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. Get ready: The Bop Shop is now open for business.
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Donna Missal: “Let You Let Me Down”
We’ve all opened our hearts to people we know we can’t trust, and Donna Missal is no exception. The 29-year-old singer-songwriter spells out her frustrations in “Let You Let Me Down,” a rock-infused breakup ballad off of Lighter, her forthcoming LP. Her smoky vocals simmer to a satisfying crescendo in the final refrain. It’s like we’re grieving with Missal, whose disappointment — in her lover, in herself — is palpable: “Oh, the worst part / Is that I let you let me down.” —Sam Manzella
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Charli XCX: “C2.0”
“Click,” from Charli XCX’s eponymous 2019 album, was a fan favorite thanks to some smoldering contributions from Kim Petras. For How I’m Feeling Now, the quarantine-made LP Charli made over the past month and released on May 15, she and producer A.G. Cook reimagined the tune as something from the Richard D. James Album, glitching it to hell and back. But the sweetness here lies in Charli’s plaintive reflections from isolation about just wanting to see her people: “I miss them every night / I miss them by my side.” —Patrick Hosken
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The Wldlfe: “You Don’t Love Me (Like You Used To)”
“Excuse my heart just for asking,” frontman Jansen Hogan pardons, “‘cause I’m not sure that I want the truth.” Pop-punk crooning ballad “You Don’t Love Me” is an earnestly wistful and deceptively deep offer from emerging band The Wldlfe, a pitiful wrestling between breakup grief’s last two stages: burrowing depression and eventual acceptance. The song’s best line mourns not only lost love, but the protection it once held: “You don’t hold me like you know I’m scared of the dark.” —Terron Moore
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Taylor Swift: “Cornelia Street (Live From Paris)”
They say all you need to write a hit record is three chords and the truth, yet no one seems to understand that quite as well as Taylor Swift. With the release of fan favorite “Cornelia Street (Live From Paris),” Swift proves that she is still made of that simple, acoustic magic her fans have always admired her for. Lyrically, Swift paints a pastel-hued picture through imagery and her signature anecdotal storytelling, effortlessly describing the connection between emotional memory and physical space. This song, already the emotional climax of Lover, hits differently when performed live. It brings a sense of rawness and immediacy while striking an emotional response from her fans, both those present at the show (as you can hear in the recording) and those listening at home in quarantine. —Sarina Bhutani
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Sinéad Harnett: “Quarantine Queen”
R&B-soul singer Sinéad Harnett lets us into her cozy London quarters with soft new track “Quarantine Queen.” Two months into staying at home, the headlines and loneliness are taking their toll, and it’s hard not to reminisce about how good we had it. “Aren’t we all just pretending / That the world isn’t ending,” she coos, as she dances around the house. Love and life feel on hold for the moment, but she meets us where we’re at in the adorable DIY video, modeling for the webcam, writing notes, and rocking a pink wig. If “quarantine royalty” is a thing, give her the crown. —Carson Mlnarik
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Kathleen Edwards: “Options Open”
Eight years since her pretty much perfect last album, Voyageur, Canadian alt-country queen Kathleen Edwards is finally back with a new track. In 2014 Edwards hit pause on her critically acclaimed music career and opened the appropriately titled Quitters coffee shop in Ottawa. But after country music star Maren Morris reached out to her about working together, Edwards headed to Nashville to craft some new tunes with Morris and producer Ian Fitchuck (Kacey Musgraves’s Golden Hour). That work session eventually led to her new single, “Options Open,” which keeps her country folk vibe while mixing in some breezy indie rock bounce. Edwards’s album, Total Freedom, is scheduled to be released in August. See, 2020’s not all bad news! —Chris Rudolph
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Phoebe Bridgers: “I See You”
“If you’re a work of art, I’m standing too close,” Phoebe Bridgers muses in “I See You,” the third in a series of singles from Punisher, her highly anticipated sophomore album. The 25-year-old indie rock ingenue established herself as an emerging act to watch with tracks like 2017’s “Motion Sickness” and “Scott Street.” Her latest song follows suit, underlaying Bridgers’s trademark croon with a mellow, pulsating guitar riff that lets her lyrical prowess shine (“I used to light you up / Now I can’t even get you to play the drums”). Ben Gibbard doesn’t call just anyone a “phenomenal young songwriter.” —Sam Manzella
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Ilse DeLange & Michael Schulte: “Wrong Direction”
Due to quarantine and social distancing guidelines, people feel more disconnected than ever. However, music always brings people together, so Ilse DeLange and Michael Schulte’s collaboration couldn’t have dropped at a more opportune time. In this Dutch/German team-up, “Wrong Direction” brings two artists together to lyrically discuss the disconnect in a relationship — oh, the irony. “Wrong Direction” finds the perfect balance between nostalgia and modernity, composed of a comforting, country-pop melody layered with fresh, alternating vocals that complement each other beautifully. They just don’t make duets like this anymore — simple, classic, effortless. Just the thing we need right now. —Sarina Bhutani
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Jeff Rosenstock: “The Beauty of Breathing”
Surprise! Long Island punk icon Jeff Rosenstock released a new album on May 20 called No Dream without any advance warning. Such a startle would incur breathlessness anyway, but the album is particularly frantic, with the already over-caffeinated Rosenstock lamenting being far away, both geographically and emotionally. Enter “The Beauty of Breathing,” a deliciously riffy exhale where he lays it all on the table: “I walk outside and people say ‘hey’ / And sometimes I just wanna say, ‘Hey, go away!’ / So I guess I better stay inside.” He debuted it live last year, but amid all the noisy chaos of other voices and towers of guitars, it feels comforting, like he could’ve written it yesterday in a moment of venting frustration. —Patrick Hosken
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Kehlani: “Toxic”
Isolation and distance are recurring topics making Kehlani’s It Was Good Until It Wasn’t very relatable. “I get real accountable when I’m alone,” she sings, keeping it real when it pertains to isolating and holding yourself accountable while quarantined. This song sparks a craving of affection that can awaken the lonely human within us. With the idle time we’ve had over the last couple of months, it can be easy to fall back into some of those toxic behaviors and situationships from the past. These smooth R&B ballads can trick you into feeling risky. Put the phone down. Don’t call on that problematic lover. —Sunni Valentine
