So why is Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go? on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
I mean, I get it. “Modern” pop music is not intended for me. I’m… not in the age bracket, shall we say.
But I remain open to music in all forms, from all eras, that I might dig. That was part of the impetus for this entire best 1,000 albums ever project, really, to “force” myself to explore every corner of the musical universe with the massive challenge of compiling a ranking of 1,000 albums that are “best,” for my hyper specific and colossally and inherently biased worldview.
More on this topic below, but now I want to get to When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go?, released in 2019 by Billie Eilish.
Which, as you might surmise, I believe is simply fabulous. And I was absolutely delighted to discover it and eventually give it the august slot of #419 out of 1,000.
Two of my close friends from childhood, Tony and Lou, are brothers. They come from a Latino family and speak fluent Spanish. A term they taught me is tipo, which literally means “type” but is slang for a macho tough guy, or more specifically a guy who thinks he’s tough and certainly acts like it*.
* Side note that tipo was SUCH a helpful term for helping to explain the often bleak sociological landscape that was growing up and navigating high school on Long Island, New York.
Tipo is something that comes to mind while listening to and thinking about “bad guy,” with its talk of “chest always so puffed guy.” It’s a great song because it strikes home how unique Billie Eilish’s energy, attitude, and performance is. The quieter her voice gets, the whisper-ier it gets, the more powerful it gets somehow, the more confident, the more declarative.
Her voice and performance is the attitude, which she therefore doesn’t need to bother telling us about.
You know, like the bad guy would do. The tipos. It’s great.
I also love the use of bass on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? It’s low down bass, blow out the speakers bass, bottoming out the bottom of your car scraping the pavement bass. It’s injected strategically on “you should see me in a crown,” giving it a propulsive and slightly sinister sound. The production is a little bit spooky on this one, too.
“all the good girls go to hell” injects a much sweeter vibe, though Eilish’s whispery, relaxed performance still contains a fountain of emotion.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go?
For kicks, I scouted around to get an impression of who the biggest pop stars are as of 2023. I was familiar enough with all of the names, but was fully able to corroborate that this kind of music is just not my thing on the whole.
Which is completely fine. Some or maybe even much of the music spotlighted on the best 1,000 albums ever won’t be for some people. Which is part of the point, really. And maybe there’s some stuff in here for people that they hadn’t heard before or hadn’t given much of a chance that might open up their musical horizons a little bit. Or maybe even take someone in a completely different direction than they expected.
That’s the challenge and fun and opportunity with art, with experience.
Anyway, I’ll name some names, because why not? I’m just not a Taylor Swift or Harry Styles or Lady Gaga or Ed Sheeran or Rihanna person. I respect their music, sure, but I have no real need to listen to any of it.
I do really dig Doja Cat… as an actor. She was fabulous guest starring as herself on an episode of Dave, an outstanding comedy show starring real life rapper David Burd, also known as Lil Dicky, as… let’s say, a version of himself. I do enjoy Lil Dicky’s rapping, as an aside, both IRL and on the show.
Some stats & info about Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go?
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Pop Music, Alternative Singer-Songwriter, Indie Electronic
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #397
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go? released? 2019
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #419 out of 1,000
Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go? on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We All Go? that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
I like it when you take control, even if you know that you don’t own me, I’ll play the role.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.