Mixtapemotions

  • “Meltdown” by Niall Horan, Wednesday, May 31, 2023

    Pop is having an incredible year. Starting out with Sam Smith‘s genre- (and gender) blending Gloria to this month’s yacht-rock inspired The Album by Jonas Brothers, what I once would consider guilty pleasures I would argue now rival the musical staples of my hipster past. The year isn’t even half over, and I still haven’t digested many of the albums that have come out. But if the two singles, “Heaven” and “Meltdown,” Niall Horan released before his rumored June release of The Show have any bearing on the upcoming album, I’ll be adding this to my list of albums that completely blindsided me with awesomeness. 


    WHEN IT ALL MELTS DOWN, I’LL BE THERE. These days, I’ve been listening to Spotify’s curated playlists at work. “Meltdown” is a song that has been added to several of the new hits playlists, so I started hearing it quite often. I thought the song was catchy, but it initially got lost with the other tons of songs I could never remember. But little by little, I started to enjoy the campfire-like chorus and the fun production sounds. And it made me start thinking about Fine Line by Harry Styles, particularly “Golden,” the album’s opening track. I didn’t know who Niall Horan was. His music appeared in several playlists alongside Taylor Swift and other pop superstars, and because I haven’t been a faithful pop listener, I figured that the singer’s music had just missed me somehow. Part of my process for determining my daily song is listening to music, systematically (in a way that makes sense to me) going through my library, and when I get up from my desk, I see if I’m humming a song. If the song lasts until I return to my desk, I’ll stop listening to whatever playlist I’m listening to and find the album containing the ear worm. If the song is so infectious, I start listening to the artist’s back catalog. 

    LOSIN’ YOUR MIND  IN THE MIRROR. So, I clicked on Niall Horan’s Spotify page and listened to the latest singles and their acoustic counterparts. I started scrolling down, slightly distracted by his photos and how incredibly handsome he is. Then I read his short Spotify biography, and I felt so dumb. Along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Thomlinson, and Zayn Malik, Niall Horan was a One Direction member. It’s the kind of thing I can live with not knowing if I hadn’t been writing about music for over two years. But, to be fair, Harry Styles’ critical acclaim and now consistent charting on Billboard’s Hot 100 was the only reason that One Direction came on my radar. Zayn’s music was often played in the gym, so I was aware of him as an artist even if I wasn’t listening to his music. I couldn’t name a Liam Payne song, but I recognized his name if I heard it. Louis Thomlinson has the lowest streams of all One Direction members. Perhaps because of his new music, Horan has the second-highest number of streams after Harry Styles and just above Zayn. Horan, however, has yet to have a Billboard Top 10 hit, so that could be the reason why he slipped under my radar. “Heaven” petered out at number 62. Will “Meltdown” be Horan’s song of the summer?

    lyric video:

    Live performance in Tokyo (on The Voice):

    Acoustic version:





  • “다시 만난 세계” (Into the New World) by Girls’ Generation (소년 시대 SNSD), Tuesday, May 30, 2023 (repost)














    Composed by Kenzie, the professional name for SM Entertainment‘s songwriter Kim Yeon-jeong, the debut single “Into the New World” by what would become one of the biggest K-pop groups, Girls’ Generation, set the tone for a ten-year career of fun, bubble-gummy, uplifting songs. Composed of nine young women all born between 1989 and 1991,  Girls’ Generation has been called “the Nation’s Girl Group,” in South Korea due to their popularity between 2007-2017. Beginning with a sample of Don Henley‘s 1984 classic “The Boys of Summer,” (covered last August by The Ataris), “Into the New World” builds on the nostalgic piano and synth sample. Rather than calling back with longing for the past, this song propels listeners forward into the future.

    I LEAVE BEHIND THIS WORLD’S UNENDING SADNESS. I’ve been pretty critical of K-pop in the past for being political. I used to think that music in America was too political, especially when I was a Republican teenager (cringe). I was annoyed when Coldplay’s Chris Martin said at the 2004 Grammy “May John Kerry be your president someday.” Of course, there were also right-wing musicians, but being found to have Republican tendencies could end a rock band’s career in some cases. In South Korea, because the government subsidizes the industry, idol groups are to be politically neutral. There are very few songs that are overt protest songs which can be found in rock and pop and even country in America. However, today’s song, with its hopeful message of stepping into the unknown future, has become a famous protest song in South Korea, starting in 2015, when students led a peaceful protest against Ewha University in Seoul. Both Tiffany and Yuri of SNSD expressed their appreciation to their fans for using the song to rally for change. Tiffany said, “Right now is the generation for feminists, and it’s an era where messages of women empowering other women are important. I feel like our song played that role, so my heart was happy.” A year later, the song was sung at protest rallies against President Park Geun-Hye. The massive protests against the leader accused of corruption had the people singing a song of hope, demanding more from their leaders. Fans also sang the song on April 11, 2019, when the criminalization of abortion was recognized as unconstitutional in South Korea. Finally, in 2020, the song was sung during anti-governmental protests in Thailand, and fans translated the song’s message to spread hope in Thailand. With the globalization of K-pop–the ripples in East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America–it seems inevitable that some songs will be used in protest. 

    LOOKING INTO YOUR EYES, NO WORDS ARE NEEDED. I don’t think that “Into the New World” credits its sampling of “The Boys of Summer,” as it’s never mentioned in most sources. Last September, I talked about how Olivia Rodrigo was inspired by “Misery Business” and eventually gave writing credit to Haley Williams and Josh Farro. Musicians get into trouble all the time for borrowing too heavily from their sources. There are several video compilations of similar-sounding songs. Whether it’s Sam Smith listening to Tom Petty or Lana Del Rey listening to Radiohead, we can hear musical similarities if we keep our ears open. I could make a list of songs that I think sound the same or songs that I’ve mashed up, even disguised as church songs when I played for church (“He Is Exalted” and the guitar from “Don’t Stop Believing“). Some groups like The Verve had their career paralyzed by the litigious Rolling Stones‘ manager. And as much fun as it would be to make a playlist of similar-sounding songs or funny mash-ups like “Creep but It’s All I Want for Christmas” it seems like the project could get out of control. There’s a reason why I only pick one song a day. Tom Petty said it best when he decided not to sue Red Hot Chili Peppers for the similarity between his song “Dani California” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance“: “A lot of rock & roll sounds alike.” And that similarity can draw parallels in themes in listeners’ minds. “Into the New World” and “The Boys of Summer” may build off of the same arpeggio, but one looks back without any hope for the future, and the other uses the past to build a brighter future.


  • “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic, Monday, May 29, 2023

    In 1986, The United States was in the middle of a decades-long Cold War with the Soviet Union. While the war never heated up, there were some close battles that made the average American squeamish about the possibility of nuclear war, and some went so far as to build their own bomb shelters to help them survive nuclear fall out. But having been born in 1987, I don’t have much memory of Soviet-era rumors of war, and even post-9/11, American views on the U.S. military’s involvement with pretty much anything has been controversial. A film like Top Gun in 1986 was filled with truth, justice, the American way.


    TIME IS RUNNING OUT SO SPEND IT LIKE IT’S GOLD. Last summer, in the midst of a heatwave of ‘80s nostalgia, Top Gun: Maverick hit the theaters. The film was a smash hit and featured Tom Cruise reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The film was the second-highest grossing film of 2022 and the highest grossing film of Cruise’s career. The film also featured several actors from the original film, including a brief appearance from Val Kilmer. Along with Tom Cruise’s seemingly never-ending sequels of the Mission Impossible films, Top Gun: Maverick adds to a Hollywood narrative that fit men don’t have to age out of blockbuster films. I hope that will soon be the case for veteran actresses as well. Along with stunning visual effects, Top Gun: Maverick’s soundtrack attempted to capture the magic of the 1986 chart-topper. Along with the original score composed jointly by the original film’s composer Harold Faltermeyer, Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe, and Lady Gaga; the soundtrack contains Miles Teller’s rendition of “Great Balls of Fire,” the original themes “Danger Zone” and “Take My Breath Away,”  and two original hit songs “Hold My Hand,” performed by Lady Gaga, and today’s song “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic.

    I AIN’T WORRIED ‘BOUT IT RIGHT NOW. I want to reserve discussion about the themes of Top Gun: Maverick until I’ve watched the movie or read more about it. What I find interesting is how even during the breakdown of monoculture and political fragmentation, a film like Top Gun: Maverick could become the highest-grossing Tom Cruise film? And for the big soundtrack, how is a major film score composed collaboratively and what role did Lady Gaga play as a composer? Today’s song “I Ain’t Worried” brings OneRepublic back to their golden age of catchiness. The whistling hook was inspired by Swedish indie band Peter Bjorn & John and evokes a carefree summer feeling fresh for Memorial Day Weekend 2022 and 2023 and with the continued radio play, recent EP release of alternate takes on the single, and the rumors of an upcoming album, the song still feels like a worry-free anthem of 2023.


     

  • “Thousand Miles” by Miley Cyrus ft. Brandi Carlile, Sunday, May 28, 2023

     

    Last week fans were upset when Miley Cyrus announced that she wouldn’t go on tour for her latest record, Endless Summer Vacation. The singer hasn’t headlined an arena tour since 2014’s supporting tour for Bangerz. Cyrus told British Vogue that “singing for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t really the thing that I love. . . There’s no connection. There’s no safety. It’s also not natural. It’s so isolating because if you’re in front of 100,000 people then you are alone.” So, as the music industry is trying to return to normal in 2023, just how many major players will throw a Miley Cyrus wrench into the Ticketmaster machine?

    I’M HOLDING ON LIKE A ROLLING STONE. Miley Cyrus’ eighth studio record Endless Summer Vacation has brought Miley Cyrus back to the spotlight nearly ten years after she swung into the number 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100, nude on a “Wrecking Ball.” In fact, this year’s “Flowers” beat “Wrecking Ball”’s 3-week reign atop the Hot 100 chart by 5 weeks, 8 weeks total, and at the time of writing this post “Flowers” has spent the most weeks at number 1 in 2023.  Chart analysts compile data from December of last year, so Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” is the natural competitor with “Flowers.” Both singles spent eight weeks at number 1, so unless there’s a Lil’ Nas X Tik-Tok upset, it will be interesting to see the former country starts duke it out for number 1 of 2023. But why did it take so long for Cyrus to become relevant again? The answer lies within her own artistry. While critics and some-to-many fans haven’t been keen to Cyrus’ work post-Bangerz and pre-Endless Summer Vacation, it’s clear from interviews  that Cyrus fully believed in her avant-garde productions, even if they didn’t earn her big hits. Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Pets was a complete left turn from the catchiness of Bangerz and subsequent releases were left turns from that release.  

    INSTEAD OF HANING UP, I HANG MY HEAD. Whether we call Miley Cyrus’ left turns into less commercially viable markets a misstep or a god-given right for an artist to experiment, 2020’s venture into rock music reminded critics that Miley Cyrus exists. In the middle of the pandemic, the popularity of classic rock soared as teenagers were listening to Spotify at home. Club records didn’t make sense when music listeners were cooped up indoors on a Saturday night. The lead single from Plastic Hearts, the Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks inspired record, “ Midnight Sky” sees Cyrus singing ‘80s-styled rock. And while the track peaked at only #14, the record showed listeners and critics what a deep-voiced rebel-hearted Miley Cyrus could sound like. We get that sound on Endless Summer Vacation, despite the record being a kind of return to form for Cyrus. You may complain about hearing “Flowers” too much on the radio—something that happens to almost every number one track. It’s unfortunate that “Flowers” has pretty much eclipsed the possibility of other tracks becoming hits because those tracks hold what I think may be a contender for album of the year. The beginning of the album is packed with rock-inspired pop gems. They may not be as catchy as the first track “Flowers,” but like today’s song, “Thousand Miles”—a song originally written about the suicide of a friend—contain a depth of experience not found among her Bangerz. 

    Read the lyrics on Genius. 

    Disney+ Live Performance:

  • “Attention” by Charlie Puth, Saturday, May 27, 2023 + LA Mix

     

    “Attention” was the lead single from Charlie Puth’s sophomore album, Voicenotes. It’s a mid-tempo track that features Puth’s auto-tuned vocals punctuated by a smooth electric guitar. Compared to Puth’s debut record, Nine Track Mind, Voicenotes received much more critical praise. While “Attention” peaked at number 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, Puth has yet to replicate the magic of his 12-non-consecutive-week hit of “See You Again” as a featured artist on Wiz Khalifa’s track commissioned for Furious 7 as a tribute to the late Paul Walker. 

    YOU’VE BEEN GOIN’ ROUND EVERY PARTY IN LA. I thought it was about time to start a working playlist for songs about Los Angeles. It’s the first in my Cities playlist series. The playlist will feature songs and artists connected with the city. It’s not an exhaustive playlist, yet. Note that songs about Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and surrounding areas are also fair game. So, let’s take a long weekend trip into the City of Angels!



  • “Say Yes to Heaven” by Lana Del Rey, Friday, May 26, 2023

     

    Lana Del Rey returned this earlier year with the latest installment of her “Carol King Era” of songwriting in Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd?  This new era of the Del Rey persona created by Lizzy Grant feels like a slow progression away from pop hooks, and maybe where this started was with Del Rey’s second album, Ultraviolence. But Del Rey’s real critical acclaim arrived with Norman Fucking Rockwell!, the album that both ended pop Lana and started the ‘70s-styled singer-songwriter that she followed up with Chemtrails over the Country Club, Blue Banisters, and Did you know. 


    GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. Lana Del Rey’s fan base is strong, quick to interpret ever line that the singer writes in the blogosphere. Not only do fans read into her released songs, they also track down her unreleased demos and leak them online. Usually Del Rey pays no attention when one of her unreleased songs is leaked; however, when a sped-up version of “Say Yes to Heaven” started appearing on Tik Tok, the singer addressed the song’s leak by releasing it on streaming services. While the track had been leaked on Tik Tok, fans had been talking about “Heaven” since 2016 when snippets of the song emerged online. With credited songwriting and production to The Black Keys’ Rick Nowels, the song has been rumored to be a track cut from Ultraviolence.  While critics seem to love the new Lana Del Rey, some of us miss the old days of hip-hop beats and wall-of-sound dream pop production. Del Rey seems to be giving the fans what they want with the release of “Heaven,” harkening back to the classic voice, rock guitars, and bad-ass lyrics.  

    LIKE A BARGE AT SEA. I was excited to hear “Say Yes to Heaven,” thinking that Del Rey’s looking back at her musical past may challenge Del Rey to go back to the days when her music was easier to listen to. But “Say Yes to Heaven” feels like a Lana Del Rey b-side. It’s missing something, and I believe that’s the fact that the lyrics don’t hit hard enough. “Say Yes to Heaven” has very short verses and a very simple chorus. It’s also a little cliché: heaven, this song, is falling in love with the speaker. It’s not a “Dark Paradise.” No emphasis is place on how bad this boy is. It’s almost a Lana Del Rey song but it needs to be workshopped a few times before it’s officially album-ready to align the song’s imagery and metaphors with a folk tale in rock ’n’ roll history. Perhaps John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” could have been a clue as to where the song could have gone, maybe painting a picture of Lennon as a peaceful revolutionary who tried to live peacefully until he was assassinated. There’s certainly a Lennon-Yoko Ono love story Lana could have woven into the lyrics of “Heaven.” Regardless of the weaknesses of “Say Yes to Heaven,” I hope that Del Rey looks at her past eras and thinks about revisiting some of her old songs.

  • "Take My Breath" by The Weeknd, Thursday, May 25, 2023 (updated repost) [Trigger Warning: Discussion of a potentially dangerous practice]

    Berlin‘s 1986 light-rock hit “Take My Breath Away” in its somewhat cheesy ascending scaled-note chorus speaks to the common human experience of falling in love with someone. The old aphorism, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away,” speaks to the times when life surprises us so much that if the shock of the good surprise were to kill us, we would have died happy. In other words, I may feel “so happy that I could die.” These moments are breathtaking, like seeing a Van Gogh in person, seeing a beautiful woman, or experiencing a new life.  Perhaps this is what The Weeknd intended for his lead single from Dawn FM, “Take My Breath,” but in typical Weeknd fashion, the video and the lyrics hint at a darker side of those breathtaking moments.

    YOU’RE OFFERING YOURSELF TO ME LIKE SACRIFICE. Since Beauty Behind the Madness brought The Weeknd to the forefront of popular music back in 2015 with songs like “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills,” Abel Makkonen Tesfaye has been disguising adult themes as catchy pop tunes, talking about substance abuse like it were a love song. Growing up in Toronto as the child of two separated Ethiopian immigrants, Abel started smoking pot at the age of 11 and turned to harder drugs, and shoplifting in his teens to support his habit. In the past, he claimed that he couldn’t write music without drugs. His masterpieces came from the inner turmoil of broken relationships and his love for mind-altering substances. However, in August of 2021, he claimed that he was “sober-lite,” meaning that he would no longer use hard drugs, calling them “a crutch.” Dawn FM, Abel’s latest full-length offering is the end of the drug-filled saga, and maybe the end of The Weeknd as Abel recently announced that he would begin releasing music under his real name. 
    MAKE IT LAST FOREVER.  The video for “Take My Breath” depicts a dark club in which the attendants are involved with erotic asphyxiation, a potentially deadly practice, yet is said to produce euphoria by those who practice it. Just as in “Can’t Feel My Face,” listeners question where is the line between healthy and toxic. Viewers question the line between reality and metaphor. Whenever I listen to The Weeknd, I have many questions: at what point does it turn from fun to tragic? At what point does the binge become less about fun and more about dependence? And are listeners part of the problem? Do we have front-row seats to a train wreck–a potential Amy Winehouse situation? Are we enabling young Abel’s downfall by funding him as he produces messed up, devilishly divine art? “How do you end up in the backroom of a BDSM club?” daytime Ed Sheeran might ask. It might sound judgmental, but it’s a valid question. Why do people get into kink? From housewives reading Fifty Shades of Grey wondering what it would be like to be tied up to underground sex clubs in New York City to whatever is on the dark web to something as mild as foot or sock fetish (see Honest Trailer’s “Every Tarantino Movie”), many people experience a cold sweat from something those who don’t share the attraction would deem abnormal, unnatural, immoral, or hilarious. There’s little funnier than the punchline of someone’s sexual fantasy being misread, like this scene from the movie Horrible Bosses, when the crew thinks that they have hired a hitman, but instead, the man is a professional urinator. And you better believe that there’s a whole category of humiliation fantasies. But on a serious note, “Take My Breath” uses imagery from erotic asphyxiation, which brings up questions about 1) the practice 2) the dangers 3) the line between euphoria and suicide 4) metaphorical implications, like trust, vulnerability, a person’s mental state when being in love/lust, suicidal tendencies, the line between partying and breaking down, etc. The practice of erotic asphyxiation is dangerous. In the case of autoeroticism, many times it’s misruled as a suicide rather than an accidental death. Sometimes partners can be charged with murder if something goes wrong. Wikipedia lists several notable examples of death by erotic asphyxiation, though I didn’t recognize any examples: an 18th-century Czech composer, a geisha, and a conservative British MP in 1994. In 1983, a mother sued Hustler after her 14-year-old son died from the practice. She claimed that he learned about it from the magazine. Autoerotic asphyxiation was the shocking death of a recurring character on Bojack Horseman season 2, and it was even one of the ways that Kenny died in a South Park episode. The Weeknd wakes up on the club floor at the end of the video, gasping for life-giving air. We breathe a sigh of relief. That could have been an embarrassing way to die. Undoubtedly it would be a shameful death. Then again, SNL’s Halloween skit with Chance the Rapper has an erotic asphyxiation death beat. Stay safe everyone!



  • “The Astronaut” by Jin (진), Wednesday, May 24, 2023

    A few years ago, I remember (shamefully) having a conversation with my students as to why K-pop would never fully make it in America and my argument had to do with how American radio stations rarely played music in a foreign language. But K-pop proved me wrong, albeit, it didn’t hurt that BTS sang some of their major hits in English. But just as BTS was ascending to international fame, a legal barrier threatened the band. 

    AN UNENDING HISTORY. Last October, BTS announced that they were taking a break from releasing new music together, which promptly caused Hybe Corporation‘s stock, the band’s record label, to plummet. Each member of BTS would release solo records, and they would reconvene in 2025 to assess future projects as a group; however, Hybe Corporation’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk (방시혁) expressed some doubts about the timeline as a renegotiated contract hadn’t been discussed. The reason for this musical break had to do with South Korean law. All able-bodied males must complete a conscription period of 18-21 months before the age of 35. Before BTS’s hiatus, the topic of mandatory military service, particularly for public figures making a great impact internationally–singers, actors, and sports stars like the Korean national Son Hyeung Min who plays for the Korean National League in the World Cup and for the Premiere League Club of Tottenham–had been hotly debated. Besides the growing debate over the necessity of mandatory enlistment, the economic repercussions of ordinary male citizens working on a low-government-granted stipend, the unfairness that only male citizens must serve, issues regarding traditional views of gender and sexual identity, and the question as to whether a trained professional army over a conscripted demographic would be more effective, opponents of celebrity enlistment argue that internationally famous groups like BTS are actually serving the country as cultural ambassadors. However, the counter side to this argument is that celebrities have to do their duties just as ordinary citizens and asking what is the measure of international fame a celebrity would have to acquire to relieve him of military service?  

    I GET HEAVEN TO MYSELF WHEN I’M WITH YOU. Kim Seok Jin (김석진) is the oldest member of BTS. He was also the first to enlist and complete his military service, but just before joining he released the single “The Astronaut” and its accompanying music video. The track was written by Jin and several other writers, including DJ Kygo and Coldplay who recorded the instruments for the song. Lead singer Chris Martin‘s 16-year-old son, Moses, also received a writing credit on the track that helped to produce the hit. “The Astronaut” feels like it fits within Coldplay’s most recent space theme in Music of the Spheres, perhaps even a sequel to their hit “My Universe,” which featured BTS. Earlier this year, Coldplay performed on Saturday Night Live and performed an English-language version of “The Astronaut”; however, the song has not been officially released to streaming services and the official video of the performance has been taken down from YouTube. Coldplay’s appearance on SNL was a bit odd since they were not promoting new music, though they have announced that the direct follow-up to Music of the Spheres has been finished and they will start playing songs from the new album this year. Jin’s “Astronaut,” though shows what a future of rock band collaborations with the K-pop boy band might sound like in the future. Coldplay has claimed that they will finish recording new music by the year 2025, which happens to coincide with BTS’s planned reunion. The dates are probably purely coincidental and Coldplay may decide to release new music after 2025, but the aging band is certainly looking for ways to stay relevant in an ever-changing music climate. Maybe being the backing band for up-and-coming acts could keep the veteran rockers fresh? 


  • “Happy” by NF, Tuesday, May 23, 2023 (Trigger Warning: Discussion of depression)

    Nathan Feuerstein is one of the most successful Christian hip-hop artists today. Born and raised in a tiny town in central Michigan, Nate, better known by his moniker, NF, had a hard home life as a child. After his parents divorced, he was raised by his mother until he and one of his sisters were abused by his mother’s boyfriend. After that, he returned to live with his father. NF channeled his struggles with anxiety and mental health in his music.


    DEAR GOD, PLEASE HEAR ME OUT. Last month, NF released his fifth studio album, Hope, and the single “Happy” is still making waves on Spotify playlists. While NF does not claim to be a Christian Rapper but rather a hip-hop artist who happens to be a Christian, his music is played on both secular and Christian radio, especially due to his clean (though often brutally honest) lyrics. Currently, NF has amassed over 18 million monthly streams on Spotify, making him a highly successful artist, especially for a Christian artist. And while NF’s career may have started out signed to a Christian label, slowly but surely, the rapper started branching into secular hip hop early in his career. His music became so popular that in 2018, Eminem even squeezed NF’s name into the song “The Ringer,” a dis-track about other rappers whom Eminem perceived to be imitating “The Real Slim Shady.” Of course, NF had always listed Eminem as one of his biggest influences, but the fact that a clean Christian rapper was even on Eminem’s radar is a testament to how popular he had become in the late ’10s. That’s more than KJ-52 ever got with his attempts to get Shady’s attention in “Dear Slim” and “Dear Slim, Pt. II,” unless you really read into Eminem’s lyrics. 

    I CAN’T IMAGINE WHO I’D BE IF I WAS HAPPY. “Happy,” though, isn’t a rap track in the traditional sense of hip-hop. It’s rhythmic but sung in a way that much ’10s and ’20s hip-hop has become less distinguishable as rap. The song deals with NF’s OCD, which he was diagnosed with in 2018, and his other mental health struggles. The song is a prayer to God, and the chorus asks the question about what happiness would look like for the speaker. No matter how much money and fame the speaker receives, he will always self-sabotage his happiness. And this is what keeps NF relevant to both Christian and non-Christian audiences. Typical Christian music fixes everything. The problems are all past tense and glory hallelujah I can keep talking about that one time I was delivered from depression. But you don’t have to be a medical professional to realize that struggles are often ongoing. We all have crappy days that can turn into crappy years. Some have had traumatic experiences like when NF witnessed his mother getting addicted to opioids and overdosing in 2009. It’s about messed up home lives that cause issues later in life prayer is not enough to set the mind at ease. After all, no person would get into a car accident and refuse medical help but rather go directly to church to pray away the injuries! Sometimes it takes years of therapy and that only reduces the pain. There’s no happy solution, but listeners can find solace. We can know that we’re not that abnormal. And that’s the hope.
     

  • "Hero" by Family of the Year, Monday, May 22, 2023 (repost)

    The 2014 film Boyhood was a highly acclaimed film that has an incredible Rotten Tomatoes score, yet nobody talks about it anymore. The film was shot over 12 years from 2001 to 2013 using the same actors and feels like a piece of turn-of-the-century Americana, a kind of early 2000s rendering of a Norman Rockwell painting of the imperfect white, working-class American family. The film not only explores boyhood and coming of age, but also parenthood and the complications of raising a family while trying to better oneself as well as the struggles of co-parenting through a divorce. The events and pop culture throughout the years are woven into human themes. The soundtrack for the film is a combination of famed indie artists of the early ’00s and popular music of the time. Seamlessly joining the soundtrack was virtually unknown folk-rock band Family of the Year, with their song “Hero.”

    I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR HERO. “Hero” appears in the movie toward the end when Mason, Jr., played by Ellar Coltrane, drives his old pickup down the Texas highway. He is now 18 years old, graduated, and become himself. This comes after a scene with his mother, Olivia (Patricia Arquette). She wonders, “What was it all for?” when she reflects on the hardships of parenthood. She had raised her kids and wonders what’s next for her. She tells her son, “The next big event is my fucking funeral.” She had kept her family a paycheck away from eviction at some points but ultimately raised a successful family, yet she wonders what it was all for. Family of the Year’s “Hero” serves as a reflection on the themes of the movie. The song talks about the conflict between wanting stability and wanting something greater than what you have right now. You long to be allowed to leave, but you still hold down a job to keep the girl around. 

    ‘M A KID LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Watching Mason’s family struggle in the 2000s reminded me of growing up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck in the ’90s to ’06 when I graduated high school. I remember church pantry handouts and hand-me-downs from cousins. Clinton-era social programs let us go to the doctor when we needed to, and our moldy old house had me sick quite a bit as a kid. My dad worked as a logger in New York until the payment was so bad that he decided to go to truck driving school. When my dad became an over-the-road truck driver we started making more money, but we didn’t have health insurance. We prayed we didn’t get sick or injured, and thank God nothing bad happened. My mom would eventually go to nursing school and go to work when I was in high school. I’m very proud of what my family did, but I remember talks with my dad that echoed what Olivia said in Boyhood. What is it all for? The existential question that haunts us with every passing year. What is it all for? “Hero,” tells us “Everyone deserves a chance to walk with everyone else” but what does that mean? Boyhood, life, marriage, divorce, the economic depression–rituals of the American Dream. Everyone deserves it, but isn’t it all just vanity and vexation of the spirit?
    Trailer for Boyhood:
    Music Video (original cut):

     Music Video (Boyhood cut):