In this week’s episode, recorded after Star Wars Day and before Drake’s “The Heart Part 6” dropped, we discuss the three-day, five-track verbal war between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, the first season of the “Sandman” spinoff series “Dead Boy Detectives”, the third and final season of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” and the second season of “Star Wars: Tales” (‘Tales of the Empire’), in addition to celebrating the 25th anniversary of “Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace”.
In this week’s episode, we discuss the SV and Alyssa Jane joint album “Neo Phily”, the newest chapter of the ongoing “Top 3” rap feud, the first trailer for “Transformers One”, the slapstick comedy film “Hundreds of Beavers”, the surrealist comedy-drama “Problemista”, the WWII spy action comedy “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and Zack Snyder’s follow-up to his Netflix-released space opera “Rebel Moon”: “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver”.
For my latest track review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on “Hello Kitty Bitches”, the new single from hyper-pop / EDM musician Heartdestroyer. At this time, Heartdestroyer’s identity remains a secret, save for the cover art for this track and their recently-released single “toxic”, a glitchy remix of the 2004 Britney Spears smash hit. But while that song – the original, that is – plays like the sultry theme song to a secret agent’s plan to take down her untrustworthy boyfriend (see Joseph Kahn’s music video for more clarity), “Hello Kitty Bitches” plays like a series of sexual escapades occurring between hours of online forum chats, video game live streams and streaming service viewership.
Described as a “hyper-pop ode to Internet culture and unforgettable encounters”, “Hello Kitty Bitches” is a 2 minute and 9 second barrage of gleefully sleazy, braggadocious bars and heart-pounding, head-banging production. Similar to hip hop artists like clipping and JPEGMAFIA (the latter of whom successfully created his own critically-acclaimed brand of experimental, Internet culture-inspired music), Heartdestroyer adds bits of accessible, mainstream elements to this track, whether it’s the playful, sing-songy vibe to their lyrics or the 90s house-like melody of the instrumentation (Vengaboys’ “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!” instantly comes to mind).
But like those artists, Heartdestroyer tests the listener’s limits by amplifying the production, songwriting and vocals to an unforeseen level. Like the “toxic” remix, their vocals are modulated to match the track’s compressed, digitally distorted soundscape. The beat itself sounds like an amalgamation of the music you’d hear in a platform game or Dance Dance Revolution level, punctuated by random video game sound effects. The most prominent of these effects is this first-person shooter-lifted gunshot which, when paired with Heartdestroyer’s “Boom, boom, boom, boom” vocals on the hook, makes for a clever, self-aware reference to the abovementioned Vengaboys song.
But where the track truly shines – and lives up to its title – is in Heartdestroyer’s hedonistic, sexually-charged and ridiculously humorous lyrics. Framing themselves as this admittedly nerdy individual who somehow managed to tap into their inner lothario, they deliver one cocky brag after another centered on their successful one-night stands. Ever so often, their insecurity creeps to the surface (“But don’t ask me ‘bout my heartbreak / Or you won’t see me in your bed when I wake / ‘Cuz too many tried to rob me”) but for the most part, they keep things simple, straight-forward and salacious. Littered throughout the song’s duration are these rewind-worthy lines like “Skinny little frame, Spring Breakers kinda girl” (a smart, if-you-know-you-know reference to the cover art of this single and “toxic”), “Got more bitches like the founder of MySpace” and a couplet involving two metric units that’ll go down as one of the most jaw-dropping things you’ll hear in MUSIC all year!
Overall, I had an absolute blast listening and re-listening to “Hello Kitty Bitches”! I couldn’t help but see it as a metatextual take on the shallow, sexually-suggestive club songs of the 90s (again, “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!” instantly comes to mind) but through the lens of the boundaryless, anything-goes abyss of the Internet. Thankfully, the song itself doesn’t take itself too seriously, so there’s really no need to read TOO MUCH into its commentaries on hyperactivity or hypersexuality. It’s a wild, horny, fun and catchy AF song that mightn’t fit the vibe of your average bedroom playlist, but certainly deserves to be in many gaming mixes going forward!
BBB RADIO 