The best, most perfect piece of music on the planet lately. The only song you need to hear. Until tomorrow.
I’ve been toying with a way to consistently cover music on Cinnamon for a while now, but I guess real change requires inspiration. That motivation struck when Muna released “Silk Chiffon” earlier this month, a song so perfect it almost makes up for the hellish rollercoaster that 2021 has been. When I worked at Stereogum way back in 2015 I wrote a Band To Watch profile on Muna, and they’ve consistently been releasing some of the best pop music in the industry since. The news that they signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory imprint was a bright spot this year, and their first collaboration brings more sun. The fact that it’s a queer anthem right off the bat makes it the perfect track to kick off our new Song of the Day recommendations.
All you need to fall in love with this song is hear it once. The group’s foremost vocalist, Katie Gavin, takes the first verse and when Phoebe comes in on the second it’s a super cameo. “Featuring” doesn’t always mean a whole verse of their own, and new music from Phoebe in any format is still a treat, and the way the guitar gets a little more gruff and loud when she enters the chat is *chef’s kiss*. Like, destroy-a-guitar-on-SNL vibes, right? Or, as the video suggests, escape-a-gay-conversion-camp rebellious (Peep the cameo from comedian Caleb Hearon, a forever favorite). Phoebe and Katie’s voices are surprisingly similar, and flawlessly flanked by the harmonies from Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson.
I will always maintain that women write better love songs than men, and “Silk Chiffon” is another bit of proof in support of that argument. Littered with phrases like “downtown cherry lipstick” and the mini-skirt/rollerblades combo, lyrically the song is superbly feminine. Comparing falling in love with a woman to the feeling of a fabric is even more seductive in an eighteen-month period when touching each other was forbidden. Phoebe’s verse contains that moment of anxiety that’s dissipated by reassurance from a loved one (“with that you’re-on-camera-smile”), a reminder that while falling in love doesn’t fix your life, it does change the way pain and fear fit into it. Or at least, that’s how it feels when this song is on.
Listen above or on Spotify here. Cinnamon’s new Song of the Day playlist is on Spotify here.
