Rolling Stone - USA (2020-02)

PLAYLIST

OUR FAVORITE

SONGS AND VIDEOS

RIGHT NOW

18 | Rolling Stone | February 2020

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4. Caroline Rose
   “Feel the Way I Want”
   “I’m so in love with myself,”
   Rose sings, walking a fine,
   funny line between em-
   bodying and parodying
   Kanye-size arrogance. The
   song’s springy, synth-y
   track (recalling classic
   Madonna and recent
   Carly Rae Jepsen) helps
   the loopy irony go down
   buttery smooth.


5. Neon Indian
   “Toyota Man”
   Neon Indian came up as
   part of the hipster boom-
   let “chillwave” in the early
   2010s. But the band’s
   leader, Alan Palomo, takes
   a new turn here, tapping
   his Mexican roots as he
   sings in Spanish over an
   enjoyably playful low-fi,
   Latin-tinged pop tune that
   takes a Beck-ish path to
   borderless good times.


6. Squirrel
   Flower
   “Red Shoulder”
   Fans of self-emptying
   young rockers like Lucy
   Dacus and Snail Mail will
   love this slow-burn guitar
   exorcism from Squirrel
   Flower (a.k.a. 23-year-old
   Ella O’Connor Williams).
   She sings about intimacy
   as a kind of torment,
   erecting a huge wall of
   noise against her angst.


7. Drive-By
   Tru c ke r s
   “Thoughts and Prayers”
   Patterson Hood of the
   Drive-By Truckers has
   become one of finest
   chroniclers of Trump’s
   America. Here, he offers a
   gun-violence lament with
   a happy ending: Politicians
   paying for their crimes
   in perp-walk parades
   down the Capitol steps.

GOT A QUESTION

FOR CROZ?

Email AskCroz@

Rollingstone.com

I used to be very

civic-minded, but the

election of Trump and

my family’s belief that

everything you say can

be used against you

has worn me down to

the point that I became

afraid of the fight. How

do I find that fire again?

—James, NY

Look at the situation

we’re in. We have

global warming and a

president who doesn’t

believe in it or anything

that doesn’t provide

a personal profit to

himself. The guy running

the Senate, Mitch Mc-

Connell, also only cares

about profit. We can’t

not fight them. I can’t

conceive of rolling over

and putting my paws

up. We must fight.

I love your music,

and I think your recent

run of four albums in

five years are up there

with your best work.

The thing is, my wife

will only listen to Rick

Astley and George

Michael. How can I

get her to appreciate

your music?

—Richie, WI

It’s hopeless. Give it

up. Get another wife.

How can she resist

the magnificence of

my music? It’s so stun-

ning. But some people

don’t like it. Maybe try

smoking a joint with

your wife and then see

if she likes my music

better. Somehow those

two things work togeth-

er: my music and joints.

Try that. But maybe you

need to get remarried.

Real-life advice

from a guy who’s

seen, done, and

survived just about

everything

CROZ

ASK

9

6. Jelani Aryeh
   “Patagonia”
   Aryeh makes dolefully
   tripped-out R&B with the
   free-form joy of Frank
   Ocean. On “Patagonia,”
   he literally calls himself
   “a diamond from the Y2K”
   while still managing to
   sound cute and innocent.


7. Rat Boy
   “Victim of a System”
   Mixing rap, reggae, and
   rock, U.K. troubadour Rat
   Boy fights his nation’s
   “brain-dead” post-Brexit at-
   rophy, and big ups Public
   Enemy, the Beasties, and
   Black Flag in the process.


8. Margaret
   Glaspy
   “Killing What Keeps
   Us Alive”
   A starkly beautiful image
   of a fading relationship.
   Glaspy carefully goes
   from chilly vocoder ballad
   to lovely piano crescendo,
   building something
   tender in love’s ashes.


9. Roddy Ricch
   “Gods Eyes”
   The Compton rapper’s
   breakout LP, Please Excuse
   Me for Being Antisocial,
   made it to the top of the
   RS album charts thanks
   to his liquid flow and
   radiantly catchy songs,
   like this ode to the head-
   spinning spoils of his
   freshly minted stardom.


10. Frances
    Quinlan
    “Your Reply”
    Quinlan, frontwoman in
    the great Philly indie rock
    band Hop Along, just
    released her solo debut,
    Likewise, full of songs
    that evoke the lyrical and
    melodic invention of Elvis
    Costello and Courtney
    Barnett. Just check out
    the standout “Your Reply.”


11. Tyler, the
    Creator
    “Best Interest”
    The L.A. rap renegade
    showed some surprising
    warmth on his 2019 album
    IGOR, and he keeps the
    vibe going here, delivering
    a lovely slice of openheart-
    ed chipmunk soul.

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