John Legend and Kelly Clarkson Reworked 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' but Baby, They Shouldn’t Have

By Maria Sherman | November 8, 2019 | 10:30pm

Entertainment Music

COME ON, MAN, IT’S A NO: John Legend ft. Kelly Clarkson, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” —The “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” culture war has started early this year and John Legend and Kelly Clarkson have presented us with the first entry: an updated version that considers the notion of consent, which is the thing that people start flapping their jaws about every year, usually around Thanksgiving. If I pretend the lyrics are not changed to reflect consent, then this is fine. John Legend has a good voice and so does Kelly Clarkson. Would love to hear them sing anything other than this song, so if that’s in the works, please let me know. To be clear—I am not against consent, but I am solidly against the reworking of this old chestnut, which is not, as many seem to believe, the only song about Christmas or the holiday spirit or winter. Thank you. —Megan Reynolds

Y: Best Coast, “For The First Time” – My personal theory is that until California falls into the Pacific, Best Coast will continue to come back time and time again, brighter than the last. “For The First Time” is a sweet song about alleviating depression, a perfectly pleasant rumination on the ineffable stage that comes just after seeking help and taking the appropriate steps to better yourself. Like, if My Chemical Romance wrote this song, it’d be titled “I’m Ok (I Promise.)” I’d welcome an entire Best Coast album about feeling good, if they’ve got it in them. The only act brave enough to do that this year, in my humble opinion, is the Jonas Brothers… and it worked out for them! Give me a reason to feel nice. —Maria Sherman

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If it’s your thing, sure: Jonas Brothers, “Like It’s Christmas” – Well, I guess the joy-as-rebrand thing means a holiday song in early November. I don’t hate “Like It’s Christmas,” but the song would fit comfortably in the JoBros’ Disney discography. Corny can be fun, however, so I’m on the fence here. —MS

Y: Bishop Briggs, “Someone Else” – Every generation deserves its own Florence + the Machine. That is not Bishop Briggs—though her vocal tone might sound familiar, the eclecticism of her songs may very well shatter those expectations. “Someone Else” is the most accessible tune to get started with her Gen-Z repertoire, a piano ballad that speaks to adolescent experience with courageous explication. She wishes to be someone else, somewhere else, and no where at all. That, with a gospel choir, elevates. —MS

Yes: Lucy Dacus, “Fool’s Gold” – It is only November and Lucy Dacus has already provided us the soundtrack for January 1st—the still, silent, hungover comedown that introduces every new year for far too many of us. It’s ceaselessly cold in her universe, but warm inside, and I’d like to crawl right up in there. For such a songwriting talent, I don’t think it’s hyperbolic to suggest this is her best work to date. —MS

10000000%: Moor Mother, “Repeater” – Every Moor Mother album feels like a master class in Afrofuturism as well as a correction of American history as it is taught to us. Today’s release of Analog Fluids Of Sonic Black Holes, unsurprisingly, does both. Like all of Camae Ayewa’s work, it is dark rap, industrial noise, West African folk and other samplings that evade me, all rolled into one. I couldn’t pick a single track to highlight, so I suggest curious listeners begin where I did—with track one, “Repeater.” —MS

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY: Kilo Kish, “NICE OUT” – I cannot endorse this new Kilo Kish track enough. It reminds me of synthpop songs the I fell in love with at the end of the 2000s and the dawn of the 2010s, like early Grimes and Chromatics. I hate to make trite comparisons because I really do think that Kilo Kish is largely in a league of her own, and thankfully her playful cynicism was as evident as ever in the song’s lyrics (“I’ve got no friends left in LA/Self-obsessed I can relate”). This song just rules. Kilo Kish is the weirdo I’ve been rooting for for years now, and her return has not disappointed. —Ashley Reese