Eliza Doolittle: Rollerblades

There’s something about early Doolittle—that moment when British pop radio had space for actual personality, not just manufactured cool. Rollerblades is exactly the kind of hook-driven, conversational pop song that lived in your head for weeks once it got in there. She had this way of making the everyday sound like it mattered, which is harder than it sounds. Most artists try to convince you their life is interesting. She just talked about hers like you were already listening anyway.