Vol. 3
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Letter from the Editor
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“Green Light� and Good, Exhausted Pop
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Lingua Ignota
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Play Button Marks the Spot
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Is J. Cole the best Modern Rapper?
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Indie Nomenclature
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On Defining Mom Music
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Student Spotlight: Lauren Yoon
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Pervasive Themes in Popular Music UX A Ma ga z
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Vol. 3
Letter from the Editor
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Dearest reader, Welcome back! We’re glad you’re here. How was your summer? How was your semester? Here are some things I did during our time apart: 1. Deepened my love for Leonard Cohen (if you or anyone you know is his reincarnate please hit me up) 2. Realized that “Life Is a Flower” by Ace of Base might be the cure for depression 3. Read about 20 books 4. Wrote a lot of essays 5. Watched every episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia within 3 weeks 6. Decided to go abroad 7. Filled my 14th journal (I have journaled [almost] every day since sophomore year of high school) I have also come to terms with daylight savings and the darkness we as citizens of the United States must face at around 5pm. It is only really bad when you wake up from a nap and it’s dark outside. So here it is: the dark issue. It’s simple. It’s winter. You’ll love it. Warmest wishes, Reede
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“Green Light” & Good, Exhausted Pop
A hot take on the song of the summer
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The first time I heard Lorde’s “Green Light” I wanted to go on a run. This statement should be accompanied by two more: I’m not, like, “a runner” by any even loose definition, and “Green Light” does not fit the usual criteria for running music: it’s not a thumping, pump-up jam. What it is about this song, and about most pop music that makes me want to run or dance or move, is that it’s exhausted sounding.
Let me explain: there is something about big, expansive pop that sounds exhausted, and in a way this affords it a bracing kind of energy, an energy that feels worked for and then expired. “Green Light” is distinctly paced. It’s fairly essential in its rhythm, digestible and building up as though approaching the point of being extinguished by one’s own emotion—then retreating. Right as we arrive at the pulsing, climactic
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core, “Green Light” pulls back, fading out into a looping, repetitive finale. The expansion and retraction feels somewhat like breathing, an in for every out, again and again. Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” has this same effect, as does the 1975’s “Somebody Else.” A sort of swelling and contracting, it’s simultaneously numb and busy—working actively to cultivate the feeling of exhaustion. One of the most satisfying things about listening to punk music, in contrast, is its ability to convert anger into a catharsis, re-appropriating it as a euphoric kind of joy as you bounce around and yell. The specific kind pop, exhausting pop, that Lorde emulates on “Green Light” instead seems to take joy and dematerialize it. It begins in a confident, knowable place and makes itself messy. The lyrics track this change too—we begin with doing makeup in someoneelse’s car and conclude with a chanted plea for a green light. All of Lorde’s Melodrama seems to
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be a reckoning with the messiness of entering adulthood, but “Green Light” seems to be wearied by it, dizzied and exhausted more like, well, the sensation after running—there’s something physical about this song, and that’s what makes it so resonant. It makes you, in turn, want to move, not even dance, necessarily, but just move in a way that’s equally idiosyncratic and messy. Lorde herself moves this way when performing, seemingly unaware of the crowd watching her. It’s unapologetic and frantic and, at the end, looking out at those who’ve witnessed her, satisfyingly exhausted.
Illustration by Molly Magnell
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Lingua Ignota
A closer look at Kristin Hayter and her project Lingua Ignota
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Kristin Hayter, the mastermind behind musical project Lingua Ignota, doesn’t take things lightly. In fact, the centerpiece of her MFA thesis at Brown University was a 10,000-page document of lyrics, newspaper snippets, court papers, audio recordings and more, titled, “BURN EVERYTHING TRUST NO ONE KILL YOURSELF.” Primarily comprised of instances of misogyny and violence towards women, the document weighed a total of 100 lbs—Hayter’s bodyweight. She, herself, is a victim and survivor of abuse. Accompanying this document was a musical project, which, along with the document, was intended to, “help articulate real trauma for survivors of violence.” However, this
project did not end upon completion of the thesis, and is now known as Lingua Ignota. Lingua Ignota’s sophomore effort All Bitches Die was released this past June. Now, I know what you’re thinking: This doesn’t seem like something from the vault, this seems pretty recent! Well, bear with me, because I’m making an exception for one of the best experimental records in recent history. Hayter’s music is undoubtedly heavy, and this isn’t a surprise given her place in Providence’s robust experimental and noise scene. But the heaviness apparent in her music is different from that of her (predominantly male) contemporaries. It is steeped in influence from early choral greats
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The album cover of All Bitches Die by Kristin Hayter which features a photo of herself.
like Hildegard of Bingen and Pérotin, as well as in divergent feminist and nihilist theory. The violence in her music isn’t contrived or trivial. Instead, it’s distilled from real, horrible experience, and crystallized for the world to see. All Bitches Die as well as Hayter’s first record Battered Women’s Syndrome are manifest trauma in music. They intersperse pieces of subdued, but aching classical vocals with bone-crushing walls of power electronics and noise. Suffering quietly and then lashing out—hard. Vocal samples of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos occasionally accompany Hayter, serving not to scare the listener (as is typical in the genre) but to act as another lens through which to view the abuse
of women. Retributive justice, Wuornos-style, is a thematic centerpiece of the album. Hayter enacts her revenge, and it hurts. All Bitches Die, as you can imagine, isn’t a light listen. Its four tracks span 45 minutes and contain lines like, “my rapist lays beside me.” But, in this album, we weren’t promised light and the experience of listening to the record in full borders on transcendental. I’m not alone in this sentiment—experimental music stalwarts The Body and Work/Death count themselves as fans. Lingua Ignota’s crushing walls of destruction and uncanny beauty are wholly her own, and make for a music project that will certainly stand the test of time.
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Play Button Marks the Spot
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A research team from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, discovered a while back that music doesn’t only affect our mood—it changes how we see and experience the world. So hit the play button and discover new landscapes, architecture, crowds, and culture with new beats.
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Bangkok Thailand Midnight City by M83
M83’s (Anthony Gonzalez) Midnight City is Los Angeles. It is locally known across the Pacific, in Bangkok, Thailand as is “The City of Angels”. The distorted, upbeat instrumental captures the expansion of this concrete jungle, as daylight dies and incandescent, neon lights begin to glow. Take a late night taxi through Sukhumvit, barhop on Khaosan and Thonglor-Ekkamai, and climb the Octave Rooftop for a view of the “mutated skyline.” Feel the city wind down and get lost in a crowd with his downbeat, muffled vocals.
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The Crown Range, New Zealand Don’t Forget About Me by Cloves
Take a drive along the scenic road between Queenstown and Wanaka and blast this angsty indie hit. With a voice that marries the airiness of Lana Del Rey and soul of Adele, Cloves’ sad song is perfect for a pensiveroad trip down the hills and through the meadows of brown grass and auburn rocks. Let her howling, cold vocals pierce you like the Southern New Zealand glacial wind.
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Großglockner, Austria Einmal Um Die Welt by Cro
Drei, Zwei, Eins, give this German indie rap a shot. Though it may sound eccentric at first, the song quickly grows on you with its upbeat, rhythmic beat, which is similar to Twenty-One Pilots. The song’s catchy, optimistic lyrics about traveling around the world merrily with his girlfriend is perfect for a brisk hike up towards the glaciers and alpine terrains. Journey up towards the peak and remember, “Gib mir nur deine Hand ich kauf dir Morgen die Welt”; Just give me your hand and I’ll buy you the world tomorrow.
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Minneapolis, Minnesota Suicide Saturday by Hippo Campus
What could be more Minnesotan than an indie rock band hailing from St. Paul itself? A friend’s favorite, Suicide Saturday boasts an unique bass line and harmonious, energetic vocals. Originally an infectious summertime anthem, this classic indie jam is also great for exploring the Riverwalk, Minnehaha Park, or Minnesota’s many lakes on a winter Saturday and experiencing the traditional hockey bar culture. Or for a more relaxing alternative, listen as you wind down at The Bachelor Farmer Cafe or Patisserie 46.
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J. Cole: The Best Rapper in Modern Hip Hop?
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Hailing from North Carolina, J. Cole is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, rapper in modern hip-hop. Known for his deep lyrics and infectious songs, J. Cole has become a force in exposing the struggles of the African American community while spreading hiphop culture into the mainstream. I, however, believe J. Cole is the most overrated rapper in the game. Before I continue, I’d like to qualify my argument. When I say J. Cole is overrated, I am not attacking J. Cole as a person nor am I saying that he is a bad rapper. J. Cole is a good rapper. He is just not as good as some people make him out to be. J. Cole is also a fantastic person– as demonstrated by his Dreamville foundation. I also believe that it is crucial to define what I mean by rapper. I am not saying that anyone who makes “hip-hop” songs is a rapper. In fact, artists such as Drake and Future do not consider themselves
rappers. In the song “100” Drake raps, “I would have all your fans if I didn’t go pop and I stayed on some conscious s**t.” On “Jumpman” Future exclaims, “You just a battle rapper, I’m an official trapper.” J. Cole however, is a true student of hip-hop. He focuses on improving his craft and preaching issues that arise in society and affect his life. A real rapper is someone who focuses on all components of lyrics (delivery, punchline, etc.) over making a hit, and many who currently bear the title “rapper” do not live up to this definition.The last thing I want to mention is that sales are not an indication of skill; sales are an indication of whether or not an artist can make an accessible song. Sure, sales are important, but sales are meant to be more of a tie breaker than a true indication of hip-hop talent. Rappers such as Rakim have not gone double platinum with no features at the same rate as J. Cole.
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With that said, I will voice my main issues with J. Cole in a list:
1. His Lyrics J. Cole is a poor, maybe average, lyricist. This is a little misleading because J. Cole is probably the best lyricist in hip-hop. When I talk about J. Cole as being a poor to average lyricist, I am referring to how he delivers his message. Cole delivers his message in a blunt fashion, telling rather than showing. J. Cole’s straight-forward delivery can be effective because it gets his meaning across to a wide audience. But unfortunately, telling is not nearly as effective as showing. When showing, listeners get a detailed image of the struggles and can place themselves in the situation, whereas telling does not allow for the same experience. Some of the best rappers of all time show rather than tell. Illmatic by Nas allows for listeners to know what living in the Queensbridge projects is like. Telling allows for us to know what the rapper’s experience was like, but we do not get to build our own opinions and experiences.
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J. Cole has an average to decent flow. J. Cole will use simple internal and end rhymes. He rarely switches up his flow drastically mid flow, which is an indication of a great rapper. Cole’s flow is simple, but he has showed signs of promise with songs such as “Neighbors.” Cole changes the pace of his flow frequently and varies his rhyme schemes frequently. Unfortunately the sample size is still small.
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2. His Wordplay This is probably the most glaring problem of Cole’s abilities. If someone is supposed to be considered one of the best rappers in the game, then he or she should not continue to compare themselves to human waste to prove how great he is. The first few times are okay and slightly funny, but the repetition of the comparison shows a lack of creativity
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J. Cole is a good rapper and a fantastic person, but he is not nearly as good as people make him out to be. Due to the large number of artists masquerading as rappers, Cole’s rap skills become inflated. If people really care about the message, then artists such as Open Mike Eagle, Joey Bada$$, and Run the Jewels should get more clout than they do now. All of these artists rap about crucial issues in modern America in arguably greater depth than Cole, and they deliver the messages in a better package.
J. Cole is a good rapper and a fantastic person, but he is not nearly as good as people make him out to be.
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Indie Nomenclature
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Suicide Saturday Hippo Campus
Suicide Saturday is a post-adolescent reflection on teenage struggles with isolation and the ironic self-destructive search for self. In a way, Hippo Campus’ hit is therapeutic and eye-opening in the sense that it brings up the importance of balancing societal expectations and your true authentic self. In an interview with BBC Radio, guitarist and singer Nathan Stocker, says the song is about “[having] to commit a social suicide, in a sense, in order to regain composure with being who you are and maintaining a healthy relationship with yourself.” So behind this cheerful, summertime song is a much-needed PSA for the youths of today.
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One of the weirdest songs out there, hence one of the more interesting indie pieces, Pork Soda describes a dying relationship. The narrator is begging his significant other to go back to their honeymoon phase, and plunge back into free and easy love. But the most noteworthy line and song title has nothing to do with the story. According to the band’s frontman David Bayley, , he overheard a homeless man say, “Pineapples are in my head,” and that stuck with him for a while, later becoming the chorus line. This whole Pork Soda enigma is based on a single stranger’s tattoo that Bayley also could not get out of his head. From David’s interview with Paste Magazine:
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“It was a giant pig, a stick figure pig, a really cool pig. It said pork soda in big scrawling letters, I thought it was the best tattoo I’ve ever seen. It was this woman, she gave us a load of gifts, it was amazing, 30 little glass animals. I saw her tattoo, and I was like, ‘that’s sick – why?’ And she was like, ‘I just like pork soda,’ and I thought that was really cool, it played into the mentality of the person in that song. I just really liked the phrase. It’s a drink. It’s a drink and it’s a meal, they put pork and cook it in coca cola in a stew. She says it’s the best meal and a drink.” Well, sometimes there is nothing behind an indie song but its idiosyncrasy and catchiness, and Pork Soda is the perfect example for this.
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Two Door Cinema Club Why “Two Door”? It’s simple—it’s a mispronunciation. In the band’s hometown of Bangor, Northern Ireland, there’s a cinema called Tudor Cinema. Guitarist Sam Halliday pronounces it as “two-door” rather than “two-der,” and it stuck out enough to be a band name.
Lana Del Ray Formerly-known Lizzy Grant wanted something exotic and beautiful to shape her music. Combining the names of the actress Lana Turner and the 1980s automobile Ford Del Rey, Lana Del Rey came to be. It reminded her of the glamor of the seaside and a touch of Spanish from her days in Miami with her sister and Cuban friends.
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London Grammar Hailing from the obvious London, this indie-pop band was fascinated not only by the perfect symmetry and aesthetic of their logo, but they wanted to be the city’s mouthpiece. In an interview with the Evening Standard, lead singer Hannah Reid told the interviewer that London is not only where they’re from, it’s “also so international and multicultural that it actually felt like quite a universal name in a way.”
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On Defining Mom Music
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You shouldn’t be able to operate a vehicle if Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” is playing. I say this because I care about your safety and because listening to that song feels like hurtling into the sun at full speed, careening into some expansive, gorgeous light. I would recommend listening to it if you haven’t—this piece is, in a lot of ways, a love letter to that song and to songs like it. Annie Lennox’s “Why,” for instance, is a similarly blinding experience, albeit a dizzier one. I listened to that song after having had a coldbrew coffee and needed to lie down. “Through the Fire” by Chaka Khan is rich and yearning and feels like being submerged in deep waters. These songs are linked by an overwrought certainty, and their allure lies in the seemingly antithetical self-awareness brought on by an exaggerated conviction. They are so much, but, as a means of addressing this camp and cheesiness, they accelerate directly into it self-awareness.
This, in part, is essential to the genre of Mom Music. Today it seems that Dad Music is fairly well-defined. You can imagine what this means: it has something to do with blue jeans and it slides between a brooding, contemplative nature and a stadium-sized bravado. It is as much Billy Joel at Shea Stadium as it is a ninety-hour Grateful Dead jam. I love this, I really do—but where is its counterpart? Its generic equivalent of a spouse? Mom Music feels fairly ambiguous in comparison to the clear, recognizable image of Dad Music, with its baseball cap and faded Zeppelin shirt. In the process of defining Mom Music, I thought about what my own mother listens to and the role of music in her life. This narrows the scope to mostly 70’s and 80’s music, to disco and pop, to whatever would have been played on a radio on a beach in Belmar, New Jersey. Certain images lift from photos to compile a complete aesthetic: a
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Illustration by Maddy Underwood
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white leather jacket, someone’s gold medallion, high-reaching hair and shirts with wide, triangular lapels. These images, are not divorced from the themes I imagine when I think about Mom music: exaggerative, gaudy—tacky even. A story about my mom’s friend driving straight from a night out and dancing to work the next morning sifts down into this understanding, as does the image of an aunt doing “The Hustle” at a wedding, rotating fists one around the other rhythmically. There is nothing reserved or pensive about these instances; they are garish in their joy—a characteristic that’s key, too, in the genre of music humming in the background. Essentially, Mom Music boils down into two categories: a grandiose pretension and a ferocious, simple joy. Take, for instance, Donna Summer—a name synonymous with Mom Music. You have Summer’s “MacArthur Park,” a Dion-esque song with the drama of a power
ballad and the charged elegance of a Broadway finale, and then you have “Bad Girls,” a song where a decent percentage of the lyrics are “toot toot//beep beep,” yet it inspires a comfortable bliss that makes you want to just dance and dance. Both explore an uncontainable messiness that affords a feeling of freedom—a bracing energy felt across both kinds of Mom Music. The alternative experience, one characterized by a defensive sort of sulking and speculation, pales in comparison: this, instead, is lively and loud, with a beautiful and all-encompassing vitality. Put on Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever” or “If I Can’t Have You” by Yvonne Elliman; “Young Hearts Run Free” by Candi Stanton or “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston. You’ll feel something necessary and good. You’ll likely want to dance, and if you do, you might find yourself imitating your mom or aunt or neighbor. This will feel corny and, in fact, that’s the point.
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Student Spotlight: Lauren Yoon
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Lauren Yoon is a junior here at WashU. She transferred from Boston College this year, and has majors that span the Olin Business School and Arts and Sciences. She might seem, by all accounts, to be your classic, multitasking WashU student. What makes Lauren different, though, is what she does in her free time: when she’s not traveling the world looking for the coolest underground concerts to go to, she is in her room with a humble setup of one laptop, a mini keyboard, and a Launchkey mini, cranking out remixes and new tunes. Lauren let us steal some of her time on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon to get the lowdown on her background, her listening preferences, and her own music.
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What kind of music do you make? I mainly make hip hop, deep house, Latin house. I like Spanish music, Brazilian music, salsa, reggaeton. I try to mix jazz and house together—that’s the main goal for me.
How did you get into reggaeton and Latin house? I speak Spanish, I love Spanish culture and music. I’ve traveled to Spain twice this year, and I love the language, the culture, the food—everything.
What is your background in music? I’ve been playing the piano since I was four, and then I got into orchestra, learned violin, and played violin for six years. Then, I came to the States [from Korea] when I was a sophomore in high school and joined a jazz band and a pop ensemble. I met my high school music teacher and he became my mentor—I have a [music] theory background and he’s a theory teacher. He taught me how to incorporate my classical and jazz background into my own music, and I incorporated everything I learned in my last year of high school and learned how to produce. Now I’m traveling and going to shows. I like underground music, mostly. I go to Boiler Room [events], which is an underground music broadcasting platform.
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What was the transition like moving from a more classical instrument like the violin to more computer based music? The transition wasn’t that crazy because jazz is in the middle. I got an amp for pickup for my violin and started playing in jazz ensemble. Then I recorded my violin onto my computer, layered up Latin drum beats, and that was the perfect transition from classical to more modern music. Jazz has origins in classical music but the improvisation is what makes jazz modern. You can have fun and jam with other people—I love jamming with other people.
Do you have any favorite musicians or musicians that inspire you? I like KAYTRANADA. He’s so good, he’s a producer—he’s produced for Chance the Rapper so he’s getting big. He has his own style, you hear his music and instantly recognize it. I also like the label Soulection. It’s an underground music collective of 100 musicians based in L.A., but there are a bunch [of them] in Amsterdam and Barcelona—they have underground parties and stuff. I just went to one in New York this past weekend.
Would you ever want to be a part of a collective or something like that? Yeah, of course! I would love to. I’m studying business at Olin and my goal is to work in an environment where I can use my creative background in recording and music and apply it to the business world.
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Do you like performing for other people or sharing your music? I love sharing my music with other people.
You don’t get stage fright or anything? Not really...I low-key DJ at parties. I have no tolerance for shitty music. If I don’t like the music I can’t stand to be there.
What’s on heavy rotation right now? I like remixes of 90’s and early 2000’s R&B and hip hop. Like remixes of Aaliyah, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu—female soul vocalists. There’s so many remixes where there are super chill drum beats on top of throwback R&B and hip hop. People hear the old songs and like it, but there’s a modern twist to it. I’ve been using Latin drum beats, jazz drum beats, shaker loops, and Brazilian beat boxing—or I’ll make a remix using soulful female vocals and layer drums and shakers.
Who do you think is one of the most overrated DJs? The Chainsmokers. When you’re a DJ, you can either chose to play music you like [and] that a small population also likes, or play the music that everyone knows and likes—you can conform or not. The Chainsmokers use a four chord progression which is very small on the radio...like every song uses it.
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What artists do you think are taking music in a more progressive way, the way you think it should be going? KAYTRANADA. Sango also– he’s a part of Soulection. He’s Brazilian and he’s, like, thirty and has a kid. He lives in Chicago but he’s from Brazil, so he mixes his Brazilian roots and makes hip hop and baile funk. He incorporates his background into his music and it works well.
Most people outside of Korea would think of K-Pop when they think of music in Korea. Is that the truth?
Yes, there’s K-Pop but there’s really good underground, subculture there. There’s this area in Seoul by the U.S. Military base in Korea, and more than half of the people there are foreigners—mostly American, but some Europeans too. The underground music culture there is so good. I lived in Boston for seven years and it’s better than Boston for sure—it’s comparable to New York, maybe. I exclusively go out to that area when I go home—they bring in DJs from Amsterdam, Northern Europe, L.A. It’s a lot of future bass and deep house. Stores and restaurants around there are open 24/7, the clubs are open until like five or six am. It’s crazy, but it’s also so safe...you have to find events through people you meet.
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When you go out in that area or to underground events, do the invitations go out in person, word of mouth, or is most of it online? What is that scene like? Most of them make Facebook events but sometimes you’ll just find out about them through people you know...house is so big in Europe, so when I travel to places like Barcelona and London, they love house music and there’s so many subgenres. But here, if I tell someone I like house they say, “Oh, so you like EDM, clubbing?” But that’s not it! People just generalize the entire genre as EDM. It’s frustrating because it’s so different from mainstream EDM. People [here] consume music instead of being engaged in it. For instance, most people call jazz “elevator music” or bossanova “café” music, so people don’t know or don’t care that there are so many types of music genres. And there are so many “Bedroom DJs” who are making their own music and blurring the lines of genres so that it’s hard to categorize them—that’s the reason I like Soulection: they’re [like] a new genre.
Can you try to break down some genres for us? Nowadays, it’s so hard to tell what genre a song is. There’s deep house, retro funk, new disco– it’s like modern disco and remixes, and EDM is Hardwell, Galantis, Martin Garrix, all of those top DJs. Some people think they know a lot but it all depends on the platform you use. I use SoundCloud. I don’t listen to mainstream stuff– mostly random people that upload their music. Most people don’t even know that this [kind of] music exists. But I guess thawwt’s why the Internet is cool—it connects everyone.
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Pervasive Themes in Popular Music
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At every party or event certain songs will forever remain staples: “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers, “Low” by Flo Rida, and, of course, anything by the critically-acclaimed EDM group, The Chainsmokers. Every so often, however, something else will slip into the mix. You sing the words, don’t think about it much, and move on with your night. The artists, producers and record labels that work on creating and distributing a song develop a product that reflects the preferences and opinions held by their consumers. What we choose to allow the music business—a global industry worth nearly $48 billion annually—to represent can have a major impact on widely-held attitudes toward social issues. Certain themes within music are to be expected, but one that continues to remain pervasive across all genres is contrastingly often looked down
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upon by the general public: domestic violence. One of the most famous perpetrators, R&B star Chris Brown, was accused of physical violence against his then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009. Charged with felony assault, Brown received a sentence of five years probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service, and he was issued a five-year restraining order prohibiting him from coming within 50 yards of Rihanna. The now-famous photo of the pop star with severe facial injuries (for which she required hospitalization) caused initial shock amongst the general public—a massively famous pop star, usually in designer clothing glittering on the red carpet, now pictured in tears with deep purple bruises marring her normally flawless face. The outcry didn’t last long, though. A series of pre-recorded, carefully planned interviews with Brown (alongside his
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rds, don’t th o it w i t n u k ab o he t ng i s ve on with your o u m ht . g i n d n ,a h c mu doting mother and lawyer) seemingly eliminated any ill-will against him. His romanticization of their relationship as being “sort of like Romeo and Juliet” absolved him of any guilt in the public’s eyes. Brown’s album Graffiti, released four months after the assault, was nominated for a Grammy Award and his next album F.A.M.E. was certified platinum, as were his next two releases. While both Rihanna and Brown have remained relatively quiet about the widely-publicized abusive aspects of their relationship in recent years, Rihanna appeared on the 2010 hit song “Love the Way You Lie” with rapper Eminem. Another artist frequently associated with violent
themes of abuse and drug use, Eminem presents a particularly complicated case. While “Love the Way You Lie” supposedly represents the struggles associated with being in an abusive relationship, reflecting the experiences of both artists and songwriter Skylar Grey, the intended purpose is not clear to audiences. After topping the charts in 2010, the song went on to be nominated for five Grammy Awards, despite it containing lyrics like, “If she ever tries to fuckin’ leave again/I’ma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire.” So the question remains, why do we continue to consume music and media that glorifies domestic violence? The answer is simple: because it’s
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the norm. Recent efforts to expand the general public’s knowledge of the dangers of domestic violence— separate from catalytic events like Rihanna’s assault or singer Mel B’s divorce over violence allegations— may have increased awareness in niche communities, but have yet to change the general acceptance of violent themes in music. As of October 2017, the third most popular song on Spotify’s Top 50 chart is “Bank Account” by rapper 21 Savage, which features the lyric “Glock cocked now, I don’t really give no f--‘bout who I hit.” Pop culture defines our social norms. While not every listener takes song lyrics literally, the things we hear and view play into how we define what is conventional. While a song might be catchy, the artist that creates it and label that distributes it have a social responsibility to ensure they’re not perpetuating cycles of violence and oppression. “Love the Way You Lie”
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might attempt to raise awareness of the complex psyche of an abuser and the abused, but Eminem’s other songs like “Kim,” in which he graphically describes the ways he has fantasized about murdering his ex-wife, certainly aren’t helping matters. In contrast, an alternative community has risen into prominence in recent years—one in defiance of those committing acts of interpersonal violence. Wilco’s “At Least That’s What You Said” and R.E.M.’s “Bang and Blame” come to mind with their vivid depictions of the inner workings of an abusive relationship, an image often shunned by mainstream media. Confronting the uncomfortable forces people to decide where they draw the line. In the same vein, public denouncement of those who commit violent crimes like domestic violence or assault helps eliminate the stigma surrounding these issues.
Every song purchased, every concert ticket bought decide the values we allow to exist our scheme of what’s “normal.” Not everyone that listens to violent music becomes violent, but continuing to support artists and labels that normalize domestic violence and related themes universalizes the acceptance of these issues.
pular M u Po
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Every song purchased, every concert ticket bought decide the values we allow to exist our scheme of what’s “normal.”
Perv as
Formerly notable punk duo PWR BTTM attempted to address allegations of assault directed at lead singer Ben Hopkins last May by requesting that victims “register their allegation” and appointed a “mediator” for each case. Met with massive amounts of blowback from the music community and activist groups on social media, along with the divulgence of dozens more victims, their Twitter account has remained silent ever since.
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Contributors Managing Editors Jack Elliot Higgins Morgan Anker
Lead Copy Editors Mikaela Adwar Helen Fox
Copy Editors Morgan Anker Jack Elliot-Higgins Grace Fellman Bonnie Simonoff Aidan Strassman
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Writers Grace Fellman Reede Goldberg Ethan Jaynes Aidan Strassman Theo Thithat
Art Max Bucksbaum Molly Magnell Maddy Underwood
Layout + Design Lauren Fox
Editor in Chief Reede Goldberg
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