaries, 3 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4s8d001r3b7cws72rulr@published\">\n<p>9. \u201cBegged\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"125\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4tep00283b7cqail8laf@published\">The one \u201cDrivers License\u201d\u2013esque torch song on the album, although there\u2019s going to be a little pileup of slow ones in the back end here. Still, Nigro\u2019s fingerpicked acoustic guitar, as well as the unusual style of Rodrigo\u2019s own stacked background vocals (which reminded me of the great cult sister trio the Roches), prevents it from feeling like a retread, and the relationship insight in this one is killer: \u201cI\u2019ll take what you\u2019re giving\u00a0\/ But nothing\u2019s quite enough\u00a0\/ When I know that to get it\u00a0\/ I begged.\u201d The beginning of the end. There\u2019s a filigree of the melody of \u201cLandslide\u201d in the chorus (matched with a later lyrical reference to snow melting in the mountains), so for Stevie Nicks\u2019 witchiness, if nothing else, 2 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4sbb001t3b7cyv1llqra@published\">\n<p>10. \u201cWhat\u2019s Wrong With Me\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"41\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4ths00293b7cz92mrz3y@published\">The Smith duet, so the outcome is a given here. But also a turning point from where we were at with \u201cThe Cure,\u201d when Rodrigo reconsiders and realizes that maybe the sick one isn\u2019t her, but him after all. 5 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4sed001v3b7czlqptxbb@published\">\n<p>11. \u201cLess\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"105\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4tly002a3b7cpo5exkli@published\">Instead of either of our emblems, this Tin Pan Alley\u2013style jazz-piano ballad maybe should get a Billie Holiday\u2013style white gardenia. But let\u2019s not get ahead of ourselves\u2014the influence here is more likely to be the young Icelandic jazz-pop singer Laufey. Still, there\u2019s a mildly goth anti-love sentiment underlying the key line, the clever \u201cIf loving means letting go and wishing me the best \u2026 then I wish you loved me less.\u201d More importantly, I choose to take the nicely thrown-away line \u201cLet\u2019s just go to bed or something\u201d as a reference to the Cure\u2019s own \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/j6vVP91C3Iw?si=_IQy-_1IgLEXcwP1\">Let\u2019s Go to Bed<\/a>,\u201d so that\u2019s an automatic 2 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"recirc-line\" data-via=\"recirc-line\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/recirc-line\/instances\/cmqbdjh2q000igjm8q748396w@published\" aria-labelledby=\"recirc-line_title_cmqbdjh2q000igjm8q748396w@published\">\n<p>    <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2025\/08\/sabrina-carpenter-album-mans-best-friend-tears-review.html\" class=\"recirc-line__content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"recirc-line__img\">\n          \n        <\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"recirc-line__byline\">Carl Wilson<\/h4>\n<h3 class=\"recirc-line__promoline\">What Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s Critics Misunderstand About Her<\/h3>\n<p>        <b class=\"slate-link--bold recirc-line__read-more\">Read More<\/b>\n      <\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><br \/>\n<\/aside>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4sls001y3b7ct25mwcl6@published\">\n<p>12. \u201cExpectations\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"88\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4tox002b3b7caw5i1nlt@published\">I just know there\u2019s a more exact reference for the \u201980s-pastiche synth line here, but the file\u2019s been deleted from my memory bank\u2014it\u2019s equal parts <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Im3JzxlatUs\">Gary Numan<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c1GxjzHm5us\">New Order<\/a>, maybe <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eZHk4RwIp_g\">Visage<\/a>. The song as a whole ventures into B-52s and Cyndi Lauper territory, plus \u201cMaterial Girl\u201d\u2013style male backup vocals. It concerns mostly trust-fund guys with fake consultancy jobs at showbiz parties: \u201cDon\u2019t think my future husband\u2019s at this bar in Silver Lake,\u201d sings a sadder-but-wiser Rodrigo. The burst of fun the album needs at this point. 4 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"subhead subhead--none\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/subhead\/instances\/cmqbe4sou00203b7cc996kznd@published\">\n<p>13. \u201cCigarette Smoke\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"69\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4ts2002c3b7c5xbl2bpj@published\">It\u2019s an inevitability of the story\u2019s wind-down that there are too many slow songs in the final third, but this one is fine too, and not especially Taylorlike\u2014with its callbacks to multiple previous songs on the album, it\u2019s actually more like a song from the denouement of a musical, down to the fade-out on the \u201cmemories go dark\u201d refrain. But for that line\u2014and because cigarettes are very goth\u20142 BATWINGS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"6\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4tvd002d3b7c9xozjdpx@published\">And so our totals are \u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"3\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4tyg002e3b7ch32gxtdh@published\"><strong>Cardigans:<\/strong> 10<br \/><strong>Batwings:<\/strong> 31<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"39\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4u1b002f3b7cyt0gsxxn@published\">I honestly wasn\u2019t expecting such a blowout! But especially if you skip a few tracks (\u201cHoneybee,\u201d \u201cMy Way,\u201d one or two of the late ballads as you see fit), I think we can declare <em>YSPS4AGSIL<\/em> a very goth-safe zone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph slate-graf\" data-word-count=\"9\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cmqbe4u4b002g3b7caxt3quvk@published\">Children of the night, please <span class=\"slate-paragraph--tombstone\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/idSGlaG5PAE?si=6YZb39CgZu8xoUC0\">prepare to spider dance<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"newsletter-signup   \" data-list=\"Culture\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/newsletter-signup\/instances\/cmqbdjh2q000kgjm88flm90hl@published\">\n<p>\n        <svg width=\"13\" height=\"20\" class=\"newsletter-signup__arrow\" role=\"presentation\">\n          <use xlink:href=\"http:\/\/slate.com\/media\/components\/newsletter-signup\/sprite.svg#arrow\"\/>\n        <\/svg><\/p>\n<p>      <span class=\"newsletter-signup__description\">Get the best of movies, TV, books, music, and more.<\/span>\n    <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source slate.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. How do you review an artist like Olivia Rodrigo right now? She\u2019s arguably the biggest twentysomething pop star today, ahead of even Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish. Intelligent, charming, even politically outspoken, Rodrigo writes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2457189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[21940,21939,23084],"class_list":["post-2457188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-pop","tag-rock","tag-taylor-swift"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Olivia-Rodrigos-new-album-references-another-artist-repeatedly-Its-not.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2457190,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457188\/revisions\/2457190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2457189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}