BRAT Summer: Comment Of The Day

It can be an exciting moment when something you like becomes popular or, perhaps, an inciting one. You could be pleased that other people share your taste, or you can worry that something you love has become watered down.

I mention this because around 2012 or 2013 I became a fan of a young British artist who went by the name Charli XCX. Her debut album, True Romance, passed quickly through the indie music sphere I associated myself with at the time. Dark, but poppy, and clearly going somewhere. Charli XCX quickly embraced the more mainstream dance-oriented sound that pop was embracing and lost me a little bit. It was good, I liked it, I just didn’t listen to it very much.

There were little flare-ups here and there. She was definitely a popular act and I couldn’t claim any kind of special ownership. Her contribution to “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea makes the whole adventure listenable. She started collaborating more with producer SOPHIE, who I adored, and things got a bit more interesting to me.

I explored all of this when she did a song for the new Barbie movie and I assumed that might be a peak. Good for her, I thought. Obviously, I am a dummy. Her latest release, brat, hit the consciousness of certain Americans like a 100-megaton bomb. It was “brat summer” all of a sudden.

Everyone knew who she was. She hosted Saturday Night Live. She was inescapable. I mention this because Mercedes wrote about her leaky bra today, and Dennis Birtcher made an excellent point:

The Bratopian. Could be bras or Subaru Brats. Either are acceptable.

Or Charli XCX! Everyone wins!

Photo: Subaru