Let’s Talk That Dirty Talk

Thunderheist “Sweet 16”

“Sweet 16” is a song about a teenage girl who finds her way into a nightclub, but it’s rapped from the perspective of a slightly older woman. It’s hard to get a read on how that woman feels about the girl — at various points throughout the song, she seems dismissive, competitive, appreciative, and nostalgic, because you know, maybe she did the same thing at that age. It’s a surprisingly nuanced character sketch in a song that hardly requires that sort of detail, as its steady thumping bassline and Pavlovian dancefloor triggers (disco string hits, synth sirens, electronic claps) are powerful enough to rattle a body into involuntary movement when played at a sufficiently loud volume.

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