Some Forbidden Paradise

Olivia Rodrigo “Vampire”

The most appealing thing about Olivia Rodrigo’s music to me is how it always seems as though she and her songwriting partner Dan Nigro are trying to write the next great karaoke staple. If that’s the case they’ve already succeeded a few times over, and I think “Vampire” has a shot too, though I think it’s more of a “for the heads” song than, say, “Drivers License” or “Good 4 U.” The songs have the raw punch of alt-rock but the calculated bombast of musical theater, which turns out to be an incredible vehicle for delivering lyrics that directly express very adolescent forms of anguish. I don’t mean that in a condescending way – the beauty of Rodrigo’s writing is in how she articulates the sort of conflicts, resentments, and heartaches that seem much more enormous and world-shattering at a young age than they do with a bit more time and experience. It’s all exaggerated but totally accurate, and I think for anyone who’s outgrown this mindset the songs provide a way back into those intense young emotions.

“Vampire” is a song about betrayal, but more specifically it’s a classic “now that I’m famous, I can’t trust people” type of song. It’s about blood suckers, fame fuckers, and people who sell you off for parts. It’s a song that will resonate for anyone who worries about “fake friends” regardless of their actual status. The thing that really makes this work is how Rodrigo sounds genuinely hurt and surprised through the whole song, as though she simply never considered the music industry wasn’t built around exactly the sort of relationship she describes in the song. A lot of young musicians will almost preemptively write songs like this, it’s such a part of the standard star narrative, but this is very much coming from a warm and uncalloused heart. She’ll inevitably get to that pragmatic defensiveness later, but this song is like listening to a loss of innocence in real time.

Buy it from Amazon.