Coffee Time

My journey into the world of contemporary pop music continues with Sabrina Carpenter, a singer recommended to me by a student. This one's really current; her biggest hit, "Espresso", came out this very year. I'm feeling so relevant, by gad.

I like "Espresso", the lyrics of which are not grammatically incorrect, despite a claim by a supposed linguist whom Vulture interviewed.

“That’s that me, espresso” has burrowed into everybody’s head. What do you make of that line?
I always believe that pop music, especially bubblegum pop, is not meant to be taken seriously. So “That’s that me, espresso,” that’s not grammatically correct, right? The reduplication of the word that is there to foster a sense of playfulness, to catch attention. I think it also has to do with the rhyme scheme and the number of syllables, to make each word fall into place.

Vulture or the linguist added the comma to the line. Here it is in context:

Now he's thinkin' 'bout me every night, oh
Is it that sweet? I guess so
Say you can't sleep, baby, I know
That's that me espresso

To see how this line makes perfect sense, substitute "Sabrina" for "me".

That's that Sabrina espresso

If that's still not clear enough, replace it with Starbucks.

That's that Starbucks espresso.

"That" here is a perfectly acceptable repeating pronoun accommodating the inclusion of the verb "is" to make a proper sentence. In the 18th century, Samuel Johnson described the manner in which Carpenter uses the first pronoun:

It sometimes serves to save the repetition of a word or words foregoing.

He cites Shakespeare's Henry IV:

I'll know your business, that I will.

Carpenter's second use of the word was described by Johnson as:

Not this, but the other.

He cites Shakespeare again:

He wins me by that means I told you.

And that's that.

I'd recently been comparing Fiona Apple and Billie Eilish. Both singers broke through with trashy, fun songs ("Criminal" and "Bad Guy", respectively) but the rest of their output is more introspective or stream of consciousness, and doesn't seem to reach the public imagination in quite the same way. I guess you could put Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" in the same category though she has other songs that approach "Blank Space" in popularity. All of Sabrina Carpenter's songs seem to be in the trashy fun category. She strongly reminds me of a young Madonna. She even kind of looks like her.

She's also dating talented young Irish actor Barry Keoghan. Another young person I've heard of! I feel so alive. They'll soon remember the vampire I was, Louis!