Music / Jubilee (2021)

Jubilee is the third album by American Alternative Pop band Japanese Breakfast.

Contrasting with her two previous albums which were based on the loss of Michelle Zauner's mother, Jubilee is about joy and deals about topics such as being a successful artist, Silly Love Songs, lust, grief and conflicted relationships. In preparation for the album's making, Michelle studied music theory and piano. The album granted the band its first Grammy nominations for the 2022 Grammy Award ceremonies in the "Best New Artist" and "Best Alternative Music Album" categories.

No relation to the film or the X-Men character.

Tracklist:

1. "Paprika" (3:40)
2. "Be Sweet" (3:15)
3. "Kokomo, IN" (3:38)
4. "Slide Tackle" (3:39)
5. "Posing In Bondage" (4:04)
6. "Sit" (3:07)
7. "Savage Good Boy" (2:26)
8. "In Hell" (2:38)
9. "Tactics" (3:53)
10. "Posing For Cars" (6:38)

• Adam and Eve Plot: On the final lyrics to "Savage Good Boy"
  And as the last ones standing
  We'll be tasked to repopulate
  And as you rear our children,
  Know it's the necessary strain
  They're the stakes in a race to live
• Bondage Is Bad: Averted in "Posing In Bondage". The narrator yearns for affection through bondage.
  Can you tell I've been posing
  This way alone for hours?
  Waiting for your affection
  Waiting for you
• Call-Back: "In Hell" is a companion track to the song "In Heaven" which appeared on Japanese Breakfast's first album Psychopomp. It also talks about the death of a relative and thus references Michelle Zauner's mother whose death was the inspiration for many of the band's songs.
• Dedication: "Savage Good Boy", in Michelle Zauner's words, is a fizzy ode to her husband and bandmate Peter Bradley.
• Disappeared Dad: "Tactics" is about Michelle's relationship with her father following the death of her mother.
  Michelle: When my mother died of cancer in 2014, my father was quick to reinvent himself. (...) I saw him only once or twice a year on holidays, and year after year he transformed more and more into a man I hardly recognized.
• Dream Pop
• Epic Rocking: "Posing For Cars" lasts over 6 minutes and a half.
• Face on the Cover: Michelle Zauner posing with hanging persimmons. Michelle compared persimmons to Japanese Breakfast's discography, adding that their early work featured bitter subjects and later matured into something sweeter.
• Grief Song: "In Hell".
  Hell is finding someone to love
  And I can't have you
  Hell is finding someone to love
  And I can't see you again
• I Will Wait for You: On "Kokomo, IN":
  If ever you come back
  Wherever you find your way to
  And though it may not last
  Just know that I'll be here longing
• Location Song: "Kokomo, IN". While it references the hit song by The Beach Boys, Japanese Breakfast's song references a town in Indiana. The Beach Boys' Kokomo is fictional.
• New Wave Music: Featured exclusively on "Be Sweet".
• Obligatory Bondage Song: "Posing In Bondage" is a subversion of tropes regarding bondage and BDSM. It celebrates closeness and proximity in a relationship.
• One-Man Song: "Savage Good Boy".
• One-Word Title: "Paprika", "Sit" and "Tactics".
• "Rashomon"-Style: On "Tactics":
  So say, say what you want
  Dose up on fiction, disfigure the truth
• Shout-Out:
  • "Paprika" is titled after the Satoshi Kon film.
  • "Kokomo, IN" bearing a similar title to the hit song by The Beach Boys is no surprise. Michelle Zauner has said she wanted to make her song sound like "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
    • There is also a contrast between "Kokomo" being the ultimate vacation place to be, and "Kokomo, IN" being a place that people leave in order to pursue their future.
• Silly Love Song: "Be Sweet":
  Be sweet to me, baby
  I wanna believe in you, I wanna believе in something
• Special Guest: The music video for "Savage Good Boy" features Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos fame. Michelle Zauner is a fan of the show and wanted to cast him.
• There Are Two Kinds of People in the World: On "Posing In Bondage":
  When the world divides into two people
  Those who have felt pain and those who have yet to

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