Doja Cat's "Mooo!" is the extremely unlikely song of the summer
What Are You Listening To? is a weekly run-down of what A.V. Club staffers are streaming. Listen to these songs and more on our Spotify playlist, updated weekly with new stuff.
Doja Cat, “Mooo!”
Apparently born from an Instagram Live session during which she was goofing off with fans, Doja Cat’s viral barnyard banger “Mooo!” might be my pick for song of the summer. It’s just so damn catchy. From the nods to Wu-Tang, to the fantastically absurd interpolation of Ludacris’ “Move Bitch” (I ain’t a moose, bitch / Get out my hay), there’s just so much to like in the song. The lo-fi video undoubtedly adds to its charm, featuring the 22-year-old singer-songwriter sporting a cow print outfit, eating a cheeseburger, drinking a milkshake, and dancing in front of a DIY green screen while images of cows, farms, and bouncing anime boobs alternate in the background. It’s both a perfect addition and a great introduction to Doja Cat’s larger catalog, which was already chock-full of colorful beats, clever wordplay, and unabashed charisma. [Baraka Kaseko]
The Sweet, “Wig-Wam Bam”
I am slowly indoctrinating my tween daughter into the world of ’90s teen romances, and the other night we watched Drive Me Crazy, I guess because it was new on Hulu? While that movie has its definite high (explaining the importance of designated driving) and low (how does Vinny Chase slide down that huge sculpture exactly?) points, aside from The Donnas posing as “The Electrocutes,” the soundtrack isn’t really that memorable. I mean, the movie is named after one of Britney Spears’ decidedly lesser hits—“(You Drive Me) Crazy” is no “Toxic.” So I was surprised when the credits hit and one of my all-time favorite songs popped up: “Wig-Wam Bam” by The Sweet. The ’70s glam rock outfit is having a bit of a resurgence lately, with “Fox On The Run” showing up on the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack, and The Regrettes covering “Ballroom Blitz” at Lollapalooza. I hunted down “Wig-Wam Bam” after Jaime Hernandez titled a chapter after in Love And Rockets several years ago, and it’s just as infectious as Sweet’s better-known hits, with a hook you can hang a whole career on injected into a song that’s basically just about nonsense words. The band’s always exemplary harmonies are second only to possibly the most inspired use of a slide whistle ever in a pop song. No wonder those 1972 Top Of The Pops attendees were losing their minds (apologies for insensitive Native American headdress). I should do She’s The Man next, right? [Gwen Ihnat]
Hiroshi Yoshimura, “Urban Snow”
Writing about ambient music is, frankly, the worst—describing sequences of miasmic instrumental choices or, more damningly, coming up with some massive metaphor about how they’re a waterfall or a new planet or something. Writing about the ideas behind ambient music is slightly better, but you still end up talking about the purposes of spaces and the modern world, and—it’s exhausting. I’m not going to do that. I somehow slept on Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Music For Nine Postcards when it was rereleased last year, the first in what is hopefully a string of excavations of the early ambient pioneer’s works, but I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since happening across it last week. There’s something vaguely melancholy about “Urban Snow,” in particular, although it also reminds me of the chords for “Bad And Boujee,” so maybe that’s why it’s been on repeat. I’m enjoying not picking into it too much; just listen to these nice sounds! [Clayton Purdom]