It’s been two years since Charli xcx‘s Brat album became a phenomenon, mixing into the larger worlds of entertainment, culture and even politics, and bringing her to a level of celebrity she’d only glanced at in her career before. Now, after a remix (sequel?) album, a successful tour, a few movie appearances and an additional full soundtrack album, she returns with a brand new LP that officially moves her out of Brat summer and into her next era, with the 10-track, 30-minute, (arguably) rock-pivoting Music, Fashion, Film.
With this Rollout Report Card episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard staffers Eric Renner Brown and Christine Werthman as we look at everything surrounding Music, Fashion, Film and the months that have led up to it. We attempt to grade all aspects of the rollout, from the mini-movie accompanying the album to the film legends collected for the LP cover to the numerous podcast interviews done in advance of the set — and of course, the songs on the album itself.
And of course, along the way we answer all the most pressing questions about Music, Fashion, Film: Did “Rock Music” appropriately set the tone for the album era — and how much does it actually have to do with rock music? Could we maybe have used a non-old-white-guy icon on that album cover? Does the accompanying movie add much to our understanding of the album? Is the song to her primary artistic partner a better love song than the song to her literal husband? Does David Cronenberg make sense as the last voice you hear on the album? What’s Charli’s favorite Led Zeppelin album? And perhaps most importantly: Is this just the album Charli xcx is using to take a step back from Brat, or is it a classic in its own right?
Check it out above — along with a YouTube playlist of some of the most important moments from the album campaign, all of which are discussed in the podcast — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Transgender Law Center
Trans Lifeline
Destination Tomorrow
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
