Review of Olivia Rodrigo

Okay, my loves. It’s time for a little heart-to-heart. We may really love our Spotify playlists and knowing what songs are “in” today, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we want to listen to every new album that comes out. So if you’re one of those girlies who is procrastinating listening to Olivia Rodrigo’s second album GUTS, I got you. This article is a breakdown of how to know what songs you’ll vibe with, what you will want to add to your playlists, and what to say when your friends randomly start talking about GUTS.

On surface level, this album is super punk-rock pop, but also very relatable. Some songs are flat-out rants, like the kind you do with yourself in front of the mirror. Lucky you. Now you have a cover-up for when you want to rant in the mirror without looking stupid if you get caught. Just sing the angry songs in this album. (Don’t forget your hairbrush! That’s an integral part of the experience.) Other songs are sad and mopey, like you during that special time of the month- let’s be honest. And of course, I shouldn’t forget to mention that there are songs about guilty pleasures because every teenage girl has so many of them: your favorite late-night comfort food, your list of procrastination methods, or that random person you just happened to intermittently crush on. So let’s get into the songs!

Breakdown of the Songs

1. Apologies, but this song can’t be named to keep content safe for some of our younger readers

• This is an angry, sarcastic song about wanting to be an all-American girlie, but not really feeling that Americana-starlet energy.

1. bad idea right?

• This is your first guilty-pleasure song, and it’s super funky, so Avril-Lavigne. It’s punk-rocky and really trendy, but not in a boring,everday, ephemeral way.

1.  Vampire

• This song is pretty representative of the content that she used to produce before this album came out. It’s another break-up song with punk-rock edginess, and it’s great.

1. Lacy

• This is one of her slower songs, and it is so loveable because it’s about that beautiful, perfect, little girliepop that you look at and want to be so badly.

1. ballad of a homeschooled girl

• This song is another rant, and it’s about having trouble navigating social media, feeling awkward about human interaction with people your age, and being insecure about your lifestyle. 

1. making the bed

• This is like a softer continuation of the previous song. It’s like when you cry about your grades after screaming about them to your friends, except that it’s about boys, and it still has its punk elements.

1. logical 

• It’s another mopey song about how she gaslights herself into believing in her love, even though it’s clearly just not it.

1. get him back!

• This song is about how she wants to go back to that guilty-pleasure boy because she is once again gaslighting herself into believing that her relationship can work because she’s really feeling that “I can fix him” trope mentality.

1. love is embarrassing

• This song gets everybody. Teen romance just really isn’t it all the time or ever, and this song just gives that crazy, catchy, “MARINA-energy” mood. (MARINA, for those of you who don’t know, is a 2010s popstar, and you should totally go listen to her, like, now.) 

1. the grudge

• This song is lowkey that perfectly typical sad song that everybody can vibe with, and it’ll get super overplayed until everyone is so sick of it.

1. pretty isn’t pretty

• This song is so “Clairo” indie: it’s literally about hating the way you feel and look. (Just so you know in case you don’t, Clairo is a popular alternative/indie artist who happens to a backdrop to everyother instagram story. You should also listen to her too.)

1. teenage dream

• Not going to lie, this song is literally the anti-original-Katy-Perry-“Teenage Dream”. It’s about feeling like you have already reached your ten, and it’s gone, and you’re just not getting any cooler– that senile, teenager, sadgirl energy.

For Your Playlists

1. Mood playlists are such a vibe. I get it. (I mean the girlies who vibe with mood playlists have at least like 10.) So if you’re one of those girlies, here is what you’re gonna want to add to those playlists:

• For your sadgirl playlist: “making the bed,” “logical,” “the grudge,” “pretty isn’t pretty,” and “teenage dream”
• For your angry playlist: the first song, “vampire,” “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” and “love embarrassing”
• For your playlist about what you wish you could be like or like your how I want to be perceived/POV playlist: go for “lacy”

1.  Event Playlists

• For your hanging-out-with-friends playlist: “lacy,” “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” and “the grudge”
• For your party playlist: “bad idea right?” and if you’re daring go with “love is embarrassing”

What you can casually say if you want to sound like you know your stuff

• People right now are really obsessed with “the grudge,” “lacy,” and “ballad of a homeschooled girl.” So just like casually slip that you think that one, two, or all of these songs are so gas when you’re talking with that one super-obsessed friend or to one of those people who give you that “Livie stan” energy.
• To sound smart and well-informed about the media, talk about “lacy.” Say something like, “Low key think that Livie might be trying to appeal to the frilly, hyper-feminine, coquette side of tik tok, ‘cause it’s super in right now, and she’s kinda known for vibing with her TikTok popularity,” or “ONG!!! This is such a Livie-equals-Taylor’s-daughter moment!!!” because this song gives such Folklore by Taylor-Swift energy.
• No one notices this, but like Grudge is compositionally similar to “drivers license,” so you can just casually slip that it’s kinda “drivers license” part two.

This album is fun, crazy and very easy to comprehend for most girlies. If you want to really show that you know the album without listening to all the songs, you should totally learn to sing  “grudge,” “lacy,” “ballad of homeschooled girl,” “the grudge,” and “love is embarrassing.” I know this article is for lazy girlies, but if you feel like it, then listen to the whole album. I mean 10 out of 10 recommend. I wish you well in your endeavors to please all the GUTS fans you encounter.