FEATURE: Modern Heroines: Part Fifty-Eight: FLETCHER

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern Heroines

Part Fifty-Eight: FLETCHER

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IN most of these features…

I focus a female artist who has been around for a while and is shaping up to be a huge name of the future. Whilst FLETCHER has been in the business for a few years now, she has not put out a studio album yet – her most-recent E.P., THE S(EX) TAPES, was released last year. I am keen to introduce you to FLETCHER via interviews. Before then, Wikipedia provide some information about the New Jersey-born artist:

“Cari Elise Fletcher (born March 19, 1994), known mononymously as Fletcher (stylized in all caps), is an American singer and songwriter. Fletcher's breakthrough single "Undrunk" was released in January 2019 and became her first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number one on Spotify's Viral Chart in the United States. "Undrunk" was released on her extended play You Ruined New York City for Me, and according to Mediabase, the song was the fastest-rising song at pop radio for a new artist since 2014. Spotify ranked the song as one of the "Best Pop Songs of 2019”.

There are a lot of interesting and different Pop artist around right now. Seven years since her debut single, War Paint, was released, FLETCHER has amassed a loyal following. I do feel she is going to go on to big things. In the modern age, it is hard to shape idols like we had decades ago. There are certainly artists working right now who you can see going on to be hugely important and inspiring.

I know there are upcoming artists who are compelling and influenced by FLETCHER. The interviews are focused on THE S(EX) TAPES. I want to start with an interview where FLETCHER mentioned the importance of New York and what songwriting means to her. When she spoke with DORK last year, we discover more about a fascinating talent:

“It’ll follow 2019’s ‘you ruined new york city for me’, an EP detailing Cari’s time in the Big Apple – an experience that shaped her as both a person and an artist. Though she frequents it for work nowadays, the memories that made up her last EP are still strong.

“New York City, there’s just something about it. It has a way of just like, ripping you down to absolutely nothing and building you back up again, just to kick you in the ass again. There’s this cycle of life that can happen there, you know?

“I was just in New York yesterday, and I was driving through the East Village and passing my old dorms, and where I went to my first concert in New York, restaurants I used to eat at, and I was just having this flooding flashback of memories – like really good ones, but also really bad ones. There are these places that hold of a piece of you that I feel like I’ll never really get back, and not in a way that’s sad or anything but I feel like there are all these little pieces of Fletcher that have been put all over that city in a way that’s like really nostalgic and sometimes painful but also a reminder of how much growth can happen.”

New York’s influence on Fletcher goes further than her own time there. Most of the artists she cites as her biggest influences have their own experiences with the city; Patti Smith, Madonna, Lady Gaga, David Bowie (of course that’s not the reason she picked them, but it’s a fun connection).

She uses songwriting as a form of therapy, processing her emotions in the studio and putting them out into the world for others to relate to. “We all just want to feel connected and understood and heard,” she says, “and it’s really like the only reason why I make music.” From breakup songs and cheating partners to emotional dedications to the Me Too movement, there’s no bullshit in Fletcher’s discography. Sometimes its stripped back, and sometimes it comes with a SOPHIE remix in tow, but the common thread is always her sincerity.

“I think my humanity is so beyond intertwined with my artistry, and I do what I do because I feel like I needed as a little kid growing up, to see more humanity in artistry, and especially within female artistry and specifically within the female pop space. I grew up with a lot of role models, but I just felt like everything had to look and feel and be a certain way, and I questioned for a long time if I would ever be able to be a pop star, because like I don’t feel represented in what I’m seeing”.

Every interview with FLETCHER reveals something new and really interesting. To me, she is one of the most honest artists around. Not that her previous work was lacking authenticity and spark. I feel THE S(EX) TAPES marked a real high for her career. CLASH profiled FLETCHER last year. Among the topics covered, she discusses being a queer artist and how that has shaped her career. It is clear how much music means to her:

“When asked why she got involved with music, she describes it as a “lifeline”. “Growing up, I was a nervous kid. I didn't have a lot of friends. I kept a lot of things bottled up and I was really scared, but writing songs felt like a way of releasing things,” she explains. The artist went from writing in her diary, standing in as a Disney princess and Hannah Montana impersonator throughout high school, to landing a spot on X Factor USA. “For me, following the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and, and Whitney Houston and telling a story through the art of performance has been something that’s so important to carry through my music.”

Now with a rapidly growing fanbase, FLETCHER’s aspirations with her platform are simple — to keep it honest. “Now people are following me because they give a fuck about what I have to say and what I feel. I think people are craving sincerity and transparency more than ever,” she tells Clash. “I'm so over the bullshit. I'm so over the idea that everything's perfect. Life isn't that way, shit is messy and my life is a hot fucking mess. I have no idea what I'm doing the majority of the time, but things have to feel organic and that's why everything comes from my heart.”

FLETCHER’s latest release ‘If I Hated You’ is out now. Having seen the video, Clash asked her about the inspiration for the track. “'If I Hated You' is the best visual representation of what the whole EP looks and feels like. The EP is called The S(ex) Tapes. All the visuals were shot by my ex and I wanted this EP to just be a really fucking honest representation of what it is like to love somebody, have such a connection, but also have all these questions,” she explains. “From exploring my sexuality to never having been on my own before and having co-dependency issues, or not knowing how to deal with shit by myself; I wanted to sit in that and heal from the things I've been running away from.”

For FLETCHER, this EP ties back into portraying her authentic self. “I wanted to start with 'If I Hated You' because it feels voyeuristic. Everybody's always putting up some kind of front or some kind of filter,” she tells Clash with a sense of frustration at the industry. “Women in the music industry have an expectation to present things in a way that feels relatable. Be funny but don't be too funny, be crazy but not be too crazy because you don't want to think you're off your meds. There's nothing wrong with being on medication, so what's the fucking issue with that?”

“My sexuality has obviously shaped my experience and is a part of who I am. It's something that I will always talk about and I will always be open to talking about. Fighting for and standing with the LGBTQ+ community is something that I will always do, I will always fight for my community and I will always speak up about it,” she begins, “That said, my sexuality is not my headline. It is not the focus of the story. It doesn't matter if I wrote a fucking song about a girl, a boy, a trans or nonbinary person, or if I wrote about a fucking rock.”

Taking a minute to pause, she also throws out the a very relevant off-the-cuff question: "first of all, who the fuck created gender?".

Getting back on track, she picks up where she left off: "My favourite colour is turquoise, and this is also my sexuality; I'm queer. I will always talk about it and it's really important to me, but it's not my headline. My sexuality and the struggle with my sexuality is part of my humanity, but there's also a fuck ton of other things that make me who I am. We should always speak up, we should always tell our truth, but my sexuality is not at the forefront of my personal story”.

That is a really intriguing and memorable interview that I would urge people to read in full. As her new single, Healing, came out very recently, I wonder whether we will get another E.P. from FLETCHER before the end of 2021.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Shannon Beveridge

Apologies to play around with chronology and being a bit random in terms of the information sourced. I want to bring in an interview from The Forty-Five, as we find out about the story behind the name, FLETCHER, and why being hopelessly romantic is important to her:

“FLETCHER – real name Cari – calls me from a beach on the Californian coast. She had to get out of her apartment, she explains, because everything around her carried the weight of too many memories about her ex-girlfriend. ‘THE S(EX) TAPES’ might feel like the final word on their relationship, a chapter closed – but of course, it’s complicated. The project was just as much a visual one, following a cinematic arc: seven music videos for seven tracks. And who was behind the camera? FLETCHER’s ex, the lines between artist and muse, as ever, blurred.

And while the story might be a little unfinished, it captures a moment in time while they were in quarantine together, where the world outside was just as confusing as their own, private one. It’s this no holds barred outpouring of feeling that makes FLETCHER a pioneer in a world in which we can be unapologetically ourselves, in all our chaos.

“I’m so interested in this idea of FLETCHER being a persona. Who is she? How is FLETCHER different to Cari, and why is it important to have a separation between the two for you, as an artist?

That’s an idea I’ve been playing with for a really long time – not for anything other than my mental health. From a really young age, I decided that I needed to be the artist who I needed growing up, who I really needed as a little girl, and so like Cari really needed FLETCHER. It’s the thing that keeps me going and reminds me of the reason why I do this. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the connection my music makes with people. Somebody said something the other day: that my music made it easier for them to breathe again. I just broke down crying when I heard that. FLETCHER allows me to step into all my superpowers and my vulnerabilities. At the same time, they’re also the same person. Cari is really sensitive and soft and tender, and FLETCHER is too, but I think… FLETCHER is my highest self – future me – and I’m always trying to step into that. It’s definitely been an interesting journey.

You’re completely unfazed by being direct in your music. Is there any fiction – or artistic license, if you will – involved with the songs you write, or is it all taken entirely from your real experiences?

I think every single song that I’ve ever written has come from a real thought or a real feeling, even if it’s just the foundation of the song. One of the most personal songs on it is a song called ‘Sex with my Ex’, and the lyrics were just pulled from a text message exchange with my ex and the conversation we had when we met up. I remembered it really vividly, and I just wanted to put a melody to those words. At the core of every single song, it always stems from a real feeling and a real place.

In a world of ghosting and swiping left and right, why is it important to you to defend being a hopeless romantic?

The desire to have things so quickly is because we’re all just craving connection, and wanting to be loved and seen and held. At the root of that, we all just have this fucking massive fear of loss of connection and loss of belonging. We still need to be talking about what love looks like. I’ve never been on a dating app, so maybe I’m missing the whole point of it – or maybe that’s what makes me a hopeless romantic, because I’m like, ‘No! In person, real feelings!’ I don’t think it’s necessarily lost, but it’s just covered up by a lot of shit, a lot of masking, of people being afraid to admit they want to be loved. That’s what we all want at the end of the day, and I think that’s where so much pain in the world comes from, too.

I’m curious – did you ever fall back in love with New York? You live in LA now, how do those cities differ for you and what effect have the two places had on you and your music?

I’ve definitely fallen back in love with New York City. For a while, when a place or things are so connected with somebody, it’s really hard to feel anything different other than the feelings that the other person left you with in that space. It was hard for me to be in New York, and then after a while I’d gone back and spent time, made new memories, and you know, found new restaurants and new bars, and was in love there again. New York City has become un-ruined for me and made me start feeling all the things that made me think, ‘Yes, this is the reason why I loved this city in the first place’. My family lives in Jersey, and I’m home often – I’m like a real big homebody – and yeah, I think I’m such an east coast girl at heart, you know. I’ve learned to love it again, which is kind of metaphorical for my self-love journey, if you will, that I’m on at the moment. I’m just figuring out how to look at it in a new way and love it again.

Tell me about your choice to stay away from using gendered pronouns in your music.

I’ve never really wanted anybody to feel removed from the story. The important part of a song is the intention and the emotion behind it. When I’m listening to something, I’m immediately trying to relate it to my life in some capacity. The lyrics probably mean something so different to me compared to the person who originally wrote them. The important part about the song is the emotion and the intention behind it. I wanted to give people as much opportunity as possible to immerse themselves in the story. At the end of the day, gender doesn’t have anything to do with it at all. It doesn’t fucking matter. If you got heartbroken, or turned on by, or hooked up with a non-binary person or a trans person or a cis person – male, female, whoever – it doesn’t fucking matter. I put it in the song if it feels necessary for me as part of the story that I feel like sharing, but I am really conscious of it because at the end of the day, what is gender, anyway? It’s just a construct, so who cares?”.

I am going to move on and wrap things up in a moment. Do some digging and listen to FLETCHER’s songs and find as many interviews as you can. This is an artist who is producing some wonderful music and seems determined to endure and keep recording for many years more. I’ll finish up by bringing in LADYGUNN. They explain why THE S(EX) TAPES is so essential and powerful:

“FLETCHER provides an important space in pop by showing that there is room for the LGBTQ+ community in mainstream music today. With “THE S(EX) TAPES,” providing a space of normalcy for those within the community to have relatable art that talks about love, sex, and the struggles of any relationship. She shows that the gender of who you are singing about does not change the emotions behind it. That being said, for those who rarely hear love described with the pronouns that mirror the way they love, it can mean so much to have music that feels like it was from a perspective they know. It can be easy to forget that not so long ago, there wasn’t anybody to look to if you loved in a way that was outside of how you were told you were supposed to.

The songs themselves on “THE S(EX) TAPES” really encapsulate the emotions of meeting someone perfect for you at the wrong time in life. For anyone going through a hard breakup, this album is sure to be a lifesaver to blast in your room late at night. The tracks don’t shy away from the more challenging emotions in a breakup with sorrow, love, bitterness, fantasy, and brutal truth being just a few of the ones running throughout the whole project. FLETCHER vocalizes the things you hear your friends whisper at 3 am when they are curled up next to you on a couch feeling their way through heartbreak.

 FLETCHER’S actual vocals are strong and clear while maintaining an emotional tone that only adds to her storytelling lyrics. The base tracks of the songs are synth-heavy with a focus on rhythmic beats that grip your hands as they pull you along for the ride side by side with FLETCHER .

I’ll shall leave it there. The amazing FLETCHER is going from strength to strength. It will be great to see what comes next and how her career progresses. Healing is the latest remarkable track from the American artist. If you have not discovered her yet, then make sure that you…

RIGHT that now.

FEATURE: The July Playlist: Vol. 3: So Much Thirstier on the Wild Side

FEATURE:

 

 

The July Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: TORRES/PHOTO CREDIT: Shervin Lainez 

Vol. 3: So Much Thirstier on the Wild Side

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THIS week’s Playlist…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Normani

has some great new tracks in the mix. There is music from TORRES, Normani (ft. Cardi B), Caroline Polachek, Clairo, CHVRCHES, Anne-Marie, Pop Smoke (ft. Dua Lipa), and Manic Street Preachers (ft. Julia Cumming). Throw into the mix some Pixey, Anna Meredith, and Supergrass, and it is another broad and exceptional week for music. It is sunny and warm this weekend but, if you need further boost and energy, then I hope that this assortment helps. I am sure that there is something in the playlist below that tickles your fancy. It is another typically eclectic selection that should provide a great and varied soundtrack to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Caroline Polachek

HELP you on your way.   

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Artists

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 PHOTO CREDIT: Shawn Brackbill

TORRES – Thirstier

Normani (ft. Cardi B) – Wild Side

Clairo – Amoeba

Caroline Polachek – Bunny Is a Rider

CHVRCHES – Good Girls

Anne-Marie – Beautiful

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Pop Smoke (ft. Dua Lipa) - Demeanor

Manic Street Preachers (ft. Julia Cumming) - The Secret He Had Missed

PHOTO CREDIT: BLACKKSOCKS

Pixey - Sunshine State

Anna Meredith – BPM 100

Supergrass - It's Not Me (Early Version)

YONAKA (ft. FEVER 333) - Clique

WILLOW & Avril Lavigne (ft. Travis Barker) - GROW

The Chemical Brothers – Work Energy Principle

Mabel – Take It Home

Eliza Shaddad – Fine & Peachy

Pip Blom - It Should Have Been Fun

Alessia Cara - Sweet Dream

Liz Lawrence – Babies

PHOTO CREDIT: Clark Franklyn

Baby Queen - You Shaped Hole

Ruby Fields – Song About a Boy

Shakira – Don’t Wait Up

Baba Ali – Thought Leader

Yves Tumor - Crushed Velvet

ENNY – Keisha’s & Brenda’s

PHOTO CREDIT: Neelam Khan Vela

The Ninth Wave - Maybe You Didn’t Know

Mahalia - Whenever You’re Ready

Chet Faker - It’s Not You

PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Schmelling

Lala Lala – DIVER

Charli Adams – Bullseye

Sirusho - Let It Out

Genesis Owusu - The Fall

Chelsea Cutler – Walking Away

Spector - Funny Way of Showing It

PHOTO CREDIT: Dmitry Rollins

Nina Kraviz – Skyscrapers

PHOTO CREDIT: Lily Brown

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard - Crescent Man vs Demolition Dan

PHOTO CREDIT: Kai MacKnight

Shannon Lay - Awaken and Allow / Geist

Emma Bradley - Malibu

Shenseea – Run Run

Lucy Blue – Taxi Driver

Tatiana Hazel – Work Hard

Soccer Mommy - rom com 2004

Haim - Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache (From The Last Letter From Your Lover)

KHALLA - Rearview Mirror

FEATURE: Groovelines: Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun

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THE first track…

from the Violent Femmes’ eponymous debut album of 1983, I wanted to spend a bit of time with Blister in the Sun. If the title doesn’t ring any bells, then the track will become known to you once you hear it. Although the song has been part of some animosity in the band – “In August 2007, Gordon Gano was the subject of a lawsuit brought by bassist Brian Ritchie. The lawsuit stems partly from Gano's authorization of the use of "Blister" in a Wendy's commercial” -, it has not dented its magic and legacy. With founding members Gano and Ritchie still in the band, they don’t seem to get that sick of playing their best-known song. I would encourage people to check of Violent Femmes’ catalogue and albums like their eponymous debut. That album especially is a majestic work. I really love Blister in the Sun. I am going to bring in a few articles regarding the song. In 2019, Rolling Stone ran an article regarding their series, The Breakdown. We get an insight into the story and meaning of Blister in the Sun:

“Everyone remembers the scene in My So Called Life where Angela celebrates getting over Jordan Catalano by dancing to the Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” in her bedroom, or when the song was prominently featured in Gross Pointe Blank. (The band even made a new video for the film that starred a puppet version of Bill Clinton’s cat, Socks.)

Now, in the latest installment of Rolling Stone‘s “The Breakdown” series, Femmes frontman Gordan Gano and bassist Brian Ritchie discuss the making of their 1983 hit — and its long misinterpreted meaning. Gano describes a conversation that took place nearly 20 years after the song’s release, where someone claimed it was about masturbation. “I was really surprised,” says Gano. “When you say ‘I stained my sheets,'” replies Ritchie, “if it’s not about masturbation, then what was it about?”

Gano says he initially wrote the song with a female singer in mind. “I just thought of big hands because mine are small,” he says of the line “Big hands I know you’re the one.” Original drummer Victor DeLorenzo spontaneously created the song’s signature drum lick, making it the first song he played with the band.

Elsewhere in the clip, the duo discuss the song’s long-lasting popularity, despite the fact that it was never put out as a single (the record company decided against it because it didn’t have a bass drum). The song has taken on a life of its own, constantly playing in pubs, sports stadiums and in the media. “Through a long process of word of mouth, playing the gigs, other people doing covers of it, radio stations going rogue and playing it anyway even though the record company didn’t want them to,” says Ritchie, “it became a standard before it was a hit.”

36 years later, Gano says he hasn’t grown wary of playing “Blister in the Sun.” “We’re never tired of doing it for an audience or for people because there’s such joy,” he says. Adds Ritchie: “It’s wonderful to be able to incite such enthusiasm by simply doing what we do and having a song that has that impact”.

I am going to shift back and forwards regarding the chronology of the articles. There has been misconception regarding the lyrical inspiration of Blister in the Sun. This interview from The Village Voice of 2013 brought together Brian Ritchie and Gordon Gano. Again, we get some clarification regarding Blister in the Sun’s truth:

“Do you have fond memories of playing New York early on?

(Brian) Ritchie: We came out of the punk era and the best of that music came from New York, so some of our favorite bands were people like Television, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Ramones, Talking Heads, that whole scene. And that was still relatively recent. New York is the musical capital of the entire world.

The first gig we did was opening for Richard Hell at the Bottom Line and at CBGBs. It was his comeback, sort of. And The New York Times‘ Robert Palmer wrote a review where he basically gave a paragraph to Richard Hell and wrote the whole rest of the article about how great we were. So we felt like that really put us on the map. And after that when we came back, the word had spread and there were people lined up around the block. Even before we had our first album out, there was a buzz on us in New York City.

It really made us feel special, because coming from Milwaukee where everybody takes everything for granted and doesn’t really appreciate the local talent, to go someplace like New York, which is more significant than Milwaukee obviously and achieve acclaim like that, really helped our self-confidence. Gordon moved to New York in 1984, in between the release of the first album and when we recorded Hallowed Ground, and I moved to New York in 1995.

In recent years, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban have been covering “Blister in the Sun” in concert. Do you think they understand the lyrics?

(Gardon) Gano: I don’t think there’s a whole lot to understand with the lyrics. In fact, it was maybe 10 or 15 years later, when somebody was asking me about that song and said something like, “Well, you know… You know what that song’s about.” I’m like, “No. What are you talking about?” “Well everybody knows. You wrote it.” I’m like, “What?” And they told me the song was about masturbation. I had never thought of that.

So it’s not about masturbation?

Gano: Not to me! [Laughs] But I can see where people could get that idea. I just hadn’t thought of that. [Laughs] I don’t think anybody likes that song because they think the lyrics are deep.

Do you ever get sick of playing “Blister in the Sun”?

Ritchie: When we played Coachella, we could see the panorama of the entire festival. There are a number of different stages, and as soon as we started out the set with “Blister in the Sun,” when that riff hit, it was like a swarm of insects coming towards our stage. They all started running from the other stages. [Laughs] When you can get that kind of reaction–I guess it would be like if the Rolling Stones started playing “Satisfaction”–it really never gets old”.

I am going to finish soon. There is an another article – this one from 2014 -, where Tash Reith-Banks wrote for The Guardian regarding her exposure of and experiences with the song:

“It was Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes, and when I heard it it was already nearly a decade old. But it took me at least another year to find out what it was. We had no interwebs in those days, children, and the man in the local music shop looked at me like I was speaking Swahili standing on my head when I tried to explain the song without the title or band name. I left with a copy of New Kids’ Step by Step, though, which seemed like a victory of sorts. It sounded thin and fake in comparison. It was thin and fake in comparison.

We moved back to England at the end of 1992. I still didn’t know the name of my song. But in January, wandering around Camden market trying to acclimatise, I heard it. A guy with a CD stall was playing it and dealt pretty well with my slightly incoherent demand to know what it was (I was still working on my new London accent). I bought the CD. It cost all of my Christmas money. The CD guy said to come back if I liked it – he had more stuff I might be into.

I liked it. I loved it. I mainlined the whole album, and the Violent Femmes and their aggressive, whinging, humorous post-punk, outsider rock became my gateway drug for punk and indie. I went back to that stall time and time again and was introduced to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Buzzcocks, the Undertones, Rufus Wainwright and more. With the help of the Violent Femmes I sidestepped Take That, the Spice Girls and all manner of R Kelly 90s chart-toppers and came out smiling on the other side”.

Almost forty years after its release, Violent Femmes’ debut album still resounds and impacts. One big reason is the brilliant opening track. I wanted to explore it a little more and get some details and recollections (from the minds behind the music) about a classic. Blister in the Sun is surely…

ONE of the best tracks of the 1980s.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Martha Reeves at Eighty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

Martha Reeves at Eighty

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FOR this Lockdown Playlist…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Martha and the Vandellas

I am celebrating the upcoming eightieth birthday (on 18th July) of Martha Reeves. She is an iconic singer and group leader who is among music’s most important and inspiring. I am going to finish with some of the best tracks from Martha and the Vandellas/Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (though Spotify lists all the songs as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas). Before coming to that, AllMusic provide some biography regarding the phenomenal Reeves:

“Motown's brightest female star after Diana Ross, Martha Reeves was the earthy, gospel-infused counterpart to her rival Ross' uptown sophistication. With her backing group, the Vandellas, Reeves cut some of the brightest, most infectiously danceable R&B of her time. Unfortunately, she didn't fare as well after leaving Motown for a solo career in the '70s, and although she continued to perform for quite sometime, it was mostly on the oldies circuit, looking back over her past glories.

Reeves was born in Eufaula, AL, on July 18, 1941, and before she was even a year old, her family moved to Detroit. As a child, she sang in her grandfather's church and in school, and continued her vocal training through high school. After graduating in 1959, she joined a girl group called the Fascinations, and the following year co-founded the Del-Phis, whose membership included the future Vandellas. They cut a flop single for a Chess subsidiary in 1961; the same year, Reeves won a talent contest as a solo act and got a nightclub engagement performing as Martha LaVaille.

There she was noticed by Motown exec William "Mickey" Stevenson, who invited her to stop by the label's offices. Reeves wasn't able to land an audition right away, but did parlay her visit into a secretarial job in the A&R department. She caught a lucky break when backup singers were needed for a recording session as quickly as possible, and so the Del-Phis wound up supporting Marvin Gaye on his first hit, 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow." Stevenson was impressed enough to record a Del-Phis (renamed the Vels) single, "You'll Never Cherish a Love So True ('Til You Lose It)," and released it on Motown's Mel-O-Dy subsidiary. One day, Mary Wells failed to show up for a recording session, and musicians' union rules demanded that a lead vocalist be present on the mic -- so secretary Reeves was hastily tapped to sing "I'll Have to Let Him Go." That song went on to become the first single credited to the newly renamed Martha & the Vandellas in 1963; their second single, the ballad "Come and Get These Memories," reached the R&B Top Five.

The rest, of course, was history. Martha & the Vandellas racked up an impressive slate of Motown classics that included the Top Five smashes "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street," plus "Nowhere to Run," "I'm Ready for Love," "Jimmy Mack," and "Honey Chile," all of which made the R&B Top Five. Despite the occasional personnel turnover, and the fact that rivals the Supremes had become Motown's female group of choice, Martha & the Vandellas' run of success continued through 1967. Unfortunately, feeling the pressure to keep up, Reeves developed an addiction to prescription drugs, and in 1968 a bad acid trip prefigured a nervous breakdown that slowed the Vandellas' momentum even further. Although they continued to perform and record for several more years, they never matched the success of old and disbanded in December 1972 after a farewell concert in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Motown decided to transfer its offices from Detroit to Los Angeles. Reeves adamantly refused to move along with them and sued for release from her contract; she eventually won her independence and signed with MCA as a solo artist. She entered the studio with producer Richard Perry and a top session cast, and cut a monstrously expensive album that mixed rock, pop, and R&B covers, both vintage and contemporary. Martha Reeves was released in 1974 and sold very disappointingly, especially given its cost. Reeves sank deeper into a host of personal problems until she finally cleaned up and became a born-again Baptist in 1977. That year, she signed with Arista for The Rest of My Life, which blended '60s soul with disco-era production; once again, it sold poorly, and Reeves moved to Fantasy for 1978's even more disco-oriented We Meet Again, which featured four of her own compositions. After 1980's Gotta Keep Moving, Reeves gave up the ghost on her solo career. She spent the early '80s working on various Motown package tours, and eventually put together a new version of the Vandellas. In 1989, she reunited with original Vandellas Annette Sterling and Rosalind Holmes and cut the single "Step Into My Shoes" for British producer Ian Levine's Motor City label. However, she mostly continued make her living on the nostalgia circuit. Reeves was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995”.

To mark the upcoming eightieth birthday of a musical legend, this is a selection of classic songs from Martha Reeves and Vandellas. A mighty happy eightieth birthday to…

A wonderful artist.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: HMV at One-Hundred: Songs from Their 1921 Centenary Editions Vinyl Series

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTOS: HMV

HMV at One-Hundred: Songs from Their 1921 Centenary Editions Vinyl Series

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WHILST I normally mark album anniversaries…

and musicians’ birthdays, it is appropriate to salute a haven and hugely important point of call for so many music fans. On 24th July, HMV turns one-hundred. To mark that, they have released details of their 1921 Centenary Editions. They are thirty-seven albums included. One can get a copy of these albums from 24th July. There is a limited run of each, so one needs to get to an HMV store (or they can order online). The famous chain are excited to be able to offer their customers something very special:

“Happy Birthday to us! This year marks a full century since the first hmv store opened its doors at 363 Oxford Street in London, and on July 24 we'll be celebrating our 100th birthday in style with a brand new and exclusive range of limited edition vinyl just for you...

As part of our birthday celebrations we're pleased to announce the new 1921 Centenary Edition range, for which we have carefully curated a selection of the finest albums and soundtracks from the last 100 years and had them specially pressed onto some beautiful coloured vinyl - all of which will be available exclusively in hmv stores on Saturday July 24.

As ever, our exclusives will be available on a first come, first served basis, so we do recommend that you head to your local store nice and early so you don't miss out. While stocks last there will also be a very limited number of copies available in our online store from 4pm on July 24...but when they're gone, they're gone!

Each week we'll be revealing more of the new and exclusive 1921 Centenary Editions, but today we're excited to unveil details of the first batch of albums that will be arriving at your local hmv on Saturday July 24”.

To honour this, I am including a track from the thirty-seven albums that have been selected for a true honour (there is only one album I could not find on Spotify to include. It is the cover album by The Undertones). It will be exciting to mark one-hundred years of HMV on 24th July. To me and so many other people, they were an important part of our childhoods – and they remain so special and instrumental. Let’s hope that the legendary chain remains…

FOR many more years to come.

FEATURE: Masters, Mixes and Isolated Vocals: A New Appreciation of Kate Bush’s Work

FEATURE:

 

 

Masters, Mixes and Isolated Vocals

PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

A New Appreciation of Kate Bush’s Work

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ALTHOUGH it may seem like sacrilege…

to tamper with Kate Bush’s work, I feel there are revelations and recordings that provide one a new appreciation of her talents. I know there have been remixes of her tracks, though it is wonderful when we get isolated vocals and get to hear her songs stripped back. Looking at a recent article from Far Out Magazine - where they highlight a vocals-only version of Bush’s debut single, Wuthering Heights - has provoked wider speculation and curiosity:

“Though it may have been just the start of Kate Bush’s impressive career as one of Britain’s most unique and highly-valued artists, ‘Wuthering Heights’ will remain one of the singer’s landmark moments. Not only was it the first song to top the charts both written and performed by a female artist, nor was it just an indictment of Bush’s supreme skill as a songwriter, it showcased that Kate Bush was unlike anything the world had ever seen or, indeed, heard before.

Bush’s vocal dexterity has often been heralded as one of her defining facets. With a remarkable range, she was able to perform tongue and chord gymnastics that would make the Olympics blush. There are countless moments throughout her impressive canon where Bush has shown off just how flexible her instrument is, but perhaps no performance made a greater impact than ‘Wuthering Heights’. Below, we examine her isolated vocal track for the song and marvel at her talent.

Inspired largely by the BBC adaptation of Wuthering Heights instead of the Emily Bronte novel, the track that launched Kate Bush was written in the leafy South London suburb in the summer of 1977. As London was swollen with the vicious angst of punk, Kate Bush was creating a masterful pop record: “There was a full moon, the curtains were open, and it came quite easily,” Bush told her fan club in 1979.

Despite the TV adaptation providing the nugget of inspiration, the singer did lift lines straight from Brontë’s work as she uses Earnshaw’s plea “let me in! I’m so cold” among other quotations from the novel. It’s clear that Bush truly connected with the song, and in fact, the novel too. She told Record Mirror in 1978: “Great subject matter for a song. I loved writing it. It was a real challenge to precis the whole mood of a book into such a short piece of prose.”

Bush continued, “Also when I was a child I was always called Cathy not Kate and I just found myself able to relate to her as a character. It’s so important to put yourself in the role of the person in a song. There’s no half measures. When I sing that song I am Cathy. (Her face collapses back into smiles.) Gosh, I sound so intense. ‘Wuthering Heights’ is so important to me. It had to be the single. To me, it was the only one”.

Whilst I have written features asking whether there will be reissues of her albums with demos and extras, I am really interested in the construction of Bush’s music and looking at individual layers and components. There are quite a view vocals-only tracks online. The Wuthering Heights one is especially spine-tingling. Maybe not in the form of albums, but it would be interesting to be able to isolated vocals on other tracks of hers.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Alamy

Maybe having instrumental versions of songs would showcase her compositions and the instruments that went into them. I would love to hear vocals-only songs from The Kick Inside and Lionheart (1978). I am really interested in the evolution on Never for Ever (1980). To be able to have some vocal and instruments-only versions of those tracks would be so intriguing. Perhaps it does slightly circle back to my thoughts regarding releasing early versions of tracks and putting some demos into the mix. Kate Bush is a complete songwriter, in the sense that she thinks about every aspect and makes sure they are as impactful and effecting as possible. Some may say that, therefore, it would be detrimental and a disservice to isolate tracks and mess with the magic. By contrast, I feel having a rare chance to remix and reimagine Bush’s work would showcase and underline what an original and always-brilliant songwriter she is. To be able to, say, have some of those songs from The Dreaming in a new state. I would be intrigued to go inside Sat in Your Lap (the album’s first single) and isolate the vocals and percussion. Similarly, it would be cool to discover what Get Out of My House (the album’s final track) sounded like if there was just the vocals or instruments. Having access to master recordings so that fans could go deep inside tracks would be such a treat! I don’t think we will see studio demos and outtakes – or at least anytime soon.

I am sure quite a few exist, though Bush would probably not be too pleased about them being out into the world! Rather than release new songs or ones that are not album-fit, it wouldn’t be anything like that. Having software where one could buy the original tracks and then arrange accordingly would allow us to hear Bush’s songs in a new light. I am especially captivated by the depth and beauty of Aerial’s second disc, A Sky of Honey. There are tracks in Bush’s catalogue where the vocals are especially strong or there are a couple of instruments that sound perfect on their own. It would prove to a dream for those who want to explore Bush’s music forensically. After hearing the isolated vocal of Wuthering Heights, it has opened my mind and made me wonder about the rest of her cannon. Thee are a select few artists whose work is so strong and arresting that would benefit from this sort of treatment. I think The Beatles and David Bowie might be on the same list. As much as I (and her fans) adore her music as it is, what worlds and possibilities could be ignited and opened up were we to have the potential to isolate vocals/instruments and reconstruct songs?! It is just a thought…although I know that other fans and followers of her music have held similar desires. The Wuthering Heights isolated vocal video shows that it only takes Kate Bush’s voice alone to…

CREATE shives and wonder!

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Caroline Polachek - Pang

FEATURE:

 

 

Vinyl Corner

Caroline Polachek - Pang

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WHEN it comes to albums…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Aidan Zamiri

that you need to own on vinyl, I would definitely put Caroline Polachek’s Pang up there. The third studio album from the New York artist, Pang is a near-masterpiece. Definitely one of the best albums of 2019, I would urge people to go and grab it on vinyl. This is what Rough Trade say about Polachek and a magnificent album:

“Caroline Polachek has already lived an extraordinary life in music: her previous band Chairlift formed in 2006 whilst Caroline was still in art school; and in 2008 the band was thrust into the spotlight when Bruises was synched in an iPod commercial as the Brooklyn indie scene peaked as an international export. Caroline's idiosyncratic vocal style and synth textures quickly became their sonic trademark, and continued to evolve through their three critically acclaimed albums into a new, more modular kind of pop experimentation.

Caroline expanded into production in 2013, landing her first credit writing and producing on Beyonce's grammy-nominated self-titled album. Restless while making Chairlift's third (and final) record Moth, Caroline quietly fostered two side projects: baroque girl-group Ramona Lisa, and minimal synth project CEP. Moving fluidly through radically different genres, Caroline collaborated with dozens of artists (Blood Orange, SBTRKT, Charli XCX) ; sometimes writing, sometimes singing, sometimes directing videos, and sometimes all three.

Chairlift disbanded in 2017 and Caroline feverishly began writing for her first solo project under her own name. For the first time, the DNA from these seemingly different projects fit together perfectly; the playfulness of Chairlift, the theatricality of Ramona Lisa, futuristic glimmerings of CEP, plus a new mastery of her voice and thick rolodex of keen collaborators.

Fast forward two years spent manically between the studio and navigating a series of personal crossroads, and Pang marks the beginning of a new chapter. It is the most ambitious, hardcore and beautiful album of her career to date. With her signature 'organic autotune' and liquid lyricism finally center stage, the record positions her firmly as one of the most singular and captivating singers of a generation”.

I heard the album first when it came out in 2019. I was aware of Polachek when she was in Chairlift. Her songwriting and production throughout Pang is exceptional. When it comes to anticipated albums of this year or next, I think a lot of people would love to see new material from the wonderful Polachek. Pang received hugely positive reviews. Many publications and sites listed it among their favourite albums of 2019. It is no surprise when you listen to the album and come across songs as brilliant as Pang, Ocean of Tears and Door. In their review, this is what The Line of Best Fit had to offer:

“Pang is a remarkable debut for the singer. Intoxicatingly distinct, it features executive production work from both British producer Danny L Harle, as well as Polachek’s own carefully regimented style. Additionally though, Pang also features added production assistance from the likes of Jim E Stack, A. G. Cook & Daniel Nigro.

Polachek has clearly drawn from a well of talented production talent but the results of her meticulous selection cannot and should not go understated. Each track on Pang feels cautiously constructed yet mindful of its own sense of space, as if each has been sifted through with a fine-tooth comb, with any imperfections rejected.

These are broad, expansive examples of modern indie pop, entrancing in their potential to effectively convey mood and ideas. "Shut Up" for example is a cavernous piece, equal parts seductive and bewildering, whilst "So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings" has all the trappings and swaggering femininity of the best '80s pop pieces. In turn, "Parachutes" displays Polachek’s ‘Organic Autotune’ to euphoric effect come the album’s close.

This is to say that the excellence and consistency is so uniform across the album that any one song could feasibly have been released as a single and it still wouldn’t have betrayed the excellence of the project.

There are moments that feel surplus to requirement at times or run slightly too long but this is to be pedantic in the face of the album's successes. Particular congratulations should go to the effortless perfection of the single "Door" as well as title track, "Pang" both of which are consummate modern pop songs and testament to Polachek’s talents as a singer, songwriter and producer.

Pang is a remarkable debut album assured of its legitimacy and brilliance, one that should be celebrated for its shimmering beauty and the success of its authorial intent”.

If you are new to Caroline Polachek, then I would advise people to check out her previous solo albums, 2014’s Arcadia and 2017’s Drawing the Target Around the Arrow. Pang is most definitely her most astonishing and important album. It is one that every record collector should have!

Before closing this down, there is another review that I want to source. I do lean on AllMusic for great reviews and insights. This is what they said in their review of the mighty Pang:

“Throughout her tenure as the lead singer and keyboardist of the experimental indie rock outfit Chairlift, Caroline Polachek offered her atmospheric take on synthy, arty pop. It's a sound she expanded upon with her solo projects, including 2014's Baroque Arcadia (released as Ramona Lisa) and 2017's ambient-leaning Drawing the Target Around the Arrow (issued as CEP). With 2019's Pang, her first album released under her own name, Polachek further distills her approach with a collection of deeply emotive songs that showcase her delicate vocals and intricate pop sensibilities. Helping her achieve this deft balance of art and emotion is British producer Danny L. Harle. Together, they craft arrangements that straddle the line between moody electronica and adult contemporary pop. Cuts like the soulfully fractured "I Give Up," the yearning acoustic ballad "Look at Me Now," and the icy, hip-hop-tinged "Ocean of Tears" bring to mind the languid sophistication of icons like Kate Bush, Imogen Heap, and Annie Lennox, while remaining true to Polachek's own distinctive artistic voice. On Pang, one gets the sense that Polachek has come through a dark period of personal and creative transformation and is writing directly from that experience. She details the end of a relationship on "Look at Me Now," singing "Now my friends all tell me, 'Girl, you're getting skinny. Have you not been sleeping?'/How could I be?" She further encapsulates these feelings of change on "Hit Me Where It Hurts," singing "I'm feeling like a butterfly trapped in a plane/Maybe there's something going on/I'm not insane." There's also a vivid conceptuality to Polachek's work here. The opening "The Gate" is a shimmering flagship song that evokes a mythic sense of rebirth, as if Polachek is about to embark on a journey of discovery. It's that personal artistic voice cracking through the beautiful scrim of her conceptual artifice that makes Pang so compelling”.

Go and get a copy of the magnificent Pang. As I said, there will be curiosity and excitement as to where m Polachek heads next. She is one of our finest and most extraordinary songwriters. If you need an album that stands up to repeated listens and gets inside the head, then there is no doubt that Pang…

IS up to the job.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Brave Girls

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Brave Girls

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ONCE was the time…

when I was not aware of the music coming from South Korea. I think now, more than at any other time, there is this explosion of interesting Pop music from the nation. Different in sound and scope to that of the Pop music we hear in the U.K. and U.S., one needs to keep an eye out for what is happening in South Korea. One of the most interesting girl groups coming from there is Brave Girls. They are not a brand-new band – there have been line-up changes through the years. I feel a lot of people outside of South Korea might not know about them. As this year marked a decade since they released their debut single, I wanted to spend some time spotlighting Brave Girls’ music. There are a few pieces that I want to bring in. Before then, Wikipedia provide some background about the group:

“Brave Girls (Korean: 브레이브걸스; RR: Beureibeu Geolseu; also known as BG) is a South Korean girl group formed by producer Brave Brothers in 2011 and managed by Brave Entertainment. After making their debut with the single album The Difference on 7 April 2011, the group has since released four mini-albums, including Back to da Future (2011), Re-Issue (2012), High Heels (2016), and Rollin' (2017). Initially a five-member group, Brave Girls has undergone multiple lineup changes and currently consists of Minyoung, Yujeong, Eunji, and Yuna, with no original members remaining. In 2021, the group gained a sudden surge in popularity after their song "Rollin'" unexpectedly went viral”.

If you do not know Brave Girls now, that will change in the months to come. One of their best-known songs is Rollin’. As this NME news feature explains, the group have been bowled over by their success:

“When the group first released ‘Rollin’’ four years ago, they had promoted it with a concept based on vampires. However, the K-pop idols recently revealed that they thought there was a mismatch between the concept and the “very light clean, pastel tone feel” of the song.

“After hearing the concept change to ‘Vampires’, we were like, ‘Oh no, what do we do? We’re doomed’,” member Eunji told News1 Korea. “It was truly shocking. [This is my] first time saying this, but that was our reaction to the concept change.”

In spite of the concept, the group said that they felt that ‘Rollin’’ still had the makings of a hit. “We when first heard ‘Rollin’’, I felt like [the song] was an automatic number one. Definitely,” Yuna said. “When we went back to the practice room, even though we just heard the [demo] version, we dance and played with the song thinking this was a number one hit.”

“What kind of concert and dance would fit, these things would come in our thoughts – [although] they didn’t turn out that way in the end,” Eunji added. “But since the song was so good, we thought this had a chance of getting first place”.

Earlier this month, the group described their newfound success as “bewildering” while expressing their thankfulness towards listeners. “I feel both dumbfounded and overjoyed. It was our dream to chart on Melon, and I’m so emotional by this that I can only say that I’m grateful,” said member Yujeong”.

I’ll end with a review of their new E.P., Summer Queen. Before working me way to that, the South Korean group celebrated a music show win with the song, Rollin’. For a group that has come a long way and gone through various iterations, the win was a huge honour to them. This article explains more:

“On March 14, Brave Girls took their first-ever music show win since their debut on SBS’s “Inkigayo” with their resurgent hit song “Rollin'”.

In an interview with Hankyung, Brave Girls shared their thoughts and feelings about the emotional first win, as well as the reaction of their CEO and producer, Brave Brothers.

“Eunji said, “I thought about everything that had happened to us until now and I cried a lot. I was so shocked. It wasn’t until we got off the stage that I felt like it was real. In all my time as a singer, I never thought that I would get No. 1 and receive a trophy. I was so happy yesterday.”

Minyoung said, “We’d never been nominated for first place before, so we’d never even had the chance to stand next to the MCs. I had no idea where we were supposed to stand. The other nominees for first place were kind enough to guide us. To be honest, we thought that the end of the ‘We Ride’ promotions would be our last time standing on stage, so this felt even more unbelievable.”

Brave Brothers is the agency CEO for Brave Girls and produced and wrote the song “Rollin'” for them. Minyoung said, “He told us yesterday that he almost cried. He was watching TV with his mother, so he was embarrassed and held it in, but he told us, ‘I really felt like I was going to cry. I’m so happy for you girls.’ After hearing that, we cried again too. He suffered a lot for our sake as well.”

In their speech, Brave Girls thanked their fans, but also thanked the officers and soldiers of the armed forces, new military recruits, and members of the civil defence forces. Brave Girls has often performed for military audiences and is known to be a popular girl group among them.

The members said, “The reason that we could get No. 1 on music charts and on music shows was because of them. If they hadn’t been cheering us on, we would never have gotten first place. That’s why it was natural for us to thank them in our speech”.

Among the exciting and varied groups coming out of South Korea, I think that Brave Girls’ longevity and recent success shows that they are ones to watch closely. I really love their sound and how they have evolved through the years. They are such an exciting and fresh group. Their humbleness also stands them out.

I think groups like Brave Girls are what the world needs right now. Medium agreed. They ran a feature where they talked about the current line-up and how the group came back from the brink of disbandment:

“The current lineup of Brave Girls (Minyoung, Yujeong, Eunji, and Yuna) debuted in 2016, and the past 5 years have not always been kind to them. Sales were lackluster, as were results when the group participated in survival show The Unit. Brave Girls also took an extensive hiatus before the release of their digital single “We Ride” in late 2020, after which it was quietly assumed they would disband.

But the universe had other plans. On February 23, the very day that Brave Girls privately decided to call it quits, Viditor’s video was posted. According to Yujeong, the group’s initial reaction when it went viral was not excitement but to tell each other, “Don’t get your hopes up, you’ll end up feeling hurt.”

Reality, however, has gone beyond even their wildest hopes. As I write this, Brave Girls have scored 4 more music show trophies since that first win on Inkigayo and recorded over 100 hourly Perfect All-Kills (or PAKs, a term referring to holding the #1 spot on every major Korean music chart simultaneously). I’m sure these numbers will be wildly outdated before the week is out — they seem to break another record every time I blink.

The past few weeks have been the busiest of their career, and the members constantly reiterate how grateful they are to be working. In one interview, Minyoung even said, “I’m so happy and excited that I can’t fall asleep.” There’s a simple delight in watching people who are so clearly thrilled to be doing what they’re doing. Brave Girls’ current success may have been catalyzed by a viral video, but it’s been sustained by the world’s overwhelming compulsion to root for them.

Whether you mean for the Kpop industry or the world as a whole, it’s safe to say that things are rough. In the midst of all the doomscrolling and discourse, the “Rollin’” renaissance has been a much-needed breath of fresh air on my Twitter timeline. Here are 4 talented women who spent years struggling and receiving limited recognition, whose salvation arrived with absurdly perfect timing and catapulted them to stardom. It’s enough to make you believe in miracles again.

Not only that, but the members of Brave Girls are also all in their late 20s or early 30s, making their tale especially poignant in an industry where idols often debut as teenagers and flare out by the time they’re 25. In Yujeong’s own words: “Our group is not young. I am the second oldest and I am 31 [in Korean age] … I have hit rock bottom after debut, but I eventually ended up where I wanted to be. You never know what life has in store for you”.

The Summer Queen E.P. is one that everyone should listen to. It is perfect for the hot days. Rather than it being merely shallow Pop with a veneer of promise, there is substance and depth to the music. You come back to the tracks because of their compelling energy and brightness. This is what NME wrote in their review:

“We want to establish ourselves as the group people think about during the summer,” leader Minyoung said during their media showcase last week (June 17). ‘Summer Queen’ won’t harm that ambition – it’s a record that feels ready-made for listening to at the beach, by the pool and on sticky nights when the day’s heat is replaced with an electric energy. It’s also a record of variety, refusing to settle into any one summery groove.

The title track ‘Chi Mat Ba Ram’ takes the form of an exuberant tropical house song whose energy is impossible to not get swept along by. Its sound isn’t exactly “on trend” for 2021, but somehow that makes it work all the more – Brave Girls aren’t playing up to what’s cool to keep their momentum going, just pulling big, euphoric bangers out of the bag that could land in any era. It only falters on the English version, whose lyrics feel more stilted than the Korean original.

‘Pool Party’ – which features a great cameo from Brave Entertainment labelmate and DKB rapper E-Chan – dials things back to ’80s-inspired synth-pop and wouldn’t sound out of place on Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Emotion’ album, while ‘Summer By Myself’ brings together city pop and new jack swing, and ‘Fever’ delves into balmy disco. There are elements of second-generation K-pop throughout, but instead of feeling dated and old, Brave Girls make everything sound as fresh as hearing it for the first time.

Lyrically, though, there’s less range. All of the songs detail some version of a moment of love under the sun – on ‘Chi Mat Ba Ram’, Minyoung sings: “Love comes to me too / The hot sun shines / It’s a beautiful summer night.” Later, on ‘Summer By Myself’, Eunji tells us: “Under the dazzling sunlight, I will confess my love / This feeling of walking on the cloud.”

In many ways, ‘Fever’ is the record’s most adventurous track – in its lyrics, its sound and in Yujeong’s ultra cool rap verse. Here, Brave Girls conspire to beckon you away from a life of predictability, even if just for one night, and into a world of rule-breaking and running wild. “So dangerous, somebody call 911 / I thought I got burned,” Yujeong drawls as things heat up. “Make way for the ambulance / The atmosphere is lit, so fabulous.”

Although there is the occasional moment of misfire across its five tracks, ‘Summer Queen’ is more than strong enough to keep the hype around K-pop’s biggest resurgence. Brave Girls should start polishing their crowns – their ascendance to the queens of summer is almost complete”.

Go and follow Brave Girls. They are an incredible force and a group that I feel are going to be around for a lot longer yet. Although they have been together (in some form) a long time, many people are discovering them now. In a tough 2021, their music is a tonic and much-needed soundtrack of positivity. The group most certainly have…

A fantastic sound.

______________

Follow Brave Girls

 PHOTO CREDIT: Brave Entertainment

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/bravegirls.official/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/bravegirls.official/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/bravegirls

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7t5H3uQv0Zw6cQUnSTF5BB  

FEATURE: Spotlight: Frances Forever

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Frances Forever

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IT is no surprise that there…

is a lot of excitement around Frances Forever. Real name Frances Garrett, they are best known for the song, Space Girl. With a new E.P., paranoia party, out, they are gaining a lot of attention and love. Make sure that you check out the E.P. I am a fan of Frances Forever and am interested to see where they head next. Before wrapping things up and letting you do some investigating, there are a couple of interviews I want to drop in. They were conducted, primarily, around the success of Space Girl – I am sure that more interviews will come online soon. NME caught up with the Boston-born nineteen-year-old Frances Forever:

“Frances Forever always knew that ‘Space Girl’ was going to reach more people than anything they’d done before. After growing up in children’s choirs and surrounded by the music of Taylor Swift and The Beach Boys, their 2018 debut EP ‘Pockets’ was a lo-fi collection of bedroom pop gems that dealt with rage, lust and heartache as the then 19-year-old tried to find their own sound.

Inspired by an old episode of Star Trek (they scribbled down the title while watching the show) and full of astrology terminology, the woozy indie rock daydream of ‘Space Girl’ is a cosmic love song that sees Frances Forever step away from those lo-fi beginnings; the 21-year-old from Boston now sounds as confident as they come. “I had a feeling it was going to be bigger than the other stuff I had written just because I liked it so much,” they tell NME. Their partner also joked that the simple but joyful dance routine they’d created for the track would blow up on TikTok. Neither of them were really expecting just how viral a moment it would become though.

52 million streams on a song is totally wild. Why do you think ‘Space Girl’ has connected like it has?

“A mixture of luck and it being a catchy song. I wrote it with my band instead of writing it alone in my bedroom, so that’s why I think people jam to it so much. It’s really fun to play and I can’t wait to play it live. I want people to mosh to it. The dance really made it trend on TikTok thanks to the magic of the algorithm but it’s still connecting because of the lack of representation for gay music. There’s hardly any songs about same sex or sapphic relationships and I wanted to change that. There’s a real hunger for songs like that. I get so many DMs from people about what the song means to them and impacting people in their daily lives is incredibly special and something I never thought I’d be able to do.”

Has the reaction to ‘Space Girl’ changed your ambitions for Frances Forever?

“Absolutely. Over quarantine I was really struggling with writer’s block and finishing projects. The EP that’s coming out has been in the works for a couple of years but I’ve just been sitting on it, asking ‘do people really want this from me?’. Once that song took off and I got signed, it definitely helped my motivation. The only downside to my success is making sure I’m still authentic in my own music. With so many people listening, it’s important not to cater to everyone who just likes ‘Space Girl’ because I can do a lot more than that one song and I have other aspects of my personality than just being gay.”

Lyrically, what do you tackle on the EP?

“I write a lot about mental health or things I’m struggling with. Rather than Taylor Swift poetry and metaphors I’m just like, ‘here we go, this is what I feel’. ‘Eat The Rich’ was inspired by all the minimum wage jobs I’ve worked where the bosses weren’t very nice. It’s me ranting and being passive aggressive through song while ‘Condolences To Myself’ is about past relationships where I had low self-esteem and was just letting people walk all over me. It’s basically me cussing them out.

The title track is pretty much what the whole EP is about though, where you’re trying to find your place in the world and feeling like you don’t fit in. I hope other people realise that they’re not alone in feeling like that.”

Does it feel like the indie scene has got a lot more diverse in recent years?

“Definitely. It’s been really cool to see a lot more representation. Willow is doing great things in rock, Phoebe Bridgers has really blown up and Clairo’s been doing cool bits with Jack Antonoff. There’s been that shift because it got boring. There’s only so much of one type of perspective you can listen to, and I think everyone’s trying to find the things that are relatable to them and their experiences. Some parts of TikTok are just 2013 Tumblr, so whatever these alt kids are listening to can be easily shared around and given a huge platform. I remember King Princess and Girl In Red were some of the first people I really heard talking openly about gay love and it made me want to write my own”.

I love the music Frances Forever is putting out. I know that they are going to be a huge success. I have covered a few young Pop artists who are providing something unique and new. There is a lot of competition out there. With an excellent E.P. out in the world, there is no stopping the incredible American. Whilst Space Girl (the title is in all lowercase on the E.P. and partly uppercase for the YouTube video; I am keeping it as it appears on YouTube) is a standout of paranoia party, there are many other highlights – eat the rich is possibly my favourite song. That said, one cannot ignore the success of Space Girl and how it has connected with people. In their interview, NOTION asked Frances Forever about their success and what it is like being a D.I.Y. artist:

“When creating “Space Girl”, did you know it would become your breakout song?

I think I definitely knew it was special, like from my other songs. The way that we wrote it, my friend Cash brought me the guitar chord progression, and then I brought it to my band and we all wrote it in a live aspect. I was like, ‘I’ve never done anything like this’. I think it was really organic, how it all came together. I kinda knew it was a really special song, but I didn’t know it was gonna be this big. I don’t think anyone could have really predicted that. But I definitely had some type of feeling while writing it.

How does it feel to have so many people enjoy something you’ve made?

It’s honestly incredible. Because the only thing that I really wanted when making music is to leave an impact on people. I’ve gotten so many like messages from people saying like, ‘This is me and my girlfriend’s song. I’m space girl, she’s Earth girl’ or something like that. And just people resonating with it. I didn’t realise like how much people would relate to it, I guess. Also seeing fan art for “Space Girl” and like covers of it. It’s amazing to see what people can do with something that I made. I think that’s probably the most special thing that I’ve gotten out of all this.

Everything you’ve done has been completely DIY up until now. Does it feel scary or exciting to be sharing control of your art?

It’s very different. I think working with deadlines – I’ve never done that before, but I definitely like it. When it’s just me on my own, I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t have to put this out anytime soon’. I would just put it off because I would want to work on it more. But now, having somebody say, ‘We have to finish the mix, finish the master, let’s get it go on’, I’m like, okay, like this is happening. I think working with Mom + Pop [the record label Frances is signed to], it’s very important to them that I have a lot of creative direction. So if I need more time, I can ask. I think that’s super important to keep my own identity and my own sanity in this whole thing [laughs].

Which artists were instrumental in shaping your sound? Has it changed over the years?

Taylor Swift was definitely my first inspiration to start writing songs. She’s amazing. More recently, Clairo, Rex Orange County, Sidney Gish, who’s from Boston like me. Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, obviously. Those types of artists I really take a lot from lyrically and production-wise”.

I am going to round off in a second. Make sure you follow Frances Forever. They will be keen to hit the road and showcase the amazing material on paranoia party. In a year that has seen many terrific E.P.’s, I think that Frances Forever’s ranks alongside the very best. I do worry that, especially for teenage artists, there is a lot of pressure on them in such a competitive industry. That doesn’t seem to be phasing Frances Forever. They have such a strong attitude and a fanbase that is loving and supportive. With paranoia party out in the world, things are looking incredibly positive and bright for an arresting and inspiring young artist. Even though there are a lot of new artists one can choose from, if you overlook Frances Forever , then you are most definitely…  

MISSING out.

______________

Follow Frances Forever

 PHOTO CREDIT: Adam Parshall for NOTION

Official:

https://www.francesforever.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/frances.4ever/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/francesforever

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/frances_4ever

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5uuqghaOBgtv92jDyDveQl

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1nxktNnA0Z4qe0Naq8O_A

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Songs That Spent the Longest Time and Most Consecutive Weeks at Number-One in the U.K. Over Time

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

Songs That Spent the Longest Time and Most Consecutive Weeks at Number-One in the U.K. Over Time

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I can’t recall covering this…

for a Lockdown Playlist. On 13th July, 1991, Bryan Adams’ song, (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (from the film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), went to number-one in the U.K. – and it stayed there for sixteen weeks! It seemed like nothing would dislodge the song from the top shot! Mercifully, U2’s The Fly overthrew it. I do admire a song that can hold onto the number-one for that long. Now, we don’t really pay as much attention to chart positions. There have been songs that have stayed at number-one for many weeks - though not as much fuss is made (not that this lessens the achievement!). Because of that, this is a selection of songs that stayed at the top of the U.K. singles chart for a very long time. If you need a reminder of tracks that refused to budge from the apex of the charts, this Lockdown Playlist puts them back in the spotlight. To honour the upcoming thirtieth anniversary of Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You beginning its reign at the top of the singles charts in the U.K., here are some other tracks that…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tones and I’s track, Dance Monkey, spent eleven weeks at the top of the U.K. chart

WERE pretty comfy sat at number-one!

FEATURE: Childhood Treasures: Albums That Impacted Me: Sheryl Crow – The Globe Sessions

FEATURE:

 

 

Childhood Treasures: Albums That Impacted Me

Sheryl Crow – The Globe Sessions

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WHILST the three albums I have …

included in this feature so far were in my life when I was a young child or in middle school, Sheryl Crow’s The Globe Sessions arrived when I was in high school. In 1998, her third album was released. I knew about her prior to 1998, though The Globe Sessions was the album that really opened my eyes to her work. Two of her best songs, My Favorite Mistake and There Goes the Neighborhood, are on The Globe Sessions. I am going to bring in a couple of reviews for the album. For me, it arrived at a time when I was entering the final stages of high school. As a fifteen-year-old, I was becoming more open to different kinds of music. I have spoken about The Globe Sessions before. It is an album that scored some positive reviews when it was released – though some were not taken and gave it a bit of a mixed reaction. I really love it, and it holds some very good memories. I love a lot of what Sheryl Crow has produced - although The Globe Sessions’ songs are ones that bring back a time when my musical exploration was widening and deepening. I love Crow’s songwriting and, to me, she is one of the most underrated performers ever. Apart from the singles released from The Globe Sessions, tracks such as It Don't Hurt and Mississippi (a Bob Dylan cover) are phenomenal.

If you have not heard The Globe Sessions, then give it a spin. One of the tragedies is that, in 2019, it was announced that the 2008 fire that burned through Universal Studios Hollywood destroyed buildings belonging to Universal Music Group. It has emerged that The Globe Sessions was one of hundreds of albums to have had their studio masters completely destroyed. This means that any re-releases or reissues is not too likely. That is a real pity. In 2023, we mark twenty-five years of the album. I would have loved to have heard some outtakes or extras added to a reissue. I am going to finish off with some positive reviews for The Globe Sessions. In their assessment, AllMusic had the following to say:

“Since her dense, varied, postmodernist eponymous second album illustrated that Sheryl Crow was no one-album wonder, she wasn't left with as much to prove the third time around. Having created an original variation on roots rock with Sheryl Crow, she was left with the dilemma of how to remain loyal to that sound without repeating herself on her third album, The Globe Sessions. To her credit, she never plays lazy, not when she's turning out Stonesy rockers ("There Goes the Neighborhood") or when she's covering Dylan (the remarkable "Mississippi," an outtake from Time Out of Mind).

However, she has decided to abandon the layered, yard-sale production and pop culture fixations that made Sheryl Crow a defining album of the mid-'90s. The Globe Sessions, instead, is the work of a craftswoman, one who knows how to balance introspective songs with pop/rockers, one who knows how to exploit her signature sound while becoming slightly more eclectic. In that sense, the album is a lot like a latter-day album from her idols, the Stones -- it finds pleasures within the craft and the signature sounds themselves. That means that there are no surprises (apart from the synthesized handclaps, of course). The Celtic homage "Riverwide" may be new, but it's not unexpected, much like how the whiplash transition in "Am I Getting Through" isn't entirely out of the blue. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, since The Globe Sessions has a strong set of songs. Since it lacks the varied sonics, humor, and flat-out weirdness of Sheryl Crow, it's never quite as compelling a listen as its predecessor, yet it is a strong record, again confirming Crow's position as one of the best roots rockers of the '90s”.

Not only does The Globe Sessions provide a nostalgic rush. It is an album that I can play and get something new from. Various songs reveal fresh aspects. That is the mark of a truly great album! It remains very special to me…almost twenty-three years after I first heard it.

I am going to end with a second review for The Globe Sessions. This one is from Entertainment Weekly. They had the following to say about an album that, in my humble opinion, is among the absolute best of the 1990s:

“Crow’s Globe Sessions can be heard as the flip side of Mitchell’s refreshed interest in mass outreach. Coming off of two solid hit albums, Crow now offers music that tries to make its singer-songwriterly confessionalism less specific. The CD is a sustained yearning for privacy, solace, and escape, lest she (as the closing song title has it) ”Crash and Burn.” Produced by Crow and mixed by Tchad Blake, the entire enterprise is filled with clatter and clutter — guitar distortion, radio static, the sound of a phone left pulsing off the hook — that convey a conflicted state of mind about love, fame, and the nagging feeling that she can’t trust anyone’s motives.

”I am scared that I’m weird,” she says on ”Am I Getting Through (Part I & II),” and answers the title question with a muttered, ”I don’t care, I don’t care.” Even when she admits to insecurity, it’s cast as an aside or a pun, as in her watery refrain in ”Riverwide,” ”Don’t bail on me.”

Which isn’t to say that The Globe Sessions is unfocused or not catchy. It leads off with the devilish single ”My Favorite Mistake,” whose bouncy melody almost disguises the fact that the title phrase refers to a wayward lover she can’t quite dump. It’s a measure of how good The Globe Sessions is that I couldn’t pick out the Time Out of Mind outtake Bob Dylan gave her to record until I looked at the credits, and even then, ”Mississippi” still seemed like just a nifty throwaway on an album of crafted keepers. And Crow, by the way, doesn’t get enough credit for a wily sense of humor: Aren’t the lines in ”There Goes the Neighborhood” — ”The photo chick made to look sickly/Is standing in her panties in the shower” — a good description of Fiona Apple’s ”Criminal” video? And how ’bout that ”hidden” final cut, a Dylanly diatribe about the persecution of Bill Clinton?

Inspired by Mitchell, I dug out my tattered college copy of Blake’s ”Songs of Innocence and Experience” and damned if I didn’t almost immediately come upon its message for Sheryl Crow: ”Love seeketh not Itself to please/Nor for itself hath any care/But for another gives its ease/And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.” Or, less eloquently: Your favorite mistake might be a blessing in disguise, Sheryl. The Globe Sessions: A-“.

In future editions, I am going to go further back and explore albums that entered my life at a very young age. I wanted to include this teenage gem, as it came to me at a time when I was looking ahead to leaving high school. The Globe Sessions provides me comfort now…

AS it did back then.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Tate McRae

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Leviton for SPINDLE

Tate McRae

___________

THIS time around…

I want to spend some time highlighting a phenomenal teen artist. Tate McRae is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer. The eighteen-year-old is a hugely promising artist who is making some of the most interesting Pop around. I feel that people should check her out (links are at the bottom of this feature). She is someone who I discovered recently but have been doing some research on a lot. Her story and career development is fascinating. I want to start out by quoting from a NOTION interview that was published in 2020:

“Ever since bursting onto television screens and into the public eye as a 13-year-old finalist on American show So You Think You Can Dance?, Tate McRae has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, having recently dovetailed her talents with a burgeoning career in music. Fresh off the release of her viral hit “you broke me first” and first VMA nomination, the Canadian teen sensation speaks to Notion about her prodigious beginnings, charting commercial success, navigating the challenges of lockdown, and her relationship with social media and fandom. Take note, Tate is certainly one to watch.

Somewhere in the world, a teenager has just experienced her first real heartbreak. She sits on her bed, cross-legged, as she plops headphones over her ears and streams the latest of Tate McRae’s emotionally-driven songs; all of which have been met with unifying acclaim by a collective Generation Z fanbase.

I have this image in mind when hopping onto a Zoom call with the illustrious singer, songwriter, and dancer, who is currently working on a new EP at her home in Calgary, Alberta, following the release of a new collaboration with singer and rapper Ali Gatie. Tate McRae is no ordinary 17-year-old, which is even more evident in the meeting, with her breezy confidence, easy-going disposition, and winning smile that relays several years of experience in entertainment. At the end of August, an electrifying performance at the MTV VMAs pre-show of you broke me first showcased Tate’s aptitude for blending her recognisably melodic voice, brooding lyrics, and an expressive contemporary routine, set to mid-tempo trap-inspired beats. The single, which was released—along with a homemade music video—in April during lockdown, has already surpassed 125 million streams on Spotify, gained TikTok virality, climbed international charts, and is easily the alt-pop singer’s most mainstream song to date.

Tate’s prodigious dance abilities would become visible to an international audience at the time of her 2016 appearance on American talent show, So You Think You Can Dance?: The Next Generation. At 13, she leapt, kicked, pirouetted, folded and contorted her way through complex choreography that broached deeply emotional topics, as well as fun, zesty routines—winning the hearts of the show’s millions of viewers. Tate’s professional background in dance has moulded her into a unique type of performer today; one that is multi-faceted and masterfully apt in commanding both voice and body to communicate a story. I pose the question of whether there’s a symbiotic relationship between her choreography and songwriting—as a dancer first, does one aspect have a larger influence upon the other? Her response is thoughtful: “Definitely—especially when I’m listening to the producer create the track, it’s all about how my body would react to it and how I could make it a dance piece. That’s why I love bass and trappy beats,” she smiles widely, “…I think my lyrics are emotional and pretty, but I love a gritty background because then your movement becomes dynamic. I like being able to push my dance with contrasting genres—you broke me first is such an emotional song that has this beat to it, which I love as it doesn’t fit one category specifically.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Jessie Greg-Alabi for NOTION

Tate’s creative force and discipline also partly stems from an early childhood aspiration that she hasn’t lost sight of over the years. “I’ve always wanted to be a performer since I was like 2—since I was a baby!” she exclaims. “I had the most obnoxious personality when I was super young, I don’t even know how my parents dealt with me. I remember I’d have my plastic mic, blue eyeliner all over my face, a cowboy hat and sparkly outfit—and I’d stand on top of the table like, ‘Watch me, I’m performing for you!’” she erupts into giggles. “I was just a weird child! My mom said she would drive by my school when I was in Grade One, and I’d be singing on the bike stand by myself. But that was my mentality all the time. I never wanted to stop singing and dancing. I was this overly dedicated kid,” she recalls perceptively.

Musically, Tate lists the likes of The Weeknd, Post Malone, and Iann Dior as current inspirations for the direction she would like to take her work: “I love the vibes—rap, trappy beats, and a good guitar—so I feel that’s what I’ve been going for, I have a lot of ideas with rhythm and melodies. I always like to push myself and I get inspired by different things when I’m writing,” she nods thoughtfully. I ask if she has any personal idols that she would like to meet, and she gushes at the idea: “I would love to meet Zendaya! She’s been one of my biggest idols forever and is such an amazing role model. I’ve watched all of her interviews and I’m obsessed with her fashion and vibe, as well as Dua Lipa. They’re people that I will forever look up to in all aspects of life. They’re both really intelligent women and are such inspirations to me,” she beams brightly. And it’s palpably clear that Tate McRae should also cast her own name into the roster of strongly talented and inspirational role models for today’s youth—given her rising trajectory, and growing ubiquity across radio stations and social media. With plans to release a second EP early next year, an album following suit, and a hope to tour across more of the US and Australia, the young star has a lot on her plate. “I want to sit down and create a good chunk of music, and make sure it all sounds cohesive—that’s the next step,” she remarks. “I think my music is gonna evolve like crazy within the next year, I already know it has since quarantine happened”.

Even though I am not sure whether there will be an album anytime soon, McRae has delivered some fantastic singles (her latest E.P., TOO YOUNG TO BE SAD, is fantastic). One of my favourites is slower. I don’t think that it is the case her music is squarely aimed at teen audiences. Modern Pop artists need to speak to their key demographic, in addition to a wider audience. McRae’s songs are much wider-reaching than many of her peers’ tracks. L‘OFFICIEL caught up with McRae this year, where the subject of slower came up:

“McRae’s new single “Slower,” is another example of the artist’s ever-changing approach to music. While the lyrics are likely to resonate with turmoil-filled 17-year-olds (“I'm going through changes/It's a roller-coaster/But I might be somebody/You might not even know her”), she wrote the song at 14 during one of her first co-writing sessions. It wasn’t until it was revived, that the artist realized it still spoke to her.

“I hated it at first,” she admits, explaining she rewrote some lyrics and reproduced some of the orchestration. “Now it's completely come to life again. I get very defensive on what I want to put out, because I feel like I have a very good grasp on which songs connected with me and will connect with my fans. I really had to have an open mind for this song, because I was really closed off at first, thinking that 14-year-old me didn't know what she was talking about.”

Like anyone moving through their teen years, McRae admits that she’s changed a lot. She recently graduated from high school, was nominated for a Juno for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and has even been called Canada’s answer to Billie Eilish. (Having worked with Eilish on “Tear Myself Apart,” she’s a fan.) Now she has a new 6-track EP, Too Young to be Sad, slated to drop tomorrow, which features two brand new songs alongside her singles "You Broke Me First," "Slower," "R U OK," and "Rubberband." But even as the attention to her work grows, creativity continues to be a refuge. That’s something that she doesn’t see changing.

“I don't want to be anyone else when I'm dancing, which is a really really good feeling,” McRae says. “Dancing has just been such a huge part of my life. Same with music. I would never let go of it just as much as music, even if I'm doing singing more now. I will never let go of it until the day that I die”.

One of the defining aspects of Tate McRae and her music is the maturity. Once was the time when Pop was defined by a lack of maturity. That is not to say that her music lacks fun and frivolity. McRae manages to balance intelligence with teenage perspectives. This Woman in Pop interview (from last year) investigates her mature edge:  

“As a songwriter and performer, there is a remarkable maturity about McRae that belies her age. Her lyrics are intelligent, meaningful and astute, and the music is compelling and sophisticated. While many of her songs tap into teen angst – broken hearts, schoolyard drama – she delivers them with such authenticity that they make sense to anyone of any age. She says that her age means she is often underestimated by those in the industry. “When I first got into [songwriting] sessions at fourteen, it was like, ‘You’re fourteen, you know nothing, let us write the song’,” she says. “And that for me was like ‘Whoa, I have my own opinions too!’ It’s kind of frustrating. I usually don’t like to tell my age until the end of a session so that people can trust my voice and trust what I want to say.”

In April this year McRae released the moody electro single ‘You Broke Me First’, its lyric about refusing an ex who wants to come back into your life: “Now suddenly you’re asking for it back / Could you tell me, where’d you get the nerve? / … But I don’t really care how bad it hurts / When you broke me first.” Given the emotional pull of the song, McRae says she wasn’t feeling at all emotional on the day she wrote it. “It’s actually kind of funny because my headspace wasn’t really in a sad or emotional state,” she says. “And once my subconscious started to speak I started to draw inspiration from past emotions and really get into the zone. It kind of just came out really fast.”

 After she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2020 MTV Music Awards, McRae performed the song at the livestreamed ceremony at the end of August. It was a career high for her. “I never thought that I’d be performing an awards show this early,” she says. “It was a huge dream of mine to even get on that stage. So the fact that I was able to get nominated as well as perform was a huge honour. And it was incredible.” The performance took her career up another notch as the song not only gathered millions of streams but rocketed into the music charts across the globe, including a top 20 spot in Australia and the UK – and rising.

With success in both the new world of streaming and the old world of singles charts, coupled with her exceptional talent and unmatched work ethic, McRae is well and truly on track for an impressive pop career . Although she expresses frustration at not being able to tour yet, or meet her fans face to face, she promises more good stuff is coming. “I have a new song coming out in mid-October,” she says. “I’m really excited [because] we filmed a music video and it’s the first professional video I’d been able to film since quarantine. It was pretty cool and I’m very excited to release it”.

I am going to wrap things up very soon. I would encourage people who are unaware of Tate McRae to check her out and listen to her music. I feel she is going to go a very long way. The current market is very busy and broad in terms of young artist. Whilst it is quite hard to stand out and sustain, there is no reason to suggest McRae is here for the short-term.

Just before closing up, there is one more interview I want to source from. FASHION spoke with her this year. We discover more about a talented young artist with many years ahead of her:

“What’s it been like working and making art during COVID-19?

It’s definitely been interesting. I’m not a fan of Zoom sessions, but have to do them every day. You have to adapt because you can’t hear anyone, ever. It’s always glitchy, always in and out. You just have to go with it, because it’s a hard process. I’ve been stripping back my writing team — it’s easier than having a million different people on a call.

Have you had to look in different places for writing inspiration, given all the isolation this year?

Usually I’ll be with my friends and I’ll observe everything, and grab emotions from that to write my songs. But now I can’t see any of my friends, and I have nothing to grab from. I’ve been trying to push where I get inspiration from — photos, quotes, things I see online. And that feeling of literally just being in your house and analyzing every part of yourself. That’s what I write about.

You write about a lot of serious stuff that some people might say you’re too young to know about.

That’s probably one of my least favourite things that someone can do, judge me based on my age. A 17-year-old and 30-year-old both have their own lives. No matter how much time has passed, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the same relevance. I feel like I’m an old soul; people always tell me I’m a 50-year-old trapped inside [my body]. Everyone’s brains work different. I’m super observant. I’ve written songs that I feel like people [older than me] relate to. That says a lot about what I have to say. You can’t put an age on a writer or an artist.

How does it feel to be Apple Music’s Up Next artist this month, following in the footsteps of so many incredible artists?

It’s one of the coolest things I’ve done. I’m really stoked about working with Apple. I mean, it’s Apple. It’s an honour, and it’s cool to be able to just push my creativity and make more content. They also have the resources to be able to create some cool documentaries and videos”.

>

Actually, the interview below will be the last one! The recent interview that The Stingray Blog saw some quickfire questions aimed the way of Tate McRae:

“What’s the best part of performing for you?

The best part of performing is by far the energy from the crowd. It’s the biggest adrenaline rush ever.

If you could have dinner with one musician (dead or alive), who would you choose and why?

I would love to have dinner with The Weeknd. I would be so intrigued to learn more about his mind and his creative vision behind all his songs.

When you are on tour, what is one thing that you absolutely can’t live without?

I can’t live without throat coat tea on tour.

What was the funniest thing that happened to you on tour?

Right before my first show in Los Angeles, I did a squat and ripped the biggest hole in my pants. We had to think quick and find new ones before getting on stage. It was a chaotic experience.

If you had to choose between singing and dancing, which one do you love more and why?

I could never choose. They both are unique outlets for me in different ways; therefore, I could never drop one of them.

What is the best thing that a fan has ever said to you?

The best thing you can hear as an artist from a fan is “your music saved me.” It’s honestly the craziest feeling knowing that your music and lyrics have that much impact on people”.

Many people are going to watch McRae closely. She is shaping up to be a big star. With the likes of Tate McRae and Olivia Rodrigo offering modern Pop that is broad, mature and exciting, things are looking promising. Make sure you spend some time with…

THE rising teenage star.

______________

Follow Tate McRae

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@tatemcrae1

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/tatemcrae/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TateMcRaeOfficial/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/tatemcrae

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/45dkTj5sMRSjrmBSBeiHym

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQh6LB206jF3JxpCDD-fp5Q

FEATURE: Station to Station: Part Seventeen: Georgie Rogers (Soho Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music)

FEATURE:

 

 

Station to Station

 PHOTO CREDIT: Georgie Rogers

Part Seventeen: Georgie Rogers (Soho Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music)

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I have a lot of respect…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Georgie Rogers

for the amazing Georgie Rogers. Make sure you follow her on Instagram. I included her BBC Radio 6 music colleague, Chris Hawkins, in this feature last time. Rogers occasionally presents the music news on Shaun Keaveny’s weekday afternoon show (Matt Everitt is the regular music new presenter). She appeared a couple of weeks ago. I hope that she gets more time on the station. I have written about Rogers before. I am not going to cover too much of the same ground regarding what I wrote before. I feel that Rogers will get a regular slot on BBC Radio 6 Music in some form in years to come. She is also a champion of great new music on Soho Radio. I would suggest that you listen to her shows as she is a fantastic D.J., broadcaster and interviewer. Before bringing in an interview Rogers was involved with, it is worth sourcing some biography:

“Georgie Rogers is an experienced radio and TV presenter, music/arts journalist, voiceover artist and DJ.

A passionate and credible tastemaker and champion of alternative, independent and electronic specialist music, hear her Music Discovery shows monthly on Soho Radio and in the mix twice a month on Foundation FM.

She's also a Music Broadcast Journalist on BBC 6 Music and contributes regularly to BBC Radio 2, BBC 5 Live, BBC News TV, Radio 4, Sky News, with previous presenting experience on Virgin Radio, XFM, Vevo and Apple Music's Beats 1.

In 2019 Georgie co-founded the Super Women platform and production company presenting a number of short docu-films about meeting kickass trailblazers across several fields from motorsports to politics, adventure to tech, mentoring female filmmakers in the process.

Her love of motorcycling has lead to working with reputable brands BMW, Royal Enfield, Malle, Saint, Petrolettes and Mutt, who featured her in Mutt Magazine "Riding Out With Rogers" page 40.

As for DJing, find her on the decks at several London venues and festivals including Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Field Day, End of the Road and Meadows in the Mountains in Bulgaria”.

Although she is still fairly early on in her career, she has accomplished so much already. As I said, I would not exclude the possibility that Rogers will get a weekday/weekend show on BBC Radio 6 Music at some point – maybe a Friday night selection of bangers to take us into the weekend? She clearly has a lot of love for the station. The work she does with Soho Radio, whilst similar in some ways, is an opportunity to have her voice and musical choices heard more. Such a wide-ranging and passionate talent, the next few years will see Rogers assume new responsibilities and reach a new audience. There is a lot of love what she is throwing out!

 PHOTO CREDIT: Adam P. Mane/@pandco_women

I did say I would get to an interview. P&Co spotlighted Rogers. As ambassador of their Do What You Love, Not What You're Told Campaign, we got to know more about a phenomenal and inspiring talent:

“P&Co: Introduce yourself, who is Georgie Rogers?

Georgie: I'm a broadcaster and music journalist with BBC Radio 6 Music and also a presenter, DJ and voiceover artist, which means collaborating with lots of great creative brands. I get a kick out of discovery. Nothing was more of a thrill than sneaking up to London as a teenager to see a new band or DJ for the first time in Camden or Fabric nightclub. When I started to interview bands at XFM in 2007 and then at 6 Music soon after, it lit the fire and everything up to that point made sense, my life-long fascination with the radio and wonder for music. Building connections with the artists I loved and as my career developed showcasing their work by playing them on the radio quickly turned into my dream job. Fast forward a decade, I guess I'm still about that rush whether it's doing board sports, exploring a new country, riding motorbikes or more recently making short-films.

P&Co: Aside from the DJing, presenting and music journalism, you have also co-created a video series celebrating female 'trailblazers', tell us more!

Georgie: Just over a year ago I started the Super Women platform with a filmmaker friend Alice Smith. I wanted to do a series about trailblazing women because the bike world had opened me up to people like Elspeth Beard, the first British woman to motorcycle around the world, an award-winning architect and author of Lone Rider. I was so inspired by her story and that of several other pioneers in my orbit, not just in music but also motorsports, politics and tech. For us, it was important to give something back through the process. We wanted to make sure we were offering practical filmmaking opportunities to women so we assembled a team, got sponsorship and filmed the first series, which launched in May. It's just about telling great stories, so we are working behind the scenes on developing more docu-film ideas and getting together some training weekends for aspiring female filmmakers while we continue to roll out the rest of the first series.

PHOTO CREDIT: Adam P. Mane/@pandco_women

P&Co: Have you ever faced any challenges as a woman in the radio industry?

Georgie: Of course! It's a given that all women in the creative industries face challenges. Music radio is still imbalanced when you break it down across major UK stations. Things are changing though with Lauren Laverne (BBC 6 Music) and Zoe Ball (BBC Radio 2) doing well on major breakfast shows and their growing listener figures proving that there's a demand for a more gender balanced schedule. However, you only have to look at the running orders on several established music stations and the reality is that out of a possible 8 or 9 slots per day between Monday to Friday - often only two shows are anchored by women! There's no shortage of female broadcasting talent so there's definitely room for improvement when it comes to gender parity.

I think internet radio stations like NTS, Worldwide FM, Rinse and two that I broadcast on Soho Radio and Foundation FM are now playing a key role in showcasing diversity and new talent. I've been fortunate in my career to be nurtured and given opportunities to grow during my time broadcasting on 6 Music, XFM and Virgin Radio, but it's great that these new platforms exist to give the next generation of presenters and DJs the opportunities to be wild horses on the airwaves”.

P&Co: Why do you think it is important to highlight women doing what they love & not what they're told?

Georgie: Growing up, I never really had a feeling that I was limited in any way by my gender. I have two really strong matriarchs in my mum and grandmother (shout out Barbara Jean/Nonnie - she's 94!) to look up to and had a lot of freedom from my parents who weren't overbearing and left me to decide on my career path. Loving it is what has kept me committed to the dream throughout the highs and the lows. I had a pretty savage injury smashing my knee cap into many pieces a few years ago but I was so determined for it not to change my outlook that as soon as I could walk again I said 'yes' to everything and then got my first motorbike. Most people would have told me that was a really terrible idea! A sense of freedom to make my own choices and trust my instincts has infiltrated every part of my life from my work, to riding, travelling and learning new things. People will make snap assumptions and try to put you in a box but that's bad vibes so forget them. Just do what you love and do it as much as you can”.

I am going to wrap up soon. Before then, there is an interview from 2016. This was conducted when Rogers was working for Virgin Radio. I want to include sections from the interview - as she provides useful advice to those who might be thinking of a career in radio/broadcasting:

“In terms of those who want to start a career or be part of the whole radio industry experience including local people as well as students, Georgie says this:-

"Go for it, if you really want to work in radio, show your commitment, try and get as much experience as you can, be a 'sponge' in terms of soaking up everything you can from everyone around you, or people who are working in the industry. A big thing I've noticed is that you should be nice to everybody, because you don't know who will end up being your boss in a few years time".

Reflecting back to her internship and time working at XFM, the producer at the time was the boss at XFM, four years later he gave Georgie her first live open gig, she adds that:-

"Those relationships you hatch along the way are so important, be really nice, be good at your job, get in front of peoples faces but learn the line and know where that line is, so don't be too pushy or too much and just learn the part, if you really want to work in radio you can make it happen... it can be quite a difficult industry to get into and to work your way up... but starting on those local stations, in hospital radio, getting involved with all of that sort of things early on really helps you out and then you want to tap up the bigger and national stations. So it's really important to get as much experience as you can... learn how to edit audio, learn how to make packets, learn how to put shows together and learn the guidelines, OFCOM rules, that kind of thing - this is the sort of thing bigger stations will look for when it comes to internships, people who want to forge a career."

Reflecting back on her student days she kinda of felt that she foreseen herself working for a big station like Virgin Radio due to her knack of being direct, admitting her desire to work for a big station - setting it up as a goal for her, an ambition to go for without stopping for anything. Having been in the industry eight years now, it's safe to say she's achieved a lot - just by sticking to it. With the eight years paying off with her first show on Virgin Radio's relaunch, Georgie admitted she was excited at the prospect as she had her internship there back in 2007, with her first Virgin Radio show allowing her to pick the music for the show, bring in bands, etc the freedom to have that element of creativity that was not available to her during her stint at XFM. She admitted that her "first show was really nerve-racking"... whilst she was talking either an ambulance or police car was blaring out past her, but despite that she admitted the experience was nerve-racking because it was a whole new desk and was completely different from what she was used to, "it's a bit like driving a new car where everything is the other way around to what you are used to", now she's rearing to add new elements to her show including interviews and music.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Georgie Rogers | Presenter•Dj (@georgierogers)

However she wasn't that nervous with her first show on Virgin Radio given her previous experiences at other radio stations, "sometimes you have to catch yourself before you go on air and think actually there's a lot of people listening, you have to have the attitude of 'I've got this' even if you feel a bit nervous"; seeing as the radio station had it's restart this was what Georgie was most nervous about seeing as it's a new audience and not "a ready-made audience that were all just going to be there", but overriding the nerves was the pressure even though both go hand-in-hand in this case, however Georgie feels she's comfortable with it all even though outsiders would think of her profession as a bizarre one adding "it's a strange thing to do (being a radio DJ) playing records and essentially talking to yourself in a room, but it's hugely fulfilling to play the music that I love", of course being creative is what sparks off new opportunities and new ventures as well as adventures, so for Georgie this has to be her career highlight”.

I will leave it there. One of the most eclectic, dedicated and accomplished broadcasters and D.J.s around, let’s hope that more doors open up for Georgie Rogers – I think that they will! Although the pandemic has restricted what many broadcasters could achieve, Rogers has been keeping pretty busy. One of the finest voices on radio, we will hear her on the airwaves for many years to come! Seek out her work, follow her on social media and check out the work of…

Georgie Rogers · GEORGIE ROGERS | FOLLOW THE CALL OF THE DISCO BALL MIX

AN amazing talent.

FEATURE: Station to Station Part Sixteen: Chris Hawkins (BBC Radio 6 Music)

FEATURE:

 

 

Station to Station

PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

Part Sixteen: Chris Hawkins (BBC Radio 6 Music)

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I have included several broadcaster/D.J.s from…

 PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

BBC Radio 6 Music already for this feature. There are a couple of reasons why I want to alight on and explore Chris Hawkins. If you are up to listen to his early-morning weekday show, I would recommend it (one can listen back on BBC Sounds if you are not awake then!). Having been at BBC Radio 6 Music since it started out nineteen years ago, we hope that Hawkins is going nowhere anytime soon! He loves being where he is and, though the years, he has built up a loyal and impressive listenership. Not only is the music Hawkins spins excellent. Features like Friday’s Awesome Segue (where he plays two bangers back-to-back) are a must-hear. That feature often gets some cheeky ‘hate’ from listeners – if Hawkins plays something a bit cheesy or boring. Aside from that, we get interviews, great features and a connection with a D.J. who is inspiring so many upcoming broadcasters. I think that Chris Hawkins has a book in him. In terms of being a D.J. or recalling his experiences and stories from throughout his career. The other reason why I want to highlight the excellent Hawkins is because of his series, How to DJ. The series consists of Hawkins and a guest each episode discussing being a D.J. and how they (the guest) got into that career lane.

It is a fascinating and revealing series that, I hope, continues and has a lot more life in it. The latest episode was Hawkins chatting with Christian ‘The OC’ O’Connell. I really like O’Connell (and, as I used to live near him when he was in the U.K, I passed him in the street once or twice). He has done something I am tempted to do in the future: he has moved to Melbourne (Australia). It was illuminating listening to O’Connell discussing his decision to leave the U.K. and move to Australia without much knowledge of what to expect and whether he would be successful. Hawkins’ series is warm and engaging. He, as you’d expect, is an excellent interviewer and gets the very best from his guests. With a series under his belt, I hope we get more episodes. It has been interesting listening to him chat with everyone from Jamz Supernova (a BBC Radio 6 Music colleague) to Ashley Beedle. There is no doubting that Chris Hawkins is one of my favourite D.J.s (he would prefer that term to ‘broadcaster’) – and one of the main reasons why I tune into BBC Radio 6 Music. There are few who have the same sort of passion for the job and the continued enthusiasm for new music. Having been at the station for nineteen years, one could forgive Hawkins for playing it safe or coming across as less engaged or curious. That is not the case. To hear his genuine love for a new act or song makes him an important tastemaker. He has extolled and promulgated artists who I really love now (including The Lathums).

Whilst there are older interviews from Chris Hawkins (where he has been interviewed by a magazine/website/paper), it would be nice to see a new one. I get the feeling that, alongside his work on BBC Radio 6 Music, Hawkins will be taking on new challenges and responsibilities in the coming years. Whilst this interview is a little old (I think 2019?), Camden Live spoke with Hawkins. I have selected a few of the questions:

“Your playlists are always particularly eclectic, covering everything from Mogwai to The Roots. Do you think that early slot gives you a lot of freedom to showcase such a wide variety of music?

Yeah, for sure. It’s about mixing up the music that people might want to break into the day with, in a kind of a heavy-headed way to make the start to the day that little bit easier. But also about big wake-up tunes. It’s a mix that tries to accommodate both ends of that spectrum. (People are going about their business pretty quickly of a morning, schedules are often tight, and people try to get up as late as possible so I try and provide something that they will love for the amount of time that they’ll be able to listen.)

How do your own tastes fit into that?

It’s all my taste.  One of the great things about 6 Music which is quite unusual,  particularly these days, is that we are able to play the music that we love. So whether it be old, or brand new, a huge amount of work and a lot of love goes into to choosing the right music each day.

Do you enjoying seeing the reactions from the artists themselves?

Yeah, I mean, 6 Music is well loved by the music industry. Bands often get in touch, even during the show.

In fact, James Righton from Klaxon’s just got a new solo album and just this morning I played a new song about his daughter called ‘Edie‘ on the show. By the time that the song had finished playing, James had tweeted me to say “Thanks so much for playing my new song on 6 Music”.  So clearly, yes, we have a strong relationship with artists, I try to go to as many gigs as I can and it’s great to have those relationships.

Aside from the exposure you’ve given artists on the radio, you’ve also hosted your own nights, you regularly shout out new artists on your social media feeds and you were even a curator for Off the Record festival last year, which was specifically geared at new music.  Who would you say is the artist you are most proud of having given exposure to, that has gone on to do great things?

I hosted a night at the Queen’s Head in Islington. where for example Catfish and the Bottlemen played upstairs. They came and played to a pretty small audience … in the tens and have now gone on to be virtually a stadium band, you know? They’ve become huge!  That for me is the absolute standout example.

But there are lots of bands that I played early on and it’s been amazing to see how they’ve grown.  I’m excited by young, new bands. The Lathums, I’ve mentioned. There’s a young band called Weird Milk, Porridge Radio, they all have great potential. I think for me and more broadly, for 6 Music, having seen Amy Winehouse, Adele. Keane, even Coldplay go from relatively new bands to the big acts that they are now, it’s gratifying.  It’s amazing to see them grow.

What do you personally listen for in new music?

Something catchy. Something hooky. Something different, something creative. So for example, an artist like Anna Meredith is a creative powerhouse. She’s doing something different. She’s one on her own. She’s really forthright in what she’s, she’s trying to create, pushing boundaries. Also, Michael Kiwanuka who I mentioned earlier.  They’re very different artists that stand out in different ways and encompass all that I love about music. You know, great songwriting, a passion, soul and something different that catches your ear that you’ve never heard before. It’s hard to achieve that. You know, everyone makes comparisons. A new band always gets compared to an old band. When a band are hard to define, I think that’s pretty exciting”.

On a station that has some of the finest broadcasters in the country, Chris Hawkins is definitely up there with the best of them. I feel he will be there for years to come. Even if he leaves the station, Hawkins has decades more in him as a D.J. I know he will be raring to get back to festivals and D.J. to the masses. A bright, warm, funny, passionate and professional presence on early morning BBC Radio 6 Music, Chris Hawkins is one of…

RADIO’S best and most inspiring.

FEATURE: Shot Like An Arrow Into the Killer Storm: Kate Bush and Gered Mankowitz

FEATURE:

 

 

Shot Like An Arrow Into the Killer Storm

PHOTO TITLE: ‘Hammer Horror’/ALL PHOTOS: Gered Mankowitz 

Kate Bush and Gered Mankowitz

___________

THERE is a reason as to why…

 PHOTO TITLE: ‘WOW!’

I am revisiting the relationship between Kate Bush and Gered Mankowitz. To be fair, one needs no reason to speak about them. Mankowitz is a legendary photographer who, among others, has shot Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. You can check out his work. I am coming back to the photographer, as he celebrates his seventy-fifth birthday next month. Even though he only worked with Bush for a fairly short period of time, it was at the start of her career. Bush had many photos of her taken between, say, 1978 and 1979. Many were press shots…but the one photographer who stands out from that time is Gered Mankowitz. I am going to bring in an interview shortly where he talked about Bush. Whilst I love a lot of the other shots that she was involved with through her career, the work with Gered Mankowitz is especially important and impressive. That early in her career, Bush would have been nervous and new to photoshoots. She had her photo taken by her brother, John (Carder Bush; he photographed his sister from childhood to as recently as 2011); working with anyone outside of the family was quite new. To establish trust would have been quite difficult. I am going to pepper a few of his photos through. He shot promotional images for Bush’s debut single, Wuthering Heights. His image would have been used for the U.K. cover.

 PHOTO TITLE: ‘Hat’

However, a shot of her in a leotard revealed her nipples. It meant that there was discomfort putting out that image. Rather than trying to sexualise her, it was a raw and natural shot. It is one of the best images of Kate Bush. One can see the image on the Japanese cover for the debut album, The Kick Inside (where the nipples have been cropped). Mankowitz did shoot the cover for Kate Bush’s second album, Lionheart. There are some outtakes from that session which are fantastic. There are other photos Mankowitz took of Bush from 1978 and 1979. One of them, where Bush resembles a screen icon like Lauren Bacall, is one of her finest ever photos (at the bottom of this feature). Some photographers would do very similar shots. If you look at the ones Mankowitz shot of Bush, they are all different. From the earliest ones where Bush is in a leotard and it showcases her dancing side, to the more elegant photos, his work is remarkable! One can purchase a copy of WOW! It is a collection of stunning photos from 1978 and 1979. Just before coming onto an interview I was talking about earlier, I wanted to bring in Mankowitz’s recollections regarding the first couple of shoots with Kate Bush:

“Gered Mankowitz recalls: “The final few weeks of 1977 were very busy for me, with album covers for Bing Crosby, Cliff Richard, Shakin’ Stevens and the Rubettes amongst others. So when EMI asked me over to their Manchester Square offices in central London to discuss a new artist, I was actually a bit pushed to find the time. How glad I am that I did manage to free up my schedule, because at that meeting, they played me ‘Wuthering Heights’ and showed me the video they had produced of a then unknown singer called Kate Bush performing the song. Kate was not at this initial meeting, but from listening to the playback of the song and watching the video, I realised that she was an extraordinary artist and potentially a wonderful subject”.

January 1978 – The first session

“In those days I was working out of a studio in Great Windmill Street in the heart of London’s Soho.  For this first session with Kate I had decided to use a wonderful piece of distressed canvas as a background; it had once been used as the floor of a boxing ring in the gym below us, and its coarse texture seemed a perfect contrast to Kate’s youthful beauty.

I purchased some leotards, tights, leg-warmers and scarves, and placed them in our rather inadequate dressing room, which was actually a curtained-off corner in the studio. When Kate arrived, she disappeared behind the curtain with the make-up artists and stylist.

Kate emerged in the pink leotard.

She looked beautiful, and I knew that we were going to have a fantastic session. She settled in front of my Hasselblad camera without a care in the world. Kate did not have much experience of working with a professional photographer, and I felt that it was important to try and guide her through the process. She had a natural instinct and seemed to understand immediately how much the camera loved her.

After shooting several test Polaroids, I was happy with the lighting, and Kate was delighted with the look. We shot throughout the afternoon, with Kate in both the pink outfit and a green version. After about twenty rolls of film, the first shoot was over and I felt certain that we had achieved the objective and produced the portrait that would launch her.”

March 1978 – The second session

My second session with Kate was on 21 March 1978. By this time, both the ‘Wuthering Heights’ single and The Kick Inside album had been established as huge hits. Some countries did not want to use the original Kick Inside cover image, and one of my jobs for this second session was to come up with some alternative options for use on covers outside the UK. One of these turned out to be the classic ‘wooden box’ image which became the American cover for the album, and there were at least four different cover images in total. I always loved the ‘wooden box’ series because it was such a complete contrast to the original pink leotard shoot and showed a more playful side of Kate’s character. We had the box made by my set-builder so that it was completely square and would fill the shape of the album sleeve perfectly.

The other reason for the second session was to create a stock of several different portraits that showed different aspects of Kate’s theatrical persona. I remember this as a long and pretty tiring session, and we shot more than six different set-ups and over forty rolls of film. When I look back at this shoot, and see again the variations that we covered in one day – including the entire ‘Wuthering Heights’ video sequence in the Cathy dress, minus the smoke (which EMI had asked for because they could not take stills from the video itself) I am not surprised that it was such a shattering experience”.

Although Bush had quite a bit of say and artistic control over her shoots, it is down to the photographer to get something unique from the subject. Gered Mankowitz’s photos of Bush in 1978 and 1979 are amazing! She can reveal so much without giving too much away. In 2014, Mankowitz was interviewed by The Big Issue for the release of WOW! I have selected a few portions of that interview:

“I was brought in to create the launch image for Wuthering Heights and I think what makes Kate brilliant is her unique talent, her extraordinary energy, her vision – everything she does has a tremendous vision.

I remember her to be somebody who worked very hard. She was very young, 19, when it came out and she was wonderful to work with. Very energetic, very frenetic, quite difficult to tie down sometimes, to get her to focus on making an idea work, she wasn’t very experienced in having her photograph taken at that time, which was part of the challenge. But her individuality shone through.

I don’t think I had to draw it out of her, it was there, it was bubbling out of her. When I first went to the record company to discuss the session she wasn’t there but they played the video of Wuthering Heights that they’d made. It was quite obvious that she was a unique and special talent, not just because the music was so extraordinary but because of her individual look, her beauty and movement and style.

She had a really special quality, which stood out instantly on record and visually. I knew that I had to be at the top of my game to produce an image that was going to complement and support this extraordinary talent, and that’s what I tried to do. I always try to break these things down so that they are as simple as possible.

I had to be at the top of my game to produce an image that was going to complement and support this extraordinary talent

I only had a very loose connection with the record company. They already had a cover for the album The Kick Inside, but they didn’t have an image of Kate, it was quite obscure and it wasn’t as up-front of Kate as they wanted it to be. But I sense that they weren’t quite sure where they were going with her.

What they seemed very certain of was here was a unique and special talent and that they had somebody who was pure gold, but they were being led by her and I think that they weren’t sure who they were getting.

I wouldn’t want to suggest that she was in control of our session, but she was very much in control of the way she looked when she stepped out of the dressing room and I saw her for the first time ready for the camera I was blown away and knew it was going to be something special.

We did the very famous leotard pictures. I chose the leotards to make visual link with dance, that was the point of choosing and selecting them, I wanted to keep it extremely simple, I hope that in the portrait there would be a visual connection with dance which was clearly very important to her.

PHOTO TITLE: ‘Cathy Come Home’ 

The Big Issue: There has been discussion over the years whether her sexuality was being exploited – depending how it’s cropped, it’s quite graphic…

Gered: It didn’t occur to me at that time that [the nipples visible in the full-length shot] would be a problem. I know that it was pretty edgy for the late ’70s but it wasn’t sort of discussed or thought about a great deal. That was how she looked and I wasn’t going to say to her “I think you should cover up”.

She looked absolutely gorgeous. I’m looking at a cropped version of it now and it still has all the power that it did then. Her breasts might have been titillating to a few young boys but her beauty and her serenity, her stillness are what really make this a special photograph.

But she used her sexuality throughout her performance – look at the Babooshka video or any of the records and promotional videos and stills, certainly in those first three or four years of her career she was a very sexual person and I think that came across in the way she moved, looked and the way she sang”.

On 3rd August, Mankowitz turns seventy-five. He is one of the most important photographers in terms of Bush’s images in 1978 and 1979. I love (as he does) the pink leotard shot. It is a shame that it was never used in the U.K. It is hard to pick a favourite - though I really like the 1979 shot where Bush looks like a Hollywood idol. Go and check out Mankowitz’s photos of Kate Bush, as they are so engaging and fabulous. It is left to me to nod to a legendary photographer. Even though it is not until August, I wanted to wish Gered Mankowitz…

 PHOTO TITLE: ‘Hollywood’

A very happy birthday.

FEATURE: Groovelines: Kendrick Lamar – Alright

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

IN THIS PHOTO: The music video for Kendrick Lamar’s Alright/PHOTO CREDIT: Kendrick Lamar/YouTube

Kendrick Lamar – Alright

___________

HERE is a song…

that is still hugely impactful and relevant in 2021. Released in 2015, Kendrick Lamar’s Alright is taken from his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly. A song about hope amid personal struggles, it features uncredited vocals from the song's co-producer Pharrell Williams during the chorus. From a masterpiece album, Alright is a clear highlight. I want to bring in a few articles that explore a song with enormous political and social resonance. This Business Insider article discussed how the song was used in rallies and assemblies in 2015:

“Beyond being an incredible song, its chorus became a rallying cry of protesters in the United States — "a kind of comfort that people of color and other oppressed communities desperately need all too often: the hope — the feeling — that despite tensions in this country growing worse and worse, in the long run, we’re all gon’ be all right," as Slate culture writer Aisha Harris put it.

In Chicago, when people gathered to protest a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, "We gon' be alright!" was sung in celebration of the rally's cancellation.

And in 2015, a Black Lives Matter assembly in Cleveland chanted the song's chorus, reportedly in response to police arresting a 14-year-old protester.

Countless other examples exist. More than just a great song, "Alright" is the anthem of the modern civil rights movement.

It's joined socially-conscious hits like Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam" and Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" as bigger than music. "Alright" is an incredible achievement for a man who's already achieved so much. And it's one that almost didn't happen”.

I am not sure whether Kendrick Lamar hoped his song would be used in protests. I guess it is a track that offers hope and strength at difficult times. Alright hit me when I first heard it back in 2015. Every time I come back to it, I am moved and affected! It is such an incredible song that will be heard and remembered many years from now. NPR talked about Alight in 2019. They go into more detail regarding the song’s creation:

“Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly was released in the spring of 2015. "Alright" was the fourth single off the record. It's hard to say exactly when the song was first used at a protest, but the story in Cleveland touched on many of the issues of the moment concerning police relations with black people. At similar demonstrations, the chanted hook quickly became a fixture.

In a 2016 interview with super-producer Rick Rubin hosted by GQ, Lamar said he sat on the beat — dreamed up by another super-producer, Pharrell Williams — for six months before figuring out what he wanted to say. "The beat sounds fun," he said. "But it's something else inside the chords that Pharrell put down."

The dah dah dahs that make up those chords are Williams' own disembodied voice, running constantly through the song. They're haunting, in a way. "Maybe it's the ancestors who never received the justice they deserved," says Miles Marshall Lewis.

The author of the upcoming book Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar, Lewis interviewed Lamar after the release of To Pimp a Butterfly and learned the artist was inspired to write "Alright" by a trip to South Africa — specifically the cell on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Similarly, Lamar told NPR in a 2015 interview that he was thinking about the history of chattel slavery in America.

"Four hundred years ago, as slaves, we prayed and sung joyful songs to keep our heads level-headed with what was going on," Lamar said. "Four hundred years later, we still need that music to heal. And I think that 'Alright' is definitely one of those records that makes you feel good no matter what the times are."

In the song's prechorus, Lamar lays this feeling out succinctly. He begins in the past:

Wouldn't you know, we been hurt, been down before

When our pride was low

Looking at the world like "Where do we go?"

The emotional payoff of the chorus isn't complete without this lead-in, acknowledging the long history of black oppression. Then he brings us back to the present, where things are different, but not different enough:

And we hate po-po

Wanna kill us dead in the streets for sure

I'm at the preacher's door

My knees getting weak, and my gun might blow,

But we gon' be alright

When the narrator shows up at a preacher's door, reeling in the face of police violence and oppression, he's holding a gun. Lewis says the moment reflects the old duality of the civil rights struggle: "He might trade in the Martin hat for the Malcolm hat, and have to defend himself”.

I am going to end the feature soon enough. Before coming to that point, there is a fascinating article from Vulture that was released last year. Given the Black Lives Matter protests and the killing of George Floyd, songs like Alright have taken on new life and meaning. The article investigates the violent unrest of 2014/2015; also how Alright has gained new popularity and focus fairly recently:

“It’s disorienting looking back at the unrest of 2014 and 2015. At the hot summer night when the St. Louis Police Department faced a community incensed by the unfair policing and anti-Black violence that had culminated in the death of Mike Brown, armed with stun grenades and MRAPs, weapons of warfare, and the many months of civil disobedience and extralegal disruption that followed, and realizing it wasn’t the end of something but the tremors before an earthquake. The rift never healed. In November of 2014, when a second round of protests followed news of no indictment for Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the Mike Brown case, Donald Trump, then a tycoon and reality star barreling carelessly into politics, spoke on the situation on Twitter: “Our country is totally fractured and with our weak leadership in Washington, you can expect Ferguson type riots and looting in other places.” Four years into his presidency, we’ve been made painfully aware of what he would do to suppress a protest. The image of Trump holding a Bible upside down in front of a D.C. church where protesters decrying police brutality were cleared out with tear gas to make room for the photo op is one of the many indelible artifacts of a chilling chapter of American history.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on 28th June, 2015 in Los Angeles/PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Polk/BET/Getty Images for BET

The unwitting theme song of the wave of protests that carried on through 2015 — as news broke of the mass murder at Charleston, South Carolina’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the death of Sandra Bland in a Texas jail — was Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” the cornerstone of the Compton rapper’s challenging, eclectic sophomore album To Pimp a Butterfly. Butterfly is a thesis about persecution and perseverance, a trip through a battlefield riddled with mines. The protagonist’s path to freedom takes him around predatory lending schemes (“Wesley’s Theory”), a rigged prison system (“Institutionalized”), gang violence (“Hood Politics”), alcohol abuse (“u”), and colorism (“Complexion”). In the middle of the album, “Alright” sticks out, invoking the steely composure of old Negro spirituals, songs about tarrying through tough times in search of the glory on the other side, in emancipation or in death. The Kunta’s Groove Sessions, Lamar’s small-venue To Pimp a Butterfly tour, turned “Alright” into a lengthy crowd participation exercise, as the audience chanted the chorus of the one song they hadn’t heard yet in the break before the encore. Lamar came out to stir the pot a little more before playing the song in full. The feeling was electric. We needed to hear that we would be alright. What wasn’t clear is how long it could take.

As weeks of unrest became a yearslong struggle for transparency amid mounting cases of unexplained incidents of police brutality, “Alright” grew a strange aftertaste. The sentiment suddenly felt premature, like the big hit landing too early in the live show. The world the song envisioned seems far away, though not out of reach. The moment requires a different kind of protest song. Rappers are putting in work; there’s a new one out almost every day, from sources both expected and unexpected. Indiana rhymer Freddie Gibbs’s “Scottie Beam” recounts an unnecessary police stop; Albany’s Conway addresses cops using deadly force against innocent Black citizens in the scathing “Front Lines.” Compton rapper YG (whose “FDT” was one of the defining anthems of our election anxiety in 2016) released “FTP,” the latest in a long line of powerfully rude songs about LAPD mistreatment; L.A. transplant Jay Cue’s new “Fuck Racists” seethes with retaliatory outrage. Meek Mill’s “The Other Side of America” employs the Philly artist’s spitfire raps and heartfelt verses to outline the conditions that drive people to do and sell drugs, critiquing a government that lines its own pockets while leaving many citizens to fend for themselves. Atlanta rhymer Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture” applies the clearheaded, emotive writing of songs like “Hurtin,” “No Friends,” and “Emotionally Scarred” to straightforward political messaging and comes out with the kind of protest song that also has designs on being a hit. The country’s current No. 1 song, DaBaby and Roddy Ricch’s “Rockstar,” now has a Black Lives Matter remix with a verse about run-ins with cops. Common points of outrage in songs coming out of every corner of the country are a damning indictment of the status quo. When Northeast boom bap guys, Midwest spitters, newly minted Southern trap stars, and Cali gangsta rappers agree you suck, you suck.

So far, though, the internet that weaponizes snark and gives new context and purpose to old songs and videos has picked intriguing contenders for the protest song of the moment. When a woman being detained outside a South Carolina strip club improvised a song about getting the officer fired, and enterprising internet users made a trap remix, the viral smash “Lose Yo Job” was born. Just as popular is a track from the mid-aughts Discovery Channel kids’ show Hip Hop Harry that came to be called “Go, Go, Go, Who’s Next?” In the show, the song — a wholesome knockoff of Terror Squad’s “Lean Back” — plays as Harry, a dancing anthropomorphic teddy bear who raps, leads the kids in a dance-off not unlike Soul Train lines and break-dance team battles. “Who’s Next?” picked up steam first as an innocuous TikTok dance challenge and later evolved into a response to cloying corporate gestures of support for Black Lives Matter on Blackout Tuesday, as brands that spoke up were quickly criticized for questionable track records on race.

In this climate, existing songs about race and justice are newly poignant. Streams of Kendrick’s “Alright” jumped up almost 800 percent as protests broke out across the country. N.W.A’s trenchant “Fuck tha Police” got a bump, as did YG’s “FDT.” Late Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke’s 2019 smash “Dior,” might not seem like a first ballot theme song for marches against injustice, but there’s enough disappointment in the American prison system in the lyrics to make it work. Hip-hop’s social consciousness pokes through even when the artist is trying to be lighthearted”.

To me, Alight is one of the most important songs of the past couple of decades. Taken from the genius album, To Pimp a Butterfly, it is a musical moment that will live forever. From Lamar’s incredible lead performance to the amazing production and the stirring video, Alright is a classic! In the past year – as race and police brutality has been back in the news – that has offered unrest and injustice, Alright has been taken on as a rallying cry and protest mantra. It is a song that will infuse and inspire…

GENERATIONS of the future.

FEATURE: Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure: Christina Aguilera – Beautiful

FEATURE:

 

 

Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure

Christina Aguilera – Beautiful

___________

IN this feature…

I have included quite a few Pop hits. I shall broaden out in future instalments, as there are songs from across the musical map that some refer to as guilty pleasures. One artist who has a few songs that divide people is Christina Aguilera. Her smash, Beautiful, has appeared on one or two lists of ‘guilty pleasure’ songs. Perhaps those who are not a fan of Aguilera’s might not be instantly taken with the track – though I feel it is a great song that should not be seen as embarrassing or inferior in any way! In fact, the song was extremely well-received well it was released in 2002. The second single from the excellent (and underrated) Stripped album (2002), this was a Pop superstar showing huge maturity and ability. On an album that had some raw and sexual moments, Beautiful offered something emotional, hugely inspiring and different. It is no wonder that the song resonated. It is a shame that, because Aguilera is a Pop artist and some people write off her music because of that, Beautiful is not given that much time. It is a song that has helped many people – given them strength and hope at such a dark time. I want to bring in a few articles that look at Beautiful and its impact. In terms of its success and reception, Beautiful is a real marvel:

"Beautiful" has been widely embraced as an anthem by the LGBT community for its message of self-empowerment and inner beauty. An accompanying music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, and earned Aguilera a GLAAD Media Award for its positive portrayal of gay and transgender people. In 2011, UK LGBT rights organization Stonewall named "Beautiful" the most empowering song of the previous decade for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In 2009, Rolling Stone and VH1 listed it as one of the best songs of the 2000s. The song is regarded as one of Aguilera's signature songs and has been covered on numerous occasions and featured on several television shows.

"Beautiful" received universal acclaim from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commended the song for not following the "club and street-level R&B, which fit her poorly". Similarly, a reviewer from Billboard described "Beautiful" as a "single-worthy ballad" from a record of "pleasantly surprising depth". In a separate review, Chuck Taylor from the same magazine deemed the song "breathtaking", and highlighted its melody and lyrical message. Entertainment Weekly's David Browne called the song one of Stripped's "moments", noting that it is "more restrained" than the other songs from the album. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the collaboration with Linda Perry found Aguilera "truly naked" and reflective of the album's title. Stylus Magazine's Todd Burns gave Stripped a negative review, but complimented "Beautiful" for "tastefully [reining] in Aguilera's frequent vocal acrobatics". Jane Dark of The Village Voice compared the song to the works of Mariah Carey "made back when she was a natural", and the Attitude magazine called it "universal". The Advocate's Larry Flick named "Beautiful" a "Beatlesque ballad" and the "great queer anthem of 2003”. He also listed it as one of the best songs of the year. In contrast, Amanda Murray from Sputnikmusic criticized the "platitude-drenched" lyrics but praised the overall production. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, "Beautiful" won the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was nominated for Song of the Year”.

It was legendary songwriter Linda Perry who actually penned the song. The former 4 Non Blondes’ lead has written some huge hits (including Get the Party Started by P!nk). This article gets Perry’s thoughts regarding one of her best-known tracks:

“The second single from her bold and daring Stripped album, Beautiful's message of self-love was easier on the ears than its predecessor Dirrty (released three months earlier), but it was no less controversial.

The song was written and produced by 4 Non Blondes frontman Linda Perry, who had originally intended for it to be her own solo comeback single. Speaking to ASCAP about the track's conception, she said: "I had been doing these rehearsals because I was gonna do a showcase for all these labels. I had written songs that I was really proud of. Beautiful was one of them - it was gonna be my comeback song."

The final version of Christina's Beautiful, Perry says, was the original demo recorded at her house where the pair first met. "I had a long conversation with my manager about it" she said of whether to let go of the song. "We both decided to hear Christina sing it. We demoed the song with her singing it, and I was like, 'Wow.' That rough vocal is what is out there on radio. It was that vocal that got her the song."

Beautiful spent two weeks at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart, holding off competition from DJ Sammy's Boys Of Summer and Dannii Minogue's I Begin To Wonder in the process. The song has sold 380,000 in the UK and racked up 11.1 million plays on streaming services since records began in 2014.

It also won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was nominated for Song Of The Year, while its impact on the LGBTQ community inspired a generation; the rarely-seen positive portrayal of gay and transgender people in the music video won it a GLAAD Media Award.

Beautiful remains Christina's last chart-topper in the UK. She's come close to the top of several occasions, including 2006's Ain't No Other Man (2), Maroon 5 collaboration Moves Like Jagger (2) in 2011 and Say Something (4), a duet with US group A Great Big World in 2014”.

I am going to wrap up in a minute. One of the most memorable aspects of Beautiful is its video. There are some powerful images to be seen. It is a video that has lost none of its importance and potency nearly two decades later. Bustler highlighted some of the most notable scenes from the video. I have mentioned a few of them:

“It's a time we should all remember fondly: When Christina Aguilera shot the music video for “Beautiful” in 2002, she was fully engaged in her Xtina mode — but it became quickly evident that there was more to her edgier alter ego than her sass, her barely-there clothing, and her seductive/sexual dance moves. As the fourth single off her Stripped album, "Beautiful" was extremely raw, and depicted Aguilera as a vulnerable, relatable individual with struggles that are often masked by pop stardom. However, the intense video that accompanied the single is what truly set it apart from many of her previous musical efforts.

Obviously this song and video spoke to anyone who has dealt with self-loathing, and no matter if the culprit for your emotional funk is a bad hair day, or the negativity stems from something much deeper, Aguilera’s “Beautiful” video is basically a visual pick-me-up. Through vivid imagery depicting a myriad of personal struggles, it aims to inspire tons of people to embark upon a path of self-acceptance. Whether the number one enemy you face is society or inner feelings of inadequacy that thrive in a dark corner of your subconscious, the video still delivers its message of acceptance for all, loud and clear.

 The burning magazines made a bold statement that totally reflected the song's lyric, "You are beautiful, no matter what they say."

This scene of a young woman struggling with an eating disorder was one of the video's most powerful images.

The "Beautiful" video came to a beautiful, full circle close with a fully bloomed sunflower”.

If you are someone who has always thought Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful is a guilty pleasure or song that is best avoided, I would encourage you to give it another spin. The whole Stripped album is one that was unfairly judged and did not receive the acclaim that it warranted back in 2002. Beautiful is a song that is sincere and can be appreciated by so many people. Whether you are going through struggles or not, the lyrics and stunning performance by Aguilera cannot help but affect the senses. I think that a song like Beautiful should be shown…

A lot of love.

FEATURE: A Buyer’s Guide: Part Sixty-Two: Suede

FEATURE:

 

 

A Buyer’s Guide

Part Sixty-Two: Suede

___________

IN this edition…

I am focusing on an iconic British group. Suede are a band who have been performing together for decades. With a new album due this year and tour dates planned, they are still going strong. Before getting to the albums of theirs you should invest in, here is some biography regarding the London band:

“Suede kick-started the Brit-pop revolution of the '90s, taking English indie pop/rock music away from the swirling layers of shoegaze and dance-pop fusions of Madchester, and reinstating such conventions of British pop as mystique and the three-minute single. Before the band had even released a single, the U.K. weekly music press was proclaiming them the "Best New Band in Britain," but Suede managed to survive their heavy hype due to the songwriting team of vocalist Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler. Equally inspired by the glam crunch of David Bowie and the romantic bedsit pop of the Smiths, Anderson and Butler developed a sweeping, guitar-heavy sound that was darkly sensual, sexually ambiguous, melodic, and unabashedly ambitious. At the time of the release of their first single, "The Drowners," in 1992, few of their contemporaries -- whether it was British shoegazers or American grunge rockers -- had any ambitions to be old-fashioned, self-consciously controversial pop stars, and the British press and public fell hard for Suede, making their 1993 debut the fastest-selling first album in U.K. history. Though they had rocketed to the top in the U.K., Suede were plagued with problems, the least of which was an inability to get themselves heard in America. Anderson and Butler's relationship became antagonistic during the recording of their second album, Dog Man Star, and the guitarist left the band before its fall release, which inevitably hurt its sales. Instead of breaking up, the band soldiered on, adding new guitarist Richard Oakes and a keyboardist before returning in 1996 with Coming Up, an album that took them to the top of the British charts.

Through all of Suede's incarnations, vocalist/lyricist Brett Anderson and bassist Mat Osman remained at the band's core. The son of a cabdriver, Anderson formed the Smiths-inspired Geoff in 1985 with his schoolmate Osman and drummer Danny Wilder. Anderson was the group's guitarist; Gareth Perry was the band's vocalist. Geoff recorded two demos before splitting up in 1986, as Anderson and Osman left to attend university in London. A few years later, the pair formed Suave & Elegant, which lasted only a few months. By the end of 1989, the pair had placed an advertisement in New Musical Express, asking for a "non-muso" guitarist. Bernard Butler responded, and the trio began recording songs, primarily written by Anderson and Butler, with the support of a drum machine. Taking the name Suede after Morrissey's "Suedehead" single, the trio sent a demo tape, Specially Suede, to compete in Demo Clash, a radio show on GLR run by DJ Gary Crowley. "Wonderful Sometimes" won Demo Clash for five Sundays in a row in 1990, leading to a record contract with the Brighton-based indie label RML. By the time the band signed with RML, Anderson's girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, had joined as a second guitarist.

Suede placed an advertisement for a drummer, and former Smiths member Mike Joyce responded. Joyce appeared on the group's debut single for RML, "Be My God"/"Art." Scheduled to be released on a 12" in the fall of 1990, the single was scrapped shortly before its release due to a fight between the band and the label. Throughout 1991, the group rehearsed and recorded demos, eventually adding drummer Simon Gilbert. Frischmann left Suede in early 1992 to form Elastica; she was not replaced. A few months later, Suede signed a two-single deal with the indie label Nude Records. Shortly afterward, the band appeared on the cover of Melody Maker, without having released any material. The weekly newspaper declared them the Best New Band in Britain.

"The Drowners," the band's first single, appeared shortly after the Melody Maker cover, and it became a moderate hit, debuting at number 49 to strong reviews and word of mouth. "Metal Mickey," released in the fall, became their breakthrough hit, reaching number 17 on the U.K. charts after a suggestive, controversial performance on Top of the Pops. Anderson soon became notorious for causing controversy, and his infamous comment that he was "a bisexual man who never had a homosexual experience" was indicative of how the group both courted controversy and a sexually ambiguous, alienated audience.

A short tour before the spring release of their eponymous debut album was very successful, setting the stage for "Animal Nitrate" debuting at number seven. Shortly afterward, Suede entered the charts at number one, registering the biggest initial sales of a debut since Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome. By the summer, Suede had become the most popular band in Britain -- winning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for Best Album that fall -- and they attempted to make headway into the United States. Their progress was halted when Butler's father died that fall, forcing the cancellation of their second tour; they had already begun to be upstaged by their opening act, the Cranberries, who received the support from MTV that Suede lacked. Shortly afterward, the band was forced to change its name to the London Suede in America, due to a lawsuit from an obscure lounge singer performing under the name Suede.

Tensions had begun to develop between Bernard Butler and the rest of the band during the group's 1993 tours, and they peaked when they reentered the studio to record a new single in late 1993. Butler conceived the song "Stay Together" as a sweeping epic partially in tribute to his father, and while it was a success upon its February 1994 release, debuting at number three, the recording was not easy. As they were working on Suede's second album, Anderson and Butler began to fight frequently, with the guitarist claiming in a rare interview that the singer worked too slowly and that his partner was too concerned with rock stardom, often at the expense of the music. Butler left the band toward the end of the sessions for the second album, and the group finished the record with Anderson playing guitar. Bernard's departure launched a flurry of speculation about Suede's future, and Dog Man Star didn't answer any of those questions. The grandiose, ambitious, and heavily orchestrated Dog Man Star was greeted with enthusiastic reviews but muted commercial response. As Suede were working on their second album, their remarkable commercial success was eclipsed by that of Blur and Oasis, whose lighter, more accessible music brought both groups blockbuster success in the wake of Suede.

While Dog Man Star sold nearly as well as Suede, the impression in the press was that the group was rapidly falling apart, and the band didn't help matters when Butler was replaced by Richard Oakes, a 17-year-old amateur guitarist, in September. Suede embarked on a long, grueling international tour in late 1994 and the spring of 1995, before disappearing to work on their third album. In the interim, Butler had a Top Ten single with vocalist David McAlmont, and Gilbert, the only gay member of Suede, was attacked in a hate crime in the fall. At a fan club gig in January of 1996, Suede debuted several new songs, as well as their new keyboardist, Neil Codling, Gilbert's cousin. The group returned as a five-piece in September of 1996 with Coming Up. A lighter, more band-oriented affair than either of Suede's two previous albums, Coming Up was an unexpected hit, entering the charts at number one and generating a remarkable string of five Top Ten hits -- "Trash," "Beautiful Ones," "Saturday Night," "Lazy," and "Filmstar." Coming Up was a hit throughout Europe, Canada, and Asia, but it wasn't released in the U.S. until the spring of 1997.

Coming Up never did win an audience in America, partially because it appeared nearly a year after its initial release and partially because Suede only supported it with a three-city tour. Nevertheless, the record was their most successful release to date, setting expectations high for the follow-up. Upon their return to the studio in the fall of 1998, Suede decided to ditch their longtime producer, Ed Buller, choosing to work with Steve Osborne, who had previously produced New Order and Happy Mondays. The resulting album, Head Music, was released in May of 1999; an American release followed in June. Featuring heavy use of analog synthesizers and drum machines, Head Music divided opinion among hardcore Suede fans, who preferred the band's more guitar-centric approach. However, the production changes were largely aesthetic, and the band still delivered plenty of anthemic glitter rock glitz with songs like "Electricity," "Can't Get Enough," and "She's in Fashion."

Around 2001, Suede found themselves at a career crossroads. Keyboardist Codling, who had contributed greatly to the writing on Head Music, left the band and was replaced by Strangelove's Alex Lee. Adding to the sense of change, the band's label, Nude Records, went bankrupt and Suede were left at the mercy of their parent label, Sony. Also around this time, Anderson, having struggled with drug addiction (he later admitted to being a crack addict), finally decided to get clean. Despite these upheavals, by 2003 Suede had finished their fifth studio album, the Stephen Street-produced A New Morning. Unfortunately, public interest in Suede, not to mention the Brit-pop sound, had faded by the early 2000s and the album sold poorly. Several concerts followed in support of the band's 2003 compilation, Singles, but by October, Suede had announced they would not be releasing any new music in the foreseeable future. They played their final concert at the London Astoria on December 13, 2003, before going on indefinite hiatus. Following the break, Anderson did the previously unthinkable and reunited with original Suede guitarist Bernard Butler under the name the Tears. The duo released a well-received 2005 album, Here Come the Tears. Also during the hiatus, Anderson recorded four low-key solo albums with 2007's Brett Anderson, 2008's Wilderness, 2009's Slow Attack, and 2011's Black Rainbows.

Finally, in 2010, with Codling back on board, Suede reunited for several live shows beginning with a performance at the Teenage Cancer Trust show at Royal Albert Hall on March 24. This led to more shows, including a tour promoting the compilation album The Best of Suede. By 2011, the band had begun performing new songs live, and in 2012, Suede announced they were in the studio working on a new album with producer Ed Buller, who had produced the band's first three albums. In 2013, Suede released their sixth studio album and first album of all-original material since 2003, Blood Sports. Suede debuted several of the Blood Sports tracks online, including "Barriers" and "It Starts and Ends with You." The release featured a more mature perspective from Anderson, and a sound that harked back to the grand guitar pop of Suede's early work. After playing anniversary concerts celebrating Dog Man Star in 2014, Suede returned to the studio to make their seventh studio album. In September 2015, they announced the impending release of Night Thoughts. A dark, majestic album that recalled Dog Man Star, Night Thoughts saw release in late January 2016, debuting at six on the U.K. charts. Later that year, the band released a super deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Coming Up. The band spent 2017 in the studio writing and recording their eighth LP. The record -- titled The Blue Hour -- marked the first effort collaboration with producer Alan Moulder (the Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails) and arrived in September 2018. The Blue Hour debuted at five in the U.K., their best chart position since Head Music in 1999.

In 2018, the band was the subject of a documentary called Suede: The Insatiable Ones, which was directed by Mike Christie”.

To celebrate the legacy and influence of Suede, I will focus on the albums of theirs that you will want to own; one that is underrated and worth seeking out. I will also list their latest studio album and point you in the direction of a book that makes for useful reading. Not only are Suede one of the best bands of the past decades. They are definitely…

ONE of the most distinct.

_____________

The Four Essential Albums

 

Suede

Release Date: 29th March, 1993

Label: Nude

Producer: Ed Buller

Standout Tracks: So Young/The Drowners/The Next Life

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/suede/suede-fbba5a9f-fd94-4113-922b-aa17fb2e8bfb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7uCoh6iOPS2yMIJO1WAjvX?si=DMieRR6GQ46TXjKUPB2Xaw&dl_branch=1

Review:

“Borrowing heavily from David Bowie and the Smiths, Suede forge a distinctively seductive sound on their eponymous album. Guitarist Bernard Butler has a talent for crafting effortlessly catchy, crunching glam hooks like the controlled rush of "Metal Mickey" and the slow, sexy grind of "The Drowners," but he also can construct grand, darkly romantic soundscapes like the sighing "Sleeping Pills" and the tortured "Pantomime Horse." What brings these elegant sounds to life is Brett Anderson, who invests them with bed-sit angst and seamy sex. Anderson's voice is calculatedly affected and theatrical, but it fits the grand emotion of his self-consciously poetic lyrics. Suede are working-class lads striving for glamour, and they achieve it by piecing together remnants of the past with pieces of the present, never forgetting the value of a strong hook in the process. And while the sound of Suede frequently recalls the peak of glam rock, its punk-influenced passion and self-conscious appropriation of the past make it thoroughly postmodern. Coincidentally, its embrace of trashy pop helped usher in an era of Britpop, but few bands captured the theatrical melancholy that gave Suede such resonance” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Animal Nitrate   

Dog Man Star

Release Date: 10th October, 1994

Label: Nude

Producer: Ed Buller

Standout Tracks: The Wild Ones/New Generation/The Asphalt World

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/suede/dog-man-star-c32db7e1-811f-43c5-af87-67dbf9d35a16

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/1LgpJjBJIRQhkJ01oZR3Cn?si=N92xCiJ3TAm1vvbc5EyxZg&dl_branch=1

Review:

“But first, meet the new Brett Anderson. The old mewling cross-breed - part Notting Hill boho, part dreamy barrow boy - isn't here: there's no "Dad, she's driving me mad", no nocturnal waifs described as "lovely little numbers", relatively little of the shrill yelper who smeared himself over 'Suede'. This Brett has almost everything he sings iced with echo. He frequently lapses into a soft baritone. He speaks, on occasion, with a booming authority. And with that change comes a shift in the songs. The minds that spawned the opening blood-and-glitter trilogy - 'The Drowners', 'Metal Mickey', 'Animal Nitrate' - have steadily become consumed by something bigger: codas, orchestras, music that can be huge. And Brett's stories require nothing less: the proclamations of a lifestyle laced with sordidness, the council homes and broken bones, have been all but lost in a theatrical flurry of traditional tragedy and euphoria. The songs of 'Dog Man Star' are grand designs, enacted against grandiose backdrops.

Naturally, there were portents of all this: 'Sleeping Pills', 'The Next Life', and most recently, the eight-minute thunderstorm that was 'Stay Together'. And what links this record with even its most clipped, trash-strewn predecessors is its over-arching sense of place, the fact that Brett roots the lion's share of his words in the decaying expanse of modern Britain. "England is simultaneously maddening and beautiful, and that's something I want to get across in the songs," he told NME in February. Such is the charm of large swathes of this record.

Its prologue seems to be a sliver of autobiography. 'Introducing The Band' may well be Suede's ascent recounted in an altered state: a throbbing, robotic vignette whose words flip between being too esoteric to translate, and satirically poking at the mythologised take on how they got here. "The tears of suburbia drowned the land," sings Brett, soaking his own history in soft-focus romance - only to sow disquiet when he alludes to the forces that turned him into a garish cut-out. "Steal me a savage, subservient son," goes the third verse. "Get him shacked-up, bloodied-up and sucking on a gun/I want the style of a woman, the kiss of a man..."

This is one of the few obvious Brett-the-star references; by the song's close, he has epochal matters in mind, trailing the blazing visions of 'We Are The Pigs' with a gleeful wish for the late 1990s: "Let the century die to violent hands," he sings, like a public school dorm-boy messing with the Ouija board. Thus - after a looped fade-out roughly translated as "dying-um-dying-um" - begins a stylised riot.

'We Are The Pigs' is the best Suede single to date: the rock'n'roll equivalent of operatic moments of peasants coming down from the hills to lynch the squire. Well, the church bells are calling/Police cars on fire," leers Brett, as the disorder boils over, launching a clarion call for every social deviant. Along with everything else (most notably, Bernard's unfettered, wilfully hamfisted guitar), the horns - knowingly stolen from 'Peter Gunn' - make '...Pigs' an exemplar of the thrilling hybrid of Camp Violence. And like a lot of this album, it's set within yards of your back door. That's why you get the shivers” – NME

Choice Cut: We Are the Pigs

Bloodsports

Release Date: 18th March, 2013

Label: Warner Bros.

Producers: Ed Buller

Standout Tracks: For the Strangers/Hit Me/Faultlines

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=535446&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0KxFgCRvWpee2Dd7D7kRyM?si=dJXZEVuATZ6LUnqWFYD4tA&dl_branch=1

Review:

“Throughout Bloodsports, Suede consistently strikes the balance between decadence and elegance-- a “world wrapped in tinsel,” swathed in “lipstick traces” and “second-hand furs”-- that marked their signature work. But where Anderson once aligned himself with his fellow misfits, on Bloodsports he’s seeking more meaningful, one-on-one connections. Though it climaxes with a bleacher-baiting gang chorus, the Joshua Tree-toppling salvo “Barriers” is, at its core, an intimate, open-hearted address from someone who wants his relationships to be measured in years rather than nights. And it gets Bloodsports off to a terrifically rousing start; the succeeding “Snowblind” and “It Starts and Ends With You” both come loaded with the sort of do-or-die urgency and knockout choruses to earn retroactive placement on 2010’s Best of Suede compilation.

It’s fitting that Suede are staging their comeback the same month as their patron saint, David Bowie (with whom Anderson famously shared an NME cover back in 1993). But where Bowie spends much of The Next Day sardonically addressing his extended absence and his own mortality, Andrerson hurtles himself into Bloodsports with the stern-faced intent of someone who is grateful to have been granted a second chance and determined not to let it go to waste. And if his outsize passion isn’t enough to push every big-tent ballad over the top (like the middling “Sabotage”) or sell you on the odd underwritten chorus (e.g., “Come on and hit me/ With your mystery”), he keeps the frisson flowing well into Bloodsports’ more atmospheric and despairing second act. As the wide-eyed romanticism heard in the album’s opening stretch gives way to a vicious cycle of emotional dependency (“Sometimes I Feel I’ll Float Away”), betrayal (the eerily desolate “What Are You Not Telling Me?”), and predatory, restraining-order-worthy behaviour (the ominous “Always”), the band respond with their weightiest, most calamitous music since side two of 1994’s darkly epic Dog Man Star.

But if Bloodsports stays faithful to Suede’s signature sound, it represents a refreshing evolution in spirit. This is not the place to go to indulge your student-disco nostalgia; rather than try to swagger back onto the scene and try to out-snort men half their age, Suede shrewdly draw our attention to those youthful indiscretions-- ego, insecurity, obsession-- that we never seem to outgrow”- Pitchfork

Choice Cut: It Starts and Ends with You

Night Thoughts

Release Date: 22nd January, 2016

Label: Warner Music UK

Producers: Ed Buller/Neil Codling (add.)

Standout Tracks: Outsiders/Pale Snow/Like Kids

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=947780&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5cyFF9f6VhtSXIr3GZ88sD?si=KgLlqpQ-QL-X3k5NgF5QrQ&dl_branch=1

Review:

“Night Thoughts is a quintessentially Suede title: specific yet vague, a notion that seems either romantic or sad depending on perspective. Twenty years, a decade of which was spent in a split, certainly has shifted Suede's perspective, particularly that of leader Brett Anderson. In his younger years, Anderson couldn't resist the tragic but as he settles into middle age, his work bears an unmistakable undercurrent of gratitude: no longer racing against a nuclear sunset, he's meditating upon the elongated stillness of night. It's a shift of attitude, a maturation mirrored by Suede consolidating their strengths. Leaving behind frivolous trash -- it is, after all, a sound that suits the young -- Suede embrace their inherent glamorous grandeur, playing miniatures as if they were epics while reining in excess. In a sense, Night Thoughts functions as the Dog Man Star to Bloodsports, an album that dwarfs its predecessor in both sound and sensibility. If Dog Man Star threatened to topple upon its own ambition -- part of its charm is how it meandered into endless darkness -- that makes the precision of Night Thoughts all the more impressive; it is the work of a band whose members know precisely how to execute their ideas. Here, the longest epic crests just over six minutes ("I Don't Know How to Reach You"), and the 12 songs seem interlocked, if not precisely conceptually then certainly thematically, with each element elegantly playing off the last. Sometimes, there are echoes of their past but this is knowing; "Like Kids" cascades like an inverted "New Generation," pulsating with the same passion but with an eye toward the past, not future. Despite this glance over the shoulder, there's a sense that Suede are happy not only to be through all the turmoil but to bear the scars of well-fought battles. With that past behind them, Suede can still dwell on big issues of love and mortality, but now that the past is in perspective, it all means a little bit more and what lies ahead is a little more precious, and that wide view makes Night Thoughts all the more moving” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: What I'm Trying to Tell You

The Underrated Gem

 

Head Music

Release Date: 3rd May, 1999

Label: Nude

Producer: Steve Osborne

Standout Tracks: Electricity/Can't Get Enough/Everything Will Flow

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=10117&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3UwCRY6FG04ADuNp793vSz?si=NXZogx29T-KXDp_C-0FiVQ&dl_branch=1

Review:

“Brett may well be smacking the horse, shagging the pony, heating his meat to the gasoline beat, but, man alive, four albums in the plot is wearing thin. And if it's boring for us after seven years, what must it be like for him?

Which is why calling it 'Head Music' is a hoax. This isn't music for the mind, not unless you enjoy rereading the same book over and over, it's for the waist (calling it hip music might be pushing it). At its vibrant, snakey best, as on the single, 'Electricity', or the Codling-penned, Glitter-Band-cover-The-Fall stomp of 'Elephant Man', or 'She's In Fashion' (Rula Lenska breezes past, on roller blades, followed by a waft of Givenchy), this is hair-raising pop. It's not always their own pop, but if the melodies are sometimes borrowed, the delivery is always Suede's. It wiggles its autograph from speaker to listener with a distinctive fluorescent flourish.

But while Suede may be writing some of the most exciting pop of their career, they're also striking out for new pastures. Such as reggae. Oh yes, and oh no. 'Savoir Faire' is the first song that Brett's skanked upon and perhaps he should leave it at that. We, however, can't. "She make love and she swallow a dove in her room, room, room", wails Brett like Sir John Gielgud after a hit of skunk and you wonder if he's some kind of prude. Who else thinks this sort of behaviour, taking drugs, having sex, is remarkable after a decade immersed in a leather-clad rock band?

There are other strange influences at work too on 'Head Music' and they always work better than the reggae. 'Can't Get Enough' - in which Brett declares he, "feels real, like a man, like a woman, like a woman, like a man"! Ace! - is a brilliantly pounding metallic singalong with a chorus tune not unfamiliar with 'I'm A Man' by the Spencer Davis Group. Strange, but actually good. Less good is the overwrought balladry of 'He's Gone' which, if you're feeling charitable, sounds a bit like 'Avalon' by Roxy Music but actually borrows from - ugh - Chris De Burgh's 'The Lady In Red'.

Beyond these details (did we mention how 'Everything Flows' is akin to Duran Duran's 'Save A Prayer'?) it's clear that Suede have tried to move their sound on, using keyboards and other wired musical devices, and they've pulled it off without sounding forced or arch. It's futuristic and alien, like a rock'n'roll Tubeway Army, and it suits them.

And if Brett's looking for ways to break out of the lyrical pen he's boxed himself into, then the clue is already here, on 'Indian Strings'. At last, as Brett moans through a sweeping veil of strings, "You will see my heart has broken too/Because I've seen the real you", we learn something autobiographical. In fact the song could be for us because at last we've finally caught a glimpse of the real him too”– NME

Choice Cut: She’s in Fashion

The Latest Album

 

The Blue Hour

Release Date: 21st September, 2018

Label: Warner Music UK

Producers: Alan Moulder/Neil Codling (add.)

Standout Tracks: Life Is Golden/ Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You/The Invisibles

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=1425381&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/1jQpwIHC250JWDTGxUG1JJ?si=15IMbJc-RG6oQasLj6cArA&dl_branch=1

Review:

“Desperate parents with search dogs stagger through undergrowth, howling the name of their lost son. In the thick of night, a man and child bury something that may be a dead bird, or something heavier. Screams and chants mingle beneath chorales summoned forth from The Omen and piano refrains compelled by the power of Christ straight out of The Exorcist.

Never knowingly understated, the reformed Suede have followed the desolate, widescreen kitchen sink drama of 2016’s Night Thoughts – which arrived alongside an album-length film by Roger Sargent tracing the flashbacks of a drowning man – by going full gritty Brit horror flick. Their tone remains the towering, grandiose theatre of the ruined romantic but, in the cinematic parlance they’ve been aspiring to since 1992, The Blue Hour is less Human Traffic or Nil By Mouth, more Kill List.

With age, family and sobriety, Suede’s albums have slowly drifted out of the city, shifting scenes from urban swirl to suburban stagnation, and now to the rusted playgrounds and glass-spattered flyovers of the ring-road wastelands. Here, with ominous strings and operatic choirs, singer Brett Anderson paints a dark, impressionistic moodscape a bit like a post-Britpop version of recent horror film Hereditary. Sinister interludes – a poem about a dead bird called “Roadkill”, a mysterious night burial scene, the Brechtian menace of “Chalk Circles” – separate The Blue Hour into four indistinct acts, loosely related to Anderson’s recent autobiography Coal Black Mornings and each containing a smattering of sublime moments like fine-cut opals wrapped in bloodied bedsheets” – The Independent

Choice Cut: Wastelands

The Suede Book

 

Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn

Publication Date: 5th November, 2020

Author: Brett Anderson

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Synopsis:

“The second volume of memoirs from the engaging Suede frontman moves into the decadent whirlwind of the Britpop era, and finds Anderson battling addiction, narcissism and explosive creative tension within the band. Unflinchingly honest and elegantly written, Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn provides an intoxicating snapshot of a turbulent cultural era.

The trajectory of Suede - hailed in infancy as both 'The Best New Band in Britain' and 'effete southern wankers' - is recalled with moving candour by its frontman Brett Anderson, whose vivid memoir swings seamlessly between the tender, witty, turbulent, euphoric and bittersweet.

Suede began by treading the familiar jobbing route of London's emerging new 1990s indie bands - gigs at ULU, the Camden Powerhaus and the Old Trout in Windsor - and the dispiriting experience of playing a set to an audience of one. But in these halcyon days, their potential was undeniable. Anderson's creative partnership with guitarist Bernard Butler exposed a unique and brilliant hybrid of lyric and sound; together they were a luminescent team - burning brightly and creating some of the era's most revered songs and albums.

In Afternoons with the Blinds drawn, Anderson unflinchingly explores his relationship with addiction, heartfelt in the regret that early musical bonds were severed, and clear-eyed on his youthful persona. 'As a young man . . . I oscillated between morbid self-reflection and vainglorious narcissism' he writes. His honesty, sharply self-aware and articulate, makes this a compelling autobiography, and a brilliant insight into one of the most significant bands of the last quarter century” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/afternoons-with-the-blinds-drawn/brett-anderson/9780349143644

FEATURE: Licensed to Ill: A Legendary (If Complex) Debut Album: Beastie Boys at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

Licensed to Ill: A Legendary (If Complex) Debut Album

Beastie Boys at Forty

___________

THIS will be the final…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Levine/Getty Images

feature I do in regards the Beastie Boys turning forty. Like I have said in the other features, I have to qualify the anniversary being July. In July 1981, that is when the name, ‘Beastie Boys’, was created. Even though the line-up and sound was different to what it would be on their debut album, I am counting that moniker inception as being the birth of the group. As I recently looked at Beastie Boys’ final studio album, 2011’s Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, I am going to the start. It was over five years from the Beastie Boys name being known until we got a debut album from the classic line-up of Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond, Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch and Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz. Released on 15th November, 1986, there is no denying the fortitude and importance of Licensed to Ill. I am going to come to the legacy and greatness of the album soon enough. As a brash and bold New York trio, perhaps there wasn’t as much self-editing and awareness on some of the songs. With writing and production by Beastie Boys and Rick Rubin, a few songs on Licensed to Ill created some problems. There is an article I want to come to that explores some problematic elements to the 1986 debut. In 2016 – to mark thirty years of the album –, Matthew Reyes wrote a splendid article for Medium. I am going to come back to it when discussing the legacy of Licensed to Ill. Maybe one can say it was a product of 1980s Rap that there was sexism and misogyny. It is an issue that still blights Hip-Hop and Rap. The Beastie Boys themselves have since distanced themselves from their early controversy:     

“I was 7 years old when I bought Licensed to Ill and — like everyone else who got into music in the 80s and 90s — I was immediately obsessed with it. That obsession wasn’t just because “Fight For Your Right” and “No Sleep Til’ Brooklyn” were really catchy. The Beastie Boys themselves were extremely charismatic and it was their personalities as much as anything that made them into superstars.

But when we look back at them now, we see that they were actually pretty insufferable. They were great at upsetting out-of-touch parents and cultural authority figures; as a matter of fact, their parody of MTV’s hair-metal obsession in the “No Sleep Til” Brooklyn” video is one of the all-time best disses of pop culture’s gatekeepers. Even though they tried to play off their frat boy stereotype schtick as just having a good time, looking back at the group during this era is like revisiting your favorite John Hughes movies. We begin to realize that so much of 80s pop culture was really offensive.

Even the most charitable interpretations of “Girls,” “Brass Monkey,” and the “wiffle ball bat” line of “Paul Revere” don’t sit well today. At least Columbia forced the Beasties to change the album title from Don’t Be a F*ggot — yes, the group actually wanted this to be the name of the album. A mistake like that would have been impossible to redeem themselves from.

Of course, this was the 1980s and there’s always going to be a debate around how much we should excuse antiquated attitudes for being a product of a different time. This is especially true of the Beastie Boys, who for the rest of their career made it a priority to apologize for their offensive lyrics during this period. The most notable instance of this was MCA’s now legendary verse on “Sure Shot,” where he publicly repented for the group’s earlier sexism:

“I want to say a little something that’s long overdue,

The disrespect to women has to got to be through,

To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends,

I want to offer my love and respect till the end.”

This was a complete 180 for a group that were as famous for having go-go dancers and a 20-foot hydraulic penis on stage as they were for any talent they had. They should be celebrated for having the courage to throw away a large part of what made them successful — much easier said than done — in order to stand up for what’s right. In doing so, they laid the blueprint for how artists can mature in public without excusing the impact of their early mistakes”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Lynn Goldsmith/Getty Images

One cannot excuse some of the lyrics and ideas expressed through Licensed to Ill. Whilst Beastie Boys channelled their bravado and cocksure attitude into future albums with fewer issues, maybe some link their debut with a bitter taste. Even if some lyrics are problematic in 2021, there is no escaping the fact that Licensed to Ill is one of the most important and influential albums in Hip-Hop history. Maybe many fans would rank it below their second studio album, 1989’s Paul’s Boutique, or 1994’s Ill Communication in terms of prominence. I am not certain how many Rock-Rap albums there were prior to 1986. In many ways, Beastie Boys were forebears and pioneers. The thirteen tracks across Licensed to Ill are phenomenal! Beasties classics such as (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!), No Sleep till Brooklyn and Paul Revere can be found. In fact, that is a run of three songs that appears half-way down the order. Any other band would have put those tracks at the start! Beasties knew they had a classic on their hand and had more than enough genius higher up (including The New Style and She’s Crafty) to justify having these classics lower down. Full of wit, confidence, innovation and variety, Licensed to Ill was a perfect introduction. It is a world away from their 1982 mini-album, E.P., Polly Wog Stew (it is the first recorded release by Beastie Boys, released on the independent record label, Rat Cage).

The reviews for Licensed to Ill are hugely positive. I want to quote from an extensive one from AllMusic. They noted the following when they described the strength of the Beastie Boys’ debut:  

“Perhaps Licensed to Ill was inevitable -- a white group blending rock and rap, giving them the first number one album in hip-hop history. But that reading of the album's history gives short shrift to the Beastie Boys; producer Rick Rubin, and his label, Def Jam, and this remarkable record, since mixing metal and hip-hop isn't necessarily an easy thing to do. Just sampling and scratching Sabbath and Zeppelin to hip-hop beats does not make for an automatically good record, though there is a visceral thrill to hearing those muscular riffs put into overdrive with scratching. But, much of that is due to the producing skills of Rick Rubin, a metalhead who formed Def Jam Records with Russell Simmons and had previously flirted with this sound on Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell, not to mention a few singles and one-offs with the Beasties prior to this record. He made rap rock, but to give him lone credit for Licensed to Ill (as some have) is misleading, since that very same combination would not have been as powerful, nor would it have aged so well -- aged into a rock classic -- if it weren't for the Beastie Boys, who fuel this record through their passion for subcultures, pop culture, jokes, and the intoxicating power of wordplay.

 At the time, it wasn't immediately apparent that their obnoxious patter was part of a persona (a fate that would later plague Eminem), but the years have clarified that this was a joke -- although, listening to the cajoling rhymes, filled with clear parodies and absurdities, it's hard to imagine the offense that some took at the time. Which, naturally, is the credit of not just the music -- they don't call it the devil's music for nothing -- but the wild imagination of the Beasties, whose rhymes sear into consciousness through their gonzo humor and gleeful delivery. There hasn't been a funnier, more infectious record in pop music than this, and it's not because the group is mocking rappers (in all honesty, the truly twisted barbs are hurled at frat boys and lager lads), but because they've already created their own universe and points of reference, where it's as funny to spit out absurdist rhymes and pound out "Fight for Your Right (To Party)" as it is to send up street corner doo wop with "Girls." Then, there is the overpowering loudness of the record -- operating from the axis of where metal, punk, and rap meet, there never has been a record this heavy and nimble, drunk on its own power yet giddy with what they're getting away with. There is a sense of genuine discovery, of creating new music, that remains years later, after countless plays, countless misinterpretations, countless rip-off acts, even countless apologies from the Beasties, who seemed guilty by how intoxicating the sound of it is, how it makes beer-soaked hedonism sound like the apogee of human experience. And maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but in either case, Licensed to Ill reigns tall among the greatest records of its time”.

If Paul’s Boutique is seen as the trio’s masterpiece, then one acknowledge the impact and legacy of their debut. There are some who feel Licensed to Ill is immature and a product of its time. I want to come back to that Medium article. It mentions the popularity of Licensed to Ill; how it is just as innovative as some of their later work:

“But if we look beyond the surface, Licensed to Ill was actually a really innovative album — only a few hip-hop artists like Doug E. Fresh and Mantronix were making such experimental hip-hop at the time. There’s the amazing “Hold it Now, Hit It,” one of the strangest hip-hop singles of the period; “Paul Revere,” a fake western origin story propelled by a backwards sampled loop; and “Rhymin’ and Stealin,’” which contains the legendary, yet super-random bridge that has the group screaming “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” over and over. This is by no means a normal hip-hop album.

Licensed to Ill doesn’t get looked at as a creative breakthrough because it’s unfairly judged against the rest of the band’s catalogue and not appreciated on its own terms. Of course, Paul’s Boutique was creatively groundbreaking, but that doesn’t mean that what preceded it is therefore generic. Both albums were extremely progressive in their own ways, but because hip-hop as a whole progressed by leaps and bounds between 1986 and 1989, Licensed to Ill looks basic in comparison. But they didn’t simply go from immature idiots to musical geniuses by the time Paul’s Boutique came out, like many would have you believe. Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D were always extremely creative and simply took the experimentation they learned on Licensed to Ill to another level as they moved on from Def Jam”.

Hip-hop had been constantly increasing in popularity since its humble beginnings in the mid-70s, but it was Licensed to Ill that really shook up the culture and catapulted rap music to new levels of acceptance. It’s easy to group the Beastie Boys in with the rest of the closely-knit, Def Jam and Rush-affiliated artists like LL Cool J and Run-DMC. But at the time, Licensed to Ill stood out completely from the rest of rap music as a cultural phenomenon in itself. Of course, we must not ignore the obvious racial implications here — after years of critics dismissing hip-hop as being “too black” for mainstream America, it was three obnoxious Jewish boys who helped bring hip-hop to the masses.

The industry waited for years for another hip-hop album to do as well as Licensed to Ill, but no other album came close. In fact, it remained the best selling rap album until MC Hammer’s breakthrough in 1990. And if we’re only counting critically respected hip-hop artists — sorry, Hammer — it wasn’t until 1992’s The Chronic that a rap album made the kind of legitimate mark that Licensed to Ill made. For all the well-deserved love and adoration that the Golden Era gets, it’s important that we don’t forget that for hip-hop’s first 20 years, Licensed to Ill and The Chronic stand out as the two records that made the biggest impact in hip-hop becoming a mainstream cultural force”.

Aside from arguments regarding some outdated and unpleasant lyrics on Licensed to Ill, it is a phenomenal album that stands alongside some of the best ever released. Thirty-five years since it came out, there is so much to enjoy. I love the interplay and relationship between Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock. Forty years after Beastie Boys formed, I wanted to write a feature about their debut album. Worlds away from what they were producing in the early-1980s, it took a lot of people by surprise! Licensed to Ill remains…

A truly sensational debut.

FEATURE: Spotlight: She Drew the Gun

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

She Drew the Gun

___________

THIS is another occasion where…

I feel I have covered an artist before. I have checked through the archives and I have not put She Drew the Gun in a Spotlight feature – the best of my recollection anyway! Hailing from The Wirral, they are fronted by singer/songwriter Louisa Roach (the full band are Louisa Roach - lead vocals, guitar, Sian Monaghan - drums, percussion, Jack Turner - bass, lead guitar and Jenni Kickheffer - keyboards, synthesiser). I really love She Drew the Gun. I am especially a fan of Roach’s vocals. One of the most expressive and individual leads out there, we are all looking forward to the release of the third studio album, Behave Myself. Due for release on 24th September, it is an album I will be sure to check out. As there have not been too many recent interviews with She Drew the Gun – I guess there will be more around the time of the new album coming out -, I am taking it back to when the band released Revolution of Mind. I would recommend people to check the band out on social media (links are at the bottom). Check out news regarding tour dates, as She Drew the Gun are hitting the road later in the year. I want to include a review for the previous album. Be sure to pre-order Behave Myself if you can.

There are a few interviews Roach conducted that I want to draw attention. The National Student spoke with her in 2019. We learn more about the recording process of Revolution of Mind:

“Louisa explains how the recording process of her latest album Revolution of Mind differed from 2016’s Memories from Another Future and how the songs evolved from rough, home recordings rather than going into the studio and building the tracks from scratch. 2018’s record “was quite different from the first one. [With Memories] I met James Skelly from The Coral […] we started writing together and then that turned into the first album. We’d record the guitar and vocal and build the track around what I had. This time I made demos before we went into the studio”.

Both She Drew The Gun studio albums incorporate spoken word and spoken word influenced lyricism. This is also an element the band weaves into live sets. Louisa delves into some of her inspirations from performance poetry and the world of hip-hop:

“I think 2 Pac would probably be my favourite rapper from back in the day […] And then with spoken word I guess in recent years, Kate Tempest and artists like Toria Garbutt; I listen to that".

The lifestyle of a touring musician, however, was not the career path Louisa originally envisaged and she discusses figures and moments that motivated her to become a songwriter for a living comparatively late in life: “I’ve always loved music and there are certain things that I remember that really inspired me to pursue it, one of them is when I heard ‘Working Class Hero’ [John Lennon] for the first time". Lousia also mentions Malvina Reynolds who "was a folk singer who decided to pursue music in her 50s [...] she became a protest singer. I’ve just decided I don’t care what age I am, I’m just going to do it.

Louisa's university education seems to have had a positive impact on her approach to songwriting. She says that she “just read a lot of interesting stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise, like philosophical thinkers". In particular, she mentions how she "liked the critical side of psychology, criticising psychology as an institution. I got drawn towards sociology […] Psychology can tend to look too much at people at an individual level and ignores power structures that are operating on individuals".

Even writing essays seems to have been beneficial in helping Louisa craft the compelling narratives that find themselves all over She Drew The Gun's two studio albums - "It was a bit like a song really, it’s got a beginning, middle and an end – it’s there to persuade someone. I think doing those things helped me to become a better songwriter, helped me to be a songwriter even.”

We close the interview by talking about the political message of the latest album and what Louisa thinks it is important to “resist”, which as well as being an anchoring concept on Revolution of Mind, is also the subject of a forthcoming spoken word piece she will likely work into the band's live set. "Looking after your own state of mind is part of resisting what’s going on all around us at the moment is the first one. I think for a start you’ve got mental health, which is a bit of an epidemic at the moment […] People are struggling, and I don’t think that’s down to individual problems. It’s hard at the moment".

Lousia elaborates on why she thinks people seem to be becoming more isolated and unwell as a result; she specifically blames government policy, "I think austerity is a tool; it’s not a necessity, it’s a political choice. I think you’ve got to resist the narrative that comes out of the media […] I think the media is a massive part of the problem. It’s too easy not to care and to kind of be a bit like, ‘Well as long as I’m all right, it doesn’t matter about anyone else’”.

It is amazing to think how far She Drew the Gun have come since they won the Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent competition in 2016. I can imagine that, like most artists, they miss the buzz of Glastonbury! When they do get to tour later in the year, it will be a chance for new people to discover the group. When she spoke with Northern Life Magazine, Roach discussed the influence of Liverpool bands on her songwriting:

“The political psych-pop poetry of Louisa Roach’s She Drew The Gun first became known to me when they won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition in 2016. Three years later, with an amplified, genre-bending second album and touring record to match – I want to know if her northern roots got her to the sonic and ideological position, she closes 2019 in:

“Liverpool bands [influenced me] in a big way. Going back, The Coral, The Las, you know, The Beatles. It’s very much part of the musical heritage. Yeah, it’s a boss musical place – especially the North West of England, considering what it is on the world map. It’s produced a lot of the best ever music. My favourite artist ever is John Lennon. I just think all my favourite artists have got that political side to them. Everything they do might not be about it but, they speak about the bigger picture sometimes.”

This element of social commentary that glows outward of She Drew The Gun’s discography began when Roach wrote Poem a song with the provocative and evocative lines: ‘What it’s not enough to just pretend that you don’t see him / You can’t stand the sight so you’ve got to disappear him’:  “That was the first one that I did. saw a newspaper article about [how] they were moving homeless people off the street because they wanted to make way for tourists. I think there was a big event going on. That just started me off and it turned into a massive rant about like, everything.

“I performed that as a spoken word piece, and then I ended up thinking: ‘why don’t I just turn it into a song? I think it would give it more power. It doesn’t necessarily give it more power when you perform it because people often stop and really listen to a poet, whereas sometimes with music a lot of the lyrics get lost. But, as a thing to put out in the world, a song has got a bit more legs. A song’s got more chance of taking off in the public consciousness a bit more.”

Given her lyric-heavy style, it makes sense that Roach’s music originated as poetry and spoken word, and it still forms part of her methodology when she approaches songwriting: “Sometimes I’m really pissed off about this, or there’s a subject that I really need to write about’ so I’ll write a poem and sometimes that becomes a spoken word part that’s in the set, and then sometimes that becomes a song.”

She also finds herself inspired by the work being created around her:

“Sometimes I just hear someone say something, or on a film someone will say a line and I’ll like that, and I’ll just use that to start off with, and then see where that goes; see if that turns into a song. Do you know what I find sometimes as well? Going to a gig and watching a gig, sometimes I end up writing loads of notes on my phone. I don’t even go to enough gigs – that’s another thing that I need to do once we’ve finished this tour”.

Not to look back on the previous album too much - but, as I say, there is more press available for Revolution of Mind. It gives us a chance to chance to revisit one of the finest albums of 2018. PRS for Music interviewed Louisa Roach about themes and inspirations behind the album:

“What’s the thinking behind the new LP Revolution of Mind?

It’s about everything from personal relationships to the global war industry, resistance, depression, love, solidarity, capitalism, the human reward system, outsiderness, the things that have been on my mind. I like to critique the systems we live in, but to write with hope that liberation struggles can be won. The thinking being that the only way we can ever really have a revolution - the only way we can achieve the vast changes necessary for our species to survive and to reverse its destructive traditions - is in the way that we think. It’s like Rosa Luxembourg said: ‘The strike doesn’t cause the revolution, the revolution causes the strike’.

How and when did it come together?

I’ve been writing the songs mostly throughout the last 18 months or so between touring. Me and Jack had time to work on demos beforehand and then we recorded in a few stints with James Skelly and Chris Taylor at Parr Street Studios. I think it took nine studio days in total but most of it was put down over a week in May 2018.

What was inspiring you most at the time?

I like interesting writing in whatever form it comes. I’ve been drawn to a lot of feminist poetry recently. A lot of the time I just write to make things clearer for myself, to play around with subjects that have come into my life in one way or another.

What have you learned about making music since you first started out?

That I’m not here to just churn out songs, I’m going through a process to write them. That I love to write, it keeps me sane. That it’s just a ride”.

It is worth getting to a review of the Revolution of Mind. There was a lot of love for the band’s second album. This is what URBANISTA remarked when they tackled the album:

“We all know about the social issues around us. It’s all we ever hear. And the more you see the homeless, the less shocking they become. So we revert. Back to our screens. Back to tequila. Back to a blackout piss-up or Love Island on the tele.

“Paradise, there’s trouble on the green, there’s nothing to believe, you’ve got everything you need.”

And like Roach, we know there’s trouble on the green. We know there’s nothing to believe in. And we know we’ve got everything we need. Or so we think.

“I know the night has other plans, but there are things to understand, so arm yourself with me, we have just words to make us free, and in my chest I know this beat, my heart will never know defeat, my song is unity, liberty, romance, so let’s dance dance dance dance dance.”

The final track, Human, is the most similar to what we’ve heard from the band beforehand – dusty, folksy, reminiscent of Buckley and Dylan. So is earlier track, Between Stars… for about 20 seconds.

Then, like a foghorn from the Mersey, the bass kicks in and we’re off again – a grungey beat, punchy percussion, a shit-tonne of reverb. Over which sits Roach’s scouse accent and her stream-of-consciousness styled spoken verse.

There’s plenty here about lack of connection. About tension. About bruises. About earth-wide rigor mortis. But always, the positive notes creep back.

“You’ve gotta keep your head up, find a good heart.”

The album feels bi-polar. There’s self awareness. There’s world awareness. But there’s always the temptation to get lost. To have a smoke. To grab a pint. To swerve the fact there’s food banks. To walk past the homeless. To ignore the ever bigger gap between rich and poor. Who can be arsed anymore?

We thought we’d sorted it all when we bounced round Prenton Park chanting for that fella who called the numbers at Bongo’s last month. Well it clearly didn’t work. Or, it takes longer than anybody ever fucking realised.

Roach talks about being tired of the talking, about wanting to fly away. We can definitely connect. She’ll grab your attention with this common interest before hitting you with the facts.

For an album of it’s time, Revolution of Mind is completely on key. We don’t wanna be told about what’s wrong with the world. We already know. We don’t want it to continue but how the fuck do we stop it? It’s easier to sack it all off and just dance dance dance but we’ve got to make a change.

The first step? Sharing tracks like this. Art makes a difference when it comes from the ground up. We’ll get fuck all from those with their suits and their tax havens, so it’s down to the likes of Roach and She Drew The Gun to help change the script. Sound like something you’d be interested in? Take a listen. Get angry. Tell ya’ nan”.

Go and follow She Drew the Gun if you have not done so already. With an album and tour later in the year, there will be fresh attention the way of the northern band. If I have covered them before, it has been a while. I wanted to revisit a favourite of mine. On the basis of what we have heard so far from Behave Myself, it sounds like it going to be…

THEIR best work yet.

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