It’s Monday and you know what that means, time to talk about what songs we’ve been loving lately. Kicking things off today is **Lena Dunham** !
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“Okay I know that we all expected Adele to be great but did we expect it to be this great? Did we expect to feel a surge of passion like the first time we saw Titanic? Did we expect to weep for who we are and who we once were? Did we expect to understand once and for all that time passes but some things never change?
No, no we didn’t.”
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“I grew up obsessed with Gwen Stefani and No Doubt (something that somehow has already been well documented in our Music Mondays), and although Gwen’s solo stuff has been hit (L.A.M.B) or Miss (everything after?), “Used to Love You” is Gwen back at her absolute best. Obvs you know by now that she and Gavin broke up and when she says “I was the best thing that ever happened to you,” it’s like WHERE IS THE LIE? His career is already pretty much nothing but I can’t imagine anything good is going to happen going forward. The video, which you should absolutely take time out to watch, is equally gut-wrenching, with Gwen doing the exact post-breakup motions so many of us have been through before . Listening to a song we know will absolutely wreck us, thinking about everything that’s been left behind, attempting to imagine a new future for ourselves, alternatively crying, shaking our heads in disbelief, and laughing because here we are again, somehow. I can’t wait for this new record, and I can’t wait for this new era of Gwen.”​ **Laia Garcia, Associate Editor**
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“At this point, B’day is vintage Bey. The album came out in 2006, when music videos were still integral to the spread of a song. It was her second album as a solo artist, but it was a much stronger declaration of independence than the first. The best song off B’Day is Upgrade U, the third collab she’s done with Jay Z. It’s a witty theme, Bey swaggering out about how her man is totally whack without her curation and it works on a meta level, too, because let’s face it: Jay’s verses were lacking in the early aughts, and his rap on Upgrade U was actually good. Make sure you watch the video rather than just listening to the song today. It showcases an incredibly athletic dance routine and an earlier version of the infamous pony tail she wore at the Met Gala last Spring.”​ **Doreen St.Félix, Editor-at-Large**
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“It’s sort of creepy how often I think to myself: “I wonder what Justine Frischmann is doing now?” She was the lead singer of one of my favorite 90s bands, Elastica. If you don’t know Elastica, start by listening to “Car Song” and follow it with “Stutter,” which are two bright, quick, straight-ahead rock songs. BTW, after helping M.I.A. write songs for the 2005 album Arular, Justine Frischmann is now living in the Bay Area and is an award-winning painter.” **Jessica Grose, Editor in Chief**
