Music & Concerts
New Selena Gomez effort ‘Rare’ catchy but lacking
Not quite the bold artistic statement needed to fully catapult singer to adult stardom


It’s a bit like taking the temperature of pop music of the new decade. The first major pop release of 2020, Selena Gomez is out with her third studio album entitled “Rare.” It’s a well-leveraged, solid composition. The album contains a number of good songs, even if it fails to take any serious risks.
On the pop music scene, Selena Gomez is in good company. Like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, the former Disney Channel star (which hovers somewhere between a hurdle and an asset) has had a number of hits since the conclusion show “Wizards of Waverly Place” where she played the lead as Alex. With Disney Plus’s entry into the streaming world, Disney Channel stardom is likely to still give childhood celebrities like Gomez a boost.
But disentangling oneself from adolescent stardom and finding a more adult demographic is something many young artists struggle with. This is even true for performers performers like Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson from One Direction, who have spent several years seeking after a more adult demographic. But this is a well-worn path for artists like Gomez. Miley Cyrus began transitioning to an older target demographic with her 2009 “The Time of Our Lives,” which featured the endlessly played “Party in the U.S.A.” But it wasn’t until her the following album “Can’t Be Tamed” that the break felt complete.
The case of Gomez is slightly different, and she released several albums with her dance-pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene. “Love You Like A Love Song” is perhaps still their most popular. Shortly after the group disbanded in 2012, Gomez’s first solo album, “Stars Dance,” was released in 2013. And it was met by immediate commercial success, landing at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. And her 2015 follow-up album “Revival” quickly followed suit, with singles “Good for You (featuring A$AP Rocky)” and “Same Old Love,” making her something of a pop force to be reckoned with. And her 2016 duet with Charlie Puth “We Don’t Talk Anymore” has remained a fixture of radio play. But “Rare” is the singer’s first full album release in nearly five years.
“Rare” is the third and titular single released from the album, cut and balanced with an eye toward radio play. While there is nothing vocally extraordinary going on — Gomez has this in common with Cyrus and Lovato — the production value is high and everything feels very polished.
But the heart of an album is so rarely found in the singles, which are more often than not sort of one-offs. Songs like “Dance Again,” with its snappy baseline and dance rhythm, better capture of the aesthetic of the whole: a somewhat darkly colored, dance pop album with a glossy finish. “Kinda Crazy” pops in a mid-tempo groove and features very tasteful instrumentation: a touch of piano, a jazzy guitar riff that sets the tone and even horns. The singer’s breathy vocals hover just slightly above the mix. It’s one of the most nicely balanced pop songs in recent memory and a testament to the attention to detail that Gomez brings to her music. And it would be remiss not to mention “Cut You Off,” a delightful Saturday morning breakfast-bop and relentless earworm. Humorously, the chorus repeats over and over: “So I gotta get/you out my head now.”
The second single, “Look at Her Now,” is more evidence of the masterful production and how far it take one in today’s pop music scene. Artists like Kesha (whose new album drops at the end of the month) were pioneers in this regard. And phenomenal production covers myriad other sins. But “Look at Her Now” is the pop equivalent of a nursery rhyme when you peel back the smooth synth hooks: “Of course she was sad/but now she’s glad she dodged a bullet/took a few years to soak up the tears/but look at her now, watch her go.” And the chorus drones on the annoying “Mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm, mm-mm,” nearly as bad as Justin Bieber’s latest “Yummy.”
That leaves us with the lead single, “Lose You To Love Me,” which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard back in November. It stands apart from the rest of the album as a slower break-up anthem. It’s the only track to really showcase Gomez’s vocal power and it will ultimately make for an easy dance remix (or a dozen). Songs like it have guaranteed the commercial success of “Rare,” and in turn Gomez’s staying power. But I was hoping for a little something more from this album. It is a new decade, after all.
Music & Concerts
Underdog glorious: a personal remembrance of Jill Sobule
Talented singer, songwriter died in house fire on May 1

I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of music consumer who purchased music on impulse. When I stumbled across “Things Here Are Different,” Jill Sobule’s 1990 MCA Records debut album on vinyl in a favorite Chicago record store, I bought it without knowing anything about her. This was at a time when we didn’t have our phones in our pockets to search for information about the artist on the internet. The LP stayed in my collection until, as vinyl was falling out of fashion, I replaced it with a CD a few years later.
Early in my career as an entertainment journalist, I received a promo copy of Jill’s eponymous 1995 Atlantic Records album. That year, Atlantic Records was one of the labels at the forefront of signing and heavily promoting queer artists, including Melissa Ferrick and Extra Fancy, and its roster included the self-titled album by Jill. It was a smart move, as the single “I Kissed A Girl” became a hit on radio and its accompanying video (featuring Fabio!) was in heavy rotation on MTV (when they still played videos).
Unfortunately for Jill, she was a victim of record label missteps. When 1997’s wonderful “Happy Town” failed to repeat the success, Atlantic dumped her. That was Atlantic’s loss, because her next album, the superb “Pink Pearl” contained “Heroes” and “Mexican Wrestler,” two of her most beloved songs. Sadly, Beyond Music, the label that released that album ceased to exist after just a few years. To her credit, the savvy Jill had also started independently releasing music (2004’s “The Folk Years”). That was a smart move because her next major-label release, the brilliant “Underdog Victorious” on Artemis Records, met a similar fate when that label folded.
With her 2009 album “California Years,” Jill launched her own indie label, Pinko Records, on which she would release two more outstanding full-length discs, 2014’s “Dottie’s Charms” (on which she collaborated with some of her favorite writers, including David Hadju, Rick Moody, Mary Jo Salter, and Jonathan Lethem), and 2018’s stunning “Nostalgia Kills.” Jill’s cover of the late Warren Zevon’s “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” on “Nostalgia Kills” was particularly poignant as she had toured with him as an opening act.
Jill was a road warrior, constantly on tour, and her live shows were something to behold. My first interview with Jill took place at the Double Door in Chicago in early August of 1995, when she was the opening act for legendary punk band X. She had thrown her back out the previous day and was diagnosed with a herniated disc. To be comfortable, she was lying down on a fabulous-‘50s sofa. “I feel like I’m at my shrink’s,” she said to me, “Do you want me to talk about my mother?”
That sense of humor, which permeated and enriched her music, was one of many reasons to love Jill. I was privileged to interview her for seven of her albums. Everything you would want to know about her was right there in her honest lyrics, in which she balanced her distinctive brand of humor with serious subject matter. Drawing on her life experiences in songs such as “Bitter,” “Underachiever,” “One of These Days,” “Freshman,” “Jetpack,” “Nothing To Prove,” “Forbidden Thoughts of Youth,” “Island of Lost Things,” “Where Do I Begin,” “Almost Great,” and “Big Shoes,” made her songs as personal as they were universal, elicited genuine affection and concern from her devoted fans.
While she was a consummate songwriter, Jill also felt equally comfortable covering songs made famous by others, including “Just A Little Lovin’” (on the 2000 Dusty Springfield tribute album “Forever Dusty”) and “Stoned Soul Picnic” (from the 1997 Laura Nyro tribute album “Time and Love”). Jill also didn’t shy away from political subject matter in her music with “Resistance Song,” “Soldiers of Christ,” “Attic,” “Heroes,” “Under the Disco Ball,” and the incredible “America Back” as prime examples.
Here’s something else worth mentioning about Jill. She was known for collaboration skills. As a songwriter, she maintained a multi-year creative partnership with Robin Eaton (“I Kissed A Girl” and many others), as well as Richard Barone, the gay frontman of the renowned band The Bongos. Jill’s history with Barone includes performing together at a queer Octoberfest event in Chicago in 1996. Writer and comedian Julie Sweeney, of “SNL” and “Work in Progress” fame was another Chicago collaborator with Sobule (Sweeney lives in a Chicago suburb), where they frequently performed their delightful “The Jill and Julia Show.” John Doe, of the aforementioned band X, also collaborated with Jill in the studio (“Tomorrow Is Breaking” from “Nostalgia Kills”), as well as in live performances.
On a very personal note, in 2019, when I was in the process of arranging a reading at the fabulous NYC gay bookstore Bureau of General Services – Queer Division, I reached out to Jill and asked her if she would like to be on the bill with me. We alternated performing; I would read a couple of poems, and Jill would sing a couple of songs. She even set one of my poems to music, on the spot.
Jill had an abundance of talent, and when she turned her attention to musical theater, it paid off in a big way. Her stage musical “F*ck 7th Grade,” a theatrical piece that seemed like the next logical step in her career, had its premiere at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre in the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The unique staging (an outdoor drive-in stage at which audience members watched from their cars) was truly inspired. “F*ck 7th Grade” went on to become a New York Times Critic’s pick, as well as earning a Drama Desk nomination.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Jill’s eponymous 1995 album, reissue label Rhino Records is re-releasing it on red vinyl. Jill and I had been emailing each other to arrange a time for an interview. We even had a date on the books for the third week of May.
When she died in a house fire in Minnesota on May 1 at age 66, Jill received mentions on network and cable news shows. She was showered with attention from major news outlets, including obits in the New York Times and Rolling Stone (but not Pitchfork, who couldn’t be bothered to review her music when she was alive). Is it wrong to think that if she’d gotten this much attention when she was alive she could have been as big as Taylor Swift? I don’t think so.
Music & Concerts
Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’
Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.
Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.
For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

Aussie pop icon Kylie Minogue brings her acclaimed “Tension” world tour to D.C. next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital One Arena. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.
The show features songs spanning her long career, from 1987 debut single, “The Loco-Motion,” to “Padam, Padam” from her album, “Tension.”