The Music of 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 (including and up to)

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I drafted an introduction to Thubrina in July and started working on the project proper a couple weeks before the album’s release on August 29 when the only lyrics available were to the lead single. (“Manchild,” my version of which was particularly time consuming and particularly mindless.)

I started in earnest working on the project after the lyrics were released and in total I spent, gosh, at least twenty hours on it all? Maybe a lot more than that? I don’t know. Longer than I expected but not long enough to feel bad when I don’t get Pulitzer consideration.

Perhaps because this was a music-based project for music I didn’t have access to, but sometime on maybe the fourth day working on it I realized that it was interesting (to me at least) what music I was listening to and I started to keep track for a note in the appendix. Of course, once I decided to do that, it became difficult to listen to what was natural and not what I wanted people to know I was listening to, but I think I did as well as possible.

Now that I look back at the final list of music-listened-to, I can make some statistical observations. For instance:

Male artist / male-fronted band: 2

Female artist / male-fronted band: 9

Band alternatively fronted by a man and a woman: 2

Female artist but I only listened to an instrumental album: 1

This is about what you would expect, given my history. I know who I am.

I’m a little surprised that there are two in the man-and-woman category as I don’t think of that as a particularly common category. But I didn’t listen to Arcade Fire or Belle & Sebastian or Shovels & Rope or The Beautiful South and somehow still ended up with two. That suggests to me it’s perhaps not as rare a category as I tend to think.

Anyway, as you may recall, I did release a playlist to support Thubrina recently. Those tracks are suggested to accompany each of the new pieces in my collection. Sometimes the track is inspired by Sabrina Carpenter’s lyrics, sometimes by my own version, sometime just because it felt right. I’ll share it again now:

And now the big news! As promised yesterday, I’ve finally listened to Man’s Best Friend!

Honestly, I liked it a lot more than I expected. It’s not terribly interesting or anything, but it was a pleasant little pop journey and while I probably won’t listen to it again, I’m perfectly happy with the time we spent together.

You can read the full thread here, but I’ll reproduce most of it (lightly edited) here:

Manchild

"Manchild" comes first and the opening notes have a fun 80s vibe. The lyrics and delivery seem like some later Taylor Swift.

I'm not expert in Taylor's work either but I do live with people who sometimes listen to her, so I can at least recognize her voice and name a couple songs I like.

If we can count that as a guitar solo, that's the first one to break the top ten since some Nickelback song twenty years ago. Something to think about.

I'll admit now this isn't what I was expecting. I was expecting more Beyonce than Taylor. I expected something too now to pass as being from anything longer than ten years ago, but this song has a chance as a time traveller.

Long fadeout. Something Gen X Producer is always weirded out by.

Tears

If (thanks to Thubrina) I didn't already know all the lyrics I would not be picking up on how deeply horny this song is.

This feels like a novelty song from 2003.

This is true of a lot of her lyrics, but she's having to cram a lot of syllables into certain corners of the song....

My Man on Willpower

"My Man on Willpower" like "Manchild" but not like the song about getting wet when I think of you and tears running down my thighs is EXPLICIT.

Too bad about the explicitness. The arrangements and her performance are very cute and sound kidfriendly.

The lyrics however....ah ha.

But

I guess sexy babies are back in.

This feels like a generic burner. The sort of song that makes people feel inchoate but SO IMPORTANT emotions no matter what year it comes out. The sort of song old people roll their eyes at and young people, when they get old, are nostalgic for. It's Sabrina's Journey song.

Sugar Talking

Although it's all heavily processed, it has a weirdly acoustic feel. Is one feeling I have. The other is that this song sounds like 90s Kpop.

Hang on. IS THIS A BRIDGE??? IN 2025?????

Given that all these songs are in the Top 20, it seems likely I'll eventually hear one or more again but so far they're . . . not very memorable. I'm honestly not sure I'll recognize any of them (so far) two weeks from now.

But I can see being 14 and this being IMPORTANT and having this entire record engraved upon my soul.

Also, when you know your audience is largely kids, why the "your paragraphs mean shit to me" type lines. It feels lazy and irresponsible.

We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night

"We Almost Broke Up Again" isn't any better lyrically but the musical swells feel more honest. Until the end of the chorus. That felt like a copout.

The start of the chorus is great, though. Honestly.

I rewrote this one, incidentally, but pulling out two lines and building a villanelle out of them. Listening to this song, I'm impressed I was able to salvage that much. I think maybe we've taken the cult of the singer-songwriter archetype too, too far.

Nobody's Son

This intimate conversational opening reminds me of what Zooey Deschanel's good at.

In my rewrite, this became a working man's anthem. Sort of a Depression-era memory rerendered.

It was tough though because I was trying match scansion and her use of meter is . . . creative.

I like the fun sort of fruit-flavored, bouncy melody.

Not lyrics to sing along with though....

Never Getting Laid

"Never Getting Laid" getting loungy on us.

This rewrite was one of the more fun ones.

She has a knack for the moving to small verse to big expansive chorus. She's definitely a student of 80s ballads.

I suppose this might explain the childish-but-sex lyrics (eg, "the girl with big tits"). They don't require much thought to ingest but they're saying something that is becoming real when you're, say, 16.

The musical change around minute three isn't just a lyrical reference to The Wizard of Oz---it's also a musical reference! This is like if Lana Del Rey did Dorothy.

When Did You Get Hot?

"When Did You Get Hot?" is ready for the club. It's the beatiest song so far. This is more what I expected them all to be like. It's kinda like some of Heather Nova's more beat-heavy tracks. Yet somehow even less subtle lyrically.

Yeah, it's like a mix of Heather Nova, Taylor Swift, with some nice attitude overlaid.

I suppose if I were interested in defending her album cover, I'd say this is her evening out the male gaze of the cover with some carnivorous female gaze here.

Go Go Juice

I turned "Go Go Juice" into a scifi story. Her version is much more grounded. It wouldn't take much to change this into a late-70s to mid-80s country (drinking) song.

Given the earthiness of the lyrics and I'm surprised she's still mostly spending her time as an ethereal specter.

It's nice to hear in the chorus that she can get her hands dirty though. Overall, in this album, sounds like she might float away.

think this might be my favorite so far. It's musical layers are more interesting and seem more like something that invites the listener to participate in.

Of course, that WOULD be the drinking song. 🙄

Don't Worry I'll Make You Worry

"Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry" I wrote by deleting three words from each line then going back later and adding three words like. Astonishing, really, how different our two versions ended up.

This is me again thinking about Sabrina Carpenter in terms of Lana Del Rey. Clearly a big influence.

This feels like a Driving a Socal Freeway song. Honestly, a genre I love.

This is a dreamy build up here at the end. They should've gone even bigger. Like, an entire WALL of sound....

House Tour

After "getting wet" and "when did you get hot," "House Tour" is out last "nonexplicit" song.

So many ""s required to say all that.

Oh ho ho.

NOW we're in the 80s FOR SURE

Like . . . 1988, I'm guessing?

Although the lyrics are much more modern conversational than 80s finetuned. And the spoken asides are super Taylor.

I suppose that's not the sort of thing you can copyright/trademark.

Except for the Taylory bits, I think if I just heard this, I'd assume it was by someone trying to horn in on Paula Abdul's territory.

Goodbye

I'm bringing in expectations for a title like this

This does feel like if the Von Trapps were escaping in 2020, this is what they'd sing as they went up the stairs. Except for the punching and ass parts

Now that we're here at the end, I can say that album is musically coherent. We're getting some Beatlesesque sound design in “Goodbye” (mariachi! sfx! noise!), but overall it's the same sound we've had along: sweet and pretty, unpretentious and safe.

Tell your library to get Thubrina on their Libby/Overdrive! (Coming to Hoopla soon.)