Black and African Metal: Fighting for Recognition | 20
What We Listened to in Quarantine | 24
northeastern students on music
YouTube Remixes and Fair Use | 43
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Promotions Alayna Thomas Angela Lin Anita Shanker Brinda Dhawan Catherine Brownell Chelsea Henderson Clara Folkebo Desmond LaFave Ella Trumper Emily Greenberg Emily Harris Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells Frank Schramm Grant Foskett Hannah Lowicki Harleen Bhatia Hung-Chih Huang Isabel Gonzalez Jenny Chen Jessica Gwardschaladse Joey Handel Josh Stone Kaitlyn Wong Kimmy Curry Kristie Wong Lia Flannery Lucas Cooperman Matthew Rose Maya Kumar Minako Ohashi Roshni Subramonian Russell Zingler Sadhana Pakala Sarah Yi Sofia Maricevic
Photography Abigail Johnson Alekhya Rekapalli Social Media Directors Alex Pesek Hannah Lowicki Alex Sumas Matthew Rose Alex Sumas Art & Design Amanda Stark Outreach Coordinator Angela Lin Angela Lin Emily Greenberg Angelina Han Annina Hare Anna Rowley Avery Parker Design Coordinator Brooke Elmore Brandon Yap Jenny Chen Ellie Johnson Brian Bae Gabrielle Bruck Brinda Dhawan The Team Hannah Ahn Cali Cardenas Jenny Chen Caroline Lidz Staff Writers Kaya Dlouchy Casey Buttke Alex Sumas Maia Fernandez Baigun Casey Buttke Amanda Lavery Maura Intermann Casey Martin Amanda Sturm Megan Lam Catherine Argyrople Amy Oh Michelle DAlessandro Charlotte Hysen Andrew Quercio Nicholas Alonzo Christian Gomez Asher Rappaport Norman Zeng Corey Watanabe Bryan Grady Roman Distefano Daniel Chin Carleigh Sussman Sadhana Pakala Emily Greenberg Charles Stein Stephanie Miano Emily Gringorton Chelsea Lorene Henderson Verena Calista Irawan Evan Daniels
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Meet the Staff
About Jess Gwardschaladse Position Promo and Staff Writer Major Criminal Justice Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Paradise Rock Club Tastemaker Since Spring 2020
Ellie Johnson Position Designer Major Graphic Design Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Hollywood Casino Ampitheater in St. Louis Tastemaker Since Spring 2020
Brinda Dhawan Position Photographer Major Electrical Engineering Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue The Stone Pony Tastemaker Since Fall 2020
Listening to
Remember Sports “The Washing Machine”
Quote
“Bing bing.”
Fenne Lily “Hypochondriac” Mitski “Townie”
Bea Miller elated! Misterwives SUPERBLOOM
“Hey Google, play music.”
meija “Buttons”
KAYTRANADA 99.9%
“Okie eek.”
Hot Flash Heat Wave “Head in the Clouds” Thundercat “Dragonball Durag”
Neeloy Bose Position Staff Writer Major Bioengineering Graduating 2022 Favorite Venue Wang Theatre Tastemaker Since Spring 2020
Rina Sawayama “Where U Are” 070 Shake “ Guilty Conscience” Dua Lipa, Angèle “Fever”
“This one is for the boys with the booming system.”
A$AP Ferg, House of Blues
Photo by Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)
Table of Contents Cover Story
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Meme Music: the Integral Bond between Meme Culture and Pop Music
Features
Editorials
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06
Off the backs of platforms like TikTok, the current music landscape is dominated by meme culture, completely changing the careers of numerous musicians and the music industry forever.
Interviews
38
Black queer women represented their culture in blues music and were integral in its development, all against a very unwelcoming general public.
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In Defense Of
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Tastemakers Dissects
Shallowness at its Best: Paris Hilton’s one and only album, Paris
Dive into rebel music for a new generation of Irish republicans with KNEECAP’s ‘Get Your Brits Out’
Reviews
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Album Reviews Ariana Grande, SALEM, Helena Deland, BENEE, Meghan Trainor
The Paradox of Music Ownership: Why Kanye Doesn’t Own His Music In the aftermath of Kanye posting his recording contract to Twitter, here’s why most artists don’t actually own their music.
Etcetera
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Black and African Metal: Fighting for Recognition Despite metal having its roots in decidedly Black music, the landscape of the genre is overwhelmingly white. Learn about the overlooked history of Black artists in metal music.
Kazuo Rayven Tate talked to up and coming rapper Kazuo about growing up in Japan and his debut album.
Black Roots and Pantsuits: Black Queer Female Representation in the Blues Era
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The Birth of Dream Pop: A Look at the Genius of Cocteau Twins Dive into the discography of the Scottish trio that defined the dream pop genre with their unique and ethereal sound.
43
YouTube Remixes and Fair Use YouTube is the perfect platform for the dispute between fair use and protection of intellectual property, and copyright law has played a huge role in the music that has developed on the platform.
The Age of Social Media Celebrity: Ayesha Erotica The negative impact social media can have is clear, but perhaps the best example of its impact on celebrity is pop star Ayesha Erotica.
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Teen Wolf & The Distinctive Sound of 2011 The soundtrack of Teen Wolf perfectly encapsulates the energy and sound of the early 2010s.
24
What We Listened to in Quarantine Hear from the Tastemakers staff about what music from our pasts we returned to during quarantine.
34
The Redemption of Nu Metal For better or worse, it’s 2020 and nu metal is back, in fashion and in sound.
40
Power Surge Discover the new and subversive hip-hop subgenre, surge, a lo-fi and futuristic take on trap.
THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA CELEBRITY Editorial Fall 2020
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It’s a typical Thursday night. Your friend sends you a link to a song, “Emo Boy” by Ayesha Erotica, to be exact. Thinking nothing of it, you innocently click on the link and begin blasting the song in front of your parents. Now, if you know anything about her, you could imagine how playing an Ayesha Erotica song in the general vicinity of an authority figure would be a permanent mark on your character, akin to the scarlet letter. But if you’ve never heard of her before, maybe keep it that way—for her sake. In 2016, Ayesha Erotica released her debut album, Big Juicy, onto SoundCloud. She was immediately noted for her refusal to shy away from blunt and unapologetic expressions of her sexuality, and the hyper vulgarity with which she described every carnal detail of her sexual misadventures was almost something to be wonderstruck by. Though her lyrics could leave any casual fan flustered on their first listen, they only provided a small insight as to what exactly made her one of the most
prominent underground producers of her time with such a rabid cult following. Erotica’s music was largely surrounded by her social media presence. At the peak of her visibility to the public, she ran a Tumblr account where she would regularly post about her music and cultivate an aesthetic that revolved around the culture of the early 2000s. Her social media documented her fixations on anything from pink Motorola Razr flip phones to AIM away messages to scandalous paparazzi shots of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Heidi Montag. Even her album artwork continuously centered brands, such as Playboy and Juicy Couture, that reached a peak in cultural relevance at the start of the millenium. Ayesha clearly drew inspiration from a post-Mean Girls society and admired the young female celebrities that were both objectified and scrutinized within it. With a deep affection for the “it-girls” of the 2000s, Ayesha was actively working to reclaim and honor their velour tracksuit aesthetic throughout her career. Not only did she adopt the gritty and glitchy electropop of Blackout-era Britney Spears, but Miss Erotica simultaneously doubled down on the tabloid rumors that followed the women of this time through her explicit hypersexuality and lyrics rampant with drug usage. Ayesha herself almost seemed to be a character that was meant to satirize the way in which the
Regardless of her wishes, the sensationalism of Ayesha’s music allowed for its insurgence into Gen Z culture through its footholds in social media. In 2020, a TikTok audio from Ayesha’s 2016 single, “Sixteen,” was used by Charli D’Amelio, who currently has over 95 million followers on the platform, to celebrate her sixteenth birthday. Some of Ayesha’s other releases, such as “Vacation Bible School” and “Literal Legend,” also found popularity in various meme formats, including fancams of Ariana Grande on stan Twitter.
With a deep affection for the “it-girls” of the 2000s, Ayesha was actively working to reclaim and honor their velour tracksuit aesthetic throughout her career. With Ayesha’s mass appeal to a broader base beyond her original cult following, there was a simultaneous rise of the Y2K Bratz Doll aesthetic on TikTok, which Ayesha and other trans women had donned throughout their careers. Even to this day, Ayesha’s legal team is constantly at war against fans illegally pirating her music to streaming sites under her name, garnering millions of streams in the matter of weeks. Given that most of Erotica’s official releases peaked out around a few hundreds of thousands of impressions, teenage influencers adopting her signature style into the mainstream palpably heightened her visibility to the public. Social media may have provided a platform for Ayesha Erotica to curate a sonic and aesthetic direction of her own, but it
ultimately overshadowed the creator that it brought so much adoration and attention to. Ayesha Erotica became a brand, and as her pull became more magnetic over time, it could only burn brighter and hotter until it bore straight through the woman behind the persona. While her creator still carries on through her now-anonymous work as a producer, Ayesha Erotica will remain a permanent fixture in time, cemented well-beyond the control of the woman who first invented her. Social media, in essence, has preserved the legacy of Miss Erotica, leaving her forever entombed in the digital catacombs. Inevitably, our current Y2K resurgence will pass, and Ayesha’s influence will fade from the public eye. However, an eternal presence on social media is a provision for life after death of some sorts, and even after the world has moved on, buried deep within a Windows XP hard drive, Ayesha Erotica will be waiting—against all odds—to be unearthed back into the public’s consciousness. • Neeloy Bose (Bioengineering)
Designer: Maura Intemann (English and Graphic and Information Design)
media demonized these female celebrities by flippantly living up to their trashiest scandals. Whether she was yearning for a well-endowed goth boy or flipping the power dynamics of being a minor in a relationship with an adult, Ayesha Erotica’s music was artfully curated to mimic tabloid culture by garnering controversy and leaving listeners clutching their pearls. As Ayesha’s relevance and social media presence hit new highs, her influence rapidly seeped into the core of the underground pop community. She soon began producing for rising acts, such as Slayyyter and That Kid, who found inspiration in the “coked-out” genre of pop music she engineered from her Y2K iconography. This specific breed of high-intensity pop centered around ultraautotuned vocals and lyrics so absurd that they almost feel ironic was emulated by a wave of artists in the underground pop scene. Discussions were even sparked as to how this genre, which was largely influenced by Ayesha’s Myspace-adjacent aesthetic, could be categorized—some opting to the Spotify algorithm-driven label of “hyperpop,” which is somehow both all-inclusive and deceptively vague. Though a majority of her career and rise to relevance revolved around her presence on social media, Ayesha’s near-constant proximity to her fanbase exposed the darker underbelly of navigating virtual relationships as a public figure. In 2018, Ayesha was gearing up to release her sophomore studio album, Horny.4u, when her personal social media accounts were posted onto a discord server by her fans. Scrapped demos of her allegedly using racial slurs leaked online while her deadname was posted onto Doxbin. Ultimately, this resulted in the cancellation of Horny.4u, as well as the removal of her discography from most major streaming sites and her official retirement from the music industry under the stage name “Ayesha Erotica.” In her final public words, she rebuked being touted as a public figure and reflected on how reaching her level of social media celebrity resulted in her boundaries being overstepped and disrespected.
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FeatureDesigner: Sadhana Pakala (Business Administartion and Design) Fall 2020
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Black Queer Female Representation in the Blues Era The blues, like most of American popular music, was conceived by a community who often is not given its due credit, respectability or visibility. Not only was the creation of the genre instrumental in Black America’s establishment of artistic integrity during the civil rights movement, but it was also a cultural movement where other important representation can be found, particularly that of the queer community. Within that sphere of the Black community, queer women can be credited as many of the biggest names in blues and jazz, and even the larger music industry. Figures in both blues performance and composition represented women and queer culture when it was no simple task, facing the scrutiny of a very unwelcoming general public.
Through the unabashed careers of these musicians, we are able to look back at this era in music and see a spectrum of diversity that is inclusive of more than society was comfortable with then, and a source of pride for members of the community today. Sexuality on its own was not a taboo topic within blues music. In fact, it was within this genre that overtly sexual subject matter was first expressed in American popular music. Contrasting to wholesome, family-friendly crooners such as Pat Boone, blues artists used topics like infidelity, casual sex, and lustfulness often. The reception of this was mixed at first, but there eventually grew to be a general embrace, as the blues were meant to embody and express the human experience,
including what happened behind closed doors. This left room for artists like Jelly Roll Morton, a late-blues-early-jazz legend known largely for his promiscuity. In fact, his stage name was a crude reference to female anatomy. It was only when sexuality was utilized outside of the context of heteronormative, male perspectives that it was harshly criticized across the board and used as a tool to condemn artistry in general. In other words, the blues opened doors for use of sexual themes, but queer women were not afforded as positive a reception as straight men when exploring them. Furthermore, homophobic sentiments were a common criticism to the blues genre, working to cheapen and detract from the integrity of an artist’s work. One example of this would be the controversy of the female pantsuit. It was expected that women in jazz would wear glamorous gowns for live shows to play into feminine stereotypes. Their roles within performing groups objectified them to the point where they would frequently have to feign affairs with male band members to play on the heartstrings of the straight audience. Enter badass female performer, Gladys Bentley, who shattered this stereotype in the mid 1920s during the experimental time of the Harlem Renaissance. Her now iconic suit, tophat and growling voice were very overt gestures that denied the social
structures of gender and granted her the confidence to write and perform songs whose lyrics ventured into same-sex desire. Her drag performances were largely popular in places like the gay speakeasy, Harry Hansberry’s Clam House. However, this defiant expression didn’t go unopposed. Many critics wrote her off for the sole reason that she defied expectations of female sexuality at the time, and many who “followed suit” found themselves in the same position. Less overt in expression (although often seen in pantsuits as well), but vastly more prominent in commercial performance was “Mother of the Blues,” (Gertrude) “Ma” Rainey. A trailblazer, to say the least, Rainey was one of the first early blues performers to record their music and is hailed as the first great female blues vocalist in American popular music. Beginning her career as a member of a minstrel show (a form of early American theater entertainment based on harmful African American stereotypes), she later established a career of agency and pride in music. Songs like “Prove It On Me” tackled gender stereotypes and raised questions about her sexuality when those conversations were less than welcome. She eventually transitioned out of performance to become a powerful businesswoman, opening her own entertainment company and managing theaters in her home state of Georgia.
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Designer: Sadhana Pakala (Business Administartion and Design) Fall 2020
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Ma Rainey’s career opened doors for many, including her rumoured lover, Bessie Smith, who was crowned “Empress of the Blues.” Smith was known to have same-sex affairs, the most famous being in 1926 with Lillian Simpson, one of her chorus girls in her touring show. Songs of hers often included blatant lesbian sex references. Standouts include “It’s Dirty But Good” and “Empty Bed Blues,” which states, “I want a deep-sea diving woman/ That got a stroke that can’t go wrong/ Yeah, touch that bottom, gal/ Hold it all night long.” Other significant names include Ethel Waters, who began as a blues singer and carried her career into the jazz age. She had a relationship with dancer Ethel Williams, which spawned a comical relationship title, “the two Ethel’s.” Beyond bringing a new songwriting perspective to the table and revolutionizing performance wardrobe, these women all serve as intersectional icons because of the sheer space that they took up in an industry that generally boxed them out. Their work is even more significant when contextualized within the environment that the male-dominated, heteronormative music industry fostered. Women often dropped out of performance groups during this time on account of unbearable sexual harassment. If they chose to start a family, it was expected that women, as mothers, would give up their careers to raise their children. Because of this, women of the time were faced with the unique challenge of choosing between a family or a career in the musical arts. For women who did choose to wholeheartedly pursue these careers, equal opportunities simply didn’t exist, as women were thought to be physically incapable of
achieving the dexterity and skill necessary for instruments other than the piano (which they were often encouraged to learn early on as a form of etiquette to entertain houseguests). It should also be noted that these women were all turning out content as Black artists who were systematically discriminated against their entire careers through the federal enactment of Jim Crow Laws, which legally promoted segregation in the Southern United States until the 1950s. All of these roadblocks and more made the entertainment industry a minefield for queer women in the early 1900’s. Artists like Ma Rainey not only notably contributed to the blues genre, but also shaped its direction and, in turn, much of American popular music to this day. While they may not be household names themselves, they often entranced and inspired those who we do see as such. Smith, for example, was admired by famous American big-band leader, Fletcher Henderson, and even recorded with the legendary Louis Armstrong in 1925. Acknowledging the presence of these women in history today is paramount as a means of giving due credit and tracing the history of queer artists in America. Learning their stories has the power to inspire generations more of standout acts that work towards representing lives beyond what the industry is paying millions to comfortably promote. Denial of how integral the roles of these women were in the developments of these genres is sure to exist, but the evidence of their impact is here and it’s undeniably queer. • Drew Quercio (Music Industry)
Album Reviews Ariana Grande Positions Released October 30, 2020 Label Republic Records Genre Pop Tasty Tracks “pov,” “love language,” “positions” Over the past ten years, Ariana Grande’s impressive vocal range and successful discography have made her one of the biggest pop stars in the world. With her newest release, Positions, Grande doesn’t pull off quite the most impressive album of her career, but she does, nonetheless, still provide some catchy, fun songs. Ariana Grande has a talent for making music that seems unassuming at first, then worms its way into your head until you find yourself listening to it again and again. Positions does not present itself as anything revolutionary or particularly groundbreaking, especially compared to some of her past records which felt immediately impressive. On second, then third listen, though, it becomes clear that this is an album that grows on you more with each play. It may not be the album of the year, but plenty of the songs are just plain fun – some examples being the optimistic and confident “just like magic,” the captivating “love language,” and the title track and first single, “positions.” Grande is known for her talented vocal skills, and she shows them off on Positions as much as she does on any album. Her voice is certainly one of the major appeals for her music and makes up – sometimes – for the places where she lacks lyrical strength. On several songs, it is either difficult to determine what exactly Grande is even saying, or, when it is clear, the lyrics feel weak and occasionally even strange. This is not necessarily a new issue on Positions, nor is it a deal-breaker on every song, but it does lead to some very unfortunately off-putting moments. A memorable case of this is on the album’s second song, “34+35,” with one of the most recognizable lines being the strange verse stating, “If I put it quite plainly, just give me them babies.” Questionable lyrics aside, however, Grande does deserve credit for some of the more emotionally vulnerable songs on the album. While plenty of the tracks on
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Positions lyrically focus on sexual themes, “pov” and “off the table” both show a more sensitive approach to relationships. On “pov”, she sings about wanting to love herself the way someone else can (“For all of my pretty and all of my ugly, too, I’d love to see me from your point of view”), while she questions if she’s even ready for a relationship on “off the table” (“Will you be there? Can I still love you? Not yet healed or ready, should I be going too steady?”). Having that side of vulnerability to juxtapose many of the more sexually confident songs on the album works well and adds another dimension that helps lift the album up. When the entire album is viewed as one, complete package, it has a lot of elements that one would expect from a new Ariana Grande album. She keeps her pop roots, and includes R&B elements, recognizable melodies, and collaborations with several other high-profile artists, including Doja Cat, The Weeknd, and Ty Dolla $ign. Though the album is not the most impressive of her career, and falls lyrically short on several tracks, she delivers on
her own musical reputation and provides a respectable handful of fun songs. For what it is, Positions is a good, if not particularly groundbreaking, time. Amanda Lavery (Music Industry)
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SALEM Fires In Heaven Released October 30, 2020 Label Self-released Genre Witch house Tasty Tracks “Sears Tower,” “Starfall,” “Old Gods” Witch house pioneers SALEM are finally back over a decade after their last full-length album, 2010’s King Night. In the time since their unannounced hiatus, the landscape of music has changed drastically. Though it would seem that witch house had died out by the mid 2010s, the genre’s legacy has persisted. Early cloud rap producers like Clams Casino and rappers like Black Kray and Yung Lean took major influence from witch house outfits like SALEM, mixing reverb-heavy, distorted electronics and odd vocal samples with hip hop drums into a formula indebted in no small part to the work of witch house groups. By 2015, SALEM’s Jack Donoghue had landed production credits on Yeezus, Charli XCX dropped her witch house-influenced True Romance album, and artists like Travis Scott had begun to burst onto the scene, delivering autotuned raps over beats full of familiar rattling Southern hip hop drums and overdriven synths. Though they weren’t in the spotlight anymore, SALEM’s DNA could be felt throughout the musical landscape. At its core, SALEM’s sound has stayed true to what it was back in 2010. The overdriven synths, sludgy guitars, and trap drums are all still there, mixing into a sinister, oppressive haze. John Fall 2020
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Holland’s heavily processed vocals and Jack Donoghue’s pitched-down raps remain prevalent, but SALEM has also evolved in their time out of the spotlight. Fires In Heaven sees the group borrowing elements from the scenes they helped create, ditching the chillwave and dream pop influences seen in their earlier work for trap and cloud rap. Notes of Drain Gang and GothBoiClique artists can be felt in Holland’s autotuned melodies—the distorted, passionate wails on the chorus of “Old Gods” feel deeply indebted to voices like Lil Peep. The trap influence in SALEM’s production is more prominent as well, with rattling hi-hats up front in nearly every track, while other cuts are straight cloud rap beats. LA-based producer Shlohmo, whose own glitchy, beat-heavy music is inspired largely by witch house, even executive produced the album. Songwriting has never been SALEM’s strong suit; many of the cuts off their debut album King Night feel more like sound explorations than they do conventional songs. However, the band does wonders to address this on Fires In Heaven. They’ve tightened up their songwriting, and by bringing the vocals more to the forefront, crafted some genuinely catchy tunes. “Starfall” was the first single released as part of the album rollout, and remains just as much of a standout in the context of the full album. Holland croons abstract lyrics about loss and heartache over minimal drums until the chorus hits, blaring synths piling on top of one another. It’s another track that vocally feels inspired by the recent sadboy alt-R&B sounds of artists like Bladee and Lil Tracy. Another standout track is “Sears Tower,” a more traditional witch house sound that still manages to stand out from the crowd. The band leans heavily into dynamics here, balancing quieter bridges and buildups with explosive walls of shoegazey guitar noise and soaring synth leads. The song progresses to a climax at the second drop, where pulsing drums and chopped-up vocals elevate the song to what feels like a trance banger from the biggest rave in hell. It would be easy to dismiss Fires In Heaven as more of the same from SALEM, but doing so would be ignoring the sheer quality of these songs. A 10-year unexpected hiatus would be a near-insurmountable obstacle for many bands, and to come back
with as much dynamism as they did is truly remarkable.
Gabe Winston-Bailey (Marine Biology)
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Helena Deland Someone New Released October 16, 2020 Label Luminelle Recordings Genre Indie Tasty Tracks “Someone New,” “Comfort, Edge,” “Mid Practice” In Laura Mulvey’s seminal 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” she posits the patriarchal forms of women on the silver screen, of how they exist as passive male fantasies to be consumed. Helena Deland’s debut album, Someone New, is seeped in the influence of such images. “All the female characters in movies that I tended to identify with as a young girl were desirable women, and their position was often in relation to a man,” Deland told The Fader in a recent interview; “It’s not from their subjectivity; they’re being described. [Writing this album], that wasn’t something that I wanted for myself — I wanted to find the main character.” Many of the stories on the record are questions of self-image, of what is taken and given when we are within and without someone else’s gaze. As Mulvey famously wrote in her article, “it is said that analyzing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it.” Someone New is aptly titled in this regard; the project breaks apart who we are in the absence of another who shapes our body and being, and of where in that lacking we might go about finding a more profound self. Deland established herself over the past couple years with a string of EPs that displayed her knack for making dream pop with a dark underbelly, her songs eerie in
their shadows of lucidity. Deland has a talent for finding small mysteries in the corners of melodies, her voice sugary and smooth as it unravels them. One may be reminded of Julia Jacklin’s more desolate work or the shaky, candlelit embrace of a Mazzy Star track. On her feature on last year’s JPEGMAFIA album (who called Deland “the Young Thug of indie rock”), she finds sirene clarity in its outro, enveloping the song with a note of quiet, poignant magnetism. “I’ll step out for a minute to breathe,” she asserts; it’s a small but fitting moment, as her songs often invoke the feeling of renewal that comes with a long, deep breath as life continues to move in twists and spirals around us. Someone New is broader and more foreboding than her previous work, her sounds wading and wandering into new cavernous, mystical spaces. This alchemy is largely derived from the more complex sonic textures she creates here; stunner “Comfort, Edge” interlays strange whispers with winding melodies, her voice clear and forward against this brittle, bruising terrain. Unassuming instrumental “The Walk Home” opens up into layers of shadowed strings and delicate, minor guitar picking, the violins eventually squeaking and screaming through the landscape as if their sounds are trapped and caged, fighting for a small release. The harmonies on the record haunt not exactly in their dissonance, but in the contained, nearly purgatorial atmospheres that are so precisely created. There is a simultaneous sense of comfort and fear imbued into every track, recalling the feeling of barrelling down a highway in the dark of night with no particular destination in mind. Despite the cosmic nature of Deland’s arrangements, lyrically, she isn’t above making herself feel small. On “Dog”, she compares her own instincts to that of the animal, wanting to be possessed and trained, to follow someone around unconditionally (a sort of antithesis to Soccer Mommy’s 2018 single “Your Dog,” the songs ironically share the same producer Gabe Wax). “Fruit Pit” echoes this desire: “Shrinking so small / You could fit me into / Something that belongs to you,” she coos. It’s a sentiment most compelling in its flawed morality; Deland knows this impulse is degrading, yet can’t help but long for it anyhow.
When this ache fails, Deland looks to the gaze of strangers. She begins her album on this note: “If things go my way / I’ll stay in this room / Where tonight I want to lay / Kissing someone new.” Anonymity can be an equally attractive and destructive way to learn about oneself, to get out of your own head and into someone else’s, even for a brief moment. On “Smoking at the Gas Station,” she seeks out this validation in public rather than private, confessing, “I need to get out of the house today / To try my face / Out on strangers / And if anyone’s to look my way / I’ll latch onto their gaze.” Though Deland craves the spontaneity and mystery of such interactions, she finds that looking for such comforts in passersby may only serve to heighten her loneliness. Mulvey wrote in her essay that “women’s desire is subjected to her image as bearer, not maker, or meaning.” Deland never quite feels or feeds that resolution lyrically, but that’s by design. In actualizing the record, she has effectively carved out her own meaning, giving her private observations, insecurities, and desires precedence over others who previously tried to shape them. On the closing track, Deland finally finds one, affirmative motive, begging, or rather demanding, to “fill the empty rooms with music.” If there’s one outcome she is worthy of, it’s certainly this one. Willa Shiomos (Computer Science and Design)
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BENEE Hey u x Released November 13, 2020 Label Republic Records Genre Indie Pop Tasty Tracks “Kool,” “Same Effect,” “Snail” Hey u x is the first full-length album to come from New Zealand’s rising indie pop star, BENEE. The album follows in the wake of BENEE’s rapid rise in popularity as a viral TikTok artist for her song “Supalonely,” which finds its place onto the album. Featuring artists of the likes of Lily Allen, Grimes, and Kenny Beats, Hey u x is an ambitious project that establishes BENEE’s talent beyond her initial rise to fame. The album blends BENEE’s familiar and quirky lyricism with more personal tones of anxiety and loneliness, which fit nicely with her groovy melodies and soft vocals. The album begins with the single “Happen To Me,” which is a personal account of BENEE’s fears and anxieties surrounding death. Though following the singer’s familiar style of an upbeat rhythm layered with her slower, more relaxed vocals, the lyrics of this song are immediately more serious than BENEE’s typical anecdotes. Many of the songs on Hey u x seem to follow this trend, giving the album an introspective look into BENEE’s thoughts and fears. “Same Effect” follows “Happen To Me,” bringing a happier and poppier love song to balance the mood set by the first song. With so many other musicians accompanying BENEE, it occasionally feels like her own sound is lost in the mix. “Sheesh” featuring Grimes, for example, is a complete departure from the gentle, more instrumental Fall 2020
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beginning of the album, instead delving into the futuristic and electronic style Grimes is better known for. Though the song is enjoyable on its own, its heavy autotune and synthetic sound does not blend with the rest of Hey u x, and BENEE’s own distinct style is somewhat lost. Other songs face similar issues, and where “Sheesh” stumbles, “Plain” falls. The song, which features Lily Allen and Flo Milli, struggles to incorporate each of the artists in a way that is interesting, and the result is bland and slightly repetitive. Despite these few hiccups, the majority of the artists who collaborate with BENEE aid in the strength of her album. “Night Garden,” the first single released from the album, features producer Kenny Beats and English indie rock singer Bakar. The two artists’ contributions complement BENEE, adding to her own style rather than shrouding it within their own. The result is a more pointed version of BENEE’s funky rhythmic style, with a driven beat that seems to respond to the vocals and a jazz-influenced bass line. BENEE and Bakar’s verse pair this sound with unsettling lyrics reminiscent of songs like “Monsta” from her earlier EPs. The first lines “Feels like someone’s watchin’ me / A man is out there in the trees,” lead perfectly into a song that embodies paranoia. Added effects of the mysterious man’s laugh, a ringing phone, and BENEE’s own voice play into this, keeping the theme of paranoia consistent throughout. It’s a strong addition to the album, and nicely ties back to the themes of anxiety that Hey u x begins with. Overall, Hey u x serves as a strong debut album for BENEE. The record carefully balances explorations of BENEE’s anxieties with whimsical pop songs about being a snail and the loneliness of a breakup. Hey u x is an expansion on the carefree persona that BENEE has established for herself in her first two EPs, with the addition of more personal themes that add depth to her discography. The closing track on the album is “CU,” a more intimate and uncharacteristically acoustic song for BENEE which highlights the musical complexity she is capable of. Like the song implies, we will be seeing more of BENEE in the future. Jessica Gwardschaladse (Criminal Justice)
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Meghan Trainor A Very Trainor Christmas Released October 30, 2020 Label Epic Records Genre Holiday Tasty Tracks “Ew,” “Like You Do,” “Normal People” For better or for worse, Meghan Trainor’s Christmas album is exactly what you would expect it to be. For somebody who’s looking for classic Christmas cheer that thrusts them into a Target holiday commercial upon playback, it’s perfect. It would be unfair to say that Trainor (and her two brothers who co-wrote for the record) didn’t nail this. At its core, though, A Very Trainor Christmas doesn’t bring much to the table for an 18-track album. Unfortunately, the collection consists of original songs that live way too much in 2020 with predictable covers of classics thrown in for good measure. For those who can get behind the bubblegum pop of her debut Title album, there is something here. Trainor leans hard into her signature style on the upbeat portions of this record and, at times, it does her justice. The cut-time take on “Sleigh Ride” has the attitude fans expect and the ukulele-lead “Winter Wonderland” places her right in the gentle ballad territory she sounds best in. Her knack for pop hooks is evident as well, especially on standout track, “Christmas Got Me Blue,” which details a one-sided love over a jaunty, holiday instrumental that includes a surprisingly acceptable drop in the chorus. However, it is this track and only a few others that actually stick. The reality is that this is a fun sound,
but Trainor’s failure to explore anything pleasantly different or nail the classics leaves the record underwhelming. Perhaps the biggest issue with A Very Trainor Christmas is that it feels either entirely predictable or entirely unnecessary. The lyrics of the originals regurgitate Christmas classics, and when they decide to stray from the stereotypes we end up with lines like, “I need Uncle Steve on Christmas Eve / To come through with the Amazon gift card,” and nothing about that is okay. Furthermore, most of the covers include nothing novel nor groundbreaking in terms of arrangement or interpretation. Without fully committing to the classic orchestral feel or bubbly pop, the album tends to wander without arriving anywhere notable. The one exception to this would be “Holidays,” the Earth, Wind & Fire collaboration which has to be one of the most surreal moments of 2020 music. Undoubtedly falling into the category of unexpected, this funky brass track is an explosion of energy and deserves its due credit, but it is certainly not enough to save Trainor from herself in the greater picture. A happy medium is not achieved with arrangements here, delivering an attempt to make Christmas trap happen on “Believe in Santa” and using nondescript, recycled karaoke tracks behind many of the classics. Meghan Trainor didn’t create a bad Christmas album, she just created an uninspiring one that was simply too long. Many pop stars have recently thrown their hat into the ring of Christmas music and proved that the results can be quite satisfying. Sia’s 2017 Everyday Is Christmas album set an unfair standard for Christmas originals, as it perfectly struck the balance between character and classic that Trainor couldn’t seem to grasp. Katy Perry dropped her cute “Cozy Little Christmas” single in 2018, a safe move that allowed her to get in the holiday spirit without trying too hard. For Trainor, the scale of this project definitely got the best of her, as an EP would have sufficed. In fact, it would have been much preferred, weakening expectations and possibly flying under the radar if it failed to connect. Unfortunately, Trainor’s ambition on this one left us with a full 54-minute experience that might put her right back on the naughty list that she begged to get off of.
Drew Quercio (Music Industry)
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Editorial
TEEN WOLF
& T H E D I S T I N C T I V E S O U N D O F 2011
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Like any era in musical history, the sound of the early 2010s is very distinctive. Categorized by everything from the rise of EDM to Rihanna’s “Loud,” the early 2010s were a very interesting time for musical audiences. Not only did the music from this time period combine influences from music of the previous decades–like the mixing of a soulful sound with pop in Adele’s “21”–, but also laid the foundation for growth and experimentation in the music industry during the later 2010s and early 20s. Though the sound of the early 2010s ranges depending on genre, one could argue that there is a specific sound that is inherently one of the 2010s–dancey, indie rock. Many TV shows and movies
during the time utilized the music of the era in their productions. However, one show stands out because of its use of this distinctive indie rock style of music. The MTV teen drama Teen Wolf, which was first released in 2011, has an exceptional soundtrack for its first season that not only ties perfectly into the show itself, but also encapsulates the energy and sound of the early 2010s. Teen Wolf, the MTV drama, aired from 2011 to 2017. It’s a remake of the 1985 film of the same name featuring Michael J. Fox and follows the story of Scott McCall, a high school teenager that gets bitten and turns into a werewolf. Scott, who is played by Tyler Posey, must learn to control his
abilities while simultaneously dealing with deadly forces working against him. The songs used throughout Teen Wolf were picked with such precision that they fit seamlessly into the scenes they’re in. All the lacrosse and party scenes feature dubstep or EDM music, typically from artists like deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner, which contributes to the overall high energy nature of these scenes. While the characters on screen are feeling an adrenaline rush from the lacrosse game or the biggest party of the year, the audience is also feeling an adrenaline rush just by listening to the intense music that is paired. These songs are juxtaposed with the lighthearted love songs which are
underground, it allows the showrunners to really capture the soundscape of 2011. It was a year of more than just “21” by Adele, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga,” and “Take Care” by Drake. It was a year of diverse artists with different sounds. Beyond the scope of the show itself, though, the Teen Wolf season one soundtrack was more important than one might assume. In a broader sense, it inspired the young people at the time that were watching the show to listen to music that wasn’t as mainstream. While some of the artists that were featured on the soundtrack have since gone and risen to greater fame, such as Two Door Cinema Club and Ellie Goulding, the majority of the musicians involved were smaller artists. This inclusion of smaller, less popular artists just goes to show how the showrunners of Teen Wolf cared more about the quality of songs than their popularity. Other teen drama shows that were playing on networks such as The CW featured more current pop hits–songs that viewers would recognize throughout the show. Even so, as a show on MTV, Teen Wolf felt a particular commitment to music for the sake of music, not for the sake of commercialism and popularity. This choice to include more underground songs went on to create a larger impact on the fanbase, thus prompting teens to expand their musical horizons. While it’s safe to say that many TV shows and movies have distinctive soundtracks, there’s something special about one that is crafted with so much care and can serve to define a whole time period in musical history. Teen Wolf does just that by having an excellent soundtrack that encapsulates the sound of 2011. Some viewers may not even realize that they’re listening to an elegantly crafted playlist, but it has a pervasive influence whether you’re aware of it or not.
Designer: Kaya Dlouchy (Graohic Design)
played during scenes between Scott and his love interest, Allison Argent, who is played by Crystal Reed. Every time the characters are together, softer, more fun love songs are played to emphasize the feeling and euphoria of a first love. “And If My Heart Should Somehow Stop” by James Vincent McMorrow, “Wildfires” by Ohbijou, and “Mouthful of Diamonds” by Phantogram are just a few songs that play during these interactions to fill the watcher with a warm, fuzzy feeling. In all the moments in between, when the characters on the show are living their lives and grappling with the supernatural, a myriad of songs play, from indie rock to slower ballads, all depending on the context of the scenes. The songs played in Teen Wolf not only fit the plot of the show, but also the sonic landscape of the world in 2011. Adding on to the momentum that was created in the 2000s, artists in the early 2010s continued to experiment with synthetic sounds and try their hand at upbeat, indie rock sound. Artists like Two Door Cinema Club flourished, their 2010 album “Tourist History” making waves in the music industry. It combines elements of indie, rock, pop, and punk to create an album that is uniquely of the early 2010s. Teen Wolf uses this unique sound to its advantage, featuring songs from Tourist History. Two of the most well-known songs from this album, “Do You Want It All” and “I Can Talk,” play during scenes in the fifth episode in which Scott and Allison are at school. This album acted as the blueprint for the other songs that were included in the soundtrack and paved the way for the smaller artists that the showrunners chose to feature. For example, Graffiti6, an English alt-rock band, is a recurring featured artist. Their songs play during quite a few interactions between Scott and Allison as well, seeming to provide Scott with the courage and confidence he needs to go after his dream girl. While some of the other artists in the soundtrack are more
• Chelsea Henderson (Undeclared)
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Cover Story
MEME MUSIC The Integral Bond between Meme Culture and Pop Music
The contemporary music and social media landscapes are dominated by the repurposing of songs into comedy and commentary. TikTok’s sovereignty over pop culture has meant artists have been able to grow without record deals or radio airtime, often transitioning into streaming platform success and even producing some of the most influential public figures in the world. The easily consumable form of music TikTok provides is only the newest form of translating sincere music into comedy, as recognizable choruses and lyrics have been propelled into the mainstream through comedic adaptations since the inception of the internet. Music can be comedic autonomously as well, with comedy artists releasing exclusively joke and parody songs, while other artists self-consciously brand themselves as ridiculous and eccentric. But the epitome of meme music is released by genuine, independent artists, and has been proven as a way to catapult their careers into mainstream success.
When thinking of meme music, Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” may be the first to come to mind, as its legendary status of the “rickroll” has remained a way to troll people since the joke’s 2006 inception on online forums. This memeification has happened so much so that the song itself is impossible to separate from its comedic repurposing. The vast majority of young listeners today are completely unaware of its 1987 release and subsequent American Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping success, as most of its consumption in the past 14 years has been in the form of rickrolling—its almost 800 million views on YouTube have certainly come as a result of the proliferate joke. The song, which was commercially successful following its release, surely would have faded into obscurity over the next 33 years were it not for meme culture’s relentless search for new material.
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“All Star” by Smash Mouth has received a similar treatment, as it experienced a successful 1999 release and even earned a Grammy nomination, but is now listened to primarily due to its meme status. This status first came about after its use in the 2001 DreamWorks film “Shrek,” allowing the track to continue its trajectory of relevance in pop culture years after its release and leading to its future remixes and adaptations as a meme. Beginning in the late 2000s, “All Star” saw a plethora of parodies to its pop-punk beat and already slightly comedic lyrics, as remixes like “Mario, You’re a Plumber” garnered millions of views. Others capitalized on the introductory lyrics of “Somebody Once Told Me,” translating it into traditional panel-style memes. Like “Never Gonna Give You Up,” the music video for “All Star” saw a consistent increase in viewers throughout 2015 and 2016, and has since amassed over 300 million, easily making it one of the most enduring hits of the past 20 years.
Music being recontextualized into a meme is very different from music released as satire or comedy with the intention of being consumed as such. The comedy music genre is blatant in its desire to entertain through laughter, with artists like “Weird Al” Yankovic having productive and successful careers centered around both original songs and comedic remixes which amass high viewer amounts. This music is less of a meme as it is a direct joke delivered in the form of lyrics and composed in a serious and professional manner, often with high production value and engineering. The Lonely Island is perhaps the most blatant comedy music, as the trio of Saturday Night Live comedians began explicitly using music as a medium for jokes in 2001. Peaking around 2009-2011, the group has released dozens of original, often vulgar and obscene, tracks garnering hundreds of millions of views and featuring legitimate artists like Akon, legitimizing them as musicians and more than just comedians.
Designer: Norman Zeng (Graphic Design)
But perhaps the most successful type of meme music is created by lesser known artists who try something new. Doja Cat’s masterpiece “Mooo!” is the perfect case study, as the smaller pop artist had been releasing more conventional music for years before the single propelled her to superstardom. Although her previous music was not necessarily serious or intense, “Mooo!” was still a significant stylistic departure and differed from the humor used by comedy artists as it is indebted more to internet culture and even samples Kelis’s legendary “Milkshake.” Thus, its status as a “meme” arose, as Doja knew when producing the track the inherent satirical value it had compared to typical releases. Written and produced in a single day along with its cinematic gem of a music video, “Mooo!” quickly attracted a wide audience in its appeal of real, genuine humor, and it not being just another song from a manufactured pop idol. Doja’s chill instrumental accompaniment masterfully pairs with the single’s absurd theme of her as a cow, immediately branding it as a meme through its iconic line “bitch I’m a cow.” The horrible green screen in its music video adds to its draw as a song representative of the young rapper’s personality and emphasizes her candid creative process. This pointed humor explains why the song has been so popular, catalyzing the further investigation into an artist with massive potential to become a pop superstar. “Mooo!” undeniably single-handedly launched Doja’s career, catapulting her into the spotlight in which she continued to excel, and is now one of the most recognizable figures in modern pop music.
While the repurposing of music into meme form and comedy music have already been seen as viable paths to success, the phenomenon of a song transitioning its primary consumption into meme form can also work the other way around—from memes to music, some individuals have turned their internet notoriety into music careers and streaming success. The most notable example of this is Bhad Bhabie, who morphed the classic top text/bottom text meme format of her iconic “cash me ousside” Dr. Phil episode into a full-fledged music career as a serious artist. At only 14 years old, the artist’s debut single made her the youngest rapper and second youngest female artist ever to debut on the Billboard Hot 100, with her next two singles also hitting the charts. This and the release of her well-produced debut mixtape “15,” although met with mixed reviews, proves how someone who entered pop culture primarily as a meme can become a legitimate artist with commercial success.
The adaptation of music into memes has been responsible for the resurgence of older music that otherwise would have been lost in obscurity, while also opening the door for newer artists to showcase their talent and bring their personalities into the spotlight of modern music. Bhad Bhabie and Doja Cat, among many others, owe their massive success to meme culture, either by first appearing as one or by producing meme-worthy, quality music. Separate from the comedy music genre, the massive success of artists due to memeification shows the inseparability of meme culture and the music industry, and how together they shape the landscape of contemporary music and its consumption. • Ethan Matthews (Architecture) 19
Feature
BLa ck and Afr i CAn
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fightin
Genre is a complicated concept in music, going
beyond just technical elements and lyrical content. It’s often linked with stylistic choices outside of the music itself, and certain cultures or even ethnic groups. This is obvious in say, traditional music for a region, but modern genres that are supposedly post-tradition are linked to communities. For example, rap is generally thought of as a “Black” genre, originated in American cities by communities of color, though there are now numerous artists from other backgrounds. The opposite is true for the overwhelmingly “white” genre of metal, especially harder subgenres such as death and black metal. While the contemporary metal community itself isn’t specifically racist, Black metal fans and artists remain distinctly in the minority. When trying to search for “black metal bands,” you’re going to have a difficult time avoiding recommendations for blond Norwegian twenty-somethings in corpse face paint, rather than artists of color. To a certain extent, that erasure was deliberate. Metal has long struggled with racists and anti-Semites being drawn to the genre, though in relatively smaller numbers. “National Socialist black metal” is a real thing, often tied to Northern and Eastern European bands. Even more mainstream artists like Motörhead have flirted with Nazi imagery, leading to a genre that often isn’t entirely welcoming to fans and artists of color. Another aspect that warrants mention is a simple matter of taste: rap and metal emerged around the same time in the early 1970s, and it’s logical that some Black people from New York or
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LA would gravitate towards rap artists from their communities. A key element to keep in mind when discussing the relationship between metal and Black people, specifically African-Americans, is that metal basically wouldn’t exist without the work of blues and gospel musicians. Rock and roll was the progenitor of hard rock, which then led to early heavy metal like Black Sabbath, which then produced later subgenres such as thrash, black, and death metal. But the first step in that historical progression was Black blues artists, mostly in the American south, who innovated new chord progressions, song structures, and darker themes. There’s a reason that blues was often referred to as “devil’s music” in its early days, though much of that was white people fearing it would corrupt their good sons and daughters. Several blues legends laid the groundwork for what would later become metal, at least thematically. A famous example is Robert Johnson, a supposedly mediocre guitarist who developed great skills after making a mythical deal with the devil at the crossroads. Setting his myth-making (or actual satanic deal-making) aside, in several of his songs he references evil and demonic themes, such as a hellhound chasing him down. Eventually, rock and roll would develop out of the blues with the aid of artists such as Little Richard and Chuck Berry, losing a lot of that dark and somber edge, but in many ways, the later evolution of metal served as a return to some of those old elements. At least, it did at first. Black Sabbath, the (arguable) godfathers of metal, originally started
Designer: Jenny Chen (Business Administration and Design)
Me t A L
ng for recognition as a blues-rock band, returning to slower tempos and more somber themes. As the 70s went on, there were plenty of metal acts that popped up, but unlike rock music, there weren’t as many significant Black artists in the genre. That’s not to say they didn’t exist, but most flew under the radar, and still largely continue to do so. One of the more widely cited examples as the first “all African-American heavy metal band” was Black Death from Cleveland, Ohio, founded in 1977. Their sound was distinctly Sabbath-esque, still mostly sticking to the satanic blues-rock mold, with some traces of early hair metal and falsetto vocal belting similar to Rush’s Geddy Lee. There weren’t many notable Black metal bands in the 80s either, with one of the few standouts being Living Colour, a band from New York that certainly pushed at the label of “metal”. Their freshman album, Vivid has a very unique sound, definitely embracing elements
of Phil Collins-style soft rock, but with a clear hard rock influence--on some tracks--closer to AC/DC and arena metal. However, their lyrical content was less stereotypical metal satanism and more grounded statements about modern life. “Cult of Personality” describes the twosided effects of propaganda for both good and evil, “Open Letter (To a Landlord)” attacks destruction of communities for profitable new apartments, and “Which Way to America” questions the difference in the quality of life between white and Black America. This laid the groundwork for much more abrasive attacks on broken institutions that would come starting in the 90s.
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The band that typifies this later era of “Black metal as protest metal” is likely one of the most controversial groups of the entire 90s, at least in America: Body Count, a band founded by rapper Ice-T and several high school friends in 1991. Ice-T already had an existing career in rap, with well-known tracks such as “6 ‘N the Mornin’” and “O.G. Original Gangster”. But the 1992 self-titled album Body Count was a startling revelation upon its release, combining elements of thrash metal, punk music, and the anti-authoritarian streak of rap. There were plenty of violent and wildly inappropriate songs on the album, such as “Momma’s Gotta Die Tonight,” which combined brutal Megadethesque riffs with an anti-racist horrorcore murder ballad. The album is interspersed with TV news style interludes, which provide satirical context about the following songs. A track about sleeping with a KKK Grand Wizard’s daughter is prefaced by a thesis that “the problem” with rap music is that white kids enjoy Black music and that it may tempt a white woman into falling in love with a Black man. It would be impossible to mention Body Count without noting the uproar the band stirred up, though not for 12 of the 13 songs on the album. Rather, one of them, “Cop Killer” sparked off a political firestorm, leading to death threats being regularly levied against the band and their label, and the eventual removal of the song from all current printings and streamable versions of the album. The only way to listen to this “tribute” to the LAPD is through the original printing of the CD from 1992, or an unofficial YouTube upload from 2011.
Since the early 1990s, there have been a wide variety of Black artists performing in metal bands, though few quite as notably (in terms of conservative culture wars) as the Body Count era. Much of that can be pointed to as a side effect of the general decline in metal’s popularity, at least in the United States. Rage Against the Machine was fronted by vocalist Zack de la Rocha, a Mexican-American with African heritage, and legendary guitarist Tom Morello, who was also of mixed descent. Rage began in 1992 as contemporaries of Body Count, sharing the sharp politics, though with more of a transparent leftist edge than general anti-authoritarianism. “Killing in The Name” warns that some of the police “who work forces / are the same that burn crosses,” while “Bulls on Parade” decries the military-industrial complex and the falsity of American “family values.” Jumping ahead over a decade, a contemporary band that strongly connects back to the Black roots of rock and metal is Zeal and Ardor, originally started as a solo project by Swiss-American Manuel Gagneux. Their early work was very conceptual, combining AfricanAmerican spiritual music with satanic black metal in the Scandinavian mold. Norwegian black metal, to some, represents a rejection of the Christianity that was imposed on the region centuries ago, which led to some radicals burning down churches in the 1990s. Gagneux essentially imagined what black metal would sound like if it originated from Black Americans instead, spurning the Christianity that was
forced upon them by slavers and turning to Satan instead. Their debut album, “Devil is Fine” definitely fits within that blackened spiritual mold, combining ritualistic chants with bluesy crooning, blastbeat drumming, and down-tuned guitar. More recently, their 2020 EP “Wake of a Nation” is a stark statement on our present moment. The cover art is an inverted cross, a traditional satanic symbol, but made out of a pair of white police-batons on a black background. Lyrically, the EP references a series of historical cruelties, such as “Tuskegee,” referring to the 1932-1972 syphilis study which deliberately let Black Americans suffer with placebos for decades without care. “Wake of a Nation” serves as a startling declaration of revolution, claiming the “American carcass beckons,” with regular chants of “Dies Irae” (roughly translated, “Judgment Day”). I’d be remiss to not touch on the vast world of metal from various African countries, where local artists take death or black metal and combine it with their local culture, language, and music. There’s an entire world of metal out there that simply doesn’t show up in American metal circles, either because of language barriers, licensing issues, or simple disinterest. Which is a shame, because some of these bands are incredibly talented, and bring a very unique perspective on what can come to feel like staid genres. Dor Fantasia is a thrash metal band from Angola, a country that underwent a 26-year civil war (which was a US-backed proxy war) and still has an incredibly low lifeexpectancy. In this kind of context, the sort of catharsis that a metal band can bring could even potentially help traumatized and divided
people find some kind of relief. Before Crush is another notable band from the country, whose music mixes English and Portuguese while death—growling and playing searing progressive guitar solos. Botswana also has a thriving metal scene, with a standout death metal trio being Overthrust, whose tracks easily rival the intensity of 90s Swe-death metal (though without the signature dropkicked beehive distortion). Skinflint is a mixed band (the guitarist is white), who combine conventional heavy metal riffing with elements of traditional Botswanan dance and culture. An interesting aspect of the Botswana scene is a notable presence of women, with intricate leather and canvas battle jackets being a common accessory for fans there. While metal by Black artists in America often focuses on antiauthoritarianism and racist oppression, African metal overwhelmingly deals with the conservative culture and religion of their countries. This adoption of the genre is exciting to see, and there’s reason for the hope that African artists will soon gain similar recognition to their American, British, and Scandinavian counterparts. • Bryan Grady (Political Science)
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MUSIC Editorial
That Got Us Through
Local Talent
Music That Got Us Through Quarantine Alex Sumas 2019
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of Harry Potter and Twilight binge reading and watching the series, while others put on their aprons and filled their kitchen counters with sweet treats and family recipes. Many of us, deprived of new releases and longing to go back to simpler times, turned to our old favorite music. We scrolled back to playlists from middle school and dusted off albums we hadn’t thought about in years. With its help, we were able to escape the monotony of family walks and the challenges of adjusting to working from home. We were brought back to car rides with friends and days where our biggest stressor was who our date to the 8th grade formal would be. Here is what Tastemakers chose to return to during quarantine.
Alex Sumas (Journalism)
Chelsea Henderson (Undeclared)
For the first two and a half months of quarantine my dad didn’t live with the rest of my family. He was considered an essential worker and often had to come in contact with others. Because of this and some health concerns he refused to see us. Even on Father’s Day he stood outside the gate a good 20 feet away from me, my mom, and siblings. During those months my anxiety skyrocketed as I feared I may never see or hug him again. My dad is the reason I have my love of music and many of my fondest memories I have with him are tied to it. Over quarantine I returned to the music he showed me in middle school that kicked off my obsession. I returned to albums like They Want My Soul by Spoon, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco and Circuital by My Morning Jacket all of which brought me back to some of our first conversations about our favorite songs and lyrics. I listened to the Avett Brothers a lot as well as they’re our favorite band to see in concert. I’d play “Laundry Room” recalling how he’d look at me and shake his head when they sang “Disregard your father’s words” only for him to throw his arm around me as they sang “I and Love and You.” After every one of their shows in Port Chester we’d walk down the block and get chili dogs before driving home, recounting the show as I fought to stay awake in the passenger seat. While I couldn’t see my dad and those happier times in packed rooms seemed far away I found comfort in the memories I had tucked away in those albums and songs.
At the start of quarantine, when all seemed bleak and hopeless, a becon of light emerged–the new 5 Seconds of Summer album, CALM. Though it was a good album with a fresh sound coming from the pop rock band, it sparked a deep desire within me to return to their roots– the self-titled album released in 2014. This album came at a pivotal part of my childhood, when I was a fandom-obsessed, introverted teen. While CALM satisfied my urge for new music from the band, I couldn’t help but miss the comfort that the self-titled album provided. The album, which starts off with one of 5 Seconds of Summer’s most famous songs, “She Looks So Perfect,” captures the essence of being a teenager. I distinctly remember watching the wacky music video of “She Looks So Perfect” on a loop and blasting “Heartbreak Girl” with my friends in the back of my friend’s mom’s minivan. The album as a whole speaks of love and the feeling of wanting to grow up yet simultaneously wanting to remain in the ignorant bliss that is adolescence. Influenced by the sounds of rock bands like Blink-182, Green Day and All Time Low, the self-titled album has a grungy, rock sound mixed with a youthful, pop tone. When compared to CALM, the self-titled album is clearly from a younger perspective, both lyrically and sonically. Nevertheless, it was the perfect album to relive the nostalgia of my early teenage years during the pandemic.
Designer: Hannah Jean Ahn (Business Administraion and Design)
When quarantine hit and left us locked inside our houses for months, we turned to comfort. Some indulged in their teenage love
Ethan Matthews (Architecture) Desmond LaFave (Journalism and Media and Screen Studies) The Sun’s Tirade was one of my all-time favorite albums long before the pandemic. Though I listened to it semi-regularly over the four years since its release in 2016, I returned to it in earnest in April 2020, a month after the pandemic transformed our lives. At first, I went back to The Sun’s Tirade for the carefree pre-COVID memories I associated with it. However, as I listened more, I found the messages of the album to be incredibly relevant to my quarantine experience. As the The Sun’s Tirade progresses, Rashad wanders from themes of accomplishment and optimism on “4r Da Squaw” to self-dissatisfaction, loneliness, and depression on tracks like “Stuck in the Mud.” All in all, the album is about the constant inner struggle between Rashad’s mistakes and the things he loves. While forced to put my life on pause for months with little to do other than reflect, I was enraptured by his poignant rumination. By the time Rashad reaches “by george (outro),” he begins to accept his own flaws and look towards improving himself. For listeners (such as myself) who are trying to do the same during this ambiguous era, The Sun’s Tirade is an excellent companion.
The drudgery of quarantine has led me to a desperate search for new music—with days bleeding into each other and little to do except driving nowhere for a couple hours, dedicating hours to finding new artists and songs I might enjoy became a common pattern for me in March and April. But after a couple months of the same sedentary and stagnant lifestyle, I found myself resorting to my favorite artists of the past instead of spending time and energy exhaustively scouring Spotify for new ones. Jon Bellion and The Neighbourhood quickly became my most listened to artists, transporting me to freshman and sophomore years of high school. While certainly not the happiest times of my life, being trapped in the same bedroom listening to the same artists, except with four years of growth to distance myself from high school melancholy, brought a comforting gloom. Wallowing in my inability to escape from the entrapment of my childhood home became easier with Jon Bellion’s “Overwhelming” and “80’s Films” or The Neighbourhood’s “R.I.P. 2 My Youth” soundtracking my daily life. These artists are what brought me to the music I continue to enjoy now—the gateway into groups like Coast Modern or Hippo Campus, and listening to their music reminds me of the growth I have had, not only in my music taste, but my personality and mental health.
• Alex Sumas (Journalism)
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Minutes before tweeting a video that appeared to show him urinating on a golden Grammy Award trophy, rapper and business mogul Kanye West tweeted over 100 pages of his record contracts with major music labels. The release of these documents was the climax of his public rant against the music industry, in which he stressed the importance of musical artists owning their own song recordings or “masters.” This surely confused at least some of Kanye’s followers, since the arcana of musical copyrights are generally a topic too baffling and byzantine for the average music fan. To develop an understanding of his argument and its significance, one must first start with music copyright law. There are two types of music copyright registrations: sound recordings and musical compositions. Musical compositions are the ideas or intellectual property behind music – the lyrics, melodies, and rhythms signified by musical notation or sheet music. Sound recordings are captures of specific performances of said music and are embodied in the form of an audio file or physical storage devices like CDs or vinyl records. When Kanye and other artists refer to their “masters” or “master recordings,” they are referring to the sound recordings that they have produced as a product for listeners. Most prominent musical artists do not own their own sound recordings, even if they were the ones who wrote, played, and recorded the music. In many cases, the sound recordings are instead owned by the artist’s record label, the company behind the marketing and distribution of the music. When an artist signs a record deal with a music label, they typically forfeit their ownership of any sound recordings released by the label. While it may seem counterintuitive that an artist would willingly part with ownership of their music, there are many reasons that they might decide the benefits of a record deal outweigh the cost of losing control of their sound recordings. Ownership of sound recordings determines who gets the payout or royalties from music sales and streams. Royalties are generated when someone buys or streams the song. Most artists are able to maintain ownership of the second half of musical copyright, their musical compositions. Those rights are only monetized if people buy their sheet music or other artists find success covering their song.
Although popular musicians are able to supplement their incomes through multiple revenue streams, the direct payout from streaming and downloads can be a long-lasting consistent source of cash. Touring and selling merchandise can be lucrative for popular artists, but they require additional time and effort that go beyond the creation of music. As demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the money behind tours can be a logistical nightmare and the artist’s share is reliant on actual shows being played. An artist may not be able to tour for their whole life, but their fans can buy or stream their music as long as it’s available. A deal with a record label is often the surest way for a musician to guarantee a sustained income from music. Labels provide resources and connections that can exponentially grow an artist’s popularity, opening up other opportunities and sources of income such as the aforementioned live events and merchandise sales. Even in an age of streaming when anyone can post anything they record, there are barriers to reaching an audience.
“If you want to be Katy Perry, there’s only one way to do it. You need a major label deal,” explained David Herlihy, transactional entertainment attorney, professor of Music Industry at Northeastern University, and former professional musician. “Labels just have absolute control over all streaming playlists,” said David Turner, Emerging Artist Lead at Soundcloud and author of “Penny Fractions,” a weekly newsletter about music streaming. “It’s very similar to radio… the whole idea of someone giving a bag of money to a radio guy to play a song more is very simple. What happens day-to-day with streaming isn’t all that different.” The allure of signing with a label goes beyond the potential career growth or possible fame. For young artists that are trying to make a living or support their families, the cash incentive of a record deal can be difficult to turn down. “Even if you know it’s bad, you still are so tempted,” said musical artist Bob Kabeya about the prospect of receiving large cash advances as part of a restrictive record deal. Kabeya is a young indiepop artist who has recently found success on streaming platforms like Spotify. Though he was able to rack up hundreds of thousands of streams without the backing of a label, it’s often very difficult for musicians to significantly grow their profile without label support.
Historically, mainstream success has been the key bargaining power for artists trying to reclaim their sound recordings. Huge stars such as Michael Jackson, David Bowie, and Taylor Swift have leveraged their massive popularity in crafting record deals that granted them sole possession of their music, but they are the exception rather than the norm. “Most artists don’t have that leverage,” said Herlihy. “It’s a function of leverage, and the labels usually have that leverage so they keep the recordings.” This is the paradox of artists retaining control of their sound recordings. In order to see benefits from their ownership of their sound recordings, the music must be popular. However, in most cases, it is hard for artists to find large audiences for their music without a label. “Most artists are struggling just to get to the point where their masters are worth anything,” said Turner. “What do those masters mean in seven or eight years if your band doesn’t get anywhere?” 2727
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While a star like Kanye West may have the leverage to negotiate the return of his sound recordings, Herlihy and Turner doubt that Kanye’s quixotic campaign will change how the industry negotiates with their artists, or even the public’s perception of music copyright. “I think that the notion that this is going to move the needle at all in the public mind or even in the practices in the music industry is virtually zero,” said Herlihy. “Most big actions done by major stars don’t have the ripple effect that you would expect,” explained Turner. “There’s only so much value in things like symbolic gestures if there’s not something more concrete beneath it that it’s tapping into.” But as up and coming artists become more aware of the pitfalls of record deals, there may be alternatives to the traditional system of sound recording ownership. Kabeya, who is focused on retaining ownership of his music, recently signed a distribution agreement with a small independent label that will allow him to split royalties evenly with the label for seven years before gaining complete control of his music.
“It’s pretty cool because a lot of people never own their music,” said Kabeya. “In case my music blows up or continues to make a lot of money, that can go to my family when I die and not just to huge labels.” • Desmond LaFave (Journalism, Media & Screen Studies)
a young socialite that may be sick of men assuming that she’s easy just because she gets drunk and dances on table tops. Closing out the album is a genius cover of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.” After ten tracks of Hilton telling us how sexy she is, it’s almost too perfect that she then finally decides to ask us to confirm it. Her baby voice is in full form here, dripping over the lyrics, making it seem as though this song was written for Hilton to cover. Paris Hilton is likely a much more complex character then the overall public assumes. Paris at first listen may seem shallow and disconnected from the rest of the world, but it is also a product of growing up undeniably famous. Although we probably will never get the real image of who Paris Hilton really is, that’s likely what made and continues to make Paris so intriguing. • Emma Turney (Communication)
Designer: Ellie Johnson (Graphic and Information Design)
Paris opens with the iconic baby voice of Paris Hilton whispering “that’s hot” in a way that brings you straight back to 2006, when Paris Hilton’s indifference, utter shallowness, and drunk table dancing made her a household name. But the genius of being famous for being famous is that Paris was never meant to be a serious introduction into the music industry, but instead a mere shrug of the shoulder, making the record captivatingly ambivalent. Hilton essentially left the music industry (until recently beginning a strange DJing career) after dropping Paris and the forever nostalgic one-hit-wonder “Stars Are Blind,” making this record a relic of the past and a distinct, brilliant image of socialite stardom. Paris is shallowness at its best, featuring songs about feeling sexy, being sexy, and making sure everyone else thinks you’re sexy. On “Fightin’ over Me” Hilton brags about the amount of suitors following her around the club. In its totality, Paris exists in the club, as you can see the table dancing and socialites in their VIP section. Although it may seem out of touch with the rest of the world, the beauty of a Paris Hilton album is that it was never meant to be taken seriously. It’s fun pop music at its very best, exuding carelessness and youthful exuberance. The drama continues on “Jealousy,” rumored to be about onand-off again best friend, Nicole Richie. After a mysterious fallout in 2005, “Jealousy” appeared on Paris and painted a picture of Richie as the best friend that couldn’t accept Hilton’s mega stardom. “Jealousy” is surprisingly more intense than the rest of Paris, featuring harder guitar while Hilton sings “nobody wins when you’re full of envy.” Much of Paris follows this theme of feeling above it all, in a way that could only happen when you’re born into one of the richest families in the country. If you can get past the pure ignorance for how the rest of the world lives, Paris emerges as an exciting album from a pop star that could’ve been, if only she cared enough to do so. Although clearly much better pop music came out of the early 2000s, Paris was unfairly criticized because of the socialite, party girl image that was all over the tabloids during the time. While releasing an album may have just been another step in Hilton’s plan to cling onto relevancy, some of the tracks still remain some of the greatest guilty pleasures. “Nothing in This World,” a somewhat more proper version of Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend,” finds Hilton lusting after another girl’s boyfriend, all while knowing deep down he will end up with Paris. The confidence and aloofness that exudes from this song makes the listener feel like maybe they too could be a hot socialite for the night. Moreover the best moments of Paris are when Hilton is unapologetically full of herself. “Turn You On” is Hilton breathlessly dancing at the club, while seducing men with just a glance (“Don’t get excited baby cause I might turn you on”). Furthermore, Hilton attempts to shake off some of the criticism she received in the press singing, “Don’t believe all that you read my ish out loud. We can dance all night but you ain’t getting none.” Although at its core “Turn You On” is just a carefree pop song, it also paints an image of
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COCTEAU TWINS
Originally formed in Grangemouth, Scotland in 1979, Cocteau Twins grew to be one of the most popular bands out of Scotland. The band’s membership was constant after 1983, consisting of Robin Guthrie (the only original member), Elizabeth Fraser, and Simon Raymonde. Elizabeth Fraser was the primary vocalist of the group, and her lilting voice helped to carve out a spot in pop culture for the band’s incredibly unique sound. Cocteau Twins defined the early dream pop genre, especially on albums such as Treasure, Blue Bell Knoll, and Heaven or Las Vegas. The trio was plagued by internal conflicts typically stemming from the relationship between Guthrie and Fraser, but those same conflicts led to the best music the band produced. Unfortunately, the infighting eventually boiled over during the final separation between Guthrie and Fraser, leading to the band’s total dissolution in 1997. Over the nearly twenty years that Cocteau Twins was active, eight solo LPs and one collaborative LP with the American composer Harold Budd were released.
1982 Garlands, the first LP from Cocteau Twins, introduced an angsty and gothic rock-infused sound to the UK scene, debuting at #2 on the indie charts. The early sounds of the band were categorized by Fraser’s barely-intelligible vocals obscured by layers of heavy instrumentation, leading to an immediately captivating experience. The opening track “Blood Bitch” revealed an album-defining anxiety characterized by the vibrato in Fraser’s vocals and fast, intense
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instrumentals. While lyrics were far more coherent at times than in later releases, the extensive use of heavy distortion on guitars in tandem with moody basslines served to further immerse the listener in the urgency of the music. The sonic themes present in Garlands was the closest that Cocteau Twins came to typical gothic rock given the darker themes and strong sense of dread permeating tracks such as “Blind Dumb Deaf” and “Grail Overfloweth.”
1983 Released a year after Garlands in 1983, Head over Heels was a logical development of the Cocteau Twins sound and served as the bridging album between their gothic rock-esque origins and the ethereal dream pop genre they became so well known for. Head Over Heels featured even more layering of technical guitar work from Guthrie and stylistically refined vocals from Fraser. On “Sugar Hiccup,” the most popular track from the album, the dream pop style is discernible
but still very clouded, while “The Tinderbox (Of a Heart)” and other tracks are easily traceable back to the sonic qualities of Garlands. The resulting project was a pleasant mixture of high energy tracks that fully engaged listeners with the music, whether it was trying to decipher Fraser’s soft-edged gibberish or appreciating the developing style that the group displayed.
Cocteau Twins became what casual listeners recognize as Cocteau Twins on their third LP, Treasure. The transition from Garlands, or even Head Over Heels, to Treasure was shocking, as the three albums were released in just as many years, displaying the rapid maturation of the band’s sonic style. Treasure was firmly dream pop, with barely coherent vocals and ethereal, laid back instrumentals. Fraser’s looping and cyclic lyrics worked more to accentuate Guthrie and Raymonde’s
instrument work than act as a separate component. On “Beatrix” and “Amelia” especially, Fraser’s singing is used more as an additional instrument, matching the ebbs and flows of the tracks’ basslines. This specific union of rock instruments with vocal noise was unprecedented, and influenced not only subsequent Cocteau Twins albums, but the entire discographies of Cocteau Twins contemporaries.
Designer: Angelina Han (Computer Science and Design)
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1986 Victorialand stands out in the Cocteau Twins discography as both an oddball and another important stylistic bridge. The album was almost entirely acoustic, only featuring Fraser on vocals and Guthrie on guitars, and yet was the most ambient album that the band released. The concept of a typical song was stretched out to its furthest limits on tracks like “Oomingmak” and “Feet-like Fins,” where Fraser’s voice blended into the acoustic instrumentals to develop a specific experience and mood. Tracks also switched tempo without warning in
response to unintelligible vocals rather than following any traditional musical structures. Perhaps the most important development that Cocteau Twins underwent on Victorialand was the total integration of vocals into the instrumental backdrops of tracks, where Fraser’s voice was mastered at the same level as Guthrie’s various riffs and loops on guitar. This effect was found on tracks in every subsequent album and hugely influenced contemporaries in the dream pop genre.
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1986 The Moon and the Melodies, the only fully collaborative studio album that Cocteau Twins created, tapped American composer Harold Budd to work with the group on creating Victorialand-esque tracks without any of the bells and whistles that their previous album had. The result was a series of tracks that wasn’t characteristic of the band, instead opting for an emphasis on simpler instrumentals and minimal vocals. Fraser only sang on four of the eight tracks, with Budd, Guthrie,
and Raymonde composing and producing the instrumentals. The album had a strong start with “Sea, Swallow Me” but was weakened by subsequent tracks without any lyrics. While The Moon and the Melodies demonstrated Cocteau Twins’ ability to successfully collaborate with an outside influence, the album was a developmental step backwards from Victorialand and suffered due to the deintegration of Fraser’s vocals from the sonic landscape of the album.
1988 By 1988, Cocteau Twins was receiving widespread attention, including some from the US. The jump across the Atlantic was spurred by Blue Bell Knoll, an energetic release that marked a return to what was becoming generally accepted as the band’s sound. However, the introduction of vocals layered over each other and bright multi-instrumental displays showed a further refining of Cocteau Twins’ sonic palate. The track “Carolyn’s Fingers” was the lead
single off the album and showcased the playful energy of the band during production. Other tracks maintained a far more upbeat and triumphant energy than was seen in previous releases. Blue Bell Knoll stood out as one of the strongest and most popular LPs that Cocteau Twins ever released and put the group in a position to make their most influential work two years later.
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By far the band’s most commercially successful release, Heaven or Las Vegas would go down as Cocteau Twins’ legacy. Opening with the richest Fraser’s voice had ever been, “Cherry-coloured Funk” would become synonymous with the name ‘Cocteau Twins,’ and cemented their status as an influential group on the world scale. The album perfected everything that Blue Bell Knoll hadn’t been able to, where every track responded to specific moods and experiences but was equally inaccessible because of the instrumental shrouding. The resulting effect was an unattainable mood board and was only enhanced by nearly legible vocals from Fraser merged with clearly recognizable guitarwork, all hidden behind the typical Cocteau
Twin over-layered production. Fraser’s first child was born and Raymonde’s father died during the album’s conceptualization stage, leading to themes centering on the duality between life and death. These themes were present in both sonic mood and lyrics, creating a tension between joy and sorrow on many tracks, and enhancing the effect of the album to encompass a huge range of emotion. The tracks “Heaven or Las Vegas” and “Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires” formed emotional centers on the album with layered, looping vocals and swelling guitar riffs, but every other song still excelled at creating a unique listening experience.
1993 Four-Calendar Café was a departure from the era that most clearly defined Cocteau Twins, released three years after the successful Heaven or Las Vegas. The circumstances surrounding the album definitively marked the beginning of the end for the band, given the extremely tentative state of Fraser and Guthrie’s relationship. The themes of the album reflected much of this tension, anger, and stress, which led to far more introspective and questioning vocals on Fraser’s part. The clearly intelligible lyrics found on most tracks was unique to
the LP, as was the more traditional song format that multiple tracks took. Despite distancing from these two stylistic staples, the album was still sonically vibrant, and vocals worked alongside energetic melodies rather than being fully submerged and melding with them. Four Calendar Café also opted for a lighter, pop-oriented sound which juxtaposed the generally pained and reflective lyrics. Tracks like “Know Who You Are At Every Age,” “Bluebeard,” and “Squeeze-Wax” all exemplify various aspects of the group’s altered style.
1996 The last LP from Cocteau Twins, Milk & Kisses mirrored Four Calendar Café in its introspective themes and atmospheric sonic aesthetic. The album saw Fraser’s vocals layer and blend with instruments once again, but the instruments themselves were slightly more rock oriented, where Raymonde and Guthrie opted for electric guitar riffs and driving drumlines rather than the acoustic-based sounds of other albums. The change was refreshing and made for a pleasant listening experience that drove home the reflective nature of the
songs. Standout tracks included “Serpentskirt,” “Treasure Hiding,” and “Seekers Who Are Lovers,” the last of which finished off the album and featured perhaps some of the clearest vocals from Fraser in years. The band would go on to tour the album, but less than a year later they would dissolve for good, in large part from the tension between Fraser and Guthrie. Rather than suffering from the clear internal conflicts that surrounded its development, Milk & Kisses went down as a final showcase of Cocteau Twins’ immense skill and talent. • Terrance Dumoulin (Civil Engineering and Architectural Studies)
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the rede of nu m Mom jeans. Mullets. Cargo pants. Like clockwork, all fashion trends ebb and flow through the consciousness of American youth decade after decade. Styles come and go, merging and evolving into new aesthetics and designs based on the old. Like fashion, music follows a similar pattern. Society rejects and then later embraces genres, with creative influencers paving the way for their emergence into the mainstream. Despite all odds, there is a looming presence in the 2020 artistic climate: a genre that simply won’t die. You may see a sevenstring guitar on the stage of your favorite local DIY outfit, a sports jersey over a long sleeve tee, or perhaps even hear the faint scatting of Korn’s Jonathan Davis over a heavily syncopated guitar track. No matter your personal opinion on the genre, there’s no denying that nu metal is making a glaring reappearance in the alternative music scene. Part of nu metal’s ability to make a resurgence in such a powerful way are its open-ended roots. Citing influences from heavy metal, industrial, funk metal, hip hop, and more, nu metal is a conglomeration of rap and metal techniques that’s finished product is a sound filled with heavy, syncopated guitars riffs and rhythmic vocal deliveries. Vocalists often practice singing, growling, rapping, and even scatting. Any vocal style in existence has probably been emulated (or attempted) in a nu-metal track scattered somewhere across the early 2000s. Pioneers
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of nu metal in its most popular form include the heavy-hitting Korn, the fan favorite Limp Bizkit, the mask wearing Slipknot, and the more melodic Staind. Although the style peaked between the years 19982003, its rise in the early 90s and decline in the late 2000s is not to be discounted. However, by 2010 the genre had mostly died out as softer folk rock like Mumford and Sons began to rise in radio popularity. The genre that had once overpowered Woodstock 1999 and even had its own tour, The Family Values Tour, was now nearly extinct. So, what happened to nu metal? One reason responsible for nu metal’s steep decline was that it was ultimately rejected by its founders. Korn, Slipknot, and Staind actively attempted to distance themselves from the label, claiming in interview after interview that they wanted nothing to do with the genre and didn’t appreciate being artistically linked to it. If artists within a scene, especially ones that are considered to be its founders, aren’t proud of what they forged, how can their fans be? When major nu metal pioneers rejected the genre, it became even more unfashionable to be associated with it. Many of the major bands’ distaste for the scene was a response to its overcrowding. By the early 2000s, mediocre nu metal artists seemed to be cropping up constantly, inspired by bands like Limp Bizkit’s radio success. Most nu metal tracks contain simplistic
“Citing influences from heavy metal, industrial, funk metal, hip hop, and more, nu metal is a conglomeration of rap and metal techniques that’s finished product is a sound filled with heavy, syncopated guitars riffs and rhythmic vocal deliveries.”
emption metal “Although for a while it seemed like nu metal had been forgotten in a graveyard of genres, millennials and gen xers (who were teenagers and young adults during its height) refuse to let this culture die.” teenagers on the app for a short period of time. Goth adjacent kids were suddenly discovering the alternative of the past, and to them this sound was fresh. Perhaps all this discussion and the faint inkling of nu metal popularity amongst a younger group is what inspired current day artists to revive the style. Whether done subconsciously or purposely, there’s no denying that pop artists Rina Sawayama, Poppy, Grimes, and Lil Aaron have incorporated nu metal into their music. Poppy’s most recent album, I Disagree, takes a sharp turn from her bubblegum pop debut album, Poppy.Computer. She experiments with heavily syncopated guitar riffs, vocal deliveries influenced by rap and pop, and an overall aggressive tone. Sound familiar? I Disagree is without a doubt influenced by nu metal- with one major difference. Poppy provides a feminine perspective on a genre that’s historically been dominated by men, in addition to incorporating occasional pop elements that make this album seem much more 2020 than 1998. British-Japanese singer Rina Sawayama does similar with the track “STFU!” off her 2020 release SAWAYAMA. In this seething track dedicated to the microaggressions Sawayama has faced as a Japanese woman throughout her life, what better way to diss her aggressors than doing so over a nu metal backtrack? Another leading lady of pop who’s adopted a quasi-nu metal style is Grimes. Though a bit more abstract than Poppy and Rina Sawayama’s adaptations, there’s no denying that “We Appreciate Power” off of her latest release Miss Anthropocene
Designer: Gabby Bruck (UX Design and Computer Science)
song structures and somewhat banal, angsty lyrical content, which allowed for easy emulation by aspiring musicians. Thus, nu metal had become somewhat of a laughing stock among the metal community, almost a caricature of itself. Musicians within most other subgenres of metal refused to acknowledge nu metal as “real metal”, including Trent Reznor, Mike Patton, Maynard James Keenan, and others whom many nu metal artists have cited as influences. As the public opinion of nu metal began to shift from hip to embarrassing, the genre quietly faded away. It’s been over fifteen years since nu metal peaked the airwaves. But that hasn’t stopped the genre from weaseling its way into current pop culture. Although for a while it seemed like nu metal had been forgotten in a graveyard of genres, millennials and gen xers (who were teenagers and young adults during its height) refuse to let this culture die. Through ironic, nostalgia-driven reflection, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and Korn as a whole have become a meme of sorts among millennialowned meme pages. Instagram users with follower counts in the five and six figure range, such as @worstigaccount, @catatonicyouths, and @ctrlctrl often post nu metal content as a running gimmick. Fred Durst himself has even interacted with these posts as some sort of quasiPR tactic. Nevertheless, the nu metal discussions on Instagram have leaked to other popular social media sites. TikTok has exhibited some odd trends, with the song “Twist” by Korn displaying popularity among
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is influenced by the genre as well Grimes herself described Miss Anthropocene as “ethereal nu metal,” unashamed to label her album as such. With this reclamation of the once highly masculine genre by a group of female pop artists, nu metal has been refreshed and brought out of its stale slumber. Another artist pioneering nu metal’s revival is Lil Aaron. From his roots touring with metalcore bands in the 2000s to his rise to fame among the 2016 Soundcloud emo trap scene, Lil Aaron’s music teeters between a combination of these two with sweet pop overtones. While Aaron doesn’t tend to label himself one way or another, his aesthetics lend themselves as a throwback to early 2000s alternative. In addition to music, the nu metal scene had a distinctive fashion that was sported by artists and fans alike. Adidas tracksuits, sports jerseys, baggy pants and shirts, cargo pants, dyed/spiked hair, tattoos and piercings were common. Lil Aaron’s long green hair, baggy clothes, and tattoos are reminiscent of this fashion and most likely a reference to it. Whether by design or by accident, Lil Aaron’s influence from the emo trap and metalcore scene combined create an undeniable, familiar rap rock concoction. While some songs sound more nu metal than others, his
newest EP 808 ROCK undoubtedly reeks of the genre. In 2010, it seemed unlikely that nu metal would ever make a return. Artists like Limp Bizkit and Staind had been long forgotten in a haze of disgust from their metal counterparts, public distaste, and its creators embarrassment of the genre’s existence. However, musically impressionable teenagers and young adults had not forgotten. As early 2000s kids who participated in alternative culture grow older, these now adults are melding nu metal into their own music, forging a new wave of the style out of its disgraceful ashes. And current teenagers are catching on to the trend. Skinny jeans are out, and wide-legged JNCOesque jeans are back in. As nu metal aesthetics and music make a return in the 2020 alternative music scene, there’s no saying what can happen next. I would personally be pleased to see a revival of The Family Values Tour, but I believe we still have a long way to go until that moment. One of critic’s most hated genres is back, and it’s getting better reviews than ever before. Have tastes changed, or are critics just positively biased towards the artists who have experimented so far? Do any genres truly die? Or do art and culture move through cycles, in constant fluctuation with each other, never truly fading? Perhaps Fred Durst would know the answer. • Hannah Lowicki (Marketing)
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GET YOUR BRITS OUT
“Guess who’s back on the news It’s your favourite Republican hoods” toward British rule in this line, then immediately satirizes the hypothetical interaction by offering the DUP members ecstasy. The situation described in the song is ridiculous; DUP leader Arlene Foster says that she likes to be choked and Christopher Stalford is “licking coke off a plate,” but the song remains rooted in truth with lines that describe how things turn out later in the night. “...it’s a disaster Cunts are talkin’ politics, there’s a lack of laughter . . . Donaldson has started with his homophobic chat.” The DUP members are further distanced from KNEECAP by this line which reminds listeners of the real views they hold, contributing to the caricature of those loyal to Britain and backing up the phrase ‘Brits out.’ The group’s choice to rap in Irish about the antics of DUP members and their British bias makes a statement in and of itself. The irony is purposeful here, as it is in some of KNEECAP’s other songs which are rapped entirely in Irish. A clear signal of Irishness, using the language in their songs places the group within a narrative that wants to uphold certain aspects of Irish culture. Advocacy for an independent Ireland comes not only from what they say, but how they choose to say it. KNEECAP’s republican ideals are significant when considering the group hails from West Belfast — the section of the city that’s historically held the strongest nationalist attitudes. “Get Your Brits Out” is rebel music for a new generation of Irish republicans, one whose political views are bolstered by their ability to continuously take the piss out of any situation, no matter how dark.
Designer: Maia Fernandez Baigun (Communications and Graphic Design)
KNEECAP’s music is laced with tales of clubbing, drug use, and advocacy for an independent and unified Ireland. The rap trio — Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provaí — tackles issues of politics and identity through satire. They draw inspiration from Irish rebel songs of the early 20th century to deliver witty lyrics for a post-Troubles generation. “Get Your Brits Out,” one of the group’s 2019 singles, showcases all of their discography’s most notable characteristics: unapologetically crude lyrics (which got them banned from several radio stations), politically controversial subject matter, and, most importantly, the melding of the Irish and English languages. ‘Brits Out’ has several meanings, from a play on ‘(get your) tits out’ conveyed by the song’s cover art, to a call for the removal of monarchical rule. The primary meaning here, however, refers directly to the song’s plot. In the track, KNEECAP takes members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) — a socially conservative, right wing political party that upholds British identity in Ireland — out “on a mad one.” The groups are able to set aside their diametrically opposing viewpoints after popping some ecstasy and heading to a local pub. “Anois éist, I’m gonna say this once Youse can all stay just don’t be cunts And don’t be runnin’ round like silly old tans Just take these yokes and we’ll go for a dance” Móglaí compares the DUP members to ‘tans,’ a reference to the Black and Tans from the Irish War of Independence, soldiers employed by Britain to suppress revolutionary attitudes (namely, the Irish Republican Army). Additionally, this line refers to the popular rebel song “Come Out, Ye Black and Tans” by The Wolfe Tones. KNEECAP solidifies their stance
• Sarah Lamodi (English and Linguistics)
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an interview with
KAZUO KAZUO
Kazuo is a young rapper based out of NYC who spent his life growing up between Japan and the States. He recently dropped his first studio album AKUMA and Tastemakers wanted to sit down with him and talk to him about the project and his inspirations. Interview
Tastemakers Music Mag (TMM): Do you want to start by introducing yourself really quick? Kazuo: My name is Kazuo, I do music, I’m hella introverted; I pretend that I’m not because ya know, nobody really likes the quiet guy and I hate being told that I’m quiet, because it’s just like I have nothing to say, what do you want me to do about that? But yeah [laughs], I make music, I produce, I make videos, I make either people laugh or angry at me. It is what it is.
Designer: Stephanie Miano (Interaction Design)
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Kazuo: Oh, that’s a throwback. I started making those out of boredom, I think I made the “Why I Hated Japanese School”. My old laptop broke and I always wanted to make that type of video, so the audio Is recorded from my old iPhone 6. I didn’t even script the video, I just had little bullet points like okay talk about this, put it in your own words. I was making songs like I had this song called “GAIJIN”, I guess it’s still out [laughs]; I have a song called “GAIJIN” and I plugged it in “Why I Hated Japanese School”, but I just wanted to get to the more complex stuff, like the things I wouldn't just bring up in a song just to explain further about my life. Also, I was trying to be an aspiring comedian, so that was my outlet to tell jokes. TMM: Yeah, that’s the way to do it. Did you always know you wanted to do some type of entertainment, even before you started releasing music?
TMM: It is what it is. [laughs]. You say you’re introverted, but I feel like that’s not the vibe that I’m getting from you as someone who’s also introverted.
Kazuo: Yeah, absolutely. I've always thought that, you know, since a young age that I’m kind of funny. Also, I don't want validation from other people, but I also do want validation.
Kazuo: Yeah you can just kinda put on a mask and then just come off as really interesting. You witness a lot of extroverts so you’re able to copy them, but it’s really exhausting doing that 24/7. Luckily, I only get to do that like right now.
TMM: Story of my life; I love saying that I'm funny to myself, but I hate when other people say I’m funny because then it comes with an expectation.
TMM: Nice, sorry if this is draining you at all [laughs].
Kazuo: Exactly. I hate when people introduce me as the funny guy, like just find out for yourself.
Kazuo: No, this is not like a chore to me [laughs], this is actually pretty fun!
TMM: Exactly. Where do you draw your inspiration from, both for your music and in general?
TMM: Glad to know! Okay, I got some fun questions now. So you lived here and in Japan, what was that like and how did that influence your music and your style? I see a lot of aspects of that on your Instagram also.
Kazuo: I don't want to come off as narcissistic, but just me, honestly. I don't know. I listen to a lot of music and I'm always open for inspiration. Like I'll listen to anything and I do listen to anything, you know, nothing's off limits for me. If I hear something that I just like, whether it's somebody’s vocal cadence or like a lyric or an instrument I like, I'll be like, “Yo, is there a way I can put my own spin to this or apply this to my own work.” So, you know, stealing is sometimes cool. Just don’t steal too much [laughs]. I'm always like, looking for inspiration and I'm the type of guy that likes putting my own spin onto things. From there it can even just be like a lyric I had in my head and that’s where the journey starts basically.
Kazuo: It was pretty exhausting going back and forth. Basically, I was born here and spent my first five years of my life breathing here and then to Japan, but I don’t really remember my early years so my first memories came from Japan. So everything when it comes to like “normal” things, the standard is Japan to me, then I came back here when I was like 15 and it was just like crazy culture shock. I'd visited the states before like a few times, but it was never long enough for me to ever get used to it until I moved back here. It was just crazy like the people I would deal with like back in Japan versus the people I had to deal with people here and it was pretty interesting. It provided me so much perspective and pretty much shaped how I am now. There's only a few people I know from my life who've had a similar experience with me and I just like sharing that because I think it is kind of, you know, unique and I want people to either relate to it or just like get an understanding of some of like a lifestyle that's different from theirs. TMM: Right, that’s valid. I know you also liked to release videos on YouTube back in the day. Kazuo: Oh, yeah. TMM: Was that your way of introducing people to that? I know you made one on American school versus Japanese school.
TMM: So spinning off that, you dropped a whole bunch of singles before and then you just released your album. What prompted you to drop a full project? Kazuo: Fan pressure. Honestly, fan pressure. I was making albums as like side projects; I never dropped an album before AKUMA, but I'd always wanted to drop a project, like an album of my own. I went through so many traps of concepts I had, and it would either not go anywhere, I’d think I'm just not like talented enough to pull up this, I don't have enough resources for this, or I'm gonna have to pay some somebody $700 to do this. Just things like that, like lack of resources. Or let's just say I wanted to make a synth wave album because I'll go through a synth wave phase for like two weeks, then after making three synth wave beats I'm like, “Okay, I don't want to do this anymore.” So yeah, it's just like some ADD stuff too, you know, I can't just like stay
committed to a theme or concept. I mean it's surprising I even dropped that album, honestly. TMM: No, I mean, it was good. I liked it. Kazuo: Thank you, thank you. You can you can hear the inconsistency like the beats keep on changing. TMM: Well yeah, I was going to ask what’s the story behind it, because I feel like there were so many themes and then with the “SADBOYRADIO” track, I feel like the vibe changed completely.
summer like just working on stocking up on a bunch of new stuff; making a lot of new material that doesn't sound like anything I had released before. Working with other producers; just like changing up the Kazuo sounds. I've moved on from AKUMA, I mean I'd still be down to perform the songs, but I've moved on mentally from it [laughs]. All I can say is, like, don't expect that that sound you know, because I've already done it. You’re going to be like “what the hell” when you when you first hear it. TMM: Okay, well I'm excited to be surprised. Kazuo: You're going to be surprised or really like disappointed.
Kazuo: [Laughs] Yeah! TMM: It was good! I was just so caught off guard.
TMM: I feel like it's probably going to be good. That’s what I'm feeling; I feel like I haven’t been disappointed yet.
Kazuo: Yeah, it's a thing where I don't want two songs to sound the same. It's like, “I already did this so it's on to the next one.” Also, because I feel I don't like repetition too much, especially with my music. So if I feel like this goes on for too long, I’m like, “Okay, I gotta change it.” With ‘BOOMBOX,” you know, it sounds like a rap song from a PS1 game, so by the third verse I don't want you to hear that same drumbeat anymore so I'm gonna switch it up. I'm gonna have choirs and have this verse be a little more personal. So that's just stringing a bunch of ideas together. Like sometimes in a song I don't just have like one thought, it's just a bunch of other thoughts that I tried to put together and hopefully it all works out. Even if it doesn't make sense, that's just me in general: I don't make sense.
Kazuo: Yeah and it's 100% fine if you are.
TMM: I feel like they did make sense. I was able to follow along and it told a story is what I got from it. It seemed very personal, especially if you actually listen to the lyrics. The beats are good regardless, but if you actually take in what you're saying, I feel like there's a story behind it and it’s very well done.
Kazuo: [Laughs] Exactly. There’s this band I’ve been obsessed with since they came out called Bleachers ever since like 2014 and I just listened to all of their deep cuts. I’ve been to like six of their shows; it's unhealthy.
Kazuo: Yeah, that means a lot, actually. With “SADBOYRADIO” there's three beats and those were originally three separate songs. So I would hear them, and I realized the beats are kind of similar. So I already had the idea in my head that I should put the songs together, but they also kind of have a common theme of loss and being attached to things that already happened. So yeah, it was like the right idea to make the song into one. TMM: Well it worked out very well. What's your favorite track off the album if you have one? Kazuo: Alright, what's my favorite song off the album? Yeah, “SADBOY RADIO,” definitely. Because, you know, it's a very personal, vulnerable track. I also like “YABAI96” because that was the first song I had completed for the album. I was making that alongside “SADBOYRADIO” which are two very different songs; one is loud as hell and the other’s just very melancholy. I like “YABAI96” because I went crazy on the production on that. People on my discord, like “BOOMBOX,” which I thought that was very interesting. Yeah, those are those are my favorites. I mean, I like all of them, but those are my personal favorites. TMM: Okay, good to know. Are you working on anything else right now? What can we expect for the future?
TMM: Those are all like the serious questions I had, so now there's just some general questions I had. Are you listening to anyone specifically right now or do you have any music recs? Kazuo: Alright, so most of the music I listen to is artists that you shouldn’t play in front of your crush. I listen to a lot JPEGMAFIA and like, please don't play that in front of your crush. TMM: You know what, if they don’t listen to JPEG, then they're not meant for you.
TMM: I feel that, sometimes it gets better the more you go. I spend a lot of my money on concerts, so I get it. Kazuo: I would enter free ticket giveaways and I would win like most of them. TMM: Oh, yeah. That’s one of the best parts about being a part of this magazine. Since I shoot concert photography, I get to go to so many shows and that was truly how I spent all my last semester. TMM: Last fun question. I know you skate; how long have you been skating for? Kazuo: I kind of started in high school; I would mainly cruise. I can do a few tricks here and there, but it would mostly be to just like go from one place to the other. Like to get to the train when I didn’t feel like walking. TMM: Well, that's all I had. Thank you so much for like sitting down with us. Kazuo: Of course! Sorry if I talked too much. TMM: No, that's what I needed [laughs]. This is good content. • Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)
Kazuo: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've spent like this whole 39
Editorial Fall 2020
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Power Surge is a new microgenre of hip hop that has taken the far corners of the Internet’s music communities by storm with its enigmatic and postmodern take on trap music. It combines ultra-fast paced melodic tread music with a hazy cloud-rap atmosphere and a lobit production style that renders the music blocky and glitchy. This is generally accomplished by encoding the songs at an intentionally low bitrate to achieve data compression. This may seem like a gimmick at first, but this production style achieves sounds that conventional methods could never imagine. There’s also a very specific aesthetic associated with the genre that can best be described as deepfried nightcore, with video game and anime imagery obscured by M.I.A.-esque computer vomit graphic design. Surge as a genre is still very new and loosely defined. It’s also known by a variety of names, from surge to hexD to crushed trap, which all can refer to slightly different things depending on who you ask. The difference between what you might call surge or hexD is exceedingly grey and nuanced, but what generally separates them is that hexD is more adjacent to Soundcloud remix culture and is even more lofi than surge’s often more melodic tread and cloud rap inspirations.
If any group has made a name for themselves in the genre so far, it’s Reptilian Club Boyz, a Tennessee-based collective of producers and rappers. Currently there are ten members, most notably, rapperproducers Diamondsonmydick, Hi-C, and Cartier’GOD. They began releasing music in 2017 and early singles like “prettyboydemongang anthem SURFS UP WHITE BOY ROCK N**** SWAGG” showed a progression from cloud rap towards the evolving surge style. Still, they didn’t really come into their own until 2019 with the release of the fantastic single “ohh yeaaa juiced up pop punk emo swag” and later the mixtape ReptilianClubBoyz Bizzare Adventure Vol. 1. The members have also released some of their biggest singles by themselves. The psychedelic video for Hi-C’s “LSD on my Tongue” has racked up 70 thousand views on YouTube, making it easily one of the most popular surge songs. Cartier’GOD’s appearance on “Cartier’god Icedancer (Intermission)” from Bladee’s Icedancer album was also a very high profile feature that brought a lot of attention to the growing scene. The other artist that has gained some notoriety is $PIRIT GURLZ, the duo of Eternity God and Y2Kri$i$.Their debut album 12:12 represents a softer and more
The surge scene is still very small, but a number of artists are taking its sound in a variety of directions.
introspective side of surge, with bouncy beats and lyrics you can actually understand. The duo have a signature high-pitched, robotic vocal style that along with their unique production choices makes a $PIRIT GURLZ song instantly recognizable. For example, “Angels With God” is made up of a simple swirling synth pattern over which the two rap about drugs, escapism, and religion. “I’m so lost and so unguided / My own goals have always been slighted / By life and its shitty fucking cruel ways / I always tend to view everything sideways / I don’t care if the drugs still hurt me” raps Eternity God in one of his best verse, highlighting the lyrical depth that makes the duo stand out. Despite those being the biggest artists in the genre, the most well-known hexD project is actually a DJ Mix by tomoe_✧theundy1ng (a.k.a. cargoboym) called Rare RCB hexD.mp3. The mix is a 15 minute collection of sped-up, bit-crushed Reptilian Club Boyz singles. Originally just uploaded to Soundcloud, the mix got a lot of attention after being uploaded to the dismiss yourself YouTube channel the next month. The dismiss yourself channel and discord server is at the center of the genre and is where many hexD releases end up, as opposed to major streaming platforms. Dismiss Yourself’’s Surge Compilation Vol. 1 is also often cited as the best entry point to the genre for new fans, as it features a variety of essential surge tracks. Rare RCB hexD.mp3 is also a good place to start, however, as it throws you right into the depths of bitcrushed music with a variety of different sounds on display. Perhaps the most interesting group in the genre is Fax Gang, made up of producers Blacklight, GLACIERbaby, and maknaeslayer and rapper PK Shellboy (and NAIOKI). Their EP FxG3000 shows a different side of hexD that borders on trance, with layered, intricate rhythms and smooth, repetitive vocals. The best example of this is the epic closing track of their EP, “Jeopardy,” which builds upon itself over six and a half minutes, adding layer after layer of distorted synths
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Editorial
and trap percussion that obscure the vocals behind a wall of sound. The result could best be described as Nightcore Lil Uzi Vert playing from a broken arcade machine in a windtunnel. What sets Fax Gang’s production apart is the way in which it feels designed so intentionally for the lobit style. For some hexD music, the bitcrushing can still feel like an afterthought, but Fax Gang’s producers meticulously craft beats that take full advantage of the unique sounds bitcrushing can achieve. Rapper PK Shellboy also has some of the most compelling flows the genre has to offer. Tracks like “Jailbroken” really show off the variety of vocal styles he, along with the magic of autotune, can execute, as his voice seamlessly switches between a distant, robotic whisper and distorted shoutsinging. His feature on digital hardcore artist NEUPINK’s “swordflower wounds” is made up of otherworldly autotuned moaning along with more traditional rapping, making it one of the most unique vocal performances you will be able to find. The surge scene is still very small, but a number of artists are taking its sound in a variety of directions. Yabujin takes surge towards the brighter atmosphere of producers like Clams Casino and Whitearmor with tracks like “Hardstyle Drill 2009 Nokia Angelz 1.6 ”ةدمجم تاسدسمthat feature icy synth melodies, or the ethereal and atmospheric “GARDEN” from his Baroque EP. Anthony1 and T€∆M M£K4NØ have taken the aesthetic and styling of hexD to happy hardcore and mashcore with their
Designer: Roman Distefano (Graphic Design)
Fall 2020
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album Classic_Project_2000.3gp featuring ultra fast-paced, sample heavy chaos. Some other notable surge or hexD artists include Dior5tar, Mokshadripp, Aero Gros M, and DiGiGHOULS, who all have their own niche within the community. In such a young and small genre, there is a huge amount of room for experimentation which is highlighted by just how different these artists’ music can sound while still being under the banner of surge. It is still too early in surge’s history to really predict whether the genre will have the staying power of any other number of Soundcloud offshoots, but the exponential number of hexD remixes popping up day after day is encouraging. Either way, surge is an incredibly interesting and subversive take on modern trap music and internet aesthetics that says a great deal about the future of rap music. • Grant Foskett (Computer Science)
The music community on YouTube is a rabbit hole. While most users of the site are familiar with the official channels of artists that post their tracks and music videos, the community extends far beyond the professional uploads made by an artist’s management. From lyric videos to musical parodies, songs are always being rehashed, clipped and edited in every way possible. However, in this era of increasingly complicated copyright disputes on the platform, it’s growing harder to draw the line between an original transformative work and an instance of plagiarism. To understand the full spectrum of this issue, it’s important to comprehend the kind of musical content being posted onto YouTube and the ways in which each form of content interacts and challenges the current copyright law.
In most instances, YouTube content involving the usage of an artist’s music often results in songs being entirely unchanged. In the case of lyric videos, creators will simply display lyrics on screen as the song plays out. Cover tracks and edits also involve such minimal changes, such as the Nightcore trend, where songs have their pitch and time sped up by 10–30%. While altering the song to some extent, the changes aren’t monumental enough to distinguish it as inherently separate from the original. In fact, these covers and edits are classified as derivative work, and are labeled as a clear copyright infringement. While most artists will not take the time to file a copyright violation against every instance, it’s very common for YouTube to honor these copyright takedown notices from these large labels and publishing entities. Ultimately, the doctrine of fair use simply doesn’t cover these instances of utilizing copyrighted material, and it’s clear to see why. Beyond minor edits to pitch or the addition of some visual element, the music is left largely intact. However, while minimal changes are made to songs in a vast majority of cases, for musical parodies, songs are often altered in a 43
Designer: Megan Lam (Architecture)
Feature
much more noticeable and tangible manner. Take for instance the trend of Minecraft parodies, where popular pop songs have their lyrics and instrumentals altered to reference the game. One of the most popular songs, “Revenge” by CaptainSparklez, is a parody of Usher’s “DJ Got us Fallin’ In Love.” Utilizing a separate instrumental from the original, the lyrics are also entirely unique and completely removed from the work that it is parodying. Other recent trends such as medieval parodies or 8-bit parodies of songs all arguably follow the same trend, altering the original work in a way that makes it clearly distinguishable. However, the question of whether or not it infringes copyright is an entirely different matter. While these examples certainly aren’t carbon copies of the works they’re utilizing, the doctrine of fair use allows the limited usage of copyrighted material according to four factors. The first factor, involving the purpose and character of the use, essentially questions how transformative the usage of the copyrighted material is. For the use to be fair, it has to advance knowledge or the progress of the arts through the addition of something new. The second factor tackles the nature of the work, the idea that facts and ideas are not protected by copyright, only their particular expression or fixation are allowed protection. The third factor looks at the amount and substantiality of the copyrighted work that has been used, generally the less copyrighted work utilized, the stronger the case of fair use. The last factor considers the effect that the infringing use has had on the copyright owner’s ability to exploit his original work. If the infringing material harms the market of the original or becomes a market substitute, the claim of fair use is less valid. As a result, even if a parody is altered lyrically and musically from the original work, whether it is covered by fair use or not involves a whole number of different considerations. For most established parody artists, such as Weird Al, they will specifically contact the original artist for permission to utilize copyrighted material, helping support claims of fair use. However, Weird Al is also an established professional, with a legal team specifically equipped to deal with fair use legislation. For smaller independent creators, such as the aforementioned CaptainSparklez, his parody “Revenge” has actually been hit by copyright infringements
of parodies to still exist on the YouTube platform. Remixes on the other hand, touch upon the grey area between the blatant use of a copyrighted work, and the more transformative aspects of a parody. Remixes, mashups, these forms of content are arguably nothing but a usage of copyrighted material. Unlike parodies that take the liberty of altering the work to some extent, remixes and mashups not only utilize an artist’s material, but possibly the material of multiple artists. However, the platform itself is still rife with remixes and mashups involving the wildly popular songs, garnering thousands if not millions of views. In many cases, these remixes are actually licensed and claimed by media labels, with some of the more popular mashups already claimed by an artist’s publishing group. For most creators
For the use to be fair, it has to advance knowledge or the progress of the arts through the addition of something new.
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in the past for utilizing an instrumental too reminiscent of the original song, prompting a second upload with reworked music. With this in mind, parodies are often more successful if their creators have the energy and support to argue their fair use claims, which means that smaller creators often don’t have the luxury of going through the entire legal process. However, parodies do still have some leeway in navigating copyright infringement due to the way they specifically alter the original work. The altered lyrics and instrumentals of parodies do offer some aspect of fair use, which enables a large number
on the platform, it’s often too troublesome to bring a counterclaim against a copyright infringement takedown notice. As mentioned before, the entire process can not only be lengthy, but require legal advice and counsel, something that small creators are most likely unable to obtain. In this vein, many remixes and mashups exist on the platform solely because they are either too small to gain the attention of an artist’s publishing label, or because they are claimed by the label themselves and therefore gain a license to use the original work. Ultimately however, the concept of fair use can realistically still apply to remixes and mashups under the right circumstances. Given that mashup and remix creators often alter and splice the original material, as long as the work is transformative in nature, fair use can be posed. A great example of this is the work uploaded by YouTube channel SilvaGunner, which posts remixes and mashups of primarily video game music. With over 581 million views, the channel was often a target of copyright infringement. One particular use of a Splatoon 2 song led the channel to be terminated, although the channel was able to appeal to Youtube to reinstate it. This legal
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scrutiny only intensified as the channel began to grow, with a second mo bero ene pro blaboribusci voloreptate deniaturit, termination occurring shortly after. It was only after the case was acius solo que ne magnatus aut eos dio. Itae sim idis again escalated up to YouTube and resolved, that channel was able to utat. resume posting. In both these cases, the channel was able to rightfully Explab incipistiae res ut essus autatus expla idem claim fair use, given that the nature of their work was transformative, faceper ibusciminus quae quiatur archit persperatior completely departing from the intent of the original. Additionally, sit adiscim aximinus demque debitat doles aceria nis their work wasn’t a market substitute or destroying the market of the inulpa adiae volum excearibus doloribus es vendus original work, providing further basis for their claim. While the remixes rent qui ute omnimin pliquia ndaesci atiaspedici ullest, did indeed utilize music that wasn’t rightfully theirs to use, the channel ut dic totaquiam fugia ium que la sequia ea in reptatus was able to leverage on the fact that their work was significantly sim ullitatur asi a nem sequo volla volorehento et et, et distinguishable and separate from the material that was copyrighted. doluptatus eumeniam, iliquas expedis ipis debit dolupEven in the realm of remixes, the concept of copyright is muddled, turerem dolupti buscid maximus. evaluated only on a case by case basis.
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Even in the realm of remixes, the concept of copyright is muddled, evaluated only on a case by case basis.
While it’s more common for the music content on YouTube to be infringing on copyright, the basis of fair use is still wildly important when considering the sheer volume of remixes, parodies, and mashups that are being published on the platform. From remixes of Frank Ocean and Minecraft to parodies of Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” the sheer amount of variability that fair use fosters is valuable in inspiring musical expression and exploration. YouTube presents itself as a perfect platform for this ongoing dispute over freedom of expression and protection of individual property, and the music community that it fosters helps advance the debate over fair use. • Mona Yu (Computer Science and Criminal Justice)
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CROSSWORD 1
DOWN
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1. What was Anderson .Paak’s stage name before his current one? 2. What city is UMI from? 3. What song did Phoebe Bridgers and Maggie Rogers cover after the 2020 presidential election? 7. Which female has the longest charting album?
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4. What’s Weyes Blood’s real name? 5. Avril Lavigne’s most streamed song on Spotify is ____. 6. Who did Phony Ppl perform with on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert? 8. Mitski’s first album was _____.
ZOOMED Can you tell which six album covers we’ve zoomed in on?
8. Lush 6. Megan Thee Stallion Charli — Charli XCX
5. Complicated
A Very Trainor Christmas — Meghan Trainor
4. Natalie
Habit — Snail Mail
Across:
2nd Row: 7. Adele Alligator — The National
3. Iris
The Indigo Violet EP — COIN
2. Seattle
Ctrl — SZA
1. Breezy Lovejoy
1st Row:
Down:
LOCAL PHOTO
Still Woozy, Sinclair
Photo by Rayn Tavares (Mechanical Engineering)
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST The lifespan of “meme music” has certainly shifted with the popularization of Tik Tok, but each of these songs was at least persistent within its space and time, for better, or mostly, for worse. Find the playlist at https://sptfy.com/qgxR • Willa Shiomos (Computer Science and Design)
1. “Never Gonna Give You Up ” — Rick Astley 2. “All Star” — Smash Mouth 3. “Mooo!” — Doja Cat 4. “Gucci Flip Flops” — Bhad Bhabie 5. “Friday” — Rebecca Black 6. “We like to Party! (The Vengabus)” — The Vengaboys 7. “Axel F” — Crazy Frog 8. “The Gummy Bear Song ” — Gummibar 9. “Harlem Shake” — Bauuer 10. “Hotline Bling” — Drake
FIND CARLY RAE JEPSEN We’ve hidden Carly Rae Jepsen somewhere in this issue. Find her and maybe something cool will happen...
11. “Baby” — Justin Bieber 12. “Sweatshirt” — Jacob Sarotious 13. “Fireflies” — Owl City 14. “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” — Soulja Boy 15. “Watch Me (Whip / Nae Nae)” — Silento 16. “Turn Down for What” — DJ Snake, Lil Jon 17. “Drop It Like It’s Hot” — Snoop Dog 18. “Barbie Girl” — Aqua 19. “Thrift Shop” — Kidz Bop Kids 20. “Call Me Maybe” — Carly Rae Jepsen
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