American Teenager

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"American Teenager"
A young woman standing on football bleachers in front of a blue sky
Single by Ethel Cain
from the album Preacher's Daughter
ReleasedApril 21, 2022 (2022-04-21)
Genre
Length4:18
LabelDaughters of Cain
Songwriter(s)
  • Hayden Silas Anhedönia
  • Steven Mark Colyer
Producer(s)
  • Ethel Cain
Ethel Cain singles chronology
"Strangers"
(2022) 		"American Teenager"
(2022) 		"Famous Last Words (An Ode to Eaters)"
(2023)
Music video
"American Teenager" on YouTube

"American Teenager" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, released on April 21, 2022, as the third and final single from her debut studio album, Preacher's Daughter (2022). She produced the song and wrote it with Steven Mark Colyer. A heartland rock and indie folk track with beaming guitars, it illuminates both nostalgia for teenage life in the South and disillusionment with the American Dream.

Upon release, it received widespread praise from music critics, several of whom identified it as a standout on the album, and multiple publications included it in their list of the best songs of the year. The track also featured on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the most inspirational LGBTQ songs of all time. A self-directed music video was published on July 21, 2022, three months after release. Cain performed "American Teenager" at several festivals and included it in the set lists of the Freezer Bride Tour (2022) and the Blood Stained Blonde Tour (2023).

Composition[edit]

"American Teenager" is a heartland rock[1][2] and indie folk song[3] with elements of country rock[4] and ambient pop.[5] Its sound has been compared by The Guardian to the works of Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.[2] The song's lyrics contains references to American military interventions ("the neighbor’s brother came home in a box / but he wanted to go so maybe it was his fault"),[6] alcoholism, ("head full of whiskey but I always deliver"),[7] NASCAR, ("I do it for my daddy and I do it for Dale")[8] and inter-generational trauma.[9][10]

On making a song with a more mainstream sound than the rest of her discography, Cain described herself as "scared that if I made pop music, I wouldn’t be taken seriously for the non-pop songs," but later felt as if she was "getting to the point where I don’t care."[11] She explained the song as being critical of expectations placed on American youth, writing that "what they don’t tell you is that you need your neighbour more than your country needs you."[12]

Music video[edit]

The music video for "American Teenager" was shot in Cain's hometown of Perry, Florida.[13][14] Cain wore her mother's cheerleading uniform to the town's high school football field, shooting the video on the same camera used for the "God's Country" music video.[15] The video pays homage to the midwest emo band American Football, and contains footage of the September 11 attacks.[16]

Critical reception[edit]

"American Teenager" received universal acclaim from music critics. While naming it one of the best songs of 2022, Pitchfork's writer Nadine Smith praised the song's "marginal vibrations and layered sensations", and called it a "pop anthem".[17] Mitch Mosk of Atwood Magazine described the song as "inspiring, hopeful, and unavoidably sad, an irresistible anthem of inner fracture and all-American angst".[18] In July 2022, Paste named "American Teenager" the best song of the year so far, with contributor Jacqueline Codiga describing it as "a deeply felt portrait of a doomed, yet hopeful character" and writing that it "has the stadium-sized scale, relatability and ambition to become the biggest song in the entire country".[19]

The song also has been listed by Insider and Rolling Stone as one of the best songs of 2022, with the former calling it "the crown jewel of [Preacher's Daughter]",[20] and the latter writing that it "captures the disillusionment of growing up fooled by the specters of Christianity and patriotism".[21] Rolling Stone included it on its list of the most inspirational LGBTQ songs of all time.[22] While reviewing Preacher's Daughter, Oshen Douglas McCormick of Clash highlighted "American Teenager" as a "clear" standout on the album.[23]

It was listed as one of former President Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2022, which prompted surprise from Cain and the media due to the song's anti-war message.[24] The song was included on the pre-show playlist for Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour. [25]

Live performances and cover versions[edit]

Cain performed live "American Teenager" at several festivals, including the Pitchfork Music Festival and Coachella.[26] She also included it in the set list of her first two concerts tours, the Freezer Bride Tour in 2022,[27] and the Blood Stained Blonde Tour in 2023.[28]

On January 19, 2024, American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams covered "American Teenager" at the Sydney concert of her Good Riddance Tour.[29] In the following month, the artist recorded a cover version of the song for Australian radio station Triple J. Following its release, she showed admiration for Cain, described the song as amazing and stated that she is a "fan of her writing" and "listen to her music all the time — in the shower, driving, crying — and so any excuse to do it in a more proper setting".[30]

Credits[edit]

As per Tidal:[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rytlewski, Evan. "Ethel Cain: Preacher's Daughter Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  2. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (July 7, 2023). "'I felt like a performing monkey': Ethel Cain on fans, fainting and being 'Miss Alt-Pop Star'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (June 28, 2023). "The 50 Most Inspirational LGBTQ Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 1, 2023. ...the breakout song from the record was "American Teenager," a nostalgic indie-folk anthem...
  4. ^ Helfand, Raphael (April 21, 2022). "Ethel Cain drops new song "American Teenager" with visualizer". The Fader. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  5. ^ L., Jasper (May 15, 2022). "Review: Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ethel Cain responds after Obama includes her song on his end-of-year playlist". The Independent. December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "Ethel Cain's Debut Record Exposes the Cult of the U.S.A." Them. May 12, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "Ethel Cain Is Making Southern Gothic Pop Music for the End of the American Empire". FLOOD. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ^ James, Emily St (June 17, 2022). "One Good Thing: Musician Ethel Cain nurses Gen-Z America's broken heart". Vox. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  10. ^ Wheeler, André-Naquian (April 17, 2023). "For Her First-Ever Coachella Performance, Ethel Cain Went Full Cheerleader in Givenchy". Vogue. In many ways, the look is a sophisticated continuation and elevation of the cheerleading uniform Cain wore in the suburbia-centric lo-fi visual for "American Teenager." That look was deeply personal.
  11. ^ Schartz, Emma (June 21, 2023). "Ethel Cain and Kiernan Shipka on Nihilism and Nightmares". Interview Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Geraghty, Hollie; holliegeraghty21 (April 22, 2022). "Ethel Cain shares dreamy new single 'American Teenager'". Rolling Stone UK. Retrieved December 29, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Your Teenager at School", Caring for Your Teenager, American Academy of Pediatrics, pp. 122–146, June 25, 2005, doi:10.1542/9781581104110-part02-ch08, ISBN 978-1-58110-411-0, S2CID 243898880, retrieved September 2, 2023
  14. ^ Fisher-Quann, Rayne. "Ethel Cain is subverting the idealised American Dream". i-d.vice.com. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  15. ^ "Watch Ethel Cain's "American Teenager" Music Video". Paste Magazine. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  16. ^ Pappis, Konstantinos (July 22, 2022). "Ethel Cain Shares New Video for 'American Teenagers', Announces Debut UK Show". Our Culture. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2022". Pitchfork. December 5, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  18. ^ Staff (December 19, 2022). "The Best Songs of 2022". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "The 50 Best Songs of 2022 (So Far)". Paste. July 11, 2022. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  20. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie. "The 5 best and 5 worst songs of 2022". Insider. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  21. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2022". Rolling Stone. December 5, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  22. ^ "The 50 Most Inspirational LGBTQ Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 28, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  23. ^ McCormick, Oshen Douglas (May 18, 2022). "Ethel Cain - Preacher's Daughter". Clash. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  24. ^ Dao, Dan Q. (December 24, 2022). "Barack Obama Listens to Ethel Cain". Paper Mag. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  25. ^ "18 details you may have missed at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour". Insider.
  26. ^ Wheeler, André-Naquian (April 17, 2023). "For Her First-Ever Coachella Performance, Ethel Cain Went Full Cheerleader in Givenchy". Vogue. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  27. ^ Seo, Rachel (November 7, 2022). "Ethel Cain's 'Freezer Bride' U.S. Tour Concludes with Transcendent Los Angeles Show: Concert Review". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  28. ^ Factora, James (February 24, 2023). "Boygenius Has Announced Its First UK Tour, Including Dates With MUNA and Ethel Cain". Them. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  29. ^ Graves, Shahlin (January 24, 2024). "Watch: Gracie Abrams covers Ethel Cain and Taylor Swift in Australia". Coup de Main. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  30. ^ Murray, Robin (February 5, 2024). "Gracie Abrams Covers Ethel Cain's 'American Teenager'". Clash. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  31. ^ Cain, Ethel (April 21, 2022). "American Teenager". Tidal. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
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