This Whole Universe

Margaret Glaspy “You’ve Got My Number”

In textural terms, “You’ve Got My Number” is a departure for Margaret Glaspy. I’s all harsh electronic textures and robotic funk, like a more aggressive garage rock take on Jimmy Jam and Jerry Lewis’s production style on Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. But the core of the song is pure Glaspy – elegant melodies that come out sounding casual as she sings them in a light drawl, and lyrics that express a feeling in plain language with asides that allow for conditions and complications. Thematically this one isn’t far off from her breakout single “You & I” in the sense that she’s addressing someone she feels an intense lust for, and laying out the terms of the situation. In both songs there’s an acknowledgment that she has no idea how she’ll feel in the future, and allows for that possibility without stamping out the fire of the feeling in the moment. But whereas the relationship in “You & I” is imbalanced on her side, the tables seem to be turned here, and she’s the one with something to lose. With this in mind, the in-the-red funk feels both persuasive and urgent.

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