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Tongue twisters that mock techno-optimism and cite critical theory dont usually make for catchy song lyrics.
But indie rocker Rosie TuckersUtopia Now!finds beauty in the dross of late capitalism.
Its their first full project since getting dropped by their label and firing their management.
It also represents a distinctly different artistic approach.
While Tuckers previous work looked inward,Utopiaconfronts society as a whole.
The opening lyric onUtopia Now!is The lightbulb is updating, and I sit in the dark.
Its arresting because the idea of a lightbulb updating is kind of an absurd statement and also relatable.
A product whose intention is to, like, maximize efficiency has actually failed.
I just felt a way about it, so I didnt use them.
I also parted ways with one long-term collaborator and my manager.
And that was not my experience.
Tell me about writing that lyric.Yeah, its the plastic nature of our minds.
I am intrigued by the idea of when you retrieve a memory, you change the memory.
You reuse words in different contexts throughout the album.
And so you figure out how to shade things in such a way where theres repetition.
Because obviously a song lives or dies based on establishing something that can be both interesting and familiar immediately.
The great trick is to pull off something that is coherent.
Id love to talk about the song title Paperclip Maximizer.
Its not a phrase you would typically see in a song.
How do you find that balance?Im really grateful for that characterization.
I had been trying to write songs speaking more to my values for years.
It just took some growing up to be able to articulate these things.
I needed it to feel totally fresh.
Any time that something felt like it could have come from the internet, I would discard it.
Theres so much value in that, but it wasnt what I was going for.
Theres a lyric in Unending Bliss where you say, I want nothing but unending bliss for my enemies.
Tell me a bit about that line.I had been trying to reform my own concept of what forgiveness is.
I wanted forgiveness to free me and heal me from anger and bitterness that was messing with my well-being.
Everyone loves a revenge song.
And I think we are in a fairly vindictive moment in the culture at large.
Its normally talked about as diminishing us to forgive because we are such good people.
We are willing to be diminished.
And I just wanted to find something that wasnt that.
You have a tour coming up.
Whatare you looking forward to about it?I am just so excited to see people enjoy this record.
And this was a brand-new experience for me.
Ive been writing songs and performing them in clubs for like a decade now.
And to suddenly have people who had clearly listened to the music before was quite a trip.
