Robyn returns to form

It’s been well over a decade since we’ve heard Robyn this bright and bubbly. “Talk to Me,” like the earlier (and sublime) “Dopamine,” returns her to the studio with Swedish super-producer Max Martin, and the resulting track — in both music and lyrics — traces an effervescent route from near-climax to thrilling release. The new album is called (awkwardly, beautifully) Sexistential, but the songs released so far suggest we’re about to get Body Talk Pt. 3.

See also: Jill Mapes on Robyn, Heated Rivalry, and pop culture’s phone-sex moment.


It's always a good day to listen to Phoebe Bridgers and Arlo Parks sing "Fake Plastic Trees"

This collaboration with Arlo Parks from 2020 is so good it makes me wish this duo would cover the rest of The Bends. Or, falling short of that, perhaps Phoebe could release her next album? It’s been five years. I’m ready.


A millennial-Gen Z collab I can't get out of my head

Feist and Olivia Rodrigo probably won't start a supergroup together. But on the basis of their performance of "We're Going to Be Friends" at the White Stripes' induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, I think there's a very good case that they should.

Happy 2026, everyone. And welcome to my new blog!