Belinda Says
A tribute to Belinda Carlisle that quotes her hit and earned the band a Grammy nomination.
Alvvays, from Blue Rev (2022)
- Written by
- Molly Rankin, Alec O'Hanley
- Released
- 22 September 2022
- Length
- 2:45
- Album
- Blue Rev
Released on 22 September 2022 as a double single with Very Online Guy, the song pays tribute to Belinda Carlisle. Rankin described it as a vision of someone escaping a situation, flipping on the radio, a joyous exodus, and said the idea is that if Belinda says something, it must be true. It quotes Carlisle's 1987 song Heaven Is a Place on Earth. O'Hanley had first imagined it with a more country sound and came up with the idea of referencing the song directly. Carlisle posted that she was flattered.
Pitchfork placed it at the top of its 2022 list, with Jamieson Cox calling it a modern power-pop classic. The New York Times's Jeremy Gordon praised its waves of sugar-flecked white noise that envelop without overwhelming. The band played it on KEXP, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CBS Saturday Morning and an NPR Tiny Desk concert. It was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 66th Grammy Awards.
More songs by Alvvays
Archie, Marry Me, Dreams Tonite, Pharmacist, Easy on Your Own?
Sources
- Belinda Says, Wikipedia
- Molly Rankin On How Teenage Fanclub, Fantasy Basketball, Stardew Valley, & More Shaped Alvvays' Adventurous New Album Blue Rev, Stereogum (2022-10-03)
- Alvvays' Molly Rankin: 'We drive people crazy with the things that we want', The Guardian (2022-10-11)