FROM THE HOME TEAM
Hey Under 25 Fam! First thing’s first, Happy New Year! We hope this year y’all kick some fucking ass! Although, on a serious note, we hope that y’all are as pumped about the new year as we are and we hope you don’t put “New Year, New Me” posts ANYWHERE. At Under 25 we believe every single youngster has a voice. The way they express that voice changes from person to person and that’s what makes our youth stand out. Through Dayum, we’ve created a space for every single person in our community to be themselves and be applauded for who they are. While writing this issue, we’ve shuffled, reshuffled and put certain songs on loop, just as an excuse to not work but, we’re super pumped with all that hard work! We’d sometimes wear earphones just to not have conversations with people, so this month’s Dayum was fun, we think. May peace, love, and creativity be with you throughout, Team Under 25 P.S. All the links are underlined and interactive! Feel free to click, follow, explore and smile! When you see a (play button) don’t hesitate to click and discover!
dayum! | From The Home Team
Anand Bhat Editorial
He usually just YouTube’s “AR Rahman Top Hits 100” but, off-late he’s been dancing to Raftaar’s ‘Sheikh Chilli’. We think he’s going to mail A.R Rahman and ask him to make a cover of the same.
Niranjana Nair Design Intern
Niranjana is also new and she doesn’t have the new mac with the touch bar that can show emojis but fuck that, she loves Chole Bhature. We like her already.
Ashutosh
Siddharth Mohandas
Pay whatever money you have to listen to him sing “We Don’t Talk Anymore, Hummus All On The Floor”. Yes, “Hummus All On The Floor”.
“Shirdi Waale Sai Baba”
Designer
Social Media
Shibi
Content Writer
Seema
Shibi is deaf.
Design Intern
Seema’s got the new mac. Yeah, the one with the touch bar that can show emojis!! She’s new, that’s all we know about her. For now. Watch this space next month for more.
Sreelekshmi Prithviraj
Hansha
She discovered the song ‘Lamberghini’ before it became popular. She’s memorized the lyrics but doesn’t understand a word of Punjabi.
She says sorry for EVERY. SINGLE. THING. - Even when it’s not her fault. We bet she’ll say sorry after reading this bio.
Design Intern
Content Writer
Mansi Misra Akbar Faisal Designer
We don’t know what Akbar’s taste in music is, tbh. We doubt he even owns a pair of earphones.
Designer
She’s one of the very few people we know who can air guitar the right chords! She’s also banged a few drummers, sorry drums.
dayum! | category
CONT EN TS
Dayum! R&B/Soul Jan 2019
PLAY
SHUFFLE
ALL THE DOPE: PEOPLE There are youngsters out there who are consistently redefining themselves and as they do so, prove to be an overwhelming source of inspiration to us.
OMG LISTEN! NEW CATEGORY ALERT! This month, we spent a lot of time listening to genres we haven’t heard before. Here’s what we found.
THE AGE OF MILLENNIAL TRAVEL AND MUSIC FESTIVALS A traveller met a music geek at a bar. What happened? They exchanged numbers, flirted a little bit and discussed a trend that we follow now!
ALL THE DOPE: MUSIC FESTIVALS It’s 2019! Have you done anything super cool yet? Come next year, when we ask you the same question, we think you might have something to share!
OMG WATCH! ‘Tis the holiday season AND it’s cold. We think it’s a sign to watch a bunch of motherfucking shit!
THE VIDEO REALLY DID KILL THE RADIO HEAD The music video industry has been huge since the beginning of time. Want to know how it all started? Well we traced it all down!
OMG READ! We can assure that these literary pieces will spark a great conversation at the bar counter!
ROUND UP Last month we launched the biggest thing we’ve done so far! Well, we thought it deserved a pat on our own backs!
FROM THE COMMUNITY What’s Under 25 without the fam? We’re celebrating your work and talent! dayum! | Contents
THAT’S IT PEEPS! IT’S BEEN SOLVED! We recently had a conversation with When Chai Met Toast and our very first question was the one everyone wanted to know! What exactly do they mean by When Chai Met Toast? Were they talking about rusk? We never were able to crack it initially and now we can sleep peacefully. It was none of that, they just really loved Chai and Toast. We just tend to overthink. It’s basically what they live on when they’re on tour! There is this tremendous joy the band takes in seeing new faces and now that they’re streaming on various music platforms like Spotify, Saavn, Apple Music and even have a YouTube presence, there just seems to be more and more people flooding to watch them live! Ever since the popular song “Firefly” was unleashed onto the internet in 2016, these 4 lads from Kerala have never bothered looking back. Like, when we revisited the YouTube video of the song, one of the first comments is “It’s like Snow Patrol meets Mumford And Sons! Beautiful!”. Left to Right: Pai Sailesh (drums), Ashwin Gopakumar (vocalist), Palee Francis (keyboard) and Achyuth Jaigopal (guitar and banjos).
Now, let’s be real, in a time where the comment section brings nothing but hate, (that’s one helluva compliment), they still believe that they haven’t really ‘made it’ and that they have a long way to go. They’ve got their eyes set on a new album that they wanna drop in 2020 and are super excited and nervous at the same time. All 4 of them mentioned that this project was super close to their heart and have already started work on it. The album will fuel each and every band member’s individuality and emotions through the words and tunes they cook up. They’ve always written about the similar feelings the band have had, but with their album they’re going out of the box. Fuck 2019, bring me 2020 already! P.S - We asked them what the secret behind Ashwin and Pai’s beard game was (for a friend obviously). “Good ol’ Malayali genetics” was their answer. Can’t argue with that now can we?
dayum! | All The Dope: People!
As the phone rang, I had this super high fever and sounded like a donkey at a choir. Who was I calling? A musician. This was gonna be perfect. If I ever had a chance in making a name in the music scene, the minute he picked up that phone, it would’ve been over. Lulz.
The name “Mahesh” has been in and around the ears of many this year as he dropped his first ever EP “Accept” in September and followed it up with an India tour that he just concluded. Mahesh is currently taking a short break from literally everything at the moment. While on tour with ‘Accept’, he shot 5 music videos, a concert movie and shot some parts of a documentary. So yeah, break well deserved we guess. It’s actually just the calm before the storm. We’ll get to that later, we’ve got a kickass story! Mahesh’s ‘big break’ story is straight outta the movies, it didn’t disappoint us at all! Here goes. Roughly 2 and a half years ago at this friend’s birthday party or ‘gathering’ as he calls it, Mahesh was playing the his famous song ‘Sleep’ for the crowd. We think it was one of those instances every musician must’ve faced. Friend to Crowd: “Hey, my friend is a singer” Crowd: “Oooooo, so cool” 1 member from crowd: “SING!” Whole crowd: SING! SING! SING! SING WOHOOO *Musician shakes head in disapproval but then moves to the stage after too much pressure* These instances are pretty normal, but the one that happened with Mahesh sorta changed his life. Someone shot a video of him singing and put it up on the internet. The next thing he knew was the video went viral online. It amassed around 60k views and 1000 shares on Facebook! Sounds like the TVF’s Humorously Yours Plot, doesn’t it?
Here’s the link to THAT video! Like we mentioned before, Mahesh’s ‘hiatus’ is legitimately the calm before the storm. It all begins with the documentary that still is in production which they’re aiming to release in the second half of the year. While we know what the documentary is about and we’re super excited, we won’t tell you cuz we’re horrible people and we want y’all to find out about it with the world. No, we’re kidding, we just don’t wanna spoil it for you. Mahesh believed that collaborations with everyone is what brought him the taste of success. Especially with the EP, coming from middle class family, collaborations with everyone made it happen. Even collaborations with people outside the music industry (like us!) is super important for any budding artist. We think that advice is applicable to anyone! Advice-giver and stellar musician, Mahesh, everybody!
dayum! | All The Dope: People!
Apoorva Krishna is a 23-year-old violinist who first held her violin at the age of 6! Since then she’s never looked back. Coming from a family full of kickass musicians, she was constantly encouraged to get better at her art. By the age of 16, Apoorva was a natural! She always followed the path of music and even attended Berklee in Spain. She started her training in Carnatic music in India and once she hit Spain she was exposed to a lot more styles of music. She pushed herself to try other forms of music like the Flamenco which is highly cultural to the city. Needless to say, she reaaaal good! Her big break was when she performed with Shankar Mahadevan on a song she composed! How amazing is that? They performed in Bangalore at the Ganesh Utsav.
She only spread her talent since! Every year Tarisio- String Auction House in London provides Young Artist Grants of $5000 to 5 teams across the world. Surprise surprise! Her team was selected for this and they were also the first Indians to get this opportunity. She was all over the news! I mean, come on! She did everyone back home super proud and this isn’t the best part. Using the grant she conducted workshops to rural kids about classical music. Apart from being a brilliant violinist, she’s also a mad good human being. Yes, mad good human being. We said that, it made the edit and it stayed. We’re proud.
dayum! | All The Dope: People!
It was the first of December and the holiday season had just kicked in. Under 25 and Saavn decided to partner up and do something exciting. Go to Echoes of Earth. Not to attend the festival like one would imagine instead we decided to have a conversation with a certain youngster way before his set started. Sid Sriram is a lot of things but we decided to keep it super casual just ask him some of the basics. That is college, love and maaaaybe music (Jk jk, a lot of music). “Music is just something I did every day but I never knew it was like a career path per se, I just knew it was something I was passionate about like second nature almost.” He told us when we asked him how it all started. Most would know him from his famous Tamil hits like Ennodu Nee Irundhaal, Thalli Pogathey, Endhira, Logathu Sundariye, just to name a few. But we know him to be this super chill guy
who wrote corny poetry back in High School. As mentioned earlier he never really took music seriously when it came to a career choice but with time he did and found himself at Berkeley University. That’s right ladies, he did the whole ‘formal’ education thing. “My education was fully in music, I just committed to being a musician”, said Sid Sriram. Moreover, his parents were fully supportive of his choice and encouraged to give in 100%. But what about those who didn’t have the same support from their families? Here’s some advice from the man himself; “If you’re hitting that kind of resistance on the home front perhaps or even let’s say a family member might be lukewarm on it but your social circles or your friends might be like “Oh, that’s not viable career” you just have to be able to buckle down and be like this is what I’m gonna do.”
dayum! | All The Dope: People!
So question is, did he party and have the ideal college life? You bet he did! He partied all night and had his fun. He lived his moments, made memories and made mistakes but came back to track because of his burning hunger and desire to become a unique musician. It’s all about that driving force and passion. Towards the end of the day, we’ve come to realize that if you want something you’ll probably get it but only if you work towards it.
As someone who often writes his music, writer’s block is no joke. So, we asked how he gets over one of those and that’s when we discovered the artist side of him as well.
You owe it to yourself.
“To get over writer’s block I just started doodling and just to turn my mind off and do something that I could do without thinking...really get in touch with my subconscious. Over the last 4 years, I’ve started doing it a lot more. At first to get over writer’s block but then it became a form of creative expression.”
When asked what influences him to write his music and he told us it was all based on experiences, something as simple as being homesick could trigger an emotion that could be made into a song. That’s what brought out the authenticity to his art and music.
Isn’t that amazing, harnessing talent when another talent is being a little difficult? He described it as an escape from reality and something he didn’t have to stress about, he didn’t have to worry about getting it wrong either.
There are always difficulties when getting into the industry as well. Initially, even though some of his songs were hits, it didn’t have his phone ringing with music producers on the other side. Thali Pogathey spread like wildfire and that was just luck. The song clicked and people responded to it well but that’s also when he realized he needs to be around this rush. He needed to understand the industry a lot more so being there in present time was absolutely crucial.
After the amazing conversation we had with him we realized he’s just a regular guy like you and me which is probably what makes his music and voice super exciting and vulnerable. The interview was a lot longer and there are only so many words can do but luckily we shot the whole thing! So head to our YouTube channel and watch the whole conversation we had with Sid Sriram in our new segment called College Stories.
dayum! | All The Dope: People!
THANK U, NEXT
ARIANA GRANDE Pop | 2018
This song is the breakup anthem of the year! Firstly, Ariana Grande thanks all her Exes, how common is that? Moreover, the music video was a major throwback! Some of the most iconic RomComs from the early 2000s like 13 Going On 30, Mean girls, Legally Blonde and more were recreated and honestly it made our hearts melt.
NICO AND THE NINERS
EASTSIDE
21 PILOTS
BENNY BLANCO, HALSEY AND KHALID
This one was a tough one to crack but if you’ve been a fan the 21 Pilots then you’d be able to make sense of most of it. The album created a picture or a story around depression and every song in the album is a connect. This song goes is for people that suffer with depression or for those that have gotten out of it. The lyrics focus on how you shouldn’t let negative thoughts control you.
We have a new singer and producer in town and it’s Benny Blanco. His debut single “Eastside” featuring two beautiful voices, Khalid and Halsey, has made us swoon. The music video dropped the same day the song did and we weren’t disappointed, it had a different story to tell! Actually, 3 different stories.
Alternative | 2018
Pop | 2018
dayum! | OMG Listen!
LAMBERGHINI
SHEIKH CHILLI
Pop | 2018
Hip Pop | 2018
Honestly, this song has zero deep meaning. It’s just the perfect song to drive your car to or listen to when you’re staring out the window. It’s your typical distressed girl needs handsome boy scenario and of course, there is a Lamborghini or shall we say, Lamberghini. This song will not leave your head, you’ve been warned.
The Indian Hip Hop scene has been growing over the last 10 years and usually when there is drama in the scene we aren’t the first ones to know about it. Unless, they produce a Diss track. Raftaar specifically said this track wasn’t a diss track but we’d like to believe otherwise because of the lyrics.
BURN THE HOUSE DOWN
JEET
DOORBEEN
AJR
Pop | 2018
Listen to this and you’ll think we’re at them clubs every day! AJR (which stands for the initials of the brothers - Adam, Jack and Ryan Met) dropped this single after the release of their album “The Click”. It has a fun *let’s get turnt* kinda vibe when this song is playing, but the song represents the current political climate in America, depicting the power of change that needed limelight.
RAFTAAR
RITVIZ
Pop | 2018
There are some songs out there that’ll just make your body move automatically, without you even realising! Jeet is one such song and boy were we glad to hear him live at the NH7 Weekender because dancing with all the concert vibes just adds to the music experience.
dayum! | OMG Listen!
Do you remember, Coldplay and A.R Rahman sing ‘Vande Mataram’ and THAT Modi speech? Or Ed Sheeran Live in Mumbai which was unfortunately overshadowed by Farah Khan’s hugs? OR Justin Bieber ft. Lip Sync? If you do, let’s begin. Okay, let’s be real for a minute. Music festivals are a thing. Scratch that, music festivals are the thing and if you travelled to any see any of the above performances, you’ve participated in Music Tourism. Also, yes, we know that the 2nd and 3rd examples are concerts, we just added them for the gags. We’re no stranger to the likes of Coachella, Tomorrowland, Glastonbury Music festival and so on and it’s safe to say that we’re also no strangers to the fact that we may have had many failed attempts in planning to attend some of these festivals ourselves!
festivals from across the country, which means by now, in terms of revenue, scale and attendees, it’s gotten a whole lot bigger! Millennial’s travel across the country to catch their favourite artists, with tickets for these events selling like motherfucking pancakes 3 months in prior. Trust us, we had to do it ourselves and that’s when we realized that the hype behind these music festivals is nothing but real!
That isn’t a stress anymore. Not because we Indians have finally caught on to the music festival fever from the west and although, we’re super late to the party, we’re at the party nonetheless. Over 25 big-ticket festivals happen every year which is a massive jump from the 2 festivals of this scale which were happening 20 years ago. Fun fact: India’s first ever music festival was run by the Imperial Tobacco Company (now, ITC) in 1968, which was to promote their menthol cigarettes. It was called the Simla Beat Contest!
A 2016 reports, say that around 1.5 million unique attendees attend music dayum! | The Age Of Millenial Travel And Music Festivals
In India, music festivals have become a great way for local, national and international independent artists to showcase their talents and that’s not all. It gives a huge boost to local employment and tourist footfall. This gives Indian towns and cities a chance to present their culture and heritage to the rest of the country and the world. For example, Sunburn’s 10th edition which was held in Pune, as opposed to Goa, (where they held the previous 9 editions) generated 1.4 crores as direct revenue to the government and generated a business of about INR 250 crores for the region through hotel, F&B, transport and miscellaneous expenses incurred by us, the millennial travellers!
in itself is an experience that every new age millennial craves for. Most music festivals also commit to making hella fun experience zones, fun installations and instagrammable photo opportunities across the venue. Trust us on this. Follow any of the members on the team, especially @siddharthmohandas, he’s got a whole lot of them on his feed! So yeah, the music festival scene in India over the years has become deeply imbedded with the culture of millennials across the country and every sector of business, including the government, is benefitting from it. Everybody loves music festivals!
BookMyShow.com reported attendance Okay mostly, everyone. There must be a of fans from all parts of the country while few aunties and event managers cribbing Viagogo.com reported that fans from about it here and there, but, meh. over 30 countries attended the festival with a large majority coming in from the Middle East, Europe and South-East Asia. Meanwhile, the change of location from Goa to Pune reported a decline in the hotel businesses in Goa in that very year (i.e) 2016. With most of these music festivals set in the outskirts of cities across the country, new age millennials also finally get the opportunity to say #wanderlust on Instagram. Travelling to these destinations
dayum! | The Age Of Millenial Travel And Music Festivals
dayum! | All The Dope: Music Festivals
NH7 WEEKENDER The team at Under 25 attended the one that went down in Shillong (purely for work purposes, of course), while Melo, Anto & Shreyans attended the Pune one as well - lucky fuckers! The NH7 Weekender is one of India’s biggest music festivals which brings down the best of music from both across the world and the country. With multiple stages specifically dedicated to different genres like Rock, EDM, Reggae, Indie & Indian, the Weekender is quite the feast for every pair of ears! It feels like Shillong and Pune compete with one another, with Shillong having the vibe of well, Shillong versus the Pune boasting a roster of comics from across the country performing as well! Last year at the Weekender, bigwigs like Poets of The Fall, French Kiwi Juice, Shankar Mahadevan, Switchfoot, Ritviz, God Is An Astronaut, SalimSulaiman, Joe Satriani and many more! This year’s editions were the biggest we’ve ever seen! With a sea of lights at every nook and corner of the venue, there’s just ample amounts of good vibes for all your senses.
dayum! | All The Dope: Music Festivals
dayum! | All The Dope: Music Festivals
ECHOES OF EARTH Echoes of Earth is the country’s first and only sustainable and ecologically crafted music festival. With 4 uniquely designed stages, this festival’s USP is it’s earthly vibes across the venue. Celebrating one earth, which is one of their primary purposes, last year, they featured the likes of (((O))), F.K.J, Grouch In Dub, Dualist Inquiry, Aditi Ramesh, When Chai Met Toast and so much more. With audiences across the country dressed up in vibrant colours, the music is feel good, the lights are feel good and everything is a fucking feel good! Echoes of Earth is usually held towards the end of the year in Bangalore, Karnataka. We highly recommend this one is definitely for all of Y’all!
dayum! | All The Dope: Music Festivals
dayum! | All The Dope: Music Festivals
MAGNETIC FIELDS We all know music is magic and we’ve overused the term more than needed. But picture this; You’re in the culturally and historically driven state of Rajasthan. Better, you’re in Alsisar Mahal, sure you might just be visiting but imagine you’re among 100 others cheering and roaring for the next musical act ready to take over a stage. That’s what the Magnetic Fields Festival is but more. Chilling by the grass, grooving to the music and flying kites, all this while watching the sunset. The Magnetic Fields Festival is a festival that revolves around contemporary music and arts, for 3 days straight. It’s got 2 stages that showcase the world’s most talented stars, whose style in music is super underground and adventurous hence attracting only the most open-minded urban individuals there is. This year, the line-up included Denis Sulta, Shanti Celeste, Moxie, Nabihah Iqbal, Zokhuma, any many many more! There aren’t enough words to describe the beauty and concept this music festival delivers but being a part of it is definitely a feeling/experience you should never have pending on their bucket list.
dayum! | All The Dope: Music Festivals
BO BURNHAM MAKE HAPPY We, *has a lengthy argument with co-writer*, I believe that this is one of the greatest comedy specials to have seen the light of day. The teenage YouTube sensation, Bo Burnham is extremely avant-garde with ‘Make Happy’. With perfect programming, spectacular musical ability and just this really weird sense of humour, Bo blends live performance with a musical feel and uses every single benefit of editing and filmmaking to its advantage. If you do watch it, tell @shibishetty what you think and if you caught THAT continuity error.
MEYEROWITZ STORIES Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman in a movie, together. If that doesn’t at least make you wanna add this to your list, we’ll give you plenty of reasons to go ahead and watch it! The film has an artistic vibe running throughout which is split into 4 parts, all-embracing one thing; family. Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler are brothers who’ve lived completely different lives from one another. The former, a rich businessman with the world at his feet and the latter, a divorced father who’s shifted back into his father’s house (Dustin Hoffman). While their father is hospitalized, these adults try to bury the hatchet and move on, in the most childish way possible.
dayum! | OMG Watch This!
KURT COBAIN MONTAGE OF HECK From his birth in Aberdeen to his untimely death at the age of 27, ‘Montage of Heck’ is tormentors, which makes it so real. From the lows to the highs (yep, even the drugs), this beautiful documentary brings a very specific perspective about the Nirvana lead singer. Fun fact, the director Brett Morgan worked with Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love on this documentary. Well, now we know why there’s such immaculate detail in the storytelling of what seemed like an absolute rollercoaster of a lifestyle.
BLACK MIRROR: BANDERSNATCH. 2018 was complete when Netflix announced a Black Mirror movie. I mean imagine a year without constant reminders about how technology is going to make the human race it’s slaves and they seriously upped the game with Bandersnatch. The movie is about a young programmer who adapts a fantasy novel into a video game where YOU make most of his choices in the fim. Bandersnatch is an interactive film. Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking! Viewers of the movie dictate how the storyline of the film depending on the decisions you make. YES, THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE THE GOOSEBUMPS BOOKS BACK IN THE DAY.
dayum! | OMG Watch
VIDEO VIDEO REALLY REALLY DID DID
THE THE RADIO RADIO STAR STAR
It’s a Sunday afternoon and MTV is running in the background. One of the biggest music videos MTV ever featured, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is playing, leaving hundreds of people confused and wondering what the concept was all about. ‘Is Michael Jackson starring in a horror movie?’ was one of the most common questions being asked as the idea of a conceptualised music video was so bizarre to pop culture fans.
smaller towns of America and it also showcased a lot of artists and bands that weren’t heard of. Kids would listen and rush to local record shops and grab an album of the artist they heard and saw on MTV.
The first music video to air in the summer of 1981 was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’, pretty ironic huh? Considering that’s exactly what MTV did. By that we mean, they quite literally killed radio. Moreover, MTV’s second ever music video Back in the day, children, teens, adults was ‘You Better Run’ by Pat Benatar which and even old folks would wait in front of was another sly dig by MTV targeting their cable TV for the next big music video record companies that didn’t believe in the or song. Much has changed today with channel. Savagery game on point. access to music being just a click away. MTV has always been one of the largest distributors for music videos and music was always released there first. It was the platform that would either make or break an artist’s career. They’d kill to get a slot on MTV as it was super hard to even be considered to be featured on their platform. It’s hard to even imagine issues like this now. With the power of the internet, music videos are easily uploaded onto YouTube no questions asked. Although, it wasn’t always like this for MTV. Initially, the idea of a 24-hour music channel was super bizarre. The plan to have a channel positioned as a ‘radio with pictures’ was rejected when the pitch was made at first but, that changed in 1981 when the idea was finally approved. The MTV founder had only 7 months to build the channel as they wanted teenagers and college students to be talking about it that summer. The dream was simple; MTV was supposed to be the only conversation in town. At the time, MTV was only aired in the
Thriller The music video for Thriller was such a shocking concept because people had never seen anything like this before. It was so scary and Michael Jackson wasn’t even a frightening person at the time. The Library of Congress added it to its National Film Registry in 2009. It’s the first music video in their registry. It was a cultural break. The choreography, costumes and dialogue was all a start to something new and huge.
dayum! | Video Really Killed The Radio Star
VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR Trevor Horn wrote the song after reading a science fiction story about an opera singer in a world with no sound. The music video aired on MTV on August 1st, 1981 and that’s when MTV knew they were going to make it. The Buggles believed that everything in life is artificial even music and hence Trevor Horn sings in a robotic voice while the instruments were made to give a computerised feel.
The grass wasn’t always green for MTV. They lost almost $50 million in its first year and were $1 dollar away from bankruptcy! The channel only showed around 250 music videos every 24 hours at the time and that wasn’t enough to sustain themselves considering record labels spent big bucks on producing these music videos.
a slot on MTV as well. In fact, a lot of black artists has trouble been showcased on MTV. Why?
It was the 80s and racism was a whole other issue altogether. But here’s the gossip! CBS had threatened to pull all their artists outta MTV if Jackson was ignored and suddenly Thriller and Billy Music videos add huge value to the Jean hit the channel. artist’s song and sometimes it is what Coincidence? We think not. makes the artist’s song go viral. In order With the outbreak of ‘Thriller’ and the to do so, MTV had to be in more homes hype, it followed people realised the and needed to be watched a lot more. So music video industry was no joke. It could you know what they did? They used that be bigger. AS BIG AS A MOVIE! $1 they had to get MTV in every home Jackson rocked the fedora and single possible, through Mick Jagger. glove in Billy Jean’s music video which in Through multiple strings pulled they turn became a look for all his stage shows. finally got hold of Jagger and a meeting regarding an Ad that would feature the Rolling Stones. They offered them the $1 they had and Jagger agreed because well, he loved their confidence. Just like that ‘I want my MTV’ was a commercial aired and everyone wanted it because Jagger was in it. The rest is history. MTV started to change the way the industry was looked at. Sure, the song mattered but so did the act. A music video secured an artist’s image and style. It was the platform to be showcased on. Remember how we mentioned Michael Jackson playing in the background one Sunday afternoon? Well, Michael Jackson struggled to get dayum! | Video Really Killed The Radio Star
The song and music video was charged towards America’s police brutality, gun violence and racism. The song is also sprinkled with ad-libs from some of the most popular black artists likes 21 Savage, Quavo, Young Thug and more. Apparently, the song took a few years to perfect. 80% of the song was completed in 2 hours that is, the main hook. The rest took a tad bit longer.
Cut to 2018, A world where MTV is great but let’s be real we have the internet. content but this music video and song was on top of the charts in the first week of its Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules’ was a song that release. released before the music video dropped. Initially it was doing well but then the Proving that if the content is good, it’s here charts blew, after the video was released. to stay. A simple concept like a slumber party Music Videos also help us understand what turned empowerment session was enough the artist has in mind. Most artists pitch in to keep the song on charts but, the truth is when it comes to the ideation behind a the video is relatable and real. music video. So, when your favourite artist drops a They aren’t only about the glam and new song you tend to go check if they’ve reliability. Childish Gambino’s ‘This is released a music video as well. A song America’ released in May which showed often hits you at all the right places and a lot of issues America faces currently. you kinda-sorta understand what the From racism to gun violence, it showed us artist’s been through. everything through sleek dance moves. The music video was talked about for Moreover, a music video just increases the months and people tried breaking every passion you feel for the music cause it’s single easter egg it offered. a lot more personalised. Additional quirks include seeing your favourite singer dance It made us believe that music videos aren’t (Ed Sheeran in ‘Thinking Out Loud’) or act just about the Glitz ‘n’ Glam but could be which in turn ALSO adds to the success of another way to talk to about political and their song. social issues. People are constantly believed to want only funny Music videos, before the trend started out was strictly a marketing device artists dayum! | Video Really Killed The Radio Star
used to promote their music but thanks to MTV’s popularity people noticed there’s more than just money to the growth of this industry. Music videos have the capability to popularise and artist and even help their career growth. Music videos are no longer just the song and dance, it’s so much more.
LIKE A VIRGIN This song faced a lot of controversies but then again it is Madonna. Some Christian listeners thought Madonna was mocking their faith. Needless to say, Madonna is also another name for the Virgin Mary so we understand their eyebrow raises
There are intricate storylines that keep the song and the music video away from each other. This has been a trend that’s been going on forever, only that we notice them now since production value has doubled. This results in the final output because only if there’s proper planning will the audience consume the product. Madonna, for example, was only noticed as a talented (sexy) dancer due to her appearance in her music videos. Her music video to her hit song ‘Like a Virgin’ was so scandalous for it’s time it made MTV lose their shit. It was everything MTV was looking for. The power of music and a music video was hyped and shown off. This was also backed up with proof considering her song hit the top of every single chart there ever was. For fuck’s sake, we have awards for music videos. Yet, music videos being a dead form of art is a rumour that keeps floating around but it isn’t. It’s like we all know Santa isn’t real but we’d still refer to him a hundred times around Christmas. In the last year, any song that hit the charts has a smashing music video behind it. It also shows the country’s potential (K-pop being one perfect example) in pushing for a music video. The music video industry is only growing and we have more ways of watching the desired video. Social media is one such driving force. Twitter and Instagram is another way people share videos. Now, dayum! | Video Really Killed The Radio Star
people also have the power to hate on something they don’t like. In comparison to watching a video on MTV back in the day and not liking a clip would only mean switching up the channel but now you can dislike it, hate on it and even report it. Enough to make them want to take it down. Music videos have been super creative. It’s no longer an idea that’s expanded. It’s more, it involves a screenplay, a director, a kickass budget and a brilliant editor. Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Humble’, ‘Thankyou, Next’ by Ariana Grande, ‘The Gospel’ series by Panic! at the Disco all have amazing sets, production value and a brilliant screenplay. Fans are left wondering what each easter egg in the music video is, they are usually left solving hidden meanings that are scattered around the music video. The song is not even a concern, in fact, sometimes it’s not even connected to the music video apart from the base theme. Taylor Swift’s ‘Blank Space’ has a dark humour narrative, which is something we see in bigger productions but now it’s in a music video that’s about 4 minutes long.
Panic! At The Disco has a lot of brilliant music videos but their most iconic ones are Say Amen, This is Gospel and Emperor’s New Clothes. Say Amen being the latest of the series, which also BTW is super gory. Firstly, no one realised those three music videos were connected until the internet pointed it out. Not that it was a hidden secret but because they were all released at different times (we talking 3 music videos in the span of 5-6 years) without any context. You’d have to be a strong fan to notice.
BOYS CHARLIE XCX This is strictly here cause it’s one of the writer’s favourite music videos till date. The whole video sexualises men in the cutest ways possible and sure, that’s what our system is trying to end but Diplo playing with puppies is something you wouldn’t get anywhere else. For god sake have you seen the cast list? There are 62 of the most handsome actors, musicians, activists, influencers and more! It was truly the purest form of the term ‘Cherry of Top’.
dayum! | Video Really Killed The Radio Star
Amine’s ‘Red Mercedes’ took another route with their music video by showcasing the racism African-Americans face in America. While the societal norm is something that’s often discussed, Amine addressed it with a humorous twist. Pop stars ignoring their music videos is a myth.
another music video. It’s the art direction that brings out perfection to the theme of the concept.
Over the last few years, music videos have changed. People think twice before picking up a camera of their choice. Filmmaking isn’t just about making films, it’s become so much more and the art of creating This isn’t just in America, look at the budget music videos is now considered as serious India has for music videos. filmmaking. From the likes of Badshah to Diljit Dosanjh, everyone’s got kickass music videos. A good music director now can make an Including fashion, these boys are in high- artist’s career. Britney Spears built her end fashion from head to toe creating career through her song ‘Oops...I Did views on YouTube like never before. They it Again’ which surprise surprise has an are close competitors to Bollywood as insane music video for its time. Oh the early well. That’s a fact. 2000s, what a great time to be around! They are even allocated movie budgets for crying out loud! To be very honest, music videos not only tell the story of the song it’s for but also tell That leads us to the final question. the artist’s story. More than what they are, they also showcase what they wish to be. What makes a good music video? Through their songs, we have a lyrical Well, the concept, the storyline, the set, reference but thanks to music videos we the treatment, lights, camera, editing and have visuals as well. blah blah blah. But the one thing every standout music video has in common is its art direction. It’s the art direction that makes a music video standout. There’s only so much you can do to not let the video look similar to
dayum! | Video Really Killed The Radio Star
dayum! | category
LEMON JAIL: ON THE ROAD WITH THE REPLACEMENTS BILL SULLIVAN
Drugs? Antics? Rock’n’roll? Lemon Jail is a book about the underground music scene in America BUT in 1983. Actually, it’s more than just that, it’s the house parties and college radios; everything before the internet. It follows the life of Bill Sullivan, a punk fan from Minneapolis who managed to get himself a job with the Replacements. Yes, the REPLACEMENTS. The books tell us what it’s like to be on the road for the most part and trust us when we say this, the ride wasn’t smooth. Wish we had pictures, eh? WELL GUESS WHAT? He snapped Polaroids throughout his time with the band which are in the book. So it’s not just his words that create a picture, it’s actual pictures. It’s a book with physical memories of everything from the 1980s and it you’re a fan of the Replacements this book was written for you.
HOW PRINCE’S ANDROGYNOUS GENIUS CHANGED THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT MUSIC AND GENDER SIMON REYNOLDS The 80s! What a time to be alive. Especially because of some the greatest musical geniuses. What we fail to look at is the growth of androgyny and the involvement of musicians like Prince, Marc Almond, Jimmy Somerville, and many many more. It was all about the glitter, glam and gossip! In this article written by Simon Reynolds for Pitchfork, he talked about the statements Prince made back in the day and how they still affect the way we approach the music scene. Definitely worth a read! After all, it’s about Prince, the man who wore fishnet stockings and high heeled boots! Read here
dayum! | OMG Read
This month saw us do the biggest ever thing we’ve dreamt of. Over the last 3 months, everyone in the team worked super hard to even attempt what we did!
Dear Obama is an open letter from the youth across India to invite former US president Mr. Barack Obama to our country and have conversations about winning against all odds.
So what did we do?
Under 25 is India’s Largest Youth Community and we believe Mr. Obama is the perfect ambassador for our goal, which is to build a better future and bridge the gap between generations.
We’re attempting to bring down none other than Mr. Barack Obama down to India to address the world’s largest youth population as the keynote speaker at the Under 25 Summit ‘19! Casual. We’ve always believed in being a bunch of irrational optimists and with our campaign ‘Dear Obama’ we took that belief to a whole other level. But, why did we do it? India’s youngsters have a way of making themselves heard when they need to. This time, the team at Under 25 is doing all that it can to make one of the most powerful global leaders to come to India and speak to today’s young leaders.
Here’s what the creative youngsters in India have to say to Mr. Obama. Watch here. Ever since the launch of the campaign on the 11th of December, 2018, ‘Dear Obama’ has gone viral across social media platforms such as YouTube 80,000 + views, Twitter - 11,638 Tweets with a total engagement from 7,337 accounts along with 437051 impressions & Instagram - 5 Million +. The campaign also created ripples across news platforms in the country.
dayum! | Round Up
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
dayum! | Round Up
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
READ MORE
dayum! | Round Up
Here are the people that made it happen! Directed By: The Youth of India Produced By: Under 25 & One Digital Entertainment Writers: Kushal Menghrajani Shibi Shetty Sreelekshmi Prithviraj Director of Photography: Ashfaq Ahmad Editors: Shaun Reneaux Pranoy Biswas Music - Sridhar Varadarajan | Studio 304 Vocals - HanuManKind Cast: Team Under 25 dayum! | Round Up
Here’s what the youth of India has to say to Mr. Obama. Thank you for portraying a romantic husband, a loving father and the perfect family man in a world with confused ideals. - Ashley
You redefined both the characteristics of a successful president and the way politics is looked at. To have maintained a work-life balance during such a stressful presidency is something that I strongly admire! - Anonymous
Thank you for being the perfect amalgamation of swag and suave. - Dhanyatha J K
We’ve had multiple rulers in our country but none of them have been leaders. Please come down to India as our youth awaits you. - Srestha Majumder.
Your support towards the LGBTQ community made a huge difference in our fight across the world. - Arjun. dayum! | From The Community
dayum! | category