Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS: the secret tracks 💜 // Record Store Day Black Friday 2023

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Happy Record Store Day! To celebrate the semi-annual event, Olivia Rodrigo was one of the many artists to release exclusive vinyl available only at indie record stores for Black Friday. When Olivia released her sophomore album GUTS recently, she sold four special vinyl variants that featured a bonus "secret track" on each, which are not available to listen to anywhere else. With this special Record Store Day Black Friday release, she compiled all four of those bonus songs onto one disc, limited to only 7500 copies worldwide. I had to go to two different local record stores to find it and I'm so happy to have it! It is pressed at Third Man Records, which is known for their incredible quality and innovative pressings - I love all of the records I have that are made by them!

GUTS: the secret tracks is pressed on opaque deep purple with a butterfly etching on side B. It is such a unique pressing, one that perfectly represents the aesthetics of this album perfectly. 

The first of the four bonus tracks is my favorite, "obsessed". This is the secret track on the full GUTS vinyl that I have in my collection, and I have been obsessed with it ever since I first heard it! It was such a surprise that this song was at the end of that record after "teenage dream". I can't believe that it wasn't included on the full album's track list, it's one of the best she's ever made! "obsessed" is such a fun song, it feels reminiscent of "bad idea, right?" and "brutal", which are two of my favorite songs she's ever done. It's about her obsession with her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, which she continues to become more and more unhinged over her as the song progresses. It was also co-written with St. Vincent, who is one of my favorite artists and her influence is so prominent on this track, her writing is so effortlessly cool. I hope "obsessed" is eventually released on streaming too so I can listen to it over and over on repeat!

On the second secret track, "scared of my guitar" she is trying to make excuses for a relationship she knows isn't going to work out, but doesn't want to admit that to herself. The truth always comes out in her music, making her scared to even pick up her guitar because "...if I play it, then I'll think too hard, once you let the thought in, then it's already done, so I lay in your arms and pretend that it's love". It's a cute acoustic track, that feels reminiscent of artists like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. 

"stranger" s about moving on from the past, beautifully depicting the power she found in herself to move on from someone that she used to love. "I cried a million rivers for you, but that's over now, you're just a stranger I know everything about" is such a stunning lyric and can be applied to so many situations.
 
The final track on this vinyl is called "girl i've always been", which is such a different song for her stylistically, but also one of her shining songwriting moments of her discography. It has a classic country folk sound to it, with Dolly Parton or Joni Mitchell first coming to mind as inspirations for the direction of this track. The lyrics are so sharp and cleverly written, I particularly love the final lines, "And I can't say I'm a perfect ten, but I am the girl I've always been, yeah, I'm a candle in the wind, I'll turn you out, I'll turn you in, but I am the girl I've always been". 

Record Store Day is one of my favorite events of the year, my dad and I always look forward to it every April and November! I had such a great time going to the four record stores in my area, my favorite of them for the last time as they are closing next week. :( 

GUTS is one of my favorite albums of the year, so I was very happy to see Olivia releasing this vinyl EP as a companion piece to that record. If you are interested in seeing more of my record collection, or would like to suggest a certain artist/album to see in an upcoming post, let me know in the comment section below!

Thanks for reading! I would love for you to check out my full review of GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo here! Be sure to support your local record stores! 💜

-Melissa ♡

All photos are my own!



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