The Pop Star Who’s Redefining the Word <em>Basic</em>
Ever since people started slinging around the word basic as an insult, delights as disparate as pumpkin-spice lattes, the music of Lizzo, and sunsets have gotten a bad rap. The diss refers to pleasure—simple pleasures, normal pleasures, things that everyone can enjoy. What makes you happy, the notion of “basic” says, can also make you boring.
Lorde has allegedly become basic. The New Zealand songwriter’s smash 2013 debut, , issued a mascara-dolloped eye roll at “white teeth teens” who radio songs about Grey Goose instead of, say, Broken Social Scene. But now, as a 24-year-old, Lorde is not out to prove herself ornery imitated the hits of George Michael and Sheryl Crow going to the beach. Its lyrics seemed apt for decorative rocks and plates with images of lobsters. Many fans expressed confusion at such peppiness. Some .
