If you, savvy reader, have ever dreamt of dishing on your favorite music with Sir Babygirl, look no further than the DIY pop singer’s just-launched album month of the club.
The New Hampshire-raised artist — born Kelsie Hogue — is reaching into the digital world with a fistful of jewel cases in a bid for old-fashioned listening. The rules for participation are simple: Tune in to Hogue’s “completely biased, favorite, favorite music” from home, then jump in the conversation via social media.
“I want my monthly selection to feel like a record I would play for you if you came to my house for a hang,” Hogue, who uses she/he pronouns, tells Vanyaland, “and I was like ‘ok, but have you heard all of The Velvet Rope not just ‘Together Again’??? Are you ready to listen to the entirety of Liz Phair’s self-titled [album] and get angry about life, and then happy again that this record is so fucking good???”‘
The club started this month with Madonna’s 1994 release Bedtime Stories, which Hogue described on Instagram as an album she’s “not able to shut up about.” (Hogue’s current favorite song from the LP? The “steamy sad ‘Love Tried to Welcome Me.'”)
But the club isn’t all camp and cheekiness. Hogue says that his selection will include “artists that inspire me to keep making music amongst the bullshit.” The experience of the club partially recreates a moment from Hogue’s life that helped him find stable footing in the music industry’s ever-changing landscape.
“Once I started working professionally in the music industry — circa 2019 — I found it harder to engage with music on a personal level,” Hogue explains. “I felt jaded and disengaged. Then a year ago I got back into physical media — bought a $5 CD player and a roulette of CDs at my local thrift store and it transported me back to my childhood love of putting on an entire album and getting lost in its world. In such a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, algorithmic, AI-encroaching world, I wanted to invite others into the ritual of slowing down and taking in one singular album at a time.”
Fans can learn about each month’s selection via Hogue’s Instagram or newsletter. As her instructions explain online, “at the end of the month, I will post a discussion between me and a treasured friend/artist and field submitted prompts from fans. I welcome fans and friends to tag me in posts discussing their experience listening to the record on socials and connect with each other over their love of deep diving into a singular body of work.”
Hogue adds: “Seeing what natural connections come from it, where it causes one to wander next musically, how it creates art and artist-focused conversation, what we learn about ourselves through each record (even if we hate it!! or find it boring!!!) — it’s all useful to me!”
The club also helps bridge the gap between Hogue’s 2021 Mixtape and her forthcoming sophomore album — a.k.a. the rock opera “How to Stay Sane While Losing Your Mind,” which debuted in Vermont earlier this year. (Amazingly, Hogue got to check off “write and stage a rock opera” off her metaphorical to-do list before “join any type of arts-focused club.”)
“I have never participated in anything like this before!” she says. “I haven’t even been part of a book club (though I can read)!”
Check out the details below.