Charli XCX Reworks A Clique Ode, Donna Missal Vents About Love, And More Songs We Like

Charli XCX Reworks A Clique Ode, Donna Missal Vents About Love, And More Songs We Like




The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is tough. 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 can contain anything — it's a snapshot of what's on our minds and what sounds good. We'll keep it fresh with the latest music, although expect a number of oldies although goodies) every once in a while, also. Get ready: The Bop Shop is currently open for business.





  • Donna Missal: “Let You Let Me Down”



    We’ve all opened our hearts to people we know we can’t trust, and Donna Missal is no exception. The 29-year-old singer-songwriter spells out her frustrations in “Let You Let Me Down,” a rock-infused breakup ballad off of Lighter, her forthcoming LP. Her smoky vocals simmer to a satisfying crescendo in the final refrain. It’s like we’re grieving with Missal, whose disappointment — in her lover, in herself — is palpable: “Oh, the worst part / Is that I let you let me down.” —Sam Manzella






  • Charli XCX: “C2.0”



    “Click,” from Charli XCX’s eponymous 2019 album, was a fan preference thanks to some smoldering contributions from Kim Petras. For How I’m Feeling Now, the quarantine-made LP Charli made within the past month and released on May 15, she and producer A.G. Cook reimagined the tune as something from the Richard D. James Album, glitching it to hell and back. Nevertheless the sweetness here lies in Charli’s plaintive reflections from isolation about just wanting to be able to see her people: “I miss them every night / I miss them by my side.” —Patrick Hosken






  • The Wldlfe: “You Don’t Love Me (Like You Used To)”



    “Excuse my heart just for asking,” frontman Jansen Hogan pardons, “‘cause I’m not sure that I want the truth.” Pop-punk crooning ballad “You Don’t Love Me” is an earnestly wistful and deceptively deep provide from emerging musical group The Wldlfe, a pitiful wrestling between breakup grief’s last two stages: burrowing depression and eventual acceptance. The song’s best line mourns not only lost love, yet the protection it once held: “You don’t hold me like you know I’m scared of the dark.” —Terron Moore






  • Taylor Swift: “Cornelia Street (Live From Paris)”



    They mention all you've got to write a hit record is three chords and the truth, nevertheless no one appears to understand that quite and also Taylor Swift. With the release of fan preference “Cornelia Street (Live From Paris),” Swift proves that she is still made of that simple, acoustic magic her fans have routinely liked her for. Lyrically, Swift paints a pastel-hued picture through imagery and her signature anecdotal storytelling, effortlessly describing the relationship between emotional memory and physical space. This song, already the emotional climax of Lover, hits differently any time performed live. It brings a sense of rawness and immediacy while striking an emotional response from her fans, both those present at the show (as you could hear in the recording) and those listening at residence in quarantine. —Sarina Bhutani






  • Sinéad Harnett: “Quarantine Queen”



    R&B-soul singer Sinéad Harnett lets us into her cozy London quarters with soft new track “Quarantine Queen.” Two months into staying at house, the headlines and loneliness are taking their toll, and it’s hard not to reminisce about how good we had it. “Aren’t we all just pretending / That the world isn’t ending,” she coos, as she dances around the residence. Love and life feel on hold for the moment, nevertheless she meets us where we’re at in the adorable DIY video, modeling for the webcam, writing notes, and rocking a pink wig. If “quarantine royalty” is a thing, give her the crown. —Carson Mlnarik






  • Kathleen Edwards: “Options Open”



    Eight years since her pretty much brilliant last album, Voyageur, Canadian alt-country queen Kathleen Edwards is finally back with a new track. In 2014 Edwards hit pause on her critically acclaimed music career and opened the appropriately titled Quitters coffee shop in Ottawa. However soon after nation music star Maren Morris reached out to her about working with each other, Edwards headed to Nashville to craft some new tunes with Morris and producer Ian Fitchuck (Kacey Musgraves’s Golden Hour). That work session eventually led to her new single, “Options Open,” which keeps her nation folk vibe while combining in some breezy indie rock bounce. Edwards’s album, Total Freedom, is scheduled to be released in August. Visualize, 2020’s not all bad news! —Chris Rudolph






  • Phoebe Bridgers: “I Visualize You”



    “If you’re a work of art, I’m standing also close,” Phoebe Bridgers muses in “I Visualize You,” the third in a series of singles from Punisher, her rather anticipated sophomore album. The 25-year-old indie rock ingenue customary herself as an emerging act to watch with tracks like 2017’s “Motion Sickness” and “Scott Street.” Her latest song follows suit, underlaying Bridgers’s trademark croon with a mellow, pulsating guitar riff that lets her lyrical prowess shine (“I used to light you up / Right now I can’t even get you to play the drums”). Ben Gibbard doesn’t call just anyone a “phenomenal young songwriter.” —Sam Manzella






  • Ilse DeLange & Michael Schulte: “Wrong Direction”



    Due to quarantine and social distancing points, people feel more disconnected than ever. Nevertheless, music routinely brings people with each other, so Ilse DeLange and Michael Schulte’s group effort couldn’t have dropped at a more opportune time. In this Dutch/German team-up, “Wrong Direction” brings two artists with each other to lyrically discuss the disconnect in a relationship — oh, the irony. “Wrong Direction” finds the ideal balance between nostalgia and modernity, composed of a comforting, country-pop melody layered with fresh, alternating vocals that complement each other beautifully. They just don’t make duets like this anymore — simple, classic, effortless. Just the thing we need now. —Sarina Bhutani








  • Jeff Rosenstock: “The Aesthetics of Breathing”



    Surprise! Long Island punk icon Jeff Rosenstock released a new album on May 20 called No Dream without any advance warning. Such a startle would incur breathlessness anyway, yet the album is particularly frantic, with the already over-caffeinated Rosenstock lamenting being far away, both geographically and emotionally. Enter “The Aesthetics of Breathing,” a deliciously riffy exhale where he lays it all on the table: “I walk outdoors and people mention ‘hey’ / And some days I just wanna mention, ‘Hey, go away!’ / So I guess I better stay inside.” He debuted it live last year, nevertheless amid all of the noisy chaos of other voices and towers of guitars, it feels comforting, like he could’ve written it yesterday in a moment of venting aggravation. —Patrick Hosken






  • Kehlani: “Toxic”



    Isolation and distance are recurring topics making Kehlani’s It Was Good Up until It Wasn't very relatable. "I get real accountable any time I'm alone," she sings, keeping it real once it pertains to isolating and holding yourself accountable while quarantined. This song sparks a craving of affection that can awaken the lonely human within us. With the idle time we've had over the last couple of months, it might be easy to fall back inside some of these toxic mannerisms and situationships from the past. These smooth R&B ballads can trick you into feeling risky. Put the phone down. Don't call on that problematic lover. —Sunni Valentine













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