X/Z Song Trader: "Red Wine Supernova"

A Gen X Rocker Discusses Music With His Gen Z Daughter

Jul 02, 2024

About X/Z Song Trader: Steve is a music journalist, author and musician. Lucy is a diehard music fan and college student. They have always enjoyed a father/daughter bond over music. Each week one of them picks a song and they both share their perspectives. These are casual conversations based on musical connections. Opinions are their own. Keeping it positive.

Check out the whole X/Z Song Trader series.

Lucy’s Song Choice: “Red Wine Supernova”

Pop music has always been in my musical rotation, but I’ve definitely gone through phases where it felt “uncool” or “younger than me.”

Or even times in when I swore I had grown out of it. Taylor Swift has been the one consistent pop artist throughout my life, making way for stints with Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and so on until I hit 17.

All of a sudden the only music in my headphones was indie, rock, or folk. I had convinced myself entirely that pop music was a phase that you eventually grow out of. But now that I’m safely a young adult, I can confirm once and for all that pop music is timeless! My biggest awakening to that fact was Chappell Roan’s 2023 album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

I first heard her when my best friend texted the song “Casual” to me last year, begging me to enjoy it the way that she did.

From the first chord, I was in love. I began listening to Roan’s music consistently, focusing on her more popular songs such as “Hot To Go!” and “Femininomenon.”

Roan has gained a lot of popularity on social media recently for her incredible theatrics, outgoing personality, and relatable songwriting. She has also become a staple artist for the LGBTQIA+ community with her latest single, “Goodluck, Babe!”

She checks all of the boxes for me, but I was most struck by “Red Wine Supernova.”

Despite my hesitation to fall back in love with pop music, I was hooked by the exciting background vocals and the larger-than-life feeling of this track. From the name alone, there is an insinuation that this song is meant to feel like the whole galaxy is right at your fingertips.

I think that Roan’s high, low, and everywhere-in-between vocal range seals the deal for me. From the verses where she sings, “Now I’m choked up, face down, burnt out” in a deeper, more medium tone, to the very next line where she says, “Baby, why don’t you come over?” in a soft, high pitch. The variation is awe-inspiring. And I love the personality she brings to the choruses with the line, “Okay, y'all, let's pick it up now!”

Roan’s vocals combined with the funky, upbeat music is interesting enough to keep me listening on repeat for the past few months.

To me, her music feels reminiscent of Madonna in the power behind her femininity and Lady Gaga in her excited, outgoing persona. She’s a pop music powerhouse from where I’m sitting.

I’ve realized that I will probably always find some pop song to obsess over, and right now “Red Wine Supernova” is it for me. Despite growing up and entering new phases of my life, pop music has always been, and will likely always be, something I connect with on some level.

I would guess that any modern day pop music you listen to is likely because of me, but I wonder what you think of this genre, artist, and especially this song?

Steve’s Perspective

The first time I heard this song was on the long drive home after moving you out of the dorms last month.

It was probably after the fifth (seventh?!) time you played “Red Wine Supernova” on our trip home that I asked about it. The thing that jumped out at me was that country-tinged line you mentioned: “Okay, y'all, let's pick it up now!” I also appreciate the playful “uh-huh” and “that's right” self-affirmations throughout the storyline.

Which is a long way of saying, “Yes, most of the modern pop music I listen to is because of you!” There have been many times when I dropped you off somewhere, only to realize 30 minutes later that I was still happily listing to one of your playlists. I think that’s how Phoebe Bridger’s “Kyoto” became one of my favorite songs of 2022.

After you made me aware of Chappell Roan, I stumbled onto a debate on indie rock Twitter about whether or not she was an “industry plant.”

It’s apparently an insult most often used to describe artists who have perceived “overnight success.” It reminds me of a term I grew up with and even embraced at various times in my younger and angrier days: “sell out.”

That was usually used to describe an artist/band that compromised their musical integrity by signing with a major record label and/or changing their sound for fame and money. Over the years, I saw it hurled at The Replacements, Nirvana and Green Day, among many others.

A notable ‘90s example is the band Jawbreaker whose core fanbase largely turned on them when they signed with DGC. Their only major label release, Dear You, is still my favorite album of their’s, so that’s probably the moment I started moving on from the “sell out” ideology. (Note: This was also around the time I was trying to sign with a major label and “sell out” myself. Coincidence? You be the judge!)

Jawbreaker and Chappell Roan obviously have nothing to do with each other, aside from the negative reactions to their evolution and successes.

With Chappell Roan, it doesn’t take much digging to see she’s been releasing music as an indie and major label artist since her teens. She’s 26 now, so that means her “overnight success” took 9+ years. That strikes me as a long-term strategy for an “industry plant,” especially since the music industry isn’t exactly revered for artist development these days.

From what I can tell her big break came from touring with Olivia Rodrigo and performing at Coachella. Not to mention making really catchy and danceable music that people identify with and like listening too in 2024.

Is this a song I would naturally seek out on my own? Probably not, but listening through your ears provides a lot of crucial context. (I seriously doubt that “middle-aged rock fans who still listen to a lot of Big Star” is the intended audience.)

And I agree with you about the connection to groundbreaking pop artists like Madonna and Lady Gaga. I personally also hear some of Katy Perry’s early songwriting approach in “Red Wine Supernova,” with a dash of Keisha’s irreverence.

Thanks for picking such an interesting artist and track to discuss. This was a fun one.