For Kim Gordon, today is the day for “Not Today,” a song off the former Sonic Youth member’s upcoming third solo album, Play Me. The full-length will come out on March 13.
In the video for the song (rendered “NOT TODAY” in all caps, like the rest of the record’s songs), Gordon dances around what looks like a sparsely decorated California cottage. The most obvious objects in the home, other than Gordon herself, are a chandelier and an electric guitar/cord/amp combo. The austerity gives her plenty of room to writhe, mug, and moan between occasional shots of an inflatable Martian and a tropical-looking Tiffany lamp. The music is a swirl of shoegazey synth and a propulsive drumbeat for Gordon to float on as she sings breathy lines like, “Never mind the mess/It’s just my dress” and a question anyone with disposable income and a bad taste in their mouth is wondering, “Where’s my gum, Postmate?”
“I started singing in a way I hadn’t sung in a long time,” Gordon said of the song in a statement. “This other voice came out.”
Rodarte fashion label founders Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who directed the clip, of course, would love for you to mind the dress, since the silk tulle garment came from one of their early collections. “She was our idol and we vividly remember fitting the dress with her in NYC,” they said. “When we started to conceptualize the video, Kim brought up wearing the dress, which we knew was perfect for the video idea.”
Play Me, which includes an appearance by Dave Grohl, who plays drums on “Busy Bee,” finds Gordon teaming again with Justin Raisen, who collaborated with her on her past two solo LPs. Her goal with the record was for it to be “more beat oriented than the last one,” she said. That said, the record includes a throwback to The Collective (2024), by including “Bye Bye 25!,” a song whose lyrics (a list of words Donald Trump doesn’t like) still feel relevant to 2026.
“I have to say, the thing that influenced me most was the news,” Gordon said of the new album’s lyrics.” We are in some kind of ‘post empire’ now, where people just disappear.”
Play Me track list:
1. “Play Me”
2. “Girl With a Look”
3. “No Hands”
4. “Black Out”
5. “Dirty Tech”
6. “Not Today”
7. “Busy Bee”
8. “Square Jaw”
9. “Subcon”
10. “Post Empire”
11. “Nail Biter”
12. “Bye Bye 25!”
