Best Chunes 2024 (Part 5)
Five songs selected by Peyton Murphy
Welcome to Human Pursuits, the column that features need-to-know names and stories in media and other creative spaces. Today, we conclude our 2024 music recap, with five songs selected by Peyton Murphy.
As the newsletter’s resident Gen-Z, Peyton Murphy is basically my go-to source on all things youth culture.
In the almost nine years we’ve known each other, she has proven herself an arbiter of taste, investing early on acts like Beabadoobee, Ethel Cain, and Phoebe Bridgers.
Last year, her list included Chappel Roan’s “HOT TO GO”. Remember, this is pre-Lollapalooza. She was doing the little dance way before the rest of us.
While the two of us share similar sonic sensibilities, Peyton often inspires me to think about Chunes differently, and I really value her opinion. She’s one of the people I spend the most time discussing music with IRL.
Before we dive in, I just want to thank everyone who contributed to, or read, this year’s coverage.
I’m always interested to know what people are listening to. If you feel like sharing, email me (ethan@humanpursuits.org) or comment below.
THIS CONCLUDES 2024’S BEST CHUNE COVERAGE. READ PART 1 HERE, PART 2 HERE, PART 3 HERE, AND PART 4 HERE.
Modern Woman – Eliza McLamb
ES: You included Eliza McLamb. What is it about “Modern Woman” for you? Because that record has a few terrific songs.
PM: It captures something in the zeitgeist amongst young women right now. She sings “I want something to feel/I want anything that's real”, and that’s a sentiment lots of people are feeling. With social media and so many different perceptions of how you should be acting and feeling and achieving, it’s nice to feel something real and in the moment.
ES: I interviewed Eliza at the start of 2024 and she’s got a really passionate fanbase. Why do you think that is? Does she simply have that je ne sais quoi?
PM: It helps that she has a built-in fanbase from [her podcast] Binchtopia. But I think she’s just a genuinely talented writer... She captures moments in really interesting, smart ways.
The first song on her album, “Before”, captures this nostalgic feeling that she’s trying to get back to, and I think “Modern Woman” carries a similar sentiment. She’s trying to return to these genuine feelings and being present. People connect with that.
You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In – MJ Lenderman
ES: Let’s talk about MJ Lenderman. Manning Fireworks was a big record, but this song is a bit of a deep-cut. Why go with this rather than, say, “Wristwatch” or his collaboration with Waxahatchee?
PM: I didn’t like Manning Fireworks that much. It’s a bit too tongue-in-cheek. Like, the lyrics are stupid, but it’s on purpose, so it’s actually smart. That feels a bit irony-pilled to me. It’s like the opposite of Eliza McLamb.
That said, this song is one of the few standouts. It has those silly lyrical elements – he references the clarinets that are playing in the song, for example – but I think there’s something a bit more honest to it. I like the line “What else can you say to a friend with a broken heart?” It’s that feeling that somebody is going through something awful, and you don’t know what shape they’re in, but hey, what else can you do but play some fucking clarinets? Laughs.
ES: That moment stuck out to me, too. Part of it was the meta quality and the idea that the character in the song is aware they are in the song. But I also think it’s one of the few moments on the record where he lets the music speak, and express a feeling that can’t be captured in words.
PM: Exactly. The music captures a very distinct feeling, and, in this case, the silliness doesn’t detract from the emotion.
Sexy To Someone – Clairo
ES: I gotta ask: are you becoming a jazz guy? Both that MJ track and this one are giving jazz hands.
PM: I might be becoming a little bit of a jazz guy. I’ve also been getting really into Doechii’s record, which Martin mentioned earlier this week. What can I say? I like a little groove.
ES: She loves a little flute.
PM: This was my most-played song of the year. It’s so fun, and the sentiment is so relatable. Everyone wants to be sexy to someone. And I love the way that she approaches it, the imagery that she uses. “Honey stickin' to your hands, sugar on the rim.” Like, hell yeah. That’s sexy.
ES: She’s such a flirty lil’ chica on that record.
PM: I know. I like it, though, because it’s not what you expect from her.
Von Dutch – Charli XCX
ES: It’s funny, my dad also picked this one.
PM: The man has taste.
ES: I was interested to hear what this song meant to someone in his late 60s. And so I’ll turn it around and ask you: as someone in their mid-20s, what makes this song special, in your opinion?
PM: “Von Dutch” is the song that most clearly captures the attitude of Brat Summer. It’s there in the opening line. “It’s okay to just admit that you’re jealous of me.” That is a crazy way to start a song. You can’t help but feel yourself when you’re singing it. You feel 100 times cooler, 100 times hotter.
ES: Charli’s lyrics are sort of similar to MJ Lenderman’s in that they are so stupid that they feel smart.
PM: She’s being so obnoxiously into herself here that it become ridiculous. But I think sometimes that’s the path to self-confidence. If you really want to feel yourself, you gotta own it, and maybe magnify it to a point you don’t normally feel. This song allows you to live that fantasy for two and a half minutes.
ES: Yeah, there’s definitely something to be said about mining your life to the point of ridiculousness.
PM: It also helps that this song is sandwiched between songs that address her own insecurities and doubts. It feels like a release from those feelings.
ES: It’s the dichotomy of woman.
Good Luck, Babe! – Chappell Roan
ES: You included a Chappell Roan song in last year’s recap. As a long-time fan, how did it feel to see her breakthrough this year?
PM: It’s been awesome. I wouldn’t have predicted it. I thought she was going to be “indie famous”, but I’m super glad that she has found such a large audience. She’s doing something interesting and bold, while still being true to herself. I’m excited to see what she does next, now that she has resources at her disposal. She can be the maximalist drag queen she aspires to be.
ES: Any predictions for what she will do next? I mentioned to Tom that I think she might go a little avant-garde, if only because she doesn’t seem interested in playing the corporate game.
PM: I think she’s gonna be creating pop bangers whether she likes it or not. She has a natural talent for creating melodies that stick in your head, and her voice is so powerful and distinct. It begs for a big bridge, similar to “Good Luck, Babe!”
That said, I think she can write whatever type of pop-banger she likes. That new song she debuted on Saturday Night Live had a country influence. I could see her doing something more rock-oriented. She’s been covering Heart’s “Barracuda” at her concerts…
But yeah, she can never revert back to indie darling status. She’s the rare example of someone being so talented that they simply have to be famous.