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(02/14/18 8:26pm)
by Sunny King
Justin Timberlake returns from out of the woods for his fourth studio album to take his stance as “Man of the Woods”. This album radiates with heavy and modernized funk and jazzy undertones; this is where he excels and he knows it. However, the audience gets a taste of a new version of Justin as he experiments with a country-esque, outdoor-loving man territory in music. With the excitement of just dropping this album, a Super Bowl performance and an oncoming tour, Justin Timberlake comes back to the scene with an introspective, firm grasp to his roots while experimenting with new melodies. However, with mixed feelings on this album, does the man of the woods deserve to stay in it or not?
Woody, hip hop, pop, R&B, or country…What’s going on?
Popular themes on this album are nature, family, confidence, working hard for the “American Dream”, and sexual tropes as well. The natural theme can be shown in songs like “Livin’ Off the Land”, “Man of the Woods” (as one can expect), and “Breeze Off the Pond”. Family is highlighted lovingly with songs such as “Young Man”, a sweet ballad Timberlake wrote for his young son. It can be seen in his lyrics but also with the clips of his family dispersed throughout the song. Another instance of a syrupy sweet song, that is complemented by Alicia Keys’ velvet voice, is “Morning Light”. A song about a caring memory with a significant other and that moment of being together, real and vulnerable. In addition to demonstrating nature, “Living Off the Land” also shows a theme that hard work pays off. It pays tribute to the stereotypical “American Dream”. The last relevant idea that is common in American music today is sexual tension. This is represented by the deep bass line in “Filthy” and flirtatious vibes of “Supplies”.
With all of these overlapping themes, it is easy to see how it can cause conflicting feelings as a listener. It seemed as Timberlake knows what he is comfortable with, but tried to also experiment, while not fully committing to either. However, it could have been an attempt to appeal to multiple crowds. For instance, if someone is a fan of Justin Timberlake’s normal, iconic sound they would more likely enjoy songs like “Montana” or “Midnight Summer Jam” due to the fact that the musical texture (instrumentation, pulse/beat, etc.) are very similar to his previous works. In comparison, “Livin' Off the Land” can attract a listener that may not commonly interested in his work.
Favorites and recommendations straight from the heart of the woods
There is one artist that instantly came to mind that I would recommend after listening to Justin Timberlake and that is Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars shares that same style of incorporating and renewing old fashions of funk and jazz music. Jay-Z would be the second artist I would recommend, due to the fact J.T. and Jay-Z have worked together on multiple projects. They have heavily influenced each other’s sounds, so I recommend checking his work out. I would also recommend Beyoncé because she’s worked with J.T. as well and they share the same passions for striving to be individualistic. They also share the classic, generic poppy undertones that reappear in their songs, which is not always a bad thing since both artists have used this to their advantage to tie themselves to the culture.
My favorite song from the album is “Morning Light (feat. Alicia Keys)”. It’s slow but not boring and has an upbeat vibe to it, meaning it doesn’t drag the listener along. “Buttery velvet” is the perfect way to describe Alicia Keys’ feature on the track. A track like this begs for a feature like Alicia Keys. My next favorite, “Sauce”, is really fun; you just want to dance to it. “Sauce” really makes you think of '70s funky, lively pop. It sounds like a distant relative to the song “American Woman” by Guess Who. The final best song from the album is “Filthy”. I do have to agree that it really differs sound-wise from the rest of the album, but it is a bop. Admittedly, the monologue at the end is a bit odd, but it plays to album’s theme in a strange way. Its seems out of place, like it was stretching to tie the song to the theme of a man in the woods. It opens the entire story with a brash heavy opening that settles into this dubstep-like funk, demonstrating Justin’s strong suits. It seems like a sibling to his earlier hit "Sexy Back". It seems like he wanted that explicit vibe to reference the past hit, like he is giving thanks to his past. Then the brash entrance returns for a moment as a reminder that we are thanking the past, but this is the next chapter.
Top tracks:
"Filthy"
"Sauce"
"Morning Light"
Recommended if you like:
Bruno Mars
Jay-Z
Beyoncé
Featured image from HipHop-N-More
(02/13/18 10:38pm)
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This week on Remixed, we discuss the winners of the Grammy's and the nominee's. There is also discussion over who we think should have gone home with a win. All this and more this week.
Hosts: Tyler Wheatley, Phil Akin
Edited by: Tyler Wheatley
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
(02/10/18 5:08pm)
by Ryan Fine
The clock has chimed on 10 Feb. 2018, which means it has officially been two decades since the poster child of hipster music was released.
Neutral Milk Hotel’s second album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea occupies a unique space in the musical consciousness. If you don’t consider yourself a fan of indie music, then as the band’s most stereotypical fans would tell you, “you’ve probably never heard of it.” But anyone who’s spent any length of time in their local record store or on many of the Internet’s most popular music sites is likely to recognize the album cover immediately. Even those who have never listened to the album themselves could probably quote several of its most outlandish lines.
Things weren’t always like this. Back when the folk rock quartet released the album back in 1998, there was little real buzz to be heard. Sure, it got some good reviews – great ones, even – but there were some notable dissenters as well. In a 3-star Rolling Stone review, Ben Ratliff said that “The King of Carrot Flowers” with its abundant instrumental layers “mask[ed] the absence of a decent melody.” He then derided the album as “thin-blooded, woolgathering stuff.” Dele Fadele’s 6/10 review for NME started by calling vocalist Jeff Mangum “a sick and demented fellow,” but ultimately conceding that the album was a “convoluted musical journey worth embarking on.”
For a fledgling band from Ruston, Louisiana, mixed publicity was still publicity worth having. It was certainly more than could be said for the project’s highly underrated first album On Avery Island, which was released two years earlier essentially as a Jeff Mangum solo record. (The four-person lineup was assembled mostly for the purpose of touring for On Avery Island.) So with a relatively successful release cycle behind them and a small but devoted following, Neutral Milk Hotel took its Aeroplane to the masses.
The issue for Jeff Mangum was that it took a lot of effort and time away from home to reach those masses, and the payoff was not always worth it. At a certain point, he could only bear to explain the same unconventional lyric to so many interviewers. For a man who preferred to have some privacy, the constant attention that came from a full-scale tour quickly became too much to handle, and by the time the band returned to their new home in Athens, Georgia, Jeff was out of energy. Though he tried to write new music to please his friends and bandmates, soon it was official: Neutral Milk Hotel was no more.
And in some ways, that’s where the real story began.
When Jeff Mangum quit, he quit cold turkey. He helped out some of his friends by playing and singing on their albums, but he stopped writing his own music entirely. He has turned down almost every interview request for the past 20 years and even a support slot for R.E.M., much to the chagrin of the band’s other three members. Essentially, he disappeared, and his new status as a mysterious shadowy figure made him a much more legitimate artist in the eyes of the public.
Suddenly the independent music world was enamored with In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, a newly thrilling masterpiece about Anne Frank, two-headed boys and Jesus Christ. It eventually caught the attention of those who would start bands like Arcade Fire, The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes, all of whom are indebted in some way or another to the sound of this album. Even Franz Ferdinand, whose wild dance-punk grooves seem to have nothing in common with Aeroplane at first glance, have cited Neutral Milk Hotel as an influence.
But as it happens with all good things, the Internet got a hold of Aeroplane and ruthlessly turned it into music’s longest-running meme. Emphatic but awkward lyrics like “I love you, Jesus Christ!” and “Semen stains the mountaintops” have been made fun of countless times, and the album cover has taken on a life of its own. What the heck is that thing where that lady’s head is supposed to be, anyway? Some say it’s a potato. Most others land on some percussion instrument or another.
“It’s a tambourine.” Corey Halbert and Jacob Harding, who both discovered Neutral Milk Hotel in high school through the Internet, agree on this. It may seem like watching an album get made fun of repeatedly on the Internet is a strange way to end up loving it, but this is how an increasing number of young music enthusiasts are learning about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
“I heard all of the memes and the jokes about it and how it’s the ultimate hipster album,” says Halbert, “and I thought, if this many people are talking about it to the point where it’s become a meme, I should probably listen to it just so I’m informed.”
It turned out to be a good investment of his time, though it was a slow grower. “I came across it my sophomore year of high school, and I didn’t love it at first. But then my senior year when I actually sat down and really tried to digest it and analyze it, I realized the nuance of the lyrics and the concept behind the album. That’s when I really started loving it.”
The tracks that stood out the most to him on first listen were the three right at the beginning: the multi-part “King of Carrot Flowers” suite and “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” He mentions a lyric from “The King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1” as one of his favorites: “Your mom would stick a fork right into Daddy’s shoulder / And Dad would throw the garbage all across the floor / As we would lay and learn what each other’s bodies were for.”
The album was much more immediate for Harding. “I thought it was amazing the first time I heard it,” he says. “People on the Internet wouldn’t shut up about it. I liked the cover, it looked cool, so I listened to it and it was really good. I listened to ‘Holland, 1945’ and ‘The King of Carrot Flowers’ before I actually listened to the album, so I knew what I was getting into.”
“Holland, 1945” is the only true certified banger on this album, and as one of several songs inspired by Jeff Mangum’s fascination with Anne Frank’s diary, it houses a number of lyrical gems. The opening lines are one of them: “The only girl I’ve ever loved / Was born with roses in her eyes / But then they buried her alive, one evening 1945.” And of course one of the most vivid images on the album, “Now she’s a little boy in Spain / Playing pianos filled with flames.” Stephen Colbert, whose favorite band is Neutral Milk Hotel, used this as the ending song on the last episode of The Colbert Report.
So if there’s so much genuine love for Neutral Milk Hotel, why do we turn them into a joke? Is it some roundabout way to respect them or get the word out to more people?
“I just think it’s annoying, honestly,” says Harding.
“I think it definitely skewed my first listen,” says Halbert. “I think going into it knowing it was a legendary cult album kind of tainted it.”
Jeff Mangum will probably never tell the public whether he finds the memes funny or not, but I’m sure it wouldn’t stop anyone if he didn’t. For over a decade, there has been a constant barrage of edited Aeroplane album covers, stupid rage comics featuring Jeff Mangum, and entire parody albums including In the Aeroskank Over the Checkered Pattern by Skanktral Ska Hotel and In My G4 Over Da Sea by Neutral Bling Hotel.
But in some cheesy sentiment of “music brings people together” or something, maybe the ridiculous meme culture does too. On some level, we all want to Photoshop the circle-face lady so it looks like she’s dabbing, but there’s a genuine appreciation for the music underneath the surface. I bet if you get a bunch of these shy Internet nerds in a room together and start strumming the chords for “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” they would all sing loud and proud and have a grand old time.
Before we’ve even finished our interview, Corey Halbert is picking up his acoustic guitar and doing just that. He forgets a couple of words in the first verse, so we start on the second one together:
(02/05/18 3:44pm)
by Preston Radtke
First things first, Freedom’s Goblin is a musical enigma. It is extraordinarily experimental and almost as egregiously two-faced as a Batman villain. The album sees Segall dabbling in genres he has never before dabbled in, like classic rock, jazz and even folk. This experimentation is the record’s most admirable and promising aspect. On the other hand, the record is a kerfuffle of unfinished instrumentals and haphazard vocalizations. Ty Segall’s brand of rock has always blended elements of psych-rock, garage and punk, all tied together with a greasy, DIY aesthetic befitting of such an artist. Freedom’s Goblin structurally and compositionally takes that messiness to a whole new level, infecting new genres and concepts. With that in mind, Freedom’s Goblin is simultaneously his most outlandish and different record and the most Segall of all Segall records.
Segall infiltrates new genres with mixed results
Ty Segall gets in his own way on many occasions on Freedom’s Goblin. “My Lady’s On Fire” is the record’s most ambitious folk output, and one of the best-written tracks on the record. Segall’s delivery, though, is slightly off-putting. His singular vocal style seems to lead the track too much; never truly letting the lyrics sing for themselves. The ever-present pickle of Freedom’s Goblin is that no matter how many new genres Segall implements, and no matter how effectively he executes them, the aura of Ty Segall still looms. The crooning on “My Lady’s On Fire” is held back by the fact that it almost doesn’t feel natural for Segall, and in that light, the audience may feel uncomfortable or suspicious of the performance.
Listening to “My Lady’s On Fire” and other tracks, it’s not unreasonable to think that Segall himself doesn’t feel overwhelmingly confident about his genre-bending, so why should his audience?
Complicating matters further is the fact that many songs on this LP sound like traditional Segall gems. Unfortunately, they almost serve as reminders of who we’re really listening to: a garage-rocker in the same vein as Oh Sees. In a way this is quite unfortunate, because the songwriting on this album is very beautiful at times, but either Segall’s delivery or his implied role as a musician impedes him.
Segall should take a page out of the King's playbook
The blur of genres and sloppily compiled arrangements give the record an almost mixtape-like feel. The collection of folk, garage rock and (gasp) even dad-rock songs provide the record with a dizzying sense of multiple personality, not eccentricity. Tracks like “When Mommy Kills You” and “I’m Free” show nice potential but never really cash in. Both tracks feature unrealized progressions and fragmented themes that are begging for either a climax or satisfactory denouement.
Ty should have taken a page from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, a kindred spirit in the contemporary garage rock landscape. In 2017, King Gizzard released 5 separate albums, each focusing on a distinct genre while still keeping their unique sound. For the sake of maintaining his songs' messages and his artistic integrity, Segall might have considered breaking up Freedom’s Goblin in to at least 3 individual LPs. The reasoning behind him not specifying his sound is an interesting one. Was the messiness of the album intended? Is he planning on releasing more albums this year? Or is this album simply a transitional piece, a sort of barrage of genres created to learn what his audience appreciates most?
Freedom’s Goblin is an odyssey and an oddity. Unusual for a punk record, it stretches over an hour with several songs that last longer than six minutes. Because of this, there are moments where the record drags instrumentally and contextually. The theme of the record is a touching one, but it doesn’t carry enough weight to be effectively spread out over an hour's worth of content.
Freedom’s Goblin is the quintessential Ty Segall love note
This record is dedicated almost completely to Segall’s wife, Denee. The 19 tracks explore virtually everything about their relationship, from the onset to their early dating phase to the struggles that each experiences when Ty is on the road. Segall does a phenomenal job personifying and re-enacting their relationship for the listener. Though the length and inherent disorganization of the record is dismaying, they both serve as symbols of their relationship and relationships on the whole.
Segall’s courtship with Denee is very sporadic and befitting of such a prolific musician. Fortunately, the songs effectively tell the tales of many of their adventures and feelings. "Everyone’s a Winner" represents the tumultuous life of a musical couple. The dissonant guitars and confident percussion paint the picture of a songster running around the country doing rock things while his wife stays home living a more conservative life. “Alta” is the most sentimental track on the record, a living document of Segall’s compassion for Denee. “Cry Cry Cry” is probably the saddest song on the record, a narrative whereupon both parties seem to end the relationship due to either neglect or unfaithfulness. For all the flak that the record deserves from a structural and experimental standpoint, it sends much of it back with its lyrical themes.
Top tracks:
“Cry Cry Cry”
“Rain”
“And Goodnight”
Recommended if you like:
Oh Sees
Jeff Rosenstock
Wand
Featured image from Bandcamp
(02/05/18 11:00am)
On this episode of Remixed, we take a hard look at Fall out Boys album, MANIA, and note how the Chainsmokers just need to stop trying to be Twenty One Pilots. Plus some more music reports, reviews and remarks.
Hosts: Tyler Wheatley, Dylan Bateson
Edited by: Dylan Bateson
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
(02/04/18 6:39pm)
(02/04/18 1:44am)
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We're back with a brand new season of Remixed! On this episode, we talk about some recent dub step goodness, disappointment in Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, as well as the return of Black Eyed Peas and Enrique Iglesias.
Hosts: Tyler Wheatey, Matthew Yapp
Edited by: Sarah James
Graphic by: Daley Wilhelm
(02/01/18 9:33pm)
by Phil Akin
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda has released an EP under his own name, called Post Traumatic EP. The title comes from the aftermath of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s suicide last July. This was a way for Shinoda to cope with his loss, and all three songs on the EP deal with the death of Bennington. All three tracks are basic songs, not meant to be anything more than a way for Shinoda to chronicle his grief. The instrumentals are not supposed to be the focus of this EP. Instead, the lyrics pick up the slack and more than make up for the somewhat subpar backing tracks. That’s not to say that the songs are bad, quite the opposite. It’s just that Shinoda’s lyrics are the focus first and foremost. The songs are reminiscent of Shinoda’s other project, Fort Minor. However, Shinoda has made clear that “this is not Linkin Park, nor is it Fort Minor – it’s just me”.
Place to Start
The first song, “Place to Start,” is the shortest of the three, lasting just longer than two minutes. It was recorded during the original recording of Linkin Park’s album One More Light with Linkin Park’s drummer, Rob Bourdon, supplying percussion. It was finalized for this release. Shinoda talks about how he “doesn’t have a leg to stand on” and asks if he “can put the past behind [him].” Mike is dealing heavily with the loss of Bennington and doesn’t know where to go. He goes on to say how he’s tired of losing control of the situation, feeling hopeless, and being scared. The latter is a reference to losing Linkin Park. This song is meant to display Shinoda’s thoughts since the death of Bennington.
Over Again
“Over Again” is primarily about the concert Linkin Park played in honor of Bennington, called Celebrate Life, as well as dealing with the band’s future. The first verse is entirely about Celebrate Life, and mentions Bennington without saying his name. To avoid quoting the entire verse, Shinoda talks about how they had no idea what to do after Bennington died, and someone suggested playing a show in his honor. He mentions how they weren’t worried about playing the songs, but that he wasn’t sure if they could actually perform without breaking down. Shinoda even states in the second verse that he “almost lost it in the middle of a couple songs.” Again in the second verse, Shinoda becomes passive aggressive toward people saying stuff like “wow, must be really hard to figure what to do now,” basically saying “you don’t say? It’s not much, just my entire life’s working hanging in the balance.”
The chorus of this song is pretty much the same eight or nine words repeated, well, over and over again. Normally to me that would come across as lazy writing, but it makes sense in the context of this song. The chorus is “sometimes you don’t say goodbye once, you say goodbye over and over again.” This is meant to show that just about everything reminds him of his loss, and how he’s constantly saying goodbye time and time again. If “Place to Start” is about all of Shinoda’s thoughts and emotions, then “Over Again” is meant to take place in the moment of the Celebrate Life concert.
Watching as I Fall
The final song, “Watching as I Fall,” is probably the best song on this album, and the one I’ve listened to the most. The most passive aggressive and self-aware song, Shinoda is again dealing with Bennington’s death, but this time focusing on himself as a public figure. The first verse has the lines “thinking I’m okay, but they’re saying otherwise / tell me how I look but can’t look me in the eyes.” Everyone is quick to point out how hard this must be for Shinoda, but no one has the gall to actually look him in the eyes and mean it. The pre-chorus states how he should be more grateful to be around when it all came apart. Basically, saying how he should be thankful he’s the one going through this, instead of Bennington losing Shinoda. He is also saying he should be grateful he had this opportunity in the first place, despite his career coming to a sudden halt. In the second verse, Shinoda is well aware of how he appears to people in public, saying “honestly I buy that I can sound cold.” He’s probably tired of people constantly saying how sorry they are and just wants them to stop, but he acknowledges that he can come across as crass.
From an outsider’s perspective
I’ll be honest, as a die hard Linkin Park fan (that includes Fort Minor, Mike Shinoda, Dead by Sunrise, Stone Temple Pilots, etc) Post Traumatic EP can come across as pretty bland from an outsider’s perspective. This EP was made as something of a closure to fans and to Shinoda himself. “Place to Start” and “Over Again” are slower songs, with instrumentals that sound similar to Linkin Park’s One More Light, and honestly there isn’t much to talk about apart from the lyrics. “Watching as I Fall” is a faster song, and one that can stand on its own the most compared to the other two, but again the focus is on the lyrics first and foremost, so the everything else takes a backseat. Each song is good in its own right, but you won’t hear them played on the radio and probably never live either. If you aren’t a fan of Linkin Park, then I suggest listening to “Watching as I Fall” and maybe “Place to Start.”
Shinoda has stated he plans to continue with Linkin Park, but even he doesn’t know what that means. Will they continue as a five-man group? Will they bring on a new vocalist? No one, not even Shinoda is sure about what will happen. But in the meantime, we’ve got this EP to tide us over until more news comes out.
Featured Image from RapWave
(01/26/18 7:52pm)
by Preston Radtke
The third LP from Porches is nothing short of magnificently flawed and supremely disappointing. The House is cut from the same synth-pop mold as 2016’s Pool minus the intimate production and catchy melodies. The first two records from Porches, Slow Dance in the Cosmos and Pool, both showed impressive promise for a musician who had yet to crack the quarter-century mark. Though they differed dramatically in style, they both had effective production and personality to spare. However, The House is simply malevolent in its mediocrity and blandness. Here’s hoping that on their next release Porches harkens back to whatever musical fairy dust they partook in during 2013 or 2016.
In The House, the synth popped
It’s clear that Porches was aiming for a more mature and professional brand of synth-pop on The House. Sadly, what they ended up with were awkward grooves atop surprisingly mundane beats. “Find Me”, one of the album’s supposed 'hits', finds a clumsy and downbeat synth section layered above an aggressive, out-of-character beat orchestration. It sounds like it should be pumping out of the speakers at the nearest Jazzersize class, not the record of some indie try-hard. This mismatching of style and execution is omnipresent throughout this record; “Anymore” and “By My Side” are other examples of this most unfortunate new virus.
While combining irregular textures is the most egregious of the synth-pop crimes, another is the overall misunderstanding of tempo and instrumentation. Time and time again on The House, Maine composes tracks with vocals, instrumentation and percussion that just don’t seem to mesh together rhythmically. The opening cut, “Leave the House”, has a synthetic instrumental just begging for an effective intelligence dance music (IDM) beat or even a mainstream hip-hop beat. What we get is something unsure and slightly out-of-step, a beat that features synthetic cymbals that bizarrely enough are much more aggressive and fast-paced than the snare or bass. It’s almost like the cymbals are trying to speed up their percussive cousins, but they stodgily object.
Aaron Maine’s voice needs to get out of the garage
Slow Dance in the Cosmos was effective in large part because of how well Aaron Maine’s voice blended in with the aesthetic of the music. The debut release was a tight collection of garage rock with an indie bow on top. Maine’s voice was rough and grave enough to make any Julian Casablancas acolyte blush. Maine kept this denim-jacket wearing, long-haired vocal style throughout Pool. On Pool though, his melodies and landmark instrumentals made his voice sound quirky, not out of place.
That all changed on The House. Maine doesn’t seem to realize that he’s working with a synth-pop/electronic project, not a band that opens for Parquet Courts. Rough and raw do not lend themselves well to glossy and electronic. He does deserve some admiration for not hiding in reverb or vocoder, but his singular, unvarnished voice just does not work on this record. We’ll look to “Leave the House” again, where Maine’s vocal misappropriation is on peak display. This song is begging for a smooth, measured delivery, not a raspy and brash one.
If Maine isn’t going to doctor his voice at all or even change his style, he should at least craft songs that don’t demand that he undergo any major cliffs or valleys. “Country”, one of the shorter and least synthy cuts, is a slow, sensual burn that allows us to get more intimate and introspective.
That intimacy and introspection is rooted in Maine’s slow, prudent vocal delivery. He sings with a certain refined grace not found on many other songs off the album. “Country” is one of the rare instances where the audience feels a contextual connection to what Maine is drawling on about.
The House has no "Maine" point
When listening to this LP one question kept arising: So what’s this about? What inevitably followed was the proverbial blank stare of the soul. There is a mighty contextual disconnect on this record. Maine’s vocals are far too generic and almost cookie-cutter to form any lyrical meaning. Furthermore, the instrumentals are so disjointed and fractured that any understanding of what they are trying to say is miserably lost.
It’s unclear what needed to be more emphatic: Maine’s vocals or the backing instrumentation. In many cases it's probably that they both lack the needed fervor and relatability required for a successful sound. Frankly speaking, if someone was going to make a musical interpretation of the uber politically correct individual, this would not be an awful representation.
On many records, the music is meant to embolden the listener or force them to look inward at themselves; it becomes a vehicle through which the listener learns something about themselves. Ambient powers like The Orb and DJ Shadow are premier examples. However, The House allows for no such introspection or self-analysis. The instrumentals are far too basic and shallow. The beauty of introspective music is that the textures and instrumentals are so intricate that they open the listener’s mind and allow them to observe both themselves and the world around them unbiased. The House’s textures are way too familiar and predictable for this. Instead of looking inward, the listener thinks about what they’re having for dinner, or who the new anchor is on the 5 o’clock news.
Top tracks:
“Country”
“Now the Water”
“Wobble”
Recommended if you like:
Neon Indian
Blood Orange
Wild Nothing
Featured image from Porches Music
(01/19/18 1:45am)
by Preston Radtke
It was a busy 2017 for Frankie Cosmos. Riding the high of 2016’s Next Thing, the band spent a good portion of the year touring and starting up side projects. The most noteworthy result of 2017 for the outfit was signing to indie super-label Sub Pop. At the conclusion of the year many music heads were whispering about an impending freshman release on Sub Pop, but no one had a clear-cut date. Then the band released “Jesse” – the lead single off of Vessel, their third full-length LP to be out on March 30.
“Jesse” is a beautifully necessary and promising cut for such a young band. The instrumentation, structure and vocal performance are far more complex than their previous material, resulting in a more intimate and personality-infused song.
While singer Greta Kline's vocals are innovative and effective, it’s the guitar work and drumming that make this song fly. Throughout the entirety of the song, there is a stark juxtaposition between lead and backing guitars. Instead of sounding disjointed or confusing, the resulting sound seems to represent a musicalization of conflicting thoughts and feelings reminiscent of the song’s theme. “Jesse” is about a protagonist who runs to a significant other’s friend to hopefully learn the mysteries behind their behavior. Of course, in the process the protagonist learns more about themselves and basically nothing about their perplexing spouse.
Luke Pyenson’s drumming also deserves snaps for how present and rhythmic he makes the track feel. On previous Frankie Cosmos cuts, the drums were led by the vocalizations and other instrumentations. “Jesse” finds the percussion more in-step with the instrumentation, thus providing the percussion a greater role. At about the 1 minute, 18 second mark Pyenson unleashes a sort of unbalanced mini-barrage of percussion just as the fervor of the track is ratcheting up.
“Jesse” feels more like a poem and less like an indie track. There is no definable chorus or bridge. There is melody and progression, but the song doesn’t safely fall back on many repeated lyrics or familiar constructs to pad its trajectory. This is a remarkable iteration for the band. Their past releases were experimental to a degree, but there was nothing as intricate or advanced as the structure of this song. Perhaps the most inspiring thing about this track is just how nontraditional the structure is while still keeping its theme and context front and center to the listener. Kline’s delivery and backing instrumentation is still able to maintain the audience’s attention even though they are being presented in a new format.
Lexie was a 2017 side project commandeered by front woman Greta Kline. Their 2017 LP Record Time hearkened back to the days of controlled mischief and youthful inhibition. Kline’s performance on the album was more sporadic and extroverted than her refined and sometimes brooding output on Next Thing. It appears she’s completely embraced this more free-spirited and freewheeling vocal style. The vocals on "Jesse" are delivered in a very whimsical, seemingly ADD-inspired manner. Kline still sounds like Kline, but with a smile. Her vocal contribution makes this song feel like it was done by a band, whereas her past performances felt like it was only the Greta Kline show. Undoubtedly the improved abilities of other Frankie Cosmos members also contributes to this feeling and to the soundscape of their work as a unit.
Featured image from Genius
(12/30/17 4:30pm)
By Daley Wilhelm
Unpopular opinion: 2017 wasn’t actually a complete garbage fire. Despite a constant flurry of bad news, natural disasters and national scandals, there were some bright spots in the darkness, too. For the sake of positivity, let’s look back on some of the best moments of the year.
1. We live in the future
Sometimes we forget the incredibly technologically advanced times that we live in. It’s easy to take for granted that we have more computing power in our pockets than what NASA used to reach the moon. Interest in space travel has spiked once again under the advances made by companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its rival in the newfound space race, Blue Origin, which is looking into being the first to supply the burgeoning demand for space tourism.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/936782477502246912
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/836328719165763584
The stars have never been closer.
2. Women are wondrous: getting abusers fired
Wonder Woman was an absolute inspiration for all those who saw it, but especially to women since it was the first superhero film with a heroine at the center of it’s narrative. Gal Gadot embodied Diana Prince with grace and integrity that translated both on the screen and off. Wonder Woman 2, an important title considering that the first film is the highest grossing DC film to come out in a while, will happen under the condition that Brett Ratner will not be involved with it’s production. Gadot, who had not yet been signed to the movie, stated that she would not work with Ratner because of the many sexual assault accusations against him.
In the current sleaze-ridden state of Hollywood, Gadot has taken a step further in preventing serial assaulters from having continued access to people to prey on. While I’m hesistant to say that there’s a good thing to come out all these sexual assault scandals, it’s important to note that people are being heard and that there are finally some consequences to be had.
3. Nintendo is killing it
This year we got the Nintendo Switch after so much anticipation. All the fantastic games created for their unique setup do not disappoint: 1-2-Switch, 2017’s Game of the Year The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the infinitely delightful Super Mario Odyssey have made for many wonderful memories for both longtime Nintendo fans and new players.
Nintendo is giving fans what they’ve wanted for a long time in opening up to third party, triple-A games for the Switch. Playing Skyrim on the go is an experience, but what’s even better is the indie library for the Switch. Stardew Valley is a personal favorite of mine, and has charmed both PC and console players.
But let’s face it: the Nintendo game that got us all hooked in 2017 was the mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
4. Music saved us
https://soundcloud.com/user-519363288/remixed-s2e4-paint-the-town-pnk
Bad times means good music. Music can be cathartic, can give voice to all the frustrations caused by a bad year. Green Day came back with a vengeance, proving that divisive political climates creates the best punk music. Eminem also returned to the music scene, performing an incredible cypher during the BET awards that garnered 42 million views.
Many of the best bops of 2017 were from old favorites like P!nk and Demi Lovato. Kendrick Lamar delivered in usual fashion yet another fantastic album in DAMN. He’ll finally be getting deserved recognition for it too, having been nominated for 2017’s Album of the Year at the Grammy’s this coming February.
There’s a lot of music that we would highly recommend for your New Year’s Eve playlist. Check it out here.
5. We had some movies that weren’t actually remakes
It’s a little sad when it’s become the exception to the rule that an original concept is made into a movie. 2017, like 2016 was and like 2018 will be, was filled with superhero sequels and poorly conceived anime adaptations and while those are sometimes good, great even, it’s nice to not be able to predict the end of the movie for once.
We had a lot of favorites, but in terms of originality films like Split and Get Out surprised us in the best ways. Pixar took a step away from its old formula to give us a whole new kind of tear-jerker in Coco. And Byte had a great time at the Heartland Film Festival, where originality was the rule.
Escapism was the name of the game this year, and the entertainment industry provided welcome distraction from the seemingly constant bad news 2017 had in store. If you want to wallow in the bad, you can remind yourself of all the reasons why 2017 was a dumpster fire here. Or you can stay here and look at this cat.
https://twitter.com/catsu/status/946822474653724673
(12/29/17 8:18pm)
by Preston Radtke, Ryan Fine, Sarah James and Phil Akin
Music reviews were a new endeavor for Byte this year, but it was a great first year to cover. We saw some disappointments from previously loved artists like Arcade Fire and Blondie, to be sure, but we also saw some pleasant comebacks and changeups from the likes of Lorde, Aimee Mann and Paramore. Some of these albums made us smile and others made us cry, but they all left some sort of indelible mark on us, and that's why they're the best albums of 2017.
Blanck Mass - World Eater
World Eater is rough, a musical kick to the eardrums that makes most pieces from Benjamin Powers' original band quiver. There are naturally no lyrics to this record, but the implications of the textures are all too apparent: domination and apocalypse. If everything in 2017 is a political statement as some have said, then World Eater is the part of the statement where the Chicago-sized robots from that other galaxy come in and play tennis with school buses filled with children and play hopscotch on Manhattan. - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of World Eater.
Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me
To even attempt to quantify A Crow Looked at Me with a slot on some year-end list is in some ways to take away from its unique solemnity and rawness as a work of art. Born in the aftermath of one of the most paralyzing tragedies that could possibly strike a person, this album has been described by its creator Phil Elverum as "barely music". And that's not really an arguable statement: the lyrics, if they can be called that, are so unfiltered that they read more like a therapy session than any conventional verse or chorus. By measures that far outweigh its minimal instrumentation, A Crow Looked at Me is one of the heaviest albums to be released this year, and it's possibly one of the most naked expressions of grief ever released for the public. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of A Crow Looked at Me.
Aimee Mann - Mental Illness
Aimee Mann was one of those periphery musicians that many people knew of and respected, yet didn’t really know. It was getting late for Ms. Mann; her diehards had fallen off the bandwagon with 2012’s Charmer and her cameo on that one Portlandia episode was becoming more and more relevant: a songstress that people knew of, name dropped on occasion, and yes, confused with Sarah McLachlan. Mental Illness was her sort-of comeback record, the battering ram that smashed her back into the sort-of mainstream.
The record itself is kind of what you’d expect a Mann record to be. Acoustic guitar-driven, pastoral and simple. In an industry that rewards musicianship centering on youth, Mann produced a capsule of an aging but still relevant standout, bemoaning the past while acknowledging her place in the world. - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of Mental Illness.
Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
If To Pimp a Butterfly was Kendrick Lamar's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, then DAMN. certainly follows through as his Yeezus. His previous full-length album, a politically and racially charged epic full of countless guest appearances, brought him to new levels of reverence in the hip-hop universe. Fans wondered how he would make an even more grandiose statement now that the era of Trump had officially been ushered in, and the short answer is, he didn't.
DAMN., Kendrick Lamar's most personalized statement by far, serves mostly as a snapshot of himself as an artist and a chronicle of how he got to this point. It's a powerful record, but it gets its power from a much more reflective and restrained place than we've come to expect. We've heard enough of Kendrick Lamar the orator for the time being; now is the time to hear from Kendrick Lamar the person. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of DAMN.
Perfume Genius - No Shape
Up to this point in his career, every new album from Perfume Genius has been much louder and grander than the previous one, which is no accident. On tracks like "Alan", he recounts a time when his lyrics were much more cryptic and indirect, when he sang about being afraid and in pain. Now he's getting bolder and expanding his atmosphere with huge walls of sound, his lyrics now unapologetic exclamations of sexuality and self-love. It's a beautiful affirmation that in a world where the tortured artist is lauded, it's possible to get to a better place and not sacrifice an ounce of quality. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of No Shape.
Paramore - After Laughter
The newest album from pop-punk staple Paramore is decidedly less punk and more retro '80s synthpop. After Laughter is a layered album; it’s funky and easy to dance to on the surface, but upon closer listening you realize it’s about life’s struggles. This juxtaposition of down lyrics and an up beat is exactly what brought Twenty One Pilots to the forefront in 2016, and with Paramore’s alternative roots, songs about Hayley Williams' struggles aren’t new, they’re just wrapped in a new sound. Fans of the “old Paramore” may be hyper-critical of this album, but while it is a very different genre from what they’ve done in the past, After Laughter is still authentically Paramore. - Sarah James
Click here to read our original review of After Laughter.
Big Thief - Capacity
Where 2016’s Masterpiece is grandiose, Capacity is basic. Where Masterpiece is gritty, Capacity is folksy. And where Masterpiece is majestic, Capacity is far more down-to-earth. Though these records stand at near opposite ends in the Big Thief catalog, they both share an eternal bond of overarching beauty and fragility. It is almost unfair to compare the two; such a practice would imply that one is greater than the other. But as much of a cop-out as it may be, both the 2016 and the 2017 Big Thief products are awe-inspiring in their own unique ways.
Capacity is a tightly morose exposé of friendship, love and upbringing. Adrianne Lenker’s docile delivery is tear-jerking at some points (“Mary”) and empowering at others (Mythological Beauty”). - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of Capacity.
Lorde - Melodrama
Though a second Lorde album has been rumored to be right around the corner for at least a couple years, its eventual release this summer was heralded by no significant bitterness. This was due in no small part to the diverse sounds of lead singles "Green Light" and "Liability", which promised an album full of surprises and delivered on that promise in spades. Between unhinged emotional ballads like "Writer in the Dark" and nihilistic party anthems like "Perfect Places", Melodrama is easily one of the moodiest pop albums to be released this decade. - Ryan Fine
Click here to read our original review of Melodrama.
LCD Soundsystem - American Dream
The year 2017 could be dubbed “the year of the Indie comeback”, with groups like Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and Gorillaz putting out releases after extended absences. Perhaps the most anticipated return was LCD Soundsystem, the brainchild of DFA wunderkind James Murphy. Murphy’s latest LCD iteration is much more blatantly gloomy and dark than previous ones; these songs don’t hide their broodings behind accessible beats and synths. Tracks like “How Do You Sleep?” and “American Dream” force a sense of despair and forgotten rebellion upon the listener. This is by no means LCD’s finest creation, but it might be its most expressive. - Preston Radtke
Click here to read our original review of American Dream.
Night Runner - Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a great next step for Night Runner. The duo incorporated many new sounds into their established 80’s synthwave music, including more guitar solos and vocals in a collaboration with Danny Sexbang of Ninja Sex Party. Despite a few misses here and there, the album is overall a hit. Their sophomore album is a welcome change from their debut album, and after all, they’re two guys just trying to make rad music. - Phil Akin
Click here to read our original review of Thunderbird.
(12/08/17 7:51pm)
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PawKaMIABPw[/embed]
Matt and Mayzie break down the lineup for the 2018 Grammy Awards! Some artists up for nomination include Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars.
Anchors: Matthew Yapp, Mayzie Brammer
Post Production: Phil Akin, Michael Robb
Graphics: Daley Wilhelm, Sarah James
Music: Jack McGinnis
(12/06/17 1:51am)
As far as I’m concerned, the Grammys have been on thin ice for the past few years. I loved the boldness of giving the Album of the Year award to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs in 2011 (and the hilarious complaints that followed), but ever since then, they seem to have a consistent inability to make the right decisions. 1989 was a solid pop record, but did it really deserve to win over the near-absolute consensus pick for best album of that year? And Beck is great, but why was Morning Phase the point in his career when he finally won Album of the Year?
(12/04/17 8:11pm)
by Ryan Fine
As far as I’m concerned, the Grammys have been on thin ice for the past few years. I loved the boldness of giving the Album of the Year award to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs in 2011 (and the hilarious complaints that followed), but ever since then, they seem to have a consistent inability to make the right decisions. 1989 was a solid pop record, but did it really deserve to win over the near-absolute consensus pick for best album of that year? And Beck is great, but why was Morning Phase the point in his career when he finally won Album of the Year?
https://twitter.com/RB3Schmoes/status/935526588640198656
All things considered, the pool of nominations for this year’s awards are the best they’ve been in a long time. Even though the Grammys are trying really hard to make Record of the Year their top prize, most people still have their eyes on Album of the Year, and this year’s choices for the gold are stacked. Not only do I actually like every album nominated for the first time maybe ever, but this is the most diverse cast that the board will have voted on in ages. The list of Childish Gambino, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and Bruno Mars is the first AOTY group to include no white men for nearly two decades.
Looking at the broader “big four” general categories (Record, Song and Album of the Year + Best New Artist), the trend of diversity continues. It seems like the Grammys have finally taken heed of the #GrammysSoWhite tag and gave several nods to Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito”, which is the first ever mainly Spanish-language song to be nominated for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. And as a pleasant yet shocking bonus, Ed Sheeran is nowhere to be found in any of the big four categories.
https://twitter.com/danideahl/status/935515247531655168
What does this say about how the awards will actually play out this year? Well, it could go a couple different ways. It’s entirely possible that despite the increase in minority representation, the Album of the Year award will go to Lorde for Melodrama (it is a lovely album, after all). But Kendrick Lamar is in the running for the third time with the critically acclaimed DAMN., so it seems more likely that he will finally get his due. Really though, it would be entirely realistic for any of the contenders to win. The Grammy voters do love a throwback album, and both 24K Magic and “Awaken, My Love!” bring back the sound of the past very effectively. Meanwhile Jay-Z, who has won 21 Grammys in the past, is back with his best album in quite some time.
The genre categories also offer some surprises within themselves. The Best Pop Solo Performance award features a couple of big names who were expected to be nominated for the general awards, namely Ed Sheeran with “Shape of You” and Kesha with “Praying”. Possibly Lady Gaga too, depending on who you ask, but to be fair Joanne doesn’t have nearly the critical consensus behind it that her previous records did. The strangest category as usual is Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, which features several artists who are far past their prime and also Seth MacFarlane. The man behind Family Guy is up for a Grammy for the fifth time, which is five times too many.
There’s a lot of interesting genre choices further down the list as well. LCD Soundsystem’s “Tonite” and Gorillaz’s “Andromeda” are both nominated for Best Dance Recording, but their respective albums are up for the relatively distant Best Alternative Music Album. And isn’t it time to at least rename Best Rock Album as Best Rock/Metal Album? When there are two separate categories for Best Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance, it looks really odd to see Metallica – one of the founding fathers of thrash metal – in the running for Best Rock Album.
Also nominated in the Rock categories are a couple notables of the recently deceased, as is often the case at the Grammys. Leonard Cohen and Chris Cornell are both candidates for Best Rock Performance, even though Chris Cornell’s single “The Promise” has technically been around since the movie of the same name was released in September of last year. Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker” certainly deserves its nomination, but it’s a little bit more surprising that his most recent album (widely regarded as his best in decades) isn’t up for Best Rock Album.
https://twitter.com/Metallica/status/935670738480009218
Ever since the surprise Album of the Year win for The Suburbs in 2011, the Grammys have been desperate to continue their adoration of Arcade Fire. Despite Everything Now being an absolute mess of an album, it’s still nominated for Best Alternative Music Album alongside Humanz, which is also considered by many to be the worst Gorillaz album to date. Even LCD Soundsystem, who has had a couple of nominations in past years, is probably on the list mostly due to their highly unexpected reunion rather than the genuine quality of their album.
So even in the better-than-average nomination lineup, there are a few duds in the mix as always. But more surprising are a couple of notable exclusions from the list. For instance, the beautifully hilarious and poignant self-directed “Boys” video by Charli XCX is my personal choice for music video of the year, but despite its popularity, it is notably absent from the Best Music Video category.
But the biggest snub of the year comes in the form of the legendary hip-hop group: A Tribe Called Quest. They came back at the tail end of 2016 with one of their best albums ever, We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service. It was the last recorded release from the late former member Phife Dawg, and “We the People” was actually the closing act at last year’s Grammys ceremony. There was absolutely no reason for them not to be nominated across the board in the Rap categories, but they weren’t even mentioned, and Q-Tip is rightfully livid about it.
https://twitter.com/QtipTheAbstract/status/935606845791649792
So did the Grammys do enough this year to shake the criticism they’ve received in the past few years about their ability to pinpoint the musical zeitgeist? Maybe not, but it’s still looking a lot better than it has been. It doesn’t seem like the Recording Industry Association of America’s ceremony is going to be losing its colloquial status as the be-all, end-all of musical award shows, so at this point, it seems like we need to take whatever we can get.
(11/24/17 8:27pm)
by Conner Tighe
Released on November 17th, Tove Lo’s new album provides that sensual warmth that she is known for. The album cover is red, providing an ironic twist to her new release considering that the name of the album is Blue Lips. The album's subject matters features love, hurt and struggles in life. This album is about as well done as Tove Lo's other releases, and therefore it’s worth checking out for fans of her other music. The music is catchy, there's still a dance club aesthetic (even though it's toned down compared to past releases), and the lyrics, though sexually appealing, are emotional enough that they're worth digging into.
That club vibe
Blue Lips provides a sense of being out at a party. The music is fast and features repeated phrases much like most pop music today. When listening to the album, there is a definite club vibe, which is a defining feature of the album. Take for example her song "Cycles". The beat starts off slow, but eventually quickens to a song worth busting a move to. Another one of her new songs, "Romantics", features singer Daye Jack. The song has a recurring beat and would go well in any DJ's playlist.
There are a few exceptions to this, however. Her song "Pitch Black", which is only 50 seconds long, has no vocals and no upbeat to it. This can also be said about her song "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell". The song is slow and provides no quick beats to it. Sex, drugs and relationship issues are the main topics of discussion in this album, which isn’t much different from past Tove Lo hits. Don’t let this discourage you, however. Blue Lips has everything needed for that classic party playlist.
Catchy and achy
When listening to this album, there is a sense of hurt behind the music. Tove Lo must have had inspiration from life experiences when writing this album. The words are catchy and fun to tap along to, but there is meaning behind the words. The lyrics hint to a past relationship that went wrong. This means that not all of the music on this album is as fast-paced as ever. Her song, "Hey, You Got Drugs?" is a prime example. She has dealt with hurt and relies on self-medication as an escape from reality.
Sexual appeal
This album provides content that may not be suitable for everyone. The album cover is a prime example, but there are several references to sex and drug use within the music as well. Of course, this is nothing new for Tove Lo. For those people that have listened to Tove Lo in the past, it’s her signature sexual appeal that makes her music unique. The idea of living your life to its fullest is a mainstay in the lyrics of Tove Lo. Getting high and regretting past decisions are recurring themes in Blue Lips yet again. This makes her album more appealing and unique than some other albums this year, since albums that reach into the darker parts of life often have more meaning to them.
How does this stack up to past hits?
In Tove Lo's past discography, this album is most like her 2014 album Queen of the Clouds. Just like Blue Lips, this album talks about drugs and love. "Talking Body", "Moments" and "Got Love" have a similar beat and theme. Those songs are almost one and the same compared to the ones on her newest album. Her Lady Wood album may be the only exception to this. "True Disaster", "Influence" and "Vibes" provide a slight difference compared to the rest of Tove Lo's music. There is not much new territory in Blue Lips, which can be either good or bad. She does need to expand her music into new territory, but this album is well written even though it's in the same style as her other works. For those who are new to Tove Lo, this is also a good album to start with. Blue Lips really hits home as to what Tove Lo is about.
Recommended if you like:
The Chainsmokers
Halsey
Lorde
Top Tracks:
“Cycles”
“Hey, You Got Drugs?”
“Shivering Gold”
Featured image from TIME
(11/16/17 11:49pm)
The omnipresent Taylor Swift, whose name was once synonymous with teenage Disney Channel-endorsed pop country music, has gone through some serious reflection and metamorphosis over the past few years. Her 2012 album Red was promoted by much more pop-oriented singles than ever before, promising a bigger shift in her sonic palette down the road. That promise was kept on 1989, her next album and best release to date.
(11/16/17 6:41pm)
by Ryan Fine
The omnipresent Taylor Swift, whose name was once synonymous with teenage Disney Channel-endorsed pop country music, has gone through some serious reflection and metamorphosis over the past few years. Her 2012 album Red was promoted by much more pop-oriented singles than ever before, promising a bigger shift in her sonic palette down the road. That promise was kept on 1989, her next album and best release to date.
Something happened between 2014 and now. With 1989, Taylor Swift rose to a new level of power based on her mockery of the bitter, revenge-seeking image that the media had bestowed upon her. But it’s clear from singles like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “…Ready For It?” that on Reputation, she has done anything but shake it off. In fact, at many points on her new album, she takes her image up to comic book villain levels and sinks her teeth deeper into her enemies than ever before.
A rocky road map
Taylor Swift plays with a lot of different styles on her new album, which is certainly a commendable experiment in theory. But even though her previous albums contained different moods and flavors, they all seemed to know what they were going for as a singular unit. In a first for her career, Reputation runs the gamut so thoroughly that putting it together cohesively seems to have been a doomed task from the start.
This haphazardness is apparent not only in the structure of the album, but also within the songs themselves. The second single and opening track “…Ready For It?” is a very confusing song for anyone who has ever listened to Taylor Swift before. Sure, the pre-chorus bops along with some pretty nice rhythms, but the rest of the song does not go over well at all. She suddenly seems to think she’s a rapper, and let me tell you, trap beats were not something I ever wanted to hear on a Taylor Swift song.
The next song trips over itself with an equal lack of shame. The main body of the song is actually fine. The “big reputation” refrain seems a bit corny at first, but it’s hard not to chant along with it once you get to know it. But sadly, Future’s contribution doesn’t add all that much to the song apart from confirming Reputation's strange appropriation of trap music, and Ed Sheeran’s verse is exactly as embarrassing to listen to as his previous flirtations with hip-hop stylistics.
Between these and later songs that sound like rip-offs of Lorde (“New Year’s Day”) and FKA Twigs (“Dress”), there’s not much here that gives the new Taylor her own unique identity. But even with the originality caveat in mind, this album is not without its highlights. “Don’t Blame Me” is a sultry, sickeningly catchy tune about the dangers of love, and it is most likely destined for super-hit status at some point next year.
Later, “Getaway Car” adds on to this song’s anthemic quality and takes it up another notch. Not only is this song possibly the only legitimate piece of self-criticism on this entire album, but the storytelling is clever in a way that is rarely ever achieved in pop music. This song doesn’t deserve to be mixed in with the rest of this album. It’s a serious left hook and even a contender for pop song of the year, and for any fan of Carly Rae Jepsen’s recent output, it’s a must-listen.
Lyrical landmines
Back on 1989, the deservedly popular jam “Blank Space” seemed to acknowledge the Taylor Swift media attention in a satirical light. She seemed to tell the public, “These are the things you’re saying about me, and this is how ridiculous you sound when you say them.” With the exception of “Bad Blood”, the diss tracks were nearly absent throughout the album, which made it an incredibly refreshing listen as a whole.
Then came “Look What You Made Me Do”. The picture of Taylor Swift that she seemed to decry on 1989 is turned up to eleven on this track, and if it’s meant to be in jest, she sure did a poor job of letting us know. This is one the pettiest songs ever to grace her notoriously petty career. Not only does she continue to pin the blame for the drama on literally everyone but herself, but the line “I don’t like your tilted stage” seems to confirm that the entire song is actually a pointed dig at Kanye West (who used a tilted stage for his Saint Pablo tour). It’s no mystery why Taylor Swift would be mad at Kanye West, but why was this her arena of choice to go after him?
And it’s not that I don’t want to love “Gorgeous”, because it’s legitimately one of the most infectious songs on the album. But the lyrics in the verses put me on edge, and that line about stumbling home to her cats is delivered with such a childish demeanor it could make the statue of David cringe. Meanwhile the gunshots on “I Did Something Bad” are downright hilarious. Does Taylor actually believe that breaking hearts and saying a bad word make her a hardened criminal all of a sudden?
But the most telling moment of the album comes near the end of “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”, when she makes cheerleader-like tributes to her friends, her current boyfriend, and her mother. She then caps it off with a vague address “to you, ‘cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do.” At this point the music cuts out, then she laughs hysterically and says “I can’t even say that with a straight face.” When I heard this line on my first listen through the album, my eyes rolled so far back into my head I could see the creases of my brain.
The old Taylor isn’t quite dead yet
Sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, because she’s dead.
Taylor Swift, "Look What You Made Me Do"
A lot of the marketing for Reputation was based on the death of “the old Taylor”, and to her credit, she actually does take a lot of avenues on this album that are new for her. I can’t say I love the hip-hop influence that takes up so much of the first half, but I also can’t say she’s done it before. I mean, who ever thought there would be vocoders on a Taylor Swift album? So in that respect, props must go to her. In most of these instances, however, there is a direct line that can be drawn from that song to the clichés of some other artist or genre.
The only truly original moment comes in the form of “King of My Heart”, which is also the most free-flowing song on the record. It’s not something I expected to say about a Taylor Swift song, but the percussion on this song is incredible. The sound of the low toms gives it a really interesting atmosphere and actually picks up some of the slack for the relatively obvious lyrics.
Apart from that, Reputation succeeds most at the points where it sounds most like the things she’s already done. Some of the better cuts, like “Delicate” and “Getaway Car”, aren’t too far off from what she was doing on 1989. And once “New Year’s Day” stops sounding like it got lost on the way to Melodrama, it dusts off the old acoustic guitar and becomes a pretty nice tribute to the country days of Taylor Swift. There are still ballads and there are still diss tracks – dear God, there are so many diss tracks – so for better or worse, it looks like the old Taylor is still hanging on for dear life.
Top tracks:
“Don’t Blame Me”
“Getaway Car”
“King of My Heart”
Recommended if you like:
Lana Del Rey
Lorde
Carly Rae Jepsen
Featured image from Billboard
(11/15/17 10:03pm)
The cult superstar emo band, Brand New, has cancelled the remainder of its United Kingdom tour after its frontman Jesse Lacey was accused of sexual misconduct with minors and made a public Facebook post in response to the allegations last Saturday.
(11/15/17 8:25pm)
by Ryan Fine
The cult superstar emo band, Brand New, has cancelled the remainder of its United Kingdom tour after its frontman Jesse Lacey was accused of sexual misconduct with minors and made a public Facebook post in response to the allegations last Saturday.
Late last week, a former guitar tech for the band made a public Facebook post (which has since been deleted) about rumors regarding possible sexual misconduct by Lacey. A woman named Nicole Elizabeth Garey replied to the thread and claimed that the singer solicited her for nude photos when she was 15. According to her account, the last contact she had with him was several years later, when he called her on Skype while pleasuring himself.
Pitchfork spoke to Garey and another woman named Emily Driskill. By the time she was 16, Driskill was a concert photographer and music journalist, and she says she was put in contact with Jesse Lacey through a mutual friend. In the Pitchfork article, she recounts Lacey staring at her chest, making inappropriate comments, and later threatening to cut off access to the band unless she agreed to send nude photos and take part in sexual video chat sessions.
Lacey then made a lengthy post on Brand New’s Facebook page addressing the allegations and seeming to imply that they were true. He attributed his actions to “a dependent and addictive relationship with sex.” He also detailed cheating in his past and present relationships, said he is working to improve his behavior and ultimately apologized for his actions.
On Monday, it was announced that Brand New would be cancelling all remaining tour dates in support of their recently released final album Science Fiction. They will supposedly be postponed for a later date, and as previously planned, the band is scheduled to disband after its 2018 tour dates.
Sources: Facebook, Pitchfork, SPIN, NPR
Image : flippen music