FEATURE: Out of Ctrl: Women's Sexual Liberation and Revolution Against the Dangers of Online Porn

FEATURE:

 

 

Out of Ctrl

PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

Women's Sexual Liberation and Revolution Against the Dangers of Online Porn

__________

THIS is something I have wanted to…

PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Gouw/Pexels

write about for a while but I know it is not really connected to music. I guess, in the sense that it could apply to women in music. However, it is a more general feature that seems very timely. In terms of sexual revolution  and liberation, especially for women, there is this danger that is threatening that. I am not suggesting that we should embark on a new Summer of Love and there should be this sexual revolution – or maybe there should be. However, in terms of a huge threat facing women at the moment is the way boys and young men are discovering sex. The way they learn about sex. Rather than them seeking out ethical pornography or something that, in its way, sets a good example and is a safe and natural representation of sex, they are viewing sites where women are seen being strangled, assaulted and in a very submissive role. This exposure is hugely influential and unsettling. If boys and young men are viewing this – some are children when they are seeing this -, that is how they think they should act. I have recently read Caitlin Moran’s What About Men?. She discusses her conversations with boys and men and their exposure to online pornography. Especially illuminating when it comes to boys of school age, not only is explicit and violent pornography being shared and widely available, they see it as normal and how they should treat women during sex. There are so many cases of women being killed or seriously injured during sex. I am going to quote from another couple of books that have been talking about a possible sexual liberation and revolution and what is stopping that. How there is this issue with how men (and boys) learn about sex. Their worldview of it. Bolstered by toxic misogynists like Andrew Tate. How he feels women are objects and should be dominated by men. I am going to source from Amia Srinivasan’s The Right to Sex and CTRL HATE DELETE: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It by Cécile Simmons.

A subject explored by other feminist writers – including Laura Bates in books like Misogynation: The True Scale of Sexism and The Guilty Feminist by Deborah Frances-White, it will also be covered in books like Laura Bates’s The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny -. it is not often explored by journalists. As a music journalist, maybe I am not the most qualified or appropriate person to write about it. However, having read some very powerful books where the clash of sexual liberation and freedom against the effects of online pornography and how that can be a danger to women, I wanted to cover it. I want to start out with some observations from CTRL HATE DELETE: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It. Right near the start of the book, Cécile Simmons talks about the role of incels (involuntary celibate) and their influence on young men. This is an online community bonded by their “inability to find a sexual partner, their resentment towards women and their entitlement to sex”. It is written about misogynist terrorism – cases of incels who visit websites where they vent their hatred of women then go out and commit acts of violence and murder against them – and how it is underestimated by law enforcement. Visits to incel forums have risen and, in terms of law categorisation, attacks by incels on women not seen as terrorism. In a lot of cases, the narrative is shifted from the violence and vileness of the men and their actions are somewhat watered-down. Emphasis on their mental health struggles. Police and government claiming these attacks (which are largely against women) are not gender-specific. One of the most dangerous aspects of incel forms is how some men will adopt hardmaxxing, which can include taking steroids and getting plastic surgery to look a way in which women find them desirable. Many also advocate for “rapepill: raping women as a remedy to one’s sexual frustrations”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Green/Pexels

At a time when women should feel safe and there should be this revolution and explosion of sexual freedom and liberation, will this ever be possible? Many women feeling unsafe during sex. Girls exposed to sexual violence from boys at a very young age. In Th Right to Sex, Amia Srinivasan talks about that “porn came to serve, for feminists of an earlier generation, as a metonym for ‘problematic’ sex in general”. One that was sadomasochistic and was not designed for women’s pleasure. Most interestingly, Srinivasan writes how pornography wasn’t just a contested question in a new political movement. It was a “lightning rod for two conflicting views of sex”. There is an ‘anti-sex’ view that  that sex as we know it is a patriarchal construct.. How there cannot be liberation in any true sense until there is a “revolution in relations between men and women”. The ‘pro sex’ view  is how women should be able to have sex with whomever they like, however they like, without threats, shame, stigma or abuse. There is a big ‘pro sex’ consensus and adoption among modern feminism. However, there is this growing threat of the ‘anti-sex’ voice. They feel that sex needs a “revolutionary transformation”. Second-wave feminists protested against pornography in the late-1960s. When they were striking against pornographic magazines and movie theatres. By the mid-1970s, “feminists began to identify porn as the lynchpin of patriarchy”. There have been anti-porn groups and movements through the 1960s, 1970s and beyond. Many pro-porn feminists argued that these women (anti-porn) were overestimating the power and impact of the medium. The real fear is that porn, true then and especially now, is that is not only depicts the subordination of women. It makes it real. Students feel porn on the Internet is often aggressive and disturbing. It is about submissiveness (by women) and domination (by men). Students understanding that pornography’s role in the modern world is potent and widespread. How girls and young women would advise boys and men that there is feminist and ethical porn. But this is not what they are fed and exposed to. It is somewhat utopian to many to imagine consensual and loving sex, rather than this ideology that sex is about violence and risk. The role of incels and radical misogynists.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by OnlyFans (@onlyfans)

I have been thinking back to an interview with Caitlin Moran. How she said the next wave of feminism should be able positive, pleasure and joy. Extending beyond that, for women, how sexual emancipation and liberation should be part of the next wave. In terms of modern sexual revolution, there have been recent articles about the pros and cons. This article asks whether men and women are any happier after the promised sexual revolution. This article, re-evaluating the modern sexual revolution has some interesting observations (“The only way the majority of women can get what they want is through a social shaming campaign against the sexually liberated minority — in other words, “slut-shaming.” But Perry offers no moral justification for slut-shaming beyond “the majority of us want it this way.” It’s unclear, too, how it would be more effective than when purity culture tried it in the past”). This article reacting to Lily Phillips’s feat of having sex with 101 men in a single day had some striking discussion points (“The sexual revolution is getting it in the neck a lot right now. There’s Louise Perry’s The Case Against the Sexual Revolution. There’s the new cult of prim ‘post-feminist’ women and peculiarly angry ‘post-liberal’ men who basically trace the decline and fall of the West back to all that braless dancing at Woodstock. There are those armies of sun-starved blokes on the internet who say they can’t find a good woman because the sexual revolution turned them all into sluts with sky-high ‘body counts’, when the real reason they can’t find a good woman is because they tweet stupid shit like that”). This article, writing how the sexual revolution has been great solely for men. It is a nuanced, complication and divisive subjects. Whether there is a sexual revolution or there could be. If sites like OnlyFans are a positive force. However, what is clear, is that a sexual revolution should be one with no violence, coercion, force or exploitation. How AI and its role now is creating this new misogyny and sexism. Deepfakes and its evil. It is worth exploring modern sexual revolution and liberation and its multiple sides and discussions. However, I have been thinking about recent books I have read that discuss the power of porn and how it can brainwash or affect boys and men. The images it portrays and how women are treated stands in opposition to this idea of a sexual revolution where women can feel free, safe and alive. Pornographic script does not consider women’s pleasure. Government and police not perhaps taking incel sexual violence and crimes seriously. How women are made to feel violated and unsafe online. More needs to be done. New laws. How misogyny needs to be a hate crime. Topics and ideas that require…

A lot more discussion.

FEATURE: Beneath the Sleeve: Miles Davis – Kind of Blue

FEATURE:

 

 

Beneath the Sleeve

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue

__________

I don’t often cover…

IN THIS PHOTO: Miles Davis in 1959/PHOTO CREDIT: Everett Collection/Abaca

classic Jazz albums in my blog. However, for this feature, I was compelled to discuss in more detail one of the all-time best albums. Released on 17th August, 1959 and produced by Irving Townsend, this masterpiece was captured at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City. Even though it was a bigger success in the U.S. than it was in the U.K., this hugely influential album has reached listeners around the world. I am going to come to some features around Kind of Blue in a minute. Before that, I wanted to highlight some information from Wikipedia. In terms of its legacy and impact, few albums of the twentieth century are as important as Kind of Blue:

“Kind of Blue has been lauded as one of the most influential albums in the history of jazz. One reviewer has called it a "defining moment of twentieth century music". Several of the pieces from the album have become jazz standards. Kind of Blue is consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time.  In a review of the album, AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated:

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue possess such a mystique? Perhaps because this music never flaunts its genius. ... It's the pinnacle of modal jazz — tonality and solos build from the overall key, not chord changes, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. ... It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz — but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection”.

There are some interesting retrospectives like this. Prior to getting to some reviews of a landmark album, this feature from 2022 talks about the making of Kind of Blue. I am not especially knowledgeable regarding the history of the album and its background. When researching for this feature, it was interesting reading about the players and details about the songs. It must have been such a powerful and memorable experience being at Columbia 30th Street Studio during March and April 1959:

“It was the spring of the year 1959, often considered as the greatest year of Jazz that one of the greatest Jazz musicians of all time, Miles Davis gathered a set of brilliant jazz musicians into the famous Columbia’s 30th street studio also known as “The Church”, an old reconstructed Greek Church in Manhattan, NY.

We take a look at what went behind the making of arguably the greatest Jazz album of all time – Kind of Blue, thereby also touching briefly on how Miles and Kind of Blue influenced Indian musicians leading to the release of “Miles From India” in 2008, almost after five decades since it was first released in 1959.

Miles From India is an album that features songs associated with Miles Davis but performed in new arrangements by American jazz musicians and performers from India.

Coming back to Kind of Blue, despite being quite unique, this album is ubiquitous among music lovers. Lovers & friends continue to give the album to each other even after 63 years of its release!

For many music lovers Kind of Blue is the only jazz album they possess. The ultimate album that one is most likely to have heard at a retail store, Starbucks, or at a friend’s place who claims to be a Jazz expert.

Yet, despite all those playing over the years, the record manages to still hold on and still sounds fantastic and inspirational, justifying all the attention it gets.

➡ Recording Sessions and Personnel:

There were two recording sessions, the first one commenced on March, 2nd and the second session was recorded on April, 22nd in 1959. ”43079” was the project number that Columbia had assigned the yet unnamed Kind of Blue session.

There was no written music given to the musicians by Miles and he had brought only sketches of what everybody was supposed to play as he wanted a lot of spontaneity in the playing.

As Bill Evans, who wrote the liner notes of the album puts it, “Miles conceived the setting only hours before recording dates arrived with sketches which indicated the group, what was to be played”

Kind of Blue was recorded with seven now-legendary musicians in the prime of their careers: tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Jimmy Cobb apart from the leader of the session himself, trumpeter Miles Davis.

Wynton played only on Freddie Freeloader in the original album. An interesting anecdote mentioned in Ashley Kahn’s A Kind of Blue book recalls how Wynton was surprised to see Bill Evans at the studio and almost left before Miles explained to him that he wanted Wynton also in the first recording session.

➡ The tracks of Kind of Blue

1. So What:

The album opener “So What” is one of the most famous compositions in jazz and is as energetic as the Kind of Blue album can get. Davis and Gil Evans were influenced by composer and pianist George Russell, author of The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, a radical book of “modal” jazz theory.

The Piano chord played at the start by Bill Evans, another student of Russell is strongly reminiscent of the opening of Debussy’s “Voiles”, composed in 1909.

The melody and use of chords are also reportedly inspired by a tune called Pavanne by Ahmad Jamal who was one of the favorite Piano players of Miles Davis.

So What also inspired the personal theme of the fellow jazz legend and sideman for this session, John Coltrane. Coltrane recorded his tune “Impressions” a number of times in his career which he used to refer to as “So What” before settling the name as Impressions in 1962.

So what continues to be a Guitar player’s favorite, notably covered by Grant Green in 1961 and George Benson in 1971. Jerry Garcia along with David Grisman covered this for their 1998 acoustic jazz album of the same name.

[Watch the video of ‘So What” which was first aired, as part of the program titled “The Sound of Miles Davis” on July 21st, 1961 after being recorded in 1959]

2. Freddie Freeloader:

Freddie Freeloader is inspired by a colorful street character named Fred Tolbert who was friends with Miles in the heyday of the sextet. One of Tolbert’s business cards read simply “Freddie Freeloader” acknowledging his lifestyle.

Bill Evans wrote on the liner notes, that this is a 12-measure Blues form given new personality by effective melodic and rhythmic simplicity.

3. Blue In Green:

Despite Miles calling out that this was solely his composition, to this day this composition is credited to “Davis-Evans” on various albums by Evans.

As per Bill Evans, "Blue in Green" is a ten-measure cycle following a short four-measure introduction and played by a soloist in various augmentation and diminution of time values

Blue in Green is often considered the only composition from the album bordering on absolute minimalism in its expression and construction.

4. Flamenco Sketches:

A tune again claimed to have been composed jointly by Evans, This remains the most modal composition on Kind Of Blue. As Ashley Khan writes in his book, Kind Of Blue, this is also the most prismatic tune on the album, refracting a variety of influences (classical, impressionistic, exotic) into a haunting, pan-cultural theme covering a wide emotional range.

5. All Blues:

It was the last of the five tracks recorded which Miles once described as a slowed down version of his earlier composition “Milestones”. The interplay between Davis and Bill Evans is one of the highlights of the album.

The playing of Evans mimics a kind of strumming the instrument which probably was one of the qualities that attracted the legendary Guitarist Duane Allman, whose version of this tune titled “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” became one of the big hits for the Allman Brothers Band.

➡ Flaws at the Time of Release:

Despite all the admiration the album garnered over the years, it also came with certain flaws. The Columbia designated A&R man and producer of this album, Irving Townsend failed to make an impactful distribution of the records to Disc Jockeys, Magazine reviewers and stores in a form that would command attention.

The cover close up of Davis taken by Jay Maisel from a show at Apollo Theater, a few months earlier was hardly inspired though the photograph of Miles taken by another photographer and featured on the back cover, relaxing on a stool during the recording session proved iconic”.

I am going to finish off with some reviews. I will start with one from the BBC. Obviously, it is near-impossible to find anything other than praise for Kind of Blue. However, it is how individual critics assess and dissect the album that is particularly interesting. I first heard the album when I was a teenager I think. Maybe not grasping its complexities and layers the first time around, I have come to fully appreciate and connect with Kind of Blue in years since:

“Long held as the jazz album that even non-jazz fans will own, Kind Of Blue not only changed the way people regarded Miles, it changed the very face of music itself. Consistently rated not just as one of the greatest jazz albums but as one of THE greatest musical statements of the 20th century, its 46 minutes of improvisation and sophistication remain peerless.

In the early 50s George Russell had raised the possibility of using a modal approach (i.e. playing within a certain scale, as opposed to according to a fixed chord sequence) as a way out of the straightjacket that restricted improvisation. Miles, at this time, was in thrall to hard bop, but by 1958's Milestones he was ready to try the modal approach, the title track being his first recorded foray into the form.

Kind Of Blue, released the following year, took the idea and developed it to an astounding degree. Its smoky evocation of late night ambience is a byword for laid back elegance. It uses the blues but transmutes those seventh chords into something that still sounds modern 50 years on. Quite simply, the sonic space it creates sounds like the coolest place on the planet.

Key to the album's deceptive ease is the band that Miles had assembled. Honed to perfection were the sextet of saxophonists John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers and pianist Bill Evans (replacing regular Wynton Kelly on all but one track – "Freddy Freeloader"). All players were to have legendary careers, but it was Coltrane who took Miles' modal template and went furthest with it, with spectacular results.

Dispute still rages as to the role Evans had in the compositions (many regard him as at least a co-author, and he was an acolyte of George Russell's) but what we do know is that on the two recording dates that spawned this masterpiece, Davis, as usual, just laid out the song structures for the musicians on the day with no rehearsal (though "So What" and "All Blues" had been played live prior to this). From the opening murmur of the piano on "So What" to the final sad mute on "Flamenco Sketches", it never falters, despite its meandering pace. Even more miraculous, it never wears thin from repeat plays. Quincy Jones claims to play it every day. So should you”.

I am going to end with a review from AllMusic. In future editions of this feature, I will look at other genres and time periods. It is rare that I approach any albums from the 1950s. I love all of Mile Davis’s work. Each album provokes different moods and reactions. Kind of Blue has this romance and cool. It has a sadness, though I somehow feel warmer and nourished by it:

“Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album. To be reductive, it's the Citizen Kane of jazz -- an accepted work of greatness that's innovative and entertaining. That may not mean it's the greatest jazz album ever made, but it certainly is a universally acknowledged standard of excellence. Why does Kind of Blue posses such a mystique? Perhaps it's that this music never flaunts its genius. It lures listeners in with the slow, luxurious bassline and gentle piano chords of "So What." From that moment on, the record never really changes pace -- each tune has a similar relaxed feel, as the music flows easily. Yet Kind of Blue is more than easy listening. It's the pinnacle of modal jazz -- tonality and solos build from chords, not the overall key, giving the music a subtly shifting quality. All of this doesn't quite explain why seasoned jazz fans return to this record even after they've memorized every nuance. They return because this is an exceptional band - Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Cannonball Adderly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, and Wynton Kelly -- one of the greatest in history, playing at the peak of its power. As Evans said in the original liner notes for the record, the band did not play through any of these pieces prior to recording. Davis laid out the themes and chords before the tape rolled, and then the band improvised. The end results were wondrous, filled with performances that still crackle with vitality. Few albums of any genre manage to work on so many different levels, but Kind of Blue does. It can be played as background music, yet it amply rewards close listening. It is advanced music that is extraordinarily enjoyable. It may be a stretch to say that if you don't like Kind of Blue, you don't like jazz -- but it's hard to imagine it as anything other than a cornerstone of any jazz collection”.

Following Joni Mitchell’s Hejira into Beneath the Sleeve, this Jazz classic endures and inspires over sixty-five years since it was released. I can only imagine how fans reacted to Kind of Blue when it was released in 1959. Putting the album on the record player and experiencing this album that sounded like nothing else! Some people see Jazz as a joke. That maybe modern Jazz is more interesting and important. I would urge those people to listen to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. It is a sonic experience that changes the senses. A steal on vinyl, you really must add this to your record collection! This spellbinding album will reach and move people…

FOR the rest of time.

FEATURE: Groovelines: TLC - Creep

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

TLC - Creep

__________

A classic song from 1994…

IN THIS PHOTO: TLC’s Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes and Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas

there is a bit of a bittersweet reason why I am featuring TLC’s Creep. Released on 31st October (appropriate given the title and link to Hallowe’en!), 1994, it is from their CrazySexyCool (1994) album. Often voted TLC’s best song. The main reason I want to examine Creep is that 27th May marks what would have been Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes’s fifty-fourth birthday. We lost her in 2002 when she died in a car crash. One of the greatest rappers of her generation, she was only thirty. It is heartbreaking thinking how far she could have gone. However, we can remember her incredible solo work and the phenomenal contribution to TLC’s catalogue. Creep was written and produced by the legendary Dallas Austin. Someone trying to write a song from a ‘female perspective’, Creep is TLC coming from the viewpoint of women who cheat on their unfaithful lovers. It is a bit awkward evoking Lopes’s name as she was opposed to the song and threatened to wear black tape over her mouth for the video. I do feel a bit bad. However, her contribution in the song is key and Creep is a song I have wanted to cover for a long time now. Creep was TLC’s first number one on the United States Billboard 100.  A big reason to feature Creep is the remixes of 1996. That was when it was the single got its European debut/reissue. Included in the remixes was a rap verse written by Lopes which warns listeners of safe sex issue. I am going to get to some articles/features about the iconic Creep. A song widely played and loved to this day, it sounds so amazing. Lauded because of the narrative where women were taking control – something not that common of music in the 1990s -, the video is seen as one of the most memorable of all time. The outfits and pyjamas that TLC wore for the video created a stir. The pyjamas (they look like they silk outfits to be fair) created a sales surge. Some have noted how the camera angles used during the video and the outfits worn by the band members suggested sexual availability. There is so much when it comes to unpacking the video.

There were two versions of the Creep video shot before the final one came about. TLC were unhappy with the videos. I want to grab the below from Wikipedia and their research about the actual Creep video, as it provides some really interesting background. One of the defining music videos of the 1990s. One that has definitely influenced so many artists. Before coming to some features about Creep, it is worth getting to know a bit more about a music video that had some setbacks along the way:

“Expecting to show a new and more-mature side visually, TLC were in Los Angeles discussing the project when they saw a Matthew Rolston-directed music video for Salt-N-Pepa. Thomas said, "We were looking at it and said, 'Whoever did this video has to do the "Creep" video.' We fell in love with the way it was shot.” She said several times the video they had watched was "Whatta Man", however, during an interview with MTV in 1995, the show said it was "None of Your Business", a video also shot by Rolston that has more visual similarities to the final "Creep" video. Lopes recalled how adamant they were about redoing the video as they were returning to the music scene. When their management suggested having the video re-edited, the group declined and reached out to Rolston to schedule an August 1994 shoot in Los Angeles.

Rolston brought his team including make-up artist, wardrobe-hair stylist, dancers and choreographer, but had a few creative conflicts with the group. One involved the original routine created by Watkins, who had choreographed most of the group's early videos. She remembered Rolston's choreographer, Frank Gatson Jr., "locked" the girls out from providing ideas as they were practicing the new dance moves. The trio eventually dropped Gatson because they thought his version was not their "style of dancing", though two of his moves were adapted in the final clip. "To me, I didn't even think about, 'Well, can I really choreograph?' I was just like, 'Let me do my thing.' I just like to dance and I know when I like what I see. I like different kinds of stuff", Watkins stated. The "bend-down-and-jump-up" dance that appeared in the video was created by Watkins to "Foe Life", a song by rapper Mack 10, her spouse from 2000 to 2004.

Another dispute between TLC and Rolston was over their wardrobe. The director was interested in "tight and sexy" lingerie looks for them while they only liked baggy tomboy clothes. Combining the two, the girls ended up in bright colored, flowing silk pajamas "that took on an edge when all but one button was unbuttoned and wind machines were turned on high." Each custom-made outfit cost more than US$1,000. Thomas also talked about their exhaustion on the set: "People don't realize that for video shoots you have to wake up at like 5 in the morning for your call time. So when we did that part at the very end of the video where we're talking to the camera and looking all silly, we were so tired. But sometimes that ends up being your best shots." Eventually, she called Rolston's final product "excellent", while Lopes said that after two failed attempts the director finally gave them a "real video".

I will move to a Stereogum feature version. Before that, this article from 2015 grabbed me. There is not a great deal written about Creep. I think it deserves a lot more focus and love. However, the pieces written about it are interesting. Many might not know about TLC and CrazySexyCool:

“As I mentioned in my piece on the Gin Blossoms for 1994 Week, it’s strange to recall how slow the music industry moved back in those days. A song could still be popular years after its initial release and no one batted an eye—in fact, they’d probably still be singing along to it. These circumstances played an active role in my discovery of TLC, through the chart-topping success of both “Creep” and “Waterfalls” in 1995. At the time I had no idea about the larger implications behind each song, but that certainly didn’t keep me from singing the hook to “Creep” any chance I got.

Coming during the midst of the ’90s R&B renaissance, TLC’s reinvention from soulful hip-hop act to sultry powerhouse was sparked partially by Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ stint in rehab, as well as a stronger focus on the trio’s pop elements. With the emphasis put on the husky vocals of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, writer and producer Dallas Austin—who deals in pop hooks and Texas cities exclusively—played to their strengths. Which, to the detriment of Left Eye, isn’t razor sharp rapping.

Though it was originally released in 1994, when “Creep” topped the Billboard charts in January 1995 it signaled the started of TLC’s reign over R&B. As T-Boz would later note, the song was inspired by her own experience being stuck in a bizarre love triangle, and Austin pulled all the right facts to turn “Creep” into a powerful declaration that would cement the group’s new image. Gone were the oversized suspenders and glasses with a condom over the eye, replaced with silky pajamas and amped-up agency.

“Creep” would go on to mark the start of TLC’s ascendance to becoming the best selling all-girl group in the United States. After the promotional cycle for CrazySexyCool came to an end the band would have a pair of Grammys under its belt and a lot of inner turmoil to work through—due mostly to Left Eye being wildly underrepresented on its Grammy-winning album. When it returned five years later with FanMail, the band had another new look, a couple more chart-toppers (“No Scrubs” and “Unpretty”), and a newly unified vision. It proved that TLC was far more durable than a trend or any one single, all because it wasn’t afraid to creep toward its goals”.

I am going to wrap up with Stereogum and their The Number Ones feature. Creep was at the top of the U.S. chart for a month in 1995. I have edited the article down. However, I would advise people to read the whole thing. It is really compelling reading about the lead-up to Creep and how TLC came together and evolved. Some of the details about the song. The impact it created:

“None of the members of TLC had a hand in writing “Creep,” though T-Boz later said that the lyrics were inspired by a situation in her own romantic life. The whole TLC saga is its own kind of ethical, emotional mess. It’s the story of three women who came into the music business young and who were ruthlessly exploited by their handlers, to the point where they were barely making any money even when they were one of the most popular groups on the planet. By the time their story was over, one of those three young women hadn’t survived. And yet the actual music that TLC made during their brief run is glorious. TLC left behind a small catalog of gleaming, audacious pop. In their day, TLC sounded futuristic. Today, they’re timeless.

TLC’s 1992 debut album Ooooooohhh… On The TLC Tip was a bright little pop explosion. The three members of TLC wore outlandish day-glo clothes; Left Eye famously wore a condom over the left eye of her sunglasses, a safe-sex PSA that was also a ridiculous and indelible fashion statement. Even if the three members of TLC had been assembled by managers and producers, they radiated blissful camaraderie. All three members of the group had distinct voices and personas, but they all fit together beautifully. They seemed like they were great friends with each other, and it was impossible to listen to the album without wanting to be friends with them, too.

Ooooooohhh… On The TLC Tip went quadruple platinum, but the members of TLC barely saw any money. They eventually fired Pebbles as their manager, but they remained ensnared in an exploitative contract with Pebbitone. When TLC recorded their 1994 sophomore LP CrazySexyCool, Left Eye wasn’t in the studio much, since she was still going through court-ordered rehab for alcoholism. Dallas Austin had written “Creep” with TLC in mind. For a few months, he hadn’t even decided whether he liked the song, but it remained stuck in his head, and he eventually took it to the group. Left Eye never liked the song, and she refused to rap on it. Later on, she explained her objection: “I wasn’t down with the cheating on your man. For me, it’s ‘be faithful.’ I just didn’t know — is this the kind of message we should be sending out to people?… If a girl’s gonna catch her man cheating — this was my thing — instead of telling her to cheat back, why don’t we tell her to just leave?” Makes sense to me!

Unlike many of her ’90s R&B peers, T-Boz never went crazy with vocal runs. Instead, she sings “Creep” with a calm, confident depth. The warmth of T-Boz’s delivery is almost enough to convince you that the response of her “Creep” narrator is entirely reasonable, that it won’t lead to disaster. She slides over the track, describing fucked-up power dynamics with breezy no-big-deal calm: “If he knew the things I did, he couldn’t handle it/ And I choose to keep him protected.” Chilli’s backing vocals tenderly surround T-Boz’s voice, propping her up. “Creep” is jammed with sly little hooks, and T-Boz delivers those hooks with effortless panache. That’s just charisma at work. Only T-Boz could make retaliatory cheating sound cool. It takes a whole lot of pop-music magic to turn a squalid, complicated situation into a four-minute party jam, but TLC had that magic.

Maybe that coolness is why Left Eye didn’t want anything to do with “Creep.” Left Eye pushed against releasing “Creep” as a single, to the point where she threatened to wear tape over her mouth in the video. Eventually, she recorded a verse for Dallas Austin’s DARP Remix of “Creep,” and she used that verse to warn of the dangers of creeping: “Creepin’ is the number one item on the chart/ Rippin’ families apart, the leading cause of a broken heart/ Injuries can be fatal, may infect the prenatal/ HIV is often sleepin’ in a creepin’ cradle.”

In the end, Left Eye didn’t wear tape over her mouth in the “Creep” video — which is good, since the group ended up making three videos for the damn song. The label scrapped their first two stabs at the clip, including one with Boyz II Men director Lionel C. Martin. The third time for the “Creep” video was the charm. Working with Salt-N-Pepa director Matthew Rolston, TLC didn’t dramatize the “Creep” lyrics. Instead, TLC wore silk pajamas — a compromise between the tomboyish style that the group preferred and the sexy lingerie that their label wanted — and hit instantly-iconic synchronized dance moves, looking just as cool as they sounded. Even if you objected to the situation that “Creep” described, you probably still wished you were friends with TLC.

It took months for “Creep” to creep its way up the Hot 100 before it finally became TLC’s first #1 hit. A few days after “Creep” reached #1, CrazySexyCool was certified double platinum. It would go on to sell a whole lot more than two million records. TLC had plenty of hits on deck, and we’ll soon see them in this column again.

GRADE: 9/10”.

It is sad that Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes is not around to see the legacy she left. I wanted to mark what would have been her fifty-fourth birthday on 27th May. Even if she was uncomfortable with some aspects of Creep and its video, she was a big part of its success and durability. You can hear and feel its D.N.A. in music released from artists since 1994. Another song that will never sound dated, it will continue to inspire artists. It is among my favourite tracks of the 1990s. A defiant anthem with an original subject matter, no wonder it was such a success and acclaimed song. Over thirty years since it topped the U.S. chart, the sublime Creep…

STILL sounds untouchable and superb.

FEATURE: Feminist Icons: Yara Shahidi

FEATURE:

 

 

Feminist Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: MaxMara/Yara Shahidi

Yara Shahidi

__________

YOU may know…

PHOTO CREDIT: Xavier Dolan for ELLE

Yara Shahidi from her acting work and credits like Black-ish (2014–2022) and its spin-off series, Grown-ish (2018–2024). She has also appeared in the film, The Sun Is Also a Star. In 2023, she starred in Peter Pan & Wendy as Timkerbell. She also was an executive producer on and star of the romantic comedy-drama, Sitting in Bars with Cake. Go and follow her on Instagram. I am including her in Feminist Icons as she is someone who is an activist that has used her platform to advocate for issues like voting rights, BIPOC rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Shahidi actively encouraged young people, especially girls, to become politically engaged. I am going to bring in a few interviews with this amazing activist and role model. Heading back to 2017, for W Magazine, Yara Shahidi discussed her relationship with former First Lady Michelle Obama, female empowerment, and Beyoncé’s Pregnancy:

“It started one fateful day,” said actress Yara Shahidi on a recent Friday in March. “I was going to a Beyoncé concert and wearing Ivy Park.” Like all good stories, no?

A fan of Beyoncé (naturally), Ivy Park (ditto), and women’s empowerment (same), Shahidi met the executive team behind Beyoncé’s athleisure label at that concert. They soon recruited her to appear in the latest campaign for Ivy Park, a series of images also starring SZA, Selah Marley, model Sophie Koella, Beyoncé herself and protégées Chloe and Halle Bailey—“my BFFs,” Shahidi said of the sisters, who had just wrapped up their European tour.

“It’s pretty cool to have friends where you can say that: Oh, yeah, they finished their Europe tour,” Shahidi said. “We had to take a moment mid-shoot to just hug it out.”

When we spoke, Shahidi was on a brief break from shooting the third-to-last episode of Black-ish’s third season—and she was about to begin shooting the pilot for the rumored spinoff series featuring her character, Zoey Johnson. While the initial buzz around that spinoff indicated it would follow Zoey’s escapades at college, Shahidi noted the pilot merely begins to plant the idea that Zoey will pursue higher education. (“I can’t give away too much detail,” she told me.)

It had been just more than a month since the campaign debuted at the end of January. Ivy Park Spring 2017 features exclusively women of color and emphasizes the physical and emotional strength of its stars. They’re depicted in their preferred workout environments, and Shahidi gave an interview accompanying the campaign in which she described the balancing, centering dimensions of her karate practice.

“I’ve gotten a lot of questions about if it’s scary to be on a public platform given the current administration and given that I’m a black Iranian,” Shahidi told me, referencing the travel and immigration ban to six predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran. Shahidi’s father is Iranian, and members of her extended family still reside there. “I say that to say, companies that are still supporting individuality—that are still supporting self-empowerment—are so crucial.”

For Shahidi, who made her screen debut in Entourage on television and Imagine That on the big screen nearly a decade ago, her on-camera work and activism have long been intertwined.

“If you look at the history of art and fashion, it’s always been political. It’s always been pushing boundaries,” she said. Last year, she founded the mentoring organization Yara’s Club with the support of the Young Women’s Leadership Network; she said she has also been educating herself on local elections and grassroots campaigns: “Midterms will come up and there will be so many of us that can vote,” she said. “It’s more important, too, to not just vote during midterms, but if you’re of voting age—or even if you’re not of voting age, like I am—there are ways to make changes and be involved, versus this feeling of helplessness because we don’t have any political sway”.

I want to move to an article from 2018, where we learn more about Yara Shahidi’s powerful role as a policy-adjacent leader. They highlight how she has used her platform for “feminist and self-empowerment activism. Focused on challenging eminent social issues such as structural racism, sexism and classism, Shahidi encourages young people to become more politically engaged”:

“One of the most notable contributions of Shahidi’s philanthropy is her partnership with Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) to create Yara’s Club, an online mentorship-based program inspired to “...empower youth to defeat poverty through education.” She also founded an initiative known as Eighteen x ‘18, which focuses on increasing voter turnout for the upcoming midterm elections in November by marketing politics towards younger generations.

Shahidi’s activism inspired former First Lady Michelle Obama to write her a letter of recommendation for Harvard University. She also had the honor of interviewing Hillary Clinton forTeen Voguelast year. Recently, Shahidi made headlines for being supported by Oprah Winfrey, whom she was interviewed by for Super Soul Conversations, to perhaps become the future president of the United States.

In an interview with Vogue, Shahidi stated, “My dharma, my purpose, is not to live in a self-centered world; to feel like one day I can look back and feel like what I did mattered.” In her acceptance speech for an EssenceGeneration Next Award in 2016, she perfectly summarized the influence of women leaders by stating, “It is my belief that there is an unspoken poetry of how the women in this room move through the world, not only as artists or creators, but as revolutions and revolutionaries…”.

Shahidi is a young, empowering example of true dedication to current leading matters for activism. Along with women in the public service, policy-adjacent supporters and political influencers like her play a seemingly essential role in captivating the next generation to join a social movement they believe in. She is, truly, a role model for those who wish to be part of an inclusive narrative inspired to overlook differences and instead unite humanity back together to create direct change in policy”.

I will end this feature soon. Before that, I want to look back to 2023. Yara Shahidi, when she appeared in Peter Pan & Wendy, became the first Black woman to play Tinkerbell. A huge move when it came to representation on the big screen, it is not always met with applause. Many people accusing films of being ‘woke’. The same sort of vitriol that Halle Bailey reived when she played The Little Mermaid in the 2023 film. However, these are important castings that are long-overdue. It is a shame that there is racism levied at these actresses when these films come out. Yara Shahidi was amazing in Peter Pan & Wendy and inspired so many girls around the world. For this feature, Shahidi spoke with a nine-year-old fan, Isla:

“During the interview, Yara Shahidi opened up about her views on feminism, emphasizing that it is about celebrating every aspect of oneself, including the imperfections that make us human.

She also shared her passion for empowering young girls to speak up and make their voices heard, highlighting the importance of providing them with the space and opportunities to do so. According to Yara, even simple actions like asking for their opinions can help train girls to recognize the value of their perspectives. Finally, she spoke about believing in oneself and chasing one's dreams, acknowledging that it is a journey with ups and downs, but emphasizing the importance of understanding that every person is worthy of being in any space they occupy, regardless of their level of confidence.

Isla's mum, Charlotte, expressed how much the moment meant to her daughter:

"Getting invited to interview Yara was one of the most special moments of Isla's life and it was such an amazing experience as a mother to see Isla involved with. Isla got to ask such important questions about the significant of following your dreams, how to get your voice heard and being inspired by your role models to never give up and believe in yourself.

According to Isla's mother, Charlotte, the phone call informing them that Yara had invited them to the premiere that evening was the most thrilling phone call. Isla had interviewed Yara earlier, and the actress had been so impressed that she invited Isla to attend the premiere of "Peter Pan and Wendy." Charlotte was overjoyed to see her daughter's excitement and realize that others had recognized how special she was and wanted to provide her with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Isla has had a difficult few years," Charlotte continued. "But she has faced these difficulties with such maturity and consideration for me. She’s such a kind and loving girl; she truly deserved to see what you can achieve if you believe in yourself."

"Attending the premiere with all the other actors and press was surreal. Yara and her team made such a fuss of Isla and she has not stopped talking about this experience.

Her confidence to follow her dreams and be herself has grown, it’s been such a wonderful thing to be part of. Isla is passionate, like me, about equality, feminism and empowering young girls. Isla could see how important self-belief and dreams are and now knows she can achieve hers.

"Getting the chance to ask Yara how it felt to be the first Black woman cast as Tinkerbell was also a moment we will always be proud of. Isla was able to see a young woman who represents her ethnicity stand proud and tell her how special she is and what it feels like to get to where she has.”

At The Female Lead, we strongly believe that young girls should be exposed to positive role models who inspire and empower them to believe in themselves and their dreams. As we have seen through Isla's experience, meeting a role model can be a life-changing moment that gives young people the confidence and self-belief to achieve their full potential. By providing access to stories of female leaders, innovators, and trailblazers, we hope to encourage the next generation of young girls to follow in their footsteps and make a positive impact in the world. We are proud to be part of a movement that supports young girls in achieving their goals and realizing their full potential”.

This is someone who will change society and policies. Away from being a hugely talented actor – whose biggest role and breakthrough appearances lie ahead – and a style icon, she is somebody who is this awe-inspiring activist and campaigner. In her mid-twenties, we are going to see her make huge changes in the world in the coming years and decades. A spokesperson for the young generation, not just in terms of social activism, gender equality and women’s (and girls’) rights, she is also a political activist. Someone who is endlessly impressive. This from Business of Fashion provides some illuminating background of Yara Shahidi:

“Among her generation Shahidi is known as an activist for feminism and STEM awareness, passions that spawned early and may be partly hark back to her paternal grandfather who spent time with the Black Panthers in their heyday. Shahidi’s father is a cinematographer and photographer, who had a stint as Prince’s personal photographer. Inn high-school she started Yara’s Club, a partnership with the Young Women’s Leadership Network, which provides online mentorship with the goal of ending poverty through education. For her birthday iIn 2018, the activist launched Eighteen x 18, a national initiative that encourages civic engagement and voting from young people. In 2018, Shahidi enrolled in Harvard intending to double major in sociology and African-American studies. She was supported by a recommendation by former first lady, Michelle Obama, commending Shahidi on her efforts to effect social change.

In 2016 Shahidi signed with Women Management, a New York-based agency, and she has since become known as a Gen-Z style icon for her red-carpet choices, styled by Jason Bolden , and her wardrobe as Zoey Johnson in “Black-ish,” working with costume designer Michelle Cole. Shahadi has also graced the covers of multiple notable titles, including Harper’s Bazaar Araba, Porter Magazine, Elle UK and became a US Ambassador for Chanel. She has also graced the cover of the Summer 2019 issue of Porter and has modelled for Beyoncé’s Ivy Park. The rising star is set to star in Stan Lee’s Audible drama “A Trick of Light”, as one of the platform’s exclusive audio tales”.

I am going to leave things there. At a time of Donald Trump’s tyranny in the U.S., Yara Shahidi’s voice and activism is even more important. With women’s rights and body autonomy being taken away, and there being this rise in misogyny and violence against women around the world, she is someone whose voice and platform is so hugely crucial. I would advise people to do a lot of further reading and investigation. Yara Shahidi appearing on Season 2 of the Women’s Perspective podcast. Check out this interview last year from Harper’s Bazaar. In it, Yara Shahidi talks about finding her feet with fashion. A new Elle interview where she talked about her new podcast, The Optimist Project. This is what she said about the year ahead:

“'I really feel like I've gotten to usher in the new year activated in all the spaces that I love and that bring me joy. I'm driving to a movie set right now, I've just filmed two podcast episodes, my friend just texted me a picture of this Gucci campaign ad being painted in Soho on the corner that I usually stay on, I'm about to celebrate my 25th birthday... I spent New Year's Eve on the beach journalling with my best friend, and the thing I came to was that 2025 is the year of trusting my gut, in all senses of the term. It's time to take probiotics, it's time to lean into intuition”.

I first came across Yara Shahidi through Black-ish. Obviously a fan of her acting, in years since, I learned more about her activism and wider interests. Her passions. If many know her as an actor and style icon, she also has another side as an activist and campaigner. To me, she is a feminist icon who will and has changed lives. I think she will go into politics in years to come. Make enormous changes that impact so many women and girls around the world. Everyone reading this should…

KNOW her name.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Revisited: Nieve Ella

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight: Revisited

PHOTO CREDIT: Bella Howard for CLASH

Nieve Ella

__________

MY next…

PHOTO CREDIT: Rachel Billings for NME

Spotlight: Revisited will be of a male artist. However, there are some great women that I included in my Spotlight series a while ago that I was keen to come back to. The amazing Nieve Ella was someone I spotlighted in 2023. She has gained a huge amount of press and love since then. Her incredible Watch It Ache and Bleed E.P. was released back in October. One of our very best artists, everyone need to listen to her. I want to bring in a few interviews with this incredible talent. I want to start out with a 2024 interview from NME. The Shropshire-raised artist captivated fans during lockdown with these amazing anthems. Now, there was this era of “unapologetic joy”:

“Hidden behind a faux telephone box in guitar manufacturer Gibson’s London office is a private bar – a Narnia-esque hideaway where Nieve Ella is taking a brief moment of respite. NME meets the musician born Nieve Ella Pickering amid a 19-date festival run, which will be immediately followed by a six-week tour with Girl In Red. There, she’ll play Wembley’s OVO Arena – ticking off a major bucket list goal at 21 years old.

Lounging on a distressed brown leather sofa, Pickering seems at ease in stillness. She’s given away only by a suitcase lying in the corner, slightly battered from the almost daily trips away from her home, a tiny village in Shropshire.

“It’s so weird going back and forth,” she says, widening her eyes. “There’s nothing at all to do with music at home. I mean, there’s nothing like bloody this.” She gestures to the purple walls around her, laden with shining guitars.

She’s planning to make London her permanent home this year, but the finality of the move weighs on Pickering, who is ambitious but hesitant to close the door on her childhood. It’s a theme that’s imbued much of her music to date – most of which was written on the bedroom floor that now exists solely as a crash pad between trips to the capital.

“My room is my sacred place; that’s where I’ve become who I am,” she says, pensively tracing one of the many silver chains hanging from her neck. Though Pickering’s bedroom clutter may be slightly more glamorous than her peers – it’s littered with guitars and outfits from her recent European tour with Irish rock band Inhaler – this seems to be a sentiment shared among a generation who came of age during lockdown.

In this way, Pickering’s music tells the story of British suburbia and its fleeting encounters with the culture brewing in the cities just out of reach. Her debut EP ‘Young & Naive’ encapsulated the frustration of existing within a society that eschews the needs of young people – evident in their lack of representation in recent election debates. Through a string of pop-inflected, indie-rock singles so far, she’s chronicled the feeling of wanting everything but having nothing, obsessing over pop stars (‘Blu Shirt Boy’ is written about Harry Styles) and daring to dream larger than the confines of rural England.

Even her introduction to music, via the X Factor’s gleaming portrayals of the industry, was informed by an upbringing on the outside. She recalls Alexandra Burke’s winner’s montage as a core memory: “I was so obsessed with the fact that she was a normal person, and then all of a sudden, she became this star. I was just so infatuated with the fact that that could happen.”

But it wasn’t until lockdown, when she picked up a guitar that had belonged to her late father for the first time, that she began to take music seriously. “The songs came out of me and then just didn’t stop,” she smiles.

In line with others whose musical careers were born in the pandemic, she later amassed a fanbase on TikTok. But though Pickering, born in 2003, is a digital native, it’s the hand of live music that’s guided her career.

One day, while on shift in her mum’s shop, she heard via the soft hum of the local radio that Sam Fender was performing in Birmingham that night. She left work early and convinced her friend to trek into the city with her, hoping to gain access to the sold-out gig. In the queue, they happened upon a man giving up his ticket, and then, at the box office, they managed to score another – the last one left. “It was already fate,” Pickering smiles. “And then, this guy that I really fancied at the time appeared.”

They ended up dancing with him and his friend all night at a gig she likens to a spiritual experience. The friend is now her touring drummer, and the guy ended up as the muse for her first EP. “I fully believe that whole day was supposed to happen. Even though he wasn’t the greatest and I’ve written pretty harsh songs about him,” she grins. “I wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for that day.”

Fender’s music, unsurprisingly, holds sentimental value for Pickering. It manifests in the shades of British indie rock that have moulded her sound – notably a scene that’s excluded women for decades.

The genre has evolved, but for Pickering, getting beyond the barrier has been an uphill battle. She recalls one early experience with an older male producer: “I came in wanting to write a rock song and he was like ‘Nah, that’s not you. You aren’t good for that. You need to write girly pop music’”.

There are a few really interesting articles/interviews that I want to move onto. CLASH spotlighted Nieve Ella in their Next Wave feature recently. I discovered her music a while ago, but the rise and new attention she has accrued in the past year has been amazing to see! A tremendous artist that is going to be a global superstar very soon. She has the talent and passion to be one of the world’s biggest artists:

“Nieve Ella is a force of nature. Coming of age on transitional EP ‘Watch It Ache And Bleed’ – a melange of caustic lyricism and indie-pop anthemics – the West Midlands-bred, London-based singer-songwriter is intransigent about her art. “I don’t want to release an EP again. I just want to release an album now; I want to release a project that I can really make a whole world around,” she tells CLASH.

Nieve Ella isn’t working on something specific just yet, even though she’s writing all the time. “I just need to keep going, I need to keep making art. If I don’t write about how I feel, I’ll literally go crazy!” She feels, she writes, she releases, and repeats; in both a figurative and a literal sense, with a steady stream of singles and EPs chronicling the last few years of her life in real time.

Between 18 and 22, though, you change quite a lot. Most people’s progress is tucked away in a camera roll, a notebook, a finsta, but Nieve’s belongs to other people now, on their playlists – maybe even lyrics copied down into other people’s diaries. “I thrive for that change,” she says. “I look back and think it’s so cool that I did that. I’m so proud of myself, even though some songs cringe me out! I’ve always said I’m never playing ‘Blu Shirt Boy’ [a song written about Harry Styles] again, but I’m coming to a realisation what songs mean to the fans is so much more important.”

“I remember demoing it. I was having fun. I was 18, and I was just so happy I was writing songs,” she continues. “We’re going to rehearsals next week and I want to see what [Blu Shirt Boy] feels like – if we can change some stuff that makes it feel a bit more like me. Or it might not change at all. It’s a normal thing that happens, right? You lose interest in parts of you that were you when you were 18.”

When you write so personally, it can be hard to find people who get you enough to write with you. “I wrote with Will and Nick from Flyte a couple years ago, and they’re my songwriting heroes. It was amazing, it was the best experience but I know it won’t always be like that.” Who does Nieve dream of writing with now? “For me, it was always Sam Fender,” she says, then doubles back. “But Sam Fender writes from his own life, and that’s not my life”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ed Miles for DIY

There are a couple of other pieces to include. DIY are big fans of her music and inducted Nieve Ella in their Class of 2025 in February. This Gen Z icon-in-the-making discussed her Sam Fender appreciation to making a statement with her music, this is an artist who is connecting with a generation of fans. People who can relate to her and connect. She is an idol to many:

“The 22-year-old says she “can understand so much” why Chappell Roan told fans in August that she needed “to draw lines” between herself and an increasingly large and demanding fanbase. “I’m not at the level where people are coming up to me every single day, so when they do I’m like, ‘Let’s have a conversation. You wanna take a photo? Let’s do it’,” she says. “But if that happened to me everywhere I went, I probably would feel the exact same as her.”

Nieve grapples with her growing profile on ‘Sugarcoated’: a driving highlight from her third and most recent EP, ‘Watch It Ache and Bleed’. Released in October, the eight-song set cements her status as Gen Z’s real and relatable indie queen. When she sings, “I’m burning the candle at both its ends / How can you handle a thousand friends?”, it’s a reference to the whiplash she felt as she embarked on nationwide headline tours and support slots with the likes of DYLAN and girl in red. In September, she opened for the latter at London’s 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena.

“I was so fed up and frustrated when I wrote that song,” Nieve says. “I felt like people on the internet and at shows thought I was this happy, sweet person. And I AM happy and I CAN be sweet, but I’m also so sensitive.” The Shropshire-born musician adores performing, but still struggles with the idea of having “thousands of people staring” at her on stage. “And when you’ve got people on the internet wondering where you’ve been because you haven’t posted on TikTok for three days, that’s just mind-boggling,” she adds.

Social media also evokes mixed feelings in the singer. On the one hand, she likes to unwind by watching Instagram Reels of “people cooking food or giving birth”. But on the other, posting can feel like homework. A week after she created a second, more low-key TikTok account – “It’s not private,” she says, “but I don’t share it anywhere” – it had already attracted 7,000 followers. That’s a fraction of her main account’s 114,000, but it still heaps pressure on her. “When I started my new TikTok, I felt like I could post whatever I wanted,” she says. “But now there’s more people on there, I’m like, ‘Oh crap, I need to post something before people start asking what’s going on’.’’

Of course, TikTok has been integral to Nieve’s rise from the start. She built a fanbase on the app during the pandemic, first by posting covers, then her own indie pop originals. When lockdown gripped the country in 2020, Nieve Ella Pickering (to use her full name) picked up a guitar belonging to her late father and learned to play from online tutorials. Songwriting came naturally – “I don’t actually know how I taught myself,” she says – and a Sam Fender gig proved formative. When she made the 30-mile trip from her “tiny” Shropshire village to the bright lights of Birmingham, her hero didn’t disappoint. “I was pretty drunk, but the way he used instruments with lyrics that are so deep-cutting, it just blew my mind,” she says.

TikTok also introduced her to Finn Marlow, her guitarist, songwriting partner and “best friend in the world”. Nieve recently moved to London, but today she’s speaking to DIY over Zoom from Maidenhead in neighbouring Berkshire, where she and “the boys” – Marlow and her producers – are working on new material. Over the last four days, they’ve written “seven or eight songs”, and the creative rush spills over into her conversation. Candid and chatty, she says she’s “not a worldly person” and confides that she initially struggled with “finding the right words to use in lyrics” – an insecurity that stems from “always being in the lowest sets for English” at school. But both in person and in her songwriting, Nieve is a born communicator.

Nieve has “big dreams” of teaching herself to produce her own music. She also wants to expand her palette of collaborators so it isn’t just “the boys” downstairs. “Maybe in LA there are way more female producers and writers, but I feel like I don’t experience that a lot here,” she says. “My goal is to be that woman producer who brings in younger women and makes them feel comfortable [in the studio].” Having been in songwriting sessions with older men she didn’t gel with, she knows first-hand how stifling this dynamic can be. “It’s really difficult to open up to anyone about your feelings – even the people I write with now, who are my best friends,” she says.

Building a musical community is clearly important to the singer. Before she moved to the capital a couple of months ago, her London base was the family home of fellow indie wunderkind Fred Roberts. “We’re two musicians who found each other at the right time. We make different music but have the same dreams and goals, which is so inspiring,” she says. Nieve also appreciates that she was lucky to have somewhere to crash when money was tight early on. “If I ever win an award, they’ll be the ones I thank,” she notes”.

I am going to end with another feature from CLASH. Writing in February, they observed how her Koko show (in London) felt like a moment. Since then, Nieve Ella has a run of incredible gigs coming up. She is playing Count Bestival, Reading & Leeds, and Isle of Wight. I wonder when she will be asked to appear at Glastonbury on their Other Stage. That cannot be too far away:

“Opening for her on this tour, Fred Roberts is charmingly overwhelmed. 

“This is a pretty cool thing to do on a Wednesday,” says he, his low speaking voice then translating into mellow sung vocals. Accompanied by lead guitarist Rosie, Roberts works through a confident half-hour, including a dreamy, slowed-down cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Taste’ which works well to get the packed venue singing along – it’s obvious Roberts has plenty of fans of his own in the house tonight.

Another highlight is Roberts’ rendition of his first-ever single ‘Runaway’. “Let’s get hyped!” he urges here – a bit more at this level of energy would have been good, but it’s a warmly-received and accomplished support set. 

It’s Nieve Ella’s turn now and she wastes no time showing us how thrilled she is to be on this stage – her biggest headline show to date. Backed with her rock star look and mellow, pop-inflected sound, the dramatic build of ‘Anything’ makes for a thrilling opener. ‘The Things We Say’ follows: this emotive and heart-torn song delivered with a grin which Nieve cannot suppress.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mollie McKay

The first huge singalong of the evening comes in old-favourite ‘Blu Shirt Boy’, before Nieve and her band are joined by a special vocal quartet on stage to add ad-libbed harmonies to ‘Sweet Nothings’. The unreleased ‘Good Grace’, described as “Ganni Top’s little sister” is forceful, sexy and fun, and precedes a slowed-down section of the set during which Nieve covers Role Model’s ‘Look At That Woman’, duets (seated and embracing) with Fred Roberts on ‘The Reason’, and showcases her vocal abilities, hitting long soaring notes in ‘Glasshouses’.

Energy restored, Nieve powers through the remainder of her main set. ‘Lucky Girl’ is casually dropped in: “this is a treat for you” says Nieve, introducing the live debut of what proves to be an intense rock ballad, sung with hoarse passion. ‘Ganni Top (She Gets What She Needs)’ feels like the pinnacle of it all, the rolling, rock-and-roll riffs and pounding backbeat easing – after the inevitable “Screeaaam!” – into the raucous chants of the pre-chorus. 

‘Meet You In The Middle’ takes us smoothly and euphorically to the “end” of the show. “Brace for what’s coming…  I’m tired of being silenced / Won’t forever hold my peace”… This feels like something of a catharsis and triumph for Nieve: a solo statement of female power, strength and resilience. 

Having packed 14 songs into about an hour, Nieve disappears off-stage for barely a minute before returning to play a musical interlude and then a three-song encore (plus a ‘Happy Birthday’ to bassist Fran). It all culminates in a wondrous, pogoing ‘Sugar Coated’, ending the show in a wave of good feeling.

It’s been an impressive and confident performance – and it’s obvious Nieve has been having a lot of fun. She’s at that level where new experiences and achievements are coming thick and fast; she’s rolling with it, finding new levels of skill and strength – and also, refreshingly, remaining a little bit in awe of what’s happening”.

One of our most special artists, there is no telling how far Nieve Ella can go in years to come. Many will look ahead to a debut album. There will be huge global stages in her future. Some big U.S. dates. I am pumped to see where she heads. Someone whose music I have loved for years now, I think he rest of this year is going to provide so many terrific memories. If you do not currently know Nieve Ella then go and…

FOLLOW her now.

___________

Follow Nieve Ella

PHOTO CREDIT: Ella Nieve

Official:

https://www.nieveella.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nieveella/

TikTok:

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

Twitter:

https://x.com/nieveella

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@nieveella

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/14zhvja4OxwrmivOB3LHOn?si=J9tlehIXTzOMbmJNcApO0A

FEATURE: Crossing the Line: The Proliferation of Derogatory Lyrics Against Women

FEATURE:

 

 

Crossing the Line

PHOTO CREDIT: Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels

The Proliferation of Derogatory Lyrics Against Women

__________

I was recently stunned…

PHOTO CREDIT: Julian Cordero/Pexels

by a recent article from The Telegraph that suggested women in music are driving misogyny. That negative language about other women is the reason for the proliferation of misogyny in music. Even though The Telegraph is a right-wing sh*t-rag, it still seemed such an unprovoked and weird take! Nobody would say women in music are fuelling misogyny. There are some songs from women where they are negative towards other women. That is not misogyny. If you listen to many of the major female artists in the mainstream, there are not loads of songs where they hate on women. It is such a bizarre and misinformed view of misogyny and where it is coming from! If you think about all the most aggrieve and explicit lyrics aimed at women that dehumanise and debase them, they are not coming from women like Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter or Charli xcx. That is what The Telegraph are seeming to suggest. Discounting that as a seriously deluded article that, in itself, is misogynistic, there is another article – from an actual journalist for a respectable site – that took a look at derogatory lyrics against women in music. Far Out Magazine provided a fascinating article about the proliferation and seeming rise of misogynistic lyrics by male artists. That article was published on 18th April:

“While women have risen, derogatory terms have flourished. A recent study by Startle analysing 600 chart-topping songs across six decades (1974 and 2024) actually draws attention to the troublesome fact that objectification and empowerment in the music industry are still two very distinctive and mutually exclusive strands. According to their findings, the biggest shift occurred at the turn of the century, specifically from 2004 onwards, with a 1,383% increase in female-negative words compared to the previous decade.

Which terms have seen the biggest rise?

Looking at Startle’s research, it’s easy to guess which words have become the most referenced by artists across the board. Actually, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there has also been a spike across rap and hip-hop, especially in recent years, with artists like Kendrick Lamar frequently turning to terms like “bitch” in his work. While including ‘freak’ in song lyrics became something of a trend from 1984 onwards, 60 other terms, including “bitch”, spiked from 2004 onwards.

However, while this increase began in 2004, with the word featuring in songs 18 times, this number nearly doubled in 2024, particularly following songs like Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’, which uses the word six times. This isn’t a new trend within Lamar’s discography, but it does demonstrate a broader cultural consciousness where such terms are overlooked despite the increase in female dominance in other musical spaces. Other terms, like “hoe”, have also seen similar increases.

IMAGE CREDIT: Far Out Magazine/Markus Spiske

And while all of this has been happening, positive language has decreased. For instance, words like “beautiful”, “honey”, and other terms of endearment have declined by 85% over five decades. That said, while this stark contrast to culture and progression seems dramatic, it, unfortunately, isn’t all that surprising, considering the length of time it usually takes for institutions or certain spaces of the arts to catch up when it comes to equality and representation.

According to Startle CEO Adam Castleton, while we continue to acknowledge and celebrate the increase in female presence across popular music charts and other spaces of the industry, we must also understand that the reasons for the rise in derogatory language are complex. “Firstly, some music genres – like rap, hip-hop and drill – are centred on the hyper-masculine principles of dominance, status and the objectification of women,” Castleton tells Far Out.

“The commercialisation and rising popularity of these genres means labels are likely to prioritise content that fits into established, lucrative formulas, which sometimes include misogynistic themes,” he continues, arguing that the same is true “when it comes to what sells more broadly”. In his view, because the music industry is still male-dominated in many places, and many women feel “pressured to conform to what the industry expects”, choices like “hyper-sexualisation” are usually made by predominantly male labels and execs.

However, he also suggests that another reason for the rise could be the influence of “virality” in the age of social media. After all, “shocking or controversial lyrics”, he says, are often the lifeblood of viral social media trends, which can bleed into streaming sites like Spotify and Apple Music, where listeners can “easily access uncensored lyrics”. While many artists will often have to give credence to some sort of radio edit, this exclusivity on streaming platforms can sometimes encourage them to use such language in their art.

However, while there’s a lot at play here, Castleton also argues that a change can occur when there’s a “wider cultural shift and avoidance of controversial music”. As mentioned previously, some of this can be attributed to women reclaiming the language as terms of empowerment, but this coasts a fine line more often than not, with some contexts “easily reinforcing a cycle of derogatory representation instead of breaking it”.

There are some key takeaways. How women, when they use seemingly derogatory language, it is about empowerment and taking back control. It is not about hating women and misogyny. When men use it, it is very much about ownership and possession. Women being seen as property and assets. It is not reserved to underground artists. Even huge names in Hip-Hop seem to use women as pawns and objects. In the midst of the rather pathetic and toxic beef with Drake, the way women were portrayed in some of the songs (such as Euphoria) was appalling. It is nothing new. If a genre like Drill or Rap has a tradition of aggression and misogyny towards women and that seems to be what makes artists popular then new acts coming through will carry on that legacy. Also, the idea of ignoring the music or listening less. In an age where this music can spread rapidly, it is going to be heard and shared even if people stop listening. Women reclaiming certain words and terms. It is down to men in these genres to change the narrative and to change their ways. How likely and easy is this?! At a time when there are incels and social media influencers brainwashing young men and normalising misogyny and abuse of women, will we see a rise in these derogatory and disrespectful lyrics?! I caught this Far Out Magazine and it shocked me. Women like Lizzo (Juice), Rihanna (Bitch Better Have My Money) or Doja Cat (Paint the Town Red) using the word ‘bitch’ is a playful or authoritative way. Not attacking women. It is about confidence. They are not abusing other women. Maybe that is where The Telegraph got confused. Not understanding context and intent. That or they just love fuelling hatred against women. In any case, Kelly Scanlon’s words above are much more factual, illuminating and evidence-based. With women dominating Pop, it seems like a much healthier environment than it could be. Imagine if Drill and Hip-Hop, largely male-dominated, was in mainstream Pop’s position and the harm that could cause!

I do think that it is down to the industry and men in genres like Drill and Hip-Hop that need to take ownership. To boost and ally with women rather than to continue this toxic and misogynist narrative that they feel they need to conform to. The moment huge artists start to do this then others will follow. Not only is it hugely disrespectful and degrading for women; it also sets a terrible example to young men listening to the music. This then spreads into their lives and the way they view women. It is interesting how Scanlon ends her article: “Representation is one thing, but real progress requires a deeper, more ingrained transformation—one where a woman with power and talent no longer faces labels like “bitch”. She talks about women storming the industry (completely true) but there being this lag in terms of representation, equality and respect – three things women have not been afforded enough of. How virality and this hyper-masculinity means that so many artists are completely comfortable stripping women of any respect, decency or agency. It is brilliant when women reclaim certain words and can transform that into something empowering and positive.

 “Representation is one thing, but real progress requires a deeper, more ingrained transformation—one where a woman with power and talent no longer faces labels like “bitch”

However, as there is such a rise in misogyny and dangerous language towards women, maybe it is a futile long-term strategy. The influence of certain lyrics and music is also too powerful to truly subvert or de-escalate. I think that the industry does need to react to fact and statistics that clearly show derogatory lyrics that are misogynist are rising and creating a hugely dangerous environment across some genres. Not to promote or encourage it but to confront it. Artists who use this sort of language banned or called out. Some might say that is against free speech but, considering the content of the lyrics, allowing it to flourish is enormously disturbing. Rather than normalising misogyny, it needs to be seen as hate speech. Laws brought in that make it a criminal offence. If artists have to entangle themselves in criminal cases and are demonetised or censored then this is a disincentive. What we have at the moment is a horrific and festering tide of misogyny that, contrary to some right-wing and deluded sources, is nothing to do with women and their language – it is funded and fuelled by men. It is a basic matter of respect: the very least women deserve. The sooner women are seen as amazing human beings that warrant respect and decency, then the better society will become. It make take a lot of work and take a long time, but it is clear that we are in a moment of crisis that…

IMAGE CREDIT: Far Out Magazine/Harry Shelton

SHOULD alarm every music fan in the world.

FEATURE: Sisters in the Spotlight: Highlighting the Women in Music Awards - and Going Beyond It

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in the Spotlight

IN THIS PHOTO: Victoria Monét, Ari Lennox, Muni Long at the Billboard Women in Music 2025 held at the YouTube Theater on 29th March, 2025 in Los Angeles, California/PHOTO CREDIT: Christopher Polk

Highlighting the Women in Music Awards - and Going Beyond It

__________

I am returning…

IN THIS PHOTO: Doechii arrives at the Billboard Women in Music 2025/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Buckner

once more to Doechii. Not to completely focus on her but, as she recently won the Woman of the Year award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards, it makes me think about the rest of the music industry and making this sort of thing more prominent. It is great that there are events like the Music in Women Awards. There is also Music Week’s Women in Music Awards. I guess it is a different sort of thing to what Billboard does, though it is great that there is recognition of women in music. However, it is crucial making them annual and ensuring that they are never cancelled. I am going to continue on this theme. However, this Billboard article celebrates Doechii walking away with a big prize and her calling for this type of award ceremony to remain and grow:

“Where’s the swamp? Do I have any fans in the house?” Doechii asked the audience inside YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif., to laughs and applause after an introduction from two of her collaborators, Jayda Love and DJ Miss Milan.

“I cannot believe it was just two years ago I stood on this stage right here and accepted the Billboard Rising Star Award. I had literally performed so hard I danced my shoes off and had to hop up to the mic,” she recalled of her performances of “Persuasive” and “Crazy,” smiling. “And here I am. That moment reflects how I approach my career – always go full out, always go hard and always be fab.”

Thanking her family, God and the many women on her team and at her label, Doechii noted the Woman of the Year honor was “a full-circle moment.”

She also talked about the importance of Billboard Women in Music as an annual industry event. “I stand here as a fierce ally,” the rapper said. “That word is a key reason there is a Billboard Women in Music.” The event, which began in 2007, came about because “women in the music business were tired of not getting their seats at the table or the credit they deserved,” she said. “This event was created out of a necessity. That word, necessity, is important. My mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, was a space I created out of necessity. A space where I could feel seen, heard and connect with other people through experiences.”

The Swamp Princess noted that nearly two decades after Billboard Women in Music first started, a “lack of inclusion and sexism are still issues in this industry. And that’s a problem. Which is why I’m grateful we have Billboard Women in Music.

“This is our motherf–king night to rightfully come together to acknowledge each other, support each other and to celebrate,” she said. “We are the creators, we are the executives, we are the innovators who are just as central to this industry as the men. Clock it”.

Rather than make this a long feature, I thought it was interesting what Doechii had to say. It is true that women are as central to the industry as men. I think they are more important and influential at the moment. Rather than award ceremonies isolating other genders and it being against men, it is an overdue recognition of women and their contributions. Women coming together to celebrate one another is so important. I don’t know if there is anything like that for male artists. Maybe it would seem crass. It is true that there is still sexism throughout the industry. It should be an even playing field. However, it might take many years until we get there. I would like to see more inclusive awards shows in the U.S. and U.K. Billboard’s celebration is crucial, though there needs to be more when it comes to recognising women through the industry. Here in the U.K, there is not enough either that shines a light on women. The fact that an award show was created out of necessity. If the industry was more inclusive and supported women more – and gave them a bigger platform – then there would not be this urgency to create award ceremonies specifically for women. I know award ceremonies alone are not enough. They might not make that big an impact. However, what is clear is that Doechii’s words ring true. In 2025, how far has the music industry come when it comes to inclusion of women? Baby steps but not big leaps. I do hope that things change sooner rather than later. Award ceremonies for women mean that you can combine these incredible artists and figures throughout the industry. A night especially for them.

Looking ahead, the music industry need to react and transform. Even if there are improvements here and there, there does need to be more spotlight on women in music. They are the ones creating the best music consistently and are making the biggest moves. It is sad that it is a necessity to have awards shows for women. However, it does give them their dues. Even though there are incorrect and ridiculous articles like this from The Telegraph that posit the rise in misogyny in music is because of women and the language they use in songs, it is clear that the misogyny is male-driven. Women are not largely hating on other women and creating inequality and this toxicity. Yes, there are some songs where women are throwing shade on other women and there is this rivalry. However, if you look at every layer of the industry and the misogyny that has always existed, it is driven by and cultivated by men. ‘Negative language’ about women, as The Telegraph write, is not the same as misogyny. Also, there is not a huge amount of negative language in these songs. This report from last year shows how there is sexism and misogyny growing in every layer of the music industry. It is definitely not the case women are spearheading misogyny. It is very much not on them. It is on the wider industry to not judge women and to make sure they are given equality. From songwriting to festivals to many awards ceremonies, women are still in the minority and have to fight to be heard. The highest executive positions and in professional studios. Being including on smaller bills. Inequality around pay too. Women being invited to the table. There is still this huge issue that is not shifting fast. It takes me back to Doechii’s acceptance speech and her boosting women but also calling out sexism. Rather than women in music feeling fearful or isolated, there does need to be…

HEARD and happy.

FEATURE: Groovelines: Coldplay - Yellow

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

Coldplay - Yellow

__________

ONE of the most important…

IN THIS PHOTO: Coldplay in 2000/PHOTO CREDIT: Benedict Johnson/Redferns

albums of the early-2000s turns twenty-five on 10th July. Released in the year 2000, it is the debut album of Coldplay. Parachutes reached number one in the U.K. Although some critics gave it a mixed review, the majority were very positive. The album boasts incredible tracks like Shiver, Trouble and Don’t Panic. Perhaps the biggest and most celebrated song from the album is Yellow. It is the one song many associate with Coldplay. The reason I am spotlighting it is because it turns twenty-five on 26th June. I wanted to go further into the song for this Groovelines. Even if I am not a big Coldplay fan, I recognise the brilliance of this track. One that I remember coming out in 2000 and being struck instantly. Yellow won Best Single at the 2001 NME. It was nominated at the 2002 GRAMMYs for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. That sense of brightness, hope and devotion. The band’s lead, Chris Martin, said that was very typical of Coldplay and their ethos/mood. Many critics describe the track as Post-Britpop or Alternative Rock. It is about unrequited love, I guess. Yellow is perhaps hopelessly romantic…though not in a bad way. There are a few features about Yellow that I want to bring in now. I am going to start out with this feature that gives a little bit of background into the recording of Yellow:

“Yellow” was recorded in Rockfield studio in Wales off of the Parlophone label, which has signed bands such as Radiohead, Gorillaz, and The Chemical Brothers. The origin of the track is the stuff of movies, beginning with the band taking a studio break after recording their first single for Parachutes, “Shiver.” While outside, co-prodcer Ken Nelson noticed how beautiful the lights were, and told the band to “look at the stars.” Yeah, it’s corny.

From there, Martin developed a melody, which eventually turned into the hook. At first, the group was pessimistic about the loose chord progression, which Martin described as a poor impersonation of a Neil Young inflection. Eventually, the track turned into something more palatable, especially after guitarist Johnny Buckland created the riff for the first portion of the song,

Lyrically, Martin found inspiration from his friend Stephanie, who happened to be in the studio during the night of the recording. According to the lead singer, she possessed a “yellow glow” in the night.

I immediately attached to “Yellow” because of its thoughtful and dreamy aesthetic. The song starts off as a blank canvas with its acoustic arrangements and restrained vocals before eventually painting a picture of passionate love. The track forces listeners to grab hold of that one thing in life that’s not worth letting go. Martin and company keep this overwhelming infatuation open for perspective, thus providing people with the luxury of finding their own ways to emotionally attach to this euphoric experience.

Coldplay’s first successful hit brought my dad and I together and gave us something to talk about musically, despite our different tastes. Love tends to do that, even in the worst of times. The band continued to explore this universal theme after their initial success, and still do to this day.

Even while trading old-fashioned guitars for synthesized pop, Coldplay still stays genuine. To me, it’s hard not to like them, especially considering their impact on the current state of alternative music, which is filled with bands like OneRepublic and Imagine Dragons trying to copy their happy-go-lucky style. Coldplay has still found cult success, even through mixed reviews from big-name music sites (namely Pitchfork), all because of “Yellow”.

I am interested in this feature from American Songwriter from 2023. It is simple, random and amazing how the song came together. As American Songwriter say, Chris Martin “was messing around on the guitar with a bunch of folk guitar chords, trying to channel Neil Young and mumbling the word “stars.” He looked across the room and saw a copy of a phone number directory, the Yellow Pages. The rest is history”:

“The first line of the song is a sentence their producer Ken Nelson uttered while the band was taking a break outside the studio. Since they were in the countryside, the night sky wasn’t polluted with city lights. The stars were clearly visible and Nelson told the band: “Look at the stars.”

The song’s lyrics describe all the things—some more ridiculous than others—a person will do to express their love and devotion for someone: write a song, swim and jump across obstacles, draw a line, and even sacrifice their life.

Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
You know, you know I love you so
You know I love you so
I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do
‘Cause you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

The Recording

“Yellow” was a labor-intensive song. “It was really difficult to record,” Will Champion, the band’s drummer, said in an interview with MTV. The musicians had tried out at least five different tempos and had a hard time choosing a final version, Champion recalls. “Sometimes it sounded too rushed, and sometimes it sounded as if it was dragging.”

The plan was to record most of the album Parachutes analog. As the band and producer Ken Nelson forged ahead, they just “couldn’t quite get” the song “Yellow” right, Nelson explained in an interview with Sound on Sound. “We tried it a few different ways, and a few different recordings of it, and we were never really happy. We ended up using Pro Tools.”

A music video worth covering

Initially, the music video for “Yellow” was supposed to show the band on the beach in a carefree summer setting. On the day of the shoot, rain was pouring down in true British fashion and Chris Martin was the only band member who ended up in the video. He is lip-syncing while making his way along the shoreline in a rain jacket. He sang along to a sped-up version of the song so that the final product could be slowed down for a slow-motion effect.

In 2022, the Canadian band Tegan and Sara released a music video that pays homage to Coldplay’s original. The twins filmed a slow-motion video on an empty beach wearing rain gear.  Their song “Yellow” is an original but they couldn’t release a song with the same title without passing up the opportunity to give a nod to Coldplay’s version.

“Yellow” was only the beginning

There are many memorable performances of “Yellow.” Among them is the band’s performance at Steve Jobs’ memorial in 2011. Before the band starts playing, Chris Martin shares a memory with the attendees: In 2001, Coldplay played “Yellow” for Apple’s CEO, who told the band that he didn’t like the song at all. “He said, we’d never make it,” Martin tells the crowd gathered in front of the stage. He then smiles while playing the first chords on his acoustic guitar”.

This feature is really interesting, as it breaks down lines and parts of Yellow and dissects them. Finds meaning behind them. Even if Chris Martin has not really given too much away regarding the meaning behind one of Coldplay’s biggest songs, each listener has their own interpretation and take:

“Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow.” Such is the beginnings of Yellow, arguably Coldplay’s most iconic song.

When Chris Martin was questioned by a journalist on the meaning behind this song — he simply replied (with a smirk) — “I don’t know”. After listening to this song for over 15 years, it is indeed still difficult to truly grasp what this song is really about.

It may be a danger to overanalyze art — whether it be a piece of music, a block of writing, or a set of paintings. Perceiving art from the lense of the intellect may somehow ruin the emotional experience of it. Overinterpretation and pattern seeking may possibly nullify the magic of a masterful song.

Having said all this — screw it. Let us take that risk.

The first 10 seconds of the song starts off with a clean and crisp guitar riff; initially starting with what sounds like an acoustic guitar, then shortly joined by an electric one at around the 6th second.

At around the 11th second, the song explodes to what I can only describe as a glorious — melodious — transcendental — crescendo. This part of the song (we will call it ‘melodious crescendo’ from now on) is repeated multiple times throughout the piece.

It happens at the beginning (11th second), and also two more times (1:50 and 3:13): immediately after the singer professes his love for the person he is referring to (“You know I love you so” and “For you I’d bleed myself dry”). Have a listen to those three parts.

These three points represent the emotional peaks of the song. The profession of love is appropriately followed by the immediate explosion of melodious crescendo, which perfectly reflects the emotional heights of the song.

Throughout the song, the singer repeatedly mentions his acts of service to the person he is referring to. What is peculiar about these acts of services is that they are simple, arbitrary, trivial”.

I am going to end with a 2023 feature from Medium. It is a critique and psychological approach to Yellow. I didn’t think too much of the meaning behind the lyrics back in 2000. Now, as the track has inspired so many other songwriters, I wanted to revisit it. One of those classics that is hard to fault. If you have not heard the song lately then go and check it out:

“Listening to ‘Yellow’ it is easy to tell that the song is about a deep, passionate love but the object of these affections isn’t specified, rather the band chose to leave it open for anyone that listens to interpret the message of the song as they see fit.

The lead singer himself agreed that it was written with no one particular in mind, but the song and its title to him and the band symbolizes “brightness and hope and devotion”. But what is it about a minimalistic, sweet song that would skyrocket a relatively unknown band to global attention so suddenly? To discover this, it is so important to know what the lyrics of this song, its melody, and its intent mean to millions of people around the world but this is an impossible task.

A beautiful expression of this is seen in a letter to Coldplay written by the director of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Jon M. Chu, where he said:

“I know it’s a bit strange, but my whole life I’ve had a complicated relationship with the color yellow. From being called the word in a derogatory way throughout grade school, to watching movies where they called cowardly people yellow, it’s always had a negative connotation in my life. That is, until I heard your song. For the first time in my life, it described the color in the most beautiful, magical ways I had ever heard: the color of the stars, her skin, her love. It was an incredible image of attraction and aspiration that it made me rethink my own self image. It immediately became an anthem for me and my friends and gave us a new sense of pride we never felt before… (even though it probably wasn’t ever your intention). We could reclaim the color for ourselves and it has stuck with me for the majority of my life.”

For Chu, the word ‘yellow’ went from one of pain and disgust as he had previously associated it to be, into a word that meant beauty, grace, and love. It’s about self love, taking what was used to discriminate against him to celebrate who he is.

And so the lyrics go like this:

Look at the stars

Look how they shine for you

And everything you do

Yeah, they were all yellow

I came along

I wrote a song for you

And all the things you do

And it was called “Yellow”

These verses describe the way the author perceives his subject of interest. To this author, the reason the stars shine is for the person he loves — the stars emit a pale glow that lights up the night sky, thus the author believes that this person is so precious that he/she is the reason why the stars (which are far away in the cosmos) come out at night to shine.

And so, the author continues by translating his adoration for the subject by defining the things this subject does as yellow which allows the listener to visualize the sort of person the subject is.

The colour yellow is often associated with warmth, happiness, positivity, youthfulness, and hope — it is a colour that signifies something that is alive in the sense that it is throbbing with life. The concept of living happily or being a person that lives a warm, happy existence is a story the colour tells. The author is so greatly inspired by his subject that he must do something about it, and this is seen in the line ‘I came along, I wrote a song for you’.

And what is the aim of the song the author has written? It is a song for the subject and to tell of all the things this person does — to the author, the impact the person has on the world and in the author’s life.

Although the author made it clear that the song was about his person, the lyrics of almost every line come from a subjective view of how the author views the person, what he/she means to the author, and also the lengths the author would go for him/her.

It is not a representation of the individual based on how he/she views their selves, or how the world views them or even who they truly are when no one else is there. The descriptions tell of only one point of view; the author’s.

And so to tell the subject and the rest of the world of the depth of what is felt by the author towards this person, and to paint the picture of how the author sees them, the lyrics go:

your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones

turn into something beautiful

and you know, you know I love you so

You know I love you so

To the author, this individual is beautiful from their skin to their bones. The line ‘your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones, turn into something beautiful’ is interesting because it goes beyond a superficial view of what the beauty of this person is.

It holds a connotation of beauty even in death by stating how the skin and bones of the subject turn into something beautiful — perhaps, returning to dust and coming back as nature and life. A beauty that surpasses death. But just to re-emphasise his love, in case it were not already clear, the author sings ‘You know I love you so’

One must agree that the author does indeed love the subject, as the next lines support the statement of the depth of this love. The author takes note of the belief that actions speak louder than words, and so to prove to the subject of just how much he loves them, the author sings:

I swam across

I jumped across for you

Oh, what a thing to do

‘Cause you were all yellow

and you know, for you, I’d bleed myself dry

For you, I’d bleed myself dry

For this person that is ‘yellow’- light, hope, warmth, happiness in the author’s life, he swam across and bled himself dry. For this person, the author is willing to go unquestionable miles up to the extent of sacrificing himself for their sake.

What more is there to say? What more could one utter that could express just how deeply they are loved by an individual? But the author doesn’t stop there. It all sounds so whimsical — the idea that one could be loved so deeply, maybe it even sounds exaggerated to the subject, and so the author says:

It’s true

Look how they shine for you

Look how they shine for you

Look how they shine

Look at the stars

Look how they shine for you

And all the things that you do

And here, he ends his message and his melody.

From the beginning, the song was meant for the subject of the author’s affection. It was never about anything other than this person, and the things that this person does. Along the line, the author took the song in a different direction by telling of the things he would do for the one he loves.

But although the author decided to take this angle, his objective of telling the things that the person stays true. A person’s actions go beyond the individual to affect the lives of those around them. In the case of the subject, the state of this person as ‘yellow’ influences the author to do seemingly crazy things just for their love.

In a way, this is a cause and effect relationship — the individual is the cause where his actions, personality, and being led to the effect of the author’s love, adoration, and devotion to them, even the effect of the stars shining for this one person.

‘Yellow’ is a song meant for just one person; the subject. Throughout the song, the author stays true to singing a love song for the one he loves.

In doing this, he introduces anyone listening (including the subject) to the character, personality, or being of the one he loves through his eyes, and to the way they make him feel”.

I will finish up here. Going deep into Yellow, it has been great learning more about one of the most successful songs of its era. Released in the first year of the twenty-first century, it was many people’s introduction to Coldplay. It was for me. A stirring and impassioned song, it is no wonder it has endured to this day and still sounds so emotional. It is a track that, once heard, gets straight…

INTO the heart.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Revisited: Iraina Mancini

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight: Revisited

  

Iraina Mancini

__________

THIS is the final…

Iraina Mancini feature I will publish until there is another album. That is not a threat or pout. What I mean is, since Undo the Blue was released in 2023, I have reviewed the album, written about her on a couple of other occasions and interviewed her. I am very much looking forward to the next chapter for this artist. That said, there is a reason why I reapproaching her. Aside from loving the bones of everything she does. I originally included her in my Spotlight feature back in 2021. I can’t recall the first time I heard her music but, as soon as I did, I was hooked and blown away! Such a spectacular artist whose 2023 debut album was my favourite of that year - by quite a distance! I have also said how good she is as a live performer. I have caught her a few times in London (including a triumphant headline show at Omeara). Unfortunately, I had to miss a few London dates because of double booking and illness – including her appearance at the 100 Club in 2024 (which I was gutted to miss!). I can’t add a tremendous amount to my previous features. However, as this feature is about revisiting artists I spotlighted a while ago and saw potential in, there are so many reasons why you need to follow and hear Iraina Mancini. For one, her 2023 debut, Undo the Blue, is a flawless album that brings in so many genres and sounds. That may be a mixture of her upbringing and experience as a D.J. on Soho Radio. Having travelled the world as a D.J. and with a great love of music from the '60s, '70s, French Pop and so many other tantalising and compelling sounds, I think her influences and sonic palette is so different to anyone out there. Maybe you can look at artists such as Say She She. When she was speaking with Robert Elms on BBC Radio London recently (skip to 2:35:00), he played her latest singe, Running for your life. Iraina Mancini said how people have compared to ABBA and Jefferson Airplane! There is a bit of Psychedelia and Disco to it. Mancini digs into the crates and her vast musical passion which she channels in order to create songs that sound like nothing else.

I wonder what a second album will be called and sound like. Running for your life ties back to Undo the Blue and songs like Shotgun, Take a Bow and even Cannonball. One of the (many) reasons why I love Undo the Blue is how it can be so diverse but sounds cohesive and connected. Beautifully sweeping cinematic songs like Take a Bow and the giddiness of Sugar Rush. The sh*t-kicking What You Doin’ and the ‘60s-Pop and buzz of Cannonball. The dreaminess of Undo the Blue and the chase scene-sounding Deep End. I can imagine a second studio album will have that same blend and mix of collaborators. However, there will definitely be developments and new sounds. When speaking with Robert Elms, Iraina Mancini was quite self-deprecating. How she has been a bit slow following up her debut. However, she has been busy touring and has been working hard for Soho Radio - and also working on new material. I think this year is a perfect one to launch a second studio album (she told Robert Elms it is aimed for the end of this year or maybe next year). After completing a string of dates in the past couple of years, there is this new and awe-inspiring confidence, energy and inspiration. I think a second album will bring Mancini and her band closer to the bigger festival stages. With more material under her belt, she will have this fresh ammunition. Mancini will play Festival Jazz Equinoxe in Corsica on 9th July; Camp Bestival on 2nd August (and a couple of other dates). She collects cool soundtracks from the 1960s and 1970s and writes to instrumentals. Her way of working and the fact that she jams with her band and songs come together piece by piece. Mancini has been hailed and championed by BBC Radio 6 Music and broadcasters she admires such as Lauren Laverne. Even though there is some great music coming out of the mainstream, I often find the most interesting moves are coming from those towards the fringe. In terms of the depth and variety of the music. Iraina Mancini is one of these artists that combines her upbringing – her father Warren Peace is a musician who toured and recorded with his great friend David Bowie -, the stuff she plays on her radio show, together with this distinct and personal aesthetic that is unlike anything else.

I love how there is something both modern and vintage about Iraina Mancini! That passion for music of the 1960s and 1970s. That applies to her fashion too. Effortless and impossibly cool! She is the complete package. An extraordinary stage performer who is so engaging and sounds studio-perfect when it comes to the vocals. Every song she has recorded leaves an impression! You are invested in the story and the lyrics. The wonderful production and the gravitas Mancini and her band brings to the song. Undo the Blue is a perfect album that is ordered just right. In terms of balance and flow. I don’t think there is any real rush for a second album. Given how good it is likely to be, you want to give Mancini enough time to lay down these tracks and make sure they are as amazing as they can be. I would urge people to catch her Soho Radio shows as there is always something played that you would not have heard. I hope that there are new interviews and features very soon. In terms of the exposure that she should be getting, I wonder when there will be more radio interviews, podcasts and love from the media. There are a smattering of live reviews; some interviews from throughout the years (not a lot since 2023) and some great archived stuff. I always love writing about Iraina Mancini, as she is an artist that you know will be in the industry for years more. I can see her putting out maybe five or six albums in her career. Recording decades from now, maybe we will see this shift in terms of the inspiration and sound. I also feel she will be doing D.J. work for decades too. This is her passion and calling. I have said before how she would translate to the screen. Many musicians make naturally brilliant actors. There are definitely short films and T.V. projects where you could see Mancini being awesome in. Some really cool roles that she could naturally embody and slay! I also think she has a future too as a composer, where she could provide soundtracks for film or T.V.

I am going to round things up in a minute. I have put all her social media links below. Go and follow Iraina Mancini and be part of her world. The London-born artist is one of my absolute favourites! In terms of resources, you can find more about her past here. I wonder if she still lives in Muswell Hill with her partner because, last year, The Standard spoke to her about her neighbourhoods and the places she hangs out. You can tell that the local environment and vibe influences her writing. So many cool hangs and inspiring spots! It is definitely time for new features and chats. Until then, I would urge people to do as much digging as you can. Listen through to Undo the Blue and buy it here. There will be more tour dates when a second album arrives but if you can see her at Camp Bestival or anywhere she is playing soon then definitely do it! She did used to have an official website. It would be good to have one launched where we get all the archived interviews, photos, news, tour dates and that sort of thing. Her Instagram feed is regularly updated, and you get a real glimpse into her (wonderful and enviable) life and career. I am going to end things here. As a bit of a superfan, it is always good to spotlight this incredible artist. I shall leave her be until album two. Whether released this year or next, it is sure to be a masterpiece! When it comes to this incredible woman, I have…

SUCH love for everything she does.

__________

Follow Iraina Mancini

PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Granados Lafuente 

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/irainamancini/

TikTok:

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

Twitter:

https://x.com/IrainaMancini

Bandcamp:

https://irainamancini.bandcamp.com/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7zkKFe3ZgQzTnlj5XwYi1U?si=6Biq9XgzQ_6fVG4fq3QaXA

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@IrainaManciniMusic

FEATURE: The 1,000th: Why Kate Bush Remains So Important to Me

FEATURE:

 

 

The 1,000th

Why Kate Bush Remains So Important to Me

__________

BEFORE talking about…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Aris

Kate Bush and why she I continue to write about her, there are a couple of special things that I need to mention. This is going to be the 1,000th feature about her I publish. Even though I have yet to share quite a few features published before this one, I wanted to get this one out now. On Saturday, 21st June, I am embarking on a charity walk to raise money for Refuge. My fundraising page is here. One of the reason why I am raising money for Refuge is because domestic violence is an epidemic and crisis in the United Kingdom. More women are dying by suicide rather than homicide when it comes to domestic violence. The rise in violence against women is rising and so many women and children are displaced as a result of domestic violence. It can often lead to homelessness. Refuge is there to provide support for thousands of women and children. Empowering them. What I plan to do on 21st June is start off from East Wickham Farm in Welling. That is where Kate Bush lived as a child and into her teens. I plan to walk to 214 Oxford Street. This is where AIR Studios used to be located. Kate Bush travelled there in June 1975 for a professional recording session under the guidance and mentorship of David Gilmour. Whilst there, she recorded three songs. Two of those, The Man with the Child in His Eyes and The Saxophone Song would appear (unchanged) on her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside. That fiftieth anniversary is important. I am not sure of the exact date in June 1975 she was there, though I was just important for me to do something. Such an important anniversary and moment in her career. The then-sixteen-year-old recording the first songs for her monumental debut album. Rather than do this standalone as a personal endeavour, I wanted to bring in Refuge. A charity that I have raised money for previously, it is hugely important to put them in the spotlight. As you will see from my fundraising page, there are links to news stories and reports that talk about the rise in domestic violence and the impact that is having on women and children. A desperate time where awareness and funds need to be raised for charities like Refuge.

By the time I complete the walk in June, I hope to hit my fundraising target at least (£350). Ideally, I would like to raise a lot more. I know how tough times are for so many, so I am not expecting everyone reading to donate. However, after publishing this feature and having promoted and discussed Kate Bush’s music for over thirteen years now, I know there are people out there who follow me that will want to be involved. I must say, before I go on, that number, 1,000, is a best/exhausted guess. I publish on Squarespace and unfortunately there seems to be no function where you can see how many posts you have published. I have published thousands of features and, when it came to separating Kate Bush features out to get an accurate number, I had to count it manually. That meant going into the site and typing ‘Kate Bush’; starting with the oldest feature and scrolling slowly up the page and counting. I had a couple of failed attempts as the concentration needed was immense (it turns you insane after a while!). You can easily lose count. On the third or fourth try I manage to make it to the top. It was well into the eight-hundreds by that point. I then kept a tally on a Word document and worked up to 1,000. Someone in years to come might notice an overcounting or inaccuracy but, as accurately as I can determine, this is my 1,000th Kate Bush feature. I wanted to use this feature to talk about why, at the age of forty-one, Kate Bush is more important to me than ever. When she came into my life. To the best of my (spotty) recollection, it was not long after 1987. Kate Bush’s greatest hits, The Whole Story, came out as an album in 1986. There was a VHS release the following year. The beautiful cover photo was taken by her brother, John Carder Bush. I think it was the Wuthering Heights video that was included that truly opened my eyes. Made me think about music in a whole new way. I am not sure who I was into at that age (about four) but it must have been a combination of what was on the radio and my parents’ music. Kate Bush was like nothing I had heard to that point. I was aware of The Kick Inside when I was young and Them Heavy People especially. I think I first heard that when I was in primary school. Maybe years later when I discovered the rest of her work.

As a child, it was the unusualness and originality of the music that moved me. Not conventional or obviously commercial, this was more artistic, expressionist and unusual. I never set out to write about Kate Bush and make it a regular thing - honestly! When I set up this blog in 2011, it was around about the time that she released her most recent studio album, 50 Words for Snow (21st November). I started out writing about other artists. Doing short reviews, interviews and that sort of thing. Kate Bush slowly crept into the mix. Recognising she was someone who was important to me but was not being widely discussed at that point, maybe I was putting out one feature about her every week or more. Not regularly. It is only since 2020 when things accelerated. Perhaps the last few years where I have ramped it up. Publishing three or four features about her a week. I was excited when I past the nine-hundred mark. Knowing that I would not take long to get to that big number: the 1,000th. Now it is here, I intent to keep going. Maybe it will take a very long time until I get to the 2,000th. It is an exciting new stage in Kate Bush’s career. The past few years have seen her reissue her albums and be involved in various interviews – the most recent being the 2024 interview with Emma Barnett for the Today programme. There was the amazing Little Shrew (Snowflake) video that Bush conceived and directed. That was to raise funds for War Child and help children displaced and affected by war and violence. Kate Bush being so charity-minded helped inspire me to do something extra and big to celebrate publishing a thousand features about her. I know she has never read anything I have written about her - and she has no idea who I am! Although, somewhere down the line, it would be nice to think that I am on her radar. That something I have written makes its way to her. That dream of interviewing her will never happen. Another dream would be being tasked to announce a new album and single from her on a station like BBC Radio 6 Music. She has said she’s open to working on new material, so we may get that announcement in the next couple of years!

Why write so prolifically about Kate Bush?! Some people think it is mad or impossible to be so constantly passionate about her, considering she has not released new music since 2011…and, perhaps, is not seen as relevant and contemporary. The thing is, it does not matter when she releases music. Such is the strength and uniqueness of her music that it is being discussed by new generations. In the last few years, several of her songs have appeared in film and T.V. From Stranger Things (Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), 2022) to The Bear (The Morning Fog, 2024), she has been brought to the small (and big) screen. Artists such as CMAT and The Last Dinner Party have covered her songs. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) surprised a billion streams on Spotify in 2023. When a new album does come out, this will ignite an explosion of new interest and affection. Her songs are constantly shared on social media. Used in TikTok videos. There are articles and magazine articles written about her. Books written about her and, thanks to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast, episodes that explore her work and people she has worked with. Authors like Graeme Thomson, Leah Kardos and Tom Doyle illuminating her life and work. Websites like Kate Bush News keeping all her fans up-to-date with happenings and developments. Kate Bush is very much relevant and contemporary. She is raising funds for various charities; reissuing her albums so they reach new people. She was Record Store Day Ambassador (in the U.K.) in 2024. At the age of sixty-six, this iconic artist continues to engage with her fans and be present – without being seen as such. Her music has lost none of its potency and perfection. Her albums do not sound dated or of their time. You can feel so many artists today following in her footsteps. As a producer, Bush very much inspiring so many women. She kicked open doors. For me, writing about her not only ensures that I can reach people who may not have heard of Kate Bush; there is this opportunity to shine a light on albums, songs and events that are either rarely discussed (or haven’t been at all). I am not sure who has published the most words about Kate Bush ever, but I bow to these informative websites like Gaffaweb and the Kate Bush Encyclopedia.

There is still so much to discuss and cover! Even though I have repeated subjects and features over the course of thirteen years – as you would expect -, I always find it so important to do so. Making sure that this amazing work is discussed as much as possible. But trying to keep things fresh too. In years to come, I hope to do some podcast episodes about Kate Bush. I don’t think I will ever write a book because, as a writer, I don’t think I have that skill and would write a decent book. I also worry about making errors and not being able to edit them. I am happier doing a blog where I can write when I like and edit instantly. Also, there are other Kate Bush-related projects and ideas that appeal to me more. It is emotional and wonderful to reach a milestone. To get to the 1,000th feature! Also, it was paramount that I used this feature as a moment to share the charity fundraiser in June. To talk about Refuge and the crucial work they do. As soon as I realised that June marks fifty years since Bush stepped into AIR Studios and recorded songs that would appear on The Kick Inside. I can only imagine what that experience was like. A young Kate Bush maybe being driven down there and being nervous. Coming back after the session(s) and the feelings she had. It was a momentous occasion! A time (June 1975) when many people did not know about Kate Bush. I wanted to honour that by walking from East Wickham Farm to Oxford Street. Also raise money for Refuge in the process. Thanks go to everyone who has read, liked, shared and commented on my Kate Bush features. I hope I have created new fans of Kate Bush in the process! Helped turn people onto songs or albums they might not have known about. Despite some factual errors along the way – I am always learning things about her! -, I would like to think this body of work is quite authoritative and accurate. Her music gives me so much comfort and helps me through some tough time. She inspires me in so many ways, and I love how she broke records, released masterpiece albums and battled through sexism, misogyny and being written off by many. In 2025, someone rightly hailed as a genius and pioneer. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, there is no denying the fact Kate Bush is one of the most important artists ever. From here, I am looking forward to what comes next from Kate Bush. Whether a new album comes first or she announces something else – Hounds of Love turns forty in September -, it is a terrific time to be a Kate Bush fan! All the love to those who have supported me through the years. I hope to write about Kate Bush for…

DECADES more.

FEATURE: Chico’s Groove: The Chemical Brothers’ Exit Planet Dust at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

Chico’s Groove

The Chemical Brothers’ Exit Planet Dust at Thirty

__________

I am looking ahead…

to 26th June. The Chemical Brothers’ Exit Planet Dust was released on that date in 1995. Thirty years later, this album is still being played and talked about. The album was recorded between August and November 1994. Exit Planet Dust reached number nine in the U.K. To mark its thirtieth anniversary, I am bringing in some features and reviews of this epic album. One of the best and most influential Dance albums ever released. Perhaps the best album from The Chemical Brothers. I want to start out with a 2015 feature from The Guardian. They spotlighted a 1995 interview with Muzik. A really interesting interview from a moment when The Chemical Brothers were releasing this seismic album, it is interesting reading what Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands had to say:

“As anyone who ever made it to a Heavenly Sunday Social night will already know, Tom and Ed don’t particularly like the idea of confining themselves to one narrow band of music and Exit Planet Dust is sure to stand as the most eclectic dance album you will uncover this year. From hip-hop to acid to funk to techno, goodness knows where their heads were at when they were in the studio. Especially since the album was recorded in a mere three weeks.

“We were really hammering it out,” says Ed. “We’ve written loads of new material since then and we were toying with the idea of replacing a couple of tracks with fresh stuff, but then we thought, ‘Fuck it. It all sounds great, even if it is now nine months old’.”

“We were very conscious of making the album work together as a whole,” adds his partner. “The first half an hour consists of solid beats, but it also has other stuff on there because people will hear it at home, not in a club.”

With this in mind, two of the tracks, the ghostly Alive Alone and the prickly Life Is Sweet, feature vocals. Beth Orton, who has previously worked with William Orbit and Red Snapper, and Tim Burgess of the Charlatans take the respective credits.

“We had a good session with Tim,” says Ed. “He basically sank four cans of lager, scribbled a few lyrics, and went for it. We first met him when we did a Charlatans remix, after which he regularly came down the Sunday Social and danced around with his Adidas top zipped right up to his nose. We had a wild time messing about with his vocals. But then music should be an adventure, shouldn’t it? Not just going over the same idea again and again.”

“You need different sounds to fit different moods,” says Tom. “We’re both into lots of types of music and I don’t see why we should have to deny that. I can’t believe that even the most dedicated techno buff would want to stick on a Basic Channel tune when they woke up on a summery Sunday morning. I bet they all have a secret stash of Simon and Garfunkel under their beds.”

Imagine Maurizio and the Basic Channel crew flicking through the Sunday Sport with Bridge Over Troubled Water playing in the background. What a genius thought.

Although there are lots of different levels to Exit Planet Dust, it’s the fat beats which hit the listener first. And hardest.

Ed: “I think the album suggests two people with a lot of energy about them, a lot of vitality. It’s a very youthful record. If I was 16 and I went out and bought it, I’d be chuffed to bits.” Tom: “We’re not into avant-garde excursions, the sort of abstract ideas that you’ll hear on a Mo’ Wax record. We’re more like party steamrollers.” 

The dynamic quality of the Chemical Brothers’ music is not in doubt. But it could be said that there’s not a lot of elbow room for any soul.

Ed: “I don’t think that’s true at all. What do you want us to do? Get Luther Vandross to sing with us? A lot of our music is pretty brutal, but I’d say that it has far more soul, more fire and passion than most so-called soul records. It’s like the Tricky album. That’s a heavy bit of gear, but it’s also really soulful. Not everyone wants to be like Portishead, making music for people to put on when they have little dinner parties.” Tom: “Which is not to say that we don’t put a lot of time and effort into our tracks. We re-worked Chemical Beats around 50 times until we were finally happy with it. It’s often a very painstaking process.”

A substantial part of which, of course, revolves around the fine art of sampling.

Tom: “I love the concept of manipulating lots of different artists and having them play together on your record. It’s a shame the days of blatant sampling are gone. Unless you pay shitloads of money. I was told recently about someone who wanted to sample a conga loop and the record company were asking for 20 grand. For a conga loop! It’s fucking ridiculous.”

Ed: “We’re not at liberty to say exactly what samples are on the album, but there are some crazy combinations. Not that even the people concerned would be able to recognise themselves.”

Except Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez, who recently complained that the Chemical Brothers had half-inched all of his beats.

Tom: “I don’t know why he’s creating such a fuss. Apart from the fact that we’ve only ever used one of his beats, he makes music in precisely the same way as us. He loops bits of other people’s tracks! That’s why we didn’t mind when we were sampled by the Boo Radleys. We thought it was great.” Ed: “But we didn’t think much of that other band sampling us, did we?” Tom: “Someone in Germany sent us this dreadful soul record which started with a snatch of Chemical Beats. We refused to let them use it.”

Ed: “We did it more for them than for us, though. We didn’t want them to embarrass themselves. They’ll thank us in the long run.”

Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez is by no means the only one who has taken a pop at the Chemical Brothers during recent months. Even Kris Needs, one of the mildest-mannered guys in clubland, has had a go. And around the time that Tom and Ed were forced to change their name from the Dust Brothers, there was the fanzine which said that they should follow Prince’s example and just use a symbol. They suggested a pile of steaming shit.

The Chemical Brothers are one of the few dance groups to really cut it on the live circuit. A couple of reviewers have suggested that their set is all on DAT. In fact, the duo actually use two huge samplers to build lengthy chains of beats and noise. Listen closely and you’ll hear them balls it up from time to time.

IN THIS PHOTO: Ed Simons (left) and Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers in 1997/PHOTO CREDIT: Rex Features

“Playing live is an essential part of what we’re about,” beams Ed. “One gig which sticks in my mind was at this glitzy club in Los Angeles. There was a weird political meeting going on during the soundcheck, Young Republican of the Month or something, and we were wondering what the hell we were doing there. But when the audience came in, the place went mad. We even had people stage-diving.”

The Chemicals’ live set-up has been specially designed to enable the duo to stand shoulder-to-shoulder onstage. Hunched over the samplers, their heads are simply blurs of movement, but they still seem to be communicating with each other every couple of minutes.

Ed: “But I’m usually talking in Sanskrit.”

Tom: “And I’m usually shouting, ‘More strobe! More strobe!’”

However focussed the group’s live show might be, their DJ sets are all over the shop. With sounds as varied as U-Ziq, Sly Stone, Patrick Pulsinger, Slam, Public Enemy, Desmond Dekker, Emmanuelle Top, Flowered Up, Schoolly-D and even the Beatles on offer, it’s hardly surprising that they’ve come in for some stick about their mixing. Or, to be more accurate, the lack of it.

Tom: “Our DJing has always been about us just getting up and having a go. Neither of us has any decks at home, so we have to practise in public. We’ve definitely been getting a lot better lately, though.”

Ed: “It’s important to connect with the audience. You can hear a thousand records being mixed technically brilliantly, but if the DJ doesn’t actually mean anything to you ... The people who come to hear us DJ probably own some of our records and want to know what else we can give them. Whatever our mixing is like, we’ll always give you a fucking rocking party.”

Chemical Brothers: Leave Home, off album Exit Planet Dust

It’s easy to understand why the Chemical Brothers have come in for a lot of flak in recent months, and why they’ll continue to do so. They can’t DJ, not in today’s accepted sense, but they hosted one of the hippest London clubs of the last few years. They’ve taken their have-a-go attitude into the studio and walked out with a string of successful records. They’ve been lucky. They’re the first to admit it, and their refreshing honesty, both in print and on vinyl, is something else one or two people can’t seem to handle.

But whatever you think about the Chemical Brothers, there is absolutely no question that they do make for a fucking rocking party. There’s the big crate of amyl they keep hidden under decks, just for starters. Then there’s the raucous energy of the likes of Leave Home and Chemical Beats. That’s mainly down to Ed. Listen close to the tracks, however, and you will discover some mighty skilful musical twists in the arrangements, the timings and the tones. That’s Tom”

There are a few pieces that I want to quote from before I finish off. A landmark Dance album, I hope that there is a lot of renewed focus and energy around Exit Planet Dust ahead of 26th June. A massive thirtieth anniversary celebration. Treblezine are among those who have provided a glowing review of one fo the most important albums ever:

“Formed in Manchester at the height of the city’s influential ‘Madchester’ era (defined by the psychedelic drugs that fueled its inception as much as the celebratory combination of dance and rock music its flag bearers championed), The Chemical Brothers discovered an innovative way of bringing the guitar to the club floor. Of course this didn’t actually involve guitars so much as it did samples of guitars, along with drum machines, loops, spot-on sequencing, and a whole host of siren calls (“One Too Many Mornings,” “Alive Alone”). Tracing a neon glow-stick through its many electronic influences, acid house, funky breaks and trip hop to name a few, their debut out-raves any of the dance beats that had yet dropped upon its release.

A jab of sorts at The Dust Brothers (which was actually the Chemical Brothers’ first chosen moniker), Exit Planet Dust very nearly burst under the propulsive strength of its own block rocking feats. Two years before Fatboy Slim’s popular take on the Chem Bros bombastic beat-making earned him two Grammy nominations and invaded television screens across America (in the form of rampant commercial licensing), the duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons helped to pioneer a movement that would ultimately fizzle out around the close of the century, but not before electrifying a whole generation of DJs ready to flex their own mixing muscle.

Go ahead and forget that this is the same band that would eventually release “The Salmon Dance” on their latest flop (2007’s We Are The Night). In 1995 the Brothers’ turntables were unapproachable by mere mortals. These are the same men that ignited a funeral pyre containing the remnants of Manchester ‘s momentary status as drug and music capital of the world, only to emerge unscathed from the flames of the scene’s inevitable demise (or comedown, if you will). What designated Rowlands and Simons was their blatant disregard for what had become a conventional approach to dance beats filtered through a typical guitar/bass/drums combo.

“Chemical Beats” is a trance-worthy plunge into tribal rhythms, drenched in the salt vapor and sweaty abandon it induces. Here and throughout the duo demonstrate persistent production talent, from the ominous alarm sample that opens name-checking first track “Leave Home” to the tightly wound percussion of sensationalist “In Dust We Trust.” Tempos take breathers rather than change outright. “Song To The Siren,” besides featuring female vocal loops that exude icy exhalations with frigid frequency, is a bit of a schizoid shuffle of strange electronic flourishes and drum effects.

With songs sequenced to blend together with no discernable seams, Exit Planet Dust flows as a cohesive whole. The result is a narrative of unstoppable rhythm laced together by necessary highs and lows. Aforementioned “One Too Many Morning” is a cool drop of acid on a daybreak high, hints of dub thrumming through the album’s most placid (and transcendent) vocals. Counterpoint “Alive Alone” delves despondently into its honey-slowed themes with apathetic aplomb. With a chorus as cheery as, “I’m alive, and I’m alone, and I never wanted to be either of those,” who needs self-loathing?

Though bands like The Crystal Method (considered by many to be America’s answer to The Chemical Brothers) as well as countless others would take numerous cues from Exit Planet Dust in the years that followed its release, none seemed able to match the Mancunians beat for beat at their own game as they enjoyed their mid-’90s prime. Big beat may have come and gone in a brief blaze, but its forefathers’ inspiring first foray still shudders and shakes the street as hard as it ever has”.

There are a couple of retrospectives that I feel are important to mention. Stereogum revisited Exit Planet Dust on its twentieth anniversary in 2015. For a new generation that have not heard Exit Planet Dust, it is such a pivotal album when we think of Dance music and its development. One of the very best of the mid-'90s:

“Listening to it years later, it’s a whole lot easier to understand what those critics were writing about back then. Exit Planet Dust is a psychedelic rock record, the big instrumental rave-up that, say, the 13th Floor Elevators might’ve made if they’d had access to mid-’90s technology and less-damaging drugs. The drums aren’t nimble house drums; they’re big, gallumphing thunder-bombs, even approaching Bonham territory on “Playground For A Wedgeless Firm.” The bass-tones aren’t computerized rumbles; they sound like someone ran John Entwistle’s axe through a whole pile of fuzz pedals. the synths don’t needle or stab; they riff. There’s a reason why, in an age of producers using non-representational CGI polygons for their cover art, the Chemical Brothers went with an image straight out of Dazed & Confused.

They weren’t making a record for DJs, though a few of the tracks on Exit Planet Dust apparently did get major club play. They were making an album of fired-up stoner music, one that was intended to be received as an album. Album-oriented dance music was a pretty new thing in the mid-’90s; techno was a singles genre. But Exit Planet Dust was a landmark in figuring out how this stuff could play in album form. The structure — bangers up front, woozy pretty music on the second half — pretty much defined the way most people would assemble dance albums for at least the next few years. And maybe that’s why Exit Planet Dust has aged so much better than so many of the albums that came in its wake. There’s no forced crossover, no pay-attention-to-me gimmick. Instead, it maintains and manipulates a mood, and it does it without dissipating into ambience. And on the two tracks that do feature vocals, those vocals serve a purpose. On “Life Is Sweet,” Charlatans UK frontman Tim Burgess taps into a lost-little-kid stumble that unites the Chems with the Charlatans’ Madchester scene and, by extension, the jangled-up ’60s music that inspired the Madchester scene. And on album closer “Alive Alone,” previously-unknown singer-songwriter Beth Orton coos over sitar samples and accesses the starry-eyed longing that Orton was never able to conjure on her own. To this day, I’m mad that we never got a full album of Chems/Beth Orton collabs. They sounded better together than either ever sounded on their own.

Exit Planet Dust was a culturally important album, and an influential one, at least for a while. The combination of rave sirens and psych-rock far-outness was probably what convinced people like Noel Gallagher and Mercury Rev to jump onboard when the Chems made their even-better follow-up album Dig Your Own Hole two years later. And in the second half of the ’90s, spaced-out dance music came to rival Britpop as the dominant sound of young people getting fucked up in the UK, as you’ll hear on the Trainspotting soundtrack. Exit Planet Dust was a big part of that. But if you look at the dance music that’s taken over the world in the past few years, the bleary space-rock force of Exit Planet Dust is basically a nonfactor. These days, it feels like the Chemical Brothers most influential song is their shallow 2005 Q-Tip collab “Push The Button.” Songs like that are what led American executives to realize that dance music could make ideal beer-commercial soundtrack music, and I’d argue that that’s what really led to the EDM takeover. I’m not even mad at the way festival EDM has taken over. I get it. Watching Kaskade draw the biggest crowd of anyone at this year’s Coachella was an instructive experience; why shouldn’t these vast throngs of kids dumb out to sugary melodies and cinematic buildups? It’s a formula, but it’s one that works. Still, it’s nothing compared to what this music can be. Five years ago, I saw the Chemical Brothers headline a rock festival in Sweden, and it was probably one of the five best festival sets I’ve ever seen. In a crowd of Europeans, in a place where this music has moved crowds like that for decades, I felt an echo of the dizzy communal transcendence that was always supposed to be the point of this music, something I didn’t get from Kaskade. The Chems worked a couple of Exit Planet Dust tracks into that Swedish festival set, and they felt right at home”.

I am going to end with a feature from Spectrum Culture that was published in 2023. I was in high school when this album came out but was probably not aware of it. At a time in British music when Britpop was at its height and stealing focus, there were few people my age talking about The Chemical Brothers. In years since then, Exit Planet Dust has made its way to me and made its mark. It is an album that I really love and would recommend to everyone:

“But by the mid-‘90s, innovative electronic music began to enter the mainstream, whether through the release of a new wave of so-called trip hop paving the way for the big beat explosion by acts like the Crystal Method and the Prodigy later in the decade. On the other hand, artists like Massive Attack and Tricky pitched everything down to a dreamy, relaxed state while eschewing the stomping bassline in favor of lazy drum breaks and moody pads. In 1995, British producers Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons released their first album as the Chemical Brothers. Exit Planet Dust, bearing a title emblematic of leaving their former sound behind (as well as ditching the copycat Dust Brothers moniker they were threatened with legal action into changing), took a vastly different direction from the typical club-friendly house sound. Working as a catalyst for their crossover into the mainstream, this record doesn’t rely on overwrought soul samples, cheesy piano chords or predictable pop patterns. Instead, it tears down the uninspiring dance floor formula from that era and replaces the pop with a psychedelic and percussion-rich sample frenzy, making it one of the most unusual and catchiest dance music records of 1995.

The lead track “Leave Home” is the most iconic on the record. A looping bass note introduces the song under the hypnotic, echoing repetition of “The brothers gonna work it out.” A wah-wah guitar lick adds a layer of unexpected filthy funk to the rhythm, and from that point on the duo adds layers upon layers of slick breaks and synth patterns. What makes the record so compelling is the Chemical Brothers’ seemingly unrefined approach to shuffling loops, beats and warped sound effects as though there were no intended goal aside from keeping the party-goer engaged. With “Song to the Siren,” it’s easy to imagine the two of them in the studio, settling on a limited palette of awesome licks and then playing with them in experimental layers and effects until they’ve just passed the three minute mark—cut and master. It’s this dynamic approach that keeps Exit Planet Dust constantly in motion and perpetually sinking and rising in and out of a deep groove.

If there is a single song on the record that seems to at least make an attempt at traditional house music appeal, it’s “Three Little Birdies Down Beats.” Though weaker than usual, the bass drum is consistent but soon drowned out by another fresh funk breakbeat. Just as “Leave Home” had its signature sound, “Birdies” has a repeating acid worm that nearly crosses the line into over-repetition before falling away into a simple layered beat breakdown. The degree to which the duo failed to make a traditional dance floor thumper is a glorious mistake because they instead created something far more interesting and timeless in the process.

Exit Planet Dust also reveals the Chemical Brothers’ sentimental side, producing some beautifully arranged, reflective sample-based mood swings. The first six tracks all play as though they were a medley, running into each other in a style borrowed from the live DJ experience. Though a listener could pick out a dozen or so looping moments that constitute their personal favorites, the entire album also works as a complete end-to-end listening experience.

Meanwhile, “One Too Many Mornings” is as close to a ballad as the record comes. In applying the Chemical Brothers’ signature sound to a slower beat, and adding airy female vocal samples dubbed over a pad of angels to an organic meandering bassline, the album goes from being a simple dance music record to a complete music project worthy of entering the conversation for best records of 1995. Noted as the second best dance album of all time by the UK’s Muzik magazine, it continued to chart in the UK for the next five years.

Upon the appearance of the Charlatans’ lead singer Tim Burgess on “Life is Sweet,” the Chemical Brothers reach beyond their previously limited appeal in electronic music circles with an effort to pull in fans of the hugely popular Madchester sound of not only the Charlatans, but the likes of the Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets as well. In another guest spot, British folktronica singer-songwriter Beth Orton adds a sonorous dynamism to the album’s closing track, “Alive Alone.”

Nearly two decades after its original release, Exit Planet Dust sits among that rare list of records that manage to retain a timeless appeal. An unfamiliar listener today could confuse this album for a new release. There’s a larger discussion to be had about the direction the Chemical Brothers took with later releases and their inability to measure up to Exit Planet Dust, but that’s to be expected when this mammoth debut set such a high bar”.

I am going to leave it there. On 26th June, one of the most accomplished and revolutionary debut albums ever was released. This is an album that sound absolutely perfect on vinyl. I know there will be some expansive features around the thirtieth anniversary. For those in the know, go and spend some quality time with the album. Anyone who has not discovered it, go and listen to it now. There are some classics from 1995 we are celebrating this year. Maybe Exit Planet Dust will not get the same kudos and weight as other albums. It should do. There is no denying the fact Exit Planet Dust is…

A game-changing work of brilliance.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Lana Del Rey at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey at Forty

__________

ONE of music’s…

most acclaimed artists turns forty on 21st June. The mesmeric and wonderful Lana Del Rey releases a new album later in the year. Singles Henry, Come On and Bluebird are incredible. With the album bringing in element of Country, it is a slightly new direction on her tenth studio album. Because this music legend is turning forty soon, I wanted to mark that with a career-spanning playlist featuring some of her best songs and deeper cuts. I have compiled a Lana Del Rey mixtape before but, as she has released new music since then, I wanted to update it. Before getting to that, here is some biography:

“Lana Del Rey is one part songwriting superpower, one part constructed character, building a Southern California dream world of manufactured melancholy and genuine glamour in her stylized, meticulously arranged noir-pop songs and becoming an incredibly influential indie superstar in the process. Del Rey's sound and persona were in their rudimentary forms on her 2012 debut album, Born to Die, but both became more personal with subsequent releases. Her popularity grew after a hit remix of her single "Summertime Sadness" and her second LP, 2014's Ultraviolence, received positive reviews to accompany her sales. By the time of albums like 2019's Grammy-nominated Norman Fucking Rockwell!, 2023's Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, Del Rey's character of the damaged torch singer and tragic romantic icon had become nuanced and complex, and her increasingly orchestrated and often cuttingly direct songwriting had evolved in tandem. She introduced her tenth album in April 2025 with the single, "Henry, come on."

Lana Del Rey's journey to this stardom was a long, steady climb. Born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in New York City to a pair of wealthy parents, she was raised in Lake Placid, not starting to pursue music until she was out of high school and living with her aunt and uncle on Long Island. Her uncle taught her how to play guitar, and soon she was writing songs and playing New York clubs, sometimes under the name Lizzy Grant. While she attended Fordham University, she continued to play music and started getting serious around 2005. In April of that year, a CD of originals was registered under her birth name with the U.S. Copyright Office and recorded elsewhere, and she finished an unreleased folky album called Sirens under the name May Jailer.

Reverting to the name Lizzy Grant, she signed with 5 Points Records in 2006, recording an EP called Kill Kill with producer David Kahne, who would prove to be her first pivotal collaborator. Kill Kill appeared digitally in 2008, and over the next two years, Grant became Lana Del Rey, digitally releasing a full self-titled album under that name in 2010. Not long after its release, she teamed with managers Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, who helped her separate from 5 Points (rights to her recordings reverted to her), and she moved to England, where she began crafting the Lana Del Rey persona.

The first unveiling of Lana Del Rey arrived in 2011 via YouTube videos that quickly became a viral sensation, led by the moody, murky "Video Games" and followed by "Blue Jeans." Much of her success was limited to the Internet, but it soon started to spill over into U.K. pop culture. By the fall of that year, she'd released "Video Games" on Stranger Records, an independent division of Interscope/Polydor in the U.K., and she won the Next Big Thing trophy at the Q Awards. Del Rey's full-fledged debut album, Born to Die, appeared to considerable anticipation in January 2012. Greeted by mixed reviews, Born to Die's launch also suffered a setback after Del Rey's halting appearance on Saturday Night Live in January 2012, but that apparent stumble ultimately had the effect of raising her profile, and soon Born to Die became a steady seller. That November, Del Rey released the Paradise EP -- at eight tracks and 33 minutes, it was essentially a mini-LP; some pressings bundled Paradise with Born to Die -- which, supported by the single "Ride," charted at ten in the U.S.

Throughout 2013, various singles and videos surfaced -- these included a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2," as well as a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "Summer Wine" performed with her then-boyfriend, Barrie-James O'Neill -- but her biggest release of the year was the new song "Young and Beautiful," penned for Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Ultimately, this single was overshadowed by Cedric Gervais' remix of Born to Die's "Summertime Sadness," a remix that turned the song into her first Top Ten hit in the U.S. At the end of 2013, Del Rey released a short film called Tropico, which was accompanied by an EP of the same name. All of these releases -- including a cover of the Disney standard "Once Upon a Dream" for the Disney film Maleficent -- kept Del Rey in the spotlight as she worked on her second album.

Del Rey hired Dan Auerbach, the leader of Ohio blues-rockers the Black Keys, to produce the majority of Ultraviolence, the sophomore set that appeared in June 2014, preceded by the singles "West Coast," "Shades of Cool," "Ultraviolence," and "Brooklyn Baby." The album found a more receptive initial audience than Born to Die: not only were the reviews positive, but so were the sales, with the LP debuting at number one in both the U.S. and the U.K. Ultimately, Ultraviolence didn't generate hits as big as Born to Die, but it performed the crucial task of elevating Del Rey's critical reputation, illustrated by her selection to sing the title song for Tim Burton's 2014 bid for an Oscar, Big Eyes.

Del Rey wasted no time following Ultraviolence. In early 2015, she worked on a third full-length album, and she co-headlined a summer tour with Courtney Love. Preceded by the singles "High by the Beach" and "Terrence Loves You," the album, titled Honeymoon, saw release that September. It topped the charts in a handful of countries, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200. In addition to touring in support of Honeymoon, she contributed vocals to the Weeknd's chart-topping third LP, Starboy, and began recording for her own follow-up.

In early 2017, she released "Love," the first single from her fourth full-length effort, Lust for Life, which arrived that July. Along with debuting at number one in the Billboard 200, the record earned Del Rey her second Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. The following year, she began rolling out singles in advance of her fifth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, beginning with "Mariners Apartment Complex" and "Venice Bitch." The trickle of new music continued throughout 2019 with a steady stream of new songs, some one-offs, and some album tracks. After ramping up excitement for the record with a cover of Sublime's "Doin' Time" and a two-part joint single, "Fuck It I Love You"/"The Greatest," Norman Fucking Rockwell! was released in late August 2019. It received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year as well as Song of the Year for the title track. The following year, Del Rey issued Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass, a book of poetry that also yielded a spoken word album of the same name.

The official follow-up to Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Chemtrails over the Country Club, appeared in March 2021. Only a few months later, Del Rey released three more singles including the song "Blue Banisters" from her forthcoming album of the same name. Blue Banisters arrived in October of that year, featuring production on some songs from Kanye West and Kid Cudi producer Mike Dean. It reached number eight on the Billboard 200. In December 2022, she landed in the Top 40 of the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart with "Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd," the Jack Antonoff, Drew Erickson, and Zach Dawes-produced title track off her ninth album. Two more songs were issued as singles in advance of the record before its release in March 2023. In addition to contributions from the producers, Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd included featured appearances from Father John Misty, Jon Batiste, SYML, Riopy, Tommy Genesis, and backing on the song "Margaret" from Antonoff's band Bleachers. The album reached number three on the Billboard 200 and netted Del Rey five Grammy nominations, including one for Album of the Year. In May of 2023 she released the new non-album song "Say Yes to Heaven," which performed respectably on charts around the globe. A cover of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Road" appeared in December of 2023 and was followed in 2024 by "Tough," a duet with a trap-pop single featuring Quavo. Del Rey kicked off her next album cycle in April 2024 "Henry, come on”.

Her debut album, Lane Del Rey, turns fifteen earlier this year. Honeymoon, her fourth studio album, turns ten in September. I am excited to her upcoming album. An album I have followed and loved for years, there will be a lot of new appreciation of Lana Del Rey ahead of her fortieth anniversary on 21st June. Below is a mixtape of her majestic and unique music that shows, from her earlier days to now, there is nobody who has the same power and talent…

AS Lana Del Rey.

FEATURE: Feminist Icons: Michelle Obama

FEATURE:

 

 

Feminist Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: Miller Mobley (via Time)

Michelle Obama

__________

IF you…

PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

have not read any books by Michelle Obama, I would recommend that you do so! You can find more details here. Her incredible and powerful memoir, Becoming, is a book I would recommend everyone reads. Released in 2018, it won critical praise and was a bestseller. I wonder whether we will get another book from Michelle Obama soon. The former First Lady is someone who inspired countless girls and women around the world. I am going to highlight in a minute how she is a modern-day feminist icon. First, here are some more details about Becoming:

“In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, now available in paperback and as a Young Readers edition, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same”.

I know that The Trouble Club (and its owner, Ellie Newton) have Michelle Obama top on their list of dream guests. I hope one day that she is able to speak for them as I would love to see her! I am going to bring in some articles and interviews highlighting Obama’s feminism and her drive for equality. The advice that she gives to young girls and women. Someone who has empowered so many people through the years, she is still such an inspirational figure. This 2016 article from Dr. Patricia Fletcher about the White House-convened United State of Women (USOW) summit, where Michelle Obama spoke passionately and brilliantly at during a dinner at the event is well worth reading. I am going to move things forward in a minute. I am interested in this 2018 article, where Michelle Obana urged the world to keep fighting for equality – even if it makes people uncomfortable. At such a dangerous time for women and girls (as it is now), she said how tired and drained women are:

“The #MeToo movement has highlighted what a "dangerous place" the world is for women and girls, and this generation can't give up its fight for gender equality — even if makes some people uncomfortable, Michelle Obama says.

"I'm surprised at how much has changed, but how much has not changed," the former first lady said in an exclusive interview on the "Today" show Thursday, just over a year after the global reckoning against sexual harassment and assault began.

"Enough is enough."

"The world is, a, sadly, dangerous place for women and girls," she added. "And I think young women are tired of it. They're tired of being undervalued. They're tired of being disregarded."

Obama's comments came after a particularly emotional couple of weeks and just days after President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, was confirmed to the high court, despite allegations of sexual assault against him dating back decades playing out in a public hearing that captivated — and divided — the nation.

After a bitter confirmation process, Trump openly mocked Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, and apologized to Kavanaugh for the "terrible pain and suffering" that the accusations had caused him. Meanwhile, the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., said the fallout over the Kavanaugh allegations made him more concerned for his sons than his daughters.

“I’ve got boys and I’ve got girls, and when I see what’s going on right now, it’s scary,” Trump Jr. told DailyMail TV.

Obama said the backlash to the #MeToo movement was to be expected, and said it shouldn't serve as a deterrence.

"That's what happens with change. Change is not a direct, smooth path. There's going to be bumps and resistance. There's been a status quo in terms of the way women have been treated, what their expectations have been in this society, and that is changing," she said.

"There's going to be a little upheaval, a little discomfort, but I think it's up to the women out there to say, 'Sorry. Sorry that you feel uncomfortable, but I'm now paving the way for the next generation.'"

Speaking on the International Day of the Girl, Obama also announced a new initiative called The Global Girls Alliance, which will focus on helping adolescent girls around the world secure an education.

And she said she still sticks by the famous motto that she first used during her speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention when it comes to avoiding pettiness in politics: "When they go low, we go high”.

I am going to stay in 2018. Michelle Obama. As Slate reported, when promoting her memoir, Becoming, Obama said that she did not believe in ‘lean-in’ feminism ("Lean In" within a feminist context, popularized by Sheryl Sandberg's book of the same name, refers to the idea of women taking assertive, leading roles in the workplace and beyond. It's a call for women to embrace their ambition, take risks, and not hold back from pursuing their goals, even if it means challenging traditional gender roles”). Whilst many women might not agree with her position, Michelle Obama explained how marriage – for many women – is still not equal. This idea of lean-in feminism maybe not applying to the modern landscape:

“The audience of 19,000 immediately went wild at the sound of Obama letting loose a curse word, and while she quickly apologized for the slip of tongue, she doubled down on her criticism of the philosophy popularized by Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg in 2013. “I thought we were at home, y’all,” Obama said, according to Glamour. “I was getting real comfortable up in here. All right, I’m back now. Sometimes that stuff doesn’t work.” For the uninitiated, the “lean in” corporatized version of feminism suggests that women can have it all if they just act like men and assert themselves more aggressively in the workplace. It immediately drew criticism for seeming to blame women for male-dominated workplaces, and as of 2017, even Sandberg admits that women haven’t progressed much since she popularized the slogan.

But let’s return to Obama. When she stepped onto the national stage with her husband over a decade ago, she was touted as the titular modern woman. From her many career accomplishments to her beautiful family to her effortless style, Obama seemed to embody the idea that women could indeed have it all. As Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote for the Atlantic in 2012, Obama “started out with the same résumé as her husband, but has repeatedly made career decisions designed to let her do work she cared about and also be the kind of parent she wanted to be.” Even though the former first lady said her priority in the White House was to be “mom-in-chief” and shepherd her two daughters through the trials of growing up in front of the country, it was abundantly clear that, as Slaughter put it, “we should see her as a full-time career woman, but one who is taking a very visible investment interval.”

To women everywhere but specifically to black women like me, Obama’s public persona was a physical manifestation of the idea that no matter who didn’t believe in us, we could be smart, accomplished, ­and have the American dream of two kids and a dog to go along with it. But the reality she sketched out in both her remarks on Saturday and in her memoir speak to something much more important: that to be a thoroughly modern woman in America is to sacrifice”.

I am going to move to a Vogue. Michelle Obama talked about ‘imposter syndrome’, empowering young women, and who her role models are. In terms of her legacy and place in the modern world, there are few more important and prominent than Obama. She has helped create so much discussion and activism. Her passion for empowering girls through education is particularly inspirational:

“Most importantly, Obama has made it her mission to champion women and adolescent girls around the world. In October 2018, she launched the Girls Opportunity Alliance, which empowers girls internationally through education. It’s an issue that the former first lady—who documents her journey from Chicago’s South Side to the White House in bestselling 2019 memoir Becoming—describes as hugely personal. “Neither of my parents and hardly anyone in the neighborhood where I grew up went to college,” she explained in a CNN op-ed in 2016. “For me, education was power.”

Programs supported by the Girls Opportunity Alliance will be profiled in Creators for Change, a new YouTube Originals series that will broadcast conversations on tough global issues. In honor of Women’s History Month (which runs from March 1 to 31), its inaugural episode will see Obama discuss the state of girls’ education around the world with YouTube creators Liza Koshy, Prajakta Koli, and Thembe Mahlaba.

Here, Michelle Obama speaks exclusively to Vogue about the women who helped raise her, how she deals with imposter syndrome, and why educating girls means a better future for all of us.

Bottom of Form

The Girls Opportunity Alliance is dedicated to empowering adolescent girls through education. Why did you choose to focus on education as a path to empowerment?

“As a girl growing up on the South Side of Chicago, my access to a good education wasn’t always a guarantee. But I had a powerful advocate in my mother, Marian Robinson. She stepped in to help wherever she could—holding fundraisers for new classroom equipment, throwing appreciation dinners for my overworked teachers, and lobbying on my behalf whenever she sensed standards were slipping. Not only did my mother make sure I was learning my multiplication tables and planetary systems, her actions instilled in me a sense of my own worth: that my voice, talents, and ambition mattered. My life would look a lot different today if I hadn’t had that support.”

“I want every girl on this planet to have the same opportunities that I’ve had. But right now, more than 98 million adolescent girls around the world are not in school. That’s an injustice that affects all of us. We know that girls who go to school have healthier, happier lives, and when that happens, the whole world benefits. That’s why the Obama Foundation started the Girls Opportunity Alliance—we work to lift up the grassroots organizations and leaders around the world already doing the important work of clearing away hurdles to girls’ education in their communities. Every single girl deserves the chance to pursue her passions and fulfill her boundless potential.”

What women have impacted you the most in your own education journey?

“I already mentioned my mother Marian Robinson, who has a kind of quiet perseverance and strength that I still look to emulate. My great-aunt Robbie has been another huge influence on me. She taught me to play piano when I was a little girl in Chicago, and she gave me some of my earliest lessons in self-discipline and good old-fashioned debate. We often butted heads—I kept skipping ahead in my lesson book, itching to learn more complicated songs—but she just wasn’t having it. She believed in the value of patience and diligence, concepts that five-year-old me didn’t yet understand.

In one of my first recitals, I sat down to play my song only to realize I had no idea where to put my hands—our piano at home had chipped keys, and I’d always used them as a guide. Just as I was beginning to panic, Robbie gracefully rose from her seat in the audience and walked to the bench. She gently placed my finger on middle C. And then I played my song.

I think about that moment a lot, because I hope it’s what we can offer all girls—a chance to learn and try new things, a guiding hand to support them when they stumble, and then the freedom to express themselves through whatever medium they choose.”

You’ve spoken publicly about “imposter syndrome” and its negative impact on girls and women. How have you dealt with it and do you have any tips for overcoming it?

“Imposter syndrome is so tough. For so long, women and girls have been told we don’t belong in the classroom, boardroom, or any room where big decisions are being made. So when we do manage to get into the room, we are still second-guessing ourselves, unsure if we really deserve our seat at the table. We doubt our own judgment, our own abilities, and our own reasons for being where we are. Even when we know better, it can still lead to us playing it small and not standing in our full power.

I’ve been there plenty of times. What’s helped me most is remembering that our worst critics are almost always ourselves. Women and girls are already up against so much: The fact is that you wouldn’t be in that room if you didn’t belong there. And while negative thoughts are bound to crop up as you take on new roles and challenges, you can acknowledge them without letting them stop you from occupying space and doing the work. That’s really the only way we grow—by moving beyond our fears and developing trust that our voices and ideas are valuable.”

What steps can we all take to ensure that more women and girls are in positions of leadership?

“First, it’s on all of us to make sure every young girl has access to a quality education. We also need to give our girls the chance to discover their own voices. So often, we tell women that they should be speaking up, fighting for better conditions, and standing up all on their own to the inequity they face. But if we never give our girls the space to practice using their voices, how will they become women who know when to raise them? It takes practice to gain the confidence to make your voice heard in the world.

At the same time, we need to bring our boys and men into this effort, too. So much could change in a generation if we taught our boys to listen to girls, to see them as their equals. Because the truth is women are just as capable and qualified as men to lead. And if we give our girls the chance to become the women they’re meant to be, we really can set off a ripple effect that transforms the world.”

What is one message you would like to share with Vogue readers?

“The evidence is clear: When girls get an education, amazing things start to happen. Girls who go to school have healthier children, higher salaries, and lower poverty rates. They can even help boost their nation’s economy. When girls learn how to think for themselves, they advocate for others and find solutions to some of our world’s most pressing problems. The future of our world truly is only as bright as our girls. Investing in their education is one of the best things we can do for each and every one of us”.

There are a couple of other articles I want to include before finishing up. In 2022, the BBC spoke with her as she was promoting her latest book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. If you have not read the book then I would recommend that you do so:

“Michelle Obama has admitted she struggles with negative thoughts about her appearance and her "fearful mind", but that women need to "learn to love ourselves as we are".

In her new book, the former US first lady reveals she "hates how I look all the time and no matter what".

But she has found strategies to be kind to herself, she told BBC Breakfast.

She said: "I'm still a work in progress and facing myself each morning with something kind is still a challenge."

She continued: "I try every day to, as I say in the book, greet myself with a positive message.

"And it's really a shame that so many of us, particularly women, have a hard time just looking at our own image and not tearing it apart and figuring out what's wrong.

"I think that's at the core of some of our unease and unhappiness, because if we don't start out by learning to love ourselves as we are, it's hard to pass that on to others.

"So I am working on it every single day."

Michelle Obama returned to the White House to unveil a portrait in September

Mrs Obama, 58, was in the White House with husband Barack between 2009 and 2017.

In the only UK interview for her book The Light We Carry, BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty told her: "You are seen as a powerhouse.

"You are seen as this confident woman, this established woman, this smart woman... If you're feeling like this, what hope do the rest of us have?"

Mrs Obama replied: "I think that's the point of sharing it.

"We all have those thoughts, those negative thoughts that we've lived with for years, especially as women and as women of colour, where we don't see ourselves reflected in our society.

"I think we're in a better position, but one of the things I talked about was what it was like growing up, not just as a black woman, but as a tall black woman, before the Serena and Venus [Williams] years, before we had the WNBA [Women's National Basketball Association] and had role models other than gymnasts to look up to.

"It is important for us to see who we can be in order to feel good about ourselves”.

I will end with a 2017 feature from Vox. When President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama left the White House in 2017, they left a legacy, for sure. However, think about their fight for equality and Michelle Obama’s messages. Urging men to be better. The President echoing that. In an age of Donald Trump and his misogyny and evil, the U.S. needs a sane and strong voice in leadership like that of Michelle Obama:

“Michelle Obama is the “new face of feminism.” That’s according to the results of a new poll by PerryUndem Research, in which 47 percent of respondents said she “represents feminism today,” putting her at the top of the list of 14 women including Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and Beyoncé.

It’s a victory over the judgments of those who, in the early years of the Obama administration, questioned her feminist credentials, scoffing at her focus on gardening and expressing disappointed at the Princeton and Harvard grad’s temporary embrace of the role of “mom-in-chief.”

But Obama has done something even more powerful than gain and maintain the approval of the public. She’s used her post at the White House to strike a very different tone in the conversation about gender equality. She’s shrugged off the scrutiny of her own feminist credentials, asking not, “Am I good enough as a woman?” but, “What do men need to do better?” — and seemingly led the way for her husband, President Obama, to do the same.

Michelle Obama’s feminism was scrutinized from day one — but she never gave into self-doubt or self-flagellation

In response to Jodi Kantor’s 2009 profile of the Obamas’ marriage for the New York Times, a reader wrote in to an online chat, “Can someone explain to me in what ways is the Obama marriage ‘modern’? It seems completely conventional to me, with both Barack and Michelle playing traditional gender roles.” The comment went on to point out that Michelle focused on “fashion, gardening, volunteering, re-decorating, organizing social nights, and appearing on magazine covers,” while Barack focused on more serious issues.

On that topic, Obama simply told Kantor that the equality of a partnership, in her view, “is measured over the scope of the marriage. It’s not just four years or eight years or two.”

But the scrutiny of her feminist credentials continued. In 2013, the Washington Post’s Lonnae O’Neal Parker reported that feminists were “split by her work,” with some still expressing disappointment at the areas that she seemed to place her focus:

“Are fashion and body-toning tips all we can expect from one of the most highly educated First Ladies in history?” asked author Leslie Morgan Steiner in an online column last January. She said she’d “read enough bland dogma on home-grown vegetables and aerobic exercise to last me several lifetimes.”

Steiner contended Obama probably had little leeway. “I’m sure there is immense pressure — from political advisors, the black community, her husband, the watching world — to play her role as First Black Lady on the safe side.”

Feminist discontent with the first lady spiked again last summer at the Democratic National Convention, after she called her daughters “the heart of my heart and the center of my world.” She then repeated her feminist crazy-maker: “You see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still ‘mom-in-chief.’”

“Why does mom-in-chief have to be the most important thing this strong, vibrant woman tells us about herself as she flexes the strange but considerable power of the office of first lady?” Emily Bazelon asked on Slate.com.

The Post pointed out that many minority feminists and writers of color saw things differently. After all, as Parker wrote, “By necessity and by choice, a majority of black women have been working outside the home at least since the census began keeping track of their labor in 1972. There has never been a national effort to keep black women at home, caring sweetly for their children. They have always worked, and their work has never been a separate thing from their mothering.”

But while others debated Obama, she neither became defensive nor changed her priorities in response to her critics. Instead, she seemed to steadily live the way she chose: still focusing on that garden, the anti-obesity initiative, and more: launching “Let Girls Learn,” an initiative aimed at helping adolescent girls attain a quality education, hosting events specifically celebrating African-American girls and women during Black History Month, giving a headline-grabbing, powerful address at the Democratic National Convention and becoming widely regarded as Hillary Clinton’s most influential surrogate. Her condemnation of then-candidate Donald Trump’s commentary about women and daily assaults on the dignity of women grabbed the entire nation’s attention. In the meantime, she took her daughters to Beyoncé concerts and did Carpool Karaoke.

Subtly, though, through all this, she has insisted on being herself and ignoring the question of whether she was living up to anyone else’s feminist ideals. And at a moment when she had reached the highest approval she had earned, she did something powerful: She shifted the focus of the gender equality conversation to men. Her message: “Be better.”

“Be better at everything,” she said in a conversation with Oprah at the United States of Women summit in June 2016. “Be better fathers. Good lord, just being good fathers who love your daughters and are providing a solid example of what it means to be a good man in the world, showing them what it feels like to be loved. That is the greatest gift that the men in my life gave to me.”

She made it clear that she was talking to all men, continuing:

Men can be better husbands, which is — be a part of your family’s life. Do the dishes. Don’t babysit your children. You don’t babysit your own children. Be engaged. Don’t just think going to work and coming home makes you a man. Being a father, being engaged, all that stuff is important. Be a better employer. When you are sitting at a seat of power at a table of any kind and you look around you just see you, it’s just you and a bunch of men around a table, on a golf course, making deals, and you allow that to happen, and you’re OK with that — be better.”

IN THIS PHOTO: President Barack Obama in Paris/PHOTO CREDIT: Chesnot—Getty Images

When it came to gender equality, the president echoed her message to men

Just a couple of months later, President Barack Obama’s echoed Michelle’s sentiments in an essay titled “Why I’m a feminist” for Glamour magazine in August. He didn’t pass judgment on which goals and dreams of women deserved support, or what kinds of women deserved men’s support, but rather explained how he was in a continuous process of self-reflection — often inspired by his wife:

I’ve seen how Michelle has balanced the demands of a busy career and raising a family. Like many working mothers, she worried about the expectations and judgments of how she should handle the trade-offs, knowing that few people would question my choices. And the reality was that when our girls were young, I was often away from home serving in the state legislature, while also juggling my teaching responsibilities as a law professor. I can look back now and see that, while I helped out, it was usually on my schedule and on my terms. The burden disproportionately and unfairly fell on Michelle.

As Michelle might put it, he decided to do better. And he repeated the shift in perspective she had introduced. This wasn’t about just celebrating or affirming women, but insisting that his gender should improve — from changing attitudes to avoiding stereotypes to taking responsibility for equity in relationships:

So we need to break through these limitations. We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding a tear. We need to keep changing the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality and rewards men for theirs.

We need to keep changing the attitude that permits the routine harassment of women, whether they’re walking down the street or daring to go online. We need to keep changing the attitude that teaches men to feel threatened by the presence and success of women.

We need to keep changing the attitude that congratulates men for changing a diaper, stigmatizes full-time dads, and penalizes working mothers. We need to keep changing the attitude that values being confident, competitive, and ambitious in the workplace—unless you’re a woman. Then you’re being too bossy, and suddenly the very qualities you thought were necessary for success end up holding you back. ...

It is absolutely men’s responsibility to fight sexism too. And as spouses and partners and boyfriends, we need to work hard and be deliberate about creating truly equal relationships”.

Undoubtable a feminist icon, I wanted to celebrate the wonderful Michelle Obama! The Girls Opportunity Alliance is doing such key and important work around the world. There will be further books and talks from Obama. She will continue to make a difference and strive for equality for all girls and women. A role model for millions, she is someone that I look up to. Maybe she will speak at The Trouble Club one day (let’s hope so!). Until then, go and check out the work and words of…

THE iconic Michelle Obama.

FEATURE: Various Storms & Saints: Florence + The Machine’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful at Ten

FEATURE:

 

 

Various Storms & Saints

Florence + The Machine’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful at Ten

__________

THIS incredible album…

PHOTO CREDIT: Todd Heisler/The New York Times

was released on 29th May, 2015, so I wanted to mark its upcoming tenth anniversary. Florence + The Machine’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful won critical acclaim and reached number one in the U.S. and U.K. Her next studio album after 2011’s Ceremonials, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is more stropped back and diverse in terms of its genres. Recorded across multiple studios, the album does not lose any focus or consistency. Some of the finest songwriting and vocal performances from Florence Welch. Ranked alongside the best albums of 2015, it is only right that I investigate this stunning album in more depth and detail. Go and watch this incredible film/visual album. I will get to some reviews of How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. Prior to that, there are a couple of interviews from 2015 with Florence Welch that I want to highlight. I am going to start out with an interview from NME. Florence Welch addresses, among other things, turmoil, Hollywood, witchcraft and her new album:

“After the touring of ‘Ceremonials’ finished, Florence had a year off to rest, so she could come to a new album completely refreshed. Out of the cycle of gigs, she found herself adrift, searching for who she was when she wasn’t that Florence. A difficult on-off relationship compounded her confusion, and she cocooned herself in the house where we meet today, a beautiful south London terrace with a fairytale garden of thick hedges and sprawling roses. The cosy rooms are filled with antique, heavy wooden furniture, trinkets, endless books and prints, butterflies in glass cases and domes. There is a heavy bureau overflowing with papers, a collection of crowns catches my jumper. In the toilet is a sequinned dragon tail, to be worn round the waist.

“When you come off tour… it’s hard to know what you like,” she explains, happy and relaxed in jeans and a white long-sleeved top. “You’re this big, like (spreads her arms wide like goddess-Florence), but then that’s not here, in this house. I was trying to figure it out, like, do I like partying? I’ll just do that loads. Do I wanna have a relationship? That’s not working either! What is it? What am I looking for? I had to contend with my own feelings for the first time. I couldn’t just be swept away and do a gig. Gigs have this magic thing of absolving. As long as you did a good gig, no matter what’s happened, no matter what’s going on in your personal life, it’s such an exorcism for me that it just resets everything.”

In an interview shortly before ‘Ceremonials’ came out, Florence talked about how songs such as ‘Seven Devils’ and ‘Shake It Out’ were about exorcising old demons, using hexes to ward off the self-destructive side of herself she used to call, around the time of ‘Lungs’, the Chaos Robot (echoed in the original name for her band, Florence Robot Isa Machine; Isa Machine being Isabella Summers, her songwriting partner and bandmate). She also spoke about choosing whether to be swept away by that indulgent chaos, or trying to grow up. This time around, a drained Florence found herself feeling shy at parties and awards ceremonies, wondering: “But I like this stuff, don’t I?”

Looking back now on ‘Ceremonials’, she says, “It was all like (makes dramatic, expansive arm gesture) WHAAAAAAH, y’know? Turning things into spells, and finding other ways to express things so that they wouldn’t be as clear. Because I didn’t feel clear. But with this, I felt clear. It was a humbling feeling. How I usually approach feelings or things that are happening is to translate it into this fantasy… and then having a bit of time away, suddenly like my actual life became something that I had to contend with. It wasn’t like a fantasy… it was like, ‘Oh, shit’… But it felt quite like a new, pure feeling as opposed to kind of like the big whooshy confusion.” She gestures back to the images of whirling Amaterasu. “I still love all of this stuff. But you don’t ever wanna feel like you have to be something.”

All this existential wrangling can be heard clearly in the lyrics: ‘How Big…’ finds Florence standing, fighting, questioning, rather than surrendering or being swept away by her emotions. “I’m gonna be free and I’m gonna be fine/But maybe not tonight”, she sings on ‘Delilah’, acknowledging that there’s “a different kind of danger in the daylight”. Where once she was worshipping the water, calling out from the depths, now she looks to the sky referenced in the title and invokes saints (even if one of them is St Jude, patron saint of lost causes). Most revealing are ‘Mother’ and ‘Third Eye’. In the former, she finds herself at a party, not feeling it. Couples kiss around her, but she leaves, walks out into the night and puts her feet in a fountain. So far, so Florence, but instead of a font of absolution, she comes to a frank admission: “No use wishing on the water/It brings you no release”.

‘Third Eye’ was written by Florence on her own (as well as Summers, she often writes with long-term collaborator Kid Harpoon): “You deserve to be loved/And you deserve what you are given”. Talking to herself? “Sadly, yes,” she says. “I didn’t think I was at the time. When you reach a level of fame and attention, it can make you feel quite unworthy. To be compelled, to need that catharsis and exorcism, there’s obviously going to be an underlying dissatisfaction… it was trying to learn to just be happier in my own skin.”

Florence crafted the words from not just personal emotions but ideas from her voracious reading, snippets from newspapers, titles of artworks. A quick scan of her living room reveals a framed print of contemporary dancer Pina Bausch, a huge ornate volume on the Ballets Russes, and prints, patterns, books, books, books everywhere. Her fans joyfully scour her more literate references and puzzles – a bit of Greek myth here, a biblical reference there – writing essays on her videos, and in the case of some, forming a book club that took suggestions for its reading from the lady herself. “There’s a lot of quite literary kids out there,” Florence enthuses. “Poetry and reading books has played such a big part in the making of all the records, and it’s nice because it’s not as personal, and you can connect with people.”

Musically, ‘How Big…’ was inspired by her songwriting trips to Jamaica and to LA, where, like many before her, the sense of space and warmth and light seeped in (“We’ve opened our eyes and it’s changing the view”, she sings on the title track). She knew she wanted something that sounded “big, but not heavy”, inspired particularly by a late conversion to Neil Young (whose Bridge School benefit concert she also played at in October last year), plus listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and Springsteen, in search of a “tougher” sound. Also key, though, was Fiona Apple’s last album, which Florence admired for the mixture of strength and vulnerability in its emotional frankness.

Florence does seem comfortable in herself (and in her foot, which has healed from the break it suffered after a Chaos Robot-esque moment at Coachella, when she threw herself from the stage). Recent live shows have seen her eschew the usual stage sets and costumes, “actually just allowing things to be quite raw, and as they are. Again, I think a lot of it was not me wanting to be prescribed to do anything in a certain way, just to be completely liberated. And breaking my foot has been quite good as well, in a way, because it’s forced more intimate performances that I perhaps wouldn’t have done. I was inherently forced to be myself!”

Soon, she’ll be taking the new-style Florence live experience to the Pyramid Stage, and though she doesn’t share my outrage that she wasn’t Glastonbury’s third headliner (“I think I’m quite happy with where we are! It would be wonderful to headline, but I also don’t know how I would be dealing with that right now. I would probably be back in the anorak”), she’s clearly looking forward to the festival of which she’s practically the spirit animal. She refuses to make predictions. “I’m not really planning what’s going to happen at Glastonbury, because I just don’t know. It’s almost quite hard for me to remember gigs sometimes, because I just don’t know what happens. It’s almost like something else completely takes over. So if I’m back in my full-charged-feet mode, I’m nervous for what’s going to happen. Because that’s what happened at Coachella: I hadn’t performed in a really long time. And it was like whoosh… and then the crowd were all taking their clothes off, I had my shirt off and I threw myself off. It’s this sense that anything could happen”.

I am going to move to an interview from Billboard. After breaking her foot at Coachella, there was this enforced period away from the stage. Triumphantly storming Glastonbury a few months later, 2015 was this strange and slightly turbulent year for Florence and the Machine. How Big, How Blue. How Beautiful arrived sort of in the middle - after Coachella but before Glastonbury:

“Welch demurs when asked about the commercial pressure surrounding the new album. (Says Jim Roppo, executive vp marketing and commerce for Welch’s label, Republic Records: “We’re aiming for a No. 1 album.”) “I try not to think about it,” she says. “I’m a strange kind of ambitious, because I never cared about having a No. 1 single.”

Shows have been the focus. “I remember being 20 at the Glastonbury festival. And I had been invited to come and play the Sunday Tea Tent, and I was in my anorak and I had no Wellies, and it was one of the muddiest Glastonburys of all time. I remember looking at the Pyramid Stage and thinking, ‘I wish I could perform there just one time.’ ” And in fact, Welch will play the Pyramid this June, as one of her first sets after her foot is healed. “It’s hard to imagine that you think about something you’d like to have happen in your life and it happens,” says Welch. “For a pessimistic British person that’s very hard to deal with. Whereas in L.A.,” she continues, referring to the city she retreated to while she was off the road, “they would say, ‘You’re manifesting.’ But I obviously wasn’t there long enough to feel I deserve any of this.”

Welch honed her voice singing in her small bedroom in Camberwell, London. Her father, a British advertising executive, and her mother, a Renaissance Studies professor from Boston who moved to England in 1981 and still lives in London, divorced when Welch was 11. When her mother began dating another man, Welch and her two sisters moved in with him and his children down the street. Her maternal grandmother, who suffered from bipolar disorder, committed suicide when Welch was 13. Welch responded to all this upheaval by retreating back into herself, inventing fantasy worlds and warbling in her room. She also suffered from dyslexia and anxiety, and poured her frustrations into songs.

At 18, Welch began writing music with her younger sister’s babysitter, Isabella Summers, who is six years older and remains Welch’s co-writer, keyboardist and best friend. They called themselves Florence Robot/Isa Machine before settling on Florence & The Machine, and recruiting the current core of the band (guitarist Robert Ackroyd, drummer Chris Hayden, bassist Mark Saunders and harpist Tom Monger). Welch dropped out of college to pursue music full time, playing London’s bars and clubs, and convinced her now-manager, a London DJ named Mairead Nash, to book her for a big industry Christmas party after she tipsily sang Nash a few bars of an Etta James ballad in a nightclub bathroom. After getting signed in 2008, Welch went to South by Southwest to play showcases and met MGMT, who brought Florence & The Machine on tour as an opening act and helped kick off the band’s first major run of shows. In the run-up to releasing its debut, Welch dyed her hair a fiery red (she’s naturally a brunette) and began to experiment with glamorous costumes. The band made its first big splash stateside performing “Dog Days Are Over” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2010; in 2011, Welch joined such stars as Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson for Aretha Franklin’s Grammy tribute.

“She’s one of the few amazing musicians who has a strong eccentric streak,” says producer Markus Dravs, who worked with Welch on How Big How Blue How Beautiful. “I would put her next to Stevie Nicks, Bjork, Kate Bush. What struck me over the years is the commitment and conviction that she has in her art. It goes beyond the songwriting into her visuals.”

Welch admits that a lot of her early costuming and theatrical flair was a sort of defense mechanism. “I did my first press shot when I was 20, and it was the first time I ever saw myself in a newspaper,” she recalls. “I was in shorts, with a goofy grin, and I was terrified. I saw that and was like, ‘No way.’ It was too raw, too exposing to be that real. And so over time, I found ways to protect myself: The hair went bright red, my eyebrows went bleached off, my clothes were completely black and goth. I had a Siouxsie Sioux phase — I looked like a kind of bat. I was always climbing the rigging, always super drunk, yelling and crowd surfing. It was my way of dealing with all the attention.” 

Welch’s striking image caught the eye of fashion designers. She performed at a Chanel runway show in 2011 and even served as a muse to Mulberry — models wore red wigs for a Welch-inspired show (also in 2011). She was devastated to miss the Met Gala in May due to her foot — she had planned to wear a “gorgeous red lace dress from [Alexander] McQueen.” (The heavy boot she has to wear while healing, though, “kind of looks like a Birkenstock. So at least it’s chic.”)

But Welch increasingly feels like “there’s something about me that’s more feral and unhinged than a gown. I love gowns, I love dressing up — but there’s something about a cape or a gown that almost dictates how you will move and stand, and you feel like you have to live up to the dress.” And on How Big How Blue How Beautiful, she wanted to dig deeper. “This new album comes from a quieter place, one that is less grand and more vulnerable, and it wouldn’t feel right to try to put up walls again,” says Welch. “Although I love all that fashion stuff, it is also a way of guarding myself. I decided f— it, it was time to let it all go.”

For Welch, the break from touring in 2014 was “supposed to be when I rested and had a lovely time” writing the band’s third album. She decamped to Los Angeles with Summers. “We lived in a crazy doll’s house on a mountainside,” she says. “L.A. was all big blue skies, driving and listening to Neil Young. I got fully into L.A., the way I go full throttle with everything.” But the downtime left her at a loss. “I had kind of a breakdown and washed up a bit of a mess to the studio. I had just wore myself out.

“Without the structure of touring, you have to face your own chaos,” says Welch. “I was playing gigs nonstop since I was 21. When I was left to my own devices, I realized I was f—ing everything up. I was in and out of a relationship, in and out of drinking too much. It was like constantly picking yourself up and then dropping yourself, picking yourself up and dropping yourself. And that was exhausting.”

Florence & The Machine’s ethereal last album, Ceremonials, referenced mythology and Virginia Woolf. With this record, Welch was finally ready to tackle her personal life. She says Swift made her more comfortable putting her own experiences into song: “Taylor said that you must sing about what’s happening in your life.” (Says Swift: “She’s the most fun person to dance with at a party, but then five minutes later you find yourself sitting on the stairs with her having an in-depth conversation about love and heartbreak.”) “It’s definitely not about trying to be vindictive,” says Welch. “It’s about being honest. This could’ve been a breakup record,” she adds, presumably referring to her longtime off-and-on relationship with well-connected British event producer James Nesbitt, which was closely followed by the U.K. tabloids. “But it was much more about trying to understand myself.”

You can hear Welch honing in on this pain in the crackling recent single “What Kind of Man.” Its video shows her naked and dripping on a bathroom floor, crawling out of a crashed car and being tossed around a dingy hotel room by a surly group of men. “For that video, we were thinking about ideas of purgatory and Dante’s Inferno,” she says. “Because I was in this purgatory with this man. That push and pull thing where you are just stuck and you’re like, ‘Why do we keep doing this to each other?’ ” Welch shakes her fists, causing her jewelry to clatter. “It’s an aggressive song, but I can see my own part in the whole process. I was just as crazy as he was. People think the men in the video represent my ex-boyfriends, but they really represent a lot of different forces that weren’t working for me.”

As Welch gathers her things up to head to the SNL rehearsal — she says she really wants to stand for the performance; ultimately she sat on a stool, seemingly fighting the urge to leap up — she reflects again on her bum appendage as a metaphor: for her new rawness, her need to connect to an even wider audience on a yet more intimate level. “I don’t know why the foot break happened,” she says. “But it forced me in a way to slow down and have the same person who wrote this record to show up and sing those songs”.

I am going to end with two positive reviews for How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. I want to bring in a review from Billboard. A remarkable album that I think is up there with the very best from Florence + The Machine, I wonder how they will mark its tenth anniversary. Whether Welch will say anything about it. I remember hearing it in 2015 and loving it. It still holds such power. Every song on it leaves an impression:

“Between 2011’s Ceremonials and her new album, How Big How Blue How Beautiful, however, she took a yearlong break to sort out some personal issues — the bad habits and relationship ­damage that are so often inflicted by years of perpetual touring. The hiatus helped her reassess her music as well. In her recent Billboard cover interview, Welch credits Taylor Swift — nobody’s idea of an art-rocker — with counseling her that she needed to draw more directly on her life for her songs. The payoff is immediately audible on How Big. It’s not a radical reformation of Welch’s style; she hasn’t stripped all the ornamentation from her cathedral of sound and become a folky confessional songwriter. But she is resorting less to abstract, lofty imagery and speaking with a more frank immediacy. There’s a confrontational edge to these songs, a dash of Chrissie Hynde pugilism to balance all that Stevie Nicks necromancy. The first lines of “Ship to Wreck,” already one of the more memorable singles of 2015, open on a scene of a body in peril — “Don’t touch the sleeping pills, they mess with my head” — and work their way through one of those painful morning-after reconstructions: “Oh, my love, remind me, what was it I did? Did I drink too much, am I losing touch, did I build a ship to wreck?” On that song and the following, equally urgent “What Kind of Man,” Welch and producer Markus Dravs (a rigorous ­taskmaster whom many artists, such as Coldplay and Arcade Fire, have called on when feeling at risk of a rut) have given her sound a more lean, streamlined propulsion, providing her with plenty of dynamic space to fill, as few other vocalists of her generation can do so well.

Fans of Welch’s most expansively raving anthems won’t go wanting here, however. Songs including “Queen of Peace” and “Third Eye” offer all the sky-high layered harmonies, rolling and echoing drums, and orchestral exclamation points one could desire, with horn arrangements by Will Gregory of Goldfrapp. But the intensity is relieved by sparse, restrained songs like the organ-led meditation “St. Jude” or “Long & Lost,” which, with its hovering guitar and strings and clunks of electronic ­percussion, evokes the dreamy swells of mid-1990s Kate Bush B-sides, or maybe even Cocteau Twins. The only letdown is closer “Mother,” on which Paul Epworth takes over production and comes up with a spiky jam that’s alternately meandering and overly melodramatic.

No matter the mood and tempo, though, the Florence & The Machine heard on How Big How Blue How Beautiful is a newly self-aware one. It shows a different kind of mastery by allowing for a different kind of vulnerability, an especially delicate balancing act for a young woman in pop music. “It’s hard to see it when you’re in it,” Welch sings on “Caught.” Perhaps, but by making that extra stretch for perspective, an artist can create songs that help listeners work out their own tangles and take measure of their own traps. In other words, the songs that people return to”.

I will finish off with a review from The Independent. They discussed an album where Florence Welch was confronting her demons in, and I agree, a frank manner. One of her most personal and moving albums. I am not sure if there is an anniversary reissue of How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful but I hope it is marked in some fashion. A tremendous listen from one of our best acts:

“Before recording How Big How Blue How Beautiful, Florence Welch opted for a sabbatical year off – during which, she claims, she experienced “a bit of a nervous breakdown”.

The results of that stressful period are evident throughout the album: compared to the fanciful fantasy preoccupations of previous releases – especially the death and water fixations of Ceremonials – this is Welch facing up to reality, confronting her emotional demons in a frank manner.

In this she’s helped by heavyweight new producer Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Coldplay), whose skill in rendering big, bombastic arrangements with clarity is well matched with the Machine’s grandiose sound.

Dravs apparently forbade her to write any more songs about water – yet the opening track “Ship to Wreck” breaks that rule with panache, Welch wielding various maritime metaphors for insomniac confusion as she admits she “can’t help but pull the earth around me to make my bed”, a vivid notion whose darkness is echoed in the image of “trying to cross a canyon with a broken limb” in the single “What Kind of Man”.

It’s the first of a string of songs dealing directly or tangentially with a difficult relationship. Here, and in “Queen of Peace”, an ethereal, furtive introduction billows into a huge arrangement of crunching rock band beat further inflated by horns.

The emotional turmoil is better served by the more introspective balladry of “Various Storms and Saints” and “Long and Lost”, where heartbreak is more subtly suggested through ambient background textures, wisps of synthesiser, strings and vibrato guitar. The vaunting, anthemic approach, meanwhile, is much better suited to the assertive messages of “Third Eye” and “Delilah”, whose revival-meeting feel is strongly reminiscent of Arcade Fire. But perhaps the most touching performance here is the lost-cause elegy “St Jude”, where she finally reaches the realisation “Maybe I have always been more comfortable in chaos?”.

On 29th May, we mark ten years of Florence + The Machine’s How Big, How Blue,. How Beautiful. A record that was a commercial and critical success, the group took to the Pyramid Stage shortly after its release and stormed it. Ten years on and I still have very warm memories of this album. It is an absolute gem…

YOU all should hear.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Sugababes’ Mutya Buena at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Lia Toby/Getty Images

Sugababes’ Mutya Buena at Forty

__________

A member…

IN THIS PHOTO: Mutya Buena alongside Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan of Sugababes

of music’s royalty turns forty on 21st May. She is one-third of the original Sugababes line-up. Mutya Buena, together with Siobhan Donaghy and Keisha Buchanan have created some truly iconic tunes. There have been line-up changes through the years, but we are blessed to have the original line-up performing together today. I am going to come to a 2024 interview where we hear from a group who dominating dancefloors and getting booked alongside prominent D.J.s. Their latest singles, Jungle and Weeds, show that Sugababes’ originals have lost none of their chemistry and power. Before coming to the 2024 interview, there is an AllMusic biography of Mutya Buena that takes us up to 2007. Despite some somewhat dismissive or insulting words, it at least gives you an impression of the accomplishments of Mutya Buena. Happily, after leaving Sugababes, she did eventually reunite and re-join her sisters:

“Mutya Buena has been an international star since the age of 15, when she enjoyed her first hit with the British pop group Sugababes, but it wasn't until 2007 that she stepped out on her own as a solo artist. Born in London's Kingsbury district on May 21, 1985, Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena was raised in a multicultural family (her mother is of Irish descent while her father is from the Philippines), and she developed an interest in music at an early age. When she was eight years old, Buena met Keisha Buchanan and they became fast friends who shared a love for singing. In 1998, Buena and Buchanan were 13 and interested in putting together a singing group when they met a manager who paired them up with fellow singer Siobhan Donaghy. The new trio was named Sugababes, and their first album, One Touch, was released in 2000, with the single "Overload" reaching the British Top Ten. While the group parted ways with its British record label after One Touch failed to top the charts and Heidi Range replaced Donaghy in the group's lineup, Sugababes' second album, Angels with Dirty Faces, became a smash, going triple platinum and scoring four hit singles in the U.K., including two tunes that went to number one, "Freak Like Me" and "Round Round." Sugababes enjoyed similar success with their third album, 2003's Three, but 2005's Taller in More Ways proved to be Buena's swan song with the trio; she gave birth to a daughter, Tahlia-Maya Buena, in March 2005, and in December 2005 she resigned from the group to spend more time with her baby. The group wasted no time hiring a replacement, Amelle Berrabah, who re-recorded Buena's vocal parts for a single release of "Red Dress" from Taller in More Ways. In 2006, Buena began posting demos of new material on her MySpace page, and enjoyed a hit single with George Michael, "This Is Not Real Love," as well as contributing guest vocals to Groove Armada's album Soundboy Rock. In June 2007, Buena released her highly anticipated solo debut, Real Girl”.

Before rounding up, there is an interview from Mixmag from last summer that is interesting. It talks about the comeback of one of the all-time great girl groups. In the next stage of their careers, it is exciting to see what Sugababes produce this year. Whether there will be an album later. I believe there is one coming:

“While this shift was taking shape, Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán were locked out from the Sugababes brand, with Siobhán’s departure later followed by the controversial replacements of Mutya and then Keisha, until no original members remained. That was the case for a decade, until a 2019 legal victory saw the trio reclaim the name. They immediately leaned into their dance music roots, releasing a cover of UK garage classic ‘Flowers’ as their comeback single, recorded for DJ Spoony’s ‘Garage Classical’ compilation. “Coming back under our name, we definitely probably thought it would have been a big [original] single,” says Keisha. “But we're such a fan of old skool garage and we just thought it was a really cool project to be a part of.” Meanwhile the Sugababes were translating into clubland like never before, with contemporary producers and DJs latching onto their tunes for edits and airplay amid a growing wider trend.

“In my humble opinion, one of the best things about the modern day music industry is the ‘00s pop resurgence. Music that my cooler older brother made fun of me for liking when I was seven, that is now being dropped left right and centre from all your fave DJs in clubs around the world!” says DJ and BBC Radio 1 Dance host Jaguar, who’s coined the term UKC (UK Cunty) for her style that blends “peak-time queer clubs and bass music”. DJs drawing for Sugagabes cuts and reworks in recent times include Midland, Yazzus, Elkka and Four Tet, with notable edits made by the likes of Two Shell, Majestic, Metronomy and Joy Anonymous. A clip of Eliza Rose dropping the latter remix on Boiler Room to a fervent crowd secured another viral TikTok post for the ‘B.O.T.A’ chart-topper. The group that once covered a bootleg to top the pop charts was now being bootlegged into a new era of club prominence. They got asked to do their own Boiler Room (apparently due to the sheer number of their bootlegs being dropped on the platform), have been booked to play dance events such as FALSE IDOLS at Drumsheds, on a bill with Job Jobse, Saoirse, Paranoid London, and more, and now get tapped when brands want clubland clout for events like Berlin späti raves.

The wild response to the Avalon set at Glastonbury seems to have helped this. Simon Denby, co-founder of FALSE IDOLS, namechecks it when discussing the booking. “We were lucky and got in - it was joyous and I loved seeing the crowd mix - partying alongside queer raver friends, edgy Berlin DJs and a more expected fun pop crowd - it was really diverse and everyone was singing along,” he says. “Their music is really well produced and has stood the test of time, it crosses over with UK garage and house and has been incredibly popular in the early days of lots of the artists we have playing who listened to Sugababes when they were growing up.”

Widening the lens on ‘why now?’, his comment alludes to nostalgia, which is an evident force behind all of this. It’s worth noting that nostalgia in music is sometimes considered a symbol of poor scene health and creative stagnancy, perhaps reflecting an aging clubbing base, while for younger audiences, the “boom of ‘90s rave nostalgia among Gen Z … has been linked to the struggling economy” (disucssed in more depth here). But it’s also not a cause for outright cynicism. As Siobhán notes, the way younger gerations with the internet discover music has changed drastically, and different eras are more collapsed into each other now. “I'm always fascinated with what my niece is listening to,” she says. “It was so funny because she tried to introduce me to the Cocteau Twins the other day. I was like they're not new and Liz Fraser is about 60 years old, and she could not get her head around that fact.” She considers that this shift has “thrown the doors open, and it's not people telling the younger generation what is cool, they just discover it themselves, and they like it. Who doesn't love a pop banger?”

DJ Heartstring, real names Jonas and Leo, embody the trend of blending nostalgia with fresher club sounds, which makes them a natural fit to share a bill with Sugababes. They do it very well. The Berlin duo have become one of the most sought after acts on the circuit for their style that sits somewhere between Eurodance and techno, fusing a pop-meets-rave approach fuelled by high BPMs and ecstasy-soaked euphoria that’s hard to resist. They run a popular event series called Teenage Dreams, which takes its name from a punter once complaining about Jonas’ throwback selections. “She was like: 'Can you please stop playing these piano tracks? Because it feels like an endless teenage dream',” he reveals, grinning. “I was like this is amazing, I will continue to play this because that's exactly the feeling that I want. Nostalgia, reminding you of the good old days or whatever that means. That's what we're going for.”

The changes from the ‘good old days’ to now are harder to be positive about. The UK’s club scene is struggling, and intimate nightlife venues closing down amid a trend towards festival-style megavenues is another reason why a booking with the Sugababes' following is appealing. It’s also why DJ Heartstring are thrilled to play with them in a späti. “It doesn't make sense in my head. The Sugababes in a späti!” exclaims Leo disbelievingly. “It feels like we're able to take these legendary people into our world and present them in our way,” says Jonas, calling spätis (which provided his youth with cheap drinks, 24/7 opening hours and casual street seating with a bar-like atmosphere) “as much a part of Berlin nightlife as the clubs are”. However: “Unfortunately the city is trying to crackdown on the culture a little bit,’ he continues, reflecting on related nightlife scourges such as gentrification, stricter licensing and the cost of living that also afflict Germany (among other countries). He fears for nightlife’s future if a new generation can’t afford to participate. “If we lose the next generation it's going to eventually die out.” That’s the thinking behind the späti rave and wider DT campaign: to give Gen Z “access to a range of music experiences” (and promote the brand).

Admittedly nightlife struggles are a somewhat sour context, but still, we can’t help agree with Jonas that “it's sick that [the Sugababes were] up for it. There would be artists their size who would be too cool or important for this.” And getting back to the main matter at hand, it’s a beautiful thing that the Sugagabes have overcome industry fuckery and returned from the wilderness to find their place in the club scene and their contribution to dance music newly recognised. They’re loving that new generations are connecting and experimenting with their music. “I've seen quite a few clips of DJs playing our music out, and it’s always nice to see such a young crowd sing along to our lyrics. Just remix it and put it out there and have fun with it. It's nice to hear,” says Mutya. “Especially when they include a big drop!” chimes in Siobhán. “You don't get that in the original so that's fun.” And not only that, they’re taking inspiration from it in turn. The more intimate club shows are their favourite to perform, and have inspired adaptations to their bigger arena gigs, such as the garage medley section of their live show. “It's become such an important part of our set. I actually can’t imagine the show without it now,” says Siobhán. The choice to perform this on a stage setup in the middle of the crowd at the O2 Arena came from the party vibes they experienced playing Boiler Room. “We wanted to create an atmosphere of intimacy, so we took the concept of playing in the round. You could just feel that garage rave and intimate feeling. We just had a ball,” says Keisha.

Things have come full circle for the three girls from London who connected over garage and formed one of the most successful musical groups in UK history with a raft of pioneering bangers. As far as future music goes, expect the Sugababes and clubland love affair to carry on. As Siobhán explained, “faster tempos don't always lend themselves to a busy kind of harmony situation”, but, she teases, “it's worked on our new record”.

After parting ways with BMG, they released Jungle and Weeds. They are now independent artists. Having recently completed some tour dates and with plenty ahead, it is an exciting time for Sugababes. 21st May is Mutya Buena’s fortieth birthday. To mark that, I have ended with a mixtape of Sugababes songs she has been involved with, in addition to some collaborations and solo tracks – and tracks that she has a writing credit on. Even if you are not a huge fan of Sugababes, you have to give respect to Buena. One of music’s greats, this is my salute to…

HER sheer brilliance.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Sex-Positive Songs

FEATURE:

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Daria/Pexels

Sex-Positive Songs

__________

I recently…

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay/Pexels

shared a mixtape of female empowerment songs. Something I have done before, I did suggest that, in the near-future, I would assemble a mixtape featuring sex-positive songs. I thought I would do that now. In another feature, I want to examine the issues of women having a sexual revolution now against the rise in dangerous online pornography - and how that is affecting boys and young men. It is going to be a very tough time in terms of a potential movement when sex to so many men seems to involve strangulation, abuse and harm. It is harrowing for so many women. How there is this risk to sex. I do hope that there are changes and progress so that we can turn the tide. A day when young men know that sex should not automatically associated with domination and violence. Thinking about that, I wanted to be positive. Compile a mixtape of sex-positive songs from throughout the years. These powerful and charged anthems that I hope, one day, can genuinely soundtrack and score a modern-day sexual revolution for women. And men too. Even if there are not as many sex-positive anthems now as you might hope – unless I am not keeping my ear to the ground in the right place -, there have been some great modern-day examples. I do hope that, very soon, we hear…

PHOTO CREDIT: Станислав Чмелев/Pexels

MORE of these songs.

FEATURE: Inside the Mood Machine: The Personal Benefits and Drawbacks of Spotify

FEATURE:

 

 

Inside the Mood Machine

PHOTO CREDIT: Liza Summer/Pexels

The Personal Benefits and Drawbacks of Spotify

__________

THERE was a recent…

PHOTO CREDIT: Ivan Samkov/Pexels

feature from The Guardian, where two of its writers, Laura Snapes and Alexis Petridis, discussed their experiences with Spotify. Whether they could live without it and what it was like listening to curated playlists. It ties into a book, Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist. Published in March, it is a very timely book. At a moment when there is uncertainty whether most artists can survive putting their music onto Spotify, there is a real call for change. Either the business model of Spotify needs to ensure artists are paid fairly - or there needs to be an alternative:

“An unsparing investigation into Spotify's origins and influence on music, weaving unprecedented reporting with incisive cultural criticism, illuminating how streaming is reshaping music for listeners and artists alike.

Drawing on over one hundred interviews with industry insiders, former Spotify employees, and musicians, Mood Machine takes us to the inner workings of today's highly consolidated record business, showing what has changed as music has become increasingly playlisted, personalized, and autoplayed.

Building on her years of wide-ranging reporting on streaming, music journalist Liz Pelly details the consequences of the Spotify model by examining both sides of what the company calls its two-sided marketplace: the listeners who pay with their dollars and data, and the musicians who provide the material powering it all. The music business is notoriously opaque, but here Pelly lifts the veil on major stories like streaming services filling popular playlists with low-cost stock music and the rise of new payola-like practices.

For all of the inequities exacerbated by streaming, Pelly also finds hope in chronicling the artist-led fight for better models, pointing toward what must be done collectively to revalue music and create sustainable systems. A timely exploration of a company that has become synonymous with music, Mood Machine will change the way you think about and listen to music”.

It made me think about my experiences with Spotify and what it means to me. I have been using it for years and compiled over 1,300 playlists on it. I tend to get a lot of music from it and often listen to specially ‘curated’ playlists. Their Daily Mix selections and genre-specific playlists. There are drawbacks to them. Before getting to my thoughts, Liz Pelly’s book was investigated by The Guardian:

“In November and December last year, Spotify’s chief executive, Daniel Ek, sold 420,000 shares in the music streaming company, earning himself $199.7m (£160m). One wild rumour that circulated on social media suggested Ek’s eagerness to divest himself of stock in the company he founded was linked to the imminent publication of Liz Pelly’s book Mood Machine, as if Ek feared the revelations contained within it would adversely affect the share price. That was obviously a fanciful notion. Ek started cashing out Spotify shares in July 2023, and has continued doing so into 2025. At the time of his last transaction, a month after Pelly’s book was published in the US, Spotify’s share price was at an all-time high.

And yet, you can see how people who had a preview of Mood Machine’s contents might get that idea into their head. It may be the most depressing and enraging book about music published this year, a thoroughly convincing argument that Spotify’s success has had a disastrous effect on pop music. Pelly also alleges a catalogue of alarming corporate behaviour, indicative of a company that, one former employee suggests, has “completely lost its moral centre”.

The question is whether it ever had one to start with. The favoured origin story around Spotify’s founding involves Ek, a Swedish tech millionaire and “music nerd”, electing to save the industry from the scourge of online piracy by providing an alternative: an all-you-can-eat buffet of music on demand for a small monthly fee. Pelly suggests this is basically tripe. Ek’s speciality was in selling online advertising: his big idea was that some kind of streaming service would be a good way to do it. In its initial iteration, Spotify wasn’t even specifically intended as a music provider: the concept was to stream movies, until Ek and his co-founders realised that the size of the digital files involved was prohibitive. The picture that emerges is not of a munificent fan but a very different and familiar archetype: the guy who’s good with computers and neither understands, nor places any value on art.

The more beige your sound, the more likely it was to find a place on a Spotify playlist and earn some cash. 

Certainly, Spotify seems to have gone out of its way to denude musicians of earnings. Major labels were paid enormous advances to license their catalogues to the service, with no obligation to share any of the money with the people who had actually made the music. Spotify’s system of royalty payments is both byzantine and patently unfair. Artists aren’t paid simply by the number of streams their songs achieve, but by the percentage of total streams they account for in each country: not for your work, but how well your work is doing compared with that of a handful of megastars. One of Pelly’s interviewees calls it “forced consolidation”: not everyone who makes music wants to compete with Ed Sheeran, but this is a world in which you’re automatically obliged to do so. If you’re willing to forgo a further percentage of your earnings, then there’s Spotify Discovery, which adjusts the app’s much-vaunted algorithm to promote artists who accept a reduced royalty rate.

Meanwhile, in the early 2010s, the company shifted its focus from “music enthusiasts” to what it calls “lean-back consumers”, effectively the kind of people who would once have turned the radio on in the morning and left it burbling in the background all day. The purpose of the playlists it designed to target them – “chill vibes”, “mellow morning”, “mood-booster” – was, and is, to provide unobtrusive background noise or, as Pelly suggests, a latter-day equivalent to muzak: nothing striking, unusual, out-of-the-ordinary, or indeed any of the things one might reasonably want music to be. The message that quickly filtered through to artists was that the more beige your sound, the more likely it was to find a place on a Spotify playlist and earn some cash. Hence the rise of a homogeneous genre dubbed “Spotifycore”, which you’ve doubtless heard even if the term seems unfamiliar. It’s a bit ambient, a bit electronic, a bit folky, a bit indie, a nonspecific wish-wash possessed only of a vague wistfulness, the sonic equivalent of a CBD gummy: music “for any place, for anyone”, as one producer put it, that ends up being “music for no place, for no one”.

PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

It is interesting how Spotify affects how we experience music. Whether it is beneficial and expands horizons or it is very much recycling what we listen to without leading us in new ways. I have a very love-hate relationship with Spotify. I want to move to another article from The Guardian and the experiences of two of its writers:

“Laura Snapes, deputy music editor I was set the task of not listening to Spotify for a week, but Alexis, your task was much worse: only listening to Spotify-created playlists, and the songs it suggested to you based on your listening history. How did that go?

Alexis Petridis, chief rock and pop critic One day in the car I just listened to nothing instead of facing it again. When it plays me songs I like, it’s not what I want to hear at that moment. That’s not to say the music it was recommending wasn’t good. One morning it played Schizophrenia by Sonic Youth. I love that song but I didn’t want to hear it then. It played me Billie Holiday’s Riffin’ the Scotch followed by My Bloody Valentine, which clearly demonstrates the great breadth of my music taste – but just because I like it all doesn’t mean I want to hear it all together. I didn’t like that it was untouched by human hands. I always think that the amazing thing about a record collection is that it doesn’t make sense to anybody other than you. And yet when it’s presented like that, I find it really jarring and difficult – it’s all over the place.

LS The algorithm is straining to find the data points that connect all those things, to close the net and make it coherent when it’s not.

AP The first one I tried had an AI DJ that kept saying “Ga-lax-ie 500”, which sounds like a laxative. I wonder how much of this is to do with my age and these things not having always been in my life, but I find it inherently creepy, both the AI voice and the narrow recommendations based on your own taste. I read enough science fiction in my teens to know that this is very much the thin edge of the wedge – one minute it’s all matey “would you like to listen to Galaxie 500?”, the next humanity’s enslaved, living underground mining uranium for a robot. There are generated playlists that are meant to be generically adjacent to the time of day you listen to it: “Wednesday Shoegaze.” Why? Then you have “70s rock hippie afternoon”, featuring a lot of music that isn’t from the 1970s. There’s I Am Waiting by the Rolling Stones, which is from 1965. Expecting to Fly by Buffalo Springfield is from 1967. Eight Miles High by the Byrds is from 1966. How do you generally use Spotify?

IN THIS PHOTO: Laura Snapes and Alexis Petridis try giving up/living with Spotify/PHOTO CREDIT: Jill Mead/The Guardian 

LS I have mp3s of anything I care about. I pay for Spotify but I try to spend as much or more on Bandcamp or whatever every month, like carbon-offsetting. To some degree, you and I need to have Spotify, like a film critic needs Netflix. But also, artists don’t earn anything from me playing their mp3s; if I stream music I already own on Spotify, they’re at least getting fractions of a penny and the listener data they need to operate in that ecosystem. And I don’t have to listen to ads. How about you?

AP Ordinarily my listening isn’t centred on Spotify. I use YouTube more for work. I listen to a lot of physical records. Did you listen to a lot of different stuff as a result of not using Spotify for a week?

LS Sort of. I subscribe to a lot of music newsletters and inevitably open 20 Bandcamp links a week and shut 15 without listening to them, because there’s only so much time. But this week I went through most of them and really loved an album by a Swedish composer called Hugo Randulv. I generally only use Spotify as a discovery tool to listen to albums I’ve never heard before that I’ve seen recommended elsewhere or to play old favourites out and about. The only time I cheated was when I ran out of fun music mid-run and put Doechii’s last mixtape on, but I bought it when I got home. I never use their playlists. I stopped checking my Discover Weekly because it often recommends things that would be logical for me to like, but I’ve already decided that I don’t. But that doesn’t compute with their algorithmic concept that one of these things is just like the other.

AP That’s the thing – however good the algorithm is, there’s something about human taste that it can’t quite replicate. Let’s look at my “made for you”. I never usually browse this. Here’s my “reggae mix” … featuring folk legends Shirley and Dolly Collins.

LS Wow. With playlists like “70s hippie afternoon”, it’s like their made-up Spotify Wrapped “genres”, where they’re named a) to mimic the language of memes, and b) as a reduction of music down to “vibes”, stripping away historical context. This might be getting a bit Adbusters, but I think the temporal playlists are also about syncing with consumer habits. Your “get ready with me” playlist, a “main character energy” walk to Starbucks. And the “coffee shop” vibe is so prevailing, it’s ended up dictating the types of music that get signed: you get more pop-ready, front-facing songwriters such as Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker on indie labels – they’re obviously great but they’re also products that work well in that ecosystem”.

I relying on Spotify a lot when it comes to my journalism. Whether it is embedding an entire album or compiling playlists, I use it all of the time. It is invaluable for easy access to a wide range of music. I do really like how you can go in and be treated to so much music for very little money. I do feel guilty about the low rates artists are paid! How much most will earn from streaming. However, when we think about the way people consume music now, is Spotify and other streaming platforms beneficial at all? That thing about artists sounding the same or trying to fit into a particular vibe so they are included on Spotify playlists. Homogenisation to an extent. For me, one of the biggest issues is the suggested mixes and playlists. Very samey. I find it harder and harder to push beyond that. Maybe lazily letting Spotify dictate my listening. I do appreciate some of the songs suggested but, when it comes to music, it is better if I am connected with artists and albums that I do not listen to a lot. You get caught in this cycle of listening to the same thing! Genre-specific playlists sometimes random and really pulling together songs I am familiar with. The best moments happen when I stray away from suggested playlists and mixes and connect with something unexpected. In terms of discovering new artists, it is harder and harder to make those rare finds. Bigger artists get promoted and there are very few opportunities to find artists that are new. Spotify always keen to feed back to me things I have heard. This thought that this is what I want. I want to go beyond the comfort zone and be a bit bolder! Radio discovery relies on you listening to the right station at the right station. Streaming services like Spotify aren’t really set up that way. At least it doesn’t seem like they are. How Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist talks about Spotify telling us what to hear rather it being a listener-led discovery. How smaller musician-run platforms might be the way forward. From mood playlists and genre mixes to these daily playlists that seem restricted and narrow, there does need to be a change – or a better alternative. We all have our own relationship with Spotify, though I am a bit conflicted. I recognise its issues and numerous limitations. However, I do use Spotify constantly and could not produce as much as I do without it. Liz Pelly, in her book, asks what we can do collectively to revalue music and its worth. Producing a more sustainable and better economy and model. For musicians and music lovers alike, this is a book that…

EVERYONE needs to read.

FEATURE: A Massive Noise: Kate Bush’s The Dreaming and Starting Anew

FEATURE:

 

 

A Massive Noise

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982

Kate Bush’s The Dreaming and Starting Anew

__________

ONE of the greatest…

turning points and most notable points of Kate Bush’s career was when she started work on The Dreaming. I am focusing on this album again as there are aspects of it that I have not covered in detail before. I am going to be dipping back into the pages once more of Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush. In terms of the most notable element of The Dreaming, I think I have discussed its percussion before. The sheer noise and volume of the album. If you think of Kate Bush’s first two albums, The Kick Inside and Lionheart, it was very much with the piano at the front. Perhaps informed more by her upbringing and early love of the piano, it was only natural that this would be what enforced those 1978 albums. Of course, there were a range of instruments and vocal element in the mix. However, this was very much the sound of Kate Bush passionate, tender, bold, pioneering an unlike any female artist around. If the sound palette is pinks, blues and reds – I have brought in colours to describe her sound – then, as mentioned previously, things changed for 1980’s Never for Ever. Retaining some of the more ethereal and tender moments of the first two albums, there was a range of new sounds available from the Fairlight CMI. Some darker greens and blues. Still a lighter and more accessible album, there was a dramatic shift and introduction of blacks, browns and greys for The Dreaming. That does seem like it is a downbeat and haunting album. However, that indicates an artist – and producer – who was pushing away from her earliest sound and keen to think ahead and embrace something more modern.

Because of that, many critics did not know what to make of The Dreaming. Released in 1982, volume and depth is what defines the album. More political in places, it is a denser album. New influences very much helped to enforce and mould The Dreaming. Roy Harper was one. Both were working in Abbey Road Studio 2 when Bush was making Never for Ever. Harper popped in to add backing vocals to Breathing. Bush featured on You (The Game Part II). Pink Floyd were also major influences. Peter Gabriel was the most significant factor when it comes to The Dreaming’s experimentation and percussion. They first came into professional contact when Gabriel appeared on the bill for a Bill Duffield tribute show during Kate Bush The Tour of Life. Bush appeared on a couple of Peter Gabriel songs and she very much had an affection for what he did. I think the percussion on The Dreaming was a turning point. I have mentioned this before. Hugh Padgham was pivotal.  An exceptional engineer, he was responsible for creating the ‘gated’ drum effect at Townhouse’s ‘stone room’ studio during his work with Steve Lillywhite. That effect of the “thunderous rhythm cannoning off the stone walls followed by an almost immediate, uneasy silence was the sound Bush craved”. She admired watching Peter Gabriel in the studio and the guts it took, Rather than relying on the limitations of a drum kit,  she wanted something more tribal and raw. No sizzle of the cymbal or hi-hat. In terms of kit at Townhouse, there was the Solid State Logic (SSL) 4000 B console, which “integrated a studio computer system with an in-line audio console”. There was a SSL B desk. It had so many compressors and gates. All of this was new to Kate Bush. However, when you think about the sound of The Dreaming and even the seeds of Hounds of Love (1985), you can trace it back to her witnessing what was happening at Townhouse and how the percussive sound there was utilised by Peter Gabriel.

There is sophistication and real range on The Dreaming. However, it is the sense of explosion throughout. Jump scares and this tribal sound. A sense of fear and anxiety. The pulsating tribal drums of Sat in Your Lap. Something more dense and frightening on Pull Out the Pin and The Dreaming. The sheer howl and energy of Get Out of My House. The pulverising and blast of percussion during Houdini’s chorus. There Goes as Tenner, All the Love and Night of the Swallow are perhaps the lightest tracks on The Dreaming. In terms of connecting with other instruments and dynamics. Not as reliant on percussion and this heaviness. This feature about The Dreaming goes track by track. Consider that they say about Sat in Your Lap and the percussion: “Within seconds, this song grabs your attention with a quick tempoed drum beat, rumbling and reverberated”. Pull Out the Pin: “Starting off, we are introduced to more natural drums and reedy melody transporting us somewhere completely different. Kate brings us to the jungles of Vietnam, now singing as a Vietnamese soldier fighting in the war”. Leave It Open: “Within the first minute, we hear loud sampled drums, Kate’s voice through a phaser and then through heavy delay”. The Dreaming: “We are introduced to a didgeridoo and heavy engulfing drumbeat. After a sudden BANG! Kate starts to sing in a prominent Australian accent”. Get Out of My House: “One of my favourite Kate songs of all time, it is a whirlwind marriage of an emotionally driven story and totally innovative music production. It wastes no time making itself known, a haunting descending tone and drums start busting in”. There is no doubt that Hounds of Love remains Kate Bush’s most ambitious, accomplished album. I think The Dreaming is her most intense and loudest one.

IN THIS PHOTO: Björk photographed for Le Monde/PHOTO CREDIT: Vidar Logi

I am surprised others have not written about this. How there was this marked shift from 1980 to 1982. Technology had a big part to play, though it was clear Kate Bush wanted to make music with more bite and thunder. Witnessing Peter Gabriel and Hugh Padgham create something new and special opened her eyes It was a real revelation. That sense of a massive noise. It is all over The Dreaming. It is present on Hounds of Love, though the sense of explosion and tribal energy used in a different way. The percussion sound of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Hounds of Love and even The Big Sky a little different. It was that move of direction towards percussion and a heavier sound on The Dreaming that impacted Bush’s scope and songwriting on Hounds of Love. The Dreaming remains unloved by some. Seen as too weird or on the fringes. A bit of a hard and heavy listen. Maybe if you were expecting her to repeat what she did on her first three albums. The biggest sonic evolution of her career, it was a necessary move. That sense of guts and bravery. Knowingly going in a less commercial direction in order to explore something fresh and more exciting. Knowing it could damage her career and lead to low sales – The Dreaming sold far fewer copies than The Kick Inside and Hounds of Love -, it was a moment that resounds to this day. Artists recording right now who very much took The Dreaming to heart. I think about Björk and many of her albums. You can hear her inspired by The Dreaming and what Kate Bush produced for that album. As I round off Kate Bush feature 999, I wanted to reflect on the role of percussion. Whilst there was some natural drums on The Dreaming, it is the way she harnessed the Fairlight CMI and also utilised acoustics and the studio space to create something more dramatic, unusual and impactful that stands out. This controlled chaos. Lunacy with heart. It is an amazing album that still sounds unlike anything else. When working with Peter Gabirel prior to her starting work on The Dreaming, maybe she did not think she could work in the same way and get the same sounds. A dream perhaps. However, this incredible pioneer and ambitious producer soon turned those dreams…

INTO reality.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Addison Rae

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Erika Kamano for CR Fashion Book

Addison Rae 

__________

I am…

PHOTO CREDIT: Inez and Vinoodh for Rolling Stone 

going to come to a couple of recent interviews with Addison Rae. A terrific young artist you should know about, many might know her best from TikTok. I am going to start with an interview from Vogue Business that broke down the “business of Addison Rae”: Someone who “has transformed from the realm of TikTok fame to bona fide pop stardom. We break down her It-girl impact for brands”:

“2024 was a big year for Addison Rae. She released her single ‘Diet Pepsi’ in August, almost a year after dropping her first EP. This was closely followed by ‘Aquamarine’, a poppy, sensual follow-up that solidified Rae’s new musical and aesthetic era. Both music videos were rife with high fashion references, from vintage pulls to fresh-off-the-runway pieces including SS25 Di Petsa and AW24 The Attico.

She’s come a long way since her late 2019 ascent to TikTok fame. Rae, who was studying at Louisiana State University at the time, was one of the app’s early success stories, rising to fame with quick-hit lip syncs and dances alongside influencers like Charli D’Amelio. As the pandemic hit and the world turned to TikTok, Rae reached the mainstream. In the years since, she’s shifted from all-American influencer to bona fide pop star.

It’s the right time for fashion to get on board. “Brands are now catching on because she knows the direction she is going in, as her two new singles embody the aesthetics she wants to put out to the world,” says fashion and culture writer Hunter Shires, who has written about — and spent time with — Rae. This year, Rae started working with stylist (and Interview fashion director) Dara Allen, who helped the star hone her sartorial messaging.

Brands are playing ball. Petra Collins sowed the seed in July when she tapped Rae to feature in the campaign for her Ssense-exclusive brand I’m Sorry. Rae sat on the floor in a silver bikini, smoking a cigarette she held between her toes with a tiara on her head. “She really is this collection,” Collins said of Rae at the time.

Now, luxury’s interest is piqued. In November, Saint Laurent featured Rae in the cast of its latest ‘As Time Goes By’ campaign, lensed by Nadia Lee Cohen, alongside stars including Chloë Sevigny and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Rae’s work with the likes of Collins and Cohen harken back to the Tumblr days. Even Rae’s website looks like a “niche, obscure” Tumblr blog, says Rukiat Ashawe, editorial executive at creative agency The Digital Fairy. “Addison has established herself as a ‘cool girl’ through experimenting with fashion, especially with the indie sleaze aesthetic,” she says. It’s timely in a year when indie sleaze returned to the fore and Brat summer captured the zeitgeist (Charli XCX is a friend and collaborator of Rae). Rae’s ability to bridge this messy-chic Tumblr with more ‘normcore’ style elements (thanks, in part, to her Louisiana roots and early TikTok dance fame) enables her to click with a wide audience, experts agree.

When she guest appeared at Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s Sweat tour concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden wearing Mirror Palais and New York designer Miss Claire Sullivan, people took note. “Many people who recognised the dress she wore reached out and were just as gagged as we were,” says Mirror Palais designer Marcelo Gaia.

Sullivan — of Miss Claire Sullivan — also dressed Rae for this year’s MTV VMAs, after stylist Allen reached out via Instagram DM, to much chatter online. Sullivan recalls an editor friend running up to her at a fellow designer’s presentation after the look went live to ask if she had designed Rae’s ceremony fit. “I sort of knew in that moment that it was going to blow up way more than I had anticipated,” she says. The look generated $927,000 in media impact value (or MIV, which calculates the monetary value of posts, article mentions and social media interactions) in the first week, per Launchmetrics — Rae’s highest weekly MIV to date.

“My phone was blowing up for two days,” says Sullivan, who also saw her followers jump. “I was steadily climbing already, but she put me over the 10,000 mark for sure,” she says. “The best bit was seeing people dress up as her in the look for Halloween.”

Clearly, Rae has the star power to generate followers — and sales. (Sullivan helms a custom couture house, but will make iterations if someone is inspired to buy it, she says.) It’s not just emerging and independent designers basking in Rae’s shine. She also does numbers for the luxury labels she dons. Her Thom Browne look at October’s CFDA Awards generated $875,000 in MIV, while her vintage Alberta Ferretti gown at the 2024 Academy Museum Gala generated $276,000, according to Launchmetrics. As Rae cements her place in pop stardom, these numbers are only set to climb.

Bridging aesthetics — and audiences

What Shires calls “normal-hot” is trending, which bodes well for Rae’s ascent. Normal-hot is the essence of a crush you would have in real life, he explains. And it’s a look that’s replicable; Rae is papped as often in Lululemon zip-ups and Alo shorts as she is in vintage designer pieces. “As normal-hot becomes a new infatuation, with Abercrombie and prep looks back on the runway, she couldn’t have come at a better time,” he says. “Addison delivers fashion looks that are aspirational to the normal girl.”

Rae’s ability to toe the line between normalcy and stardom is what hits. For designers, it makes her fun to work with. “She has this relatability but she still provides a fantasy,” Sullivan says. “I love that she’s so willing to just take it all the way there. That energy is my dream client to work with honestly.”

And for audiences, this level of relatability makes them feel like they can buy into the fantasy she toggles. It’s also refreshing, amid a sea of stars who often don’t look thrilled to be where they are. “There is a sense of genuine, childlike excitement and joy when she puts on these pieces and attends these events,” Shires says. “You can see her beaming every time she hits a carpet because she is actually happy to be there.”

Industry figures recognise this, too. In his interview with Vogue (alongside Rae), Mel Ottenberg (who creative directed Rae’s ‘Diet Pepsi’ music video) pulled out a tweet that he felt encapsulated the star’s ability to make the over-the-top relatable: “One way to tell if someone has joie de vivre is if they like Addison Rae.”

This balance makes Rae appealing to a wider audience, which is a win for brands. “With this range comes the ability to tap into multiple audiences, from the everyday suburban girl all the way to coverage from high fashion enthusiasts on X,” Shires says”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Erika Kamano

As a slight diversion, I am coming to this interview from CR Fashion Book. Speaking with legendary British make-up artist, Pat McGrath, Rae delved into creativity, beauty and a fearless boundary pushing. Addison Rae is very much this modern-day icon. I think she is going to reach the heights of mainstream artists like Charli xcx and Dua Lipa. Even if her music career is relatively new, there are signs to suggest she has a very long future ahead:

“In many ways, Addison Rae is America’s Sweetheart. She’s the girl next door with a wild side, she says. And a cigarette. “My vision was to lean into a world of rawness,” Rae recalls of her shoot for CR. “We got to play so much…when you have a team that is open and eager to make something worthwhile, you find inspiration everywhere.” For Makeup Artist Pat McGrath, there was no better source of inspiration than the subject, herself: “I wanted to capture Addison’s duality—her playfulness and her power.”

These defining characteristics come to life on, say, Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” remix. In a TikTok the musician shared, Rae is smiling, giggling, singing into the mic, when all of a sudden she lets out a high-pitched scream heard around the world. The only word that can sum it up: iconic. The moment set the tone for a very BRAT summer—the song spilling out of car stereos and New York City clubs, not to mention arenas—and signaled Rae’s second coming as a bonafide pop star.

Channeling the Old Hollywood glamour of Marilyn Monroe, as well as pop icons like Madonna, Britney Spears, and Lana Del Rey, Rae has carved out her own niche. In August 2024, she released “Diet Pepsi”, a nostalgic earworm about young love that’s steeped in Americana imagery; “Aquamarine,” and “High Fashion” followed. Each dreamy, pop hit and accompanying set of visuals is more camp, but more real than the last—making this girl next door one to watch. But we already knew that.

The world of music isn’t entirely new to Addison Rae. She rose to fame on TikTok in 2019—surpassing one million followers in the app’s early days; her viral dances allowing her to move from her home of Lafayette, Louisiana to Los Angeles, dropping out of college along the way—but Rae knew from a young age that she was meant for a bigger stage. She wanted to perform: act, sing, and dance. Over the last few years, she has stepped away from TikTok and into the studio. There’s a new Netflix film and an album on the way (her debut is set to release in 2025), but she’s doing things on her own terms—with a wink, a smile and a Cafe du Monde beignet.

Nearly three years on from their first meeting (spoiler alert: it was at the Met Gala!), Addison Rae sits down with Pat McGrath, who’s behind the singer’s “Aquamarine” beat and her CR photo shoot, to discuss their vision, the power of glam, and their guilty pleasures.

PHOTO CREDIT: Erika Kamano

CR: How do you use makeup to create a character?

AR: Glam is similar to fashion. Sometimes you put something on and it completely changes the way you feel. You can either follow it or take it where you want to.

PM: Makeup is storytelling. Every brushstroke helps bring a character to life, whether it’s the subtle flush of innocence, the bold edge of rebellion, or the ethereal glow of divinity. I always start by understanding the narrative—what the character feels, their essence—and then we use makeup to amplify that emotion. It’s about layering details, from the texture of the skin to the intensity of the eyes, to create a persona that captivates and resonates.

CR: What was your vision for the shoot you worked on together for this issue of CR?

AR: My vision was to lean into a world of rawness. We got to play with so much in this shoot. A lot of the poses we did on set were inspired by our fitting before we shot. Those photos are amazing too, because when you have a team that is open and eager to make something worthwhile, you find inspiration everywhere.

PM: For this shoot, I wanted to capture Addison’s duality—her playfulness and her power. We leaned into dramatic contrasts: Soft, luminous skin paired with bold, graphic eye looks, and lips that told their own story. The palette was inspired by modernity meeting timelessness—think Divine Skin Rose001 The Essence for a radiant base, Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation for that flawless finish, and dramatic touches with FetishEYES Mascara. Every detail celebrated Addison’s evolving presence in beauty and fashion.

PHOTO CREDIT: Erika Kamano

CR: What would people be surprised to know about you?

AR: I love engaging with people in real life as much as humanly possible.

PM: That I’m a technology buff—I’m fascinated by the latest science and technological innovations and how they influence the future of beauty.

CR: What would you like to achieve in your life/career that you have not yet?

AR: Hmm…It would be interesting to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame someday.

PM: Oh there is still so much for me to do. With Pat McGrath Labs, with looks, with collaborations. You haven’t seen it all from me yet!

CR: Who or what do you both look to for inspiration?

AR: Everywhere. If you’re open to it.

PM: Anyone and everything!

CR: What are your current obsessions?

AR: My new Barbie cowboy boots. Ice cream. Really dry martinis. Passion. My life.

PM: I’m such a gamer. I love Candy Crush!

CR: Do you have any vices or bad habits?

AR: Shopping. Finishing my drinks too fast.

PM: Late-night work sessions that turn into early-morning brainstorms—I can never fully switch off!

CR: What’s your guilty pleasure?

AR: Dessert.

PM: Doom scrolling for sure, I can’t help it”.

I am going to mov to a new interview with Rolling Stone. It is a long interview that I have edited, but I would advise people to read the entire thing if they can. It is a fascinating chat where provide these words: “She became a social-media superstar thanks to killer dance moves and an overflow of Southern charm. Can she reinvent herself as a pop supernova — and earn respect along the way?”:

“This weekend roughly marks her fifth anniversary in L.A. Around Thanksgiving 2019, Rae dropped out of Louisiana State University, where she was studying broadcast journalism, hoping to someday cover sports.

“I kind of thought that was my in to the entertainment industry, in a way that people wouldn’t look at me like, ‘Oh, please. You’re never going to be able to move to Hollywood,’” she explains.

The previous summer, Rae had downloaded a new app called TikTok. The short-form video platform had merged with popular lip-synch app Musical.ly in 2018, absorbing its young stars and fan base. Around that time, however, it was still a mélange of memes trying to find its footing somewhere between the irreverence of Vine and the personality-­fueled labor of YouTube.

For Rae, it was just another social media platform to try. She started making videos, often lip-synching to a song or some dialogue. One day, she posted a clip that, she says, got more than 50,000 likes: a sun-kissed Rae with long, beachy waves mouths along to a trending sound bite before a hand grabs her hair and pulls her offscreen. The gears that turn TikTok have always been opaque, but there was no question: The algorithm loved this cute girl with the cleft chin and the perpetual smile.

Rae stayed on top of every trending audio clip, but it was the viral dances that got her the most attention; TikTok was in need of its own homegrown stars, and the kids-next-door like Rae and her peers were the perfect representatives for a new generation’s ­burgeoning identity. She watched her follower count steadily climb. Soon, brands were clamoring for her to promote their products, from obscure fast-fashion sites to American Eagle and L’Oréal.

“Even though it was still at such a small scale, I think I was like, ‘This is how I’m going to be able to do what I’ve always wanted to do,’” she says.

College wasn’t really working out for Rae, anyway. Broadcast journalism wasn’t the fit she hoped it would be. (“All my prayers out to people who have to write papers on things that they don’t care about,” she says.) Plus, she had failed to make LSU’s Tiger Girls dance team, a lifelong dream for the girl who had been dancing competitively since she was six. “I had to really reassess my goals,” she says.

In October 2019, Rae broke 1 million followers on TikTok. She was starting to get recognized at football games and on campus, so with her family’s support, she left school and headed to Los Angeles with her mom. That December, Rae became a founding member of the Hype House, a now-defunct content-­creation collective. Alongside Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, Chase Hudson, and Thomas Petrou, she was part of a new Gen Z Brat Pack — everyone wanted to know who was dating or feuding or duetting who. Brands turned Rae and her peers into ambassadors of the new American dream, where anyone can become rich and famous with just their phone, good lighting, and the willingness to post as often as they can.

“I felt like I was dropped in the middle of The Truman Show,” Rae says. Her mom went back to Louisiana and left her 19-year-old to her own devices. “It was so different and weird and fun. I didn’t feel like I was curating anything. It felt very much like discovery.”

“[Meeting] Charli XCX was an obviously pivotal moment in my life,” Rae tells me. “She has been such a big sister and mentor for me.” After dropping “Obsessed,” Rae started taking more studio sessions with other writers and producers. Charli, who was recording 2022’s Crash at the time, was one of them. She remembers the “spark” she felt meeting Rae at a West Hollywood studio that day.

“She burst into the room in Ugg boots and hot pants after parking her pink Tesla in the driveway and exclaimed, ‘Boys are stupid!’ and then immediately was like, ‘Wait, we should write a song about that!’” Charli recalls. “I know that sounds simple and maybe silly to some people, but to me that was such a sign of instinct and fearlessness.”

Charli listened to some of Rae’s other songs, like “2 Die 4,” which Charli loved. Even though Rae was starting to assemble a dream team of collaborators, her debut project was eventually shelved. She focused on auditions, booking a role in Eli Roth’s slasher film Thanksgiving, and starred in a Snapchat reality show titled Addison Rae Goes Home, where she headed back to Louisiana to reconnect with her roots. In 2022, however, an act of fate occurred by way of an invasion of privacy: Rough versions of a group of songs she’d recorded leaked online.

“It felt so terrible,” she admits. She still doesn’t know how they were stolen. “I was really hurt.”

But something strange happened: Those rough demos began to go viral — and not just in an ephemeral TikTok kind of way. People began begging for Rae to release them. Charli was begging to be on them.

“Charli had texted me and was like, ‘I heard “2 Die 4” leaked. You know I love that song. Let me do a verse,’” Rae says.

Multiple critics called the songs “flawless,” while others compared her to Britney Spears. “I’m not super religious, but I am spiritual,” Rae says. “I think everything happened for a reason. Thank God the songs leaked.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Inez and Vinoodh for Rolling Stone

Even with the buzz, few record labels were clamoring to sign an influencer whose initial attempt at a music career flopped so spectacularly. “There were a lot of people that could not be less interested,” she admits.

Her saving grace was Columbia Records CEO Ron Perry, whom she knew through her boyfriend, Grammy-nominated producer Omer Fedi. They set up a meeting.

“I walked in with a binder, and I made a slideshow,” Rae says. The presentation was full of pictures and word clouds that she felt represented who she would be as a performer. “I just mood-boarded my vibes. I literally had no music to play him at that point, so it was about trust. Like, ‘Yes, I’m in the clouds, and I enjoy being there. But I’m also serious.’”

Perry was impressed and ended up signing Rae in late 2023. Around then, Charli reached out again, this time about the “Von Dutch” remix.

“‘You’re sitting in your dad’s basement while I’m chasing my dreams’ was just some silly note that I had written when I was on a plane,” Rae says, but she sent it to Charli, who encouraged her to put that in her verse.

“[Charli] respected me and my ideas,” Rae tells me. “It was the first time I really took the step on my own to be confident in the ideas I had and follow that. I owe that all to Charli.”

Rae started to do smaller sessions, usually just her and a producer, as a way of challenging herself to trust her instincts. She met songwriters Luka Kloser and Elvira Anderfjärd, who are signed to Max Martin’s publishing company, MxM Music, and had been cutting their teeth working with Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, respectively. They’re both around the same age as Rae and had been familiar with her; Kloser “knew everything about Hype House” and “absolutely stayed on top of all the drama during Covid,” Kloser says, though neither had any idea what Rae was looking to create musically. “We were both shocked [that] her taste leaned very left and underground at times,” Kloser adds.

Her childhood was rarely steady. Addison Rae Easterling was born in Lafayette, a city on the southern end of Louisiana, to makeup artist Sheri Nicole Easterling and real-estate manager Monty Lopez. Her parents, then unmarried, broke up shortly after Rae was born, though they would end up having two more kids, two ­weddings, and two divorces over the next 20 years.

Thanks to the marital ups-and-downs as well as her dad taking on new jobs, her family jumped around, which was hard but helped her become the type of person who can adapt easily. “Moving schools a million times, I had to just keep making new friends,” she says. “If I get thrown into a scenario, I can figure it out pretty quickly.” Having grown up in a Catholic family and community, Rae attended multiple private, religious schools. A move to Houston marked the first time she attended public school, an overwhelming shift. Before she started high school, they moved again, this time to Shreveport.

Along the way, Rae began dancing less and less, but it was an early dance studio that planted the idea of pop stardom in her head. She credits both her teachers and her mom’s MTV obsession with introducing her to the music that shaped her: Madonna and Michael Jackson videos; Lady Gaga’s debut album, The Fame; and fellow Louisiana native Britney Spears, who gave Rae hope that she could make it out of the bayou, too. “I remember being like, ‘Whoa, music is everything,’” she recalls.

In 2020, when Lopez and Easterling moved with their sons, ages six and 12 at the time, to L.A., Rae’s TikTok presence was often a family affair. Lopez and Easterling danced alongside her, building their own followings on the app. “When social media opportunities were being brought to me, all I wanted to do was help people that I love and care about,” Rae says. “It made sense for me to keep my family involved. I think I was scared and I was alone. It was a lot to adjust to, and I had lived with my parents all my life, so it felt like the right thing to do at the moment.”

After a couple of years, the family dynamic began to fall apart. By 2022, Lopez and Easterling’s marriage was publicly crumbling, with tabloids and TikTok investigators piecing together clues from their posts for salacious stories, often involving other low-level influencers. Their second divorce was confirmed that November.

At the time, Rae was silent about the drama, aside from unfollowing both her mom and dad. Eventually, her parents reached a better place, but the situation left a fracture. “I feel a lot of guilt for what my family experienced, and responsibility,” she says, about having pulled them into the fold of her fame. “I think it’s just unfortunate that it was exposed like it was.”

She began seeing a therapist and says her relationship with her parents is “always a work in progress.” (While she still hasn’t refollowed her dad on Instagram, she follows her mom again.) Easterling, Lopez, and Rae’s brothers moved back to Lafayette in 2023. Easterling remarried last year and has ­massively pulled back on her own social media presence. Lopez remains active on TikTok.

“Everybody just wants to survive. Can’t blame them,” Rae adds. “I can only take responsibility for the things that I chose.”

Rae still believes in love. In fact, she loves love. “The Libra in me is a hopeless romantic,” she says. When I ask if she’s still dating Fedi, she confirms in a shy, quiet voice. Even though their three-year romance hasn’t been totally private (red-carpet appearances, social media posts, cozy pap shots), she says it’s the one topic that’s off limits.

“I’m very guarded when it comes to relationships, because my first public relationship taught me a lot about myself,” she says. In 2020, she began dating fellow creator Bryce Hall; they shared much of their courtship with their massive followings all over social media, dancing together, making vlogs.

“I think he cheated on me,” Rae says matter-of-factly. “He says he didn’t.”

When the relationship ended, Rae didn’t talk much about it; Hall, however, did. He repeatedly denied the cheating accusations. “That was a shit show,” she says. “He was very vocal about everything, and it was a mess.”

She’s less angry now. “I believe there’s good in everyone, so I like to think there’s a good part of him,” she says. Hall has since become a celebrity boxer and one of the leading Gen Z MAGA bros. “We were really young,” Rae says.

PHOTO CREDIT: Inez and Vinoodh for Rolling Stone

Rae doesn’t like to dwell on these memories; she’s not big on sadness, especially in her work. “I really struggle with being like, ‘All right, time to be sad and have just a guitar on the song,’” she says. “I applaud people that can do that. Sitting with your emotions in stillness is difficult.… I would actually be surprised if one day I write a really sad song, because I just can’t even imagine.”

Rae has maintained several close relationships with some very famous friends. She pulls out a deck of cards Aubrey Plaza gave her while they were shooting the upcoming comedy Animal Friends last spring. Plaza and Dan Levy were the only cast members on location in Bulgaria before Rae joined them. While Plaza was pretty unfamiliar with Rae’s career, Levy knew her from an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians Rae appeared in back in 2021, when she was close with Kourtney Kardashian. (On the status of their friendship, Rae says, “She got married and has a baby now.… I’ve lived a few lives.”)

Levy and Plaza immediately hit it off with Rae. “The amazing thing about Addison is that where most people’s ego is, she just has creativity and curiosity,” Levy says. “That is such a rare quality in a person, especially somebody with her social media standing.”

The trio would play poker on set, eventually graduating to Bulgarian casinos. “Was she good? She got better,” Levy jokes. But her allure got her far. “She happened to sit by a professional poker player who was charmed by her and said, ‘Let’s put our money together, and I’ll make you a fortune.’” Rae walked out with over $1,000. Levy left empty-handed.

Rae played her demos for her new friends on set too, and they watched together as the accolades for “Diet Pepsi” rolled in. “I was like, ‘There’s my baby girl blowing up,’” Plaza says. “You could just tell she has a star quality.”

Charli XCX has called Rae “a fucking genius,” and Rosalía echoes similar sentiments: “She’s the absolute project manager of her work and has a very clear vision of what she’s creating. Her choreographies seem so beautiful to me. I love how she brings the 2000s American pop star back to these days.”

No matter how much one adores fame, it can still be prickly. As Rae navigates her way into her new, post-social media era, she’s fascinated by how people cling to whatever idea they have of her, like she’s incapable of being edgy or cool or even weird or progressive. The replies on almost every post of hers still claim she’s racist and MAGA, largely from undeveloped political views she held as a preteen raised in a conservative environment, as well as a maybe-too-polite interaction with President Donald Trump a few years ago. (Her first and only political endorsement came in 2024, for Kamala Harris.) Rae is still growing and learning about herself and the world around her, even if people can’t see it that way.

“People have decided who I am,” she says. She’s savored every curveball she’s been able to throw, though. She loves watching the surprise on people’s faces when they hear her music or see her daring red-carpet looks. But she still doesn’t mind leaning into the all-American side of herself. “I’ll be your girl next door,” Rae says, “but maybe there’s a wild side to the girl next door.”

Rae may seem unbothered, but she’s still logged on. She knows everything she does starts a conversation, for better or worse. She sees the rumors and the questions and the misunderstandings. At the very least, she no longer worries that her career can persist in spite of it. She knows it can.

In the following weeks, news will spread that TikTok could be banned in the U.S. President Biden had signed legislation that would block the distribution of the app if parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it by Jan. 19. (The app would eventually shut down for 14 hours before President-elect Trump vowed to give the company an extension to find a buyer; its future remains unclear.)

As we talk, it seems that just as a new chapter begins, Rae’s most pivotal one may be closing for good. “That’s that full moon for me,” she says. “TikTok definitely gave me a lot of things, so it would be really sad to [see it] go, but hopefully the things that I create and put out surpass that platform.”

But there’s no need to dwell on the past. Her plans for the future are only as big as she can imagine: more movies, more songs, not to mention maybe playing her first headlining shows. All she can hope is that everything she does next will make people feel free and get them to dance  — and that she’ll continue to change minds along the way.

“But I won’t beg for it,” she says. “I’ll work for it”.

It is going to be very an interesting rest of 2025 for Addison Rae. Her new single, Headphones On, is one of her best. I would advise people to follow Rae, as she is an artist who has an accessible Pop sound yet one that she very much makes her own. Northern Transmissions went inside Rae’s Headphones On:

“With her string of artsy, showstopping singles, it’s hard to believe Addison Rae was ever just a TikTok star. Her music taste has always been deeper than it appears (perhaps something more esoteric was going on behind her many “I love music” tweets), and her debut run has involved or referenced Madonna, Arca, and now with the trippy, calm “Headphones On”, Björk.

Though her lyricism remains on the simpler side, “Headphones On” is probably her clearest viewpoint; manifestation and affirmations as a lifestyle. “I know the lows are what make the highs higher,” she sings, like something out of a reframing workbook, “Life’s no fun through clear waters.” It’s surprisingly striking (and real) for someone previously relegated to backseat fun.

“Headphones On” shares quite a lot of DNA with Björk, first sharing a name with 1995’s “Headphones”, also about burrowing into music. But its sweeping strings and music video locale — Iceland — are pure “Jóga”, Björk’s volcanic tribute to difficult friendship. But unlike the emotional heaviness of “Jóga”, Rae takes adversity in stride. “Guess I gotta accept the pain,” she sings as an affecting bell toll begins each chorus, about something as turbulent as her parents’ relationship or as (seemingly) frivolous as a new it girl. “You just have to surrender to the moment,” she reasons, which is quite a mature viewpoint to have.

If anything, “Headphones On” and “Aquamarine” are on the transparent side, imitating their inspirations too acutely. Mixed in with the futurepop of “Diet Pepsi” and “High Fashion”, it seems like she’s straddling two worlds. Emulating 90s artsy trip hop or vocal trance is certainly welcome, just a little out of focus; the references serve more to say what Rae likes rather than who she is. And though her production team (Luka Kloser and ELVIRA) do most of the heavy lifting, Rae feels more at home with each new release, padding her discography with an abundance of references. They’re creating a world for her; it’s up to us to put the headphones on”.

I am fairly new to Addison Rae’s music but I a compelled to follow her. There are so many sides to her. A truly fascinating talent who I hope plays in the U.K. a lot, her adoring fansbase is rising. Make sure you follow this incredible artist. With a string of brilliant singles under her belt, I am sure that we will see a debut album come…

VERY soon.

_____________

Folow Addison Rae

Official:

https://www.addisonrae.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/addisonraee/

TikTok:

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

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gvjmrtzydbMpyJaXUtwvP?si=PBbLgG2PTB64LuOr0UECnQ

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsjVdwXJydmlSLVT2zDuwpQ

FEATURE: You Do Something to Me: Paul Weller’s Stanley Road at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

You Do Something to Me

Paul Weller’s Stanley Road at Thirty

__________

RELEASED on…

PHOTO CREDIT: Lawrence Watson

15th May, 1995, Stanley Road is considered to be one of Paul Weller’s best albums. I wanted to look ahead to its thirtieth anniversary. A number one album in the U.K., it spawned huge singles such as You Do Something to Me, Out of the Sinking and The Changingman. I will come to some reviews and assessments of this classic album. One that arrived in the U.K. when Britpop was taking shape and heating up. This sort of stood outside of that. To start, in 2005, Paul Weller spoke with Independent ten years after Stanley Road was released. An album that, in his view, made him hip and cool again. It coincided with an aexpanded re-release of the album:

“Initially I wanted to call the album Shit or Bust, because that's how I felt about it. I put everything into it, emotionally and physically. It was the culmination of my solo career to date. I knew it was special. We had a playback and I could sense the excitement among the people listening to it.

Initially I wanted to call the album Shit or Bust, because that's how I felt about it. I put everything into it, emotionally and physically. It was the culmination of my solo career to date. I knew it was special. We had a playback and I could sense the excitement among the people listening to it.

We settled on the title Stanley Road because it seemed to suit the mood of the album best. I was looking back on my life, on my roots, where I'd come from, where I'd got to on the journey, and Stanley Road is the place where I grew up as a child. The house isn't standing any more but the tiny zebra crossing nearby is, and I did debate recreating The Beatles' Abbey Road sleeve artwork for the cover but the idea got vetoed.

It was a funny time for me. My second solo album, 1993's Wild Wood, had gained commercial and critical success, the first time since The Style Council's Our Favourite Shop. I was back in the press's good books. Blur and Oasis were citing me as an influence, which was great. Their younger fans were discovering my work, backtracking and hearing The Jam for the first time. I have a great friendship with Noel [Gallagher], and it was the first time that I felt an affinity with my contemporaries, something I hadn't with my so-called peers in the Eighties. I was aware, however, that I was a good 10 or 12 years older than most of them, so I was conscious of not being one of the old fellas trying to muck in with the kids.

At the same time I was going through a lot of different feelings and trials. I had split with my wife Dee [C Lee] a year before. I was feeling tremendous guilt about splitting the family up, and worried about my relationship with my kids. I was doing a lot of drugs, staying out all night. So on the one hand I was having a whale of a time and a second youth, and on the other I was coming back in the morning and asking, "where's my life heading?". Stanley Road was a way for me to vent a lot of those things, turn them into something positive. On a personal level it was a fucking nightmare, but artistically it was a very exciting time.

We were very buoyant when we entered the studio. A lot of the material had been written up front. There had been a good year-and-a-half of playing on the road in between Wild Wood and the making of Stanley Road so I'd written at home, on the tour bus, in hotel rooms, wherever I could snatch the time, and we had a chance to play a lot of the songs in on the road.

We returned to The Manor, in Shipton-on-Cherwell, near Oxford, where we had recorded Wild Wood. It's a magical place, one of the last of the old-school residential studios where you could make it your own and go a bit barmy and be indulgent, just get on with the music. It also helped because we recorded everything live; that way you know immediately what you've got when you play it back, and this is the album where we got everything right.

On Stanley Road, I threw everything into "Porcelain Gods", everything I felt at the time. I was questioning my life, questioning fame. I remember playing that song to a friend and she said she found it hard to listen to because of its foreboding menace. I was trying to write an English blues song in a sense and give it that swamp, voodoo, dark edge.

I loved Dr John's Gris-Gris LP and thought his "Walk On Gilded Splinters" followed on thematically with its own sense of paranoia. I'd first heard the song when I was a kid in 1973, a version by Humble Pie. Noel plays acoustic guitar on my take. He came down to the studio to hear what we'd been working on and while he was there he just grabbed his guitar and joined in. He says he first met me when he was the roadie with the Inspiral Carpets at an airport in Tokyo. He said I was off my nut which is probably why I can't remember. I returned the favour, playing guitar on "Champagne Supernova" on Oasis's (What's The Story) Morning Glory and we guested on The White Room TV programme. It was strange, I'd been in the wilderness, had the press ignoring me, and all of a sudden I was being touted as hip and trendy again. I found it quite amusing.

Stevie Winwood played keyboards on "Woodcutters Son" and piano on "Pink on White Walls". We called his manager and asked if he'd like to do it. I had read somewhere that Jim Capaldi (Steve Winwood's partner in Traffic) had liked Wild Wood and phoned Steve, telling him to check the album out because he'd like it. That gave us a way in. He was great; very humble, modest, quiet, and an immense talent. I was a real trainspotter fan, asking him about all his Traffic recordings. I'd ask who played bass on this track and he was like, "I did", so I'd say well who played lead guitar here, and it would be him again. He seemed to do most of it.

It was also the first of my albums to feature guitarist Steve Cradock on most of the tracks. He joined the live band at that point and is still in my band today, although he did go off with Ocean Colour Scene for a while. When Steve was 16 he came down to our studio at the time. He was a massive Jam fan and was in a dodgy mod band and he gave me his tape to hear. He was like a stalker. We had to chase him off in the end because he was a pain in the arse. I didn't see him again until Ocean Colour Scene came down to record their debut LP in our studio and I thought, I recognise you from somewhere.

"Wings Of Speed" is an amazing song. I said at the time that Carleen Anderson's voice on it is the nearest I'll get to hearing angels sing. It's heavenly. She sang one verse free-form and we put it down. Then she did another take, then another, and she wouldn't play them back so we put them all together, weaved them in and out of each other. The song is about how I feel when I look at John Waterhouse's painting, The Lady of Shalott. The lines "With Jesus at the helm" and "one candle left to light the way" refer directly to the painting. I love Waterhouse's paintings, the drama in them, and I was trying to capture that in music.

After the Abbey Road sleeve idea was scrapped we got in Peter Blake to design the cover. I was overawed at first and it took a while for us to communicate properly and for me to get across exactly what I wanted. I didn't like his first draft so I did a sketch of how I thought it should look. I gave it to him nervously. He was really nice and we finally got it right. He asked me to bring along objects and photos that meant a lot to me. We settled on using my Small Faces' Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane figurines and pictures of Aretha Franklin, John Lennon and George Best - I was into football when I was a kid.

I still play songs from Stanley Road in my live set. You can never get bored playing tunes like "You Do Something To Me" or "The Changingman" because as soon as you strike them up you get lifted by the energy of the crowd, there's a real surge.

Stanley Road was one of those perfect moments when everything slotted into place naturally. It was a dream. I don't think of the album as being 10 years old. I guess if an album is good enough, it doesn't age. It remains fresh. That's Stanley Road”.

Before getting to some reviews of Stanley Road, MOJO ranked Paul Weller’s studio albums. They placed Stanley Road in fourth position. An album that I think has aged very well and still sounds amazing to this day:

“Stanley Road’s million-selling success was no doubt bolstered by the prevailing Britpop landscape in which bands who had grown up with pictures of The Jam stuck to their bedroom walls were now shaping the cultural zeitgeist, but stripped of its context, the album still remains one of the strongest collection of songs Paul Weller has ever put out. From the ELO-cribbing The Changingman, Porcelain Gods’ mystic ruminations and his take on Dr John’s voodoo spell I Walk On Guilded Splinters to You Do Something To Me, Out Of The Sinking and Broken Stones, these are songs that defined him as a solo artist and saw him conclusively stepping out of the long shadow of his past. Ironically, Stanley Road's triumph in turn became an act he would struggle to follow”.

Retrospective reviews of Stanley Road have been a lot more positive than some of the contemporary reviews. Maybe those expecting something similar to his work with The Jam. Feeling Stanley Road was a weak effort or betrayed his roots. In 1995, with Britpop and other genres taking hold, many saw Paul Weller as out of step. This is what NME wrote in 1995:

“Here he is, then, the modern Paul Weller. A man no longer hung up on dictating what is hip and new, a man content to just boogie-woogie if needs be. A man whose agonisingly narrow-minded musical tastes are given current credibility because they tally with the likes of Noel Gallagher, the epitome of Weller's old "we're brilliant and everything else is shit" attitude, and Bobby Gilliespie, both of whom sit so loyally and with such reverence at Weller's table. Weller, by virtue of his nominated living legend status, no longer needs to feign an interest in what's modern. He can simply do what he feels most comfortable with: dopey introspection and no frills, wicker-chair rock.

So no-one should be surprised that 'Stanley Road' is a doggedly retro and straight ahead record. He signalled his easy-noodling, pastoral rockin' intentions with last year's 'Wildwood', and 'Stanley Road' takes those ideas to conclusions that are divided almost equally by the faintly exhilarating and the harmlessly soporific. He's made an old fart rockin' blues record with just enough edge to keep you tuned, but that's more to do with the man than the music. Recently, he's been tagged as a British Neil Young, but 'Stanley Road' strays too far into MOR too often for the comparison to still stick and, in terms of songwriting, he's still far off 'Harvest' or 'After The Goldrush' - the period he no doubt associates most strongly with. 'Time Passes', for example, is obviously influenced in both mood and style by Young's 'Helpless', but by its close has slipped into a smoothie Clapton guitar solo - although it doesn't don its white flares as noticeably or as uncomfortably as on the ringer for 'Wonderful Tonight' that is 'You Do Something To Me'. Nurse, please change Mr Weller's prescription!

But to balance these embarrassing indulgences (and you can only assume it's through unhappy accident and not choice that he's apeing 'God') are a handful of songs with the verve, energy and anxiety of classic Weller.

The album's title track boasts both the album's most arresting lyric and tune, like 'Moondance' but with Van Morrison's optimism twisted into something brimming with bittersweet nostalgia for youthful innocence, while 'Whirlpools's End' is the only time the Neil Young likeness is appreciatively apparent - but mainly because Weller's band do such a faithful impersonation of Crazy Horse.

Would Young, however, let lines like "On the streets where lovers once walked/Side by side in idle talk/Bullets fall like unholy rain"? Perhaps not, but Weller always had a way with crass, sweeping political statements and elsewhere he appears to be developing an understated, affecting lyrical style that's in direct contrast to this and much of his earlier work. He seems more honest and at ease with the words he chooses nowadays.

Elsewhere on the balance sheet we get the positive deposits of a soul ballad ('60s soul, natch) called 'Broken Stones' - a distant and healthy cousin of The Jam's 'Ghosts' - as well as his last two well-crafted singles: the churning, darkly introspective 'The Changingman' and the bright, vaguely optimistic 'Out Of The Sinking'. Unfortunately, his thinking does not remain as sharp throughout...

Particularly muddled is the decision to cover Dr John's brilliant, genre-busting 'Walk On Gilded Splinters'. The original is an unholy cauldron of voodoo, cajun b

6/10”.

Before finishing with a positive review, Our Sound Music looked at two albums that were released on 15th May, 1995. It was Paul Weller’s Stanley Road and Salad’s Drink Me. Even though some pitted this as a Britpop battle – at a time when Oasis and Blur were battling it out -, the fact is that Stanley Road is not a Britpop album. Maybe that was a big reason why it did not get the love it deserved when it came out:

“The fifteenth of May 1995 provides a wonderful case study for this theory.

It’s a big Britpop anniversary day…”Yes” by McAlmont & Butler which is the second best single of  the era (number one is, obviously, “Disappointed” by the Flamingoes), the dizzy thrills of  Supergrass and their debut album “I Should Coco”, were both celebrate their birthdays on this  day for starters.

But the real “battle of Britpop” (not the one that made it onto the news) also took place on this  day.

In the blue corner was Paul Weller’s “Stanley Road”, and in the red corner “Drink Me” by Salad.

“Stanley Road” is a masterclass in classic songwriting. It may be the best work of Weller’s solo  career…although my preference is always for “Wild Wood”. The artwork from the legendary Peter  Blake is iconic, with nods to Weller’s childhood, Mod iconography, and pop art. There are guest  appearances from the likes of Steve Winwood and Noel Gallagher. The production from Brendan  Lynch, and Weller himself, is warm and clean. It is difficult not to doff your cap to what Weller  achieved here… but it is difficult to argue with Ted Kessler (NME) who said at the time of the album's release, that it was an “old fart rockin’ blues record”.

Weller’s disciples can dismiss that as sour grapes, or of the NME being “out to get” Weller if they  like…but it is true that this was an album that could easily have been released by several other  rockers including the likes of Noel Gallagher or, as Kessler suggested, Eric Clapton.

It’s a classic rock album from a classic rock musician.

The angry young man of The Jam, the Modernist of The Style Council, the folk singer of “Wild  Wood”, was dead and in his place was a new, mature, songwriter.

I like “Stanley Road”…and compared to what would follow it, it is a masterpiece…but it isn’t a  Britpop record”.

I am going to finish with a review from Penny Black Music. Even though Stanley Road has been praised since its release and it sort of balanced out some of the mixed reviews in 1995, I hope the thirtieth anniversary on 15th May sees new writing about a wonderful album. It is a remarkable work from Paul Weller:

“It’s always difficult when a local boy makes good. When someone you used to see playing the local working mens' club is suddenly all over the music weeklies and being hailed as the latest music wonder kid it takes some getting used to. Growing up in Woking myself it’s been difficult at times to grasp just how well known Paul Weller is now. Not only does his music turn up on home-grown soaps like 'Eastenders' it can also be heard in teenage American series. Weller is, for the most part, still highly regarded in the music press and few are the articles on mod/soul/punk where he isn’t asked his opinion like he is some kind of authority on the subject. The Small Faces, The Who, obscure soul acts, ask Weller, he’ll have something worth saying seems to be the consensus. I spent most of 1977 in Denmark and it was something of a surprise when picking up the latest but week old copy of 'Melody Maker' I saw Weller’s familiar face peering out from the pages. Even more of a surprise was to read that his band's debut single 'In The City' had made the U.K. charts. Sadly the only way then to listen to the Radio One chart was to drive down to a beach where reception was fine on the car radio. Sitting there and hearing that rush of Who inspired guitar before hearing the passion and venom in Weller’s vocals for the first time is something that has stayed with me throughout the years. Hanging about with or even confessing to knowing someone who is three or four years younger than yourself is simply not cool from the time you start your teens until the time you finish them but there were few teenagers in Woking who had not heard of Weller or knew who he was even in a school as large as (or so it seemed at the time) Sheerwater County Secondary. So it was a shock that this kid whose mother quizzed us about scooters in the local newsagent's was suddenly a mod and had actually made a record. And one that almost blew everything else out of the water that spring to boot. So, it was into Copenhagen I went , feeling not just a little patriotic to hand over my kroners for a 7” picture sleeve copy of 'In The City', but also hoping that there was a lot more of the same to come.

Unfortunately, if I had listened to the following three singles and first two albums before I had bought them I would have to admit that I wouldn’t have parted with my cash. There were good songs that still stand up; ‘Away From The Numbers’ is a case in point but I was beginning to think that the Woking wonder was going to have to get a proper job like the rest of us anyway. To be honest if it wasn’t for the geographical connection I wouldn’t have bothered to listen to his next album. What a mistake that would have been for as we all know now, The Jam then went on to produce not just a run of classic singles from 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' right through to 'Beat Surrender' but their third album 'All Mod Cons' was the beginning of a clutch of excellent albums too. And by not putting 'Strange Town', 'When You’re Young', 'Going Underground 'and the rest on albums Weller truly seemed to a pop star who actually cared about his record buying public. There were no rip offs.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lawrence Watson

The albums and singles were always packaged with care and thought. Who else would give us 7” double packs like 'Going Underground' and 'Beat Surrender' ? Then all of a sudden it was over. Weller split The Jam. In hindsight of course he did the right thing although at the time it seemed like the craziest thing he could have done. The Jam never got to be embarassing, never got diminishing record sales. He quit while on top; a brave, not a stupid move. Weller’s next band The Style Council again made some great singles and arguably at least one classic album in 'Our Favourite Shop' but it seemed Weller was never again going to reach the creative heights of The Jam. Had it not been for the faithful following The Jam had so rightly built up would The Style Council have been so successful in the beginning? I doubt it. But still we stayed with him. Even those of us who really couldn’t take all the ‘Modfather’ hype seriously. The first signs that Weller hadn’t totally lost it were in the ‘Into Tomorrow’ single, a slow burner for sure but the signs were there and his first self-titled solo album which showed a more mature but no less passionate Weller. Looking back on this first solo album now it’s obvious that the seeds of Weller’s finest solo album 'Stanley Road' were scattered throughout those songs. In hindsight it’s no surprise that the best of those songs were also inspired by Weller’s childhood spent in Woking.

'Uh-Huh-Oh Yeh!' and 'Amongst Butterflies' obviously find Weller searching for answers back in the place he grew up. When the pastoral ‘Wildwood’ was released the following year not only had Weller found another new direction, it actually sounded like a natural progression from his first solo album. It was obvious that his solo debut was no fluke. Weller had found his muse again and had started writing good old-fashioned tunes once more. After all, have you ever sung along to anything from The Style Council's ‘Cost Of Loving’ or ‘Confessions Of A Pop Group’? It’s now a staggering 10 years since Weller’s third solo album, ‘Stanley Road’ which has now been given the anniversary treatment and been expanded over two CDs and a DVD. Of all Weller’s solo albums this is the one that deserves that special attention being as it is, even in Weller’s mind, the best album he has made (apart of course from the one he is working on as usual). Returning to Woking for inspiration and revisiting his old childhood haunts in the local woods like the Indian cemetery and the canal running through Woking spurred Weller on to make the highlight of his solo career. Given an unfairly harsh review in NME (a rating of 6/10) Weller proved them all wrong when the album was warmly received by those that matter; the record buying public who hoisted the album up the charts.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lawrence Watson

Finally it didn’t matter what haircut Weller was wearing that week nor what he was dressed in. He was writing bloody good songs again and where ‘Paul Weller’ and ‘Wildwood’ had more than their fair share of excellent songs, ‘Stanley Road’ had 12 of them. Not only was the Weller of old back again on ‘The Changing Man’ with all that energy and passion recalling his Jam days, his lyrics were once again outstanding. Letting us all in on how it felt at times to be Weller the rock star that song and ‘Porcelain Gods’ rank among the best Weller has ever written, the former showing just how far his writing had matured. More subdued maybe but all the better and more effecting for that. The one cover song on the album, Dr. John’s ‘Walk On Gilded Splinters’. was also unfairly slated in that NME review. Weller rightly took a different approach to the song and to these ears it’s probably Weller’s best cover version and not "wimpy" like the NME reckoned. So the voodoo and Cajun blues elements were played down from the original, but maybe Ted Kessler who wrote the review thought Woking on a Friday night was like New Orleans. What would be the point of Weller trying to just make a straight forward cover of the song ? His version sounds like a Weller original and is a vital part of the album as a whole. It doesn’t sound out of place and that’s just how it should be. In a way Weller came of age with ‘Stanley Road’. The ballads/ love songs on the album show a maturity Weller had only touched on before. ‘

PHOTO CREDIT: Lawrence Watson

Time Passes’ a heartbreaking song of lost love ranks among Weller’s best, his vocals finally revealing the more soulful sound he’d been surely searching for since his Jam days (probably due more to an intake of nicotine and too many late nights than any training but still resulting in the desired effect) and his guitar playing once more confirming Weller to be one of the best of his generation. Up there with ‘Time Passes’ is the closing track, ‘Wings Of Speed’. Again turning in one of the best vocals of his career and with Carleen Anderson’s vocals adding a gospel feel, Weller ends the album with a song as strong as the first one. ‘Stanley Road’ was a creative peak for Weller. Forget the extras on the new CD package. The DVD is, of course, worth seeing for any fan of the man’s work but the original 12 tracks really don’t need any extras added to them. The album is a joy to listen to from start to finish and still stands up 10 years down the line. Dust it off and give it a listen ! Only a fool would write Weller off just yet ! He may not again turn out an album where all 12 songs stand up a decade later but as long as he can continue to write songs of the calibre of say ‘Peacock Suit’ Weller proves that out of all those that first made their mark in 1977 he’s more or less alone in still delivering the goods and holding onto his integrity and beliefs”.

On 15th May, Stanley Road turns thirty. Maybe not considered a classic in 1995, it definitely is now. An influential album that sits with the very best of Paul Weller, go and play it now if you have not heard it in a while. This gem from The Modfather stands alongside…

THE best of the 1990s.