Thursday 10/1: Miley Cyrus—"Heart of Glass"
Today, we share our thoughts on Miley Cyrus’ cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on Miley Cyrus’ cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”.
Miley Cyrus—“Heart of Glass”
Eric Bennett:
For me, one of the best things about “Heart of Glass” is that it’s enough of a disco-light jaunt that it feels at home no matter where you are. You could be hearing it blasting at a party, or experiencing it as disparate background noise over the speakers at Target, and it has the same effect of generalized comfort. It’s got the kind of ubiquity that makes it ripe for covering. Part of that warm feeling comes from just how light and airy the song is, especially when it comes to Debbie Harry’s vocals. She’s gentle, floating above the song, and it’s lovely and subtle.
Now, if you are reading this, you are likely on Twitter and formed your opinions on Miley’s cover days ago, when this was relevant. Maybe you joined the chorus of people that proclaimed that she needs to make a rock album. Which, sure, why not? I won’t try to sway you here, just make it known that I think this cover sucks. This feels like an American Idol performance that would have landed its singer in the bottom three. I am not anti-Miley by any stretch, but for the love of God, not everything has to be belted. I know she’s just trying to paint the song up in her current Joan Jett aesthetic, but it doesn’t work for me. It feels forced, like a canned “rockstar” moment. It sheds that precious subtlety in favor of making everything obvious.
Eli Enis:
Eric really nailed it with the American Idol performance comparison. This is. . .awful. My girlfriend and I were talking about Miley last night once I told her we were reviewing this (she strongly dislikes Miley, fwiw) and I was thinking about her career and the many iterations she’s gone through. From “Party In The USA” bubblegum pop (I unironically love that song lol), to “Wrecking Ball” hip-hop appropriation, to acid-munching Flaming Lips collaborator, and now I guess she’s Finding Her Voice as a mullet-sporting Joan Jett impersonator.
The thing is, Miley Cyrus has a pretty terrible voice. She ruins this song by yelling and trying to sing at an octave that’s a couple steps beyond her range. This song is so fucking amazing, like an absolutely iconic tune, and this somehow makes me want to turn it off. Also, she’s just a normie with a shag. A rich, spoiled teen star who’s been able to do whatever she wants her whole career and still return aping someone else’s style and get a bunch of praise for literally looking like an already-famous rockstar and ruining a disco classic. I’m not necessarily anti-Miley, I just think she’s always come across as super disingenuous since she left the Disney life. This might be her least authentic self yet.
I straight up hated the cover. I always liked Miley's voice, and I could see her pull off Joan Jett, but she did Debbie Harry dirty.
So many people are saying that they think she is finding her voice, but I think she just started slipping out of peoples' minds so she is now trying to do something else. She did not do well on this song. If she would've stuck to the Joan Jett songs then she would have been okay, but this was SO bad.