Olivia Rodrigo’s The Cure: This is why I Love Music

Every so often a song comes along that reminds me why I love music so much. The Linda Lindas did this with Sexist, Racist Boy…showing how music gives people a voice to fight injustice. Peter Gabriel’s I/O reminded me what music could be as an elevated art form. Every time I listen to Public Enemy’s Fight the Power reminds me how music is also about resistance. These are all works that touch on different aspects of what makes music great. Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Dolly Parton, The Beatles, Metallica, Slayer, Run D.M.C…..there is a group of artists who show how music can transcend simply a collection of notes and words into something greater. Olivia Rodrigo’s The Cure has reached that level for me.

Much like Harry Styles’ amping up Beatles-esque 60s / 70s psychedelic pop on Sign of the Times and turned it into a modern anthem, Rodrigo is ramping up the early 80s college pop sound and blowing it out to 11. Much like the title The Cure, Rodrigo pays homage to Robert Smith and her 80s inspiration with a similar structure to Lovesong…I mean…you take out the percussion and slow it down a little bit and Rodrigo is doing Lovesong. The structure of guitar dominated verses followed by wall of sound hooks…with some strings…is pretty dead on. However, the brilliance of the song is how she elevates the strings with synth, epic keyboard lines and raw power. You feel like you are listening to something familiar, but at the same time experiencing something no one has ever heard before. The final two minutes greats you with an epic wall of sound as you are swept up in this emotional outpouring…you feel like you have been lifted off the Earth by a tractor beam and are flying through space.

Vocally, this is peak Rodrigo. She has a Jewel-esque asmr inducing whisper vocal during the verses, but it comes across as personal and vulrnable than annoying. However, she knows that she can’t keep this track one note for too long and brings some real vocal power to the chorus and the final two minutes. It’s this dance between small and loud that keeps the song moving and creates an interesting vocal contrast. I also think this track is one of her best vocal performances. Her vocal is both crystal clear and emotionally raw, which is hard to pull off. Moreover, the vocal layering over the final two minutes of the song is one of the best sonic experiences you’ll find this year.

Lyrically, this is an elevated and more mature version of Vampire. This song is lees about rage and holding men accountable for draining her will, and more about self-actualisation and breaking free from needing others to provide your self-worth. This is a story about someone who thought they could find their self-worth by being with someone else and found out that you need to find the power within you. She now knows that the power from within her is the cure and not hope that someone will fix it for you. This is far more reflective and mature than Rodrigo’s other coming of age stories.

I adore this song and it may be #1 for 2026…it has a good shot. Rodrigo co-wrote this song and the metaphor of love as a cure for personal poison and doubt is so well done and clever. This is a well written and expertly performed that is both highly personal, yet universal. I think this is a lightening in a bottle song. Having all these components come together is transformative and why I love music.

Listen to The Cure