The Odd Couple: Charli XCX and John Cale
One is a pop icon of Generation Z, in a period of state of grace. The other is a rock legend, with a classical musical education, he played in the Velvet Underground and he was also responsible for the (re)discovery of “Hallelujah”. And together they made a song. She’s Charli XCX, he’s John Cale: they published “House”the first original song taken from the album that accompanies the film “Wuthering Heights” directed by Emerald Fennell, released on February 14, 2026.
In the song, produced with Finn Keane, Charli XCX says she was inspired by the concept of “elegant and brutal”, an expression used by Cale to describe the music of the Velvet Underground. “He sent me a recording that only he could make,” the singer said, “and it made me cry.”
The film, based on the novel by Emily Brontë, will have Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as protagonists, with a soundtrack by Anthony Willis.
Charli XCX said:
A few years ago I saw Todd Haynes’ documentary on the Velvet Underground. As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of the band and was very impressed by the documentary. One thing that stuck with me is how John Cale described a fundamental sonic requirement of the Velvet Underground: that every song had to be both “elegant and brutal” at the same time. I became fixated on that phrase. I wrote it in my phone notes and every now and then I would take it back and think about what it meant. Working on the music for this film, “elegant and brutal” is a phrase I kept coming back to.
When the summer ended, I was still thinking about John’s words. So I decided to contact him to get his opinion on the songs that phrase had inspired, but also to understand if he would like to collaborate. We got in touch, talked on the phone and… wow, that voice, so elegant, so brutal. I sent him some songs and we started talking about “House” specifically. We talked about the idea of a poem. He recorded something and sent it to me. Something only John could do. And… well, it made me cry.
