the femme next door
“she’s cheekbones and shade.”
this is the third installment of a filmless score. if you’re new here or need a refresher, check out the prior playlists coming of age and main character energy (in that order).
this edition of a filmless score takes us back to the beloved microblogging site Tumblr. as often as folks compare Substack to Tumblr1, those of us who never fully stopped using the latter can understand the gaps between the two. i’m not going to make a comparison chart, but what i do enjoy about both platforms is the ease of making new blogs/publications. it’s an easy way to bifurcate your interests and explore themes within a digital silo.
why do i bring this up? well, to introduce the character archetype of the femme next door, i curated a Tumblr page to provide visual markers for this character’s experience: her taste, inspirations, desires, etc. the femme next door is a play on the “girl next door” trope. she is that character with a twist (or two). i offer examples of what this femme might like to wear and the music she would listen to. this character is multilayered: she has as much reverence for the Instagram baddie aesthetic as she does for moodier ways of dressing.
before we remix this trope, it would be helpful to define the source material first: so what exactly is “the girl next door” trope?
reference point: the girl next door
Sydney Bolen, author and creator of the website The Female Main Character, offers a modern perspective on the trope while summarizing the classic hallmarks of the character. she defines the Girl Next Door (GND) as “women with can-do attitudes [who] are approachable, friendly, and optimistic even when this is to their detriment.” Bolen notes that ever since the raunchy teen film The Girl Next Door (in which the male protagonist discovers that the GND is a retired adult film star), “the GND has been less beholden to her traditional values.”
similarly, a post on the website Storytelling School defines the “timeless TV trope” as the following:
“The "Girl Next Door" archetype typically features a female character who is down-to-earth, friendly, and exudes a natural, unassuming beauty. Unlike more glamorous or high-maintenance characters, the Girl Next Door is relatable, often serving as a reflection of the girl-next-door fantasy that many can relate to from their own lives. Her charm lies in her authenticity, making her a character that viewers can root for and connect with on a personal level.”
this post also acknowledges this character’s evolution as it relates to fluctuating societal norms: “Initially associated with innocence and purity, contemporary interpretations of the trope often challenge these stereotypes, presenting characters who are not only relatable but also multifaceted and empowered.”
the Musiq Soulchild song “Girl Next Door” features a canonical narrative of this trope: the male character wasn’t necessarily checking for the girl next door (who might have been his childhood best friend) until she grew up and glowed up. now, he can’t stop thinking about her. it gives the classic Mike Jones line: “Back then, they didn’t want me. Now I’m hot, they all on me.”
the video for “Girl Next Door” even portrays Musiq and the featured singer Ayana at a cookout serenading each other about what might have been possible had they recognized the potential in each other. flashbacks of their younger selves sharing laughs and playful jabs on the playgrounds of Philly juxtapose this revelation.
with her song of the same name, Poppy Ajudha also offers a meta-perspective of the trope, acknowledging its roots in film and literature.
“Feels like a scene from the Hollywood teen dream!”2
who is the femme next door?
although i haven’t determined exactly what year/era this story takes place, i am establishing the femme next door as a contemporary evolution of the GND trope. when i introduced this character archetype to my interviewees, i name-dropped women like Fana Hues, Taylour Paige, Taylor Russell, María Zardoya (frontwoman/namesake of the band The Marías), Solange, Precious Lee, My’ha’la, Normani, Megan thee Stallion, Santigold, and Flo Milli.
i could keep adding names to this list of muses: Tanerélle, Christina Caradona3, Tems, Kilo Kish, Raveena, Mia Carucci, Mereba, Nilüfer Yanya (as mentioned in the previous playlist)…this list is non-exhaustive. i also include Latto in this curation, specifically because of the claims that she is cosplaying New New from the film ATL;4 i mentioned to my resident film buffs Chris and Regina that she represents an aspect of the character that wants to be legitimized as she tries on new shapes and wades through different identities. i can speak on this because i’ve lived in and around Atlanta long enough to understand the gaps between the archetype of a homegrown Southern woman and one who can slide that identity off like a pair of cheetah-print panties.
like the women on the aforementioned lists, the femme next door is stunningly HOT. as a viewer, you might be conflicted whether you want to be with them OR you desire to be like them (it could be a mix of both). as physically attractive as she is, there’s a quirky quality about her that adds to the charm. perhaps any of the following adjectives describe her: nerdy, highly intellectual, intuitive, moody, artistic, mystical, sensitive, divine, radiant…
the femme next door is a combination of multiple existing tropes, such as:
the GND
the cool girl
the weird girl (also referred to as the misfit)
maybe even the manic pixie dream girl, depending on who you ask
she’s the feminine trope final boss (slight exaggeration, but you’ll see what i mean). this character is proof that people rarely fit into the neat boxes that tropes, stereotypes, subcultures, and titles imply.
the reason she’s the femme next door (and not just the femme) is that you have to imagine aspects of her through the eyes of the one who covets her. but when you observe her in her element, more complex dynamics of her personality emerge.5 there’s a lot of thematic overlap between many of the songs i will share with you from here, so you might see some of the titles referenced a few times throughout. i could imagine this playlist as a Venn diagram with five colorful circles. it’s a mix of songs expressing the character’s feelings and who she appears to be through the gaze of the other (a masculine counterpart who we will meet next time on a filmless score).
below, i have included a muted screen recording of the Tumblr page so you can get a feel for the visual curation. i suggest playing around with the video’s playback speed and viewing it with the playlist as a soundtrack. it should be noted that the playlist is NSFW, or Rated R if we’re speaking in cinematic terms. you can also visit the full Tumblr page.
now, i’d be lying if i said the femme next door wasn’t a bit of a self-insert. as mentioned in main character energy, “some part of me has to experience elements of the story that i’m telling before i present it to you all.” it reminds me of what my brother Chris (the interviewee above) said of this character: “I love that you did “femme next door” because it’s way more you-coded, but also it feels right to how you’re describing it too.” with this installment, i had to sit with the songs longer than expected. i’m glad i didn’t rush to put this out because i got to experience more depth from songs that i added to this playlist years ago.
for instance, “Ruby” by Ricki Monique encompasses many of the femme next door characteristics i will explain throughout this read. my Tumblr reminds me of a visual manifestation of this song.
“Fell in love with a poet girl from all sides
Talk like she the ending
Always stand out like the punch line
Really she the free kind
Warm you like she springtime
Love you in the meantime”6
Ricki Monique even offers us a possible backstory for the character:
“Coming up wasn′t that rough
Coming up she was real soft
Family scared to let her out the house
Shielded to a fault
Now fighting to adult”7
this playlist also helps establish the setting and time of year that this story takes place. when Cosima inquires about “what kind of summer” you’re having on “WKOS,”8 Charli xcx sets the scene with “Everything is romantic.”
with such a diverse range, it’s safe to say that the femme next door is adventurous on the aux. still, you’re gonna catch a vibe regardless. she knows that a good song transcends decades and generations. “More than a Woman” by The Bee Gees is an eternal bop she listens to while getting ready. and word to The Pharcyde, your heart fluttered when she kept on passin’ you by.
if you want to imagine how the femme next door uses social media, she’s likely to have been an early participant in this recent TikTok trend of coyly dancing to Janet Jackson's song “Someone to Call My Lover,” signifying its place as a quirky, flirty Black girl bop.
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in terms of the plotline, she might be the girl who used to live next door, moved away, and now she’s back with a more mysterious side (well at least to YOU). despite living in close proximity, your paths don’t cross all that often…until they finally do. she had pretty much sworn off dating until the latest prospect came along, but certain songs just bring out that hopeless romantic in her. (see: “You the One Fish in the Sea” by Liv.e).
speaking of romance, many songs lustfully romanticize who the femme next door is. singer KAMAUU’s verse on Topaz Jones’ “Pleasure Pain Passion” cleverly describes a divine meet-cute in a store aisle. as the narrative unfolds, it becomes apparent that it’s all a figment of his imagination, which results in a missed connection. this perfectly accentuates the chorus where Jones sings:
“I can't (Keep from looking at you)
I lay (Beneath the queen’s mattress)
Oo child (You're sweeter than molasses)
Catching (A feen for my reaction)
I know (I'm preaching to the pastor)
What we have is supernatural
Pleasure pain passion
Pleasure pain passion”9
next, James Tillman (one of my favorite singers) serenades with an ode to “Ms. Malaise,” describing her as “cheekbones and shade [who] brightens up my day.”10 as i mentioned to my interviewees, shade is just one of the femme next door’s defense mechanisms.
the use of honorific titles continues as BLK ODYSSY reemerges in this series with “MS SWEET TEA.” it’s a super sensual ode to a goddess, one he’s so infatuated with that he offers to “run your bath water, take a sip when you exit.”11
“Sexy lady
Got me faded
I'm intoxicated
I been watching, baby”12
she’s undoubtedly the “Dream Girl” that Ivy Sole sings devotedly to while interpolating lyrics from “Cruisin’” by Smokey Robinson. Sole’s song about sapphic love is a reminder that we can’t necessarily assume our character’s romantic/sexual preferences. as explained in The Line of Best Fit, the aforementioned “Girl Next Door” by Poppy Ajudha is also a tale of queer love. quite a few songs on the playlist include the word “girl” in the title.13 although this character strongly identifies with the feminine, she understands gender as a spectrum.
in terms of visual repetition, many videos for the songs featured on the femme next door involved a lo-fi digital camera aesthetic.14 this VHS-style documentation reminiscent of home movies was used to captured intimate moments such as: girls in their bedrooms writing in their diaries (“Princess Diaries” by Sliccmic), performing with their friends (“Raining Tomorrow” by Natanya; “Girl Next Door” by Poppy Ajudha), and dancing seductively on the beach as if its one’s sanctuary (“Playing Pretend” by Michi). while this visual aesthetic is a current trend in an ongoing wave of revisiting obsolete technology to spark nostalgia15, i could imagine aspects of the film being shot from the character’s POV in this way to hone in on self-documentation.
if you know me, you know i love eclectic fashion, so expect the wardrobe of a filmless score to go hard. the femme next door is a fashion killa who’s well-versed in designer, but also knows her way around a thrift store. she understands that style is what's in you, not on you. on 454’s “Common Denominator,” the featured artist tutu has a list of things that b*tches wanna do like her, including copy her style. she name-drops Margiela, Balenciaga, and [Roberto] Cavalli while taunting a foe who doesn’t have the same access to luxury. meanwhile, Saweetie’s verse on “Immaculate” by Shygirl playfully mentions Dior and Jimmy Choo.
even “Ruby” by Ricki Monique resurfaces this theme:
“They in Louie V
She in Vintage G
She in local drip
She sustainably
Dripped up
Pull up wit the shirt tucked”16
similarly, there are quite a few songs about daydreaming, make-believing, manifesting, and decorating one’s dream avatar.17 Nilüfer Yanya takes these themes for a cynical ride on “Method Actor,” the titular track from her third album.
“Keepin' me down, can't get one past me
I came here last week
Just shake with laughter, my method actor
Not gonna solve all my problems
I'd love to drown in my new costume
It's not a fault, won't apologize for
How comes right now, there's no advice for?
People like you and me get jaded
People like us, our dreams get faded
Why go back so soon?
What do you keep in that room?”18
this track highlights that when the femme next door is feeling down, she can be quite self-deprecating. she’s prone to falling into thought patterns like “they might miss me when i’m gone, yet they hardly seem to care if i’m around.” Yanya even sings about this near the end of “Method Actor.”
“Gonna miss her when she's gone
I was simply lost too long
Gonna scream out, there's no meaning
Spit my teeth out as you're bleeding
I gave you everything you needed.”19
i’m putting “Method Actor” in conversation with “LIE DOWN..” by Saya Gray, a song from one of my most-played albums of 2025 (so far). in an interview on World Cafe, Gray said this album closer was about her departure from social media; it was written as a farewell to Instagram and marked the end of a fraught relationship with social media. however, i think it could apply to many situations — such as being bypassed by supposed friends and loved ones, leading our main character to never feel like anyone’s priority but more of an afterthought.
“Would you mention me to your family? Or let my name fade to gray?”20
as Gray sings on the song’s outro, “I can make your dust turn to sparkles. I can do a lot for you if you take a chance on me,” 21 there’s a yearning to be seen, witnessed, and understood…to be chosen. this line overlaps with another poignant (heartbroken) lyric: “She can look like me, but she won’t feel like me.”
elsewhere on the playlist, singer Natanya checks the forecast to inform us that it’s “Raining Tomorrow,” but she ain’t talking about the weather. she’s singing about growing pains, something we all go through at some point in this human experience. the femme next door has never been afraid of a good cry, yet she might not let you see it if the trust is not there.
“It's been a little bit hard
Have you checked the weather yet
My love
Do you know it's gonna rain
Know it's gonna pour down
From aboveI can see these changes
So I know it's raining
Mama told me the same things
When I was a baby”22
whenever you think you know the femme next door, she can surprise you. she’s an enigma, even to herself. she’s counting on you to misunderstand her because it frequently seems like everyone else already has! some people will try to talk down on her name because deeply insecure folks hate when one finally understands their earthly assignment and how that aligns with divine purpose. they hate that they can feel the shift in their vibration when someone like her walks by. however, the femme next door understands that she’s no saint and there’s no perfect person…we all have the potential to be viewed as the villain of someone else’s story. she also knows that she’s not the one they might have known before. Jean Deaux’s “Believe It” speaks on this with such soulful precision. it’s a thematic companion to her song “Wikipedia” (which was featured in main character energy).
“If you knew what I learned by now
You wouldn't care what you heard 'bout me
That girl that I was before
I think she's leaving
And I don't need her to stay”23
but it gets to a point where a rumor is simply BS and you gotta leave a hater in the dust where they belong. as explained in “mad love” by PARTYOF2:
“I'm in love with all my haters, they just make me greater
I can't explain it, you don't like me and I love it”24
matter of fact, the femme next door has quite a few songs to remember that she’s one of one, the crème de la crème, the HBIC, etc: “River” by Banks is one example, plus the aforementioned tracks “Immaculate” and “Common Denominator” (coincidentally, these are also three songs that use the word “pussy” or similar euphemisms gratuitously).
as we wrap up here, i want to note that i don’t remove unavailable songs from my playlists (with the hope that they will eventually become accessible again). there’s only one song that isn’t currently available on Spotify or Apple Music: Jasmine Janai’s “Good Girls.” but thankfully, it is still on YouTube. otherwise, it would have been on “IYKYK” status.
the femme next door: the playlist
prior sync placements
according to Tunefind, only three songs on the playlist had existing sync placements in film & television. check out each link to see which shows or movies they appeared in.
if i had a dollar for every time i’ve seen this comparison in the last year…
i was thinking specifically of the GWRM series that the longtime content creator does, where she typically lights a joint as she gets ready. she often begins the video with an adorable, old-school film actress's way of appearing shocked that she’s been caught in a state of undress (clasping her hands to her body with a look of awe on her face).
FWIW, i don’t think they could ever make me dislike Ms. Alyssa, but i was also never gonna listen to an artist who went by M*latto, so thank the heavens for the rebrand.
if you’ve ever seen Kevin Can F**k Himself, you might imagine this dynamic through the same kind of stark visual differences that this show portrays.
(see: “Dream Girl,” “Poster Girl,” “Girl Next Door”)
(see: “Believe It,” “Method Actor,” “Immaculate,” “mad love,” Poppy Ajudha’s “Girl Next Door”)
it’s one i’m not immune to, having recently bid on a couple of retro digital cameras on eBay.
(see: “Someone Else,” “Playing Pretend,” “Method Actor,” “The Stylist,” “Princess Diaries”)