Jessica Hopper on Taylor Swift, Grimes, and Lana Del Rey

I missed this last month but am so happy I didn't miss it forever. You should all go read Jessica Hopper's @jesshopp touching and groovy story from Pazz and Jop linked herein.

So it is only natural that young female artists engage us and communicate with their image(s) as much as they do with their music. Image is perhaps an even more effective vehicle for their expression than songs. No girl escapes teenhood without a keen awareness of exactly how the world sees her, what it expects of her; she knows the weight of the world's desire down to the ounce.

I long for a day when feminist writing is no longer necessary, and am sad that it is, but if lessons still need to be learned, Jessica's a very good teacher.

Also, I really enjoyed the Lana Del Rey album and found the whole thing pretty ridiculous. The music's not groundbreaking, and neither is the music, but I don't need my head rearranged by every pop album I purchase. I thought Kristen Wiig was brilliant in her parody, poking fun of Lana but really slapping the overreacting snobs.