Macklemore Plays God, the Internet Are Saints, and Bebe Rexha's a Total Mess

By Clover Hope | July 20, 2018 | 8:32pm

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Nope: Macklemore, “How to Play the Flute” feat. King Draino (video) – I admit it’s easy for me to make fun of Macklemore because I don’t like his music, and so I’m going to do that again here. The good news is that I appreciate his attempt at conceptual humor and eccentricity in this video, and I could see this beat compelling me to do some moves, maybe. Fun scenes include an old school prom, a magic show, and an homage to the iconic painter Bob Ross. But there is nothing about this song (tonally, is he biting Chance the Rapper?) or video that makes me wanna come back. —Clover Hope

Y: Macy Rodman & DJ Delish’s “Shiny”/“My Car” split single – Every domestic thriller is the sequel to a romantic comedy,” Amy Gentry wrote for The Paris Review two years ago. This new split single from Macy Rodman and DJ Delish is kinda like that, going from high to hangover in under eight minutes. Macy kicks things off with the high-energy “Shiny,” a manic ode to crushing too hard: “Brush my hair and find my favorite shoes/My dresses in a line, but I can’t choose/You’re messing with my mind, can’t handle you/Your love is so exciting, make me feel so shiny.”

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That shine dulls and the mood dips considerably on the second track, “My Car,” featuring Yeye Ming, as DJ Delish sings about saying goodbye after being lied to: “Hey, little one/Me and your, me and your dad had fun/Uhhhhhhh, I think it’s time for me to run.” Note to self: Leave next time! —Harron Walker

Y: Rico Nasty, “Pressing Me” (video) – Note the style and simplicity of this video from the Maryland rapper behind “Big Dick Energy,” with its slightly blurred filter and lo-fi settings. Rico, carefree and unbothered by a bugaboo, raps and shares her grievance while strutting around shopping, lounging near a pool, etc., in what’s clearly a summer mood. —CH

N: Bebe Rexha, “I’m a Mess” (video) – It’s impossible to not read every attempt Rexha makes at hip relatability as disingenuous, and that’s because she’s the very definition of try-hard. The song “I’m a Mess” is a mess, and so is the video—she dances in a sexualized straight jacket, making institutionalization a setting for hot choreographed people. I’m not tryna be overly sensitive here, and I’m certainly not offended; it’s just stupid? Definitely dumb. —Maria Sherman

Not really: Zedd & Elley Duhé, “Happy Now” – This song is fine. It sounds like every other song recorded by elven prince Zedd and some singer I’ve never heard of before. I imagine this is what white women in Los Angeles enjoy dancing to on weekends. I am…content, for now. —MS

Oh hell yeah: The Internet, “Look What U Started” – This space could be occupied by virtually any of the 13 songs on the Internet’s new album, Hive Mind. I chose this one because of its disco tendencies that are so laidback, the track almost floats like yacht rock. But gritty? Hive Mind bounds with surprises and there’s a thrilling hook around every corner. But there’s consistency in the tasteful vocals of Jez fav Syd (they’re heartfelt but tempered). No matter the state of the world, at least we live in a time where we’re regularly blessed with full albums that center Syd’s dulcet pipes. For that, we are so fortunate. —Rich Juzwiak

Y: Djrum, “Portrait with Firewood” – Don’t let the storm of breaks scare you off; this track from London producer Djrum’s upcoming album of the same name, gets real pretty around the four-minute mark. —RJ

Si, ok: Anitta, “Medicina” – I first heard of Anitta, a 25-year-old Brazilian artist, via the video for her Spanish-language collab with J. Balvin, “Downtown,” in which (like in her latest single and video) she makes a song about sex seem like so much more than just that. I’ll admit that when I first heard the song on Spotify this morning I was like “eh, ok.” The video took it up a notch in my book because it features people of all backgrounds, in different places of the world listening and dancing to the catchy beat. Since she’s echoing Balvin’s idea of bringing a Latinx sound around the world, and because of the fact that after three listens I’m convinced all my cousins in Panama will love this 10x more than I do, I’ll give this a yes. —Ecleen Caraballo

N: LANY, “Thru These Tears” – When LANY first started releasing music, I was into their laid-back sound and somewhat depressing lyrics. Now, not so much. Did Paul Jason Klein write this after his breakup with Dua Lipa? I feel like maybe I would’ve liked this when I was going through a breakup in high school? Teens now are cooler than me when I was a teen though, so I think even they will want more. –ELC

Oh hell yes: Vanessa Carlton, “Needle In The Hay” (Elliott Smith cover) – Where the hell has Vanessa Carlton been? I love this cover—it’s haunting and creepy (in a good way) much like the original, but her voice also has a disaffected warble to it that I wasn’t expecting. When she says, “Gotta walk walk walk, four more blocks, plus the one in my brain,” I believe her. It doesn’t sound like Elliott Smith, and it doesn’t sound like the Vanessa Carlton you knew. I want to hear more of it. —Frida Garza