Mother | 3 to 5 BOPS

Mother: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 21 (2023), features musical BOPS courtesy of Charlie Puth, Kacey Musgraves, Kendrick Lamar, Meghan Trainor, and Miley Cyrus.

Ah, you know what time it is! It’s 3 to 5 BOPS time – WOO! On 3 to 5 BOPS, it’s all about brevity and sweetness… for the most part! There’s a theme/topic, 3, 4, or 5 songs, and a blurb – two paragraphs or less.  3 to 5 BOPS, hence, is a mini playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  In the 21st edition of 3 to 5 BOPS (2023), we select songs that are associated with MOTHER in some form or fashion. The BOPS arrive courtesy of 🎙 Charlie Puth, 🎙 Kacey Musgraves, 🎙 Kendrick Lamar, 🎙 Meghan Trainor, and 🎙 Miley Cyrus.  Okay, let’s get into it!

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1. Meghan Trainor, “Mother”

💿 Takin’ It Back (Deluxe) • 🏷 Epic • 🗓 2023

“I am your mother… / You listen to me.” 🏆 Grammy-winning pop star 🎙 Meghan Trainor released the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album, 💿 Takin’ It Back, in 2023 (the original LP was released in October 2022).  Prior to the arrival of the deluxe, one of the biggest talking points was 🎵 “Mother”, and for good reason! “Mother” is… something, that’s for sure! In the intro, prior to Meghan asserting she’s a mother, the assertion is made, via a TikTok vid sample, “The fact that Meghan Trainor is literally mother right now.” Woo!

An entire essay could be written on this two-and-a-half minute record.  Mother itself is used literally and as a queer term 🌈. As far as the literal meaning, Trainor is a mom, and interestingly, “Mother” samples a lullaby: 🎵 “Mr. Sandman” by 🎙 The Chordettes.  This sample gives “Mother” a retro-pop sensibility which is idiomatic of her work throughout her career.  Besides the retro-pop vibes, there are also modern pop vibes as well (🎛 Justin Trainor and Gian Stone produce).  Naturally, the record is incredibly gimmicky, particularly when Trainor quotes “Mr. Sandman” with the repetitive “bum-bum-bum(s).”  It is worth noting, Trainor is calling some men, who act anti-feminist and ‘mansplain’ as bums.  Her man, of course, is no bum, as Trainor asserts, “Y’all need a masterclass from my man / Learn how to satisfy like he can.” Wow! Although “Mother” is corny (understatement) and a wee tough to take seriously, she serves up some relevant points and no shortage of confidence.  So, what does one make of 🎵 “Mother”? It is SOMETHING!

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2. Kendrick Lamar, “Mother I Sober” (Ft. Beth Gibbons of Portishead)

💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers • 🏷 Interscope • 📅 2022

“They raped our mothers, then they raped our sisters / Then they made us watch, then made us rape each other / Psychotic torture between our lives we ain’t recovered.” Woo, that’s heavy, K-Dot! Among the biggest surprises on 💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, the 2022, 🏆 Grammy-winning album by rapper extraordinaire, 🎙 Kendrick Lamar, is 🎵 “Mother I Sober.” Part of the surprise is whom Kendrick Lamar taps for the assist: 🎙 Beth Gibbons of Portishead. Gibbons does a fine job of performing the chorus on this incredibly reflective number (“I wish I was somebody / Anybody but myself”).  Here, the primary accompaniment instrument is the piano, which fits the sentiment the rapper seeks to achieve.  He’s incredibly honest about the trauma he and his family have experienced, perhaps even more than much of the album.

“Family ties, they accused my cousin, ‘Did he touch you, Kendrick?’

Never lied, but no one believed me when I said ‘He didn’t’…

Mother’s brother said he got revenge for my mother’s face

Black and blue, the image of my queen that I can’t erase

‘Til this day can’t look her in the eyes, pain is takin’ over

Blame myself, you never felt guilt ‘til you felt it sober.”

Even though “Mother I Sober.” runs nearly seven minutes in duration, it’s an epic seven minutes.

3. Kacey Musgraves, “Mother”

💿 Golden Hour • 🏷 Mercury • 📅 2018

“Wish we didn’t live so far away / I’m just sitting here thinking ‘bout the time that’s slipping / And missing my mother.” 🏆 Grammy-winning country artist 🎙 Kacey Musgraves outdid herself on her third studio album, 💿 Golden Hour.  Although 🎵 “Mother” is the shortest song on the album (Less than one-minute-and-a-half), the piano ballad is beautiful and thoughtful, as evidenced by the excerpted lyrics.  Musgraves continues singing in the chorus, “And she’s probably sitting there / Thinking ‘bout the time that’s slipping / And missing her mother, mother.”

Appears in 🔻:

• 15 Songs That Focus on Mama (2018)

4. Charlie Puth, “Mother”

🎵 “Mother” • 🏷 Artist Partner Group • 📅 2019

“The moment she walks out that door / I’m not pretending anymore…” Very interesting, 🎙 Charlie Puth 🤔.  The 🏆 Grammy-nominated pop star stepped up his game on his 2019 single, 🎵 “Mother”. The person walking out of the door is his girlfriend’s mother, who he has to ‘pretend’ to be an upstanding, well-rounded suitor to her daughter. Stronger than much of the past music that Puth has released, there’s still schmaltziness but at least he’s not referencing superheroes! The production is sound and well-rounded, if relatively simple with its energetic, rhythmic synths and anchoring, minimalist beat.  Vocally, Puth sounds respectable, giving off boyish, youthful vibes, but also delivering more potent falsetto and more oomph and punch compared to the past.

“Mother” is quite catchy.  In the first verse, he speaks from the perspective of the mother, who characterizes him as “Such a nice boy, so well-mannered /… so much better than the last one you brought around.” In the second, meanwhile, he makes it clear ‘he’s not that innocent,’ singing, “More than a friend zone (More than a friend zone) / We’ve been hiding since the time they forgot to knock.” The centerpiece is the infectious, playful, schmaltzy chorus:

“If your mother knew all of the things that we do
If your mother knew all the things we do
If your mother knew, she’d keep me so far from you
If your mother knew all the things we do.”

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5. Miley Cyrus, “Mother’s Daughter”

💿 She is Coming (EP) • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2019

“Don’t fuck with my freedom / I came up to get me some / I’m nasty, I’m evil / Must be something in the water or that I’m my mother’s daughter.” WOO! 🎙 Miley Cyrus kicks off her 2019 EP, 💿 She is Coming, with a bang with the unapologetic, feminist tour de force, 🎵 “Mother’s Daughter.” Cyrus references various things that women are or have been characterized as, some considered good while others not so much, especially by men.  Regardless, Cyrus infuses ample personality on this 🎼 ✍ ALMA/ Andrew Wyatt co-write (Wyatt produces as well) and makes an anthem celebrating the power of women.

Mother: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 21 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Artist Partner Group, Epic, Interscope, Mercury, RCA; ]