Chappell Roan is a Kate Bush-level Pop Threat

Obsessed. I am being destroyed by relentless pop genius.

Very rarely does my own taste dovetail with the popular zeitgeist. I like things that are popular of course; Star Wars, Radiohead, NFL etc. It is unusual that my excitement for a new thing is the very new thing that popular culture is losing its mind over.

But Chappell Roan is the real frickin' deal.

I began hearing whispers at the end of last year. I am adjacent to the queer grapevine and the tremors were making their way down that line of communication with ever increasing regularity. But it wasn't until the single 'Good Luck, Babe!' released back in April that I began to actively listen.

That single is incredible. A perfect pop song. But perfect pop songs happen. Harry Styles had one in 2022. That doesn't mean I'm going to become a late-life Directioner. But because I had no other frame of reference for her music than queer popularity, it made it easier to explore her debut album from last year.

The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess is just so alive. It is grounded in the inner world and desire of real human, yet it also connects to a stream of abandoned soulfulness that reaches beyond hedonism to genuine joy.

Obsession is not new to me. Quite the opposite. I am tinged with OCD. I am a creature of devotion. But this experience was very different. Rather than deep dive and listen to everything, I became obsessed over one track at a time. Just look at this majesty...