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Murphy’s work always tries to tease out a metanarrative about the American condition, whether the topic celebrates fame and glamor or indictment of our failings and excesses.

Eilish has both the time-honored musicianship that awards shows admire and the metanarrative savvy of her digital-era generation.

But what about Dua Lipa, who has loads of hits but maybe no metanarrative?

Here, Cage takes that to the nth degree in a metanarrative that syncs his fandom’s Cage-related obsessions with his own reflections on stardom.

It’s not fan service like Taylor Swift’s Easter eggs, but it reflects an understanding that for many listeners, and perhaps especially for those who may not bother to listen at all, the metanarrative matters.