The Joy Of Lizzo

January 22, 2020 6:12 AM

[Lizzo] has become a new kind of pop superstar, full of relentless positivity. But it took a long time and a lot of heartache [medium length read] Rolling Stone profiles the top Grammy nominee, also a minor MetaFilter favorite. [NSFW for artful naked/near-naked photography]
posted by hippybear (21 comments total)

I half-caught her act on SNL the other week. Good stuff. It's weird how surprising it is to see someone play the flute on network television. I was doing other stuff while watching, but I'm going to have to pay closer attention to her when they re-run that episode. There's an 8-minute clip on Youtube of her fronting the prog-rock band they mention in the article if anyone is interested. Sort of "King Crimson lite" with a soul vocalist.
posted by SoberHighland at 6:54 AM on January 22, 2020 [4 favorites]

I love Lizzo all the time forever.
posted by robotmachine at 7:00 AM on January 22, 2020 [16 favorites]

I had heard a bit of her stuff, but didn't really pay attention til I fired up a pandora station seeded with "Janelle Monae" and got a heavy dose of Lizzo. "Worship Me" and "Soul Mate" get me chair-dancing in my car every time.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:05 AM on January 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

This spring was super confusing for me because prior to that, being really excited about Lizzo was a good sign that a person was from the Twin Cities and then suddenly everyone was super excited about her. As well they should be! Good job, Lizzo.
posted by dinty_moore at 7:16 AM on January 22, 2020 [14 favorites]

One previous metafilter post has links to an excellent NPR Tiny Desk concert among other things.
posted by blob at 7:17 AM on January 22, 2020 [6 favorites]

her Tiny Desk Concert is what got me.

she does that thing where she sings almost out of key but it's like a half key off and it's still working? and for the whole song. i had thought when i heard the song before it was autotune or something.

nope. it's just her mad skills.

(if anyone knows what the word is for that thing she is doing please tell me. i know it's an actual musical term.)
posted by affectionateborg at 7:21 AM on January 22, 2020 [4 favorites]

I saw her open for Sleater-Kinney in 2015, and Good As Hell got me through an awful job sitch in 2016. It is WILD for those songs to blow up in 2019 when they've been a part of your life for years, but I'm really really happy she's getting her due. She's amazing and she works hard and her message is so important.
posted by yellowbinder at 7:33 AM on January 22, 2020 [6 favorites]

Thang? Strutting? Talons? Paragraph two and we're already into faux-colorful racist and sexist description. Ugh.


the article was written by a WOC and in the article she also states she and her friend are plus-size and love Lizzo's boldness in wearing what she wants and being openly sexual.

taken out of context it can seem as that comment describes, but i do not think that within the context of the article that is the intention or reality.
posted by affectionateborg at 7:35 AM on January 22, 2020 [31 favorites]

Mod note: One deleted (a bit earlier). Yeah, not great to start the discussion with an instant angry derail that seems far off the mark, as per affectionateborg, above.
posted by taz (staff) at 7:43 AM on January 22, 2020 [2 favorites]

Lizzo was a surprise guest at XOXO in 2018 and it was so great. “Good As Hell” is a personal fave but I think I end up humming “Phone” most often. Because where’s my phone?!??
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:54 AM on January 22, 2020 [5 favorites]

Love her. So damn charismatic.

I noticed she is taking a break from Twitter. Knows a thing or two about self care as well.
posted by gwint at 8:34 AM on January 22, 2020 [5 favorites]

Saw her at SXSW last year and was blown away. I didn't even know who she was but my pal was all "come see Lizzo at Stubbs" and I said "Who's Lizzo" and he said "she's tops" and I said "OK" and then fifteen minutes later I was belting out the chorus to "Jerome."
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:40 AM on January 22, 2020 [7 favorites]

I'm a middle aged white dude who usually goes in for Radiohead and Sigur Ros. My kids started playing Lizzo in the car and within a few songs Cuz I Love You was 110% my album of the year. Her take-no-prisoners-sorry-not-sorry approach to songwriting is just amazing. Lizzo has my vote for president.
posted by simra at 10:23 AM on January 22, 2020 [6 favorites]

I'm also a Lizzo fan, and her Twitter break isn't only about self-care work.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:28 AM on January 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

We got very, very lucky booking her as the surprise closing act for XOXO in September 2018, a month or two before she started blowing up huge. She came and sang karaoke with our attendees in a tiny space, along with her DJ and dancers, and it was the best. Got to chat with her a bit in the green room too, and snap a photo (along with XOXO alumni Open Mike Eagle and Sammus) just to prove it actually happened.
posted by waxpancake at 1:33 PM on January 22, 2020 [11 favorites]

She was one of the few acts I knew and was excited about seeing at Coachella in 2019, and she absolutely brought me to tears. It was the most positive space I've been in in a long time, and I was overwhelmed with some sort of "this is what humans can BE" magic.

affectionateborg, are you maybe looking for "blue notes"?
posted by queensissy at 4:03 PM on January 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

I bought a ticket to see Lizzo at a groovy club in Seattle right as she was blowing up with her Coconut Oil EP. I even tweeted at her about it, and she responded that she'd have a bottle of tequila to share with me after the show. Problem is, I live in Spokane, the show was in late Jan or Feb, and it snowed hard enough to close Snoqualimie Pass the weekend I was supposed to go see her. I've been sad about that ever since.
posted by hippybear at 6:14 PM on January 22, 2020 [4 favorites]

Never ever thought I would see the day Andersen's flute studies* would get name-checked in Rolling Stone, but today is that day. And I've had Truth Hurts on the brain for months, not that I mind! On the contrary.

* Many of which are available online via the National Library of Denmark, BTW.
posted by Coaticass at 6:39 PM on January 22, 2020 [5 favorites]

I think she's amazing, and I like that she's willing to own and adapt a little messiness in her fame without changing the fundamentals of who she is. (I admit I'm less sure how to feel about what looks like a Thai dancer's headdress - assume it was inspired by her long fingernails, also not sure if that makes it better or worse.)
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 7:48 PM on January 22, 2020

Love her so much, the interview with David LaChapelle about the shoot is worth reading too.
posted by ellieBOA at 2:20 AM on January 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Totally there with simra. There are few things as fun as blasting Lizzo in the car with a couple of pre-teens in the back seat. They even know when to [bleep] themselves singing along.
posted by gottabefunky at 11:14 AM on January 23, 2020