Did AI Write That Song?
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Hello, ladies. Hey, hey, hey. Hi. I'm Sam Sanders. I'm Saeed Jones. And I'm Zach Stafford, and you're listening to ViCheck. ViCheck.

Today is an episode about music. I thought Sam was going to sing us into the episode, but he didn't do that. There's still time. How would I sing Hey Ladies? Oh, Destiny's Child version. Hey ladies, why is it that we are recording a podcast? No? No? That is actually good. That was better than I expected it to be. That came so quickly. That came real quick. What a gift. What a gift you have. That is such a gift. Thank you for that. Keep it in.

Well, thank you for that gift because today's episode is really about us giving you the gift of music that really touched us this summer. We're giving you the songs of the summer for us. And before we jump into all of it, Sam, give us some kind of frameworks of how we're talking today. How did you approach today's episode? Yeah, like what is the concept of the song of the summer as we decide on our picks? So we've talked about on this show, and I feel like one of the defining themes of my work in general the last few years is

is kind of talking about the loss of a monoculture. You know, when we were kids, everyone watched Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on Thursday night and talked about it at school the following day. It felt like every summer there was a new Mariah Carey song that was going to be in everyone's car for three months. Flash forward to now, the internet feels dispersed and fragmented, and it's harder than ever to find those moments of monoculture.

So my entire conceptualization of Song of the Summer is like, how do you find one in spite of that? So today's our kind of like best effort to do that. We know that there might not be an actual Song of the Summer given the way the internet and streaming and whatever works these days, but...

We're going to try. And I will say, just so you guys see behind the curtain, we picked our songs independently before this and then shared them right before taping. And none of us picked the same song. Isn't that interesting? Yeah. Proof. Because I thought we might need to bicker or I don't know. And it was like, you can have it.

And I think this actually connects to what Sam is saying. And I frankly, maybe this is me straining for silver lining amid a lot of media destabilization and all these things about culture is. But I kind of like we've been forced into a new framework, which is to say, what is the song of your summer is really the only way to kind of approach these conversations now. And I do kind of like that one because I,

Sometimes it used to just feel like some producer or editor in some office somewhere, or rather a record label holding the hand of an editor or producer or whatever was telling them. And instead, it becomes a little bit more like kind of like our Modern Scriptures episode. Like it becomes an opportunity to like learn something about the person, right? So instead of this is the song that I heard every time I turned on the radio, it's this is the song I turned on every chance I had. Yeah.

It's the difference between having the radio on and it playing you whatever or like making a mixtape for your friend. It's personal. There's a story there. And I, wait, I'm having like an aha moment to quote Oprah because the radio is the big change here. We grew up in a world where we all listened to like four stations. So it fed us the music. Now our Spotify, our Apple Music create custom lists that now allows for all this discoverability.

Yeah. It makes it impossible. I have never. Wow. So we talk about this constantly, but I've never like you, you say it's like the radio just how just like was like, yeah, we don't listen to the radio. I remember I used to record the radio to hear it again. Yes. Yes. Like I was deep in it. Yep.

It's both like the radio and for the 2000s girlies, it was Total Request live. VH1 had like a countdown show too that I remember I would watch that was a little bit more adult contemporary leaning. Adult contemporary, yep.

and then colvin energy sunny came home right it was corinne bailey ray would be like number one number one number one number one rightfully so girl put your records on is a great song and then bt had um 106 in park so it was like radio and then those three afternoon for us it was all like we're home from school countdown shows that we would use to go oh this is the moment

And now we are the moment. There you go. And it's hard to overstate how there used to be a song of the summer. I always tell people, if you can remember, remember the summer that Nelly's Hot In Here came out?

It's all you heard. You couldn't get away from him. For five or six months. You couldn't get away from that motherfucker. He was chasing you. Making you dance. We don't get him like that no more. We really don't. Yeah. Thank you for all this because it was like, you know, we sometimes talk about things on show theoretically before we're like, oh, we're going to do this and it's because of this, this, this. And then when we start talking about it, I start to

feel it. And it makes me be like, oh, wait, I do remember when Nelly released that record and how it did define my whole year and how it was always on the radio during the summer, going to soccer practice or whatever. So, yeah, that's changed so much. I love you said that, Zach, because this is a bit of a tangent, but I do think it's important because the essence of Vibe Check is that we are a group text and

that then has also become a podcast. And I love these conversations. They haven't just saved my life. They've illuminated and clarified my life over the last year. We've been doing this for a year now. But I also want to say to listeners, this is a good example. What Zach just said, group texts, all the texting all day. I love my group texts. I have several and we just do-do-do-do-do-do.

All day long. And it's so wonderful. And it is really helpful. But also remember to make time to come together in person. See each other face-to-face when you can. Because...

it can't take the place of some things. Like we will be popping off in the group text and you're right. It's great. But then when we hear each other's voices, when we're seeing each other's eyes, something else begins to happen. And that's important. And then every few months, we just take the group chat to a foreign country and it's great. Can't recommend it enough. Really? Yes. Yes. But,

Before we get into the episode, we want to thank all of you for sending us fan mail, for coming out to random events. I see people when I'm doing poetry events, people are like, hey girl, I was at the 92nd Street Y event. It was so good. We love it. We love your emails as well. You can keep the vibes coming at vibecheckatstitcher.com. But for now, let us jump in, shall we? Let's do it. Let's go. Let's do it. Let's do it.

All right. Chantel says I'm going first. I have two picks for Song of the Summer.

And I guess an honorable mention, but we can decide which one is an honorable mention. But to start, and I've mentioned this song before on the show, there's a song from the Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, executive produced by Metro Booming, hip-hop producer DeJoy. And he produces a song for James Blake on the album called Hummingbird. Hummingbird, I know that's our time. That's our time. For staying.

Stay on, stay on with me And I remember I could never unsee What you showed me Stay on, stay on

I've mentioned this song as a recommendation before and I do want to say it's kind of defined a part of my summer. I was in New York for a week for work stuff after doing Europe with y'all and I went to see the new Spider-Verse in Brooklyn and I was playing this song and this soundtrack the whole week and it felt very summery and the beauty of this song is that James Blake as

as y'all know, is a deep and feeling moody girly. And a lot of his music is kind of dark. It's hard to imagine hearing his music during the day. Exactly. But this song taps into Metro Booming's production, which is big, loud, bass-filled, energetic hip-hop.

And those two things together make for this wonderful syrupy, like silky concoction. You've got like a trap back beat with James Blake on top of it and it's smooth.

And as soon as you see the movie, this song always makes you think of it because the characters are singing this song at an important scene. It just makes me think of that movie, which feels very summery to me, so I love it. You'll recall the last soundtrack for the last Spider-Verse movie featured the super hit from Post Malone and Sway Lee called Sunflower. Still one of my favorite Post Malone songs of all time.

This song is not that big, but it's the same fun summer blockbuster-y popcorn energy. You play this song on a cute day going out to some picnic in the park, Hummingbird should be the soundtrack. That's my first pick. Okay. I love that. And it also ties to a movie that opened up the summer blockbuster season too. So the song is great, wonderful, and also before Barbie barbied hard, Spider-Man was kind of like, oh, will we return that in Super Mario Brothers? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

My second one is a song that both of you have heard before but never thought twice about it because it kind of just washes over you. And sometimes that makes for a perfect song of the summer. Saeed, I know before we began taping, you said that you haven't heard this song before. As soon as we play it, you'll know that you have.

it's called calm down it's by remit featuring selena gomez okay this song is at every cookout on every hip-hop radio station every pop radio station it's just in the air but you never think about it

Okay. See? Yeah. See? Haven't you heard this song? Got it. It's like I've heard the song, but I haven't listened to it. You've never, exactly. You know what I mean? It's in every Uber. It's in every Uber. I haven't been an active listener. It's in every cookout. I feel like a lot of TikTok, too. It's a lot of TikToks out there. Every TikTok, every Uber, every neighborhood cookout. It's just a song that's in the air. And I feel like 15 years ago, a song this big, we would say the names of the people and think about

them in the song for whatever reason this song just washes over you it's interesting that it features selena gomez because i find her music career so fascinating she is so huge she is globally she has first of all she has hits she has hits i enjoyed her last album and i'm looking forward to her forthcoming one but she has hits but i feel like she's not

In the United States, when people talk about, like, dominant pop stars for music, like, she's a celebrity, and I don't think anyone questions that. But for music, I feel like she's not regarded in the same way in the U.S. But globally, girl, so when you said, like, the way it's, like,

this song washes over and becomes ubiquitous but like kind of doesn't get credit i kind of feel like that's the selena gomez thing now she's laughing all the way to the bank yeah so here's the thing selena gomez kind of just minds her business you know she's working on that hulu show murders in the building she puts out these songs and these albums she was about to be involved in some drama with justin bieber's wife hayley bieber and then she was like i'll just delete my tick tock i don't do that

I think part of why she's able to just be like this global presence that we don't think about is because she's relatively drama-free. You just don't think about it. She's just working, right? She has a successful acting career. She has a successful makeup career. She's got songs all over the radio. She's just doing her thing. She's going to be famous forever. She's never going to go away. She is the most followed person on Instagram now. Only Murders in the Building is

a really great show. I really like it. Also a show that I go to just for vibes, not for plot. They're never going to find out who was in the murders and I'm fine with that. They're never going to find out. All this to say, Selena, we like you. My honorable mention is the Kendrick Lamar remix of America Has a Problem from Beyonce. Go stink fuck it up.

I

I am still playing Renaissance like it just came out. And our queen, Beyonce, finds a way to make a song I've been playing for a year feel fresh and new. Thank you, Beyonce. Thank you, Kendrick. We need a round of applause for ourselves for not choosing Renaissance for the song of the summer at all. This is it. This was your honorable mention, but it's like I began today's episode. I just wanted to be like Renaissance, duh, but it's been a year. This album is a year old.

a year young a year young a year young truly because there we go look we're about to start talking about renaissance i think we're all shocked that it's already been a year because we're still listening to it like it came out a month ago i still play it once a week at least the power that she has the power yes the power that she has so those are my picks james blake and metrobuming hummingbird from the new spider verse soundtrack

Rama and Selena Gomez with the summer hit, You Never Think About, Calm Down, and honorable mention, Beyonce and Kendrick. Wait, can I complain really quickly, though? My only issue with the remix is, and Beyonce knows this. She knows. She knows. This is not a real remix.

It is a real remix. No, it's not. It's a feature. Because, okay, hear me out. A remix that Beyonce has done, the Cuff It remix, the Weta remix, and the Queen's version of Break My Soul, those are remixes where the song is reimagined. This, what she did with Kendrick, I enjoy it, but what it in fact is, is just a new edit. He just adds a verse, he does a few backing vocals. There's some new production details. It's not enough. This classifies...

By definition, according to Billboard, this constitutes a remix. It is not a reimagination, but it is a certifiable legal remix. I'm going to be tough on this. This is not a remix. This is a new mix. There were remixes. I'm not right, but it's okay. Thunderpuss, that was a remix, darling. This is America Has a Problem. Don't get mad at Kendrick because Beyonce didn't put out the visuals yet. It ain't Kendrick's fault.

Let's go to a break. Let's go to a break. Let's get out of here. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

This message is brought to you by McDonald's. Did you know only 7.3% of American fashion designers are Black? Well, McDonald's 2024 Change Leaders Program is ready to change the face of fashion. The innovative program awards a monetary grant to five emerging Black American designers and pairs each with an industry professional to help them elevate their brands.

I know specifically and distinctly how McDonald's can support and empower not just black Gen Z, but black people. My first job was McDonald's. I learned a lot there about customer service and how to relate to people. I still love that place and go there very often. Look out for the change of fashion designers and mentors.

at events like the BET Awards and the Essence Festival of Culture. And follow the journey of the 2024 McDonald's Change Leaders on their Instagram page, WeAreGolden.

Here's an HIV pill dilemma for you. Picture the scene. There's a rooftop sunset with fairy lights and you're vibing with friends. You remember you've got to take your HIV pill. Important, yes, but the fun moment is gone. Did you know there's a long-acting treatment option available? So catch the sunset and keep the party going. Visit pillfreehiv.com today to learn more. Brought to you by Veve Healthcare.

All right, girlies, we're back. So I have some choices. I have some thoughts. Some thoughts. The first one's going to be more of a collective choice. Rush by Troye Sivan. It's a heartless, it's a heartless.

Shocker. I love this song. I think many of you do too. And so as I was talking about like the song of the summer, different frameworks, I would say for me and my friends, my best friend Teddy in particular, I would say it's the song of our summer in that I love summer.

these kinds of conversations because part of it is, is there a song connected to summer memories? And when I look back on this summer, I have vivid memories of us on Fire Island or us in New York City being like, oh, bitch, is this Rush? Oh, stop what you're doing. Rush became the song where it was like, stop what you're doing. You're in the kitchen chit-chatting. It's like, get back in the living room where people are dancing. Let's get, turn it up, turn it up. You know what I mean? I love

a song that is like a conversation stopper where you go we can talk about we'll get we'll circle back bitch but we gotta go move the song as like a clarion call when you hear the song it's like let's go yeah you're in the bathroom fixing your hair and all of a sudden you're like oh girl we gotta go you know i just i love that energy i miss it it's the essence of being back outside

side you know what i mean where space is and all of that really matters and i just think choice of on tapped into something i'm excited about the album i'm excited to see what the rest of the album is like yeah and what makes for a great summer anthem is a song like forcing you to sing along in unison with other people the chorus is made to be yelled at with strangers it's made for it it

It feels almost like a World Cup chant, you know? Right. Like, that is summer anthem 101. He's doing it. Yeah. And I feel like, you know, because everything goes back to black people and there are many ingredients, but I think it's something that Missy Elliott and Timberland figured out. Like, Missy Elliott was very good. Like, her lyrics would be very complex and you couldn't always follow along in those raps, you know, very easily or casually. But she always made sure, right, that there was a part of the song that,

was easy to digest and you could kind of chant along and have that confidence, flip it and reverse it. Like everyone knew that part. And I feel like Troye Sivan and the producers of Rush figure that out. And so, yeah. And also it's just the energy, the way I feel, like just from the jump, you're in the world of the song. And again, this is something else that I complain about with a lot of pop music that's being fed to us by the algorithm. Pop songs are too flat.

I'm not getting enough levels. I'm not getting a sense of dynamic range, build a climax, a drop. Where are the bridges? Where are the bridges girls? You know what I mean? And I just feel like Troy's Yvonne with rush is giving me some levels, some different versions. I love that. There's a point at the song. I think it's toward the end where some lyrics that Troy's Yvonne previously have sung are now being done by the kind of techno back verse. You know what I mean? It's kind of, it kind of almost happens like with, um,

Justin Bieber and Sari Where sometimes he's singing And then sometimes the intramedals Are kind of doing the same thing Whatever that technique is called And then the video is independently captivating as well And also we just got to talk about it The sex I love how sexy and free the body is I even love that frankly it pissed some people off That's healthy You know what I mean? Real sex is going to piss somebody off Because sex is specific And everyone's not going to be turned on by the same thing And I just think

I think Troye Sivan is smart enough not to politicize his song because he knows he doesn't have the range, and more people need to understand that about their work. Sometimes you need to leave it to the girls that do. But I will say, in this time and this cultural moment where the politics in the United States in particular, sexuality, identity is being weaponized against people. Simply being yourself is...

is being framed by fascists as an act of violence, as an act of grooming, I think understandably there is a scenario in which a lot of queer people might feel a desire to embrace respectability under the delusion that it will save us. And I feel like when I see Rush and when I am dancing to Rush, I am reminded that, first of all, respectability will not save us. And anyway, I would much rather have pleasure, however short-lived it will be. So, yeah.

Boom, there's my rush thesis. - Okay, that's the rush. What's your next pick? - My next song is "Dance the Night." This is the song of my summer. First of all, the song is great, the video is great, but I would also say if you haven't really looked at the lyrics, do it, because when you do, you realize it's all about the apocalypse. ♪ Watch me dance the night away ♪ ♪ Be burning but you won't see it on my face ♪ ♪ Watch me dance ♪

When the world shakes, when my heart breaks. This is the Barbie song. When she first has the realization that death happens in the movie. She's like, wait a minute. This Dua Lipa song is playing. And it's also played a bit in the background of the disco dance scene in the movie, which is so funny. I don't think you hear the lyrics, but you hear the...

But yeah as someone who has written a book about the apocalypse and the way that the collective collides with the personal in that sense I love it and it's like this song about someone who is aware she says I've been dancing close to the edge But I ain't losing my breath, you know, like that sense of I'm aware that at any moment There's gonna be like a calamitous misstep my fault or the world's fault, but that's not gonna stop me and

And even when I cry, it looks like there are just diamonds under my eyes. Even when the tears are flowing like diamonds on my face, I still keep the party going. Not one hair out of place. Come on now. She's sad. She's sad and dancing through it. She's sad and dancing. You know, you're kind of like, are you bragging to us or are you trying to convince yourself that you're okay when you're not? My heart could be burning, but you won't see it on my face. She's sad.

Yeah. And also, there's a really fun body moment in the song in the first verse where she says something like, the dress is so tight you can see her heart beating through it. Which is like, what an image. Dua. She worked on the song with Mark Ronson. Who we love. And a lot of my favorite songs with Dua Lipa. I mean, all of her songs. She's like,

Look, Dua is one of my all hits, no skips girlies. I'll be perfectly honest. But when her and Mark Ronson occasionally Diplo get into it, it's a whole vibe. You are, without saying it, kind of illuminating the friend group of Troye Sivan. So Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa are really close friends. They famously did a cover of the song Somebody Who Loved Me by Mark Ronson. So they do exist in the same universe. So it makes sense. You're very much kind of psychically connected to that friend group. Okay, so that's illuminating. Thank you. I didn't know that.

I will say I like Dance Tonight. I like the Barbie soundtrack. One of the collaborators with Mark Ronson for the entire Barbie soundtrack is this singer-songwriter named Andrew Wyatt, who I've loved for years. He's one of the voices behind the electro group Mike Snow, if you heard of them. So good. So good. But whenever I hear Dance Tonight, it just reminds me that every time is a good time to listen to...

to Dua Lipa's latest album, Future Nostalgia. Absolutely. That was my pandemic. That was so good. That got me through the pandemic. It's so good. It's so good. It's so good. Also, you both picked songs so far that are part of some of the biggest movies of the year. That's funny. I didn't even think about that until now. Movies are back, baby. And I'm grateful, but it's also like...

Having a song of the summer, like again, connected to memories, like Barbie is just going to be a part of this summer for me. And it's a monoculture moment. It's a monoculture moment, which we want so badly. It's been a long time when I could confidently say, I know when I look back on the summer of 2023, Barbie and the color pink are very much going to be associated with it. So, yeah. And then like a quick shout out to my honorable mention, it's Body Do by Chloe Bailey. You know I can't trust you, can't get my head around you.

Listen, I love Chloe. You're going to have to play that one for me because I ain't heard it. No one heard that one. Listen, prayers up for Chloe. Prayers up. Which is really sad because their first album together as sisters was my album of 2021. They did that. Yeah, I feel like Dua Lipa, Chloe and Halle, and maybe one other artist is escaping me. Uh-huh.

They kind of won the pandemic. But yeah, but Body Do, it was not the lead single off of Khloe's album. And I think that's part of the reason the album didn't do as well. But it's a great song. It's really sexy. Okay. Kind of a, you're going to cheat on me, so I'll cheat on you kind of song. And the sample is really fun when you listen to it. The girls that know, know. But yeah, I don't, how to solve a problem like Khloe Bailey. I don't know what's going on at Parkwood that manages her. They don't either. Yeah. But, um,

I love this song. I think it's really fun. I don't even think they did an actual video for it. Like, it's one of those things where it's like you have a hit on your hand. I don't get it. People forget she was in one of the buzziest shows of this year as well. Swarm on Amazon Prime Video. It was supposed to be her year. It still might be. I'm hoping so, but

Love her. She's still so young. She's still so young. She's so talented too. Yeah, it's weird. I do wonder like pop star, I don't know, it always seems treacherous, but the way that we are just so much more aware of pop stars, you know, because we have so many more ways to keep up with them, you know, it seems like they don't get to like slowly move

build because I feel like for us when we think of someone like a Lady Gaga for example for many of us we had no idea who she was until Poker Face she was a lounge singer for years she was a lounge singer and I was seeing someone else showing a clip of her two years before Poker Face comes out she's dancing you know in a parking lot

performing to a nearly empty audience. We didn't see that for her at the time. So Chloe Bailey has the ingredients. We know she has the voice. We know she can move. She is incredibly beautiful. So I'm still Chloe. I'm still rooting for you. It's not over yet. It's just getting started, sis. And while we're here, Normani too. Rooting for you, girl. Wherever you at. Just release the album. Motivation still goes. Still goes. Okay, we're going to take another quick break. I love all these songs are taking us to other songs. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back.

That was on purpose. I meant to say that. We'll be right black. This message is brought to you by McDonald's. Did you know only 7.3% of American fashion designers are black? Well, McDonald's 2024 Change Leaders Program is ready to change the face of fashion. The innovative program awards a monetary grant to five emerging black American designers and pairs each with an industry professional to help them elevate their brands.

I know specifically and distinctly how McDonald's can support and empower not just black Gen Z but black people. My first job was McDonald's. I learned a lot there about customer service and how to relate to people. I still love that place and go there very often. Look out for the change of fashion designers and mentors

at events like the BET Awards and the Essence Festival of Culture. And follow the journey of the 2024 McDonald's change leaders on their Instagram page, We Are Golden. When booking with other vacation rental apps sounds like this. This place doesn't look like the pictures. Come on, the doors are on back. Is there a door behind all those spiders? It's time to try one that sounds more like a vacation.

Look at how many spiders there aren't. Where should we lie down for eight consecutive hours first? Relax. You booked a Verbo.

We are back and we are at my picks. I'm very excited about this because I've been like sitting here listening and I didn't pick any songs that you guys picked. So, you know, it's all it's all new things. You've been taking it in. And I would say that like the theme of my picks are dancing. I mean, I guess we've all been dancing, but these are like dance songs that you should pay more attention to that, you know, didn't crack the Billboard Top 100, but maybe should have.

So my first pick, I've talked about it on the show before. Some of you have written in to me about this album. Nora Ritchie, who's a producer on the show, also now loves this album. But it is the album by Jesse Ware that feels good. Specifically the song Free Yourself. ♪

That song has not left my brain for months and months and months. It's one of those songs, I don't know if you guys have had this moment, but you hear a song for the first time and it feels so familiar. You don't realize it's new. And for yourself, I was like, I've always had this song. And I think a lot of it has to do with like, it's part of such a progression of Jesse Ware as an artist that the song just makes sense.

part of her catalog and for me it's just such a dance track that will be around forever and ever the album has already made from rolling stone to the guardian the top 10 albums of the year so far which has never happened for her before so it's been critically received so well and every song is beautiful and perfect

But Free Yourself is kind of your single you should jump into. And I love her because she makes disco. She's not screwing around. She's not playing with y'all. It's disco. This album is disco. The last album, What's Your Pleasure, which came out during pandemic and I loved it. Disco. Spotlight is still my favorite Jessie Ware song. And the video for it is so great. She harkens back to a moment when like

It's the energy of going to the club and everyone has one mission and it's to dance. That's it. I love it. She's perfect for that. So we love her. She's also a podcast host. So she's our sister on these little airwaves. You can listen to her podcast that she has with her mom, actually. I've heard it's great. I've heard it's really good. It's very good. So another song that came out in June and has only cracked the dance charts in Europe. This artist is Peggy Goo and the song is Na Na Na Na.

It's a song that takes you backwards and forwards at the same time. It's like, is this 90s? Is this now? I love it. Yeah, it's like, I can't wait to miss you.

That's kind of what future nostalgia is. - Yes, I know, I love that. Oh my God, I can't wait to miss you. I love that. But I'm just seeing this emergence coming out of Europe, especially. You're seeing a lot of these like dance artists giving you music that makes you feel you've gone somewhere you've never been, but you're also here right now. And I just love those dance tracks. I feel like raves and Ibiza that I've never been to in my life. And there's something about it that feels so like luxurious and fun. And why I picked the song today is I started to notice all these people that go to Europe for the summer,

I keep seeing them post this song with their videos on reels, friends of mine. And I think it's 'cause they're dancing in the clubs in Europe and hearing it for the first time and attaching it to their music. - Okay, so it's like place oriented. - It's very place oriented. So I love it. Peggy Goo is one of the most talented DJs ever. You should listen to all of her records. She is an incredible Berlin based musician.

Okay, so here's my honorable mention, which I thought never in my life I would ever do this on a show like ours. But the song has really seeped into my brain via TikTok in a way that I just have to give it to the world and just acknowledge it. And the acknowledgement is Taylor Swift's Harmon.

It's like a song that I have been forced to listen to. The reason why I'm bringing it up is the Taylor Swift versus Beyonce battles on TikTok have been ridiculous and I don't like comparing the two women.

But the heiress tour, which I've not yet gone to, does look like a really good time if you love Taylor Swift deeply, deeply, deeply. And Karma is the song I see these women like crying and swaying and screaming to. And it does look like so much joy and fun. And I find myself humming it all the time. And the lyrics are really fun. Like she talks about vibes. So it's a shout out to us. You know, we are the vibe. But what's this one line? It says, sweet like honey, Karma is a cat.

purring in my lap because it loves me flexing like a goddamn acrobat me and karma vibe like that it's the most absurd lines and i love the next metaphor a metaphor blender what is the words did i write that song it is i just it's just pop i don't know here's the one thing i will say about taylor swift i think she's an excellent songwriter and honestly this is the first time i've heard taylor's words where i've been like what

But it ties into what this chanting you're talking about earlier, Sam, where you see people in concerts just screaming those lines. What are you guys saying? What does this even mean? I've been watching the Taylor TikTok info and content as well. And I will say, if I had to pick a Taylor song of the summer, this was one that kind of like

re-became a hit over the summer just because of the tour. Cruel Summer. Everyone's playing Cruel Summer right now. And I will say, one of the better Taylor songs. Yeah. It's good. I made the joke at the beginning before we started recording. I said, did anyone pick Cruel Summer? And we all laughed. But it was kind of serious. Zayn is smirking. Have you heard this song? You've heard Cruel Summer. Well, because I haven't heard either of these songs. So I think it just reiterates the algorithm. Because I'm telling you, I have not heard...

Maybe this is like the Selena Gomez thing where I've heard it and I didn't realize I heard it. You've heard Cruel Summer. She knows how to wear some red lipstick. She does. She can really wear red lip. Look, that's the compliment I got for Taylor Swift. Lipsize a great gown, beautiful gowns. That is a good red matte lipstick, sis.

My final defense on this is, you know, as we were preparing for this, I looked at the Billboard Hot 100 and I was like, who's been on this Hot 100 chart all summer? And Taylor Swift has dominated that thing like for the full time. She's doing this thing. She's so good at it.

She just keeps re-releasing old albums and all of them go to the top of the charts. It's so bizarre. They just keep over the whole thing. It is wild. The whole thing will chart again. Yeah. So for Swifties, I don't know if Vibecheck is known to be a Swifty fandom crossover at all, but we are being nice and adhering to the Billboard Hot 100 rules and being like, Taylor Swift did dominate all summer. She did do that. There you go. She did do that. She did do that. Yes. Yes.

Before we go, for listeners that really pay attention, you know, we're often talking about our friend and executive producer, Brandon Sharp, who's like the ghost in the shell of Vibe Check. He's a part of every episode. He just doesn't talk. He said, feel free to share that my song of the summer is Pound Town, which, of course, it is Brandisha. Wait, what is Pound Town? You know Pound Town. Pussyhole pink. Wait, what is it? Coochie. My pussyhole pink, my bootyhole brown. Oh.

Yes. Oh my God. Well, that's it. That's our music of the summer. We'd love to hear from you. What were your songs of the summer? What are you listening to? Send them our way at vibecheckatstitcher.com. We will take a listen. Surprise us.

Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of Vibe Check Girlies. If you love the show and want to support us, please make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast listening app. Give us five stars. Talk about us loudly. I want to give a shout out actually to Zach's sister, Monet, and her husband, because over the weekend, I think in San Francisco, they posted one of our Vibe Check stickers on like a street pole or something on the sidewalk. I was like, you better vandalize. You

better vandalize in the name of I love that his personality he carries them with him at all times I love that that's not an ally that's a co-conspirator and that's the energy I need yes we love that we love you Michael

Huge thank you to our producer Chantel Holder, our engineers Sam Kiefer and Brendan Burns, and Marcus Holm for our theme music and sound design. Also special thanks to our executive producers Nora Ritchie, Stitcher, and Brendan Sharp from Agenda Management and Production or Pound Town Productions. Brandisha from Pound Town Productions. Woo-wee!

Listeners, we want to hear from you. Do not forget. You can email us whenever you want at vibecheckatstitcher.com. Let us know your songs of the summer. Let us know your clips or phrases of the summer. Just reach out to us. Stay in touch. Also, find us on Instagram and threads at Sam Sanders, at Zach Staff, and at The Ferocity. Use the hashtag vibecheckatstitcher

Also, listeners, there will be no new episode next week, but stay tuned for our next new episode on Wednesday, September 6th. Till then. Bye. Stitcher.

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