How Charli xcx’s Brat Became a Cultural Phenomenon

We’re getting candid in our interview with Master Peace. Master Peace is the artist moniker for London-based Peace Okezie who makes self-proclaimed “electroclash” music for dancing. Earlier this year Master Peace released his debut album and won an award for Ivor Novello’s Rising Star. With huge support slots for the likes of The Streets and Genesis Owusu under his belt, he’s following that up with another EP and a headline tour across the UK and EU this October. We talk to Peace about how he accidentally started the wave of indie sleaze in the UK, how he has fought against the boxes people have tried to put him in order to make art that fully represents himself, and why ‘happiness and freedom’ are a core part of his philosophies as a human and an artist. Listen to the full interview with Master Peace on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Friko. Friko is the duo Nike Kapetan and Bailey Minzenberger hailing from Chicago’s long lineage of DIY and indie rock music. Their debut album Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here came out earlier this year and sees the band merging elements of post-punk and chamber-pop and experimental rock. The band is headed out on tour across the U.S. with Royel Otis this fall and will also be headlining in the UK later this year. We talk to frontman Niko about how he and Bailey collaborate as multi-instrumentals in the songwriting process, how the band is setting out to make the world a better place through music, and how Niko is challenging himself to write more honest lyrics that encapsulate the highs and lows of life. Listen to the full interview with Friko on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Name 3 Songs… ⚡  Fangirl Nonsense: Pop music is SO back. Both Sabrina Carpenter and Addison Rae have release the most perfect pop songs. Sabrina is giving us sugar coated mellow drama while Addison is channeling Lana Del Rey and Britney Spears on “Diet Pepsi.”  ⚡   We’re exploring how Charli XCX’s latest album brat became a cultural phenomenon that reached all the way to the presidential election. We first look at how brat. serves as a reflection of the current state of culture and society – the rise of indie sleaze and club culture, the reaction to Barbie summer (hello brat summer), the rebellion of what it means to be a 30 year old in today’s society. After diving into the cultural significance of the album itself, we dissect the branding of brat that propelled the message into mainstream culture. From the “brat wall” in New York City, to the text that instantly became a meme, to the aptly timed “Apple” + coconut tree mashup. Brat is a moment that will live on forever in pop culture history, and you just had to be there.  Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal!  Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million Check out all the sources for this episode at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Bay Faction. Born out of an online message board, Bay Faction emerged in the Boston DIY scene in 2015 with the debut of their self-titled record and quickly garnered a cult following. Following the band’s hiatus from 2020-2024, Bay Faction is now marking their highly anticipated return with new single, “Drive Home.” We talk to Bay Faction singer James McDermott about the decision to bring the band back and what he learned in the process of taking time away. We also discuss the 2023 re-release of the band’s self-titled album and James' own realization the songs had taken on a life of their own with fans. Plus, we get into how James’ songwriting style has evolved to include a new level of vulnerability. Listen to the full interview with Bay Faction on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Paris Paloma. Paris Paloma is an English artist who made a name for herself with her 2023 song “Labour.”  The song became a rallying cry for women, through its journal-like lyricism and dark folk-pop melodies detailing the women’s emotional labour under a patriarchal society.  Now, Paris Paloma’s debut album Cacophony is out August 30.  Through the 15-track album, Paris explores the human experiences of grief, love, patriarchy, and trauma through the imagers of Greek mythology, fantasy, and the literary gothic.  We talk to Paris about how her love of creative writing and fine art led to her unique way of storytelling, why she celebrates and explores the idea of womanhood as a rebellion to the norms of society we’ve all been raised in, and how her music has become a wildfire for women across the world to explore conversations of feminism and find community with each other. Listen to the full interview with Paris Paloma on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt on name3songs.com. For more of Name 3 Songs, check out our podcast here and other interviews here. Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal!  Want to talk more? Find us  @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Middle Part. We talk to Middle Part about the choice to open up about his depression in songwriting, knowing that someone out there is going through the same thing and how he utilized the image of a glass box as a metaphor for the extreme pressures and expectations of the music industry. Middle Part is the moniker of New York alternative rock artist Andy Selkōw. His debut album Disruptor explores themes such as depression, self-acceptance, and the challenges of aging. Listen to the full interview with Middle Part on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with The Wldlfe. The Wldlfe is a Nashville-based pop band composed of Jansen Hogan, Carson Hogan, & Jack Crane who have been creating since the band’s start in 2016. The Wldlfe is releasing their upcoming album Heaven is a place, 2024 on August 16 and touring across America this fall. We talk with Jansen Hogan, singer of The Wldlfe, about how being in love influenced the writing process for The Wldlfe’s new album Heaven is a Place, 2024, how the band has grown as artists over the last 8 years, and the importance of building a connection with fans online and on the road. Listen to the full interview with The Wldlfe on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Georgia Webster. Georgia Webster is a singer-songwriter, who’s song “Tell Your Mom” became an instant hit on TikTok in July 2020. Since then, she moved to Nashville to hone her songwriting and storytelling skills. Her 3rd EP SIGNS dropped at the end of May and details the complexities of today’s situationships We talk with Georgia Webster about how she handled viral fame and is learning to sustain a career as an artist, the challenges of working with other songwriters, and finding her sound as an artist, and why she considers her “SIGNS” EP her best work yet. Listen to the full interview with Georgia Webster on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Forest Claudette!   We talk to Forest about the decision to open up about their non-binary gender identity in their music, being able to develop their artistry without the pressure to go viral, and how they use visuals as a world-building tool to enhance the stories in their music.   Forest Claudette is an Australian alternative R&B artist, who grew up playing multiple instruments and now is honing in their artistry to tell their own story. Their new EP titled Jupiter and subsequent single “Moonlight” explores gender identity and sexuality, the joy and sacrifice of coming out, and life’s complexities.   Listen to the full interview with Forest on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Bathe Alone. Bathe Alone is the dream-pop moniker of multi-instrumentalist Bailey Crone based in Atlanta, Georgia Working closely with collaborator and producer Damon Moon, the two push to new emotional depths utilizing sound design as a lens for exploration. Their new record I Don’t Do Humidity is out now. We talk with Bailey Crone and Damon Moon about how Bailey’s divorce and the loss of family members and friendships pushed her to write the most challenging music of her career, how Bailey and Damon worked together to translate these complicated emotions into the music itself, and how turning 30 and writing I Don’t Do Humidity has given her new perspective to what’s important in her life. Listen to the full interview with Bathe Alone on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices