Zane Lowe's interview with Olivia Rodrigo just dropped. He talked to her about things like how supportive her parents are, how her upbringing spawned her work ethic, and '80s new wave sadness. Lowe also got the scoop that Rodrigo is not the biggest yacht rock fan despite referencing the genre in the second verse of "u + me = <3," the fifth track off you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.
On "u + me = <3," Rodrigo is cozying into a new love's tempting but fragile promise of forever. During the song's second verse, she drops details about the relationship's evolution and how she's making sure it all calcifies well: "I like your big sister/ Shе has your same face/ And I tried to win hеr/ Over with my cynical humor and yacht rock music taste." Turns out that last part was not Rodrigo's contribution, but collaborator Dan Nigro's idea.
"He was like, 'It has to be something you don't really actually like. It has to be kind of cringey and funny.' So we decided on yacht rock," she explained. Lowe was bummed after hearing this fabricated tidbit; he was really stoked to go in on Christopher Cross and Don Henley with her. Maybe he can connect with Kenny Loggins, who recently okayed the contentious genre name, to talk about the golden days of the genre instead. What's not to like about yacht rock? "Maybe if I was spending more time on boats I would like it," Rodrigo responded. Lowe was at a loss.
Rodrigo then offered the idea of maybe sending her a playlist so she could learn about the best of the genre. Lowe didn't even blink before whipping out his phone and sending her an "epic" playlist called Soft that has a cover of him and his wife flipping each other off. Rodrigo then asks what Lowe and his wife's love song is? He offers two answers: Jeff Buckley's "Morning Theft" and Waxahatchee's "Right Back To It" featuring MJ Lenderman. "That song is the best song ever made," Rodrigo says of the latter. I guess she prefers pontoon rock?
They continued to talk about their different interpretations of the song, which is around the 23-minute mark. It's interesting! Check out the relevant clip and full interview below.
