Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION

Explicit content warning

08/07/19 • 56 min

Let us take you back to 2011. Egypt is in revolt. The people of London are rioting. Earthquakes are wreaking havoc in New Zealand and Japan. Amy Winehouse is dead, for christ sake. Life is bleak.
But wait – what’s that we can hear in the distance? It’s a girl with a sugary voice. And it sounds like she’s... imploring a boy to... pick up the phone and... give her a call? Oh happy day mama, it’s Carly Rae Jepsen! Come to remind us all that there *is* joy in the world, through the twinned arts of addictive melody and sassy flippance!
And so after that, 2011 felt better for a spell. But as quickly as she swooped in, Carly seemed to disappear, destined to be banished forever to the dusty catacombs of early teenies one-hit-wonderdom. Right?
Wrong. Flashforward to 2015 and Carly was back with E•MO•TION, a juggernaut of solid-platinum pop. Except this time – she was here, she was queer, and she weren’t goin’ nowheer.
From the blaring trumpets of 'Run Away With Me' reminding you of the one that got away, to the rhythm of 'Warm Blood' made to match your throbbing heartbeat, to the multi-layered intricacies of 'Boy Problems', it’s no wonder the album has been so revered by the queer community since its release. And rightly so. But, girl... did you know about E•MO•TION: Side B?
Don’t miss this episode's companion playlist on Spotify and please feel free to slide into our DMs on Instagram at @auralfixationpodcast. Your hosts are @drew_down_under and @andrewdoyouthinkyouare.

We came across some superb articles by likeminded individuals which inspired this episode. We strongly recommend you read this Stereogum article by James Rettig, "Carly Rae Jepsen's Queer Rennaissance" by Michael Waters and "The Enduring Appeal of Pop Stars Who “Flop”" by Chris Stedman.

Previous Episode

Madonna – American Life

After slyly dominating the first ten episodes of your new favourite music podcast, we're finally giving a much-deserved hour to the pop monolith that is... Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. Madame X, if you're nasty.
Fourteen studio albums, three hundred million records sold and a superlative-exhausting run of smashed records later, the Queen of Pop has been thrusting queer sensibility to the forefront of mainstream pop culture for nearly 40 years, spanning from her early 80s association with Keith Haring and Andy Warhol right through up to her 2019 World Pride performance marking five decades since the Stonewall uprising.
True to Aural Fixation form, however, this album... may not be what you expect us to start with.
It’s 2003, and Madonna is angry – at celebrity culture, overconsumption, and yes, Bush and Blair – but she’s also full of love. Still in the happy years of her second marriage and with two young children, American Life was Madonna’s opportunity to reflect on growing older and wiser, with her musings brought to life via one of her most successful creative relationships, with French producer Mirwais.
Still confused as to what makes this album, once seen as her biggest flop, the queerest Madonna choice of all? Hit play, and buckle down. It’s no Easy Ride.
Don’t forget to listen to this episode’s companion playlist on Spotify, and follow us on Instagram at @auralfixationpodcast. Your hosts are @drew_down_under and @andrewdoyouthinkyouare.

Next Episode

Culture Club – Colour by Numbers

What do maketh a queer icon? Pop princess blighted by tragedy – tick. Indie darlings, misunderstood by their contemporaries but retrospectively lauded – check. Alexandra Burke – say no more, dot com.
How about an effeminate, sexually ambiguous teenager pulled from small town 70s England to front a reggae-influenced pop rock band who would go on to sell 150 million albums, and soundtrack wedding dance floors for decades to come? Boy George confused and bewitched men, women and everything in between, and in some ways, continues to do so.
Colour by Numbers is Aural Fixation's look at a fully-formed body of work, released at the height of Culture Club's success and reach, as we delve into what made the band resonate with so many mainstream listeners while impacting young and old queers alike. Boy George is a gay icon, a music icon, and a British icon, and we want to know why. Just don't call him gender fluid. Also, what does Dannii Minogue have to do any of this?
For further reading, check out “Back in bloom: How queer male pop reclaimed its star status” from The Guardian, and “Learning to love Boy George” from The Stranger.
Don’t miss this episode's companion playlist on Spotify and please feel free to slide into our DMs on Instagram at @auralfixationpodcast. Your hosts are @drew_down_under and @andrewdoyouthinkyouare.