Olivia Rodrigo rides the Pop-Punk train
Olivia Rodrigo sticks with the pop-punk revival wave and has just released a music video for her song ‘brutal’. Capitalizing off of the current trend of nu-wave pop-punk was a smart decision for the artists. With musicians like Rina Sawayama, Willow, and Rico Nasty also riding the wave, Rodrigo fits right in. The song, which talks about the “golden years” of her youth (which aren’t so golden) perfectly compliments her other SOUR tracks like ‘good 4 u’ and ‘jealousy, jealousy’. Undoubtedly, she is cementing what this era is for her: the trials and tribulations of a 17-year-old.
It’s brutal out here for Rodrigo
Additionally, the concept for the accompanying music video perfectly fits the teen angst Rodrigo is singing about. With scenes of a broken ankle in ballet class and classic Instagram-live cry sesh, the artist satirically shows the brutality of teenhood. Even more, the music video paints pictures of the endless chatter from the press and forced capitalism. In some scenes, you can see Rodrigo in a pink blazer reporting on her own life and in an all silver pant-vest-set selling who-knows-what. The music video seems to draw some parallels from Rina Sawayama’s XS music video about consumerism.
A 2000’s style for today
Nevertheless, Olivia Rodrigo’s fresh look keeps us watching. In the video, Rodrigo draws reference to Y2K and early 2000’s punk styles. Then, mixes it with a beautiful batch of digital masks we are so familiar with, in this generation. The style combination is a perfect metaphor for the punk sound she has in ‘brutal’. In the end, creating a picture of what this generation feels, looks, and listens to.
