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Pop Culture Detritus Inaugural Review: Poppy.Computer

https://popculturedetritus672079012.wordpress.com/?p=44

Pop Culture Detritus Inaugural Review: Poppy.Computer

I’m Poppy. I’m Poppy. I’m Poppy. I’m Poppy. I’m Poppy……

If you regularly get sucked down the Youtube K-hole of wonder as I sometimes do you may have stumbled upon a new-ish Pop Star who calls herself “Poppy.” My introduction to “That Poppy” as she was referred to in 2014 at the advent of her channel, came by way of a comment on a friend’s blog site. I wandered over to the Tube of Infinite Distraction and discovered a petite blonde girl of indeterminate age who was so pretty (the embodiment of ‘kawaii‘) and articulate I wasn’t sure she was real—and that seems to be at least part of the point. Poppy is partnered with, and some say puppeteered by her manager and collaborator Titanic Sinclair, formerly teamed up with Mars Argo.

Poppy’s videos run the surrealistic, cute, disturbing, utterly post-modern gambit but the first videos her internet audience (who now call themselves ‘Poppy Seeds’) got to see were sometimes long, sometimes short meditations on herself, her pet plant, her art, and her shoes-repetition, a pastel palette, and Poppy’s ASMR-like, sweet voice are used to tremendously eerie effect. Almost immediately, the commentariate at YT began asking if the mysterious girl was okay, wondering if she was doing and art project, or even being held against her will and forced to perform for the camera. Neither Poppy nor Titanic ever answered or answers these questions directly. When her first EP ” Bubble Bath�� finally hit and the audience began to catch on to the fact that this had been a grand build up to an art project and a the unveiling of a J-pop style synth-pop piece of ersatz, reviews poured in from those-in-the-know and theories about the project and the star began swirling–the Cult of Poppy was forming. Youtubers took to their laptops, ipads, and phone cameras en masse to pontificate and speculate: Poppy is Illuminati. Poppy is Just a Pop Star. Poppy is a Gimmick. Poppy is a Hologram. Poppy is a Victim. Poppy is an Art Student. Poppy’s boyfriend is Titanic Sinclair. Poppy is a Cult Member. Poppy is Just an Actress. Poppy is a Victim.

Here’s what I believe the real truth to be.

Wait for it…wait for it.

“Poppy is an Object, Poppy is Your Best Friend, Poppy will Break your Neck.” These are lyrics to the chorus of one of the standout tracks from Poppy’s first LP (vinyl and MP3 release only as of now) “Poppy.Computer” titled “That’s my Style.” The song is of course not what the average listener would first assume it to be-a crazy-catchy bit of techo-pop set to a generic Club beat. At the chorus we hear the android-like voice of Poppy’s Mannequin Nemesis, Charlotte “Poppy is an Object, Poppy is your best friend, Poppy will break your neck. Of course, this is the characterization I am most fond of: A self-aware Pop Princess, part of an artistic duo, who while creating wonderfully fun and spooky videos and live shows (at one point in Canada, she literally made the front row of her audience drink the Kool-Aid after shaking their hands) manages to be Utterly Terrifying.

Sing it will me Poppy Seeds! “P-O-P-P-Y I-M P-O-P-P-Y, P-O-P-P-Y I-M P-O-P-P-Y.” Poppy sweetly to us, this is all we have to do to be like her–do that chant, stay the thing, perform the dance steps and We will Upgrade. Pretty easy and cool, huh? Teens, tweens, and the occasional fascinated Gen X’er (ahem) are popping their daily does like Adderall. Of course, most if not all of us know it’s all a show, it’s all a concept, but we can’t help going back for more, clicking and following, ordering and reading (her fan Bible “The Gospel of Poppy” is available on her website) Poppy tells us sometime before the chorus that she “needs our energy” which she later elaborates on in the snarky “Software Upgrade” when she sings “You don’t have the capability to satisfy me in a human way.” Standout tracks from the LP also of course include “My Style (feat.Charlotte)” The disturbing middle verses are pillowed with Total Sweetness, “Ice Cream, credit card, Modern Art, that’s my style, macaroons, Dr. Seuss, that’s my style and then we get “bath salts, start a cult, I’m so adult.” Well, as she tells us over and over that is her style. I for one am a bit too frightened to dispute her on that. Another favorite of mine is the unabashedly Bubblegum and kawaii “Moshi Moshi.” because she says “We’re so beyond living like we’re typical girls” before she mesmerizes us with the chorus “Moshi, moshi hi hi, hello did you call to talk to me? Let’s have a cup a tea with my very best friend.” Also worth more than a casual listen are “Bleach Blonde Baby” and the timely “Computer Boy.”

This little review would not be complete without mentioning that the tracks on her EP “Bubble Bath” are also amazing, some would argue better than those from “Poppy.Computer.” The opener ‘Low Life” is a pop-reggae romp with the terribly catchy ear worm of a chorus “Baby you’re the highlight of my low life, take a shitty day and make it alright, every little circumstance, yeah you make the difference, baby you’re the highlight of my low life.”

POPPY IS YOUR INTERNET GIRL.

Okay, Poppy Seeds. You know what to do!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this first post and my Coffee House musings. See you soon.

C.V.P.

Poppy on the Web:

Offical YT:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8JE00xTMBOqKs7o0grFTfQ

Official Website:

http://impoppy.com/

Cross posted from: https://popculturedetritus672079012.wordpress.com/?p=44

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