Song of the Day: Selena Gomez “Bad Liar”

I’m going to say it right here without a trace of shame: Selena Gomez has released my personal favorite (so far) Song of the Summer. “Bad Liar” rides in on a minimalist bass pulse, courtesy a brilliant sampling of the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” (from their Talking Heads: 77 album debut released 40 years ago this December). Gomez is reportedly a Talking Heads obsessive, along with one of her collaborators, songwriter Julia Michaels, so it was a [bold, but] easy choice for them to build a song off the “Psycho Killer” bassline. With plenty of space in the likewise minimalist arrangement, “Bad Liar” is all hushed tension without release. There’s no big, dumb pop chorus to dominate the airwaves and the pop charts, just three and a half minutes of downbeat modern disco pop. Gomez’s breathless vocals plead:

Oh I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’
I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’
Oh tryin’, I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’
I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’
Not to give in to you
No, no, no, no
Not to give in to you

With my feelings on fire
Guess I’m a bad liar

The accompanying video for “Bad Liar” features Selena Gomez playing four roles in a very cinematic sepia-toned 1970s-era story line set in a high school, complete with an amazing wardrobe, and directed by Girls‘s Jesse Peretz.

Co-writer Justin Tranter also claims that Talking Heads frontman David Byrne heard the song and approved the sample: “He heard it, loved it and approved it, which was a pretty crazy moment for us. To have David Byrne listed next to our names is just so cool.”

Yeah, so cool.

I’ll say it again in case you missed it: Song. Of. The. Summer.