10 thoughts on boygenius

I try to keep in mind that if I have enough to say about on thing that I find myself writing out tweets that need a true thread then I should write a newsletter. That doesn't always pan out the way I want it to, but today I've been trying to avoid the discourse because I think most people are wrong from so many different angles. I maybe wouldn't have written anything if there hadn't been a tornado watch and downpour in Philly starting when I got home from enjoying what was otherwise a very beautiful afternoon, but this is how the cookie crumbles. Short newsletter instead of tweeting.

Some things I've thought over the last couple of days:

Songwriters are not inherently made better when combined. A blend of three of your favorite wines will not necessarily make a wine you’ll love 3x as much. That’s okay. Maybe it’s still pretty good. Maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s just got a nice label.
Sometimes your white wine blend with the beautiful label just tastes like the riesling you buy at the liquor store across the street for cheaper. You’re disappointed, even if you typically really like a riesling. You didn’t ask for a riesling. You asked for something presenting itself as a combination of flavors. Boygenius is— to me— kind of like that, too. You still finish the bottle and now you know.
It’s valuable to understand where your distaste for a piece of art is coming from. Are you a victim of the marketing? Do you actually dislike the music? Have you had bad experiences with people who like it? Always best to look inward before blaming a piece of art for your own problems.
Taking on a flippant hater persona is way more cringe if your twitter bio is essentially begging for paid writing work. Pick a side.
Swearing to me that it’s progressive and novel for women to be friends and make art together drives me away from the art. I can recognize that about myself. I already know female friendship is a nurturing, enduring light— I know because I experience and watch it create beautiful things everyday. I resent a presentation of that base truth of my life as something so novel that you forego discussion of the art itself.
Collaboration and closeness between people who make art is a worthwhile exploration in the right forum. I can recognize that, too.
The deep love that I have for certain songs from Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus is only strengthened by watching them grow as musicians. I have revisited their individual work more in the last few days than I have in months.
I feel deeply lucky to have seen Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers in extremely intimate environments— a tiny, silent venue in Paris and a church in Texas respectively. I have never seen Lucy Dacus play, but I’m sure a good experience would help develop more affection for her music.
I don’t wholeheartedly love any album by any of the three boygenius collaborators, but— as always— it’s a disservice to yourself to only consider the album. Some of my favorite songs of all time are on records I don’t care for. My favorite Jeff Rosenstock song is on an album I don’t care for. For me, it’s best to invest in relationships with songs as worlds of their own. It does not matter whether I like an album, it matters that a song can live and grow as a part of my life. It matters more than anything that I am moved by “Savior Complex” and “Funeral Pyre” and “Night Shift” and “Anti-Curse.” I’m not in the business of collecting taste markers and opinions like pokémon cards. I’m interested in music as a living and breathing experience.
The new boygenius album is paced well and I like the way they started the record. I like some songs, I’m uncompelled by others. Perhaps it will grow on me, perhaps it won’t. Doesn’t matter. I’m excited to talk to my friends about it on Monday.

Please listen to my podcast! I've saved most of my actual opinions on the album because we're talking about it this coming week (April 7) and I hate to repeat myself too much. It's called Endless Scroll.

Here's last week's episode about the music we've liked best in Quarter 1 of this year:

Miranda Reinert is a music adjacent writer, zine maker, podcaster and law school drop out based in Philadelphia. Follow me on Twitter for more thoughts or whatever: @mirandareinert. You may also send me small bits of money at @miranda-reinert on venmo if you want. As always, thanks for reading!