In the paranoid style to which we have become accustomed
By 
In one of her brilliant Twitter critical apercus that really need to be compiled into some kind of non-Elon related format at some point, Elizabeth celebrated one of the peaks of American popular music:
A thirty-seven minute miracle of shuddering genius and shambling happenstance, Big Star’s debut ‘#1 Record’ weaves together the Byrd's anxious eight-miles-high jangle and the diamond hard majesty of Memphis soul. Alex Chilton and Chris Bell are the shadow world Lennon-McCartney.— The Paranoid Style (@paranoiacs) August 27, 2023
In her stunning essay about Alex Chilton, Linday Zoladz pointed out that one reason that Big Star’s work has lived despite not selling when the band was alive is that Chilton and Bell never confused “fiercely independent” with “indifferently produced.” Big Star “had a state-of-the-art studio as their playground (drummer Jody Stephens has referred to Ardent as “Disneyworld”),” Zoladz observes, “and that’s a large part of why their records continue to sound so innovative and pristine.”
Which brings us to today’s big news! A new single from the Paranoid Style drops today:
We chatted with Elizabeth on a podcast that will be released later today, and she explains that the sound of the forthcoming album was modeled on ZZ Top’s huge-sounding Texas-meets-British-synth-pop Eliminator. (Leave the cheesy videos and concerns about authenticity aside and it’s a blues guitar landmark.) And in addition to production that takes some of what worked in 80s studios and adds it to more minimalist contemporary standards, the Style have added Peter Holsapple on guitar. “Structured Class” — like, er, “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” although I was reminded even more of Gina Shock introducing the world to Beauty and the Beat — starts with naked drums and quickly propels into a deep groove that will have you under pressure. Holsapple brings the irresistible new single to a blistering climax (while Timothy Bracy adds fierce rhythm commentary, recognizing that the eternal truth that Angus needs Malcolm to set him off.) It’s a great new sound I hope will attract listeners to what is always the star attraction, Elizabeth’s songs.
The new single had me from the reference to my favorite song on Jesus of Cool, and it more than lives up to it. “This is a song about the kind of deals that make the world go around, and the sorts of folks who make them, Elizabeth says. Like so much of the band’s work, it recognizes that “nothing in the Book Of Revelations or Paradise Lost anywhere near as frightening and sinister as the self-sustaining, perpetual motion machine of the modern economic caste system, and the bloodless, unstoppable systems which fuel it.” The lyrics capture this alienation and dislocation like 60s Dylan or 70’s EC or aughts Tucker/Brownstein, while sharing their playful and witty immersion in popular song:
Time in capsules, Vitamin C
Everybody knows this is nowhere but me
Everyone knows this is Valhalla or bust
An unliving will and a living mistrust
Sympathy for the devil
Is the last of your concerns
Bow down to your level
And attend to your burns
I have seen strong men crying out for help
I have pulled books from a very high shelf
The next time you call me
Make sure it’s important
Withering on the vine
Living by appointment
Everyone’s outnumbered and no one has a pass
I love the sound of structured class
With Elizabeth’s songs, even ones I’ve heard countless times reveal new meanings, new insights, new angles on the world, and this one is no exception. Enjoy it, and we will have more about the new album The Interrogator — due February 2 — as the date approaches. I’ve been treated to a sneak preview, and I only wish I had the whole thing to share with you now.