Gorillaz fictional multiverse pushed the boundaries of what made a band 'real' or not. Dazed posted a nice little write up on the Gorillaz empire, read it here. Also, for posterity, watch their episode of MTV Cribs here:
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Paul Ryan and Glenn Beck aren’t the only ones turning their backs on Donald Trump. 30 Days, 30 Songs unites artists against Trump, who will release one song a day until November 8th to protest his campaign. The first song was released a few days ago from Death Cab For Cutie called “Million Dollar Loan” (below). You can check out the other artists here, and remember to register to vote so your voice will be heard in the upcoming election.
Check out kaptainkristain's analysis of genre through Gorillaz. Check out this sick documentary about Childish Gambino by kaptainkristain.
The Weeknd released “Starboy” and paired it with an extremely metaphorical music video. Rumor has it that this is a preface to the upcoming album to be released November 25th, also entitled Starboy. This track obviously has The Weeknd’s signature vocals, but it is much more pop, which likely can be attributed to Daft Punk.
In my opinion, the “Starboy” video is much more significant to The Weeknd and where he plans to go with this upcoming album. It opens with a very 2010 Nicki Minaj from Kanye West’s “Monster” move, essentially killing the old version of himself. The Weeknd emerges with a diamond filled cross, all leather, sporting a new haircut and Drake-esque shape up. His cross is not the only religious overtone, the revitalized The Weeknd takes a glowing cross off the wall and carries it (almost like Jesus?) and proceeds to smash all of the awards and evidence of wealth in the apartment. He also states “I come alive in the fall time” which clearly states his opinion of this upcoming fall album. As he drives off, a black cat gets into the car with him, but in the next shot it has transformed into a panther. So does The Weeknd feel that his 2012 cat-like self will be transformed into a panther with this album? I guess we’ll be the judge of that on November 25th. Watch more here via The Fader
In light of his new relationship with Arianna Grande, Mac is clearly in a very romantic mindset, and his most recent album is extremely indicative of that. From what I’ve read, Mac has decided that the whole hookup rapper culture is not for him. He appears to be a real relationship man, not based on previous songs and videos, but recently he appears to have matured a bit.
The Divine Feminine is exactly this, it has consistent overtones of femininity. It is still sexually explicit, but less demeaning and more in appreciation of women and the female form. Throughout the album, Mac uses horns and string instruments which gives it the feeling of a classic ballad or romantic song. Although this album was rather short, Mac did have a few features including Anderson.Paak, Ty Dolla $ign, CeeLo Green, Arianna Grande and Kendrick Lamar. It might not be my favorite work from Mac Miller, but there are a few highlights that I enjoy. These are “Dang!”, “Stay”, “Cinderella” (feat. Ty. Dolla $ign), “My Favorite Part”, and “God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty” (feat. Kendrick Lamar). Imagine Dragons will always have a special place in my heart. I know that this review is coming a little more than a year and a half late but why not take the time to give "Smoke and Mirrors", their latest album, the time it deserves?
I have to admit that I jumped on the "Night Visions" bandwagon, becoming a fan of what I heard on the radio. After a couple of good singles, I finally got the album and devoured it. Really good. It was on repeat forever. However, "Smoke and Mirrors" is what really made me a lifelong fan of this group. As others have said, Imagine Dragons really could have capitalized on their success of their previous album and really sold-out to make this one radio polished. I didn't listen to any of the singles that were released before the album premiered because I like to treat myself to the surprise of unwrapping an album via listening. It's like Christmas Day for me. Upon first listen to the album all the way through, the only thing I could concentrate on was how sad it was. How often the singer pleads for forgiveness stood out immediately (Shots, I Bet My Life, I'm So Sorry) and the intro screaming in some tracks caught me off-guard. Overall, I liked it, but it stayed unlisted to in my ITunes library for around a year. Then, as life would have it, I was going through a hard time and I found myself going back to the album. During the second listen, something really stuck with me and it was instantly one of my most favorite albums of all time. Renoylds really doesn't try to hide his despair or his depression or whatever he has experienced. He sings honestly, with a despair that I could relate to. I find the album to be deeply and quietly religious, something Imagine Dragons is inadvertently known for. "The Fall" is a perfect way to close an album that opened up so much, so honestly. It's one of my all time favorite songs- ever. This is probably due to how significant and lyric heavy this album is. Everything comes full circle with the last song. I read an interview from the band awhile ago, and I'm not sure who said this, but it was something to the extent of "Listeners who have not yet sold their souls to the devil will really enjoy this album" which really ticked me off. This album is about the human experience. It's about realizing that there are material things in life (Gold) and feeling depressed (Smoke in Mirrors, Dream, etc) but still acknowledging that life goes on (The Fall). This album is grounded in love and everything good in the world. They captured life's messiness in the most relatable way. Being a strong advocate for their often overlooked second album, I attended their concert last New Years Eve at Foxwoods. The Smoke and Mirrors tour was equally as impressive as their album and the best concert I've ever been to. I've always rolled my eyes at the over hype concerts sometimes receive but this one was as close to religious experience for me. I'm excited to hear what comes after The Fall. In case you missed it, Halsey called out Buzzfeed on Twitter for an article written about female singers and their sexuality. The article, written by Shannon Keating and entitled “What Does A Queer Pop Star Look Like In 2016?”, aimed to address how lesbian and bisexual women in the music industry are forced to suppress their sexuality and adopt a more heteronormative persona. While Keating’s main argument about heteroculture dominating our entertainment industry and causing female artists to comply with said culture, some of her more specific points weren’t phrased as well as they could have been. Keating made assumptions about female artists’ sexuality as a “phase” or a thing of the past, noting examples like Katy Perry, Jessie J, and Demi Lovato. While I agree with Keating that the music industry makes it very difficult for LGBT+ women to flourish, I don’t think you can safely make assumptions about someone else’s sexuality and decisions. And Halsey didn’t think so either. In response to the article, published on September 16th, Halsey released a series of tweets calling out Buzzfeed. She has since deleted the tweets, but I have screenshots below from Nylon. Jenny Lee, the author of the Nylon article covering Halsey’s response, writes, “While the article’s intention may not have been a negative one, the suggestion that Halsey is ‘toning down the queerness of her image’ directly plays into the notion that she must choose straight or gay, and Halsey seems to have taken issue with the undertones of bi-erasure in the article.”
Again, I am not criticizing Keating, because I think Buzzfeed’s article raises a lot of valid points. However, I don’t think it should have included a critique of Halsey’s sexuality and her life. Halsey identifies as bisexual, which isn’t a quantifiable label. You cannot “measure” how bisexual she is by analyzing the love interests in her music videos or highlighting her past romantic partners. In the words of Halsey herself, a “tiresome analysis of my 1 year in the public eye and the ignorance of 8+ years of sexual discovery to determine if I’m truly queer.” As police brutality against African Americans escalates, many artists of color are using their elevated platforms to raise awareness. TI is set to release his new EP, “Us or Else,” with Meek Mill and Killer Mike. He has released a few music videos to accompany the EP, including the two below for “We Will Not” and “Warzone.” Both are very politically charged. “We Will Not” shows images of #BLM protestors, signs, and headlines from police killings. The imagery is powerful, especially when accompanied with the song. TI took a different approach with “Warzones,” choosing instead to stage racial-reversed shootings of black men. The video shows black cops shooting and killing white men, with the cases of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Keith Lamont Scott, and more. The video is dedicated to all the black victims of police violence. Although this next song is older, it’s still very relevant to the movement. Everyone knows of Beyonce’s “Lemonade,” and the first single off the album “Formation.” “Formation” caused controversy over its performance at the Super Bowl halftime show (read more about the performance and the symbolism in the song here). An even older song addressing the movement is “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar. “Alright” has been adopted as the anthem for the #BLM movement. Lamar specifically channeled the movement in his Grammy performance (watch it here). Other artists contributing to #BLM include Miguel’s “How Many (Black Lives)?,” Jay-Z’s “Spiritual,” “Hands Up” by Daye Jack and Killer Mike, and “Black Rage” by Lauryn Hill. It’s important that artists (especially black artists) will large followings speak out against police violence and the institutionalized racism that continues to plague the U.S.
“Us or Else” is now available through Tidal. |
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