Bop Shop: Songs From Lolo Zouaï, Mariah The Scientist, Taylor Swift, And More

Bop Shop: Songs From Lolo Zouaï, Mariah The Scientist, Taylor Swift, And More




The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is hard. Playlists and streaming-service suggestions can only do so much. They often leave a lingering question: Are these songs really good, or are they just new?


Enter Bop Shop, a hand-picked selection of songs from the MTV News team. This weekly collection doesn't discriminate by genre and could add anything — it's a snapshot of what's on our minds and what sounds good. We'll keep it fresh with the latest music, however expect several oldies although goodies) every once in a while, also. Get ready: The Bop Shop is currently open for business.





  • Lolo Zouaï: "Galipette"



    Lolo Zouaï covers a ton of ground in "Galipette"'s head-spinning two minutes. A quaint French-pop intro yields to world-rattling bass as Zouaï asserts herself — "Baby got a new M.O. / Since I took a trip to the candy store" — during the bilingual bop. It sounds like the future even as it plays with the past. Must be Zouaï's present. —Patrick Hosken








  • Joan: “Come Over”



    “Forgive me if I come off strong / I don't wanna wait also long,” vocalist Alan Benjamin Thomas prefaces the chorus of this cheeky single from synth-pop duo Joan. Confident in his charms, he boldly asks his date to come over. If the lyrics are any indication, they’ve only just met, yet the track’s retro-sounding instrumentals make the invitation to “dance under the kitchen light” feel enchanted. —Sam Manzella






  • Big Red Machine ft. Taylor Swift: “Renegade”



    each year ago, we didn’t know Taylor Swift’s indie-pop masterpiece Folklore (which she crafted with the help of Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner) existed, let alone that it could be the creative teamwork that keeps giving. Swift lends her vocals and vulnerability to “Renegade,” the latest allocating from Vernon and Dessner’s joint project Big Red Machine, allowing what would have been a standout track on either of her latest records its own moment of shine. The trio takes their time with the four-minute track, allowing the emotion and instrumentation to swell and falter, and the sparse although detailed production permits Swift’s wordplay to cut deeper than ever before. While we’ve seen Taylor take the offensive in love songs before, we’ve never quite heard her come from such a brutally wounded place, letting casually clever lyrics like “Are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these” and “Make me your future history” go for the jugular. It’s all groundwork for perhaps her most candid zinger yet: “Is it insensitive for me to mention / ‘Get your shit with each other, so I can love you.’” —Carson Mlnarik






  • L Devine: “Girls Like Sex”



    “Are you dumb or did you forget?” This pop song initially begins off as sweet and innocent with dreamy sounds however then becomes tough and assertive with its uncensored chorus (“Shut the fuck up and just kiss my neck”). The queer singer-songwriter L Devine gives a gleeful “fuck you” to misogynistic, slut-shaming standards forced on females by singing a catchy sex-positive anthem for all ladies who should not be ashamed of their sexuality or desires. —Athena Serrano






  • Christian Leave: “Hard Wad Body”



    Eighty-nine seconds into "Hard Wad Body," Christian Leave has begun to scream. It’s a throat-shredding wail at the edge of his lungs, a upset call of anger desperation and require and the guitar is throttling past the sound barrier and the drums are clenched fists decimating a brick wall punch by punch. It’s guttural, visceral angst, a violent experience that helps stop as suddenly it started, any time as soon as he has no more left to give. In the comparable quiet, Leave desperately explores the hopeless curse of being alone in his skin. “Too much pressure killed the kid,” he reveals, “and right now I’m forced to walk around in his body.” You hear him take one sharp, focused breath. And then he’s screaming again. —Terron Moore






  • Michael Love Michael and Chelsea Wolfe: “Have”



    In this duet, Michael Love Michael and Chelsea Wolfe make the most of every line with meandering, aching harmonies, which give the song a sense of weight, a sweltering gloom punctuated by rage. The subject matter, although, is liberatory. Michael wrote "Have" thinking about the ways Black, queer, and trans folks are harmed by patriarchal norms, ultimately concluding here that those forces “can't have me.” —Coco Romack






  • Mariah the Scientist: "Aura"



    In the several months since "Beetlejuice" and habitually n Forever" reported her as a stratospheric talent, Mariah the Scientist has kept the rockets launching. On "Aura," a standout from her latest project, Ry Ry World, the indefatigable R&B voice truly floats, unspooling an ode to someone who makes her feel close to the divine: "I'll use up my minutes / To tell you how I believe you're a rainbow / all of the heaven I need to be able to see Ry Ry World is out today featuring collaborations with Young Thug and Lil Baby. —Patrick Hosken






  • Chelsea Collins: “Open Your Mouth”



    Chelsea Collins brings a sense of ‘90s/2000s teen-pop nostalgia, however she also incorporates rock elements to the new “Open Your Mouth.” With Mean Girls-inspired visuals and “…Baby One More Time” vibes, Collins sings about a distant partner who is loving and affectionate at first however then keeps going MIA without notice (“Why do you hold me Once I feel afraid? / Wipe all my tears and kiss my face / However tomorrow you will be acting unconventional / And vanish without a trace”). Collins is freaking out. Nevertheless the song is a good relaxing begin. —Athena Serrano





  • The Mountain Goats: “Lizard Suit”



    Who however John Darnielle would make musical magic out of lizard people? In this slow-building track off Dark in Here, The Mountain Goats’s latest album, the prolific singer-songwriter unfolds a curious tale about… well, wearing “a lizard suit” to a party. “It’s so hard to get found in this town,” Darnielle complains in his trademark croon. The cryptic lyrics fade into a chaotic full-band jam session accented by piano flourishes. Is the lizard suit a metaphor or a nod to the infamous conspiracy theory? I don’t know, however I physically cannot stop listening. —Sam Manzella






  • Huron John: “Trapped in a Lava Lamp”



    There’s nothing hotter than any time Once I suggest someone a Huron John track, and they’ve already heard it. The Chicago-based indie-pop singer, who produced, wrote, and engineered his latest record Cartoon Therapy on his own, has been a rising voice in the space since his 2018 debut, churning out buzzworthy tracks that secured him spots on Spotify’s coveted “Lorem” playlist and also a healthy handful of fans. Through his eclectic visuals and mysterious online persona, he’s built his own universe, and “Trapped in a Lava Lamp” is the ideal example of what makes a Huron John song just that. With blips, pops, vocal distortions, as well as a sprinkle of pop-culture references, his neon and noisy tunes seem to encapsulate what it means to be growing and alive in 2021. His hyper-specific lyrics, which throw it back to therapy visits and “when everybody informed me Tyler, the Creator was not cool,” sit in contrast with groovy and chill beats, creating bops for the lonely, lost, and underrated. Though what his technicolor world generally seems to understand the ideal is that it’s not only possible to feel a lot of emotions at once, however it’s OK, also. —Carson Mlnarik






  • Courtney Barnett: "Rae Street"



    Excellent things happen any time Courtney Barnett looks out the window. Any time we first met her eight years prior, she opined, "It's a Monday / It's so mundane"; on her latest confessional, "Rae Street," she languidly paints the scene: trash collection, bike riding, home painting, and more. If it sounds a little uneventful, especially as she packages it over jangly chords and a unhurried rhythm, she intelligently reminds, "Time is cash / And cash is no man's friend." It sounds like a lost track from Lotta Sea Lice, her 2017 group effort with Kurt Vile, and it's a most welcome reprieve from the torrent of life getting back to its normal bustle. —Patrick Hosken






  • Almost Monday: “Til the End of Time”



    “We could go somewhere tonight / Electric feeling in your eyes,” vocalist Dawson Daugherty sings to his love interest. The funk-inspired elements define the idealization of the relationship, and he believes the stars are aligning for them both: “I’ve been looking at your star sign / Wanna put it next to mine / Ooh, it makes everything so clear.” The indie-pop band brings a upbeat optimistic love song brilliant for joy riding with your lover ‘til the end of time. —Athena Serrano






  • Central Heat Exchange ft. Varsity: "Directly Down"



    It's hard to map out exactly how far-reaching music collective Central Heat Exchange is, even as a press release labels them "a collaborative project by musicians spread during the U.S. & Canada, primarily in the Central Time Zone." Some of the co-conspirators on their upcoming album include folks from Damaged Social Scene, Lala Lala, Sun June, and more. However on the hazy "Directly Down," it's simply CHE with peppy cohorts Varsity wading into a swamp of noise up until they submerge. What a fun way down. —Patrick Hosken






  • Jade Bird: right now Is the Time"



    Out all of the radiant moments on Jade Bird's upcoming Different Kinds of Light album, right now Is the Time" is particularly glowing. On the tune's cheery chorus, her vocal melody runs alongside a mimicking lead guitar line like they’re running a race to the hook. As soon as she sings about "gray skies in my head," you know she's speaking hypothetically. This one's all golden sunshine. —Patrick Hosken













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