Tastemakers 55: The Changing Landscape of How We Get Our Music

All Eyes on Eilish | 08

Pop in Review: How Less Became More | 28

No 55

The changing landscape of how we get our music

Robyn’s Got Something to Say | 40

northeastern students on music

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The Team Staff Writers Addy Pedro Aditya Chetia Akosa Amenechi Alex Trzaskowski Alexander Wetzel Allison Bako Amanda Sturm Bryan Grady Christian Triunfo Chuck Stein Drew Quercio Elena Sandell Erin Merkel Fisher Hunnewell Helen Snow Hue-Ninh Nguyen Isaac Feldberg Joanna Moore Jonas Polin

Joseph Bondi Matthew Schuler Max Rubenstein Miles Kirsch Mona Yu Pratik Reddy Quinton Hubbell Rachel Ellis Rayven Tate Ryan Clark Sabrina Zhang Sean Stewart Seth Queeney Stacy Andryshak Taylor Piepenbrink Vishal Makhijani Willa Shiomos Zac Kerwin Art & Design Al Bako Alex Agahnia Anna Rychlik Brooke Dunahugh Cammy Kuo Gabby Bruck Jackie Arce Kat Minor Kaya Dlouchy Phoebe Lasater Roman Distefano Sara Hartleben Shannon Ehmsen Shannon Haley Promotions Abby Dinegar Anna Repp Annina Hare Ash Livid Brandon Yap Brigid Sanepour Caitlyn Ark Cara Jones Emily English Emma Toole Hannah Lowicki Henry Brown Hulda Zheng Joey Handel Katie Isbell Leah Holt Olivia Sather Ramya Kumar Reine Lederer Sofia Maricevic Spencer Haber Tiffany Li-Ah-Kim

Photography Abbey Hembree Aidan Cooke Alex Aghania Alex Melagrano Alex Pesek Alison Kula Amanda Stark Anna Smith Annina Hare Arianna Gaffney Arianna Gaffney Austina Lin Brandon Yap Brian Bae Casey Buttke Casey Martin Catherine Argyrople Colleen Curtis Corey Watanabe Elisa Figueras Frances Lee Gabbie Whittle Gilbert Wong Hannah Lee Hulda Zheng Jacob Brass Jacob Chvatal Julia Aguam Justin Vega Kaitlin Kerr Katie Kettinring Kristen Chen Lauren Scornavacca Maddy Land Maggie Navracruz McKenna Poulos Muhammad Elarbi Natalie McGowan Nathaniel Brown Nicole McNamaraMarsland Nik Pousette Harger Nina Spellman Nola Chen Olivia Sather Phi Dieu Hang Nguyen Rayn Tavares Rayven Tate Reine Lederer Rio Asch Phoenix Saakhi Singh Sean Kolczynski Sydney Lerner Tyler Blint-Welsh Zack Putnam

Meet the Staff

About Hannah Crotty Position Promotions Director Major Communication Studies Graduating 2020 Favorite Venue College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT Tastemaker Since Spring 2016

Listening to

Deadbody Miya Folick Better Oblivion Community Center Better Oblivion Community Center

Quote

“If I ever get elected to office I would like to be sworn in on Ina Garten’s Back to Basics.”

Echo Arms “Mr. Twin Sister”

Drew Quercio Position Staff Writer Major Music Industry Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue The Sinclair Tastemaker Since Fall 2018

Njomza Vacation Baby FuzZ “I’m Still Holding Out for You”

“I only got into this club because I used the word ‘20-Gay-Teen’ in my application.”

Lizzo “Juice”

Kristie Wong Position Co Social Media Director Major Computer Science and Business Administration Graduating 2021 Favorite Venue Paradise Rock Club Tastemaker Since Spring 2018

Max Rubenstein Position Staff Writer Major Entrepreneurship and Innovation Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Royale Tastemaker Since Fall 2018

CONCORDE “Sons” Gallant “Haha No One Can Hear You!” Stone Cold Fox “Seventeen”

Tierra Whack Whack World JPEGMAFIA Veteran Floss Injury Reserve

“If you’re not handing out Tastemakers issues to all your Tinder dates, you’re doing it WRONG.”

“The Grinch (2018) trying to appeal to millennials: ‘Let’s put a two minute dance scene set to BROCKHAMPTON’s ‘BOOGIE’ in our film.’ Me, an intellectual: ‘I need to let my hair down and grow up like a real ass Grinch.’”

Still Woozy, Sinclair

Photo by Rayn Tavares (Mechanical Engineering)

Table of Contents Cover Story

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From Crate Diggers to Optimized Algorithms For every bright-eyed music lover embracing modern streaming culture, there is another one preaching the good old days of vinyl and CDs; what were the real pros of each, what cons have we chosen to overlook, and what does the future hold for how we consume music?

Editorials

Etcetera

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They Got the Beat: The Local Percussion Manufacturing Industry From Questlove to Dave Grohl, some of our favorite musicians have been using the same percussion instruments for years, all from companies right here in Boston.

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Nazi Punks F*ck Off!

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Think of your favorite Disney classic, and chances are it aligns pretty well with one of today’s brightest music icons. Some stories never get old.

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While she’s never been at the forefront of pop’s biggest scenes, Robyn has been working tirelessly in the background crafting some of the industry’s most creative and underrated projects.

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Calendar

A Mistake in Your Favorite Song? It’s More Likely Than You Think Sometimes accidents lead to the best results, and you’d be surprised how many major errors made it into pop culture’s biggest tracks.

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Local Photos

Tastemakers Dissects: “Mortal Man” Often overlooked or dismissed as an an arty track, Kendrick Lamar’s album closer deserves some much closer unpacking.

Pop in Review: How Less Became More

When You Wish Upon a Popstar: Today’s Music Stars as Disney Movies

In Defense Of: “Scream & Shout” by will.i.am feat.

Britney Spears What started as an argument in favor of Metalcore quickly morphed into an impassioned and unabashedly extra defense of the often criticized top 40 hit. We aren’t sure where the transition occurred either.

How Mother Monster Birthed the Modern Pop Star

Pop music has become more sedated over the last few years, and writer Willa Shiomos is here to examine this newfound minimalist trend.

You may not have known it, but neo-nazism is disturbingly alive in parts of the punk scene. So just how have modern punk musicians chosen to combat the hate?

Robyn’s Got Something to Say

Whether or not you like her style, Billie Eilish has been on a roll.

What is it about her that makes her fanbase so huge and diverse?

Every musician has inspirations, but Lady Gaga has inspired the personas of so many present day pop stars without them even realizing it.

Features

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All Eyes on Eilish

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From the Top of the City: Surveying Kate Bush’s Discography With top 5 UK albums in every decade since the 70s, renaissance woman Kate Bush is quintessential music history.

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Community With top 5 UK albums in

Reviews

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Album Reviews Broods, Toro y Moi, James Blake, & Mike Posner

Show Reviews Jesse McCartney, Nao, Noname, & Khruangbin

Calendar March Su

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Cherub Paradise Rock Club

Cat Empire Royale

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Cypress Hill House of Blues

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James Bay Orpheum Theater

Smallpools with Bel Heir Brighton Music Hall

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Rockommends

State Champs House of Blues

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Lukas Graham House of Blues

Massive Attack Wang Theater

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Natalie Merchant Wilbur Theater

Ariana Grande TD Garden

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Kiss TD Garden

Jukebox the Ghost Royale

Jukebox the Ghost Royale

March 11 @ Brighton Music Hall From dancing to the beat of pop anthem “Dreaming” to throwing an inflatable killer whale through the crowd to “Killer Whales,” Sean Scanlon and his band had me feeling more alive than ever at their live show last year. Their set consists of songs you used to love, like “Street Fight” and “Karaoke,” but also includes newer repertoire like “Passenger Side.”

Whether you’ve been listening to them forever or are looking for a new and refreshing sound, Smallpools is the show for you!

Brandon Yap (Experience Design)

16 Dropkick Murphys House of Blues

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Jawbreaker with War on Women House of Blues

Smallpools with Bel Heir

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Jawbreaker with War on Women March 22 @ House of Blues Are you an emo kid at heart? Do you love gritty riffs and screaming along to high-energy, heartbreaking jams? If your answer to these questions is a shameless yes, then be sure to catch emotionalhardcore veterans Jawbreaker at House of Blues.

After 20 years of hiatus, the pioneers are back together for a reunion tour that you definitely don’t want to miss.

Hannah Lowicki (Marketing)

April Su

you can view the calendar online at: http://tastemakersmag.com/calendar

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Jess Glynn House of Blues

Tori Kelly House of Blues

Tori Kelly House of Blues

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Balance & Composure Paradise Rock Club

Dream Theater Orpheum Theater

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Candlebox Wilbur Theater

Against the Current Brighton Music Hall

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The Hunter Center at MassMOCA

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The Mountain Goats Wilbur Theater

Against the Current April 18 @ Brighton Music Hall

Mitski with Jay Som April 20 @ The Hunter Center at MassMOCA

Catch Against the Current at Brighton Music Hall in support of their sophomore release, Past Lives. Filled with pop-rock anthems like “Friendly Reminder,” “Almost Forgot,” and “P.A.T.T.,” the new album shows how the Poughkeepsie-based trio has really come into their own since the release of their first album and their last U.S. headlining tour in 2016. The band will have the crowd dancing from the first beat, and their concerts are known to be energizing, electric and a total blast for everyone.

Don’t miss out on this show!

You’d be hard pressed to find a Best Albums of 2018 list without Mitski’s Be the Cowboy in the top 10. Reviews of her tour are earning just as much acclaim and the MassMOCA stage is the perfect setting for the sonic brilliance of Be the Cowboy. Jay Som’s dreamy lo-fi pop will be the perfect accompaniment to Mitski’s emotive performance style, making this a not-to-miss event.

Katie Isbell (Journalism)

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Big Boi House of Blues

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SWMRS Paradise Rock Club

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Bad Suns Royale

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Japanese Breakfast Royale

Muse TD Garden

Broods Paradise Rock Club

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Hannah Crotty (Communication Studies)

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Editorial

ALL EYES ON

Everyone Seems to Love This Year’s Breakout Star

Designer: Shannon Haley (Interaction Design) Spring 2019

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24,000 songs are uploaded to the internet every day. That’s… well… mind-blowing, to say the least, and it’s given us a musical landscape that’s varied and rich beyond comprehension. But with so many artists out there, it often feels as if there’s a gulf a mile wide between different music scenes, with no artists in between to connect them.

That’s why I’m so grateful for Billie Eilish.

In this sea of music, she’s the common ground that people can stand on. Any lull in conversation, with anybody, can be remedied with one mention of her name. Bassheads, hip-hop fiends, reformed scene kids… everyone’s got their eye on her. This couldn’t be more evident right now as the entire country hovers over their keyboards looking

to snag tickets to her newest tour. Her shows keep getting bumped up to bigger venues and she’s even playing the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside of Denver, Colorado.

(It’s sold out, by the way.)

But… why? White, young, conventionally beautiful, ever so slightly edgy, she seems to check all the boxes of an industry standard made-for-fame-queen. That is to say, at first glance, there’s nothing particularly special about her. And yet, she has this enigmatic draw that very few people seem to be immune to.

So what makes so many people so attracted to her?

The simplest answer is that her discography is incredibly diverse. Each of her songs has a wildly different tone. This, by the way, is

entirely intentional. Reflecting on her newest album, she said “the main thing we tried to do was have every single song sound completely different from everything else… If you put 14 people who like different genres into a room and plop WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? in front of them, I want every single person in that room to like at least one song.”

She’s clearly a product of her genreless generation, she seems disgusted at the thought of putting herself in a box. The ever-prestigious publication Teen Vogue once asked Billie to make the “playlist of her life,” and she named songs from My Chemical Romance, Frank Sinatra, Drake, and a whole flurry of other artists. She doesn’t like artists because she’s supposed to, but because they’re putting out art that is true to themselves.

Some of her biggest influences come from a genre that, at first glance, seems entirely dissimilar to her own music—hiphop. She’s named Tyler, the Creator as “probably her biggest inspiration, ever.” Her song “Bellyache” is even directly inspired

by Tyler’s track “Garbage.” Support for her new tour is provided by Denzel Curry. Even though Billie Eilish is distinctly pop, somehow

this connection feels natural. Recently, the production backing some of the most popular rappers in the scene has slowed down, becoming minimalistic and almost soothing.

In a time when hip hop has been leaning heavily towards this dreamy new sound, Billie Eilish seems to bridge a psychological gap between pop and hip-hop.

Also, her story telling skills are just incredible. Even if her personal story isn’t always the most colorful, she knows how to pull one out of thin air. “Bellyache,” for instance, is from the perspective of a girl who’s just gone on a killing spree (Billie assures us that her friends are all very much alive). Some of her songs draw from personal experiences, many don’t. To Billie, that’s not the point. She simply weaves together verses that are beautiful. Lyricism is a dying art; maybe we’re craving it. Billie’s lyrics are clever, stunning, and unique, and set against the simple backdrop of her minimalist production.

She expertly weaves in electronic elements into her songs— not in the way that all pop artists synthesize the backing of their tracks, but artfully, calling attention to the

blips and glitches in between the lyrics. In this way, she does pop perfectly. It’s not over the top, it’s not kitschy, it doesn’t even seem like it’s trying that hard. Hell, it’s pretty obvious that Billie is just doing whatever she wants.

In a genre that can be so image obsessed, Billie’s genuine demeanor and “judge me please” (her words, not mine) style feel like a breath of fresh air. There’s something truly admirable about the way that she fiercely defends her independence- she pulls from her inspirations exactly as much as she wants, in order to make a persona that’s entirely her own.

“If everyone dropped dead right now and I didn’t I would be left with what I created for myself. And what the hell would the point be if I was just creating something that someone else wanted me to create?”

• Helen Snow (Media & Screen Studies & Journalism)

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And what the hell would the point be if I was just creating something that someone else wanted me to create?”

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In Defense of:

SCREAM & SHOUT By will.i.am feat. Britney Spears

Etcetera

It’s Britney, Bitch.

Designer: Sara Hartleben (Graphic Design)

Spring 2019

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So this was originally going to be “In Defense of Metalcore,” something that is ostensibly in dire need of defending. That was until the unspeakable happened: a now former friend insulted the 2013 smash hit “Scream & Shout” by will.i.am and Britney Spears. I was immediately compelled to action; I had to change my topic to set the record straight. You see, I’m not the kind of person to back down from a fight: when someone has bad taste, I have to let them know.

And just so we’re clear, “Scream & Shout” is an excellent song with a far-reaching influence, masterfully crafted by two titans of the music industry. It’s also somewhat of a freak hit, inexplicably topping the charts beyond its artists’ and genre’s prime. But most importantly, it’s a verifiable bop, and really what else matters beyond that?

So just in case you forgot, or never had the opportunity to “rock with will.i.am and Britney, bitch,” I’ll give a little backstory: “Scream & Shout” was a late-career hit from Will and Britney that came around during the weird time that was the early 2010s indie pop explosion.

Early 2013 pop radio was “Home” by Phillip Phillips, “Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men, and “Some Nights” by fun., certainly not the overblown electropop monstrosity that is “Scream & Shout.” But somewhere between the Gotye rip-offs came a “Harlem Shake” and “Thrift Shop” fueled penchant for the ridiculous, and that is exactly where “Scream & Shout” shone.

It’s important to note also, although some may argue otherwise, that “Scream & Shout” did not ride its star power to the top. After all, Will had proven with his previous single, “T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)” featuring Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez, that celebrity status combined with tacky, loud production barely scratches the top 40.

Because although it was a hit, “T.H.E” came nowhere to close to the popularity of “Scream & Shout.” Just to be clear, this song was absolutely everywhere, and to be even clearer, it seemed like few actually liked it. A December 2012 review from PopMatters puts it simply: “‘You’re gonna turn this shit up,’ Spears claims, completely unaware that lot of people will actually be turning this shit off.”

In fact, the shit in question was neither turned up or off, but instead left on in the background. “Scream & Shout” proceeded to coast up the charts to reach its peak at number 3 in February 2013.

With that exposure comes the aspect of “Scream & Shout” that most deserves defending: its influence. As ridiculous as it sounds, the song’s campy and surprisingly self-aware attitude combined with the dark, club-inspired production would go on to become a staple of underground pop. Specifically, the Bubblegum Bass style championed

by PC Music à la SOPHIE and A.G. Cook draws heavily from the deepbass and electro-house synths and often involves similar levels of camp. “Scream & Shout” also served as the harbinger of the end of an ultra-materialistic era of pop that would be ushered out by Lorde’s “Royals” later in the year. As a result, I fully thank will.i.am for denying Iggy Azalea a lengthy career.

Finally, “Scream & Shout” is just a fun dance song. After all, who doesn’t love millennial whoops, tacky synths, Britney Spears’ faux-British accent, and auto-tuned will.i.am crooning? Often music criticism gets caught up in what is ground-breaking, meaningful, or culturally significant. To me, “Scream & Shout” is the perfect storm of factors that should add up to a disaster of a song, but by some miracle just work. So despite it not being quite high art, you shouldn’t be afraid to let out your inner poptimist and scream “It’s Britney, bitch.”

• Grant Foskett (Computer Science)

Album Reviews 10

Don’t Feed the Pop Monster

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Release Date February 1, 2019 Label Neon Gold Genre Indie Pop Tasty Tracks “Peach,” “Falling Apart,” “Why Do You Believe Me?” The New Zealand sibling duo, Broods, found their careers in grim positions after they were dropped by their major label, Capitol, following the release of their second album, Conscious. The two each used their time off to develop their personal artistic palettes with solo projects.

Georgia conceived The Venus Project which released one full-length album, and Caleb experimented with his Fizzy Milk project, releasing his single, “Make You Feel.” Once they decided to work under Broods yet again they dropped their most socially relevant record to date. Granted a wider margin of creative freedom, they took a new approach to writing on Don’t Feed The Pop Monster.

While the sonic departure is less jarring, the thematic elements that the group explores are their most engaging and diverse to date.

The album opens with confessional track, “Sucker,” which paints Georgia as another gear in the machine, a position that the rest of the record proves to be entirely destabilizing. Standout track, “Falling Apart,” offers some very telling lyrics of where the duo is with this album, stating, ‘There’s a fault in the system / So much talk with no listen / So much empathy missing.’ Not only is this reflective of our social spheres in general, but also of the music industry. While there have been arguments of an increase in relevant issues such as mental health awareness, the push of major popular content remains the most accessible and digestible, excluding more complicated topics. They explore even further on “Too Proud,” perhaps the biggest shock of the entire record which features Caleb delivering lead vocals for the first time and telling his own story of struggling with mental health as a man. The narrative doesn’t hit any dead ends, though, rounding out with tracks that rationalize such mindsets and pose more positive outlooks, allowing

Designer: Brooke Dunahugh (Studio Art)

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the group to avoid the “sad pop” tag that many artists have recently been given.

While much of the record has potential to start new conversations, it also includes a lot of what made Broods great in the first place. Their production remains sharp, as they worked with longtime collaborator, Joel Little and continue to contribute their own fair share. Tracks like “Why Do You Believe Me?” reflect their earlier sound and appeal to the minimal pop crowds who have loved them from the start. However, what sets DFTPM apart is how daring they are with track lengths, often going over four minutes and ditching the traditional “short and sweet” formula for pop music. Some of these especially longer tracks seem to overstay their welcome upon first listen, but have redeeming qualities to those who appreciate more developed, intimate moments.

To say the least, Broods have released their best project yet with Don’t Feed The Pop Monster. It explores authenticity in face

of shame, displays their most colorful and ornate production, and showcases their most organic songwriting, all without the pressures and intermediators of a major label. As a whole, it supports the pop music solution: not to solve problems, but to make them accessible and even danceable, which sometimes is all one can ask for.

Drew Quercio (Music Industry)

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Toro y Moi Outer Peace Release Date January 18, 2019 Label Carpark Records Genre Synth-Pop Tasty Tracks “Fading,” “Ordinary Pleasure,” “Miss Me,” “Freelance”

Spring 2019

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For every upbeat, funk-infused synth-pop venture on Toro y Moi’s latest effort, he offers a melancholic chill wave tune in turn. Perhaps this balance of mood and perspective has helped him find his so-called “outer peace”—a balance he fully broadcasts throughout these tight ten tracks, and reflects in one of their titles, “50-50.” Producer and singer Chaz Bear clearly equips his wide range of compositional attitudes as a tool to subvert audience expectation and maintain their attention, of which he only briefly ever loses grasp.

The intro groove “Fading” does a magnificent job of rocketing the listener into Bear’s trippy soundscape from the get-go, primarily thanks to his creative and recurring use of vocal as instrumentation. The tight procession of filtered “oohs” on top of a driving beat and tropical percussion provides a sense of burning excitement for what else he has cooked up on his yoga ball in that zen-like, retro studio pictured on the cover.

The album’s adventurous electronic production often sounds like it was indeed conceived in such a psychedelic dream space. Beats on songs like “Ordinary Pleasure” and “Freelance” make the listener want to bounce up and down on a yoga ball of their own. However, the consistently smooth track transitions occasionally sneak in a slick switch-up in style, most prominently heard when the slow, brooding

melody of “Miss Me” first hits. The song features ABRA’s silky and haunting vocals calling out to a lost lover, accompanied by a backing track of jungle sounds to complement the ominous atmosphere.

For much of this album, Bear seems to relate finding one’s titular “outer peace” to acknowledging the realities of adulthood.

“Does sex even sell anymore?” he muses on “Ordinary Pleasure,” explaining “I feel like I’ve seen it all / Or maybe I’m just old.” But what possibly drives his point home the best is the most lackluster cut on the album, “Baby Drive It Down,” a repetitive and forgettable sexual serenade which indeed proves that sex alone does not always sell. The track is perhaps too low-key for its own good, remaining in the same place instrumentally and vocally for its duration, between the short marimba loop and continuous expressions of desire.

As he proclaims “Uber messed up everything” along with his dismissal of pushto-start cars on “Monte Carlo,” Toro y Moi displays his nostalgia for simpler times. This vehicular analogy reinforces the nostalgic sound of the record, yet while his thoughts may be in the past, Toro y Moi’s creative energy is future-forward. It is difficult to pinpoint a singular artist or genre that Outer Peace sounds like. While some comparisons are clear such as the Brockhamptonesque vocal effects on downtempo cuts such as “Monte Carlo” and “New House,” as well as the R&B and funk influence throughout, Bear clearly has a unique combination of styles that inspire his music and push towards continuous innovation.

A main source of his originality derives from a refined technique for incorporating vocals into instrumentals in various forms.

For example, closer “50-50” features reverberant transitional moans, along with short vocal squeaks splashing across the mix. Bear casually hums along to the funky guitar melody in “Laws of the Universe,” creating a simple but charming bridge.

The lead single “Freelance” uses rhythmic repetition of syllables with building intensity to catch the listener’s attention, and the song is interspersed with downpitched vocal fills, reminiscent of classic disco tropes. The album’s sound palette extends to wonky synths stabs and ballad-like keys, as Bear doesn’t let his reliance on vocal instrumentation deter from an aptitude for layering intriguing electronic sounds.

On Outer Peace, Toro y Moi doesn’t hold back from flexing his production

muscles. The diverse array of instrumental styles he explores proves that he is not limiting himself to any particular skill set.

The cohesiveness of the project typically does not suffer from these musical mood swings, although it is clear that Bear’s forte lies in his upbeat synth jams. As a whole, the album offers a refreshing take on electronic music, with its worst flaw being the occasional lull before the next adventure.

Chuck Stein (Computer Science/Music Composition & Technology)

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James Blake Assume Form Release Date January 18, 2019 Label Polydor Records Genre Pop Tasty Tracks “Barefoot in the Park,” “Are You In Love?”

James Blake came back onto the music scene after two years of having only dropped a few singles and featuring on other songs such as “King’s Dead” from Black Panther: The Album. On Blake’s fourth album, Assume Form, he returns stronger than ever. As a whole, James Blake stays true to his traditional sound from his past records while also going in different directions with the many features on the album that seem to contrast his style.

With that in mind, despite this being a feature-heavy album, the features don’t carry the project and Blake’s voice still manages to shine through. The most unlikely features on this album seem to be the best combinations

such as André 3000 on “Where’s the Catch” and Latin Grammy award winner, Rosalía on “Barefoot in the Park.” The album starts out strong with a solo track from Blake, “Assume Form” which is reminiscent of his last album The Colour In Anything. His melodic vocals are extremely present over the simple electronic track in the back. This song then flows into “Mile High” featuring Travis Scott and Metro Boomin. “Mile High” in particular is a song with two of the most unlikely features on this album. Initially, it seems Travis Scott will take lead on this song with powerful lines, but Blake reclaims ownership over the track when he begins his verse.

This track shows how Blake is diversifying the direction of his music as it’s leaning more towards hip-hop with Scott’s punchy verses and a beat from Metro Boomin.

Blake is known for telling a story and this holds true for this album as well. Assume Form takes a different direction in that it’s a bit cheerier than Blake’s other projects.

Blake’s known for creating quite moody music with lyrical themes that hit close to home. The tones throughout this album are much more upbeat than his previous works which can be seen in “Barefoot in the Park.” Rosalía’s warm voice and the flamenco beats flood the track and pair well with Blake’s voice. James Blake closes out the album with “Lullabies For My Insomniac” which does exactly what it says. On this simple track, Blake softly sings his audience to sleep as they drift off listening to the album as he sings, “If you can’t / I’ll stay up, I’ll stay up too / I’d rather see everything as a blur tomorrow / If you do.”

Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)

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Mike Posner

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A Real Good Kid

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Release Date January 18, 2019 Label Island Records Genre Singer-Songwriter Tasty Tracks “Move On,” “Drip,” “Perfect” In the past two years, Mike Posner lost his dad to brain cancer, his friend Avicii to suicide, and went through a breakup with his longtime girlfriend. A Real Good Kid is the LP he’s crafted during those past two tumultuous years of his life. It stands as a powerful rumination on themes of loss and heartbreak, but doesn’t quite achieve its full potential due to a sonically and conceptually scattered track list.

Posner begins the album with a divisive introduction in which he urges the listener to either listen to the album in order with no distractions or come back another time with a free forty minutes. Posner has been attaching listening instructions to his music since his 2011 album, The Layover, in which each song had a location or mood to listen to it in. On past projects, the listening instructions have enhanced the connection to Posner’s music as they offer a unique window into the thought process behind his music.

Unfortunately, on A Real Good Kid, the instructions didn’t improve the experience.

When asked to listen to an album, in order, all the way through, I would expect it to not only be cohesive but also deliver an additional overarching thematic punch. Instead, A Real Good Kid jumps awkwardly from soulful reflections about loss to radio-friendly pop.

I’ve returned to tracks such as “January 11th, 2017,” “Perfect,” and “How It’s Supposed To Be” when I was in a calm, reflective mood.

Meanwhile, I’ve returned to “Move On,” “Song About You,” and “Stuck In The Middle” to lift me out of bed in the mornings. All six of these songs are strong individual singles, but the two distinct moods they represent are far too mutually exclusive to flow together in an impactful way on A Real Good Kid.

The misguided listening instructions are my largest critique of this album as I find Posner’s self-aware songwriting as well as the experimental production throughout the album to be incredibly engaging. “Drip” is a perfect example, featuring a grimy bass line and ringtone-like keyboard melody.

The spoken word verse from Posner and

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the bridge into the chorus serve up the most emotionally impactful moment on the album. “Perfect” crescendos masterfully from a soft-spoken ballad to a dance floor worthy piano and percussion jam session.

The studio conversations Posner recorded with his dad sprinkled throughout the album are also a highlight, amplifying the raw emotion put into the album.

This emotion is what makes A Real Good Kid an album that’s difficult to critique. How personal and self-aware this project is should be respected and admired. Yet, it simply failed to resonate with me as much as it should’ve.

I attribute this mostly to the rigid listening instructions from Posner. I see the album as more of a meditation for Mike Posner than music directed towards the general public.

If you haven’t been keeping track of Posner’s career in recent years, I highly encourage you to do so, as his path to selfactualization has been incredibly inspiring to follow. He’s setting off on a walk across America in 2019. Starting March 1st, he’ll be walking from Asbury Park, New Jersey to Venice Beach, California. It’ll take him about a year and he’s inviting anybody who wants to walk with him for any part of it to do so. He’ll be playing free popup concerts along the journey. Why is he doing this? He answers in the music video for “Move On:” “Because I want to.”

Sean Stewart (Entrepreneurship and Political Science)

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From Crate Diggers to Optimized The changing landscape of how we get our music Over time, the way we consume music has shifted drastically. From dusty vinyl bins to curated playlists, our medium for discovering, listening to, and sharing music is constantly changing. But whenever the masses abandon one medium and move to another, there’s tendency to look at the past with rosecolored glasses, ignoring its downsides and what we’ve actually gained from the new mode. And so I want to look back at some of the main methods by which we’ve gotten our music in the last 50 years – what were the rituals, what did they have that other methods lacked, and what were the bad elements that we conveniently brushed out in our revisionist, nostalgic history.

PHYSICAL MEDIA Vinyl: The pros we romanticize: Go to a record store in New York City, and you’ll see a bunch of people make believing they’re J Dilla, ardently digging through obscure cardboard boxes of jazz standards trying to find that “rare gem.” We all like this fantasy, and it’s one of the fun parts of the vinyl medium. With vinyl comes the record store, a physical place where you can hold things in your hands, and get expert advice if you want it. And all that buildup around choosing what music you want, or even just the fact of having to literally go somewhere to get music, bumps the anticipation. So when the needle finally drops and the record goes from warm fuzz to opening notes, something feels earned.

Further, the nature of the medium more or less necessitates listening to full albums.

As we’ll see as mediums change, this is something that tends to fall by the wayside in favor of customization. And while that has its merits, an album as a whole piece of art is valuable, and no medium is more suited to it than vinyl. Taken together with large format artwork, one can see how vinyl, and the vinyl experience provide probably the best gestalt experience of an album.

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The cons we forget: When I think of some of the places where I’ve had my most profound experiences with music (music that I choose, so excluding radio), sure there’s my bedroom, but there’s also the 5-hour bus ride to see my girlfriend, the late night in the library, and my car. Were vinyl the only medium around, I simply wouldn’t have these experiences. But thanks to a generation of indie kids, and their “borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered 80s,” this tends to get overlooked. In addition, while the sit-down-and-listen-to-a-full-album nature of vinyl has its benefits, it’s also limiting. Even though artists envision their work in the context of their album, no one can say that a listener is wrong for wanting to put it in a playlist.

d Algorithms:

Tapes: The pros we romanticize: Enter tapes! They’re small, you can play them in your car, on portable players, and they still have artwork.

Tapes also come with a boost in DIY ability.

Vinyl pressing is expensive and requires specialized knowledge, but just about anyone can make a tape.

Perhaps the most notable new feature that comes with tapes, what cheesy movies have burned into our minds, is the mixtape.

These custom mixes required a ton of effort, but they marked a widespread shift towards people curating their own playlists – for love interests, car rides, or sharing with friends.

The cons we forget: The core features of tapes remain attractive, but from a technical point they were simply outpaced. The sound quality is not great, they’re prone to breaking, and you can’t skip tracks, so when CDs came along and could do basically everything tapes could, but better, the evolution made sense.

CDs: The pros we romanticize: CDs offered even more control than tapes. It’s worth reiterating that at this point, much of the ritual around getting music hasn’t changed. It still involves going to a store, picking something out, paying for just that thing, and listening to it.

But now unlike a vinyl, and better-executed than a tape, you could listen to them almost anywhere. You could easily skip to your favorite track, and if you wanted to share a playlist with a friend you didn’t have to listen to the radio hoping a song would play, you could just burn your own disk (in this regards, CDs also coincide with the rise of iTunes).

The cons we forget: As far as physical media goes, CDs really do seem to be the best of all worlds. You can listen to a full physical album, but also customize and share relatively easily. However the key word here is “relatively;” CDs are still fundamentally limited by the constraints of physical media.

They hold only so many songs, they scratch, they skip, they take up space and so on. And so it makes sense that the next step in the evolution of how we get our music was not some superior physical method, but rather a turn to digital methods.

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DIGITAL MEDIA The sea change from physical to digital methods has provided a few major shifts that are often lamented. We went from having to go to a record store (or a Best Buy, as the case may have been), to downloading our music straight from the computer.

We went from 12-inch album art to artists’ names scrawled in sharpie on blank burned CDs and “This is” playlists. And while there is certainly something to be said for what was lost in the mainstream shift from physical to digital media, so much was gained too (if it weren’t, digital media wouldn’t be as ubiquitous as it is). Even though we may not talk to the owner of a record store, digital platforms did not reduce the amount of person-to-person interaction involved in getting music, it increased it. And every step of the way it’s become cheaper and more convenient to get new music.

iTunes and the iPod: The pros we romanticize: The idealized memory here centers around the click-wheel iPod, going to iTunes to download your new favorite record, and anxiously waiting as it uploaded to your device. Interestingly, these early days of digital music media may have involved different interfaces, but the rituals were extremely similar to physical media.

In both cases the consumer seeks out and spends money on just the one piece of music to which they want to listen. And then when it came to listening, the devices themselves were still solely dedicated to music.

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The cons we forget: With iTunes and the $0.99 song also came a further move away from full albums. As mentioned, the push towards customization has always been around, but as technology made it easier it even more aggressively took charge over the full album.

Streaming: The pros we romanticize: Streaming is in many ways, the natural evolution of all of the forces that have been underlying changes in how we can get our music. For one, it’s cheap to the consumer – I pay as much for a year of music – encompassing basically any artist I could ever want to listen to – as I would for three vinyl albums.

When we step back we can see that the trends have always been towards greater control over when and where to listen to our music, how to listen (full album vs a playlist), and how to share – trends that streaming seems perfectly designed to satisfy. Just focusing on playlists, what may have taken 3 weeks with a tape player or 2 hours with a CD burner takes 20 minutes on Spotify.

Then there’s how streaming influences how we discover new music. Due to advances in machine learning, sophisticated algorithms can learn our music tastes and recommend artists and songs to us. Some look down on this as a sort of saccharine substitute for the wise old sage record store owner who knew everything about everything and could recommend that just right record for you – but I think this is a false narrative. For one, more often than not the algorithm’s recommendations are good. There’s a psychological phenomenon called “algorithm

Designer: Roman Distefano (Interaction Design)

aversion” – people judge algorithms more harshly than humans after making a mistake, even if the human’s mistake was worse. Translated into playlist curation, sure sometimes Spotify gets it wrong, but the shear amount of music that gets recommended to me, even if the hit rate isn’t 100%, is still a net positive. And this does not eliminate the human element either. When Spotify’s algorithm recommends an artist I wind up liking I don’t keep it to myself, I share it with a friend.

The cons we forget: Not everyone who mourns the loss of physical media to streaming is a Luddite. The drift away from an artist’s full work that began with tapes has reached an apex with streaming. In addition, streaming is extremely integrated into everything we do – whereas a vinyl player only played records, my phone and computer do a million things besides stream music. On the one hand, looking at our drives for convenience and control, this is good.

But some have argued there’s a cheapening that comes with this – that having dedicated spaces, both physical and digital, just for music was a powerful thing.

Streaming is also the first medium where, by its nature, rather than owning the music we listen to, we effectively rent it. And so even though sharing music with my friend on Spotify is much more convenient, there’s something qualitatively different about passing a link than giving them my album to borrow, or burning them a CD from my music.

We value things more once we own them – in psychology it’s called the endowment effect – and when it comes to music, streaming precludes this in favor of mass convenience and access to every artist.

The Future: Trying to predict the future more than two years in advance when dealing with technology is a futile exercise. If I had written this 10 years ago, you can be certain there would be no mention of streaming. But what I can do is look at how the trends have progressed in the past, and what we know about people generally. Although we don’t think of ourselves as doing so, people spend a tremendous amount of their lives on autopilot.

This “system 1” thinking as psychologists call it is what underlies our tendency to do what’s easy, and stick with the status quo. With that, no matter what the next evolution of music procurement looks like, it will be something that makes things even easier for people - even easier to find music, perhaps in the way of better algorithms, easier to share, and easier to customize. I also think markets for vinyl and tapes will continue to exist, as they do today, for people who are willing to put in the extra effort to get what those forms offer that mainstream ones don’t.

It’s easy to go back and forth on the pros and cons of every medium. Is the gestalt experience of a vinyl worth its hassle? The charm of a tape worth its quality? The convenience of streaming worth the loss of artistic vision?

Ultimately there’s no right or perfect way to listen to music, and never will be. People will just have to decide on their own what matters to them, holding on to what they choose to, and adapting as things change.

• Jonathan Vayness (Psychology and Economics) 17

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Editorial

MOTHER MONSTER birthed the modern popstar

When Lady Gaga arrived on the scene with “Just Dance” in 2008, pop music was starving for an exciting artist to shake things up. That is exactly what Gaga did. She forced everyone to step up their game - create music videos like motion pictures, put on theatrical live performances, and be independent enough to speak her mind. Although artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson were doing this before Gaga, she was a breath of fresh air that spread like wildfire to newcomers and up-and-comers alike. From Rihanna to Halsey, “Mother Monster” has given birth to many of today’s favorite pop icons.

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MILEY CYRUS

HALSEY

Miley Cyrus quickly evolved from teeny bopper Disney Channel star to some type of strange bear-humping, culture-appropriating shock artist. Her stage presence during that odd point in her career greatly resembled the production value Gaga brought to pop music. At the 2009 VMAs when Gaga ran down the stage pulsating with blood dripping down her torso, expectations for live performances were forever changed.

Suddenly a pop performance at an award show became a spectacle of theatrical ability, no longer just a showcase of vocals or choreography. Cyrus’ world tour for her career changing album Bangerz showed similar spectacles, such as a 20-foot fixture of her dead dog center stage or a king-sized bed floating through the crowd. Although Cyrus’ career has changed back to her roots, her shock value is ever-present.

Halsey, for better or for worse, has become known for being opinionated. She has given several speeches at women’s marches and speaks her mind on social media constantly.

Her ability to connect with people has made her out as one of the most authentic pop artists today. This authenticity is something that Gaga championed, especially in her early days. Before anyone even knew Gaga’s name she wrote a whole album about how she was going to be famous. She spoke that very fact into the universe and went on to be nominated for several Grammys for her debut album. Since Gaga and the rise of social media, authenticity in pop artists has become a necessity for any amount of mainstream success.

“

From Rihanna to Halsey, “Mother Monster” has given birth to many of today’s favorite pop icons.

BEYONCé

RIHANNA

Previously known as Marina and the Diamonds, the character Marina portrayed early in her career seemed quite Gagaesque, as it became difficult to separate her performing identity from her true identity. Marina’s 2012 album Electra Heart was not only the title of her record but also a personality she developed to play stereotypical female characters via each song. Gaga furthered the idea of characterization as she constantly played the act of a New York City club kid. It went to the point where her interviews and fashion furthered the personality from her music.

This character wasn’t completely stripped down until her most recent record Joanne which changed her public image entirely.

Similarly, Marina has gone down the path of stripping down her hyper-characterization. By shortening her name to just Marina, the pop artist has begun to focus more on her next record, set to come out early this year.

As Beyoncé has grown as a solo pop artist over the last decade, the evolution of her music videos have gone from typical girly, pop friendly videos to feature film-worthy art.

She even bolstered her album, Lemonade, with an hour-long film accompaniment.

Although it’s difficult to ignore the influence she gained from Gaga in this area;. Gaga produced videos that were so out of the ordinary that people felt compelled to watch them. Beyoncé was even featured on the song and video for “Telephone” which shows the women poisoning a group of people in a diner and escaping a police chase. The videos themselves showed Gaga’s storytelling ability as videos would often play off of the concepts of past videos.

Similarly to Beyoncé, Rihanna was one of the only pop artists in the mid 2000s that was beginning to push the boundaries of the traditional pop star; but she went over the edge after Lady Gaga came onto the scene.

Here 2009 album, Rated R was her most interesting and diverse album to that point, and catapulted her style and image to a new level. She began experimenting with many different styles of music while keeping her core fan base. Suddenly Rihanna became a fashion icon, and is now a consistent mustsee on red carpets. Although she never quite reached meat dress level of experimentation, Rihanna most definitely took some inspiration from Gaga.

Designer: Anna Rychlik (Design and Marketing)

MARINA

Something magical happened in 2008 when Lady Gaga came into the mainstream, and her influence on pop artists then and today is undeniable. Although Gaga has strayed far from what made her a powerhouse performer, she continues to be a leading musician in evolving artistic expression. Even though Mother Monster has given birth to many of our collective favorites, the artists she has influenced have grown into their own, inspiring the next generation of pop stars.

• Emma Turney (Communication)

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Feature

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They are still actively trying to stamp out uploads, or at the very least, have made public claims of doing so. Neo-Nazi rock has a long and dark history, one that comes from somewhat surprising and humble roots, but was quickly corrupted by hate and used by far-right groups as a recruitment tool.

Punk rock in America emerged as a simple throwback, a response to the complex and artsy progressive rock that was emerging in the late sixties and the seventies. American punk harkened back to basic chord progressions and loud guitars without a synthesizer in sight. In England, punk was instead based more in class conflict. The “mod” culture of the 1960s was very much a style of the middle or upper class, based on fancy clothes, long hair, Vespas, and a very London-centric worldview. The response to this, coming from the lower classes and those outside of the urban areas, was much more practical and tough looking: Levi jeans, combat boots, jackets, and shaved or close-cropped hairstyles. This was the birth of what we now think of as skinheads, though not in the violent or hateful sense that came later.

While this was occurring, there was also a notable amount of immigration to

England by the people from her former colonies and other countries, such as India, parts of Africa, Jamaica, and more. These populations brought with them their musical stylings and culture, leading to the spread of reggae and ska music. These genres were actually quite popular with some white English youths, including the earlier skinhead movements. The influences of reggae and ska are clearly seen on some later punk groups like The Clash, such as their song “The Guns of Brixton.” As the seventies wore on, British punk music emerged, blending these cultural influences as well as the blues and American punk. Bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, the Damned, Gang of Four, and The Clash broke onto the scene with loud and angry music that strongly appealed to the working-class youths.

However, England in the late seventies began to experience serious troubles, with economic issues and ethnic tensions growing. Among the immigrant populations in Britain, housing discrimination and other issues caused significant discontent.

On the opposite side of racial issues was the National Front (NF), a far-right white nationalist group founded in 1967. The National Front were essentially fascists,

Designer: Jackie Arce (Experience Design)

IN 1981, California punk band Dead Kennedys made a very simple point: “Nazi punks, Nazi punks, Nazi punks fuck off!”

This sharp refutation was in response to a growing trend of Neo-Nazi punk rockers showing up at their shows. Frontman Jello Biafra and crew had staunchly leftist views, presented through acerbic and satirical lyrics that bit at injustices and hypocrisy in Reagan-era America. Much of the common perception (and generally, reality) of punks is leftist or anarchist and anti-authoritarian.

But since punk’s early days, there has always been a notable presence of a far more authoritarian and racist wing. It’s a Neo-Nazi contingent that started in Britain and migrated out to America and the rest of Europe as the punk movement expanded throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s.

The most disturbing part of this is that it hasn’t entirely died out, despite the declining popularity of punk rock. There are still underground labels putting out CDs through mailing lists or using internet forums to release albums. Spotify and YouTube became embroiled in some controversy after the 2017 events in Charlottesville, as there was a surprising amount of white supremacist and Neo-Nazi content on both services.

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opposed to Marxism, social progressivism, and non-white people in Britain. They were heavily inspired by the Nazis, with Nazi salutes visible in photographs of their rallies as well as Nazi iconography.

While the group never achieved notable office, they were a vocal segment of the population, with frequent and violent rallies.

The NF quickly realized that the nascent punk movement could be a tool for recruiting young people to their movement. At this point, most of the early members of the original class-based skinhead movement had moved on, adopting more “seventies” tastes and sensibilities. The remaining skins were a much rougher group, such as violent football hooligans and lower-class youths that blamed immigrants for their poor lot in life (not the oil crisis, economic stagnation that all countries faced in the 70s, or the policies of Margaret Thatcher). The NF started to use punk and football events for recruiting, supporting several white

nationalist punk groups, and even creating a fascist fanzine. This isn’t to say that the NF created Nazi punks, but they certainly played a role in fostering their early growth.

It didn’t help that some regular punk groups even used Nazi imagery for shock value, such as the Sex Pistols wearing Nazi armbands and pins on stage. This faced very direct opposition from the left-wing side of the punk movement, with The Clash refusing to play with the Pistols unless they took off their paraphernalia. There was a “Rock Against Racism” movement that held events opposed to the actions of the National Front and racist musicians in England. Nonetheless, several bands did emerge that achieved some degree of popularity among Neo-Nazi skinheads, although most clubs and labels wouldn’t take them. The music recorded by these groups is still some of the most circulated on modern services and forums, leaving a lasting influence on the far-right punk scene.

The history of nationalist and whitesupremacist music goes all over the world from there, such as Norwegian black metal artists that actually committed murder and wore corpse face paint while promoting paganism and the Aryan/nationalist “folk.”

Nazi punk music moved over to America in the eighties, which led to a racist minority coming into the punk scene here. This was the same crowd that the Dead Kennedys were telling to leave their shows, and

presumably the punk subculture. Hardcore punk, defined by brutal riffs, screaming or yelling lyrics, and violently moshing crowds especially drew in American skinheads and Neo-Nazis. Hate bands cropped up stateside, never achieving mass popularity, but with digital platforms such as iTunes and YouTube, they were able to get hate music out to a broader audience. This included regular listeners that normally would not have encountered the Neo-Nazi punk scene, with several bands and nationalist record labels claiming that internet distribution has allowed them to bring in youths that wouldn’t have otherwise supported the cause, as well as fundraise Neo-Nazi efforts. NeoNazi music videos on YouTube can achieve thousands of views, despite YouTube’s insistence that they are actively aiming to seek out and remove such content. Spotify generally has a more limited supply of hate music (due to uploading being harder), but its recommendation engine and “suggested artists” feature can make it very easy to find white supremacist rock bands.

In truth, it’ll never really be possible to stamp out Neo-Nazi punk, metal, and rock completely. As long as there are white supremacist movements and people who want to make songs that represent those views, there will be hate music. However, it’s worth noting that punk culture is generally geared in the same direction as The Clash and the Dead Kennedys. A lot of what we think of now as clashes between fascists and anti-fascists date back to the street fights between skinheads and left-wing punks in England. Punk rock can be an effective way to spread hatred and bigoted messages to the uninitiated, but most people would agree that above all, it is a tool that should be used to bring joy, to inspire, to liberate, and to bring people together.

• Bryan Grady (Political Science)

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“Lamar reflects on the metamorphosis of the butterfly: transforming into something beautiful from nothing.”

Tastemakers Dissects: “Mortal Man” The final track on Lamar’s epic To Pimp a Butterfly, “Mortal Man,” is at its core, a song about supporting your heroes through thick and thin. His mantra of a refrain says it best: “When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?” Lamar recalls the duality of the men he looks up to; references to Michael Jackson, an artist that changed the music industry while plagued with molestation and child abuse allegations, ask the listener to take a step back and think about what we are consuming holistically: “When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? / That **** gave us ‘Billie Jean,’ you say he touched those kids?”

While the first section of this album closer is powerful by itself, the track’s true impact lies in the final seven minutes.

the concept of To Pimp a Butterfly by highlighting the themes of each song before discussing the importance of taking what he has learned from his journey back to Compton. This poem is one of the most crucial pieces of work presented in modern hip-hop, but it is when he reveals his “audience,” Tupac Shakur, that Lamar destroys expectations.

Kendrick has always been vocal about the role Tupac has played in his life both creatively and personally, but through the power of editing he spends the last seven minutes of what many consider his magnum opus interviewing a man who had been dead for almost 19 years. Lamar dug up a rare Tupac interview conducted for Swedish radio in 1994 and replaced

got the chance to meet. With the album released in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown and the Ferguson riots, Pac’s responses stay particularly potent:

Through skits scattered throughout To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar builds a poem about his upbringing and the implications of his rise to fame. As the jazz-infused instrumental fades around the four-minute mark, Lamar recites his poem in full. As a whole, this spoken word section outlines

the interviewer with himself. Highlighting Tupac’s genius through the resonance of his responses, Lamar asks questions about the racial politics of living in 2015.

Through “Mortal Man,” Kendrick is able to talk directly to one of the most important people in his life, a man that he never

happen

I think that **** is tired of grabbin’ shit out the stores And next time it’s a riot it’s gonna be like, uh, bloodshed For real, I don’t think America know that I think America think we was just playing And it’s gonna be some more playing but It ain’t gonna be no playing It’s gonna be murder, you know what I’m saying?

It’s gonna be like Nat Turner, 1831, up in this motherfucker You know what I’m saying, it’s gonna

• Max Rubenstein (Entrepreneurship)

Designer: Gabrielle Bruck (Marketing/Design)

Kendrick finishes the interview by reading the final passage of his poem. In his closing lines, Lamar reflects on the metamorphosis of the butterfly: transforming from nothing into something beautiful. Kendrick views himself as a butterfly, a man going from living in poverty in Compton, discovering and honing the art of rap, and finally blossoming from his cocoon a new man. Through “Mortal Man,” Lamar performs an underappreciated career highlight and unapologetically depicts his metamorphosis as an artist.

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Local Photos

Cliff Notez, House of Blues

Brian Bae (Industrial Engineering)

Exmag, Brighton Music Hall

Photo by Aidan Cooke (Entrepreneurship)

Scotty McCreery, House of Blues

Photo by Lauren Scornavacca (Industrial Engineering)

Earthgang, Afterhours

Photo by Alex Aghania (Marketing and Design)

Editorial

Pop in Review: How Less Became More If pop music is generally for mindless escapism, it seems we ought to start looking for diversion elsewhere.

Designer: Phoebe Lasater (Graphic Design)

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Call it a product of Trumpian stress, or perhaps perpetual millennial burnout, but pop today is zoned out, nihilist, and chronically over it. Everyone is singing about their depression (“No Tears Left To Cry” by Ariana Grande, “SAD!” by XXXTentacion, “In My Feelings” by Drake), their therapist (“I’m A

Mess” by Bebe Rexha), or their medications (“Lucid Dreams” by Juice Wrld). Hell, what’s more hype than partying to a song about being “out like a light” after half a xanax? But pop music isn’t just sadder, it’s also, well, less.

For one, hip-hop dominates streaming charts (despite top forty radio’s resistance to it), and music traditionally regarded as clean cut “pop” has grown into a niche genre of its own.

What defines the genre of pop is constantly debated by critics and is highly in flux, but indisputably, what racks up streams now follows a particular formula of chilled, dispirited minimalism.

Persistently, it’s soft, sad vocals built around a lightly trap-ish beat, paired with a modest electronic drop prior to the chorus; It’s lo-fi hip-hop beats to study/relax to without having to log onto YouTube.

So, how did the pop collective become distinctly tranquilized? A well-worn theory is that of political and musical contrast.

During periods of economic and political downturn, pop music becomes happier as a form of compensation. It seems plausible: if the national mood is careworn, people want to hear more carefree music. The market crash of 2008 saw this proposal out perfectly: pop in its aftermath was towering and bright, artificial and exhaustive. Everyone just wanted to party themselves out of their misery; Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” was a rush of glorious escapism, and Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” was trying to relive that high of mindless partying over again. About the chart topping “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas, its producer David Guetta said, “It has such a positive vibe. And I think a lot of success with the song is because of that

really positive message, especially at the time when things are difficult for everybody.” But music wasn’t just happier, it was also bigger.

Maximalism was prevalent in every popular genre: Kanye’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” was an opus of the overblown, and everyone in electronic music was competing to see who could make the most dramatic, immense drop (think Skrillex). Yet, possibly no one represented that era of “doing the most” better than Nicki Minaj. Combining the gloss and theatrics of pop, the personality of rap, and the hyperaction of EDM, Pink Friday was maximalist, glorious chaos. Everyone knew “Super Bass”: it was a dose of candycoated extravagance, the eponymous phrase representing perfectly the thundering, whopping beat of the moment.

Even so, now seems to represent a wrinkle in that theory of cultural contrast.

With the current wave of Trump-related gloom, the zeitgeist is hardly looking up.

It seems that pop music’s collective depression must be a product of the period of downturn trudging on far too long.

But, one particularly relevant change in the industry is the seismic shift in how we consume our music, and who chooses what we consume: streaming. The draw of algorithmic recommendations has become all together unavoidable: it’s fast and easy, and most importantly, mindless. What streams well has a specific formula: it’s chilled out but downbeat, consistently constructed with light vocals and hip-hop-esque rhythms. Sound familiar? This combination is so successful for a reason: it can play for hours without much notice; it’s wholly void of personality, but not noticeably offensive enough to shut off. Thus, welcome the pop subgenre of Spotify-core, a term coined by The New York Times to represent this phenomenon.

Take one look at any of Spotify’s top featured playlists, “Chill Hits,” “Soft Pop Hits,” “Fresh and Chill,” or “Mellow Pop” to name a few, and it’s immediately apparent that all of Spotify-core’s stars are routinely spotlighted. Consider Billie Eilish, the genre’s crown jewel: her wispy vocals and emo lyrics rack up hundreds of millions of streams. Viral track “ocean eyes” is dreamy and darkly lit, recounting how a lover “really knows how to make [her] cry.” Her most streamed track, “lovely,” is a duet with peer Khalid, whose discography is also built around a certain youthful sadness and hip-hop-tinged haze.

But there is perhaps no one bigger at the moment than Post Malone. Like him or not, his success presently makes complete sense: he makes trap-influenced tracks with mostly brooding, pessimist lyrics. In “I Fall Apart,” he’s downtrodden and numb, comparing alcohol to Novacaine as a way of achieving maximum dazed apathy. On the aptly titled “Rich and Sad,” he moans about how his money has left him still depressed. Even a track titled “Psycho” is modest, drawling along until a micro-drop in the chorus. He’s the essential product of being in the right place at the right time.

Regardless of the reasoning, pop music has one hell of a hangover. And it’s the particular conjunction of sadness and dullness that makes it all the more agonizing.

The line between the dismal and the minimalist in pop has become essentially blurry, fitting given that depression inspires little vivacity.

So, pop music is left standing in the corner of the house party, zoned out and disillusioned, thinking about the price of the Uber home.

Maybe it’s out of contrast, streaming, or political woe, but one can only hope pop starts having a bit more enthusiasm. The thrill of apathy is starting to get really, really tiring.

• Willa Shiomos (Computer Science/Design)

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WHEN YOU WISH UPON A

Editorial

POPSTAR I recently stumbled upon a few five-year-old tweets from the brilliant underground rapper, Phonte. He compared rappers to TV shows using a variety of creative threads of thought, such as: “Law and Order is Snoop Dogg: Same formula for 20 years, but it’s a show where your whole family knows at least ONE episode by heart.” His tweets inspired me to expand on this idea by imagining pop stars as my favorite childhood (and adulthood) movies: Disney animated films.

Designer: Cammy Kuo (Landscape Architecture)

Spring 2019

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POST MALONE as DUMBO

KANYE WEST

as RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET

Despite Wreck-It Ralph’s incredibly likeable personality and heart-warming charm, he and Kanye West are nearly identical. Ralph and Kanye both are incredibly strongminded characters who stubbornly stick to their beliefs no matter what or whom they encounter. They’re also extremely confident in their decisions, simply because they are their decisions. This is evident when Ralph believes he discovered how eBay works: he just starts shouting high numbers as bids, not ever realizing they represent money values.

Similarly, Kanye has shown time and time again that opposed to fully understanding something, he would much rather jump to a conclusion that matches his internal biases.

For example, a few months ago he claimed “slavery was a choice,” arguing that we could free ourselves from any situation if we freed our minds. His lack of basic historical comprehension is what undermined his point and caused him to be as far off-base as Ralph bidding on eBay. The title alone, Ralph Breaks the Internet, could literally be replaced by Kanye Breaks the Internet and arguably make more sense.

Kanye has made a career out of breaking the internet, from his slavery revelations, to his Taylor Swift stage rush and much, much more. The question is, who is the Fix-it Felix in Kanye’s life?

Dumbo is my favorite Disney movie (and character) of all time. His ears and innocence are absolutely irresistible. The spell Dumbo has cast on me makes me think of Post Malone, who has undergone an incredibly similar character arc. When Dumbo was born, his big ears made him an outcast.

Circus guests and other elephants constantly made fun of him for his huge, floppy ears.

Eventually, he harnessed what he thought was his greatest flaw and turned it into his greatest strength: he used those big ears to fly! The world would never be the same.

Post Malone spent years bumming at friend’s houses, dreaming of becoming a music star. Eventually, he struck gold with the smash hit “White Iverson,” but critics were quick to dismiss him as one-hit wonder.

His tight braids and hilariously flashy grill turned many off. He was just so different than anybody else in the music industry.

Unbeknownst to all of his original naysayers, Post Malone’s original and offbeat nature became his greatest strength as he eventually forged a path to the listening public’s hearts.

Now we have Post Malone designed crocs, and the world will never be the same.

BEYONCE

as THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

A woman as strong, smart, and inspirational as Beyoncé is a perfect likeness to Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. Even through the lens of analytical psychology, as they’ve both been deemed ISFJ personality types

by Myers-Briggs. Additionally, they’ve both honed their incredible talents to achieve incredible acclaim and respect, Beyoncé to sing, and Tiana to cook. But what led each of them to succeed was work ethic. Both have been tireless workers throughout their lives, stopping at nothing to achieve their dreams.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s relationship is also remarkably similar to that of Tiana and Naveen. It’s always been clear that Beyoncé is out of Jay-Z’s league, although it’s reasonable to think that she may be out of every guy’s league. Due to this, it can be safely assumed that Beyoncé has done a lot to help Jay-Z improve as a person, as evidenced by the last three Carter family albums (Everything Is Love, Lemonade, and 4:44). Tiana and Naveen’s relationship starts with Tiana kissing Naveen in hopes of turning him back from a frog to a human. It ended up not being a perfectly smooth transition, but it eventually worked out for them just how it seems to have for the Carters.

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JAY ELECTRONICA Editorial

JADEN SMITH

as THE LION KING

As Simba was lifted heroically by Rafiki to the fanfare of the animal kingdom, you couldn’t help but feel the overwhelming expectations being placed on the little guy’s shoulders.

Despite Mufasa’s efforts, the expectations and power Simba was born with got to his head quickly. He developed a massive ego, causing him to defy his father and treat those around him poorly. This culminated with his singing of “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.”

Unbeknownst to him, he’d be called upon rather quickly, and he immediately failed to understand his massive responsibilities.

Eventually, after a period of growth, Simba began to mature and develop into a king just as strong as his dad once was.

Just imagine Mufasa as Will Smith and Simba as Jaden. Having a father who’s universally admired and unbelievably accomplished is a lot to live up to.

Unsurprisingly, Jaden was incredibly hungry to become just as revered as his father and become a star in his own right. He eventually earned a rather negative reputation after the critical and box office bomb, After Earth movie. It wasn’t until recently, with the release of his latest album, Syre, where his disarming lyricism and experimental production, represent that he’s beginning to grow into himself and out of his father’s shadow.

Spring 2019

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as PINOCCHIO

If you’re not familiar with the man, myth, and legend that is Jay Electronica, I highly recommend listening to his 2009 single “Exhibit C.” The single was released around the time he signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and announced his debut album. Nine years later, he has still yet to release that album.

He’s promised various releases throughout the past few years and has even claimed that he’s finished multiple EP’s and LP’s. Despite these claims, none of these projects have ever seen the light of day, and he has only released a handful of singles throughout his entire decade long career. Regardless of his undeniable talent, his pants are on fire.

Jay Electronica’s relationship to Pinocchio goes beyond his untruthful ways, extending into the undeniable talent he displays each time he steps in the studio. His technical rapping ability and writing creativity are nearly unparalleled, giving his singles the same depth as many rapper’s entire albums.

Pinocchio stands as one of Disney’s most revolutionary creative inventions that stands the test of time due to its flawless animation and masterful imagery. It gave lying a visual reference for the first time similarly to how Jay Electronica became the first universally worshipped rapper, who never raps. Both liars, both revolutionaries.

• Sean Stewart (Entrepreneurship and Political Science)

A MISTAKE IN YOUR FAVORITE SONG?

. k n i h t u o y n a h T y l e k It s more Li Have you ever been listening to a song and thought you heard a little blip in the song but sort of brushed it off thinking it was your headphones? Or maybe there’s a song that you really like, and you think the little conversation at the end of the song was a nice stylistic choice. Odds are, they were probably a mistake picked up during recording that never got edited out of the final cut. There’s more songs than you’d think that have small little errors and quirks in them like conversations or in one case, a full verse that wasn’t part of the original song. Here’s a few songs that you might not have known had minor mistakes in them:

Mack the Knife - Ella Fitzgerald When you’re as big in the music community as Ella Fitzgerald was you can get away with just about anything. Fitzgerald’s song “Mack the Knife” is a prime example of a song with a mistake in it. The other songs that were discussed had pretty minor mistakes all at the beginning or end of the songs. Ella Fitzgerald improvised an entire minute of her song right in the middle of the track and of course, because it’s Ella Fitzgerald, it sounded amazing. Unsurprisingly, she ended up winning two Grammys for the track.

Mo Bamba - Sheck Wes Designer: Shannon Ehmsen (Studio Art)

Sheck Wes’s “Mo Bamba” became famous almost overnight with the main verse being the most iconic part of the song. The first line of verse was actually due to a mistake while recording. When Sheck came in to record the song, the producers thought he was just going to sing the chorus, so it came as a surprise when he kept rapping over the beat. Panicked, the producers just copied the section of the song and kept pasting it over and over again. With their bad luck this caused the recording software to freeze and crash leading to silence in Sheck’s headphones which prompted the, “oh! fuck! shit!” and after the software unfroze Sheck responded with “bitch!”. This completely unintended intro in the verse made for the most popular section of the song.

In my time of Dying & Black Country Woman - Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin managed to get away with not one, but two songs with mistakes that weren’t edited out of the final versions of the songs.

Both of these songs have a conversation between the band members where “In My Time of Dying” it’s at the end of the song and “Black Country Woman” has the conversation at the beginning. During the latter song, at the very beginning you can hear the sound of a plane overhead and the discussion on whether or not they should leave it in. “In My Time of Dying”, Led Zeppelin’s longest song, has two quirks that made it into the final cut of the song, both at the end of the track. Robert Plant coughs in the background of the song and proceeds to sing cough. On top of this, the ending of the song was completely improvised and upon the last note, drummer John Bonham says,”That’s gotta be the one.”

Roxanne - The Police We’re all familiar with the popular song from the late 70’s “Roxanne”

by The Police. The song was 388 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. For a song that’s so revered, who would’ve known that it has a little mistake in the beginning. There’s an abrupt clang followed by a chuckle which is when Sting sits on the piano. The blip in the song is so minor that you probably wouldn’t have noticed had I not pointed it out and if you had, you probably forgot about it right after you noticed it.

• Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)

33

Show Reviews

Jesse McCartney House of Blues 1.22.19

Reviews

When I walked into the House of Blues for this concert, the last thing I was expecting to see was a sold-out venue. The crowd seemed to fill with twenty-somethings keen on seeing if this would live up to everything they had dreamed of when they were younger, and it was evident from the beginning it was. McCartney knew how to captivate his audience starting out strong with his classics such as “Leavin’” and “How Do You Sleep” which had the crowd hyped up from the start. Everyone was singing along; belting the lyrics as loud as they could.

Throughout the show McCartney played old and new songs alike, even throwing in some unreleased songs into the mix.

McCartney filled each break between songs by engaging with the audience and asking questions regarding their resolutions given the name of the tour, ”The Resolution Tour.”

The crowd was incredibly responsive and yelled in hopes McCartney would choose them but one girl in particular who shouted,

“No more fuckboys!” stood out, to which McCartney couldn’t agree with more. He took this as an opportunity to lead into his next song, asking the crowd if they’ve had ever been in a relationship that they had to cut off. Then, after scanning the crowd, he chose a girl out of the crowd and brought her on stage to serenade her, singing “The Stupid Things” directly to her. This act drove the crowd absolutely wild as all of them seemed to imagine themselves on stage in place of the girl.

The direction of the show shifted as the lights started to dim and the energy began to mellow. A piano was rolled out to center stage where McCartney took a seat to address the crowd revealing to us that he has a song he wrote but never personally released. You could see confusion on everyone’s face as the crowd racked their brain as to what song it could be and if we had heard it passing somewhere. Next thing you know, he starts singing “Bleeding

Love” in an angelic voice and everyone is bewildered as that was the last song we all expected to hear. McCartney finished the song and walked off stage, but we all knew that he wasn’t finished yet. The crowd chanted “Encore!” and all of three minutes later, the lights rose and Jesse sauntered back on to stage. Within the first few plucks of the guitar string the crowd erupted as McCartney sang “Beautiful Soul” – the song we all know and love him for. I didn’t have extremely high expectations for this show but needless to say, I left feeling nostalgic and satisfied.

closer and closer, slowly spinning in her lacy, flowing white robe to face all of those in awe.

Once on the stage, bathed in bright pink and white lights, the English singersongwriter went into the Afropop-infused “If You Ever,” which had the entire crowd singing along, “Would you like to go, like to go with me?” Following an ovation so powerful that it nearly brought Nao to tears, she addressed the crowd for the first time: “We would like to take you to another place tonight.” Referencing her 2018

release Saturn, which is centered around the personal struggles of young adulthood, Nao’s larger-than-life presence and the atmospheric aesthetic created the perfect environment for such a journey.

Now robe-less and rocking a sheer green jumpsuit, Nao was as creative as she was confident, utilizing props like windblowers, chic capes, and white balloons, all of which added to the flamboyant and astrological ambience. Nao’s choreography varied widely, from popstar-esque, stoic

Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)

Nao

Royale 2.01.19

Designer: Al Bako (Animation) Spring 2019

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After warming up from the freezing February night to the soothing sounds of Xavier Omar, the Royale crowd eagerly awaited for Nao to arrive on stage. As the time ticked past 9:00, conversations turned into chants and the excitement became palpable. Seconds later, Nao shocked the crowd by appearing perched up on a platform next to the soundboard, opening the show with a piercing performance of “Another Lifetime.” Her angelic voice and appearance drew the fervent audience

movements to lively, care-free whirls, but the charisma and glamour remained constant. Her vulnerability and confidence oozed its way into the crowd, exemplified in the roaring response to Nao’s question, “Any gay girls in the house?” before going into “Gabriel.”

Another highlight of the night came during a cathartic cover of D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar.” Citing him, and other iconic neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu, as her primary influences, Nao continued to put her soulful side on full display. A beautiful fusion of funk, R&B, and pop, Nao’s versatility kept the show engaging and unpredictable.

As her performance hit the one hour mark, Nao reinvigorated the crowd with dance anthems like “Firefly” and “Complicated,” both of which are collaborations with electronic producer Mura Masa. The encore continued this upbeat trend, with everyone from the front row to the coat check unable to resist moving their bodies with a smile.

Nao and the audience mirrored each other’s intensity and passion the entire night, prompting her to stop and sincerely express her gratitude several times, taken aback by the overwhelming support.

After taking everyone on a journey teaching

self-love and introspection through her dynamic sounds, Nao made it clear how she has managed to develop such a loyal, global following.

sweatpants flowing behind him. Elton offered the perfect mix of Acid Rap-era Chance the Rapper and Smino, causing the largest collective head-bob I have ever been a part of.

From the moment Noname and her seven-piece band took the stage it was obvious we were in for a treat. It was immediately apparent that the bass was mixed just as high as Noname’s vocals; although jarring at first, I realized it was just as essential as the lyrics. Noname took us to jazz church and I am forever changed.

She had this innocent, childlike wonder that I have never seen in an artist. As she recited her trademark spastic slam poetry, she frolicked across the stage and danced like a seventh grader at a school dance with undeniable swagger.

The perfection of Noname’s live show lies in her capability to not only replicate her studio recordings but also build on them.

The jazz-infused soundscapes that fill her backing tracks were all in attendance, but Noname’s near perfect lyrical performance provided a welcome change of pace from the typical rap show. On the rare occurrence that she missed a word, like when performing her newest single “Song 31,” she was able to lean on the crowd’s beat-perfect recitation that consistently backed her vocals. Noname has a unique stage presence of nervous confidence, but as she introed her track “Window,” she perfectly described the concert’s vibe: “You gotta sing with your whole face, you gotta make an ugly face!”

Noname’s sold out two-day residency at The Royale proves that the Chicago underdog is just getting started with her mob of misfits behind her.

Miles Kirsch (Bioengineering)

Noname

Royale 1.10.19 I don’t know if it was my denim-on-denim, BROCKHAMPTON tour shirt, or mustard yellow converse that gave it away, but when a hoard of eccentrically dressed college students asked me if I was heading to the Noname show, I knew I was in good hands.

As we walked into the venue we were greeted with a sea of pink and blue lights that had flooded the room along with what seemed like the entire population of twentysomethings in Boston.

The lights were dimming as technicians set up drum sets and bass guitars, when seemingly out of nowhere, the opener, Elton, burst onto center stage. What followed was one of the greatest opening acts I have ever seen. The sheer crowd control and confidence Elton had in a city he admitted to never visiting was staggering; he spent his thirty-minute set drifting across the stage with his bathrobe-esque cardigan and baggy

Max Rubenstein (Entrepreneurship)

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Khruangbin Royale 12.26.18

Reviews Spring 2019

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Houston natives Khruangbin have a reputation for phenomenal live shows, and as I saw in December at the Royale, it is entirely well-earned. Touring their 2018 album Con Todo El Mundo, the band married Ethiopian, Thai, and Spanish influences into a chicken soup for our seasonally affected souls.

Kicking off with a sun-drunk cover of Björk’s “Pleasure Is All Mine,” acid country superstar Will Van Horn took the stage dressed as a business formal cowboy. As the band seamlessly transitioned from Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ to a twangy Aphex Twin cover, a Boston venue packed with startup bros and Tufts medical students bloomed into a bona-fide Houston hootenanny. A mere week after HW Bush’s passing, we were all feeling his absence in the club that night, for better or worse.

Following Will Van Horn’s oil spill jam sesh, Khruangbin took the stage, immediately putting to rest our mispronunciations (it’s ‘crew-ong-bin’, who knew?). Dazzling in pin-straight black wigs and skin-tight metallic green suits, the band members stood in sharp relief to the Royale’s lighting design, which functioned as a love letter to the electromagnetic spectrum. A watermelon tourmaline haze

fell upon the performers before melting into a warm amber through “Friday Morning,” a sleepy love song. Beams of opal swelled to each crystalline chord change, baptizing us in mechanical moonlight as we swayed to the sounds of uninhibited psychedelia.

Classic favorite “White Gloves” became an ODB cover, blooming into a medley of light and sound, intermingled with the creamy Isley Brothers riff that Ice Cube made famous. The distorted, smoky vocals of “Cómo Te Quiero” begged for a visual equal, and fog machines reliably provided. When yellow beams refracted through a purple plume of smoke, I silently thanked God for the existence of airborne dust.

Boston audiences, as you know, are reluctant dancers. An exceptional band can coax your typical Allstonian into a perfunctory head bob and maybe a lil’ shoulder shake after a few PBRs. To my disbelief, though, everyone got down.

Drummer DJ Johnson’s tireless drum fills and undeniable cool reminded us all why “Houston” was the first word uttered on the moon. Guitarist Mark Speer and bassist Laura Lee grooved together in perfect harmony, twin souls draped in smoke.

When the band left the stage, we felt like

shower curtains ripped open in the dead of winter. This wasn’t an encore applause of courtesy golf claps - this was hunger. We needed more.

But Khruangbin, genetically unable to disappoint, re-emerged at last. Dressed like a sexy Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, Lee and Speer grooved through a Thai funk cover of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmastime is Here” to which even the Christmas music haters in the crowd couldn’t help but smile. We left the Royale that night nourished, newly purchased Khruangbin rolling papers in tow, grateful to have experienced two hours of undiluted happiness.

Al Bako (Animation)

We publish show reviews online too! tastemakersmag.com

THEY GOT THE BEAT The Local Percussion Manufacturing Industry As music consumers, we tend to focus just on the product of music itself and often forget about all the work that goes on behind the scenes that makes it all possible. Perhaps one of the most overlooked steps in this process is the creation of the instruments that make the music possible. Unless you’re wildly into the music industry or are a performer yourself, chances are you’ve never considered where your favorite band’s drum set came from or whether their guitar was locally made. When it comes down to it, the sound quality and instrumentation are what make your favorite song sound so great both recorded and live.

There are countless brands and companies that create their own unique instruments, many of which are based and manufactured around the world. But did you know that there are several major brands based right here in the Bay State? In fact, some of the biggest names in drum kits and accessories are less than an hour’s drive from the city.

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Feature

Zildjian has quite the long and impressive history. You would likely recognize their name from their iconic cymbals, but there’s much more to this company than instruments.

They have been in business since 1623 (almost 400 years!) and were once located in Constantinople, but have since made moves to Quincy and now Norwell, MA. The company has managed to survive several major events in American history, including the Great Depression and WWII, where they actually supplied cymbals for the army’s marching band. Despite all this, the Zildjian company has remained in the family, passed down through the generations. This mentality is also applied to their sourcing and production methods.

In fact, the company’s current CEO, Craigie Zildjian believes: “The notion of sending your quality, outsourcing your quality halfway around the world is unthinkable” (CNBC).

Designer: Alex Agahnia (Marketing and Design)

Spring 2019

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Vater Percussion – Holbrook, MA

Avedis Zildjian Co. – Norwell, MA The company not only invented many of the cymbals that are now standard in modern drumming (including the hi-hat, splash, and ride cymbals), but has also helped introduce them to more prominent roles in popular music of the latest century. Creating such unique cymbals during a time when they weren’t in such high demand made them into what they are today, and now their products are used by drummers around the world.

Their clientele includes Travis Barker of Blink-182, Questlove, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, Daniel Platzman of Imagine Dragons, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and many more.

Another stick manufacturer, Vater was founded in 1956 by Jack Adams, who started making sticks in Jack’s Drum Shop in Boston without intending to start a separate company. As the business grew, they expanded its distribution beyond private clients to bigger companies like Vic Firth and Zildjian in the 80s, after moving their factory to Holbrook. In 1990, Vater debuted its own line of products and began marketing as its own company. In addition to drumsticks, they also manufacture a variety of percussive mallets, sticks and brushes.

Some notable names you might see with their products include Frank Ferrer from Guns ‘N Roses, John Wicks from Fitz and the Tantrums, John Andrews from Tegan and Sara, and Bryce Avary from The Rocket Summer.

Vic Firth Company – Norwell, MA

SJC Custom Drums – Southbridge, MA SJC Custom Drums is a company that you might have never heard of, but whose products you’ve have likely heard in action without even realizing it. They’re responsible for making customized drum kits for some pretty big names in the industry – particularly those in the pop-punk and punk scenes. Some of their clients include Tré Cool of Green Day, Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots, Dan Pawlovich of Panic!

At the Disco, Cyrus Bolooki of New Found Glory, Frank Zummo of Sum 41, and Matt Kelly of the Dropkick Murphys.

Truly built from the ground up, the company started as a hobby by brothers Scott and Mike Ciprari but has since grown into a major business with a killer sound. It all began when the Cipraris were kids refurbishing drum kits around the neighborhood but soon unintentionally became a full-fledged company. Scott worked on perfecting their building process and quality, while Mike dealt with the customization aspect and ensuring clients’ satisfaction with their kits.

Mike, now the sole owner, has worked tirelessly to build SJC up using his own skills, network, and former band experiences. His band No Trigger was signed to Nitro Records, which provided immediate access to other bands and drum techs both through the label and on tour. Naturally, word of mouth took over and the client list continued to grow. Over the years he has snuck into Warped Tour to show their drums off, utilized his time on tours to further network with other drummers,

and participated in major collaborations with big names such as Vans, Jack Daniels, and Anthony Bourdain.

Once located in their grandmother’s basement in Dudley, MA, SJC has since upgraded to a warehouse in Southbridge, MA and recently expanded into a 60,000 square foot facility that now gives them the space to both showcase their most iconic drum sets and continue to make their custom kits.

They’ve considered relocating the company in the past, but this is where their roots are and as a local, Mike knows that “there’s a [certain] work ethic built into people from Massachusetts and New England.”

SJC’s emphasis on innovation and design made them among the first to print custom images directly onto the outer shells of their kits, and has helped the business create a range of products for players of all types and levels. Above all, their attention to the craft and dedication to the individuality of their clients sets them apart from other drum companies.

As Mike puts it, “It’s more than just a drum, it’s more than just a company, it’s a true family and we actually take care of our drummers differently and better than our competition…

We take care of every drummer, whether you’re Tre Cool from Green Day or you’re not even in a band and are 12 years old playing in your garage. We’re gonna treat you the same because I was that kid. We get it. And our drummers see that.”

Also located in Norwell, Vic Firth creates sticks and mallets, and has been in business since 1963. The company has put painstaking detail into designing and manufacturing the perfect pair of sticks that offer the correct weight and grip for the performer, and this attention to the minute details is what separates them from other such businesses. As Firth once said in an interview with MSNBC: “I had no intentions of getting into a business. It was simply to supply a stick that was better than what was available. But I took it to a different height, that demanded the most sophisticated playing you could do.” In 2010, Vic Firth merged with Zildjian, creating a union of family businesses that share similar goals and complement each other in performance and quality.

Similar to Zildjian’s clients, Vic Firth sticks are used by countless artists worldwide, including Danny Carey of Tool, Ray Luzier of Korn, Jason McGerr of Death Cab For Cutie, Jennifer Ledger of Skillet, Andy Hurley of Fall Out Boy, Chris Fryar of Zac Brown Band, Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones, and The Boston Symphony Orchestra.

• Taylor Piepenbrink (Music Industry)

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Feature

ROBYN S

Designer: Kat Minor (Game Design & Graphic Design)

Spring 2019

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Over the last two and a half decades, Swedish pop singer Robyn has specialized in her form of dance-pop that draws from 80s house influences and the allure of the dance floor. The subgenre of dance-pop was popularized in the 1980s largely at a time when disco was waning and electronic production became the foundation of dance music. Pioneers of this shift in pop music such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue successfully weaved elements of disco and house with the more emergent sounds of R&B and synthesizers. Robyn, who first came onto the music scene at only 15 under the management of RCA Records in 1995, was clearly influenced by these transitions. While it wasn’t until a decade after her freshman album that Robyn’s music took on the dance-club aura she’s become so well known for, the trajectory of Robyn’s career thereafter honed and nurtured dance-pop, creating a space for the genre nearly three decades later.

Robyn’s first two releases in 1995 and 1999, Robyn is Here and My Truth respectively, are hardly recognizable when compared to her following works. They rely more on the drum production of 90s-style R&B and launched a handful of charted singles (most notably “Show Me Love” off Robyn is Here). Billboard was quick to highlight the heartbreaking insights Robyn brought to pop music, describing in 1997 her ability to “focus on, rather than forget, the pained qualities of their coming-of-age experiences,” but these albums hadn’t yet raised her status as an innovator within pop. Robyn described the experience of working under labels as restrictive to her creative freedom and eventually left in 2004. Critical of the sterile image RCA sought to make of her, Robyn formed her self-owned label, Konichiwa Records, under which she released all subsequent records.

Many years and contractual disputes later, Robyn self-released her third studio album, complete with experimental sounds and house beats alike. The second track off this self-titled 2005 album, “Konichiwa Bitches,” is an embrace of electronica and an affront to those who had formerly restricted her musical autonomy. Other breakout singles like “Be Mine!” and “With Every Heartbeat,” were for the first time showcasing a more unrestrained, authentic Robyn. Her repetition of “and it hurts with every heartbeat,” on the outro of the latter track speaks to a pain forged only from a decade in an industry attempting to capitalize on her vulnerability.

The next batch of releases under Konichiwa came after a three-year touring stint. Robyn’s Body Talk trilogy – a release of three consecutive LPs in 2010 – marked a focal point in the Swedish dance-pop singer’s career.

Spawning over five Billboard singles and numerous Grammy nominations, Robyn’s Body Talk era popularized her music to a younger, more queer, over-stimulated millennial generation of dance music fanatics craving something neither too sanitized nor underground. By 2010, Robyn had perfected her formula of dance and house pop.

Catharsis has also been essential for an artist like Robyn, with songs like “Dancing On My Own,” “Call Your Girlfriend,” and “Indestructible” embracing the absolute best of the subgenre’s dance-and-weep sensibility. After Body Talk, Robyn, bleary-eyed with heartbreak and resolve, took full ownership of the direction of dance-pop for the twentyfirst century.

Robyn’s never been shy about her relationship with club music, a genre that she says “taught me so much about myself.” From the euphoric style that comes from some of her major influences such as Kate Bush and George McRae to Robyn’s own music videos that, well, literally have her dancing the whole way through, Robyn’s music has been designed for clubs – ones that serve the specific purpose of dancing away loneliness, surrounded by others doing the same.

Robyn has characterized the core tenants of pop music as “Eternity and death. And losing control,” alongside love and youthfulness. While Robyn reached seemingly boundless heights post-Body Talk, her virtual disappearance after the era created an almost equally substantial impact on the dance-pop scene. Filling the void left by her absence came tracks like Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” and Rihanna’s “We Found Love,” songs that mirrored Robyn’s observational accounts of lust. The production of more indie tracks such as Lorde’s “Ribs” drew from Body Talk’s throbbing beats. If dance-pop of the 1980s ushered in more accessible, empowering dance music, pop music circa-2010 came as another iteration of house for even more mainstream audiences. Suddenly, all of pop music seemed to belong in the same clubs Robyn lamented over heartbreak – the only difference being Robyn wasn’t there to join the party.

Instead, during the intervening years between Body Talk and her 2018 release Honey, Robyn more privately

experienced a series of deeply personal losses - the end of a relationship with her videographer Max Vitali and the passing of a longtime co-producer and friend, Christian Falk. The emotional toll following these losses and three years touring after Body Talk led Robyn to six years in therapy and a period of healing before releasing Honey – an album from an artist who’s remained insular and trusting of her instincts in an otherwise tumultuous world.

Honey’s release, leading with the singles “Missing U” and “Honey,” came eight years after the Body Talk trilogy. The album is a reminder of Robyn’s masterful grasp of restrainedyet-urgent dance-pop that is paradoxically ubiquitous yet unraveling with experimentation.

Between the hypnotism of Honey and the euphoria of Body Talk, Robyn’s brand has long been to celebrate loneliness, to flip the narrative of heartbreak into one of jubilance.

The title track of her latest album is a pulsing, warm-house exploration of the fascination of new love, while other tracks take on more absurdist tones. With Honey, her music has taken on a weightlessness that makes her personal experience completely universal, yet again offering her audience companionship and solace.

Robyn’s professional arc has been a process of shedding layers. Freeing herself from her label, building an empire of her own under Konichiwa, and “rebooting” following Body Talk have all been integral to Robyn’s musical liberation. Artists such as Sam Smith, Carly Rae Jepsen, Perfume Genius, and Jack Antonoff have all been vocal about the unique blend of melancholy and honesty of Robyn’s music – a phenomenon Pitchfork has dubbed “that Robyn Feeling.” Between the various evolutions dance music has undergone, one feature has remained constant: its function of releasing energies that reside just below the surface of our everyday lives. Robyn’s music, striking the supernatural balance between euphoria and sorrow, has lasted in a way that feels perfect for the dance-floor at any moment.

• Vishal Makhijani (Politics, Philosophy, and Economics)

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Etcetera

From the Top of the City:

SURVEYING KATE BUSHíS DISCOGRAPHY

Kate Bush has inspired artists from

Spring 2019

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Bjˆrk to Big Boi.

Perhaps the most important art pop/baroque pop artist of all time, UK singer Kate Bush began writing songs at just 11 years old. By the time she was 16, her talent had been recognized by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, who worked as executive producer on her debut and collaborated with her in various other capacities throughout her career. Bush has only performed on two “tours” throughout her long career, in the spring of 1979 and most recently in the late summer of 2014, playing a 22-show residency at Hammersmith Apollo in London that sold out in 15 minutes.

Kate Bush has managed throughout her career to remain at a high level of popularity without sacrificing her creativity. She’s taken so many risks, created so many ambitious projects, and handled control over her production.

Her work has inspired so many artists in pop music and beyond. No matter what decade or period of her work you explore, they are all uniquely Kate Bush.

• Alex Wetzel (Business Administration)

(1978)

Released while Bush was just 19 years old, this remarkable debut set the stage for her career and includes songs written throughout her teenage years. “Wuthering Heights,” the lead single for the record remains to this day one of her most popular songs. Though not as adventurous as some of Bush’s future albums, The Kick Inside gives a glance into what sets her apart from other artists. The literary references, fascination with religion and spirituality, strange subject matter, and of course Bush’s unique, wild voice that are featured on The Kick Inside are prominent throughout her discography.

(Recommended Tracks: ìWuthering Heights,î ìMoving,î

ìMan with the Child in his Eyesî)

Lionheart

Designer: Kaya Dlouchy (Undeclared)

The Kick Inside

(1978) Bush’s sophomore record Lionheart is in many ways overshadowed by The Kick Inside. Released just nine months after her debut, this record also includes songs mostly from her teenage years. In a hurry to release new work following the success of that debut, Lionheart does not manage to build upon what she established herself as. Instrumentally, this record only occasionally strays from soft pop and rock sounds. It’s a record perhaps for the truest fans, but certainly not a jumping off point into her discography by any means. A decent collection of songs, but without any major highs, the record feels very safe (though that is in Kate Bush terms, mind you).

(Recommended Tracks: ìKashka from Baghdad,î ìHammer Horrorî)

Never for Ever

(1980)

After her first tour in 1979, Never for Ever followed up with much more of Bush’s personality. The record takes on a number of heavy subject matters, from ‘Blow Away” about a lighting technician who was killed after the first performance on her tour, to “Breathing,” about a fetus terrified of the nuclear fallout awaiting it. The songs are dramatic, and her voice shines through expressively and powerfully again as something truly special. It feels in a way a grand conclusion to the works of her early career, building on the classically influenced instrumentation featured on Lionheart and The Kick Inside.

(Recommended Tracks: ìAll We Ever Look For,î ìArmy Dreamers,î ìBabooshkaî)

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The Dreaming

(1982)

After assistant and co-producer credits on her previous two releases, 1982’s The Dreaming marked a shift in production control to Kate herself.

Certainly her most experimental record to date, The Dreaming is drastically different from her three earliest LPs. Clanky, hollow sounding drums and instruments like the digeridoo and uilleann pipes create truly memorable songs. Bush delivers some of her most theatrical performances on The Dreaming, from the somber singing on “All The Love” to the distraught screams of “I love life!” on “Pull Out The Pin” to the donkey braying on “Get Out Of My House.” This record received mixed critical reception at the time of its release, and did not sell nearly as well as many of her other albums.

However, some of Bush’s most interesting songs and ideas in her career are on display in The Dreaming.

(Recommended Tracks: ìNight of the Swallow,î

ìSuspended in Gaffa,î ìGet out of my House,î Etcetera

ìHoudiniî)

Hounds of Love

(1985)

Kate Bush has many wonderful records, but none stand apart quite in the way that Hounds of Love does. While the record as a whole is Hounds of Love, the title really refers to side A of the album. Though referring to them as “the singles” or “the hits” does them a disservice, it is probably the greatest distinction between the Hounds of Love section of the record and Side-B, The Ninth Wave. A dark, tumultuous and triumphant conceptual piece, The Ninth Wave may be the greatest work Bush has ever recorded. It is a dream-like sequence of songs that follow a person stranded in water.

Hounds of Love is likely the best place to start in her discography. The accessible, more radio friendly Side-A and the dramatic journey of The Ninth Wave really demonstrate all that Kate Bush can do.

(Recommended Tracks: ìCloudbusting,î ìRunning up

that Hill (A Deal With God),î the entirety of The

Ninth Wave!!)

The Sensual World

(1989)

The Sensual World takes one step further away from The Dreaming’s hectic and wild production but is a beautiful follow-up to Hounds of Love; it feels as though Bush is reinforcing what she had established on that album. Instrumentally and sonically similar to its predecessor, The Sensual World is rich with gated reverb drums, violins, and Irish instrumentation.

And while it feels familiar, it is simultaneously full of unique songs and incredible moments. “Rocket’s Tail” builds only layers of vocals into an enormous, dramatic rock song. On the record’s closing track, “This Woman’s Work,” Bush’s voice is full of emotion, but not in the powerful, commanding way it so often is. Instead, its sweet, high pitched and soft.

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(Recommended Tracks: ìThis Womanís Work,î ìHeads Weíre Dancing,î ìRocketís Tailî)

The Red Shoes

(1993)

Abandoning classical and experimental instrumentation on the album’s opener and lead single, “Rubberband Girl” is perhaps the most straightforward pop song on any Kate Bush studio album. The rest of the album is not purely pop, with clear appearances of Bush’s personality emerging, though pop sounds of the early 1990s seep through in a number of the songs on this record. The song “Why Should I Love You?” is a collaboration with Prince and his influence is ever present. At the same time, the title track mixes some familiar plucky, wispy Irish instrumentation with a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. However, overall The Red Shoes feels far less adventurous for Bush, especially when compared to her previous three releases.

(Recommended Tracks: ìLily,î ìTop of the City,î ìEat the Musicî)

Aerial

(2005) After a 12-year hiatus (that included the birth of her son), Bush returned with the double album Aerial, split into A Sea of Honey and An Endless Sky of Honey. The dozen year gap is highly noticeable throughout this record, which contrasts with much of her previous work. The instrumentation is overall much gentler, like rounded edges, departing heavily from the strong pop influence of The Red Shoes. Her often eccentric vocals are also relatively mellow throughout. Like Hounds of Love, the two sections of this record, while cohesive, tell different stores. The Sea side deals with fame, motherhood, and the passage of time through the stories of various individuals. “King of the Mountain,” the lead single, references Elvis’ struggles as such a popular figure, likely alluding to her decade long departure from the spotlight. In the Sky section, Bush (with the help of her son Bertie) tells of a passing day. The blissful, warm storyline meanders until the next morning is reached.

(Recommended Tracks: ìKing of the Mountain,î ìHow to be Invisible,î ìSunsetî)

Directors Cut & 50 Words for Snow

(2011)

In May of 2011 Kate Bush released Directors Cut, an album of 11 songs from The Sensual World and The Red Shoes reworked or re-recorded. The album includes a much longer, slower “This Woman’s Work,” and versions of “Lily” and “Rubberband Girl” with more rock-driven instrumentation. Bush also renamed “The Sensual World” to “Flower of the Mountain” when the section of Joyce’s Ulysses cleared on a later attempt, allowing her original concept to be fulfilled.

That November, Bush released 50 Words for Snow, another conceptual record. Over an hour long but only seven songs, this record certainly requires the most listener patience of all her releases. Much of the record is purely piano driven and presents a sense of watching snow fall as the record plays.

50 Words for Snow is another Kate Bush piece that works best as a whole.

(Recommended Tracks: ìRubberband Girl (Directors),î ìWild Man (50 Words)î) 45

Tastemakers

COMMUNITY Announcements Greenline Records

Etcetera

Green Line Records, known for their Afterhours concerts and the swath of music they make available to the public, have several exciting plans for the coming months. Beyond a concert in February, be on the lookout for new music releases by artists Dewey, Brennan, and Leo Son and the Q-Tip Bandits. These bands, local to Boston, are finding their footing in the alternative, acoustic, and indie crowd, and are building a loyal fan base inside and out of the city with tours and social media. These groups will continue to grow through their partnership with Green Line Records, especially as their music becomes more accessible to the general public.

• Anna Repp (Business)

WRBB WRBB’s Production Manager, Andrew Goldberg, is passionate about recovering the lost art of record collecting, and you can tune into his show, “The Vinyl Shelf” at 11:00pm on Thursdays to listen to his collection! When I visited the studio, he showed me the room where WRBB keeps a large collection of vinyls that were donated by a Northeastern alumnus that inspired Andrew to start his vinyl-only radio show. In addition to taking from the WRBB archives, Andrew also features records from his own home collection. Andrew also talks about the nature of having a vinyl-only show and how it creates a more personal connection between him and his music.

He has been doing this show for about a year and hopes to keep it going, sharing favorites in his library, as well as collectors’ pieces he finds in the dollar bin at record stores. Tune into Andrew’s show on Thursday evenings and let him take through a tour of his archives of vinyls from across the years!

• Brandon Yap (Experience Design)

Featured: The Avenue The Avenue, Northeastern’s fashion and culture magazine, continually prints stunning issues that could turn even Anna Wintour’s meticulously bobbed head. Created by a diverse cast of Northeastern students, The Avenue goes beyond the clothes we wear and the trends we adhere to, touching on everything from colorism to the #metoo movement. Their 13th print edition, Devotion, will come to campus on March 27th. When asked what readers can expect, the editor-in-chief stated that “the issue will explore the different altars we choose to worship at, be it our morals, our makeup or our (role) models”. Flip through past issues, read additional web content, and pick up fashion tips at theavenuemag.com. To catch sneak peeks of Devotion and to add some beauty to your feed, follow The Avenue on Instagram at @theavenuemag.

• Hannah Crotty (Communication Studies) Spring 2019

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LOCAL PHOTO Ratboys, Venue Photo by Rio Asch Phoenix (Media Arts)

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST We’ve compiled all the songs from page 20’s How Mother Monster Birthed the Modern Pop Star and added a few more of our own for a kickass modern pop playlist.

Find the playlist at: https://sptfy.com/O36

1. “Just Dance (feat. Colby O’Donis)” — Lady Gaga 2. “Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)” — Lady Gaga 3. “Oh No!” — MARINA 4. “Gasoline”— Halsey 5. “Pretty Hurts” — Beyoncé 6. “We Can’t Stop” — Miley Cyrus

FIND BEYONCÉ We’ve hidden Bey somewhere in this issue. Find her and maybe something cool will happen...

7. “Rude Boy” — Rihanna 8. “LoveGame” — Lady Gaga 9. “Primadonna” — MARINA 10. “#GETITRIGHT” — Miley Cyrus 11. “Skin” — Rihanna 12. “Strangers (feat. Lauren Jauregui)” — Halsey

FOLLOW US Like what you read? Check us out online. tastemakersmag.com @tastemakersmag 

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