
Mila Jam’s Optimistic Anthem, Girlpool’s Dark Adventure, And More Songs We Love
The search for the ever-elusive “bop” is difficult. Playlists and streaming-service recommendations can only do so much. They often leave a lingering question: Are these songs really good, or are they just new?
Enter Bop Shop, a hand-picked selection of songs from the MTV News team. This weekly collection doesn’t discriminate by genre and can include anything — it’s a snapshot of what’s on our minds and what sounds good. We’ll keep it fresh with the latest music, but expect a few oldies (but goodies) every once in a while, too. And this week, in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance today (November 20), we’re shining the spotlight on trans musicians making vital, important art that’s built to last.
Get ready: The Bop Shop is now open for business.
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Teddy Geiger: “I Was In a Cultâ€
“I Was In a Cult†attacks the raging fury of rebellion with a confident strength. It’s thunderous rock, but controlled: heavy on the drums and electric guitar, but its declaration of breaking from your own chains is unmistakably clear, as Teddy laments on the person she once was in a world of constraints, and revels in the freedom that comes with defining your own reality. “My heart is aching,†she confesses, “but it only brings me close to God.†—Terron Moore
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Dorian Electra ft. The Garden, Quay Dash, D0llywood1: “F the Worldâ€
There’s nothing quite like telling the world to fuck off. That’s what Dorian Electra offers on this team-up with, among others, Bronx rapper Quay Dash, who acts as a staid voice amid the chaos of Electra’s glitchy overload. “F the world, it’s a damn joke / Whoever think different, they can suck it and damn choke,†she spits, cleverly tapping into the song’s secondary meaning of sex (and sexual frustration). —Patrick Hosken
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Mila Jam: “Eye on Youâ€
This is and will always be a Mila Jam stan account. “Eyes on You” is the perfect pop song for any chill playlist. In the music video, Jam embodies joy and love. It’s fitting — as she told Billboard in 2019, that is “exactly what every trans woman deserves, what everyone in the [trans] community deserves.” —Zach O’Connor
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Peppermint ft. LaFemmeBear and Mila Jam: “Be Optimisticâ€
Today (November 20) is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors the lives of trans people who were violently killed in the past year. But the trans and gender non-conforming community is so much more than the epidemic of violence that plagues it. Enter “Be Optimistic,†a soulful, R&B-infused new track centering trans joy from Peppermint, LaFemmeBear, and Mila Jam, all Black trans people themselves. LaFemmeBear sets the stage in a powerful spoken-word intro: “We came to remind you, let’s be optimistic / ‘Cause we got this / Listen.†For a truly immersive experience, watch the song’s black-and-white music video, which incorporates on-the-ground footage from Black Lives Matter protests. —Sam Manzella
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Girlpool: “Like I’m Winning It (Porches Remix)â€
Earlier this year, the sometimes noisy, sometimes dreamy, always great band Girlpool released a doomy, lusty club cut called “Like I’m Winning It.†It’s since gotten three adventurous remixes; the briefest one comes courtesy of Porches’s Aaron Maine, who lifts it out of darkness into a sparklier realm that nevertheless maintains its melancholy. Do disco balls reflect candlelight? —Patrick Hosken
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Ms. White: “Arizonaâ€
Brooklyn-based pianist and jazz singer Ms. White is arresting from her voice alone — a soulful, cabaret-comfortable tone that would stop anyone dead in their tracks — but she’s also got the lyrics to match. “Arizona,†from her 2019 EP Marina is an emotionally vulgar rip from her diary, a refusal to be muted both sonically and personally as she recounts a relationship where she was mistreated with heartbreaking candidness. “How come I don’t have the code to your front door by now?†she wonders coolly over a jazzy piano before angrily belting out zingers like, “I know your taste buds are so fucking ordinary / But you’ve got to get used to this different-tasting cherry.†Although she recounts a romance with hyper-specificity, there’s an undeniable relatability to her performance and if the dictionary definition for “raw†were a song, this would be it. —Carson Mlnarik
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Kat Cunning: “O’Holy Nightâ€
There aren’t many hills I’m willing to die on, but this is one: Slow, sad Christmas music is the best kind. Need proof? Kat Cunning’s stripped-down cover of a melancholy classic. Backed only by a piano arrangement, Cunning’s impassioned, throaty vocals glisten like tinsel in candlelight. The cover is simpler and less distinct than their original music, but I’m not complaining. Now I just need December to roll around… —Sam Manzella
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Shea Diamond: “So Luckyâ€
“No more secret lives, nobody’s mistress,†soul singer Shea Diamond emotes on the refrain of this barn-burner, before adding the kicker: “If I die tonight, the world’s my witness.†There’s no brass on this tune, but the music folds in plenty — a squawking guitar solo, an icy backbeat, and the roaring powerhouse vocals of Diamond herself. —Patrick Hosken