Mixtapemotions

  • “Somebody’s Watching” by TobyMac, Monday, August 26, 2024 (repost)

    In 2000, DC Talk announced their intermission, a hiatus that has outlasted their 15-year existence. According to Toby McKeehan, better known by the stage name TobyMac, Michael Tait and Kevin Max wanted to record solo projects and McKeehan wanted to pursue DC Talk. But then McKeehan was approached about recording the theme song for a film called Extreme Days. McKeehan crafted his debut solo record with that single, the genre-bending Momentum. The album was filled with hip-hop, rap-core, soul, and funk. Eventually gold-certified, Momentum started the career of the reluctant solo artist in DC Talk who became the most commercially successful of the trio.


    SOMETIMES I FEEL GOD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. In 1984, Rockwell released his number 2 Billboard Hot 100 single “Somebody’s Watching Me.”  Rockwell, born Kennedy Gordy, wrote the track when his father, founder and CEO of Motown Records Berry Gordy, challenged him to write a chart-topping hit. The one-hit-wonder has often been misattributed to the artist who sang the chorus, Michael Jackson, a childhood friend of Kennedy’s. Rockwell’s hit talks about not being able to have a private life, and the video visualizes the lyrics with unnerving point-of-view camera angles. The song has entered novelty status thanks to the funny lyrics about being “in the shower . . . afraid to wash [his] hair.” It’s even become a staple on Halloween playlists. In 2001, TobyMac interloped the chorus of Rockwell’s hit on Momentum for the Christian Hit Radio single “Somebody’s Watching.” Rather than focusing on the creepy feeling of being watched by a stranger, McKeehan focuses the song on the watchful protection of God, contrasted to the “haters” who are focused on McKeehan’s failure. 

    I’M FEELING DADDY IN THE AIR TONIGHT. Rather than Michael Jackson singing the chorus, Joanna Valencia sings on TobyMac’s “Somebody’s Watching” as well as several other tracks on Momentum. Her vocals create a kind of tonal consistency on the frenetic mashup of genres on McKeehan’s debut. The album was a major hit on Christian radio, with six singles spread between Christian Hit Radio and Christian Rock radio. “Somebody’s Watching” appeared on DC Talk’s Solo EP before the band released their solo projects to preview the new musical directions the band members were taking and was also included on  Wow Hits 2002. “Somebody’s Watching” began the vocal “TobyMac” introduction tag that appeared on many of the artist’s solo works and guest appearances. The tag was to the Christian market what the “Jason Derulo” vocal tag was to the pop market in the late ‘00s. TobyMac is a charismatic personality who continued a musical empire built by DC Talk. It’s a fine line between appropriate confidence and arrogance. On the one hand, he’s a truly talented artist–from the live energy to musical crafting in multiple genres. A lifelong proponent of racial reconciliation, his music envisions the kingdom of heaven through the eyes of all ethnicities. But it’s not only the ego that feels problematic in a relisten. “Somebody’s Watching” feels like a spiritual flex–no, make that a spiritual webcam exhibition. “Watch baby, watch baby” McKeehan raps. “See, I’m down with the king, so I got it like that” he adds to Valencia’s chorus. This is quite different from Maxwell’s “I have no privacy.” Many like me when I was growing up found the way that McKeehan sings about God watching him a bit terrifying. Certainly, we weren’t saying to God, “Watch baby, watch baby.” But with all the problematic lyrics, I found myself unironically enjoying TobyMac’s Momentum. But I’m a little ashamed of that. Please don’t watch me closely.

    Rockwell’s version: 

    TobyMac: 

  • “Infinite” by House of Heroes, Sunday, August 25, 2024

    After releasing Ten Months in 2001, a punk album under the name No Tagbacks, House of Heroes signed to Vanishing Point Records and rebranded to the name House of Heroes with the release of their first album, What You Want Is Now in 2003 under the new moniker. They signed with Gotee Records and released House of Heroes in 2005. The band recorded three more albums with Gotee and its rock imprint Mono Vs. Stereo became one of the biggest bands in Christian Rock with their 2008 record The End Is Not the End. In 2014, the band released their first independent release since 2003, the EP Smoke. Then in 2016, the band released Colors on BadChristian Music.

    WHEN I TURN MY EAT TO AUGUST WIND, I CAN STILL HEAR THE MAGIC. The lead singer of House of Heroes, Tim Skipper,  has described their association with Christian Rock as a kind of “straddling the line” between the Christian industry and the general market. Christian rock critics such as Jesusfreakhideout.com, highly regarded the band with most of their albums receiving high scores and often making best of the year lists and most anticipated album of the coming year lists. The only band that seems comparable at the time for these critics is Anberlin, though House of Heroes never enjoyed the crossover success of Anberlin. The Christian rock critics loved both of these bands for their subtlety in their Christian messaging. But House of Heroes’ 2016 album Colors was controversial due to the album’s lyrical shift away from spiritual themes and even near some close calls with profanity. Skipper said on the BadChristian Podcast when promoting Colors that not all of the members of the band identified as Christian and that they wanted their listeners to interpret their lyrics however they wanted to.

    EVERY LITTLE SOUND ON A DUBBED CASSETTE HIT YOU IN THE HEART LIKE AN ARROW. House of Heroes’ 2014 EP Smoke is a kind of wrapping up of their old sound and a looking forward to their new lyrical style on their 2016 album Colors. Many of House of Heroes’ songs throughout their career tell stories. Colors is an album of interconnected stories. Today’s song, “Infinite,” is the last song on their Smoke EP. The lyrics tell a story about a love interest that took place years ago. Describing the “summer just melting away riding in your brother’s Camero” with tapedecks, cigarettes, and a house “buried under a mall” the lyrics evoke a sense of longing for the past. The lyrics sound similar to a line in the 1999 novel and 2012 film The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The chorus of the song declares: “Yeah, we are infinite!” In the novel, the scene in The Perks of Being a Wallflower describes Charlie with his friends Patrick and Sam as they drive through a tunnel, windows down listening to Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” In the epistolary novel, Charlie writes about the feeling of being infinite several times as he discovers a new world of music, film, and the arts.  The film, however,  depicts the scene at the end, just before the credits, playing the song “Heroes” by David Bowie. Perhaps the resemblance between a popular two-year-old movie and an indie rock song is purely coincidental. Maybe the film’s message seemed too contradictory to the band’s fan base. Maybe it was the plausible deniability needed to steer clear of a lawsuit. Maybe it was a band getting caught liking something too popular. Whatever it was, “Infinite” can stand on its own, creating its own world in the same way that the book and the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, capitalize on the feeling that in a single moment, youth can last forever.

    Read the lyrics on Genius.

  • "Clear" by NEEDTOBREATHE, Saturday, August 24, 2024 (updated repost)

    Brothers “Bear” and “Bo” Rineheart were born in Possum Kingdom, South Carolina, and raised in a church camp that their father, a pastor, managed. Forming 

    NEEDTOBREATHE  with friends Seth Bolt and Joe Stillwell, the band signed to Atlantic Records and released their sophomore record in 2007.  Opening for Taylor Swift on her Speak Now Tour in 2011, winning many Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards, and receiving a Grammy nomination, NEEEDTOBREATHE  has gained acclaim both in the Christian Rock and secular markets. The band’s 2016 record, H A R D  L O V E, debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart list and is the band’s bestselling record. The folksy lyrics of NEEDTOBREATHE speak of faith, love, and family.


    YOU’RE THE CATALYST OF HIGH HOPES. The theme of the band’s 2016 record comes from a long-seeded rivalry between brothers Bear and Bo, which escalated in 2014 into a fistfight that ended with a trip to the hospital. The brothers reconciled and apologized to fans, saying their music was more important than their personal differences. The song for which the album is named talks about the ones who are the hardest to love and produce the best relationships. Bo left the band in 2020 and was replaced by Tyler Burkum, the guitarist from Audio Adrenaline and Leagues. “Clear”   H A R D L O V E’s  6:51 closer. Composed with a warm tone of acoustic guitar and finishing touches of what sounds like a piano in a wooden room, “Clear” is a beautiful romantic ballad. However, the critics don’t agree on if “Clear” is the best way to finish the record. While the album holds very high reviews, “Clear” has been called a boring song or one that overstays its welcome. The reviewers at Jesusfreakshideout.com say that the track seems out of place behind the band’s worshipful track “Testify.” One reviewer states that “Clear” sounds too much like a worship track, almost ambiguous about whether “the reason for what I’m doing” is God or his spouse. The reviewers also say that the track “idolizes [sic] romantic love.”  

    YOUR BODY’S DANCING UNDER THE MOON. Bear Rineheart is married to Mary Reams Rineheart and the couple has three sons: Wilder, Woods, and Waters. “Clear” was written by Bear and producer Ed Cash, a producer who is behind mostly produced CCM acts like Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Dave Barnes. The song was played at bassist Seth Bolt’s wedding shortly after the album’s release. I didn’t listen to NEEDTOBREATHE much until 2020. When I first heard of them, there were so many crossover Christian bands and in their mid-career, I wasn’t listening to much Christian music. Now, “Clear” is a song I frequently hear on Starbucks’ corporate playlist. I am drawn to this song especially when I’m torn between my love for my family back home and my partner in Korea. I miss so many milestones in my family members’ and friends’ lives because of working on the other side of the world- weddings, births, and deaths. Phone calls and presents don’t assuage my guilt, but somehow I keep it up. I only hope that someday I can be more present for the ones that I love. Love is complicated when it is torn, but it also becomes clear when you find the right person what you have to do.

    Read “CLEAR” by NEEDTOBREATHE on Genius

  • “Nothing Left to Lose” by May Kearney, Friday, August 23, 2024

     In 2001, Mat Kearney and his friend Robert Marvin arrived in Nashville, Tennessee. Since college, Kearney wanted to pursue a musical career as a singer-songwriter. Marvin’s dream was to become a music producer and Nashville was the place to be. Kearney and Marvin had worked on music before they arrived in Nashville. Marvin got right to work in the Christian music industry, producing and working on albums by ZOEgirl, Stacie Orrico, TobyMac, and Newsboys. In 2004, Kearney released his debut album Bullet on the Christian label Inpop Records. Several of the songs on Bullet were reworkings of Kearney’s hip-hop EP West in November, which he had released independently in 2003. The co-writing team of Kearney and Marvin and Marvin’s production introduced Christian music to the genre-bending artistry of Mat Kearney.

    I CAN STILL SMELL THE POMEGRANATES GROW. Today, Bullet is not available on streaming services. Mat Kearney was a success with Christian Hit Radio and Christian Rock Radio. His coffee shop acoustic guitar music with his spoken word, and hip-hop lyrical delivery paved the way for Jason Mraz and Ed Sheeran who popularized the style later in the ‘00s and ‘10s. Kearney’s success wouldn’t be confined to CCM. Reworking some of his tracks from Bullet, Kearney released his sophomore record Nothing Left to Lose, but rather than releasing it on a small Christian label, he released it on Columbia Records. The album featured several Billboard Hot 100 singles, including the title track, today’s song, which peaked at #41. Many of the songs from the album were also featured in television shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, a show that popularized many artists. Solidifying Kearney’s popularity, though, was strategic touring. Opening for John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, and Train aligned Kearney with the adult alternative singer-songwriter sound. Kearney successfully created an edgier Nashville sound and then became closer to the styles in Nashville, as subsequent releases started to feature less hip-hop influence.


    TO A KID FROM OREGON BY WAY OF CALIFORNIA. Mat Kearney was raised in Eugene, Oregon, but attended the California State University, Chico, majoring in literature. Many of Kearney’s songs tell stories, including the title track from his major label debut, Nothing Left to Lose. The song was newly penned and the first single for Kearney’s new career. “Nothing Left to Lose” tells the story of when Mat “packed [his] bags and headed East.” The song recalls the moments of struggle and joy with sensory details, such as smelling the pomegranates and hearing the trains in Nashville. While often associated with Christian music, few of Kearney’s lyrics are overtly religious. Nothing Left to Lose has a few ambiguous second-person pronouns, including the title track. Is it God, friendship, or a romantic interest? The lyrics of the album are youthful in their optimism and the mood is heightened by expert instrumentation. Kearney in his late 20s when his musical career came to full fruition sings songs about when times were uncertain. It’s not a very interesting story, but the poetry of the lyrics is engaging, and it’s ultimately a relatable story. While Kearney didn’t have a big radio career, he has carved out a success story with devoted listeners. That’s Mat’s story, what are our excuses?



  • “These Are the Days” by Lauren Daigle, Thursday, August 22, 2024 (repost)

    Last year, Lauren Daigle returned with her first record since 2018’s blockbuster sophomore record, Look Up Child. Daigle’s music has been featured in movies and television shows from Blade Runner 2049 to Grey’s Anatomy, which makes the singer stand out from other artists in her genre, Contemporary Christian Music, a genre she dominated with the number-one Christian song for sixty weeks for the crossover hit, “You Say.” 

    WE KNOW THE FUTURE’S BURNIN’ BRIGHT. Maybe like me, you spent a part of the ‘10s backsliding from your evangelical upbringing. Don’t worry, I’m not here to tell on you. You probably stopped listening to DC Talk and Michael W. Smith, and maybe became a “Bad Christian” with Emery, followed Michael Gungor’s journey, or went full-out atheist like Underoath. Somewhere along the way, what was playing on Christian Radio sounded like a bad version of what was popular two years ago on the pop station, only mellower. Somewhere along the way, Hillsong and Bethel Music started dominating Christian radio with worship music that sounded like Imagine Dragons‘ knock-offs. Meanwhile, we listened to Lana Del Rey and Sufjan Stevens and sometimes mainstream pop radio, only to hear a truly talented singer from Louisiana singing Christian music. But it didn’t take too long to pick up on Daigle’s affinity for sounding so much like Adele that the songs feel stale after a few listens.

    THIS IS WHAT HE CAME FOR. Another comparison between Lauren Daigle and Adele is the gaps between their albums. Fans had to wait six years between 25 and 30. Adele’s third and latest album was released two years before Lauren Daigle’s third and eponymous album. So what has she been up to since 2018? While the singer has toed the line in a radically divided America, in 2020 Daigle reportedly was riding her bicycle in her hometown where polarizing worship leader Sean Feucht was holding his “Let Us Worship Tour”—controversial for protesting COVID lockdown measures. Daigle claims that she was asked to participate in the show, though she wasn’t officially billed. This appearance, though, caused Daigle to lose bigger musical appearances such as New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. That appearance was in November 2020. A year and a half and an Adele album later, Daigle is back on the top of Spotify singles with “These Are the Days.” It’s a feel-good song, but I can’t help but feel a little ominous about what she’s singing about. It’s very subtle, but it’s really a prosperity gospel—Christ died to make your life easier on earth. However, my Seventh-Day Adventist reading of the Bible said that things were supposed to turn into a shit-show in the end days. Instead, Christians are forming these coalitions to take away the rights of non-Christians. It will be interesting to see how Lauren Daigle’s latest offering stacks against Look Up Child.

    Read the lyrics on Genius.

  • “Take Cover” by Acceptance, Wednesday, August 21, 2024 + Phantoms track by track (repost)

    “Take Cover” is the opening track to Acceptance‘s debut and almost final album, Phantoms. It starts with a piano loop and adds momentum with the drums. Jason Vena‘s smooth vocals hit a high register which puts the band on good emo footing for the time, as a singer who could whine a few lines was essential for a band that makes it. Listening to Phantoms again today–as I’ve talked about this album at least three times before–I thought about one of the fatal flaws of the record: the track order. Even though, I think that this album is a perfect artifact of my last two years in high school, I can kind of see why this band wasn’t huge, and it has to do with the track listing of this album.

    SHE MAKES THE CITY SEEM LIKE HOME. Today, I’m going to do a track-by-track analysis of this album, and I’ll probably add to this analysis as I choose more songs to be song of the day. I may not have a lot to say about the tracks individually as I’ve already talked about my experience with the album and the band’s history, but today it occurred to me that in 2005, you don’t start a new rock band’s album off with a slow song. Save that for an established rock band. Sure, this was the time of OneRepublic and The Fray, but the record company did nothing to earn rock credibility before trying to break Acceptance into the rock market. And Phantoms, at its core, was a rock record. But the album doesn’t even start to rock until track 3, “In Too Far,” and the album again puts on the brakes with track 5 “Different.” I love “Take Cover” and think it’s a unique way to start an album, but when the band was aiming for an audience, confusing the fans with a different sound didn’t work in their favor. I guess that’s how generic always wins out in the end. Below is a link to listen to the album on Spotify and a brief discussion of each track and links to the song if I’ve blogged about that track.

    Listen to Phantoms on Spotify.

    Track 1 “Take Cover.” The song of the day. Read the lyrics on Genius. Also, check out the cover by A Day to Remember below. In recent years, this song and “So Contagious” have received a boost in streams when Demi Lovato included it on their Emo Nite Takeover Playlist on Spotify.

    Track 2 “So Contagious.” Is an even slower second track. The song wends its way from a slow pop ballad to a slightly more energetic chorus, which prepares us for track 3, a rock song.  Aaron Sprinkle also recorded this song for his solo record Lackluster.

    Track 3 “In Too Far” picks the record up to its rock status. Listeners can start to hear what Jason Vena’s voice can do with rock. The vocals are much cleaner than most groups, and Vena is said to be a perfectionist when it comes to vocal takes, according to the band’s Labeled episode.

    Track 4. “The Letter” takes the rock down a notch and introduces the northwestern-sounding melancholy guitar tones that the band has used throughout their career and guitarist Christian McAlhaney would also bring to Anberlin.

    Track 5 “Different.” There’s a lot to say about their failed single, but I found myself skipping the track more times than not after listening to the album several times. It’s well-written and sentimental, but it lacks something to make me keep coming back to it. This is probably another reason why the band didn’t make it.


    Track 6 “Ad Astra Per Aspera” is the instrumental track that sets up the rock portion of the album. The moody track takes its name from Latin, meaning “To the stars through difficulty.”

    Track 7 “This Conversation Is Over” should have been the rock radio single that went before “Different.” In another reality, this song was played on college radio stations, and that reality was The Sims 2: University. 


    Track 8 “Over You” is a bit of a letdown coming off “Conversation.” The song has grown on me over the years, though.

    Track 9 “Breathless” isn’t one of the stand-out tracks, but a roommate in college said it was the only good track on the record, so there’s that. I thought the chorus and the bridge sounded like an ’80s song.

    Track 10 “In the Cold” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. The guitars build an atmosphere of coldness and Vena’s voice adds just enough warmth to make it cosy. I’m weird, I don’t see music in terms of color but in terms of warmth.

    Track 11 “Permanent” was a Radio U single when the band released an EP, Black Lines for Battlefields,  on the Militia Group, which was actually a marketing tactic to build indie cred behind the band. The song was featured in the game ATV Offroad Fury 3, and there’s a terrible music video for the song floating around on YouTube.

    Track 12 “Glory/Us” closes the album on a ballad. It starts out a little sad, but by the final chorus, the listener feels empowered with the line “Glory is waiting.” Sadly that would be the end of the band minus the promotional AOL Sessions EP until the band started teasing new music in the mid ’10s.

    Studio version:

    Sessions at AOL acoustic version:

    Sessions at AOL version 

     

  • “This Is Why” by Paramore, Tuesday, August 20, 2024 (repost)

    In 2018, Taylor Swift did the unthinkable. Country music stars had been expected to be either right-leaning or a-political. Although Swift wasn’t a country music star in 2018, she was still associated with the genre. But as a resident of Tennessee, Swift came out publicly in support of two Democratic candidates in a midterm race. While Swift hasn’t been active with political endorsements for the upcoming November election as of today–only A.I. generated images from the Trump camp–, it took a Trump presidency and the callousness towards women’s and minority issues to make Miss Americana speak up. 

    SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. On the opening night of Taylor Swift’s Era’s tour in Scottsdale, Arizona, another band of somewhat reluctant activists opened the show, Paramore. Most of the opening acts on the Eras tour include indie rockers or singer-songwriters, mostly female, feminist, and LGBTQ+ or allies. As my readers already know, Paramore is a band fronted by Hayley Williams and consisting of a consistent and revolving door of male band members. Paramore’s presence on the Eras tour coincides with their own headlining tour supporting their latest record This Is Why, which the band released in February. When Paramore dropped the self-titled lead single for the record and announced the album last year, fans were surprised given that the conflicts between the band members and former band members making a return seemed unlikely. Some fans thought of the final song on After Laughter, “Tell Me How” as a swan song for the band. This was especially apparent when the band announced a hiatus after touring After Laughter in 2018 with Williams releasing a solo record in 2020, Petals for Armor, and drummer Zac Farro releasing music with his side project halfnoise.  

    MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. Little by little, Hayley Williams’ tenure with Paramore and as an artist, helped the singer to speak out about issues she cared about. While Paramore was never officially a Christian band, the circles the band started out with and band members, including Williams’ particularly in the early days of the band, own profession for Christianity has caused the band to fall under scrutiny that the band’s completely secular contemporaries never had to deal with. The rifts in Paramore’s history have to do with religion, particularly a line on the band’s third record Brand New Eyes, “The truth never set me free” on the track “Ignorance,” and Williams’ support for the LGBTQ+ community. Paramore went from a band that showed up for every Bible study on The Vans Warped Tour to the band that “gained the whole world and lost its soul,” and Paramore was probably judged harsher because they were female-fronted. Today’s song, “This Is Why” deals with scrutiny head-on. It’s an anthem for those who were told “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” But since Paramore went on hiatus, the politics of the world have only gotten worse and everyone has to stand up for what they believe in before more rights are taken away. It’s not comfortable to leave the house, especially when you’ve been there quarantining since early 2020. But it’s time to get out there and fight for what’s right.  

     Music video:

  • “Hotline Bling” (Drake Cover) by Sufjan Stevens ft. Gallant, Monday, August 19, 2024

     Before his record-setting 333 (and counting) Billboard Hot 100 entries and his record-tying number 13 #1 hits–tied with Michael Jackson–, Drake released his 2016 album Views. First, he scored a number 2 hit in 2015 with “Hotline Bling” before the album was released, and then he reached the top position on the chart with the single “One Dance.” Drake released his first mixtape in 2006, but his 2009 single “Best I Ever Had” from his third mixtape was the breakout event for the Canadian rapper. Perceptions about Drake may have changed over the years, particularly earlier this year when he and Kendrick Lamar were involved in a nasty highly-publicized feud. “Hotline Bling” harkens back to a time when the perception of the Canadian rapper was mostly positive, even if the lyrics to the song have been criticized as sexist.


    EVER SINCE I LEFT THE CITY… The summer vacation sounds of “Hotline Bling” partly come from the song’s sample of Timmy Thomas’s “Why Can’t We Live Together,” which features a Caribbean rhythm that punctuates “Hotline Bling.” Many music critics have called Drake an Emo rapper, and the sadness in the lyrics of “Hotline Bling,” the rapper sings tells a self-pitying story about a girl who no longer calls him when he comes home. It’s a horny lament and the instrumentation only brings the imagery of a lonely fuckboy with a couple of days in his hometown and no one to call on an uncharacteristically tropical night in a Canadian summer. The speaker of the song complains to the subject, who seems to be living a good life after being the speaker’s friend with benefits. She has outgrown the relationship, but the speaker feels that she owes him loyalty. The speaker is honest, but honesty doesn’t excuse douchebaggery. What’s worse is that the song’s lyrics sound strikingly similar to the manipulation a gaslighter or even a domestic abuser uses to keep his partner reliant on him.

    WONDER IF YOU’RE BENDING OVER BACKWARDS FOR SOMEONE ELSE. Serious issues with Drake’s “Hotline Bling” aside, the song is still culturally significant. The song has been covered by many pop artists, including fellow Canadian, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Sam Smith and Disclosure, and today’s version Sufjan Stevens and Gallant, among others. Today’s version isn’t the best; however, it is an impactful version given the musical context it comes from. In 2015, Sufjan Stevens released his acclaimed, heartbreaking album, Carrie & Lowell. Stevens toured the album, performing much of it in concert. Opening for Stevens was R&B singer-songwriter Christopher Joseph Gallant III, known solely by his surname. Sufjan’s concerts were recorded

    and later released in 2017. The audience and Stevens endure some 80 minutes of intense material. Following the concert’s closer, the extended version of “Blue Buckets of Gold,” Stevens played an encore, a light-hearted version of Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” The moment is meant to be savored ironically. It’s hard to imagine Sufjan Stevens’ fans looking to Drake for poetic notes on how to address unfaithful lovers. Pop music is the reward for making it through the emotional torment of Carrie & Lowell. The song comes from out of nowhere, just like a humorous moment strikes after losing a loved one. It takes some time, and it feels inappropriate at first, but in the end, it’s a sign that healing is taking place. Grief becomes swallowed up little by little as other emotions start to return. No, Sufjan Stevens isn’t going to be releasing a cover album of ironic pop songs anytime soon. At least I don’t think he is. Nothing is really outside of the scope at this point. But just as the audience needs relief from Carrie & Lowell Live, Steven needs to believe that life moves on.



  • “Boyhood” by The Japanese House, Sunday, August 18, 2024 (repost)

    Last month, The Japanese House released their long-anticipated follow-up album to 2019’s Good at Falling. The solo project of Amber Mary Bain, The Japanese House collaborated with a number of musicians from Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon and The 1975‘s Maty Healy and George Daniel to MUNA and Charli XCX on their latest project, In the End, It Always Does. The English singer-songwriter Amber Bain offers a hybrid between the acoustic and highly processed, like if Bon Iver recorded and produced Joni Mitchell. It’s simple. It’s zen. It’s nice music for a rainy or slow humid summer day.

    I’M STILL LOOKING OUT FOR ME. Before releasing In the End, It Always Does, The Japanese House released the lead single, “Boyhood.” The instrumental direction of In the End, It Always Does feels less processed than The Japanese House’s earlier work. Singer Amber Bain had talked about using The Japanese House to mask the person behind the music. I’ve written about many solo artists who take on a band’s name. Some groups started as a band but eventually, all members drop out until one member is left, like in the case of Years & Years. Some artists use a band name to give the illusion of a band. Some genres respect band names more than solo acts. I think of Washed Out and Anchor & Braille as these artists. In this case, other musicians may join for a time, like the local musicians who joined Stephen Christian on his first two records with Anchor & Braille or how Ernest Greene‘s wife sometimes performs with the singer. Still, other solo acts take on a name to distance themselves from a potential “Fame Monster” they create. The Weeknd and Lady Gaga as well as Lana Del Rey feel like they were curated singers to have a life much bigger than the singer. These artists hold publicity stunts to distract from the low-key life of the artist.
    I SHOULD HAVE JUMPED WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO. When Amber Bain invented The Japanese House, the singer talked about wanting anonymity and figuring out her gender expression. I must note that I using the pronouns she and her because that seems to be the singer’s current expression of gender. I will try to update the post if I find out that I am mistaken or if the singer wants to change pronouns. Androgyny was the singer’s original artistic expression. While Bain was hiding from the spotlight, fans of The 1975 saw Maty Healy’s involvement in the project and even speculated that that it was Healy singing with processed vocals. Of course, this is false and Bain eventually revealed that she was the sole member of The Japanese House. Today’s song, “Boyhood,” also plays with gender expression. Bain told BBC1 about “Boyhood”: 

         “I was thinking a lot about how I don’t really feel like a woman or a girl, and so it’s
            strange [be]cause I grew up as a girl and I didn’t have a boyhood. I was sort of
            thinking about that and how different I might be if I’ve had some sort of boyhood
            or I’ve had some different things happen to me in my life. The song itself had a
            hundred different versions of it and I feel like I’ve had a hundred different version               of myself that could’ve existed and it’s about like accepting some of those.”
    Today, gender expression is so controversial. It feels as if conservative society is pushing for a binary uniformity, pushing people to embrace a primal archetype. And that’s not even how I grew up in what was supposed to be a more conservative time. What is the threat of people expressing the gender they feel is true to them? I think a song like “Boyhood” offers the first-person narrative that is always left out of the conservative straw-person arguments.








  • “No Idea” by MUNA, Saturday, August 17, 2024

     

    Max Martin is one of the go-to big-budget record producers when a pop star needs a breakthrough or a comeback hit. His production style shaped the pop music in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s with his use of explosive synthesizers, vocal layering and often nonsensical lyricism. Martin’s work with Ace of Base and Backstreet Boys paved the way for his first U.S. number 1, which hit came from Britney Spears’ “….Baby One More Time.” His production style has been imitated by many other producers to varying success, and because of his multiple collaborations, producers he has worked with have also imitated the Max-Martin sound. Martin’s production style has developed over the decades to incorporate rock, hip-hop, and ‘80s synth pop. 

    I THINK YOU THINK I’M LIKE A VIRGIN. Many millennials are particularly fond of the late ‘90s/ early ‘00s sound of Max Martin productions because it reminds them of their childhood and teenage years.  Indie band MUNA experimented with the Max Martin sound on their latest album. The group had explored pop sounds before, but from the huge pop chorus of the MUNA’s second track “What I Want,” listeners hear a celebration of nostalgic tones. Another song on the album, “No Idea,” was a thought experiment: what if MUNA were a ‘90s boy band about to head into the studio with Max Martin behind the boards? Lead singer Katie Gavin penned the first verse and the chorus and set the song aside until MUNA was jamming one evening with Mitski after meeting her at a festival. Mitski wrote the song’s second verse, and MUNA self-produced the track in a Max Martin style.


    I KEEP IT SO CLEAN. Similar to the musical nostalgia of “No Idea,” the song’s lyrics also deal with a kind of sexual nativity. The song is written from the perspective of a girl who has a crush on someone. The speaker has sexual fantasies about the other person, assuming that the other person has “no idea” about. The speaker implies that the subject of the song is much more sexually experienced than the speaker, but the speaker thinks that she is only seen as a nice girl with a pure mind. The song opens with the line: “I think you think I’m like a virgin /Not in a Biblical sense.” The catchy line immediately draws in listeners as they think of Madonna’s 1984 hit. Perhaps listeners think of “the Biblical sense” of virginity and the religious weight that line can carry, whether of Catholic or evangelical purity culture, also popular in the ‘90s and ‘00s. Then, back to the comparison “like a virgin / not in a Biblical sense.” Perhaps, the speaker is saying that the presumably more sexually experienced subject views the speaker as traditional, prudish, or just scared to try new things, to the point that the subject overlooks the speaker as a potential partner. The sexual inexperience and the longing in the lyrics are nostalgic of teens and early 20s. For a band that is outspoken about their queer sexuality, “No Idea” is nostalgic for the awkwardness and the naivety of figuring things out. It begs the question, would you go back and do it again? 


    Read the lyrics on Genius.