Olivia Rodrigo 2 Song Study- 'The Cure' & 'What's Wrong with Me' featuring Robert Smith

yesss please do the side b!!!!!

Love these reactions! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Side B!

I was waiting till the side B to be done before watching your reaction to side A.

A nice in-depth look at the two pieces, with any of your insights regarding the meanings of the pieces close to on mark. One of the things that should be considered is that these two reviews are a bit out of context with the entire albums concept of a linear story told through the song progression, which you noted on your full side one review. The Cure is the first song on the "so sad" side of the album, and it represents the realization that Your Love (or anyones for that matter) cannot cure me of the things I suffer from. Note "You tried to suck them out" referring to the fact that her partner tried to aid her in handling her own demons, but was unable to. "How your love feels doesn't matter, it's not the cure" is the realization that healing won't come from the outside, and will be needful to come from oneself; At the end the hearts are healed by being connected to her threads, indicating that SHE is the cure. This realization is the first step in seeing the relationship with clearer eyes, unblinded by the love and forceful emotions that saturate the "so in love' side of the album. And sets up further realizations about the relationship that went unseen before, which get examined in the songs that follow. Also note that The Cure features the return of a heavy string section, that drives the song in its second half, and also is the intricate very sad outro. We last saw the strings on Honeybee where they were the lifting element of the love and joy of that piece, in fact they form the entire bridge of the song (Honeybee lacks a sung bridge) and play an important part in setting that songs tone. Now they are back, and providing the driving energy of her realization, and then sadly agreeing with her in the outro. The stacked production values on The Cure are among Dan's best work of late on my opinion, and make the song one of the strongest on the album, and really seal the deal on the pieces quality. All the effects in the video were practical. The strings were a form of claymation that was matted onto her, the hearts were stop motion animated, the bubbling chemicals and flame on the chemistry set were all stop action animations. Note that her guitar, amp and microphone in the video are all made out of cardboard, continuing the dollhouse feel of things. It's a strong song, and is a favorite of many of the fans of the album. "What's wrong with me" is surprisingly not among the most popular pieces on the album, but still regarded quite well by most. It was nice that you chose the Primavera performance for the reaction because it highlights exactly how much this ment to Olivia, which is evident from the comments she makes after the song is finished, and you cut off. But are still visible in her face as she sings with Smith, which clearly is kinda mind-blowing to her and she cannot stop smiling. The two formed a very strong friendship in the past year and this collaboration (The first and only time she has a featured artist on one of her album cuts) She was a huge fan of him and the Cure for her entire life, and you can often see her wearing cure T-shirts in earlier clips and videos from the past going back to when she was in her teens. So this was one of those things were someone dreamed about doing something with an artist they loved and respected for years and it actually happened. Which makes it even more special. The song is written very much like a Cure piece in fact, and wouldn't have been out of place in their 80's catalog. Dan said it was an honor to be able to produce Smith, who recorded his parts remote and sent them and the stems in for production. The piece also highlights one of Smith's skills. He's singing in support of Olivia on this piece and fits his voice under hers perfectly to make the song 'more' while not overwhelming her in the least. He was also at Primavera performing with the Cure in support of their new album (Which is quite good, and worth a look btw) and she asked him to life premier the piece with her on the fly there (Her appearance at Primavera was not announced, and was a surprise to the audience) So it was a very special moment. The Cure has seen a notable bump in their streaming numbers across their entire catalog as a result of this collaboration and Olivia delivering her modern fan base to a band that she has always loved and respected also. The song is a bit farther down the 'so sad' side, and it continues the thread of 'clear sight' that broke out in the Cure, which was very much highlighted in the piece you skipped that lies before it, and continues here in the clear minded realization that "The problem I'm having may well lie with you and your behaviors (Or lack of them)' Not a statement of "you are wrong" but more one of "we're not right" which is always hard to accept in a relationship. That we should work, but don't is a tough pill. As for the rest of the album, it includes three of Olivia's saddest pieces ever. Begged, Less, and Cigarette Smoke are all emotionally brutal pieces, each in their own unique ways. Expectations is a strong driving punk flavored piece (I actually was reminded of Devo when I first heard it) and is quite strong also. So yah, looking at the albums backside in whole would be nice. All the best,

She is such a phenomenal artist. I’d be glad to listen to a breakdown of any of her music.

yes we want the whole side B!!!!!!