Bibliographic information:
Title: Sour
Created by: Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro
Release date: May 21, 2021
Label: Geffen Records
Format: music album
Awards: 2021 People’s Choice Award Album of the Year, nominated for seven Grammys in 2022, winner of three.
Interest Level: 13+ due to Parental Advisory for explicit lyrics
Artist Background: Olivia Rodrigo is an actor and songwriter. Born in 2003 (Gahhh!!!! Sorry, feeling old) in Southern California, she acted in a direct-to-video movie and a TV series before landing a starring role in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+ in 2019. She wrote and co-wrote a few of the songs, and then signed with Geffen Records in 2020, keeping control of her own masters. (Thanks for the tip, Taylor Swift.) She released her debut single in 2021 to applause, and went on to create an entire album, which has been critically acclaimed and wildly successful.
Review: I heard about Olivia Rodrigo before I heard her; I’m not exactly her target demographic, and it’s been a long time since I got my driver’s license. But Sour is a pop delight unashamedly reveling in the “sour” emotions: jealousy, sadness, and anger (Wikipedia, n.d.). Like many Gen Z creations, it’s a bit genre bending, borrowing heavily from pop music, folk, and punk. The audio quality is exquisite; it feels as though Rodrigo is singing directly into your ear, with every word perfectly enunciated with Rodrigo’s California accent and teen intonation preserved. Lyrical ballads alternate with punk anthems to blast in your car or dance around the living room.
Creative Use for a Library Program: Many of the song videos begin with a sticker-covered notebook opening, and the lyrics written out by hand; stickers cover Rodrigo’s face on the album cover. This very personal and self-reflective album would lend itself well to a journaling program, with simple marbled composition notebooks, stickers, and glue, scissors and magazines (for collage) available to use. Participants can listen to the album and perhaps some of the music that inspired it, like Taylor Swift, Alanis Morisette, and X (Wikipedia, n.d.) while they try their hand at journaling.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Going through a break-up? Ever been through a break-up? Then wallow in the “sour” feelings with Olivia Rodrigo and I promise you’ll feel better, or at least not alone.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: This definitely has a number of f-bombs and other swear words, so extremely conservative communities may complain, but it’s hard to argue with seven Grammy nominations.
Reason for Inclusion: This album clearly struck a nerve. Given that it’s a response to her fans’ call for more music, it would be negligible not to include this album in your collection or provide some programming around it.
Are these really the golden years? See Rodrigo’s Take:
And here’s a New York Times interview with Rodrigo and her producer about how she wrote “driver’s license” and why she loves the dog TikToks:
References
Wikipedia (n.d). Olivia Rodrigo. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Rodrigo
Martoccio, A. (May 21, 2021). Allow Olivia Rodrigo to introduce herselves. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/21/arts/music/olivia-rodrigo-sour-review.html
New York Times (2020). Diary of a song: Drivers License. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWq_ma9ZDxk
Rodrigo, O. (n.d.). brutal (Official Video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGUy2UmRxJ0
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