Tastemakers 56: An Interview with Lucy Dacus

Ghosts of a Neon Future | 06

WE’LL BE THE BIGGEST FANS:

A Metalcore Renaissance | 31

No 56

LUCY DACUS

Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: SoundCloud’s Martyr? | 18

northeastern students on music

An Interview with Tastemakers Presents Headliner

Get Involved Want to become a Tastemaker?

Click get involved on tastemakersmag.com

E-Board President Justine Cowan Editor-in-Chief Jason Levy

Snapped some awesome photos at a concert?

Email them to tastemakersphoto@gmail.com

Art Directors Claudia Bracy Stephanie Miano Ryan Fleischer

Heard an album that really got you thinking?

Send a review to tmreviews@gmail.com

Promotions Director Hannah Crotty

Get More

Staff Features Editor Grant Foskett

Can’t get enough? Check out more original content on tastemakersmag.com

Reviews Editors Emma Turney Maya Dengel Nikolas Greenwald

Become a fan on facebook at facebook.com/tastemakersmag

Interviews Editor Jonathan Vayness

Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/tastemakersmag

Photo Directors Lauren Scornavacca Rio Asch Phoenix Social Media Directors Emily Harris Kristie Wong

The Team

Tastemakers Music Magazine 232 Curry Student Center 360 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02115 tastemakersmag@gmail.com © 2018 tastemakers music magazine all rights reserved

Staff Writers Addy Pedro Aditya Chetia Alex Trzaskowski Alexander Wetzel Allison Bako Amanda Sturm Asher Rappaport Bryan Grady Chuck Stein Drew Quercio Elena Sandell Erin Merkel Fisher Hunnewell Helen Snow Hue-Ninh Nguyen Joanna Moore Jonas Polin Kaitlin Kerr Max Rubenstein

Miles Kirsch Mona Yu Pratik Reddy Quinton Hubbell Rachel Ellis Rayven Tate Rebecca Freedman Ryan Clark Sabrina Zhang Seamus Fay Sean Stewart Stacy Andryshak Taylor Piepenbrink Theodore Kypreos Vishal Makhijani Willa Shiomos 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 Anna Repp Henry Brown Brigid Sanepour Cara Jones Tiffany Li-Ah-Kim Katie Isbell Ash Livid Reine Lederer Abby Dinegar Sofia Maricevic Caitlyn Ark Joey Handel Emily English Hannah Lowicki Annina Hare Spencer Haber Brandon Yap Emma Toole Leah Holt Olivia Sather Ramya Kumar Hulda Zheng

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 Emily Harris Position Co Social Media Director Major Communication Studies Graduating 2021 Favorite Venue Orpheum Theater Tastemaker Since Fall 2016

Alex Wetzel Position Staff Writer Major Business Administration Graduating 2019 Favorite Venue PhilaMOCA (Philadelphia, PA) Tastemaker Since Fall 2015

Alex Pesek Position Photographer Major Undeclared Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Zanzabar (Louisville, KY) Tastemaker Since Fall 2018

Roman Distefano Position Designer Major Interaction Design Graduating 2022 Favorite Venue The Sinclair Tastemaker Since Spring 2018

Listening to

Lucy Dacus “Night Shift” Charly Bliss “Capacity”

Quote “I haven’t listened to music by men in ages.

Except for Queen.”

King Princess “1950”

Carly Rae Jepsen “No Drug Like Me” Bay Faction Florida Guilt

“If I’m not going to be productive all day, I might as well listen to Baby Shark.”

Haruomi Hosono “Hosono House”

Big Thief “Shark Smile” DAISY “Way Cool Baby Love”

“Don’t forget to hydrate and listen to your favorite tunes!”

Duncan Fellows “Fresh Squeezed”

Unknown Mortal Orchestra “Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays” Blood Orange “Charcoal Baby” Tame Impala “Love/Paranoia”

“Looking for new vegetable recommendations.”

Table of Contents

Motel Radio, The Sinclair Kristen Chen (Environmental Studies)

Cover Story

21

An Interview with Lucy Dacus

Editorials

12

Writer Rayven Tate sat down with the indie songwriter before she hit the stage to headline our Spring Tastemakers Presents show.

Etcetera

08

36

42

14 18

20

Kylie Minogue: Pop’s Impossible Princess She never quite made it big in the states, but the rest of the world over, Kylie Minogue is an undeniable pop icon.

24

26

caliibri A brief look at the local act looking to bring more attention to the Boston EDM scene.

Local Photos

40

09

A rundown of some of the instrument’s greatest moments in popular music. Get ready for some sax education.

Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: SoundCloud’s Martyr?

You Must Brush It Remember Tooth Tunes?

Remember DEVO’s “Brush It” Tooth Tune? Well you’re not alone, and we’ve unearthed the relic for all to reminisce over.

Boston Hip-Hop: The Art of Creating Something Out of Nothing Boston has never truly embraced hip-hop artists, but these local acts dare to break the mold.

Local Talent

30

Let’s Talk About Sax

Despite your (probably valid) thoughts on the artist, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em had an undeniable impact on today’s hip-hop scene.

In Defense of: ARTPOP by Lady Gaga Gaga’s entire output post-Born This Way could use defending after all the criticism it’s received.

But for now let’s just start with her maligned third album.

06

Take a guided tour through the rise of one of pop’s newest success stories, and find out what about Rogers makes her so captivating.

Tastemakers Dissect: Biting into Hobo Johnson’s “Peach Scone” On the surface this tune is about unrequited love, but a closer look at the lyrics and context reveal something deeper.

Hippie in a Past Life: The Appeal of Maggie Rogers

Features

For all the nostalgia-blind “80s inspired” music we hear out there today, far less than you would think take actual musical cues from the neon decade.

Starships Were Meant to Squat: A Guide to Music and Exercise We all know that music can enhance any workout, but just what makes the perfect “pumpup” playlist?

31

34

A Metalcore Renaissance Metalcore might have reached its commercial peak over a decade ago, but we’re predicting a heavy resurgence of the polarizing genre this very year.

Rap on Trial With 21 Savage’s recent arrest in February, the American criminal justice system only continues its pattern of targeting figures in the hip-hop community.

Reviews

15

Comic Books & Hip-Hop Comic book imagery and storytelling have been a mainstay in the realm of music influences. Here’s how it’s influenced the world of hip-hop.

Ghosts of a Neon Future

37

Album Reviews Ariana Grande, Avril Lavigne, Gary Clark Jr., Weezer.

Show Reviews Oliver Tree, Robyn, Andrew McMahon, The Kooks.

Feature

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. It’s human nature to believe that things used to be better in the past, that they were simpler and brighter. As people age, their tastes can stay the same, where everything new isn’t quite as good as it used to be. This can be as serious as reactionary political sentiments calling for a return to past “greatness,” or as fun and meaningless as neon windbreakers coming back into fashion. What can be particularly interesting is nostalgia for an era that a person never lived in. It’s a point of mockery at times, about Gen Z youths putting posts on social media about actually belonging in a previous generation, dreaming of going back to the 60s and its great rock and roll. Music, culture, and aesthetics from past eras will always live on in some form or another, and these tastes tend to be cyclical; fashions and sounds come back into the mainstream to a limited extent. It’s telling that Stranger Things, one of the most popular shows on Netflix and in popular

While the central concept of the genre is to attempt to evoke an image of “the 80s,” it clearly emerged from later electronic music scenes such as house and dubstep, giving it an air of false nostalgia. Even the frequent label of the genre, outrun, is in and of itself, somewhat of a misnomer. Outrun is a racing arcade game released by Sega in 1986, featuring a Ferrari Testarossa Spider speeding through sunny environments while bright jazz fusion music played.

Synthwave sounds nothing like this, with its dark driving beats and static rhythms.

While 80s supercars such as the Testarossa and the Lamborghini Countach (and the not particularly super DeLorean) are important parts of the synthwave aesthetic, almost everything else visually is completely different from the video game that inspired the common label.

There are a few distinct traits that are

album Outrun popularizing many elements of the genre, and his song “Nightcall” being featured in the title sequence of the 2011 Ryan Gosling film Drive. The sound of synthwave seems to take an outsized influence from 80s instrumental music such as soundtracks by John Carpenter and Vangelis rather than popular music of the era. In terms of the aesthetic, it is more of a combination between the 80s and science fiction. There’s clear influence from contemporary and later cyberpunk films such as Blade Runner, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell. This is often combined with a certain Miami Vice and Magnum P.I. image of driving sports cars near palm trees and the sea.

All of this is to say that, the genre and aesthetic are not a natural reoccurrence of past stylings, but rather a manufactured look and sound that pulls from multiple elements to create a new identity. Most of the people

essential to the outrun genre’s aesthetic, with the intent being a form of 80s neo-

making this music don’t have much memory of the 80s, if any. While I haven’t done an

“Nostalgia is a powerful thing.” futurism. Firstly, artwork for outrun/ synthwave frequently features darkness and a nighttime setting. Images of cars like the Countach speeding down darkened highways or through shadowy cities are common. Secondly, there’s a strong focus on geometry, with triangles, grids, and polygons forming much of the basis of album covers and associated art. Thirdly, and most importantly, is the neon. Contrasting with the aforementioned darkness, the outrun aesthetic is often soaked in bright colors, specifically pink, cyan, yellow, and purple. A minimalist take on these concepts would be the cover of Atlas by FM-84, showing a neon sunset divided by lines, with a grid below. For a much more mainstream take on this style, the cover of Muse’s album Simulation Theory uses many of these elements.

A further point of disingenuousness in the genre is its musical inspirations. Much of it bears resemblance to later electronic movements, with French house having a notable influence, rather than mainstream music of the 80s. One of the few household names of the synthwave, Kavinsky, got his start in the French scene, as well as others such as Carpenter Brut, College, and more.

Kavinsky can potentially be cited as a source of the “outrun” label, with his 2013

academic study on the subject, it’s fair to say that most of these producers posting tracks to Bandcamp and Spotify were either very young in the 80s or didn’t experience them at all. Instead of a personal nostalgia for a lived era, synthwave is a form of artists creating their own dream, a future for their perception of the 80s. There’s a love for what was and what never was, a pulsing neon reality that’s both darker and brighter than the era was. The 1980s featured the AIDS epidemic, the Cold War, an expansion of the War on Drugs, massive deregulation and privatization, and more. Outrun sidesteps this difficult reality, replacing it with a sleek and stylish future, while still retaining a feeling of isolation and darkness. Its appeal, to this younger generation, is a promise of something both old and comforting, but also still modern and exciting. A neon future, one which never existed, but is still calling in the night to you.

• Bryan Grady (Political Science)

Designer: Shannon Ehmsen (Studio Art)

Spring 2019

6

culture, is essentially a love letter to the films of Spielberg and John Carpenter.

An internet and musical trend related to current 80s nostalgia I find particularly interesting is “outrun,” a combination of a certain aesthetic palette and pulsing electronic music meant to evoke a futuristic image of the decade. Distinguishing between the many varieties of these synth and drum machine filled tracks is almost impossible.

Names such as “synthwave”, “retrowave”, “outrun”, and “future synth” can all be used to describe the neon-tinged sounds of the genre. There are technically differences between all these labels, but there can be no mistake, they share certain elements not present in most contemporary popular music, elements which don’t even appear in much of the 80s pop that these genres claim to emulate. The sound is often intense, with driving four-on-the-floor beats and arpeggiated analog synth basslines. At times, synthwave/outrun can almost be dubstep-esque, with pumping chords and vocal samples. It’s much harsher than 80s pop, mostly lacking traditional instruments (guitars, acoustic drums), instead focusing entirely on synthesizers and drum machines, with higher tempos and compositions like those in EDM and house music.

7

” “Peach Scone Biting into

by Hobo Johnson

Designer: Anna Rychlik (Business & Design)

Etcetera

At the niche intersection of spoken word, hip-hop, and pastries is the song “Peach Scone.” The song is a perfect example of what people love about Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers. In three minutes and thirty-three seconds, the band created a track that incorporated their signature angsty style accented with inventive and often comical lyrics. For many, this was the track that put Hobo Johnson on the map. Nobody (aside from a small local following) had ever heard the name “Hobo Johnson” until the band performed “Peach Scone” live at an NPR Tiny Desk Contest in March of 2018.

After their appearance on NPR, the song attracted millions of views.

The song centers around Frank Lopes Jr., aka “Hobo Johnson,” as he catches himself falling in love with someone he shouldn’t be. A girl who already has a boyfriend. The song details a common romantic plight… falling in love with someone taken. But “Peach Scone” stands out for its unique structure that mimics a script, and its focus on dialogue.

Lopes opens the song with minimalistic musical accompaniment that entirely cuts out when he introduces us to the cast:

“

Oh, listen up Young man, there’s a —

Listening to the song, it’s almost impossible not to imagine the lyrics as dialogue. The only thing that’s missing is her response. The lyrics only featuring his imaginary half of their exchange builds on the idea that Lopes’ love is unrequited. In his mind, he can ask this girl anything, but at the end of the day he’ll never win her over. She’ll never respond.

In an interview, Lopes explained he wrote this song as a catharsis.

It was an odd time in his life, when he was living in his car and working at a pizza place just to afford food. There, he met a girl who, unlike anyone else in his life at the time, seemed to genuinely care about him.

He fell recklessly in love with her, or perhaps more accurately, the idea of not being alone.

And I love the thought of being with you Or maybe it’s the thought of not being so alone!

Hey, the second one’s way sadder than the first one But I don’t know

A Guide to Music and Exercise

I love the thought of being with you

there’s a young man, he writes stories He’s a writer, a little writer boy He falls in love with a girl, girl already has a boyfriend She kinda loves him back, but not really

After introducing the characters, the first verse falls into the action of the story, detailing everything Lopes asked this girl. Notably, the exchange is one sided. This where we can start to see the “script-ish” format of the song take off.

The girl will never respond because Lopes will never tell her he loves her. He’s self-aware in knowing he’s only in love with the idea of love.

And why complicate this girl’s life? She’s already happy. So, Lopes takes the comical route. If he can never proclaim his love for her, he’ll just proclaim his love for scones. Or, more specifically, the titular “Peach Scone.” It’s the manifestation of a date he’ll never ask her out on. A conversation they’ll never have. A love they’ll never share.

So I don’t know what to tell you If I try to confess my love for... scones I just wanna say something real quick,

Hi, what’s your name? How are you?

please shh, listen

How’s your life?

I love... these scones

Oh, you got a man? Are you in love?

If so, what type?

Is it just platonic, strictly just as friends Or the type that ties you two together ‘til tomorrow’s end?

Spring Fall2019 2018

8

Starships Were Meant to Squat:

”

This second verse is especially dramatic. With the same intensity and anguish as Lopes screams the word “alone,” he screams the word “scones.” Just as the music cuts when he introduces us to the cast, it cuts when Lopes sings “these scones.” Musically, as well as thematically, Lopes is transferring his emotions onto a new love object.

An object that’ll be less problematic and more comical.

Because if you can’t find love in this world, you might as well laugh about it.

• Kaitlin Kerr (English)

It’s that time of the year again, when many New Year’s resolutions about exercising have officially died hard. However, there is a trick that anybody can use to reignite their ambition and get back into the game. Creating a solid gym playlist can significantly improve the workout experience in terms of both efficiency and enjoyability. Music assists the mind in many ways during exercise. It can help with pacing, distraction, or motivation, just to name a few. Similarly to how there are many different ways to exercise, there are many types of music that can improve your workout. The following is a simple guide to leveraging the work of artists who have very exercise-friendly catalogues.

CARDIO & NICKI MINAJ Cardio is difficult. It requires motivation, a time investment, and the patience to persist. The treadmill is perhaps the most dreaded piece of equipment in most fitness centers, but it’s nothing Nicki Minaj isn’t ready to tackle. She said it herself on Kanye West’s “Monster:” “You can be the king, but watch the Queen conquer.” Consisting of many looped beats, Minaj’s tracks lend themselves well to cardio because they give listeners something they can easily remain focused on and pace themselves with. Cardio is typically difficult for many because of how easily they can become bored and thus, overwhelmed by their perceived exhaustion. A major way that music is able to combat this difficulty in exercise is by refocusing the mind on something other than the apparent physical state of the listener. This is where Minaj’s lyricism comes in handy. With consistently clever, head-turning lines, 9

Feature

“ With the anthemic tone of Queen’s discography, anybody is bound to feel more powerful.”

“ The ‘I want it, I got it’ attitude is capable of accomplishing it all, including cardio, lifting, core, and more.”

LIFTING & QUEEN

Spring 2019

10

The heavy lifting section of the gym is easily the most vigorous and bloodthirsty. One should only dare to enter if they are equipped with the proper soundtrack that encourages them to be pushed to their very limits. What better group to take on such a task with than one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Queen? With the anthemic tone of Queen’s discography, anybody is bound to feel more powerful. Going rep by rep and set by set can become tedious for those who aren’t gym rats at heart, but with music that makes them feel as though they’re in a Gatorade commercial, they’ll see that anything is possible.

With heavy lifting, it is important to remember proper form and

execution for each movement, and as fatigue sets in, this becomes more and more difficult. However, guitar-shredding solos, epic orchestral compositions, and Freddie Mercury’s kickass vocals are sure to boost both adrenaline and performance to a significant degree.

In fact, steady rock beats can be largely helpful in lifting, as performing movements on strong beats or at climactic moments of the song feels very satisfying to listeners and inspires them to go above and beyond.

Queen has the ability to take a workout from a low level of engagement and shift it right into overdrive.

STRETCHING & AURORA An important and commonly overlooked aspect of a well-rounded fitness routine is stretching. Not only is this a way to relieve the muscles of tension and minimize soreness for the next day, but it is also a time where one is able to clear their mind and relax. In order to encourage the flow state in a stretching routine, calmer music is recommended. An ideal artist for this atmosphere would be Norwegian musician, AURORA, whose sound can be described as ethereal fairy folk. In particular, her calmer songs such as “Through the Eyes of a

Child,” “It Happened Quiet,” and “Black Water Lilies” evoke a clear state of mind and reduce stress through their clean harmonies, awareness of the natural world, and soft harp arrangements. For one, this type of music will help lower the heart rate and lengthen breaths. After an intense workout, it is important to take a few minutes to let the body relax and take the proper steps to prevent injury. The lengths of these tracks (all exceeding four minutes) are beneficial to these routines as well. They aren’t rushed and include extended phases and developed themes that shorter tracks can’t provide. AURORA’s soft voice has the ability to bring one’s mind to another place entirely, allowing their workout experience to come full circle and land them back at ground zero. Afterwards, they can continue on with their day with a clear mind, healed body, and the pride of another workout behind them.

MISCELLANEOUS & ARIANA GRANDE No one will get you in the right state of mind better than the dangerous woman officially ruling the music industry in 2019. Being the first solo artist in history to occupy the top three spots in the Billboard

Hot 100 and only the second artist ever to do so behind The Beatles, Ariana Grande has proven to embody the power of pop. Her music has recently blurred the lines between pop and rap by employing trap beats and production without compromising her knack for killer hooks and spot on vocals. Grande’s catalogue can fit into most gym activities because it includes the properties of all good motivational music. It is danceable, packed with attitude, and gives listeners the ego boost they’ll need to move from one physical discipline to the next without second guessing themselves. The “I want it, I got it” attitude is capable of accomplishing it all, including cardio, lifting, core, and more.

If anything, Grande will keep listeners moving which is encouragement in and of itself. The positive mindset to adopt when listening to pop music is valuable because it fights back against the insecurity, lack of motivation/self discipline, and fear that can come along with attending the gym. For this reason, the “thank u, next” star is a one-stop shop for anybody looking to get back into some healthy habits and, like Grande, make 2019 their most accomplished year yet.

Designer: Gabrielle Bruck (Marketing/Design)

she keeps listeners on their toes and provides commentary that gets the listener out of their own head. Not only is paying attention to the lyrical content a way to make the duration of the workout feel shorter, but it’s also empowering. On tracks like “Chun-Li,” Minaj asserts an unparalleled and unquestioned dominance. Listeners can use this time to realize their strength (even if it means receiving odd glances as they mumble “Yes, Miss King Kong,” under their breath).

• Drew Quercio (Music Industry)

11

Feature Editorial

Hippie in a Past Life:

The Appeal of

Maggie Rogers

Back in December, I saw Maggie Rogers open for Mumford and Sons at Madison Square Garden. When she came on stage, the first thing that my dad said was that Maggie Rogers seemed like a real artist. I was slightly taken aback by this, considering

brought her out of a place of darkness, and invoked moments of sheer bliss. When asked directly about how her environment influences her work, Rogers responded by explaining that, “Something that is so important to me is sense of place, and that’s why I use so many sound samples in my work. I want my work to feel as human as possible, so adding these little contextual audio treats — for lack of a better word — is my way of doing that.”

In many of her interviews, Rogers often talks about the impact of leaving behind her rural hometown on the coast of Maryland and moving to New York. While she was excited to be in a bustling city full of culture, it was hard for her to escape her roots, so she often left the city to get some much-needed fresh air. This allowed her to maintain her small-town-girl aura while studying at NYU and taking advantage of the musical opportunities New York has to offer. After graduation, she returned home, and began writing songs riddled with the influences of the nature around her. These are the songs that now make up Heard It In a Past Life, Rogers’ first studio album released this January.

Maggie Rogers defies stereotypes about today’s pop stars, and gives new meaning to the word “authentic.” She is not authentic because she’s doing something “different” or “unique” in order to catch the eyes and ears of listeners; she is authentic because when she performs, she acts as no one but herself, and in the age of the Instagram and YouTube persona, that’s pretty damn hard to find.

So yes, I would agree with my dad in stating: Maggie Rogers is as real as today’s artists get.

• Rebecca Freedman (Music Industry)

Designer: Roman Distefano (Interaction Design)

Spring Spring2019 2019

12

the fact that my dad only listens to classic rock. What was it about Maggie Rogers that gave him this impression? I turned to my dad and asked him, “what does real mean to you?” He replied with a simple answer: “She looks and sounds natural. She reminds me of a hippie… actually she kind of looks like a girl I dated in college.”

Popular artists seem to reach a certain level of fame by being unique in whatever way they can. For many standouts like Lady Gaga or Tekashi 6ix9ine, being “unique” means dressing in outrageous clothing and having ever-changing hair colors. However, “unique” does not always equal “authentic.”

What’s authentic about someone who dresses to fit every personality but their own? For Maggie Rogers, simplicity is key.

Her understated mom jeans and t-shirts along with her “natural” makeup carry an appeal that a meat dress doesn’t. It’s the appeal of the girl next door. It exudes the innocence of fresh talent, untainted by the industry, and it extends far beyond her appearance. Authenticity is important in the industry today because it creates a deeper, intimate bond between an artist and an audience. In an article from Success Magazine, Karissa Thacker discusses why authenticity is key by explaining that “People follow authenticity. They are searching for it ... I think it’s two-fold: The drive to be

authentic and the drive to be around other authentic human beings goes back all the way to philosophy. But positive psychology also tells us that this sense of being true to yourself creates meaning. There’s a drive to be authentic inside all of us. Fundamentally, it’s part of living a meaningful life.”

Rogers’ rapid rise to fame is a classic success story of a young artist discovered by a major producer. Similarly to when Justin Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun through YouTube, Maggie Rogers was discovered by Pharrell Williams through an NYU master class. The difference is that Pharrell did not simply discover a singer; he discovered a multi-talented singer-songwriter with production skills so precise that he was left speechless after his first listening experience. The video of Pharrell listening to Rogers’ “Alaska” during the master class went viral in 2016, and it helped portray Rogers as a downto-earth artist who is not only deeply invested in what she creates, but does not expect others to love her music as much as she does. The video encapsulates pure vulnerability and raw emotion, and leaves the viewer oddly proud of Rogers — genuinely excited about her success.

Rogers not only displays a natural look, but a natural sound. Her music incorporates samples of rattlesnakes, birds, and trees falling, among other sounds that remind the listener of time spent outdoors. “Alaska,” in particular, was inspired by her experience while hiking in (you guessed it) Alaska. In an interview with Office Magazine, Rogers spoke about how the month she spent there

Rogers, although unique in many ways, is certainly not the first artist to achieve fame after growing up in a fairly modest household or rural neighborhood. To cite a similar artist that my dad adores (shocker!), the “small town girl” aura that Rogers emanates is reminiscent of Kate Bush’s. Bush was raised Roman-Catholic in a farmhouse in East Whickham, a London village located in Kent.

Both her parents and siblings were involved in the local folk music scene, so it was seemingly inevitable that she too would find her place within it — whether as a dancer like her mother, or as a musician like her father.

Just as Rogers did, Bush began to write music and play the piano as a pre-teen.

In a society plagued by false identities exacerbated by a growing presence of social media, it’s hard for listeners to know if the artists they listen to are the real deal, or if they are simply portraying characters designed to fit the interests of the public.

What separates the importance of Rogers’ authenticity and an older artist’s, like Kate Bush, is the reliance on social media that artists like Bush never experienced.

13

Album Reviews Ariana Grande Editorial

thank u, next 9 Release Date February 8, 2019 Label Republic Records Genre Pop Tasty Tracks “bloodline,” “bad idea,” “thank u, next”

Guitar, bass, drums, and the occasional keyboard have long been the extent of rock and roll’s instrumental formula. But the saxophone has been poking its curvy neck into the genre for decades. It is the misfit child of the woodwind family – too loud and grating for an orchestra, its dismal rasp seems fit only for dimly lit jazz clubs. Luckily, some artists have recognized its potential as a rock instrument. Here are a few times the saxophone popped up in the songs of your favorite rock and roll greats.

“Slave,” Tattoo You – The Rolling Stones

Designer: Kat Minor (Graphic Design & Game Design)

Spring 2019

14

10

It was clear that “Slave” would be no ordinary Rolling Stones song when gospel chords snuck into the thumping blues track. Along with Billy Preston on the organ, the Stones collaborated with Sonny Rollins, ground-breaking jazz saxophonist and John Coltrane-contemporary.

But Rollins’ blaring solo midway through the song has very little jazz influence – in fact, had it been a guitar instead, it would have sounded completely normal. His contribution illustrates how these different artists came to meet in the middle of two genres. Just as Sonny Rollins drifted away from his throne in jazz royalty to produce a brash and bluesy solo, Mick Jagger slips into low and soulful asides that pay homage to smooth-talking soul singers.

They each inhabit the other’s musical domain, loaning their influences to the song. The saxophone brings the potential for the jazzy side of “Slave,” but it also adds another layer to the song’s rock and roll foundation, bringing genres together under a single roof.

“Us and Them,” The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd Texture is the name of the game in this classic Pink Floyd tune. “Us and Them” puts the

“dark” in The Dark Side of the Moon – it’s hazy and mysterious, and it sticks out from the rest of the album as a uniquely dissonant and gloomy track. But the saxophone takes this atmosphere to another level. The instrument crackles and rumbles as the saxophonist plays with an intentionally airy sound, easing the brittle notes into the listener’s ear. It adds a smoky ambience to the song, as the saxophone seems to reminisce on the haze of a dark and sleepy jazz club. Rather than draw musical elements from its home in jazz, the saxophone evokes this larger mood associated with the genre. It brings the subtle mystery of a slow jazz song while still managing to meld perfectly with Pink Floyd’s unique rock and roll vision.

“Young Americans,” Young Americans – David Bowie Bowie’s ninth studio album, Young Americans, was a definitive marker of his love of black American music. Since he set foot on American shores, Bowie had been vocal about his fascination with soul and R&B, and Young Americans was a major stride in his efforts to contribute to those musical movements. On the album’s title track, the saxophone joins a choir of female background singers and lyrical commentary on issues of race in America as borrowed tropes from soul music. It’s a vehicle for his own classification of his music as “plastic soul,” a term that describes a crude imitation of another genre. Bowie understood he lacked the innate ability and experience to create authentic soul music, so he employed

the saxophone as a specific reference to the genre. Only looking to celebrate soul, he manages to respectfully keep the song unique to him. If “Young Americans” is truly “blue-eyed soul,” then the saxophone is David Bowie’s other eye.

“Fun House” Funhouse – The Stooges “Fun House” is just pure chaos. It is a rambling, spiraling, screeching mess of beautifully choreographed mayhem. The song is driven by simultaneous solos from the guitar and the saxophone that overlap and clash in unapologetic dissonance. They battle it out from below, while Iggy Pop shouts, wails, and screams from above them. The saxophone’s role on “Fun House” is simply to pile on one more layer of overwhelming pandemonium.

Because the saxophone is almost exclusively heard in jazz, it has become an embodiment of the genre itself. To the untrained listener, jazz can sound as chaotic as “Fun House,” and many tend only to hear a bunch of instruments playing random notes at the same time – sound familiar? The Stooges borrow from the frequent reputation of jazz, employing a symbol of the same incomprehensible noise they want for their song. The Stooges’ seemingly aimless implementation of the saxophone only strengthens the madness they inflict upon the listener.

• Asher Rappaport (English and Journalism)

Ariana Grande understands urgency. An artist releasing an album a mere six months after their last could easily feel like an attempt to grasp at the fleeting instant of stardom.

Yet, Grande’s past few years of whirlwind ubiquity demands response. Between the terror attack at her 2017 Manchester concert, a tumultuous relationship with Pete Davidson, and the unexpected death of ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, Grande has become a favored chronicle in tabloid trauma. This limelight is why thank u, next is allowed to do more than seize the moment: it becomes a reclamation of narrative.

The miracle of Grande as a pop star is her ability to make the calculated feel entirely authentic. When speaking about the surprise release of her title single from the record, “thank u, next,” Grande explained, “I just want to fucking talk to my fans and sing and write music and drop it the way these boys do.”

As spur of the moment as its unveiling may have seemed, three versions of the track were recorded with different endings, depending on the outcome of her and Davidson’s romance.

And still, “thank u, next” feels quintessential in its exactness, steering her image with dubious simplicity. It’s further proof that pop stardom today is about predicting the future.

Elsewhere on the album too, her image is crafted with meticulous honesty. “fake smile” isn’t necessarily an original concept in the realm of celebrity, but its specificity to our knowledge of her experience helps it rise above. “I’m happy for the love and all of the above / if I’m being honest, I done been through way too much” Grande confesses; even in her sincerity, she’s mediating her public persona. “Ghostin” is plaintive and wistful, likely an homage to the late Mac Miller. When she contends “he just comes to visit me when I’m dreaming now and then,” it’s hard not to feel empathetically harrowed.

The album’s motif of renewed emotional perspective, however, becomes more

8

7

Fresh

6

5

4

3

2

1

muddled in some of its later tracks. Closing song “break up with your girlfriend, I’m bored” seems more tethered to its memeability than a necessary spiritual sentiment.

Similarly, the absurd materialist saga of “7 rings,” though a perfectly good song on its own, seems out of place, and would have been better served as a one off single.

Regardless, both songs do fit within the album’s full stylistic embrace of trap music. If Sweetener’s rhythms were too idiosyncratic for some, pop heavyweight Max Martin, as well as a handful of hip-hop producers (Happy Perez, Andrew “Pop” Wansel, TBHits), employ trap’s shuddering syncopations and particular flow in a more conventional manner. There’s no question that Grande’s career has always had a direct relationship with black music; her vocal inflections sit firmly within 90s R&B influences. Still the question of appropriation is slippery, as all music, pop especially, owes itself to music created by black people. Nevertheless,

some of the lyrics, especially on “7 rings,” do translate uncomfortably, making the debate of who has ownership over a certain style or “vibe” even more contentious.

Yet, even as Grande’s public image becomes more convoluted, her popularity only seems to grow. Still, the problem with fame is always its transient nature: the question of when public opinion turns against a star is unpredictable and inevitable. In the meantime, as long as Grande can keep spinning her dissenters’ projections into compelling, irresistible pop, her cultural ascendance will only persist.

Willa Shiomos (Computer Science/ Design)

15

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Rotten

3 2

Reviews

1

Avril Lavigne Head Above Water Release Date February 15, 2019 Label BMG Genre Pop Tasty Tracks “Birdie,” “Tell Me It’s Over,” “Dumb Blonde”

Spring 2019

16

Avril Lavigne has a specific pattern with her releases: for every album at her quintessentially flamboyant, bratty, pop-punk best like debut Let Go or 2007’s The Best Damn Thing, there is a follow-up showcasing Avril’s moody, introspective side (2004’s Under My Skin and 2011’s Goodbye Lullaby respectively). With Head Above Water, Avril Lavigne’s sixth studio effort, she demonstrates that cadence for the third time, following up 2013’s carefree, glitchy, power pop Avril Lavigne with a more sullen look at her last half decade.

Perhaps this time the “sad” album trailing the “fun” album is more warranted than ever, as the singer spent the larger portion of the last five years battling not only Lyme disease, but also her marriage to Nickelback front man, Chad Kroeger. There is nothing wrong with this pattern itself, as projects on both side of the coin have produced some of Avril’s most commercially and critically revered tunes. But time has not been all that adoring to Lavigne, and today her star power has far more diminishing returns than that of the Avril of every millennial middle schooler’s heyday.

So for an album of this nature to succeed in 2019 among fans (or others for that matter), it needs to really knock it out of the park. The sad truth is, for all the emotion on display, Head Above Water just doesn’t strike the same chord as before, and often fails to create the right musical accompaniment for all that pain.

Avril Lavigne’s inability to move past the mid-2000’s, both in terms of musical style and attitude, is simultaneously her best and worst quality as a commercial songwriter. It certainly keeps the old fans around, as they clamor to hear her next foray into music that is undeniably still rooted in the now parodied-todeath era of early aughts angst with laughably trite lyrics. What’s made it listenable over the years is Avril’s delightfully ironic obliviousness to the fact that her music is so stuck in the past.

Case in point: “Dumb Blonde,” a song snatched directly out of 2005. The song is certainly fun at face value and pleasantly harkens back to the cheerleader vibe of “Girlfriend.” However, while it sends an important empowering message (especially in this day and age) over an admittedly catchy hook, the well-trodden musical theme makes it seem like it’s not aware of how dated it feels. Maybe Avril plays up this persona intentionally and I am wrong about her lack of self-awareness, but if the cringey faux-British accent Avril croons the word “bananas” in on “Goddess” is anything to go by, it’s safe to assume she doesn’t.

The main downfall of the album is its lack of memorability. Some hooks may be catchy here and some lines may be emotional there, but it’s hard to look past lyrical content that fails to work past absolute base-level metaphors and allusions. She pleas to be saved from the fire and “hell” on the genericallytitled “I Fell in Love with the Devil.” She feels “locked in a cage called love” on “Birdie.” She “fight’s for [her] life all through the night” on “Warrior.” Of course, she struggles to “keep [her] head above water” on the title track.

While the struggles Lavigne sings of are not to be dismissed or laughed at, it’s hard to enjoy the songs when presented in such bluntly generic ways. The only time that these uninspired tropes work are on the appealingly Memphis-soul sound of single, “Tell Me It’s Over,” the only track with a somewhat unique perspective and impactful performance in which you can actually feel the confliction and conviction in Lavigne’s voice.

The nicest thing to say about all the other tracks really is that they are musically inoffensive, but that is also the album’s biggest downfall. Too generic to dwell on for a significant amount of time despite the very real and valid emotion behind it, Head Above Water simply commits a cardinal sin of commercial music, it’s utterly forgettable.

Jason Levy (Marketing)

10 9 8 7 6

Edible

5 4 3 2 1

Gary Clark Jr. This Land Release Date February 22, 2019 Label Warner Bros.

Genre Blues Rock Tasty Tracks “What About Us,” “When I’m Gone,” “Dirty Dishes Blues” Gary Clark Jr. is angry, and on his third studio album This Land, he’s finally making it known. The lead track, which shares the name of the album, is a bold, biting rendition of the classic folk song “This Land Is Your Land.” Clark unleashes his fury with hard-hitting riffs and a hardened, gruff voice: ‘Fuck you, I’m America’s son / This is where I come from,’ he declares.

The vicious track is a major step for Clark, whose first two LPs never dared to be so confrontational and explicit. Disappointingly, Clark’s battle cry is short lived: his rage quickly dissipates and is scarcely found throughout the remainder of the project.

The titular theme of rebellion and retribution is thus dropped in favor of introspection, which is more of the same for Clark. Clark opens up on struggles of touring worldwide while being a husband and father, both new developments in his life since his last release. ‘I’m so tired of hiding / I know you’re tired of sleeping alone,’ Clark admits in an exhausted register on the pop-infused “Don’t Wait Til Tomorrow.” The irresistible blues of “When I’m Gone” is Clark at his best, illustrating his desire to be back with his family over soothing melodies. Clark’s versatility is impressive and commendable, but his subpar songwriting frequently undermines such somber tracks. ‘So, fly, like an eagle / Go be beautiful and free girl,’

Clark sings on the cliché “Low Down Rolling Stone.” The themes present in these songs are nothing new, and the shallowness of his lyrics don’t offer an original perspective.

Clark takes a detour from his emotional and intellectual side on the high energy “Got to Get Up,” which feels more like an interlude than a thought out track. The lyrical simplicity and focus on Clark’s shredding will make it a concert favorite, but its presence on the album adds to the lack of cohesion and care in the track listing. The most jarring performance on the album, however, is “Feelin’ Like a Million,” a lighthearted, reggae cut with a disturbing vocal performance and the same weak songwriting.

‘You got me feeling like a million bucks / Make me wanna fall in love, baby, when you put it on me,’ Clark repeats ad nauseam.

Clark does eventually revive the social commentary found on the opening track of the album with “Feed the Babies,” but it’s more notable for Clark’s gorgeous falsetto vocals than its content. The track is a depthless call on America to raise our children with love and a sense of unity: an inspiring message lacking the lyricism to carry it home. Clark continues his Curtis Mayfield impression on “Pearl Cadillac,” a soulful ballad that features Clark and his guitar feeding off of each other beautifully.

While the heavy production on the hook does take away from the natural rawness of Clark’s voice and guitar, a lengthy bridge and outro of ambient synths and exploding riffs make the track a highlight of the album.

On This Land, Clark pushes himself sonically like never before — exploring fusions of blues, rock, jazz, reggae, and soul with a new sense of adventure — but fails to back up his talent with the lyrical depth to take it to the next level. It’s clear from Clark’s fiery passion on “This Land” that he has plenty to say about the current state of our country, yet Clark ultimately shies away from his hot-blooded side. This Land is a misnomer, as the album is more concerned with Clark’s personal struggles than America’s racist ways. Clark’s talent is undeniable, and he succeeds in many of the risks he takes on This Land, but fails to create a cohesive, meaningful project.

Miles Kirsch (Bioengineering)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Stale

2 1

Weezer Weezer (Black Album) Release Date March 1, 2019 Label Crush Music / Atlantic Genre Pop Rock Tasty Tracks “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” “Zombie Bastards,” “I’m Just Being Honest” As a Weezer fan, I’d give Weezer (Black Album) an obligatory listen. But only one.

The whole album feels like an appeal to an audience Weezer doesn’t have. The tracks are undoubtedly attempting to mimic pop – they’re faster, generally upbeat, and don’t shy away from synth. But coming from a rock band, it just doesn’t work. Yes, Weezer’s sixth self-titled album is artfully crafted, but it lacks all of the qualities that make people love Weezer. The characteristically bizarre lyrics are replaced with banal clichés. The intense wail of lead singer Rivers Cuomo is replaced with boring “doot-doot-doos.” The iconic sound of the beloved rock band is altogether missing.

The pre-released singles were promising.

Available five months before the studio album, “Can’t Knock the Hustle” dabbled in a new sound for Weezer, experimenting with a base track that’s more danceable than anything else on their discography. Even if listeners weren’t thrilled with the new sound, they were engaged by Cuomo’s new “hustling” character. Played by Pete Wentz in a music video that aired the same day, the character is best epitomized by the lyric: “I’m an ugly motherfucker, but I work hella harder / and you can write a blog about it.” “Can’t Knock the Hustle” is one of the only songs by Weezer to use profanity, earning an explicit label.

A month after “Can’t Knock the Hustle” was released, “Zombie Bastards” followed in response to older fan’s critiques of Weezer’s experimental new sound. With lyrics like “Die, die, you zombie bastards / We know what you want” it’s clear Cuomo heard our complaints, and decided he doesn’t care. Ouch.

Despite the diss, these are the only two stomach-able songs with Weezer’s new pop sound. Most songs after the entirely awkward intro to “High As A Kite,” which attempts to transition from high energy to spacy slow, are not noteworthy.

And nothing is more skippable than “Piece of Cake.” If the clichéd lyrics weren’t unbearable enough, the backup “do-do-dos” are practically headache inducing. I mean, c’mon, the song’s hook is “she cut me like a piece of cake.” If that isn’t uninspired enough, the song feels like Cuomo couldn’t have spent more than ten minutes working on it. To be honest, it’s a very bland, stale piece of cake.

Other tracks on the album such as “Too Many Thoughts in My Head,” “The Prince Who Wanted Everything,” and “Byzantine” just fade into the background of unoriginal and forgettable.

Weezer (Black Album) has none of the engaging storytelling characteristics of Pinkerton or Everything Will Be Alright in the End, but if one song manages to permeate into the hearts of longtime fans, it’s “I’m Just Being Honest.” Appearing near the middle of the album, it actually sounds like a Weezer song. Change the album cover, and “I’m Just Being Honest” could be on Weezer (White Album). The song has a movie montage quality, with a swelling chorus that bursts into a catchy verse. It’s the transition from rock to pop that we deserved, unlike “Zombie Bastards” and “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” which fully embrace the new pop sound without hesitation. Although the lyrics are somewhat lacking, if anything, I’d predict “I’m Just Being Honest” is the deep cut that lasts.

If Weezer continues on this pop rock track it’s possible they’ll attract the attention of causal listeners, but won’t earn any praise from their audience that’s been listening since Weezer (Blue Album). Their latest release doesn’t have the wonderful weirdness that’s made hardcore Weezer fans listen for over two decades. That being said, the band has survived dud-albums before, and likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Kaitlin Kerr (English)

17

Whether you like it or not, Soulja Boy is one of the most important artists of our generation. Music has a weird haze of uncertainty around labels; labels used to be the be-all and end-all for artists, the only way you could make it in the industry. With the explosion of digital platforms like SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and YouTube, however, artists like Lil Pump and XXXTENTACION can top charts from their bedrooms. While he has been thrusted back into the spotlight through his drop shipped Chinese Gameboys and kidnapping allegations, it is easy to forget the impact Soulja Boy had on the music industry as a whole.

Arguably the first self-made digital rap superstar, Soulja is the epitome of hustle.

Soulja Boy got his start with “Crank That,” the dance-centric craze that took over middle schools around the country. Soulja, as an independent artist with no marketing budget, got his break by going on popular music pirating application LimeWire and tricking unsuspecting downloaders into grabbing a copy of “Crank That” instead of whatever Kanye or Lil Wayne song they were

Spring 2019

18

*

attempting to short. “Crank That” is nothing special – its entire beat is a compilation of free stock sound effects from FL Studio – but its catchy hook and irresistible swag you got from gliding across the dance floor at your Bar Mitzvah made it the number one song in the country. With its subsequent album, Souljaboytellem.com Mr. Boy went on to receive a nomination for Best Rap Song at the 2008 Grammys and secure a major record deal that propelled him directly into obscurity. However, that immediate success quickly began to fade. Soulja Boy cemented himself in culture as a “ringtone rapper,” an artist that explodes onto the mainstream with a catchy single before fading into obscurity.

Last year alone Soulja Boy released four albums, one of which allegedly made 12 sales in its first two months of release. With over 65 mixtapes under his belt, Soulja’s discography is nowhere near sparse, but his actual content lacked the staying power that his contemporaries possessed. Soulja still continues his hustle with his label, Stacks on Deck Entertainment, where he signed artists like Lil B and Riff Raff, but more recently he

This is the most ridiculous name for an album ever. It was followed by iSouljaBoyTellem and an album simply called Mario & Domo vs. the World. Mr. Tell ‘Em is truly a man of culture.

*

**

catchy hooks, and meme-able music videos, three mainstays that labels can capitalize on. XXXTENTACION, one of the leaders of the SoundCloud rap movement, developed the sound of a generation of self-made mood-driven rappers making music in their bedrooms. Rap figureheads like A$AP Rocky have recently gone on the record stating that they would have never put themselves out there if Soulja Boy hadn’t first. Soulja

showed rap’s new class that it is okay to be rough around the edges. Sure, Soulja Boy makes some of the most forgettable music in hip-hop. His influence on today’s musical landscape, however, cannot be forgotten.

• Max Rubenstein (Entrepreneurship)

Designer: Allison Bako (Animation)

Editorial

Artists like BROCKHAMPTON, a collective that met on a Kanye West fan forum and created arguably the biggest splash rap music has seen in the last five years with their independent release of three classic albums in 2017, would have never had legs to stand on if Soulja Boy hadn’t taken his leap. An artist like Lil Pump is someone whose entire existence is owed to the success of Soulja; Pump’s initial appeal came from his music’s homemade grit,

has infamously been drop shipping video game consoles and starting rap beefs in an effort to stay relevant.

While Soulja may not have the most promising rap career at the moment, the impact he made on the industry is immense.

Soulja Boy proved that you don’t need to have a major label behind you to make waves.

At only 17, Soulja had a Top 100 single that he made and marketed himself through viral Internet marketing, so of course he had industry eyes on him. With full creative control and a new record deal with Interscope records, Soulja Boy released his debut, Souljaboytellem.com which was universally slammed upon release. His pop-rap hookheavy tracks were radio friendly enough to be listenable, but his album served as proof that anybody could make it in the music industry, regardless of actual output.

Artists like Chance the Rapper, a musician who famously releases all of his material for free on platforms like SoundCloud, would not have had the ability to win three Grammys for his independently released Coloring Book if Soulja didn’t prove it was possible first.

**

His console sales, however, are allegedly booming; Soulja Boy recently went on The Breakfast Club and stated that he was making over $250,000 a day in sales.

19

WE’LL BE THE BIGGEST FANS:

YOU MUST Editorial

BRUSH IT

BRUSH TO THE SONG

"

ONLY TWO MINUTES LONG WHEN SOME SUGAR COMES ALONG YOU MUST BRUSH IT "

in all honesty pretty funny. But the chorus, featuring “Brush ‘em straight / Brush forward / Brush ahead / Try not to stop it / It’s not too late” is barely changed from the original, to the point that it feels forced.

DEVO, short for De-Evolution, was formed in the mid-1970s around the concept that society was regressing. DEVO is no stranger to selling merch.

From their very first album, the album insert sleeves were basically mini catalogues for the various DEVO items that they sold. In 1980, the band adopted their red, temple-like “energy dome” hats, which have now become synonymous with the band (which can be purchased on DEVO’s website still, for $32). They have been written off by many as corny or gimmicky, but DEVO was always aware of what they were doing, and the music they were making.

Just a few years prior to the “Brush It” release, DEVO recorded a Swiffer version of “Whip It,” for a commercial, which they later expressed some regret over. The next year, Disney had approached DEVO, asking them to create an album of songs geared towards children. The record from DEVO 2.0 (stylized as DEV2.0) had preteen children singing many of the band’s classic hits but with a number of songs edited for content (think of it as a DEVO-only Kids Bop). Bassist Gerald Casale has spoken about how he found the whole process quite amusing.

So where does that leave “Brush It” in DEVO’s legacy? Was it a cash grab or a meta take on consumerism? Perhaps both, but one thing is for certain – as odd as it may be, it isn’t surprising coming from DEVO. It may lack the charm of Jack White’s hologram Lazaretto records or The Flaming Lips’ 4-CD Zaireeka, but it makes sense given DEVO’s history. Why DEVO was chosen for this children’s toothbrush line, we may never know. But no longer in production, and with many used toothbrushes likely thrown in the garbage, the DEVO Tooth Tunes brush is an artifact we shouldn’t forget.

• Alex Wetzel (Business Administration)

An Interview with Tastemakers Presents Headliner

LUCY DACUS Designer: Phoebe Lasater (Graphic Design)

The year is 2007. “Hey There Delilah” is all over the radio. The iPhone was just released. J.K. Rowling published the final Harry Potter novel. And Hasbro is trying to shake up the dental hygiene game with their first line of Tooth Tunes. For those that don’t remember Tooth Tunes, they were a line of toothbrushes, each containing a 2-minute song, telling kids how long they should be brushing their teeth for. Marketed towards kids, the original lineup was very pop (especially Disney Channel pop) heavy. Songs from Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, High School Musical and Cheetah Girls cast, but also Kelly Clarkson and Black Eyed Peas were featured. A few old hits like “We Will Rock You,” “YMCA,” and “Rock n Roll All Nite” also appeared, but perhaps the strangest part of Tooth Tunes was DEVO’s “Brush It.” Now if that song title looks only partially familiar, that is because it is a Tooth Tunes-exclusive, toothbrushing themed, re-recording of their 1980 bestknown hit, “Whip It.” Even now, 4 years after the world said goodbye to tooth tunes, the only way to listen is to find a toothbrush on the secondary market (or a 240p YouTube recording of said brush). Maybe, though, that is for the best. “Brush It” is as lazily reimagined as one would think. “Brush to the song / Only two minutes long / When some sugar comes along / You must brush it” is

Lucy Dacus recently graced our humble Afterhours stage, bringing her warmth and all-around incredible musicianship as the headliner for this semester’s Tastemakers Presents concert. Before her set, Tastemakers writer Rayven Tate was able to sit down with Lucy and chat about everything from her home, her ascent as a professional musician, and the future - check out the full interview below!

TMM: How is your tour going?

Interview has been edited slightly for clarity

TMM: Noted. Do you still journal often? Or not as much?

Tastemakers Magazine (TMM): You’re originally from Richmond, right? Do you plan on staying there or making “the move” out to a bigger music hub?

LD: Yeah, I try to keep up with myself like a couple times a week, even if it’s just a paragraph. Or sometimes I just need to say the words “today feels weird and I don’t know why,” just putting that into words, on paper, so it can kind of exist outside of my head. Some days I’ll journal like 20 pages, and some days I won’t say anything at all.

Lucy Dacus (LD): Well, I bought a house there, so that’s an indication that I would stay. But also, I’ve never lived anywhere else, so I kind of want to know what it’s like and see if I’m capable of rebuilding in another city. I didn’t leave the city to go to college. I just went to school in Richmond and then I dropped out and stayed there anyways. I travel a lot so that satisfies my wanderlust, but it’s still appealing when we go to cities and play in certain cities, I can see myself there.

TMM: Is there any place that’s stood out specifically?

Spring 2019

20

LD: I really liked Philly, but we have a ton of friends there so I think it doesn’t have as much to do with the city itself, more so it has to do with the huge community we have there.

LD: Really good! Up until today we did shows with Fenne Lily and Mal Blum who are both friends of ours. We had our last show last night which was so sad. But they are really good bands for anyone who reads this [and] wants to listen to new music, check them out!

TMM: Do you go back to it often? Like do you pull from it as an inspiration when you write your music, like with this newest album that you just wrote?

LD: I don’t really go back and read that much because I expect to do that in the future and I want it to not be familiar - I want to read it like it’s new again. So I’m holding off and I don’t pull from it, but I feel like it pulls from me in a way. Like I don’t go back and try to find what I’ve written and try to make it into lyrics, but the act of writing makes me encounter thoughts I didn’t know I was thinking or it will start a train of thoughts that’ll turn into a song, and I guess just the practice of listening to your own thoughts is super valuable for any type of creative pursuit.

21

Designer: Stephanie Miano (Interaction Design)

Cover Story

Lucy Dacus Rio Asch Phoenix (Media Arts)

TMM: What was the journey like creating Historian? Was that something that you always had planned or did the inspiration all hit at once and it was more of spur of the moment “let’s start this project today”?

LD: I wrote all the songs at pretty different times. Some of them I wrote even before No Burden, like “Pillar of Truth” I tried to put on No Burden but I didn’t think it was good enough yet, so we didn’t release it. The kind of “a-ha” moment was when I made a list of all the songs I had written, and realized that among them there were these songs that created an arc. So I wrote the tracklist before I had even finished some of the songs, just because I had noticed there was this thematic trend and it was like, “Cool we got an album.” I didn’t write any extra songs from that tracklist - we just went in and recorded the ones that I had chosen.

TMM: You formed the group boygenius with your friends; how exactly did that come to be? What inspired y’all to do that; was it more of a fun, little side experiment that turned into more?

LD: Well, the tour was booked first, so Phoebe [Bridgers] and Julien [Baker] had this tour booked together and they asked if I would open for them. Basically then once we knew we would all be hanging out, we were like, “We should write a song!” So we got together and it just became 6 songs and a band and we were surprised and all of our labels were surprised and luckily everyone was so into it and happy about it that we got the green light. We had the idea in May and the first songs came out I think in August? So the recording, mixing, mastering, all within a couple months time was super hectic, but I’m glad that we were able to share it in that time frame.

TMM: Going off of that, if you could collaborate with anyone as yourself or as boygenius, who would it be?

LD: Hmm. I really love Miranda July. She’s a visual artist, performance artist, director, journalist, overall creative renaissance woman, and I always aspire to enter as many fields as possible, so I feel like collaborating with people that have that mindset that they just don’t work in one field - like you just have an idea and then you bring it to form however it may be - I just find that to be a very freeing mentality, so I feel like collaborating with her would be cool. [Laughs] Sorry I couldn’t think of another word.

TMM: What’s the most memorable show you’ve played? It could be so far or this tour specifically - what really stood out and why?

LD: Honestly, the first show that came to mind, and maybe I’ll say something different on a different day, but the first show that we played as a band in a non-English speaking country, we played Barcelona, the first European tour that we did, seeing people sing along that weren’t native English speakers. I don’t know why I just felt super grateful that they had spent time with the record - I just couldn’t believe that the songs reached them. Like I know the internet exists, but it’s kind of hard to remember what a big deal that is and how impossible that would’ve been in the past, and just how lucky I feel to be working when it’s really easy to reach people far away.

Spring 2019

22

TMM: Did you ever picture yourself in this position, like would younger you ever visualize you now - did you think it was going to go this far?

LD: It’s funny, like super young me wanted to be a construction worker [laughs] and then I wanted to be a professional diver, like an Olympic diver, and then my third job choice was rockstar, and that’s when I was like 6. After that I was like I’ll be a teacher or I’ll be a psychologist, then I was like maybe I’ll be a sculptor or a photographer or a filmmaker and that kind of carried me through high school and I didn’t really cultivate the dream of being a musician because I didn’t really think it was really possible. My mom is a music teacher at an elementary school so there was always music around, but her job wasn’t what I wanted to do, so for me music jobs meant being a teacher or being really good at an instrument and I’m not very good at guitar. I think I fool people, even today I think I fool people all the time. I didn’t really let myself believe it until it was already happening.

TMM: So your “a-ha” moment didn’t really happen until you were thrown into it?

LD: Yeah.

TMM: Are you working on any new material? Or are you taking a break because I know you’ve been on tour and that can get pretty hectic.

LD: I don’t know what a break is [laughs] honestly that would be cool to figure out, but yeah I’m writing all the time; I’m super excited for the next record. It’s really different for me. I don’t know if it’ll sound different for other people, but to me it feels different writing these songs. I feel way more vulnerable like getting into storytelling and getting into territory I’m really uncomfortable with, but I think it’ll be an inevitable growing experience. Hopefully that’ll be true for other people, but honestly if it’s just true for me that’s still worth it.

TMM: So kind of playing off that, do you write all the time not with the intention of making a song out of it, like not necessarily putting it on the album, but just writing for yourself?

LD: Yeah, whenever I write I don’t know if it’ll be a real thing or not, like I’ve never sat down and decided, “I will write a song for the album,” and if I’ve ever tried to do that it usually comes off as really corny and forced.

I’ll write a song and after it’s done I’ll be able to look at it for what it is, like I try not to judge it while I’m making it. Once it’s done I can be more critical, not necessarily negatively, but just look at it as a separate piece from who I am like, is this a good song? No? Cool, I won’t show anybody.

Or is this something people can get something from? Then I should record it. There’s plenty of stuff that’s helpful to me that I don’t really think would help other people - like it’s too specific or it’s not very artful.

TMM: Dope, well that’s all I have for you today.

LD: Sick!

TMM: It was really good speaking with you! Thank you for taking the time out our day to speak with me.

LD: Likewise!

• Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)

23

Editorial

“As cliché as it sounds, I truly believe how hard you work and the time you put into the music will bring you a long way. Having the infrastructure definitely helps, but if your music is good and you’re passionate, you’re going to make it, no matter what.

We brought different types of music to the underground.

We made venues get used to this.”

D O N A L D GRUNGE

Recording Artist

AGAINST THE ODDS

“When I first moved to Boston in 2012, local shows were a scarce, twice-a-year type scenario and the local venues had zero interest in booking local hip-hop acts. Fast forward to 2016, and only the top-tier local hip-hop acts were given a platform because the bigger clubs didn’t have the confidence that a lineup based solely on locals could fill a room.

Disorder started as a platform solely meant to book my friends and have fun, but it has grown vastly bigger than I ever could have guessed into something really important for the city of Boston.

I created my own infrastructure as a means to fill a void and a means by which I could do it myself.

Boston, if you have an idea, I urge you to materialize it. We need more people throwing shows, creating content, and pushing forward with us.”

How Boston’s DIY hip-hop scene made something out of nothing

Designer: Kaya Dlouchy (Undeclared)

Spring 2019

24

Historically, Boston is not a city known for its overwhelming support of local hip-hop.

Fueled by the wariness of venues toward booking local hip-hop acts as well as the widespread presence of “old money” in the city’s music infrastructure, hip-hop has consistently struggled to get afoot in Boston. Local artists have the talent, but struggle to find opportunities and platforms with which they can showcase their skills.

Many artists cite potential security risks, resistance from promoters, and the question of profitability as main reasons why they have been unsuccessful at securing performance opportunities from venues. And yet, out-oftown hip-hop acts continue to tour around Boston venues without issue, bringing hypocrisy into question when it comes to booking hip-hop acts.

Venues refuse to take the chances, but they aren’t alone, as most major Boston media platforms have left this growing base of music entirely untouched in their coverage of local art communities. In the few pieces that have been published on Boston hip-hop, however, publications continuously push forth the idea that the scene is condemned by these struggles, focusing on the obstacles in place rather than the progress made.

With this, it cannot be overlooked that the resilient stock of local artists have certainly responded to their hometown’s lack of infrastructure for hip-hop in recent years. In fact, the scene has begun to flourish, with the most prominent example being Dorchesterbred hip-hop act Cousin Stizz. This past year,

Stizz became the first hip-hop artist in the Boston Music Awards’ over 30-year history to take home the “Artist of the Year” honor, just months after becoming the voice of the Boston Celtics’ 2018-2019 season campaign.

While this success has seemingly sprouted out of nowhere, local artists and curators have manifested this growth starting where most music scenes find their roots: in basements. As venues deny the support of local hip-hop acts without cement proof of concept or outside talent involved, the artists look within and used their own resources, devoid of outside investment and support.

Basement shows, bubbling with the excitement of a near-rebellious DIY spirit, are authentic signs of life in any local scene, proving that with energy and support, growth can form seemingly out of nowhere. Packing a friend’s basement on a Friday night might seem a small feat, but in all truth, these are the metrics by which growth for local artists are seen and measured. Consequently so, thanks to the growing communities that were born from basement shows and cyphers, the success rate of local hip-hop artists securing performances at legitimate venues is increasing more rapidly than ever. Because when the people care, the venues have no choice but to care, and as a result, money is circulated into the scene when backed by the resources and marketing that these venues can provide.

As with all growth, though, there are certain inevitable growing pains that arise.

For Boston hip-hop, one main growing pain

is that of the “crabs in a bucket” mentality.

The success of close peers creates a basis for jealousy among artists, especially when the hip-hop scene is not accustomed to watching artists find success and venture out of their hometown until recently. This attitude is combated with local media coverage of the Boston scene, however, as a growing sense of community is blossoming out of this collective support for Boston talent. Several different blogs — namely Graduation Music, Fresh Out The Mint, and The Fresh Heir — provide direction for listeners, informing them which artists are worth watching and which artists show potential for future success. By creating platforms that can benefit the whole, the “crabs in a bucket” mentality is resolved with an overlying sense of support, inherently creating a basis of structure for the hip-hop scene.

From media coverage to live performance, a sense of community, and pure talent, Boston hip-hop artists and fans are building something out of nothing.

Many platforms insist that the city’s historic biases against hip-hop have cornered any hopes of success, but in truth, when one truly assesses the state of Boston hip-hop, the progress made even in the past 8 years cannot be discounted.

Quite apparently, Boston hip-hop is a reality, and no longer can it be hidden.

• Seamus Fay (Accounting)

LORD FELIX Recording Artist

“Venues that do hip-hop shows are scarce and have been scarce from the jump. But at the same time, hip-hop as a culture has always been resilient, so we’ve always found different, creative ways to make it happen. Whether it was basement shows, underground art spaces, studios, etc., we’ve always found a way to congregate and listen to good music. Watching the scene evolve into what it is today is just amazing. We still have a very long way to go, but at least there’s hope.”

DISORDER MING Promoter

LUKE BAR$ Recording Artist

“I feel like there’s a shift going on right now within the music industry, within Massachusetts, and within the world.

More people are realizing the potential they hold and are utilizing it. A lot more sounds are coming together and fusing, as well, and it’s working. We’re in a historical era right now.”

25

Local Photos

Christian French, House of Blues Lauren Scornavacca (Industrial Engineering)

LP, House of Blues Aidan Cooke (Entrepreneurship)

Still Woozy, Afterhours Muhammad Elarbi (Computer Engineering)

Lennon Stella, Royale Aly Kula (Communications & Graphic Design) Lennon Stella, Royale Aly Kula (Communications & Graphic Design)

Local Talent

caliibri Local Talent As mentioned, Boston has very little to show for in terms of an EDM scene. While there is a reasonable underground culture in Boston for genres like pop punk which brings forth house shows and even venue shows at places like the Great Scott (with a capacity of just over 200), there seems to be little to no platforms and resources for electronic musicians and producers. Small venues like Rise and larger nightclubs like The Estate used to be hotspots for EDM activity, hosting local DJs, dance events and feeding the Boston nightlife, but have been closed for almost four years now. However, similar to electronic music itself, the computer can be the most important instrument at one’s disposal. Modern developments have made it possible to succeed online rather than locally, which caliibri has used to her advantage by mixing tracks for podcasts and providing guitar/ bass tracks to other producers. She’s written and recorded a theme track and transitional music for a University of Vermont podcast through a high school friend. caliibri’s work with other producers includes providing live instrumental tracks for fellow Northeastern producer, $hi.

With the exception of the few small platforms, Boston EDM musicians need to make their own business when it comes to breaking into the industry. Nonetheless, caliibri is working hard to make her own way in with the

help of the Northeastern student body who has already assisted her in creating an official studio mix for her first single (titled “Get To Feel It”), shooting an accompanying music video, and currently, helping her navigate the Boston music scape for DJing opportunities to build up her live set. While these steps may seem like just the beginning, caliibri’s career has been some time in the making. Her SoundCloud account (under her artist name) currently has ten unique tracks and has been her platform for release for over a year now. When her debut single is released, it will be available on all streaming platforms, and perhaps so will a few others in her catalogue.

Hopefully for the next year she’ll be found conquering the Boston party scene, finishing up a full body of personal work to release and working her way up the ladder with her mixer and her mind full of ways to diversify the music of Boston.

Drew Quercio (Music Industry)

Designer: Brooke Dunahugh (Studio Art)

Spring 2019

30

Have you been hearing all the buzz around the Boston EDM music scene? Well, I haven’t either. However, Northeastern student, Jessica Erdmann, is looking to change that. The second year musician from Vermont mixes her own music under the recently-adopted stage name, caliibri, and is finally trying her hand at recording and releasing content that falls under the lo-fi/house genre she’s looked up to for so long. “As a kid I started taking guitar lessons, and became fascinated with soloing and creating my own songs and riffs,” she explains. “By high school, I had become a guitar teacher and started playing guitar for songs I made on Garageband.”

Using vocal samples/synths, original drum beats, and her own guitar and bass, she began putting together both laid back, psychedelic tracks and club-ready, heavier ones after her move to Boston. “I learned that in addition to instruments, I could create many sounds through my computer.” She sites her major inspiration as Korean-American artist, Yaeji.

Similar to what caliibri hopes to achieve, Yaeji made her way by playing local sets as a DJ and building her own personal catalogue at the same time. Leveraging her clear vision and the help of the students around her, caliibri is working to be a name to remember for the coming years of Boston music, creating her own opportunity in a seemingly barren landscape.

31

Feature Metalcore has never been a respected genre, both critically and publicly. But I would venture to say both groups don’t really understand enough about it to explain why they dislike it. A critic might point to the genre’s often formulaic nature or the stereotype that metalcore bands are unskilled musicians. An average listener might say that it’s “just screaming” or a metalhead that it’s not real metal, but there’s something so intriguing about the energy and chaos of metalcore, something hardly quantifiable by critics’ ratings or radio play. Over the past 30 years, metalcore has constantly been evolving in sound and audience. In the early part of the 2010s, it looked like the genre was dying for good, but recent events have said otherwise. Now, the future of metalcore looks brighter than ever, with more and more great bands popping up out of nowhere to continue the tradition. Even if it will never reach the popularity of the scene days, metalcore is in the midst of a renaissance.

Metalcore was born in the early 1990s as a fusion of hardcore punk and metal, but the two genres had been intertwined long before. In fact, the crossover thrash sound of New York hardcore bands like Cro-Mags was a clear predecessor. Because of this, most early metalcore splits the influence of hardcore and punk evenly. Pioneers like Integrity and Earth Crisis combined the fury of punk rock with heavier metal riffs, but didn’t often stray from a typical hardcore song structure. As the 90s came to a close, metalcore started to become a much more technical genre, leaning into its metal roots.

Mathcore, a subgenre built on rhythmically

“ THROUGHOUT EVERY ITERATION OF POPULAR METALCORE, A SMALL BUT DEDICATED UNDERGROUND HAD STUCK TO THE LATE 90S MATHCORE SOUND.”

complex riffs, irregular time signatures, and abrupt tempo changes, was born on the back of bands like Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and, of course, Converge. This brand of metalcore was critically well received and is still well respected today, but any semblance of popularity was short-lived.

The new millennia brought new appeal to rock music. Pop-punk and nü-metal made way for a new brand of metalcore in the mainstream. Melodic metalcore gained popularity through bands like Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, and Unearth, who all adopted a sound much closer to traditional metal with anthemic choruses and clean vocals, helping propel them onto the Billboard charts. For example, As I Lay Dying’s 2007 album An Ocean Between Us reached number 8 on the Billboard 200. This second wave would also be short-lived, as the scene explosion was just about to dominate the genre’s image, but proved very influential in the future of metalcore’s sound.

With its skinny jeans and neon hair, the dominance of scene culture in the late 2000s let metalcore experience its most widespread commercial success. Bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Asking Alexandria became the faces of the genre, which sadly means most people still associate their sound with metalcore as a whole. That is to say, from Attack Attack! to The Devil Wears Prada, a lot of scene metalcore was pretty terrible. Every aspect of these bands felt like a gimmick.

Ridiculous death growls next to auto-tuned hooks, random piano or synth interludes, MySpace quality album artwork, and song

titles so long and absurd they would put Fall Out Boy to shame. Dubbed “mallcore” by metal purists, it would be understating it to say these bands damaged the reputation of Metalcore as a whole, but at least they weren’t as bad as Blood on the Dance Floor.

Scene didn’t last for very long, though, and had all but disappeared by the mid 2010s.

Rock music had also all but vanished from the mainstream, so there was much less of an incentive to make metalcore digestible for a wider audience. Throughout every iteration of popular metalcore, a small but dedicated underground had stuck to the late 90s mathcore sound. Now that the negative connotation of the genre is slowly fading from public memory, the door has opened for metalcore to receive the widespread acclaim it was always capable of.

But if scene has been dead for years and underground metalcore has flourished all along, why would now be the time for a metalcore revival? First of all, underground metalcore has been carried almost exclusively by Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan for the past 20 years. In such a small genre, there just wasn’t room for a larger pantheon. With the rise of streaming services though, it’s easier to get noticed on a wider scale as a smaller band, which is hugely valuable to metalcore. Finally, you don’t need to be a band with an established name to succeed.

Another undervalued aspect of modern times that would contribute to a metalcore revival is the current generation’s anger.

Though metalcore isn’t nearly as overtly political as it’s punk roots, a similar rage fuels

“ IT’S NOT LIKE EX-SCENE KIDS ARE OUT LOOKING FOR NEW MUSIC, WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION, WHO’S ACTUALLY LISTENING TO THIS? THE ANSWER IS AN ENTIRELY NEW AUDIENCE.” both genres. Members of both Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan have been vocal about living a straight-edge lifestyle and the latter even had voter registration at their merch table for the 2004 election. That same anti-Bush anger is perhaps stronger in today’s political climate. Social media’s increasing interaction between band and fan also means an artist’s social views are more important to their success than ever.

These factors manifested back in 2017 as Pittsburg hardcore band Code Orange broke into the mainstream with their Grammynominated album Forever, showing that an old-school metalcore sound still had popular appeal. In 2018, Vein achieved similar success both commercially and critically for their debut album Errorzone. Many have

“ THAT SAME ANTI-BUSH ANGER IS PERHAPS STRONGER IN TODAY’S POLITICAL CLIMATE.” praised Vein as a group that takes clear influence from underground mathcore giants like Converge while still pushing the genre forward. This means the door is now open for metalcore bands to have a real shot at critical acclaim. For example, UK mathcore group Ithaca released their fantastic debut album

The Language of Injury in February 2019 to all around positive reviews. Even Pitchfork praised the band’s “diversity of tactics both politically and musically to hammer their… message home.”

That’s the respectable side of metalcore, but I may have lied earlier when saying scene music was dead. Very recently, bands have started popping up with a sound and image clearly influenced by their scene predecessors. The catch is that this time, they don’t suck. SeeYouSpaceCowboy… are perhaps the best example of this, stating in their Spotify bio that they “pay homage to the greater era of MySpace and scene music while also being able to bring something new to the table.” Vocalist and front-person Connie Sgarbossa even admitted to loving the infamous Someday Came Suddenly by Attack Attack!, calling it “a great sound to build off.” SYSC’s ridiculous song titles are also very clearly a scene callback, e.g. “Self Help Specialist Ends Own Life” and “I Am a TransContinental Railroad, Please Run a Train on Me.” They aren’t all gimmick though, as their lyrics deal with very serious social issues, particularly trans rights. Everything about their image is making hardcore traditionalists very angry, and it’s not like ex-scene kids are out looking for new music, which begs the question, who’s actually listening to this? The answer is an entirely new audience, which is exactly what’s needed for a metalcore revival to become a reality.

It’s not just SYSC either; another upcoming metalcore group Wristmeetrazor also clearly takes influence from scene,

though they fall more on the screamo side of things. Unlike SYSC, Wristmeetrazor have a seal of approval from the screamo old-guard: their debut album Misery Never Forgets’ cover art by pageninetynine vocalist Chris Taylor.

With a name as edgy as Wristmeetrazor though, they’re still turning heads. They even recently signed to Prosthetic Records, a respectable metal label responsible for acts like Gojira. So it’s not just the consumers taking notice of this revival, big labels are in on it too.

All this points to an impending metalcore renaissance. The genre is currently more diverse than ever, as bands inspired by different eras are all finding commercial and critical success. That diversity coupled with the general political rage of modern times is opening up the genre to new audiences.

Although it will never top its popularity of the late 2000s, metalcore is far from a dead genre, so get ready to two-step; metalcore is back and here to stay.

• Grant Foskett (Computer Science)

Spring 2019

32

33

Feature

RAP ON TRIAL

Designer: Alex Agahnia (Marketing and Design)

On February 3rd, 2019, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested rapper 21 Savage, full name She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, and brought him into custody on the grounds that he overstayed his visa that expired in 2006. Abraham-Joseph, a UK native who immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of 7 and has spent over 20 years here, spent much of his adolescence in Atlanta and hails the city frequently in his music. Due to his prolonged stay in custody, 21 missed the Grammy’s wherein he was nominated for two awards and slated to perform with Post Malone. According to ICE, 21’s “whole public persona is false,” implying he’d intentionally misled fans, his connection to Atlanta is baseless, and that his identity is derived exclusively from his citizenship.

Although 21 Savage’s recent arrest sparked outcry from academics, fellow musicians, and legal scholars because of the forceful handling and delegitimizing campaign ICE took against him, his detention serves only as the most recent manifestation of rap artists targeted by the American criminal justice system. In 2017, after a series of arrests and parole extensions, Philadelphiaraised rapper Meek Mill was found guilty of violating his parole following 2008 weapon and drug charges after he fought with two airport employees in St. Louis and popped wheelies on his dirt bike in New York. These events led to Meek’s third prison sentencing – this time, for up to four years – and sparked the hashtag #FreeMeekMill.

After a high-profile pressure campaign from the likes of Jay-Z, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the rapper was released from prison in April 2018 by order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Criticizing the handling of Meek’s case and Judge Genece Brinkley who had overseen Meek’s case since 2008, the rapper’s lawyer acknowledged, “He’s been on probation for nearly 10 years.

Nobody goes on probation for 10 years.”

Both 21 and Meek were charged or detained based on alleged violations of law, that is, overstaying a visa visit or violating the terms of parole. While the examples of 21 Savage and Meek Mill received substantial coverage due to their fame, hundreds of other rappers outside the mainstream spotlight have moved through the criminal justice system. Local and rising rappers, unprotected by star-powered legal teams, are often more vulnerable to spurious arrests and charges.

For decades, rappers have been targeted for committing misdemeanors artists from other genres have walked virtually free from. The fraught relationship between law enforcement and the hip-hop community has existed for almost just as long as the genre itself, with some of the earliest hip-hop behemoths such as Public Enemy and N.W.A. using their music to censure discriminatory law enforcement practices in a form of artistic resistance. That said, a newer pattern has emerged in which rappers are being targeted directly based on the content of their lyrics. This phenomenon, often dubbed “Rap of Trial,” refers to the concept of employing rap lyrics that suggest themes of violence and drug-abuse as admissions of guilt in a court of law. Attempts to discredit the careers of these musicians are not without racist undertones and profiling within courtrooms themselves.

Criminologists Charis Kubrin and Erik Nielson have written extensively about the trend of systematically admitting rap lyrics as prosecutorial evidence. Together, they’ve published academic papers and news articles that draw attention to the repeated characterization of young Black rappers as authors of their own crimes rather than artists engaging in legal expression. They’ve highlighted the specific case of Olutosin Oduwole, a student from Southern Illinois University who was charged and convicted of plotting a terrorist attack after a rap sheet of his was seized that discussed staging a university-wide

shooting similar to that of Virginia Tech. This sheet, in connection with his ownership of a gun, resulted in a five-year prison conviction for Oduwole. Unfortunately, Oduwole’s case is only one that Kubrin and Nielson followed; both authors divulged “rap lyrics are turning up with alarming regularity as evidence in court rooms across the country.”

To the untrained ear (a hardly sufficient excuse when rap music has become the world’s most popular musical genre), the affinity for rap artists to graphically outline scenarios of violence and drug activity raises concern. Playing off of these concerns, prosecutors much like the ones in Oduwole’s case cajole the sympathies of juries to conflate these scenarios with the lives of rappers themselves – a legal defense virtually unheard of within other genres of music. More insidiously, playing off of these concerns regulates the speech of African Americans in a way reminiscent of the Jim Crow era – a time when the language, behavior, and physical bodies of African Americans were under universal scrutiny by law enforcement and White America. What the cases of 21 Savage, Meek Mill, and Oduwole all have in common is not their artistic styles or forms of expression, but that they were all targeted and arrested for matching discriminatory

criteria of criminals, illegal immigrants, and thugs that made for quick convictions.

The criminalization of rap lyrics in courts of law unfortunately props up a larger system of targeted injustice against people of color and undocumented persons in the United States. In reference to his arrest, 21 Savage shared “My situation is important ’cause I represent poor black Americans and I represent poor immigrant Americans.”

Just days before his arrest, the rapper performed the track “a lot” from his December 2018 album i am > i was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, altering some of the song’s lyrics to uplift undocumented and immigrant voices in the United States: “Been through some things so I can’t imagine my kids stuck at the border Flint still need water People was innocent, couldn’t get lawyers.”

21 Savage was released from detention on February 12th, and is now awaiting his deportation hearing on April 11th.

While connections between his arrest and this verse are merely speculative and probably coincidental, the history of conflating lyrical admissions of guilt raises suspicions over which lyrics may catch the ear of prosecutors and detention officers alike.

• Vishal Makhijani (Politics, Philosophy, and Economics)

Spring Fall 2012 2019

34

35

IN DEFENSE OF:

Show Reviews Oliver Tree

Great Scott 02.28.19

Etcetera

BY LADY GAGA Designer: Sara Hartleben (Graphic Design)

Spring 2019

36

From the opening vocal bars of “Aura,” the hotly anticipated ARTPOP definitively ushered in a new Lady Gaga. It was a Gaga that was no longer here to make a name for herself – she had been doing that and more since her humble 2009 days when she was known essentially by a singular platinum blonde aesthetic – and a Gaga that was ready to start taking that inevitable step in any burgeoning pop superstar’s career: the experimental phase. It was also a Gaga that disappointed critics and fans alike, even the diehard little monsters.

ARTPOP may have signaled the inescapable turn into concept-ville to anyone with a passing interest in the character of Lady Gaga (her version of Sia’s 1000 forms of Fear, if you will), but the music archeologists of the future would later go on to realize that for Gaga, this phase was not limited in scope to a single LP. It was the comparatively simple beginning of a multi-media journey of innovation and experimentation across many genres that would reinvigorate Gaga’s career in the diametric opposite way that critics believed it would be her undoing of relevancy. It was not so much a phase as a turning point.

Now it is all well and good to argue the artistic merit that goes into creating a highly publicized project like ARTPOP, but you could easily make the argument that much of that matters little when, for an artist with a profile like Gaga’s, the commercial reception and sales figures need to do at least some of the talking.

And on what are commercial figures and public reception based if not simply how

enjoyable (read: catchy) the album is as a whole? Many argue that ARTPOP was greater than the sum of its parts (although most weren’t even that generous), believing that most of the single releases and other individual songs lacked the pop bite that characterized past hits. And while it’s true that “Applause” notoriously underperformed against Katy Perry’s “Roar,” released the same day, and that some of the album’s more tender moments like “Dope” and “Gypsy” fell a bit flat to some due of their laughably overperformed nature, I contest that ARTPOP has more than enough peak to balance out the trough. Along with the aforementioned lead single and opener, tunes like “G.U.Y” and “MANiCURE” see Gaga just as she was before, the voice of some damn memorable earworms of unadulterated female empowerment.

But ARTPOP is more than just a collection of radio-ready track; it was the perfect career move at the time. Gaga already had her foot in the door of the dance-pop zeitgeist for long enough after The Fame Monster and Born This Way established her as a reliable hitmaker. She was one step above a household name, and it was time to get a lot more creative, conceptual, and unabashedly weird. To say that Gaga’s previous efforts were not any of these things would undermine their commercial and critical success, but it’s worth noting that with ARTPOP you can palpably feel that Gaga felt far less shackled to convention or pressure from a label or any other corporate overlord. Going back to “Aura,” this feeling is clear from the get go

when the experimental pop/mariachi hybrid glitches from line to line like Gaga was convulsing in the studio with every word. It stays catchy as all hell while overstatedly all over the place, a motif that runs through to several other tracks like “Swine,” “Jewels N’ Drugs” and fan-favorite deep cut “Donatella.” It’s this chaotic feeling on the majority of tracks that contrast so well with the simple nature of the lyrics that give ARTPOP that deceptively difficult to attain quality of “so wrong it’s right,” which in its wake was unfortunately shortened for many to “so wrong.”

ARTPOP is just as much visual as it sonic, with intentional contrasts between musical content and album imagery creating a feeling that is distinctly Gaga: messy as all hell but just as infectious. Deliberately thematically immature, ARTPOP’s lyrics juxtapose the sophisticated mythological and cosmological imagery of the albums artwork and music videos beautifully. It may seem odd to attach a Greek astrological motif to lyrics stomping the overtrodden grounds of hot takes on fame, sex, fashion, and drugs, but by infusing that aesthetic with a core sense of “reverse Warhol” and subversions of traditional pop culture, Gaga creates a unique aura all of it’s own. ARTPOP creates a compelling visual story from essentially nothing more than superficial musings on pop roads frequently traveled.

It’s that kind of artistic vision and execution that won her an Oscar in 2019, so who’s winning now, Katy Perry?

• Jason Levy (Marketing)

I was fortunate enough to attend concerts from two members of meme-music’s Mount Rushmore within weeks of each other, starting with Filthy Frank turned sad boi crooner, Joji, before professional scooter rider Oliver Tree’s sold out performance at Great Scott. While there are obvious comparisons to be made between the appeal of the crude absurdism their personas bring, both Joji and Oliver Tree represent two distinct sides of the constantly blurred spectrum of memes and music. Where the success of Joji’s music career completely branched off from his YouTube career and remains serious in tone, Oliver Tree’s focus on creating quality music that is boosted by meme-infused backdrops has led him to viral success. His music is definitely enjoyable by itself, but I was curious to see how Tree would translate the impact monster trucks, scooter tricks, and bowl cuts has on his studio recordings. It was quickly apparent that the 240-capacity room could barely contain the confidence and swagger of the solo cup design wrapped, karate chopping,

25-year-old that perfectly translated his character from screen to stage.

Tree’s opener, Abhi the Nomad, delivered a strong opening set of pop-rap interspersed with stand-up that played well with the crowd. His goofy dancing and oneliners perfectly matched the tone of Oliver Tree’s music and left me wanting more. As I waited in the sea of dad hats and clout goggles for Oliver Tree to take the stage, his hype-up playlist of hits like “We Like to Party” and “I Want It That Way” helped prepare us for what was to come. As the playlist’s finale, “Sandstorm,” came to a close, his two-person band set up their instruments and began the title track off his EP, Alien Boy. The bandmates’ outfits were wrapped in the 90s solo cup design, Oliver Tree’s signature, and as he took the stage, he was quick to flex on the crowd with his custom solo cup yeezys. Almost immediately, I could feel the floorboards of the venue bending to the beat, the entire crowd belting out lyrics.

Oliver Tree commanded the crowd like he was headlining Madison Square Garden,

completely disregarding the intimateness Great Scott brought. His over the top persona played incredibly well with the crowd, and as he changed outfits from fedora to safety vest to full ski gear, Tree transported us into his world. He was able to cover most of his discography quickly into his set, so I was pleasantly surprised when he performed several new tracks off his upcoming LP, Ugly is Beautiful. Tree’s trademark vocals and rap-rock influence are still present in full force on his new record, and his cherry red Flying V guitar added character to his mostly electronic sound.

Oliver Tree’s live show proves that he is more than just a meme, and I am ecstatic for the scooter champ’s upcoming release.

mixing Robyn and her label mate’s music between the likes of Björk, Kacey Musgraves, and Beyoncé. Both acts kept the crowd impressively engaged until Robyn came on shortly after 9pm.

Adorned by heavenly-white drapery and furnishings, Robyn allowed her opening song to commence before she even took stage. Opening with successive tracks “Send to Robin Immediately,” and “Honey,” Robyn allowed the tension and intensity of her presence percolate before shifting gears into “Indestructible,” a pounding Body Talk classic that commanded the to audience sing as assertively as the track itself. Every movement and conversation with the audience (the latter of which was minimal)

evoked a roaring response from the crowd, signaling unbridled approval and affirmation at Robyn’s every whim.

Seven songs into the concert, Robyn momentarily exited the floor for a costume change and left the stage vacant for Theo Canham-Spence, an English dancer whose contortionist storytelling accompanied Robyn’s music for much of the remaining set.

The pair’s chemistry came together most during “Between the Lines,” during which their playful chasing of one another on stage matched the absurdist notes of the song itself. The succession of Honey’s two more spirited dance tracks followed by “Love is Free,” and a remix of “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do” transformed the venue into a

Max Rubenstein (Entrepreneurship)

Robyn

House of Blues 03.11.19 For over a decade, Swedish dance pop artist Robyn has captivated her cult-like fan base with her dance-and-sob style of music. Last year, Robyn released her first work after an eight year absence emerging in the form of Honey, an album more polished and precise than the forcefulness of her earlier albums. Later, Robyn announced a North American tour that would begin in Los Angeles and later bring her installation of the Robyn Honey Tour to Boston.

An hour after doors opened and as fans waited for Robyn to join the stage, longtime Robyn-collaborator Kindness and L.A. dance up-and-comer Channel Tres opened. Kindness played first for about half an hour, only to return for a second DJ set

37

The Kooks

The Orpheum Theatre 02.26.19

Reviews

Berlin house club-meets-sweat-drenched Pride party bred only from the imagination and musical psyche of Robyn: urgent, yet euphoric, pulsing, yet blissful.

Following this house-oriented stint came the performance everyone had undoubtedly been craving: the 2010 sensation “Dancing On My Own,” an anthemic track resonant with the loneliness of every audience member. Anyone who’s followed Robyn’s tour online knew to prepare and belt the song’s first chorus unaccompanied by any instrumentals, yet what we hadn’t expected was what would follow – over a minute of uninterrupted cheering. A crowd ceaselessly poured their pure love and joy for the

woman whose music captured some sort of emotional absence in a moment of sheer embrace. And as if these moments weren’t transcendent enough, Robyn followed with “Missing U” and “Call Your Girlfriend,” two more tracks that exemplify the enthralling essence of her music.

As smiles grew more earnest and vocal chords exhausted, Robyn’s ability to create a truly special environment was clear. No show I’ve been to forged an immediate sense of community among every concertgoer quite like the cathartic feeling Robyn brings.

Miraculously, even while waiting between two encores for lesser-known tracks “Trust Me” and “Who Do You Love?,” Robyn’s

fans showed no sign of fatigue, and this persistence is perhaps what defined the night. As Robyn heads into the summer playing a stint of almost exclusively European musical festivals (barring Pitchfork’s Chicago festival in July), we’re only left grateful to have caught Robyn before her eventual departure and uncertain return.

that even in a venue that large he felt as though he were playing in his living room.

The set, which was an astounding two full hours long, featured an even mix of upbeat pop and slower piano ballads. The tour was meant to promote the new record, but McMahon’s performance was sure to include interests of every fan, as the twentyfour-song set drew from a blend of Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate hits (like “Dark Blue” and “Woke Up in a Car”), lesser played tracks (such as “She Paints Me Blue” and “The Resolution”), and newer picks from his current project’s repertoire.

McMahon not only seemed to feverishly gush out each lyric, but also managed to avoid the trope of the standstill pianist. Rather than simply playing through his songs as quickly as possible, he interacted with the room (and his bandmates) on several occasions.

At one point, he hopped onto the piano itself, stepping on keys or pounding on them with his fists. During Something Corporate’s “Punk Rock Princess” he jumped directly from the stage into the barricade to sing into the crowd. Later on, while the reprise of “Everything Must Go” played, he crowd surfed on a huge sun-shaped inflatable to the bar, where he proceeded to take a shot

before riding back to the stage. His crew at one point even dislodged the flowers from the stage setup and distributed them among the audience in a well-choreographed effort to further engage the floor. Although the show was just about halfway through the tour, McMahon’s energy and passion were truly infectious.

Andrew McMahon has amassed a wide range of fans over the years through his various projects, many of whom have remained loyal throughout his musical endeavors. Not only has McMahon proved himself a talented songwriter, but he has also remained humble and genuinely grateful to his fans. Each time I have seen him live, he has played a compelling show, giving the audience a sense of sincerity and conviction in his music. It’s hard to leave a show like that without feeling some of McMahon’s contagious energy, and I left feeling revitalized, already looking forward to his next visit to Boston.

Vishal Makhijani (Politics, Philosophy, and Economics)

Andrew McMahon House of Blues 02.19.19

Spring 2019

38

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness brought his Upside Down Flowers to the House of Blues, taking with him support from indie rock groups Grizfolk and flor.

McMahon’s thematic production set matched the aesthetic of the new album, with garden-themed risers for his band which were decorated with an umbrella, oversized flowers, and a latticework fence from which he made a surprising entrance on stage.

Some of McMahon’s band also dressed for the occasion, as his guitarist was clad in a black suit with a silver floral pattern and his keyboardist appeared ready for a picnic in tinted round glasses along with a straw hat.

His performance opened with a recorded track welcoming everyone to the Land of Upside Down Flowers, during which the band filed onto the stage and subsequently began playing “Everything Must Go.” The last one to the stage was McMahon himself, who energetically jumped into playing his piano as it was being wheeled out. The singersongwriter, who you might recognize from early 2000s bands Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, is certainly no stranger to Boston. Despite playing to a nearly sold out room, he gave a sense of that familiarity throughout his set, mentioning at one point

An audience full of casual fans were looking to hear one song, and one song only late February at the Orpheum, and of course, it was only logical that The Kooks kept us waiting for that song until their encore. It felt as if the indie rock band arrived with a job to do, and were determined to complete it without entertaining the crowd with interaction gimmicks or flashy choreography.

The result was underwhelming, and the show felt more like watching an opener than the headliners themselves.

FUTURE FEATS began the lineup, opening for Barns Courtney with an incredibly energetic performance for a non-existent crowd. The alternative pop band’s lead singer did just about anything he could to get people to pay attention to him. As they finished their set by jumping onto a speaker at the edge of the stage, the speaker promptly slid out beneath him and hit an audience member square in the face. Following this bizarre performance, security took the woman aside while the lead singer apologized profusely.

But hey, at least he got her attention.

After an awkward transition, Barns Courtney took the stage with shaggy hair he wasn’t afraid to whip around. Not a soul

in the crowd knew who he was, but with some banter, everyone was interested in the obscure folk pop band. It was hard not to be interested in the guy with a leather fringe jacket who hopped down off the stage to dance in the crowd, jumping and bouncing like something out of an 80s workout DVD. Courtney even wrangled together enough people to the front of the stage to make his own dance floor.

Unfortunately, the same amount of energy could not be replicated by The Kooks themselves. Their stage presence rested entirely on the sweet curly-hairedindie-boy shoulders of Pritchard, who attempted to break the show’s rigidity with awkward dances. For the most part the band plowed through the set list without much showmanship or “fluff,” following the basic formula of song, applause, song, applause.

The band was solely focused on their music.

This struck me as rather odd, because nobody in the crowd seemed to know who they were seeing.

Sure, there were a few fans sporting Kooks tees speckled throughout the audience – I counted five – but the majority of the crowd was made up of older, well past the

legal drinking-age people looking to have a night out. Most people in attendance talked throughout the show while holding several empty plastic beer cups. Maybe the crowd could be inspired to sing along to The Kook’s more popular song “Ooh La,” but besides that, they remained silent. Even when Pritchard called upon the crowd to “show off their dancing skills,” the best anyone could muster was a slight sway back and forth. From the looks of it, there weren’t any die-hard Kooks fans at the Orpheum that night.

Ultimately, The Kooks successfully reproduced a sound similar to their albums and did their discography justice.

I wasn’t expecting to be greeted with the stark professionalism that allowed the performance by The Kooks to be upstaged

by Barns Courtney. Honestly, I’m more likely to add Barns Courtney to my Spotify rotation than the band I actually came to the Orpheum to see.

Kaitlin Kerr (English)

Oliver Tree, Great Scott Sydney Lerner (Media and Screen Studies)

Taylor Piepenbrink (Music Industry)

The Kooks, The Orpheum Hang Nguyen (Digital Media) 39

Editorial Spring Spring2019 2019

40

paying homage to Doctor Doom from the Marvel Comic Universe with the latter half of this moniker and his initial mask design. While DOOM may be the most obvious example, he isn’t the only artist to pull inspiration from comics for his name. The aforementioned Jean Grae calls herself a superhero on her website and took her name from the X-Men superhero Jean Gray. Rapper and producer known for his songs “Get Like Me” and “Like A Pimp” David Banner drew inspiration from Bruce Banner when coming up with his alias.

The comic book references don’t stop in these artists’ names; many lyricists will weave references into their songs. Wu-Tang Clan was very well known for rapping about the comic book universe in their lyrics. In their song “Protect Ya Neck,” Inspectah Deck raps about “swinging through your town like your neighborhood Spider-Man.” Snoop Dogg and Lady of Rage also came together on the track “Batman and Robin” where she says “Holy mackerel, Batman! I think these clowns need a backhand!” These references can be subtle such as the one line in Wu-Tang’s song or they can be the entire premise such as the Snoop Dogg track.

Hip-hop supergroup CZARFACE essentially built their identity around comic book culture with their mascot being a metal superhero whose mission is to “save

hip-hop.” The trio is made up of duo 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck who came together over a mutual love and respect for comics. Taking a glance at any of their albums, one can easily tell that the group has been heavily inspired by comics with their sophomore album being titled Every Hero Needs a Villain and all their album art stylized like a comic book.

The group recently released a new project titled CZARFACE Meets Ghostface on which Ghostface Killah joins the group. The album art depicts CZARFACE as a superhero taking out the villain, Ghostface Killah, accompanied by the blurb “He’s back! The hero who wouldn’t die!” This project comes one year after the group’s collaboration with MF DOOM on the album CZARFACE Meets Metal Face where they face off and challenge each other with their lyricism and flow.

Some artists have seen their love for comics become tangible down the line of their careers. Run the Jewels have made their appreciation for comics very public and have recently been featured on movies’ soundtracks such as Marvel’s Venom. They’ve also had multiple tributes made out to them

by Marvel Comics in which their album art was stylized in a comic book art style. Then you have artists such as 50 Cent who took a chance and tried to re-release The 50th

Law in comic book format. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well as he’d hoped it would, but that didn’t stop other artists from trying their hand at the same thing.

Run-DMC’s Daryl McDaniels had, like Run the Jewels, made his love for comics known from the beginning and took releasing comics to a whole new level. He had always wanted to release and work on comics since he was younger and now, he has not only done that, but also opened his own printing house called Daryl Makes Comics. DMC now has control over comics that he wants to publish and can put out the kind of material that we would’ve loved to read as a child.

Comic book culture has been integrated into hip-hop ever since it started gaining real notoriety

as a genre and will continue to be a big part of some artists’ identity. Artists have found so many ways to integrate themselves in to comic book culture and live out their childhood dreams of being a part of these universes they’d always read about. More and more hip-hop artists are opting to be part of soundtracks in Marvel and DC movies and making their voices and their lyrics part of the experience. Through music, art, or even just talking about their relationship with comic books, many artists are solidifying and continuing the presence of comic culture in the genre.

• Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)

Designer: Jacqueline Arce (Experience Design)

The comic book universe and the world of hip-hop have a lot more overlap than you might initially think. Around the time hip-hop was becoming the “it” genre, comic book culture was very prevalent. Some of the biggest names in hip-hop were raised alongside superheroes like Superman and Black Panther, and these artists have shown how much of an impact comics had on their upbringing through their music. Comic books’ influence can be seen as early as “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang on which the lyrics mention Lois Lane and Superman. While some simply throw in a few references to the comic universe in their lyrics, there’s some artists that base their whole identity on comics. These artists build their personas and alter egos around these ideas and breathe new life into their characters. Some artists are self-proclaimed superheroes such as Jean Grae, and some prefer to be villains such as MF DOOM. Like many kids at the time, MF DOOM grew up playing video games and reading comic books, which very noticeably influenced his work and who he is as an artist. The comic book world has spilled into this domain that he’s built during his career and can immediately be seen in his name alone. He said that when creating his alias, he wanted to be a combination of all villains,

41

KYLiE MINOGUE Pop’s Impossible Princess

Etcetera

Kylie Minogue’s career is perhaps the world’s most successful example of an established actress-turned-recordingartist. She began her entertainment career at just sixteen, as a central character on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. An overseas sensation, Minogue’s character’s wedding episode was viewed by twenty million people in the UK alone. Since transitioning to a recording career at age 19, she’s sold nearly 100 million records, logged 34 UK Top 10 hits, and been knighted by the Queen of England. Even more intriguing is how she’s kept the fixative yet gentle-natured adoration of soap opera fame, the narratives in her life remaining a fixture in Euro-tabloid circuits, while avoiding the relentless media voyeurism aimed at artists like Britney Spears. The world held its breath when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and rejoiced upon her 2007 comeback and its consequent album, X. Despite her colossal overseas popularity, Minogue has consistently struggled to reach mainstream American audiences.

She’s almost too pure a pop star for the states, a country that often treats its pop starlets with disposability.

Though Minogue would never lodge herself in the US conscious, she scored a pretty awesome consolation: her old-

Hollywood charm, euro-chic campiness, and steadfast contribution to dance music have secured her as an adored gay cult figure.

Minogue’s career brims with gigantic hooks, colorful performances and memorable videos. However, the driving force of her amazing longevity is her unexpected musical ability, an attribute that shouldn’t be obscured by Minogue’s mainstream success. The course of her discography serves as a study in what makes pop music great; she’s an artist constantly venturing into new territory, experimenting in ways subtle and grand, seeing what works and what doesn’t.

It’s the success rate that makes Kylie Minogue’s discography such a thrill: she’s one of those pop stars that’s simply great at her job.

• Theodore Kypreos (Architectural Studies)

Kylie + Enjoy Yourself 1988–1989

On Kylie Minogue’s self-titled debut studio album, her lack of artistic control is apparent. Recorded when Minogue was just 19, Kylie was a worldwide success, moving a total of five million copies, fueled mostly by the momentum of Kylie’s massive soap opera popularity, as well as her hit cover of the song “Locomotion.”

Simple 80s beats, courtesy of Australian super-producers Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, and Kylie’s fresh, chirpy voice singing about love and longing makes for effortless bubble-gum pop, but after a while some songs start to blur together, even at a crisp 35-minute length. The album doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is, an effort to capitalize on a young star’s burgeoning fame.

Minogue’s second album, Enjoy Yourself, is a near carbon copy of the first. Released just a year after her debut album, Enjoy Yourself failed to replicate the success of Kylie. Perhaps this was for the best, as it pushed Kylie towards her first real reinvention.

Rhythm of Love + Let’s Get To It 1992–1993

With two albums under her belt, Kylie Minogue sought more creative control over her subsequent musical endeavors. 1990’s Rhythm of Love is her first album to feature producers other than of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, and also sees Kylie’s first contributions as a co-writer. Kylie’s third and fourth album don’t stray from the dance-pop of her earlier career, but for the first time dip into fringe genres of dance music. Rhythm of Love has strong house influences, and 1991’s Let’s Get To It dips into R&B and new jack swing. The fresh sounds and hit singles, particularly “Better the Devil You Know” from Rhythm of Love, steered Kylie clear of potential irrelevancy, but more importantly foreshadowed her ability to pluck trends before they went mainstream—a skill that would serve her well as stiff competition from teen acts emerging on the pop scene.

Spring 2019

42

43

Kylie Minogue 1994

Impossible Princess

Light Years 2000

Fever 2001

1997

Body Language +X 2003–2007

Aphrodite, Into the Blue, + Golden 2010–Present

Etcetera Designer: Shannon Haley (Interaction Design) Spring 2019

44

After releasing 4 albums in 4 years, Kylie Minogue took a three-year break from music. She had finished her contract with major label PWL, and was at the first major crossroads of her career. To everyone’s shock, Kylie proceeded to sign with the indie label Deconstruction, a move made to secure further creative control. In many ways, Kylie Minogue’s second self-titled work was a rebrand. More mature and ambitious than anything she’d created before, the album largely features strings laid over spasmodic beats—her least danceable work yet.

The level of craftsmanship here is notably higher. Even the track order seems to be done with the utmost care, lending Kylie Minogue the serious emotional narrative that her previous albums lacked.

The musical apex of the album occurs on the first track, a crescendoing ballad entitled “Confide in Me” which also served as the lead single. It was the first time Kylie released a lead single that wasn’t an upbeat dance track, and critics hailed it as Kylie’s first real masterpiece. The song is as musically nuanced as it is vocally deft, and at nearly 6 minutes, the song doesn’t feel like it treads too long. At the very end of “Confide in Me”, the instrumental cuts out abruptly, leaving Kylie’s voice unaccompanied as it scales up a final half note. It was the first time in her discography she flexed her unexpectedly impressive vocal ability to such a degree, and the moment turns “Confide in Me” into the perfect thesis statement for the rest of her career.

1997 marked the apex of Minogue’s most musically adventurous decade, and Impossible Princess was the culmination of all her sonic exploration. Her 6th studio effort featured clanging beats, warped synths, and deconstructed guitars—a far cry from the woman who had built a career on feel-good bubblegum pop.

It’s the first album in her discography to feature self-written songs, and they’re some of the album’s strongest tracks. The ease with which Kylie adopts the angsty alt-rock singer persona is almost alarming; she settles grating vocals among sparse melodies with uncanny ability. Set against a backdrop of experimental electronic rock, Impossible Princess explodes with passion and colour.

On the album opener “Too Far,” she sings about loss and insecurity, letting her girlish voice slide into a distraught wail. In stripping the giddiness of her lighter-thanair voice, Minogue adds new dimensions of emotion. Despite the album’s uncommercial nature, Minogue’s pop instincts still shine: songs like the Celticinspired “Cowboy Style” and standout “Breathe” ebb and flow with sprawling rhythm, their deceptively large melodies anchored down only by Minogue’s cautious voice. Initial responses to Kylie’s new music were divided, but retrospective reviews have been universally positive. Impossible Princess remains Minogue’s most dynamic reinvention, and to many it’s her silent magnum opus, and whether you agree or not, one thing is certain: Kylie’s musicality has never shone brighter than here.

By the turn of the millennium, Kylie Minogue had completed her contract with Destruction, and with it her experimental period. Her albums from here on curate a more radio-friendly sound, but with a stronger musicality, a more mature outlook, and nuanced emotionality. Pop Kylie was back—just as a smarter, more experienced Kylie. She chose not to shrink back to the coy, girl-next-door persona of her 1980s work, and instead revelled in the campiness, creating what feels like brand new layers of euphoria. Indeed, the craftsmanship and artistry she gained in her angsty eras are still in play here, they just might be harder to spot among the towering beats and soaring melodies.

Kylie launched her blazing assault on the charts with “Spinning Around,” a triumphant nu-disco cut that recalled Studio 54’s heyday, and ironically, the bubble-gum pop of her earlier career. Her airy voice maneuvers irresistible hooks with an effortlessness that could only afforded by years of experience. Like on her first few albums, Minogue sings about love and desire, but what elevates Light Years from the happy-go-lucky pop of her youth is the subtle sense of sadness that permeates even the most upbeat songs, and anchors them to a place that feels infinitely more real.

As it turned out, the commercial success of Light Years was more than just a comeback, it was the beginning of a new peak for Minogue. Shifting over six million units worldwide, Fever - propelled by the worldwide smash “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (a track so irresistible even the stubborn United states couldn’t turn away) - remains Kylie Minogue’s most commerically successful album. The song is notable for its stunningly simple groove and repetitive lyrics—the word “la” makes up nearly half of the song’s lyrics. But make no mistake: there’s thought put into every one of those “la’s.” While other pop stars may have overwrought the song with vocal acrobatics, Kylie’s detached vocal performance lends the song the robotic quality which makes it so appealing. It’s a tactic that’s been copied many times— look no further than the hook on Rihanna’s equally unavoidable single “Umbrella.”

Those cold, distant “ella eh ehs?” Straight from the Minogue handbook.

It’s Fever’s remarkable cohesiveness which keeps the album from seeming tailored around its most successful single.

Fever is minimalist pop at its best: breezy vocals that glide effortlessly over clean, deceptively simple grooves. Among equally oddball arrangements- such as the swirling “In Your Eyes” or the kaleidoscopic “Come Into My World,” “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” goes down so smoothly it might not even register as one of the most iconic singles of the 2000s. The fact that Minogue peaked so late into her career is more than rare; it’s a testament to her ability to consistently make music that connects with listeners.

Following her biggest album yet, Kylie felt no pressure to recreate the magic of Fever. Instead, she chose to reinvent once again, this time venturing into electro-pop and R&B. After focusing on the hypnotizing quality of love on Fever, Minogue switched gears to the lighter side of romance: first encounters, flirting and partying. Thematically, Body Language is Kylie’s most sexual album, wonderfully underscored by nods to Prince-esque funk.

X, Kylie’s tenth album, was considered a comeback album after being diagnosed with cancer while on tour in 2005.

Sonically, the album is more scattershot than her previous projects, incorporating pretty much every dance genre she’d dabbled in since Impossible Princess. The emphasis is clearly on maximal hooks, and for the first time since the 1980s, Kylie sounds best on the songs that recall previous works. Songs like “In My Arms” and “Wow” evoke the escapism of her early work, and instantly register as some of Kylie’s best dance tracks. “The One” builds off the emotional nuance of Minogue’s stellar balladry, disco-fied into a sparkling mid-tempo track. It’s one of those rare songs that works as well as a dance track as it does a ballad. In a flurry of cascading synthesizers, she calls into the distance: “I’m the one… love me, love me, love me.”

It’s hard not to obey.

In the decade following X, Kylie stuck to the album’s formula of mixed dancepop. While this strategy spawned several songs worthy of her discography (see: “Timebomb,” and “Get Outta My Way”), it seemed as if Minogue’s days of reinvention were behind her. Finally, in April of 2018, Kylie Minogue released “Golden,” her first true reinvention since Body Language. While the album’s awkward mix of country and EDM doesn’t rank among her most memorable work, it was her first tonally consistent effort in over a decade.

45

Grace Givertz, Afterhours Rio Asch Phoenix (Media Arts)

LOCAL PHOTO Ashe, House of Blues Lauren Scornavacca (Industrial Engineering)

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST We’ve compiled all the songs from page 09’s Starships Were Meant to Squat: A Guide to Music and Exercise and added a few more of our own for a kickass workout playlist!

Find the playlist at: https://sptfy.com/24Qa

1. “Chun-Li” — Nicki Minaj 2. “CRZY” — Kehlani 3. “Tia Tamera (feat. Rico Nasty)” —

Doja Cat 4. “Fat Bottomed Girls”— Queen 5. “What Kind Of Man” — Florence + The Machine 6. “Paris (Ooh La La)” — Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

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

7. “Through the Eyes of a Child” — AURORA 8. “Pirouette” — Dizzy 9. “Planets and Stars” — Pavvla 10. “7 rings” — Ariana Grande 11. “Vroom Vroom” — Charli XCX 12. “I Got The Juice (feat. Pharrell

Williams)” — Janelle Monáe

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