FEATURE: Your Truth Hurts: Why Lizzo’s Experiences of Being Body-Shamed Are Particularly Unsettling

FEATURE:

 

 

Your Truth Hurts

PHOTO CREDIT: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Why Lizzo’s Experiences of Being Body-Shamed Are Particularly Unsettling

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ONE of music’s queens…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Isha Shah

the incredible Lizzo (Melissa Viviane Jefferson) was born in Detroit, Michigan. She moved to Houston, Texas, with her family when she was ten years old. After college she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she began her recording music. Someone who has released some truly wonderful albums, her most recent, Special, was came out last year (to huge critical acclaim and commercial success). She is a human who should receive only love and respect! Unfortunately, like many women in the industry, she has been subjected to body-shaming. Many women experience this particularly horrible and upsetting form of bullying and toxicity. Whether it is a nasty comment or shot at their figure or a particular aspect of their body, it is degrading, upsetting, horrible and unnecessary. In all case, it is complete lies. I have seen videos and posts of Lizzo performing, and the comments underneath feature people commenting on her weight. Making vile remarks about her body and size. It is appalling and troubling that there are these amazing people in music on the brink of quitting because of the trolling and bullying they receive! A form of abuse and discrimination, Lizzo has reacted to the insults and sizeist comments she has seen. This NME article explains more:

“Lizzo has addressed the body shaming and online bullying she receives on social media, saying that she’s close to quitting music.

The pop singer took to Twitter to address a video of her tribute to Tina Turner that was posted by YouTuber Layah Heilpern in which she commented about Lizzo’s weight and diet. Lizzo quote tweeted the video and replied: “I just logged on the app and this is the type of shit I see about me.”

“It’s really starting to make me hate the world,” she continued. “I’m tired of explaining myself all the time and I just wanna get on this app w/out seeing my name in some bullshit.” She also said that all the talk of her weight made her feel like quitting her music career.

Other commenters were quick to weigh in on the criticism, with one person saying that the size of her body is her brand. In response to this comment, the four-time Grammy winner wrote: “I’m not trying to be fat. I’m not trying to be smaller. I’m literally just trying to live and be healthy.”

She continued: “”This is what my body looks like even when I’m eating super clean and working out! Y’all speak on shit y’all know NOTHING ABOUT, and I’m starting to get heated.

One of her fial tweets about the situation read: “The Love definitely do not outweigh the Hate on social media … all because I’m fat? This is CRAZY.” Lizzo has since made her Twitter account private.

The singer also took to TikTok to share a video of her going for her “bad bitch walk” while listening to Beyonce‘s album ‘Renaissance’, explaining that she had a really bad day where she was “very angry at the world” over “mean shit” about her online.

She reiterated that “there are days when the hate outweighs the love so badly” that she wants to “quit music and just disappear”. She added: “I definitely have enough money to go and buy a farm and just never fuck with anybody again.”

Lizzo explained that lyrics from Beyonce’s album helped her decide to “get up, get out and get some sun” as an escape.

In other news, Lizzo is set to play this year’s Glastonbury festival on Saturday, June 24 on the Pyramid stage. She is also set to play this year’s Mad Cool Festival on July 6. NME named her as one of the must-see acts at Mad Cool”.

Lizzo is not alone in this, sadly. Many other women have had to deal with this sort of thing. Whether it is people (mainly men) commenting about their weight and being very nasty, or there are lurid and sexual comments about their bodies. Any form of abuse is horrible, but the fact that one of the music world’s most inspiring and talented people is considering quitting should give everyone pause for thought. Social media sites near to crack down on the fact that these sort of vile and nasty comments are getting through. I know you cannot mediate and moderate everything that comes in, but there needs to be filters where this sort of toxicity is filtered out – and those responsible for committing this kind of hate should be banned! I know that Lizzo will continue and storm the stage, but she shouldn’t have to be at a point where she is so upset and horrified that it would be easier to quit! There has been body-shaming and fatphobia in the music industry for years and, as we speak, Lizzo has locked her Twitter account so that she does not have to read the responses she gets. Someone so adored and giving to her fans, it would be a huge tragedy if the music world lost her! Women face so many challenges and hurdles in the industry. They should not have to deal with online bullies and trolls who are commenting on their bodies!

Comments about her size will no doubt impact her confidence and esteem. She is a very desirable and sexy woman, but this notion that every woman has to be thin to be seen as sexy and desirable is something that needs to be dispelled and eradicated. Lizzo is a compelling and wonderful live performer! That is where the focus needs to be! If people are watching videos of her perform and focusing on her weight, that is something that needs to stop. I am not sure what will happen now, and whether Lizzo – who has faced body-shaming since started her career – will keep going. Let’s hope she does! She is one of many women who have to read and hear people body-shame them. The beautiful and inspiring Lizzo is very much needed in music. I think more light should be shed on fatphobia and body-shaming. It is a hugely intrusive and disgusting discrimination that is going to see many women (I know it also affects male and non-binary artists) quit the industry or scale back their live performances. At a time when we should be supporting and elevating incredible women in the industry, there is a small group of people who feel it necessary to leave despicable comments about Lizzo. It should be down to social media sites to better police and monitor this. Every Lizzo fan out there (me included) very much hopes that the mighty queen gets back on stage, puts out her amazing albums and…

KEEP going strong.

FEATURE: Step Back in Time: The Huge Success of Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam, and Why TikTok and Social Media Proved Pivotal

FEATURE:

 

 

Step Back in Time

The Huge Success of Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam, and Why TikTok and Social Media Proved Pivotal

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EARLIER this week…

PHOTO CREDIT: Erik Melvin

there was something published in the press that made me think. Even though some have called Padam Padam, a comeback single from Kylie Minogue, it really isn’t! She released the album, DISCO, in 2020. Tension (which will be stylised in uppercase) is out on 22nd September. Padam Padam is the opening track from the eleven-track album. It has done sterling business on the charts, and it was a remarkable feat. Kylie Minogue is one of the greatest artists ever but, this far into her career, the fact she is still scoring big chart hits is testament to her talent, appeal, the way she can adapt ands adopt any sound, in addition to the fact new people are discovering her music! It goes to show that you can never keep an icon down. Minogue posted videos thanking her fans for Padam Padam’s success. As she gears up to releasing her sixteenth studio album, there must be a lot of excitement in her camp. I am sure we will get at least one more single before the album release. The explosion around Padam Padam is really pleasing. One of Minogue’s best songs in years, it must rank high in terms of her all-time best. The juggernaut success of the song is both surprising and not at all. Before I go on, The Guardian reported on the news and acclaim around Padam Padam. They also noted how social media, and platforms like TikTok, have helped the song gain extra success and listens:

“It’s been hailed as Kylie Minogue’s “comeback” single and has generated countless memes and dance videos on social media.

Yet when it was first released earlier this month, Padam Padam was not played on youth stations such as BBC Radio 1 and Capital FM because it was originally targeted at older audiences.

Now, thanks in part to the song’s popularity on platforms including TikTok and Twitter, Minogue has found a new generation of fans.

The track has topped the UK Big Top 40 and reached No 26 on the official singles chart – becoming the biggest-selling single of the week and Minogue’s highest-charting single since 2014’s Into the Blue.

The song has also earned Minogue her first Top 40 hit in Australia in more than a decade, and she is set to enter the US pop charts for the first time in more than 20 years.

“My heart is bursting with joy,” the singer said in an Instagram post on her 55th birthday last weekend. “I just wanted to say thank you, thank you so, so much for all the birthday messages and the Padam reaction and the love.

“It has been an incredible week topped off by being my birthday today and I can’t thank you enough.”

Inspired by Edith Piaf’s 1951 song of the same name, Padam Padam is a reference to the sound of the human heartbeat, and has spread like wildfire thanks to its infectious nature and brevity (it clocks in at 2 mins, 46 seconds).

In another video with her new Big Top 40 award, which is based on Apple Music data and plays on Global Radio stations including Capital and Heart, Minogue said: “I can’t believe I am holding this … Another wild turn in my life and career.”

Minogue performed Padam Padam last week during the final of the American Idol TV talent contest. It is the first single from her new album, Tension, which is due for release in September. Minogue will embark on her biggest tour in five years in 2024, with arena concerts across the UK.

The former Neighbours actor, who has amassed 2.5 million followers on Instagram, said she was grateful for the impact the web has had in revitalising her music career – which has had seven UK No 1s, including I Should Be So Lucky, Spinning Around and Can’t Get You Out of My Head.

“It’s been a little tricky trying to navigate and to understand it,” she said. “Now I think it’s amazing and I do wonder what it would have been like if it had started with my career.

“I feel like I have one foot in the old world and one foot in the new. I do marvel at people who are really good at it. I do my best, but I have guarded my private life so you don’t see me on Instagram posting whatever.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue)

The chart analyst and historian James Masterton said: “What makes the success of Padam Padam significant is that it is genuinely Kylie’s first hit single of the streaming era, her first since paid purchases ceased to be a mass market product seven or eight years ago. She has bridged a generation gap with a hit record that is reaching out both to her loyal (and ageing) acolytes but also a new generation of music fans.”

According to Masterton, a career revival at Minogue’s age isn’t unheard of – with Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield having career revivals in the 1980s and 90s. Most of the tributes to Tina Turner last week focused on her “second” career – she was in her mid-40s when she recorded What’s Love Got to Do With It, while Cher was 52 when she recorded Believe.

“What helped the Kylie single blow up was indeed TikTok,” Masterton said. “Over the past three years it has become one of the most vitally important platforms for breaking and discovering hit singles. And that’s bypassing all the traditional media routes.

“You cannot rely on radio to make a hit any more; it has to have online appeal. That’s not something that is easy to engineer either, but producers do their best by making it possible for hooks or even fragments of songs to be broken down for 20-second soundbites.”

He pointed to the “fascinating shift” in the way pop music is being embraced by a new generation. “Nobody styles themselves a TikTok ‘consumer’. Everyone is a ‘creator’ and can use pop songs as part of that self-expression. We are now judging the success of pop songs by the number of people who actively engage with them rather than just passively sit back and listen,” he said”.

There are a few things around the song’s success I wanted to bring up. Minogue is still posting about how thankful she is to her fans. Padam Padam is high in the charts, and it has made it clear that quality is quality! An artist like Kylie Minogue is as relevant now as ever. She is always evolving, so you can never define or write her off. It is a bit depressing that a station like BBC Radio 1 did not feature the song. Maybe a couple of years ago, Capital or Magic would not play Minogue (they have this time), through a sense that her age (she is fifty-five now) is seen as past their demographic. Stations that mainly features much younger artists have included Minogue on their playlists – and, in the process, opened up questions around radio playlists. I think that it is good that these stations featured Padam Padam. I hope that this continues and they put Minogue’s future music on their playlists! I am not sure why BBC Radio 1 did not playlist Kylie Minogue, though there is this thing with ageism. Affecting female artists more, are they afraid that an artist in her fifties is too old for their audience?! It seems amazing that age should even be an issue, but I think that the reason some female artists have missed out on a playlist inclusion comes down to their age. At the moment, they have artists like Beyoncé and Shania Twain on their playlist (though the latter is there as a featured artist). There are so many incredible women who are over forty that would be perfect for the BBC Radio 1 playlists. They just get ignored. Even artists like Rita Ora, who is in her thirties, might struggle to get airplay there soon. The station can say it is down to relevance and the quality of the music. It hard to argue that anymore. There is ageism there. The fact that Padam Padam seems like a song designed to be played on BBC Radio 1 shows that the station are not listening to songs like Padam Padam. Instead, they know Kylie Minogue is in her fifties, and they instantly push her aside – seeing as she gets played on BBC Radio 2, that is where her music belongs now! That said, the station did make her Record of the Week - and, in turn, Minogue offered her thanks.

In spite of that snub, Padam Padam has put the spotlight back on one of the world’s great artists and loveliest humans. I cannot wait for the album. It makes me think that artists who are seen as too old for some radio stations are actually succeeding because of social media. The quality of Padam Padam speaks for itself, yet there was this incredible promotion and backing from social media that meant people were discovering the song that way. How relevant are radio playlists compared with social media today?! It is tragic that incredible legends like Minogue don’t have support from stations who should be playing her music. The fact that so many young listeners were talking about the song on TikTok and Twitter shows that age is irrelevant. Minogue is at the peak of her powers right now, and she is clearly speaking to all ages! Maybe TikTok has been criticised for breeding a type of artist that sounds very samey and uninspired. That is another debate. Though I think that the platform is brilliant when it comes to getting music out there people might otherwise miss. Prior to the release of Padam Padam, I was seeing so much buzz generated on Twitter. The song preview and news around it was blowing up! TikTok videos and reactions have compelled people to stream the song. As I type this (1st June), Padam Padam has nearly seven million streams! The video has been seen well over three millions times. In such a short space of time (the song came out a couple of weeks ago), this instantly catchy and fresh song has given an icon new acclaim. One of the queens of music, Padam Padam reached twenty-six in the U.K. It reached two on the Australian Artist Chart (ARIA), and it got some wicked reaction from the press! Here is just a small selection of the wonderful reception to one of the song of 2023:

“Writing for Stereogum, Tom Breihan described "Padam Padam" as "a sleek, thumping, catchy-as-hell dance-pop jam", adding that "Kylie knows exactly how to deliver a song like that". Describing it as "infectious", Retropop Magazine also called the song "a punchy electronic extravaganza that promises to be 'in your head all weekend'", citing a lyric from the song. Hollie Geraghty from NME called out its "thumping earworm refrain". Similarly, writing for Stereoboard, Jon Stickler said "the catchy pop banger" has a "an infectious chorus". Mary Varvaris of The Music highlighted the song's "fresh and vibrant dance sound". She wrote that the song "sounds completely 2023 while still remaining unmistakably Kylie".

Kylie Minogue had this sort of revival and renaissance in 2000 when she released Light Years. Prior to that, some had written her off. That album – and 2001’s Fever – was seen as a comeback. Her reinventing herself and hitting a peak. Those albums are among her very best, as they sound so contemporary and cool. Minogue is completely in control of every song, and her phenomenal performances make them albums that will be remembered years from now! Padam Padam and Tension will have a similar legacy. You can never predict what she is going to do next! Always changing and keeping her music fresh and different, it is exciting to think where she will head on the album after Tension. I think it is magnificent that we have platforms like TikTok, as Padam Padam might have struggled a little to get traction because of some radio stations (BBC Radio 6 Music included) who should have featured her song but did not. The debate around ageism against female artists comes back to the fore, but I shall expand on it another day. Social media is crucial when it comes to ensuring terrific artists like Kylie Minogue get the credit and commercial success that they deserve. Radio, when it becomes selective around age and perceived relevance, risks making some songs and artists marginalised and obsolete. Padam Padam was always going to strike people hard, but its chart success is largely down to the buzz from social media. Such a busy and successful last couple of weeks or so for Kylie Minogue, she will be looking ahead to the second single (will it be Tension, Green Light, or another track?) and the release of Tension in September. An inspiration and role model for so many people around the world, Padam Padam has confirmed her place in the history books! The success and positive reviews for the track just goes to show how much love…

IS out there for her.

FEATURE: I Am the Flawless: The Beatles’ Sublime Revolution 9: Taking It Inside No. 9

FEATURE:

 

 

I Am the Flawless

The Beatles’ Sublime Revolution 9: Taking It Inside No. 9

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THERE are reasons why…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Inside No. 9’s creators and stars, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton

I wanted to shine a spotlight on perhaps The Beatles’ most obscure track. Quite divisive, the fantastic and head-spinning Revolution 9 appeared on their eponymous double album. More commonly known as ‘The White Album’, Revolution 9 is one of the band’s tracks not to feature Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Driven by George Harrison but largely compiled and arranged by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, it is staggering that The Beatles were producing an Avant-Garde and extra-terrestrial piece of music like this just over five years since their debut album came out! A radical departure from anything they had done before, it is a song that still divides fans and critics. I love it, as it is almost like art rather than music. Kind of an audio immersive experience or installation, the Beatles Bible had further details about this incredible song:

“Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 30 May; 6, 10, 11, 20, 21 June 1968
Producers: George Martin, John Lennon
Engineer: Geoff Emerick

Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)

Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)

John Lennon: vocals, tape loops, effects, samples
George Harrison: vocals, samples
Yoko Ono: vocals, effects, samples

Dividing audiences since late 1968, John Lennon’s sound collage ‘Revolution 9’ was an exercise in musique concrète influenced heavily by Yoko Ono and the avant-garde art world.

The recording emerged from ‘Revolution 1’, the final six minutes of which formed a lengthy, mostly instrumental jam. Lennon took the recording and added a range of vocals, tape loops and sound effects, creating ‘Revolution 9′, the longest track released during The Beatles’ career.

The slow version of ‘Revolution’ on the album went on and on and on and I took the fade-out part, which is what they sometimes do with disco records now, and just layered all this stuff over it. It was the basic rhythm of the original ‘Revolution’ going on with some 20 loops we put on, things from the archives of EMI.

John Lennon
All We Are Saying, David Sheff

Although he made no direct contribution to ‘Revolution 9’, being in New York at the time, Paul McCartney had led work on a similar sound collage, the unreleased 14-minute ‘Carnival Of Light’, 18 months previously.

‘Revolution 9’ was quite similar to some stuff I’d been doing myself for fun. I didn’t think that mine was suitable for release, but John always encouraged me.

Paul McCartney
Anthology

The other Beatles and George Martin are said to have persuaded Lennon not to include ‘Revolution 9’ on the White Album, to no avail. Although McCartney had long been interested in musique concrète, particularly Karlheinz Stockhausen’s ‘Gesang der Jünglinge’, it is likely that he was concerned at the effect ‘Revolution 9’ would have on the group’s public perception.

I don’t know what influence ‘Revolution 9’ had on the teenybopper fans, but most of them didn’t dig it. So what am I supposed to do?

John Lennon, 1969
Anthology

It wasn’t only the group’s teenage fans who were confused by ‘Revolution 9’. Charles Manson found a wealth of symbolism in the track’s loops and effects, and thought that Lennon’s shouts of ‘Right!’ were, in fact, a call to ‘rise’ up in revolt.

Manson drew a parallel between ‘Revolution 9’ and the Bible’s book of Revelation. He thought The Beatles were variously four angels sent to kill a third of mankind, or four locusts mentioned in Revelation 9, which he equated with beetles.

‘Revolution 9’ was an unconscious picture of what I actually think will happen when it happens; just like a drawing of a revolution. All the thing was made with loops. I had about 30 loops going, fed them onto one basic track. I was getting classical tapes, going upstairs and chopping them up, making it backwards and things like that, to get the sound effects. One thing was an engineer’s testing voice saying, ‘This is EMI test series number nine’. I just cut up whatever he said and I’d number nine it. Nine turned out to be my birthday and my lucky number and everything. I didn’t realise it: it was just so funny the voice saying, ‘number nine’; it was like a joke, bringing number nine into it all the time, that’s all it was.

John Lennon
Rolling Stone, 1970

‘Revolution 9’ also featured in the ‘Paul is dead’ myth, after it was discovered that the ‘number nine’ motif, when played backwards, sounded like ‘Turn me on, dead man’. A number of other elements of the recording featured in the myth, including the sound of a car crashing followed by an explosion”.

I have been thinking about Revolution 9, as it was recorded fifty-five years. Spread over a number of days, you wonder how the track started life. I can only imagine what it was like in the studio hearing this come together – and the reaction people had when they first heard it! Before moving onto the incredible T.V. series, Inside No. 9, there is a bit more background to Revolution 9 that we need to know about:

“Album sequencing and release

During compilation and sequencing of the master tape for the album The Beatles, two unrelated segments were included between the previous song ("Cry Baby Cry") and "Revolution 9". The first was a fragment of a song based on the line "Can you take me back", an improvisation sung by McCartney that was recorded between takes of "I Will". The second was a bit of conversation from the studio control room where Alistair Taylor asked Martin for forgiveness for not bringing him a bottle of claret, and then calling him a "cheeky bitch".

"Revolution 9" was released as the penultimate track on side four of the double LP. With no gaps in the sequence from "Cry Baby Cry" to "Revolution 9", the point of track division has varied among different reissues of the album. Some versions place the conversation at the end of "Cry Baby Cry", resulting in a length of 8:13 for "Revolution 9", while others start "Revolution 9" with the conversation, for a track length of 8:22. Later CD and digital releases have the conversation at the beginning of "Revolution 9".

Reception

... compare Lennon's work with Luigi Nono's similar Non Consumiamo Marx (1969) to see how much more aesthetically and politically acute Lennon was than most of the vaunted avant-garde composers of the time ... Nono's piece entirely lacks the pop-bred sense of texture and proportion manifested in "Revolution 9".

– Ian MacDonald

 "Revolution 9" is an embarrassment that stands like a black hole at the end of the White Album, sucking up whatever energy and interest remain after the preceding ninety minutes of music. It is a track that neither invites nor rewards close attention ...

– Jonathan Gould

The unusual nature of "Revolution 9" engendered a wide range of opinions. Lewisohn summarised the public reaction upon its release as "most listeners loathing it outright, the dedicated fans trying to understand it". Music critics Robert Christgau and John Piccarella called it "an anti-masterpiece" and commented that, in effect, "for eight minutes of an album officially titled The Beatles, there were no Beatles." In their respective reviews of the White Album, Alan Walsh of Melody Maker called the track "noisy, boring and meaningless", while the NME's Alan Smith derided it as "a pretentious piece of old codswallop ... a piece of idiot immaturity and a blotch on their own unquestioned talent as well as the album". Jann Wenner was more complimentary, writing in Rolling Stone that "Revolution 9" was "beautifully organized" and had more political impact than "Revolution 1". Ian MacDonald remarked that "Revolution 9" evoked the era's revolutionary disruptions and their repercussions, and thus was culturally "one of the most significant acts the Beatles ever perpetrated", as well as "the world's most widely distributed avant-garde artifact".

Among more recent reviews, Rob Sheffield wrote in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide that it was "justly maligned", but "more fun than 'Honey Pie' or 'Yer Blues'". Mark Richardson of Pitchfork commented that "the biggest pop band in the world exposed millions of fans to a really great and certainly frightening piece of avant-garde art." David Quantick, writing in 2002, similarly described it as being "after nearly a quarter of a century, [still] the most radical and innovative track ever to bring a rock record to its climax". He added that, given the Beatles' popularity ensured that an avant-garde recording was found in millions of homes around the world: "No one in the history of recorded music has ever been so successful in introducing such extreme music to so many people, most of whom, admittedly, will try their best never to hear 'Revolution 9.' Those who do listen to it usually find that it not only rewards repeated playing ... but that it also knocks other tracks on the White Album into a cocked hat.

 Edward Sharp-Paul of FasterLouder wrote that "'Revolution #9' is the sound of an illusion shattering: Yes, the Beatles are human, and sometimes they drop almighty turds." The track was voted the worst Beatles song in one of the first such polls, conducted in 1971 by WPLJ and The Village Voice. Writing for Mojo in 2003, Mark Paytress said that "Revolution 9" remained "the most unpopular piece of music the Beatles ever made", yet it was also their "most extraordinary [recording]".

Lennon said he was "painting in sound a picture of revolution", but he had mistakenly made it "anti-revolution". In his analysis of the song, MacDonald doubted that Lennon conceptualised the piece as representing a revolution in the usual sense, but rather as "a sensory attack on the citadel of the intellect: a revolution in the head" aimed at each listener. MacDonald also noted that the structure suggests a "half-awake, channel-hopping" mental state, with underlying themes of consciousness and quality of awareness. Others have described the piece as Lennon's attempt at turning "nightmare imagery" into sound, and as "an autobiographical soundscape". The loop of "number nine" featured in the recording fuelled the legend of Paul McCartney's death after it was reported that it sounded like "turn me on, dead man" when played backwards.

In an interview held at his home on 2 December 1968, Lennon was asked if "Revolution 9" was about death, because it seemed like that to the interviewer. Lennon answered: "Well then it is, then, when you heard it ... listen to it another day. In the sun. Outside. And see if it's about death then." He went on: "It's not specifically about anything. It's a set of sounds, like walking down the street is a set of sounds. And I just captured a moment of time, and put it on disc, and it's about that ... It was maybe to do with the sounds of a revolution ... so that's the vague story behind it. But apart from that, it's just a set of sounds.”

Based on interviews and testimony, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi asserted that Charles Manson believed that many songs on the album The Beatles contained references confirming his prediction of an impending apocalyptic race war, a scenario dubbed "Helter Skelter". According to Gregg Jakobson, Manson mentioned "Revolution 9" more often than any of the other album tracks, and he interpreted it as a parallel of Chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation. Manson viewed the piece as a portrayal in sound of the coming black-white revolution. He misheard Lennon's distorted screams of "Right!" within "Revolution 9" as a command to "Rise!” Speaking to music journalist David Dalton before his trial, Manson drew parallels between the animal noises that close Harrison's White Album track "Piggies" and a similar sound, followed by machine-gun fire, that appears in "Revolution 9".

If you can get hold of a copy of David Quantick’s 2002 book, Revolution: The Making of "The Beatles - White Album then I would recommend you do, as he goes into detail about Revolution 9 (in addition to the whole of The Beatles). He also appeared on I am the EggPod in two-part chat, spending some real time explaining why he loves Revolution 9.

 IMAGE CREDIT: The Guardian

I wanted to use the second half of this feature as almost like a speculative treatment for Inside No. 9. The series (written by and starring Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith) recently wrapped its memorable eighth series. I think there is a ninth series being written, but I am not sure whether that will be the last. The title of the series come from the fact that each episode comes from somewhere with a ‘9’. Maybe it is a house or mode of transport. Having to come up with something fresh and new every week, it must be a challenge for Pemberton and Shearsmith to do that! The critically acclaimed and celebrated series has provided so many memorable episodes. I was thinking about fifty-five years since Revolution 9 because of the numerical relationship between it and the popular series. I guess all episode ideas are locked for series nine, but there is something about Revolution 9 that lends itself to Inside No. 9 (this article looks at The Beatles and the significance of the number 9). Whether they would go back to 1968 and the recording of that song – building a mystery with a twist around the song. Pemberton and Shearsmith would play studio engineers at EMI (rather than John Lennon and George Harrison). Perhaps there would be something about the song that flips them between two worlds (1968 and the present time). Something in the track that hypnotises them. I like the idea of an Inside No. 9 that travels back to the '60s. I am not sure what the twist of the episode would be but, maybe there is a hidden message or something in the song that messes with time and logic. Maybe an episode title could be Can You Take Me Back Me Back Where I Came From? (as Paul McCartney sings that at the end of Cry Baby Cry, the song that leads into Revolution 9). If it was modern day, maybe the album (The Beatles) would be bought played at a charity shop. The song comes on and would be a catalyst for something huge. There is an eeriness to Revolution 9 that lends itself to Inside No. 9 and its aesthetic. Not that they will, but I think Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith would create something wonderful based around that Beatles song – with one of their best and smartest twists too.

It is fifty-five years old, so I wanted to look inside Revolution 9, as it is one of the most layered and unusual songs The Beatles ever recoded! On a double album where each of the band’s four members were often recording apart, it is amazing that they were in the headspace to create some of the best material of their careers. I love Inside No. 9 so, when thinking about Revolution 9, it instantly got me thinking about the connection. Maybe a 1968-set episode around the recording of the song, or something in the present time where this track plays an important role. Still right at the top of their games, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have crafted something timeless and genius with Inside No. 9. Let’s hope that there are a few more episodes from them at least. I would hate to think that it ends soon – but I guess every good thing has to come to an end at some point! The Beatles will celebrate its fifty-fifth anniversary in November. It remains this sprawling but wonderful album filled with so many texture and sounds. Originally it was going to be called A Doll’s House (a possible episode title?), as, like a doll’s house, you get all these different rooms and possibilities. Eponymous albums, I think, normally signal that artist or band putting out their most personal or meaningful work. I don’t like eponymous albums, as it seems a bit lazy. In the case of The Beatles, they seemed like less of a unified and cohesive band than ever. That said, there are more than enough moments of genius! Revolution 9 is one such example! A titanic song where John Lennon, Yoko Ono and George Harrison took us somewhere strange and mystical, I could not help but imagine this song coming into the world and mindset of Inside No. 9. I am not sure if it would be too expensive to clear the song, but it would be an intriguing episode! I wanted to celebrate a big anniversary of a wonderful song that still sounds…

LIKE it is from another world.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Pride Month 2023: An L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Playlist

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IMAGE CREDIT: freepik 

Pride Month 2023: An L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Playlist

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AS June is Pride Month…

 IMAGE CREDIT: rawpixel.com via freepik

I wanted to use this opportunity to compile a playlist featuring awesome L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists. There are some legends alongside newer artists. These are both songs from L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists, and anthems that are perfect for Pride Month. It is celebrated throughout June, with Pride Day itself falls on 28th June. That day marks the point in history when the first Pride march was held in New York City back in 1970. That is the U.S. date, though different communities celebrate Pride Day on a different day throughout June. Before getting to the playlist, here is some background regarding Pride Month and how it came about:

“HISTORY OF PRIDE MONTH

On a hot summer’s night in New York on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, which resulted in bar patrons, staff, and neighborhood residents rioting onto Christopher Street outside. Among the many leaders of the riots was a black, trans, bisexual woman, Marsha P. Johnson, leading the movement to continue over six days with protests and clashes. The message was clear — protestors demanded the establishment of places where LGBT+ people could go and be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest.

Pride Month is largely credited as being started by bisexual activist Brenda Howard. Known as ‘The Mother of Pride,’ Brenda organized Gay Pride Week and the Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade a year after the Stonewall Riots. This eventually morphed into what we now know as the New York City Pride March and was the catalyst for the formation of similar parades and marches across the world.

Speaking of the rainbow flag, it was actually gay politician Harvey Milk who asked a talented designer friend, Gilbert Baker, to design an all-encompassing symbol to take to San Francisco’s Pride March in 1978. Sadly, Harvey Milk was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone on November 23, 1978, in San Francisco City Hall by Dan White, a disgruntled former supervisor who was angry at Milk for lobbying against having him reappointed on the Board of Supervisors.

Bill Clinton was the first U.S. President to officially recognize Pride Month in 1999 and 2000. Then, from 2009 to 2016, Barack Obama declared June LGBT Pride Month. In May 2019, Donald Trump recognized Pride Month with a tweet announcing that his administration had launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality, although critics have noted that actions speak louder than words.

The New York Pride Parade is one of the largest and most well-known parades to take place, with over 2 million people estimated to have taken part in 2019”.

I will do another feature about Pride Month soon enough, but I wanted to kick off with a playlist. There will be songs in here that you know already, though there will be a few newer and legendary gems that are going to fresh to your ears. Uniting some inspiring and amazing L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists and Pride-ready classics, here are some songs that can soundtrack and celebrate…

 PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

THIS Pride Month.

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FEATURE: Renaissance in a New Era: Looking Inside Incredible and Career-Best Tours from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift

FEATURE:

 

 

Renaissance in a New Era

IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift onstage at the MetLife Stadium on 26th May in East Rutherford, New Jersey/PHOTO CREDIT: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone

Looking Inside Incredible and Career-Best Tours from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift

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AS I write this (31st May)…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Mason Poole for Parkwood Entertainment

the iconic Beyoncé is in London. Here as part of her RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR. I will come to that tour in a bit and write why it is a career-high for an artist who is in a league of her own. Before coming to Taylor Swift, it is worth thinking about the rigours of a world tour. Madonna embarks on The Celebration Tour very soon. Someone who has helped change the nature of live music in terms of set and spectacle, she is looking ahead to a tour that will see her through to next year. It is a gruelling and long tour that will see her embark on her toughest challenge yet. It is something she is excited about, but you hope that she gets enough time to recharge between dates! One of the most important artists ever, this is going to be one of the biggest and most attended tours ever. She is undoubtably the Queen of Pop. Two other music queens are currently touring huge shows. Even though Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have different sounds and sets, they are both thrilling audiences and critics. Not to say there are not epic sets from male artists at the moment – Arctic Monkeys and Harry Styles are both getting incredible reviews for their tours -, but I think it is women leading the charge. From Self Esteem to Caroline Polachek, I think they are at the top of the tree in terms of the energy, passion and intensity coming from the stage!

I have been looking online and seeing the reviews Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are getting. As is the case with Madonna, I hope that these two artists get chance to rest and find some sort of calm amidst this gigantic tour. They are going to be going from place to place, so there is going to be that tiredness. It is not showing when you look at what they are delivering on the stage. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour looks like it is staying in the U.S. for the rest of the year. She has broken records with this tour. As you can see here, the reaction she has received has been immense! Following the opening shows of the Eras Tour, five of Taylor Swift's albums entered the top 40 of the U.K. chart. Billboard reported that Swift's entire discography rose in daily streams, especially the songs on the set list. She subsequently had seven albums in the top 40 region of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart – that made her the first living artist to do so. Several weeks later, she became the first artist to chart eight albums in the top 40 and nine albums in the top 50. It is mind-boggling when you consider it! Already such a seasoned professional, Swift has been going on stage night after night and giving these incredible shows! The fact that she is performing typically forty-four songs or so a night and she has so many dates in the diary makes it even more impressive. Mere mortals would have problems with their voice or find it too intense. Swift seems to have this phenomenal resolve and strength that means she can perform such a long set each night and give it her all. No surprise that this Eras Tour has been making the news!

I want to come to a live review from Rolling Stone. Rob Sheffield was in attendance when Taylor Swift played the MetLife Stadium on 26th May, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It does seem that this is a career-best tour from one of the world’s biggest artists. Given every element her absolute all, Swift is going to go down as one of the mist exciting and finest live artists ever! It is clear that she has such an incredible connection with her audiences – who, in turn, show her so much love and passion:

“One of the central paradoxes of Taylor Swift — and this woman is nothing BUT paradoxes — is how she writes songs about the tiniest, most secretive agonies, the kind you wouldn’t even confess to your friends, except the only way she knows how to process these moments is turning them into louder-than-life stadium scream-alongs. It is so weird to sing “My Tears Ricochet” in a stadium with 80,000 people, with Taylor swirling in a goth-priestess gown, leading a funeral procession of black-hooded mourners. For most of us, Folklore and Evermore are albums we learned to sing along with by ourselves, at a moment of quarantine, fear, and isolation. Hearing other voices sing these songs with us completely changes how they feel. The moment when Taylor gets to the almost-hidden line “when I’m screaming at the sky” — and she really does scream it at the sky — was cathartic on a level that’s totally new for a Taylor show.

Over the show, she celebrates every part of her career, except her 2006 country debut, which surprisingly doesn’t even make a token appearance, though she’s done some of the songs as acoustic one-offs. (There’s no other career where such a great debut could turn out to be Not Era Enough.) Some of the eras turned into full-blown dance parties, like 1989, Reputation, and Midnights. Fearless was the one era where she flashed her early twangy side — she made such a statement by stepping out on the catwalk after the first verse for a triumphant power twirl. It was pandemonium when she introduced “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story” by asking, “Jersey, are you ready to go back to high school with me?”

PHOTO CREDIT: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone

Evermore really loomed large — it might be the most Era of the Eras, the one that transforms most in a live setting. It’s startling how her moodiest, most introspective songs translate as stadium bangers, from the U2 guitar pulse of “’Tis the Damn Season” to the heartache of “Champagne Problems.” “Willow” became a goth ritual — the fans next to me said, “This is where she has a seance.” “Marjorie” had Taylor singing along with the voice of her late grandmother Marjorie Finlay — almost exactly 20 years to the day after she passed away. “She would have loved to sing at MetLife Stadium,” Taylor said on Sunday night. “I guess technically, she just did.”

“All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)” was the coup de grace, filling up the enormous space with the sound of just Taylor and her thousands of confidantes. It couldn’t help but evoke the moment when she sang it the first time she played MetLife Stadium — 10 summers ago, in July 2013. That night, it already seemed incredibly to think of how far she’d come so fast. But 10 ears later, hearing “All Too Well” in that same venue, it seemed to sum up everywhere she’s traveled in those past 10 years. Like the rest of the Eras Tour, it was a celebration of all the holy ground she and her audience has covered.

Phoebe Bridgers played all three nights with a fantastic guitar-hero set — what a kick to see “Kyoto” and “Garden Song” take on their rightful grandeur as stadium bangers. These were her final Eras shows, and unsurprisingly, she and Taylor got sentimental about it. When she came out on Sunday to duet on “Nothing New,” Phoebe confessed, “You are my hero,” making Taylor groan, “What are you doing right now?” Tay told her her, “Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for making the best music ever.” Then she apologized to the crowd. “Sorry you had to see that. It was like the last day of summer camp for us.” (We’re Taylor fans. We’re used to seeing “that,” whatever “that” happens to be at the moment.) Taylor also lavished love on her openers Gayle, Gracie Abrams, and her “Lover” video co-star Owenn. She also went onstage to a brilliant old-school feminist anthem: Lesley Gore’s 1963 classic “You Don’t Own Me,” a song Taylor could have written.

She ended all three nights with a very special guest: Ice Spice doing her guest verse on “Karma.” Friday night she debuted their “Karma” video during the show, sitting on the stage with her dancers to view it on the screen along with the crowd. “Karma” was a high note to end on, but the amazing thing about the Eras Tour is that it’s so forward-facing, a complex pop history that’s so rich and deep and multilayered, but one that’s still being rewritten right before our eyes, week after week. And there’s no doubt this mastermind is at the absolute peak of her creative powers, after 17 fairly relentless years. This show makes an excellent case that in so many ways, Taylor Swift’s era is really just beginning. (And oh yeah — over the weekend she also released a new song with the hook, “I wouldn’t marry me either.” Yeah, she’s got a lot going on at the moment.)”.

Madonna will shortly achieve the same high, but I don’t think it is a coincidence that both Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are touring at their absolute best right now. Both artists released career high albums last year. Swift put out the pheromonal Midnights; Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE was a critical triumph. After the pandemic put a stop to any touring, both have sort of got this new determination and focus. To give these fans – many of whom will be going to their first gig in a few years – something they will remember for the rest of their lives. I guess neither Beyoncé or Taylor Swift could commit to festivals this year, as they have this set of tour dates that cannot be changed. It would have been awesome to see Swift or Beyoncé at Glastonbury this year! I will come to another review of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. What makes it so special?! The Guardian posted their theory when talking about how the Eras Tour is taking over America right now:

“The national takeover by The Eras Tour owes in part to the show itself, which is a stunning showcase of pop’s most prolific songwriter’s ridiculously prodigious catalog. I reviewed the opening show in Glendale, Arizona, and found it stupefying – a concert the length of the movie Titanic, covering 17 years worth of potent nostalgia, turbocharged by the screaming of 70,000 people. It was the loudest place I’ve ever been. Especially considering the hoops people jumped through to obtain tickets, it is fan service at its most bombastic and virtuosic – a flex and a celebration, tying together years of growth and hype.

It’s also the culmination of years of world-building and Swiftian mythology. Ever since her debut in 2006, Swift has cultivated a uniquely close relationship with her fans, posting on MySpace, commenting on their Instagrams, embedding secret messages in the liner notes of her CDs. With each album cycle, she has expanded on Easter eggs and clues playing on color coding, numerology and of course her lyrics. The result is a very loyal (and enormous) fan base primed to close-read Swifts every move, on-stage or off, as an all-consuming search for clues with personal ties to the star. As Swift told Entertainment Weekly in 2019 of her fans’ detective work: “I’ve trained them to be that way.”

The fixation on details reached a fever pitch last October, during the rollout for Swift’s tenth album, Midnights. Swift teased track titles in a TikTok video series called “Midnights Mayhem With Me”, and published a full cross-platform release schedule on Instagram. The ever-bubbling Swift online ecosystem was at full boil and, as one expert put it to the Atlantic, had almost all the hallmarks of a true metaverse: a huge virtual community unmoored from a single platform, based on a world around Taylor Swift, missing only the 3D virtual space to hang out in.

The Eras Tour offers a physical space for many of her fans to coalesce and a tangible hold on the real world. It has also provided ample material for fans to dissect, at a crucial time in Swift’s personal life. In April, it was revealed that she had split with her partner of six years, the British actor Joe Alwyn, an unnamed figure in many of her songs since 2017. (If you know a Swiftie, you know this was a very big deal.) Weeks later, she was rumored to be dating Matty Healy, the lead singer of the band The 1975, who has since appeared at several of her shows (and dueted with opener Phoebe Bridgers) and whose history of controversial comments has thrown some of the fandom into turmoil. (As one Twitter user put it, the gossip around Swift-Healy is like “the inner workings of the Catholic Church … worth keeping tabs on since it effects the wellbeing of millions and has tremendous financial influence”. On the financial point – the Eras Tour will likely gross anywhere from $500m to over $1bn, counting international dates.)”.

Before moving on, I want to quote from a review by The New York Times. They were there when Swift opened the Eras Tour in Glendale, Arizona. It seemed like the show was heavy on material post-Reputation (2018). It was the opening night of a tour that will go down as one of the biggest and most extraordinary in music history:

“Fans did not appear to be playing favorites — many of them were dressed as Swift from various eras, or as song titles or specific lyrics, or as Swiftie inside jokes. And Swift herself tackled each period of her career — the dynamic ones and the flaccid ones alike — with real gusto, in outfits covered in glitter, or fringe or glittery fringe. Her stage was set up for both big-tent power and maximum intimacy; it jutted out into the crowd for almost the entire length of the floor. Sometimes, she joined her dozen-plus dancers in crisp choreography, like on “ … Ready for It?” “Bad Blood” and, most vividly, “Vigilante ___,” for which she performed an enthusiastic chair routine.

She concluded with a selection of songs from “Midnights,” a challenging album to wrap a show of this magnitude — it’s more an amalgam of old Swift ideas than a harbinger of a new direction. During “Anti-Hero,” the screen behind Swift showed a version of her as a kind of King Kong, bigger than everyone and unfairly besieged, and on “Lavender Haze,” she was surrounded by dancers hoisting huge cloudy puffs.

There was a distinct shimmer that ran through the night’s final three selections, the tinny “Bejeweled,” the spacey “Mastermind” and the needling “Karma.” All of those songs, which can be brittle from a lyrical perspective, benefited from the scale of the production here.

But something far more meaningful had come just before that show-closing run. During an acoustic segment, she came out to the very farthest point of the stage, sat at a small piano and played her very first single, “Tim McGraw” (the only song she performed from her self-titled 2006 debut album).

In addition to “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” it was the night’s other pillar performance. It’s a song about memory and the ways in which people fail each other, and she sang it heavy with regret and tinged with sweetness.

But unlike “All Too Well,” which now benefits from the wisdom that time affords, “Tim McGraw” remained as raw as the day it was recorded. No real tweaks, no rejoinder from the new Swift to the old one — just a searing take on the sort of love that makes for a better song than relationship. There are some things Swift simply has understood all along”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift kicked off her Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on 17th March, performing a set list heavy on the four albums she has released since her 2018 tour for Reputation/PHOTO CREDIT: Cassidy Araiza for The New York Times

There are several reasons why one could argue that Taylor Swift is among the greatest live performers you will see. Her Eras Tour is a spectacle where you can feel and sense every last detail! She has put everything into it. Someone who has a very powerful connection with her fans, Swift is a music icon for sure. Someone who will be mentioned alongside the all-time greats. TIME reviewed the first night of Beyoncé RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR in Stockholm, Sweden on 10th May. They wrote about what they learned from that set. I have selected a few highlights:

“Beyoncé said not to rush a queen for music videos

If we haven’t learned by now, Beyoncé releases things when she is good and ready. This is her first solo album since 2016’s Lemonade, so we can’t act surprised that she told her fans to be patient and stop asking about the music videos. Her last solo albums, Lemonade, Beyoncé, and The Gift (a concept album for The Lion King), all had visual components that included music videos for each song. This built up the expectation that RENAISSANCE would get the same treatment.

Beyoncé is online and knows her fans have been hounding her, and she has finally responded. During a break on the first night, a disembodied voice addressed the crowd as the words it spoke were displayed on stage: “Aww, you mad? Well, there’s no remedy for that, bitches… I know you’ve asked for the visuals. You’ve called for the Queen. But a Queen moves at her own pace, bitch. Decides when she wants to give you a f-cking taste. So get your fork and your spoon if you got one.”

She is cutting out some of her biggest hits to make room for the new album and deep cuts

Attendees at the concert in Stockholm filmed every moment for the world to see on social media, and many of Beyoncé’s fans were quite surprised by some of the songs she decided to perform. She opened the show with “Dangerously In Love” from her debut album of the same name and ran through a string of popular songs, both mainstream hits and fan favorites. At the opening night show, she also performed songs like “Rather Die Young,” “Flaws and All,” and “Black Parade,” which have not gotten much attention from Beyoncé in recent memory.

Some of Beyoncé’s most popular songs, many of which she has made a point to perform on past tours, are notably missing from the set list. “Run The World” fans, do not worry: she still performs the song. But those who are fans of “If I Were a Boy,” “Single Ladies,” and “Halo,” a notorious closer for Beyoncé—as evidenced by the Homecoming concert film and her Formation World Tour—may be disappointed.

Beyoncé brought back the Les Twins, who have accompanied her on multiple tours and performances

The Les Twins, Laurent and Larry, were approached by Beyoncé years ago after a video of them dancing went viral and they appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. They were invited to perform with Beyoncé at the Billboard Music Awards in 2011, and she took them on the road with her for the Mrs. Carter World Tour, her joint On The Run Tour with Jay-Z, and her Coachella performance in 2018. Her fans were excited to see the Les Twins back on stage with her for this new tour.

It was gay as hell: An unabashed celebration of the LGBTQ+ community

In the lead-up to the album, Beyoncé dedicated the project to her Uncle Johnny, who battled HIV when she was young. He is referenced in the song “HEATED,” and in the outro of the song, Beyoncé takes on the role of MC at a ball (a queer dance party) where she starts “reading.” All of these influences took center stage at the Renaissance World Tour and will make a strong statement when it comes stateside in July, given the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being introduced across the country.

One of the biggest displays of affection for her queer fans came even before the concert started. As concertgoers poured into the stadium, they were greeted with a fake TV error screen, but if you look closely, some of the colors are different. This error screen has the colors of the progress pride flag, which includes colors from the transgender pride flag, as well as brown and black to indicate the greater discrimination experienced by those members of the community. Twitter users joked, “Nashville is gonna be ready to arrest Beyoncé for this, lord Jesus,” referencing the state’s attempt to ban drag shows and broader attempts across the US to infringe on trans people’s rights”.

I am going to finish with a review from The Line of Best Fit regarding a set this week at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé has a large L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ fanbase. The sets are celebrating them, but it is clear that it is essential for Beyoncé to salute this community. Showing so much love to the Black queer community, we have an artist who has this objective and noble aim. Rather than it being an ordinary tour, at a time when the trans and L.G.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community are being vilified and marginalised in many parts of America, the RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR seems like a celebration and spotlighting that the world needs to see – and one that many people need to learn from and take to hear. Like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé has this wonderful love of her fans. Someone who has produced a set that is her absolute best:

“Of course, the show’s visuals are overtly impressive, with each section receiving its own deepfake set on screen in an interlude before melting away into oblivion, making room for the next. The physical sets are similarly excessive as well, and the fact that a 20-foot tall disco-ball horse coming out of the giant screen just for a three-minute song seems… over the top?

We see endless montages of music videos from Beyoncé's past, present and seemingly her future – as we’re teased with shots from RENAISSANCE’s unreleased and highly sought-after visual counterpart – “I know you hear me, you’ve asked for the visuals,” says the screen in one interlude. “You've called for the queen, but a queen moves at her own pace, bitch.” It’s these parts of the show that maintain Beyoncé's unattainable, unreachable air about her – it wouldn’t be a Beyoncé show without it.

There are moments that bring Bey down to earth too, with an unmistakeable teleprompter at the back of the arena for her to read off when the lyrics get a little too much to handle. It’s only at select moments that she uses this though, as it’s easy to notice when her gaze locks in, her choreo eases up, and she focusses on delivering the show of a lifetime. What this reminds us is that no; Beyoncé isn’t a god, she’s a human just like us, but my god is she a professional. “Sometimes I mess up the words,” she announces to the crowd before her ‘favourite song to sing’ “HEATED,” “can you help me?”

IN THIS PHOTO: Beyoncé during the RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29th May in London/PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainment

The show’s high point was one of these human moments. After “Love On Top” ran its (short) course, the crowd kept it going – key changes and all. Beyoncé joins in for a moment that feels authentic and genuine (unlike her trademark canned politeness we got earlier in the show), going higher and higher until needed to stop them for time. Then as we’re thrown straight into “Crazy In Love,” the moment is over just a fast as it began. “PURE / HONEY” was up there too, with stage cameras akin to ROSALIA’s tour rotating around her to create engaging visuals on screen.

Similarly, there were questionable moments too. Opening with six slow songs was certainly a choice, and the final number “SUMMER RENAISSANCE” felt a little like an afterthought in comparison to the high-concept vision of the rest of the show. But even after the final song, Beyoncé is lifted up via cables and paraded over the crowd as she thanks her band and tries to communicate with the crowd from a 12 foot height – it’s a surreal moment that could’ve been utilised better at a different time, but if that’s the worst thing that happened then it’s safe to say the show was pretty spectacular.

This show is, undoubtedly, Beyoncé’s best. With massive budgets, joyful queer representation, undeniable talent and impressive showmanship, it’s impossible to say that she hasn’t perfected her formula. Yes, she may be toning down her robotic nature from tours past and easing up on her dancing, but this actually feels like a good thing. We’re seeing Beyoncé at her most personable and honest – by admitting her flaws to us, that simply makes her even more flawless.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainment

Setlist

Dangerously in Love

Flaws and All

1+1

I'm Goin Down (Mary J. Blige cover) (shortened)

I Care

River Deep, Mountain High

I'M THAT GIRL

COZY

ALIEN SUPERSTAR

Lift Off

CUFF IT

ENERGY

BREAK MY SOUL

Formation

Diva

Run the World (Girls)

MY POWER

BLACK PARADE

Partition

Savage (Remix)

CHURCH GIRL

Get Me Bodied

Before I Let Go

Rather Die Young

Love On Top

Crazy In Love

PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA

VIRGO'S GROOVE

Naughty Girl

MOVE

HEATED

Already (dancers interlude)

AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM

PURE/HONEY

SUMMER RENAISSANCE”.

I wanted to celebrate two amazing women in music who are both touring career-best sets. They are queens that are at the top of their games! Powerful, intimate and spectacular in equal measures, the Eras Tour and RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR are thrilling people! The fact that articles are being dedicated to how groundbreaking and history-making these tours are shows that we have among us two of the greatest artists ever. Maybe at different stages in their career, it would be tantalising if Beyoncé and Taylor Swift crossed paths and performed together. As Swift prepares to play Chicago’s Soldier Field tomorrow (2nd June), Beyoncé plays at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight. We are very lucky to have Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. They have both proven, with their current tours, that they are…

LEGENDS and icons.

FEATURE: Prince at Sixty-Five: The Influence of the Pioneering Artist

FEATURE:

 

 

Prince at Sixty-Five

The Influence of the Pioneering Artist

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I have been doing…

a run of features ahead Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday. On 7th June, the world marks that important birthday. The Minnesota-born genius died in 2016, but his influence and legacy lives on. It might be impossible to do one feature on his influence, because he impacted artists, culture and society alike. I am going to pull together some features that recognise his influence and how he changed the world. I will end with a playlist of artists inspired by Prince. I may miss some, as his impact and those he inspired is so huge and unknown. I will at least feature the most obvious artists. Before getting to that, it is worth sourcing words from those who have saluting and highlighted Prince’s influence. Apologies if they seem a bit randomly-placed, but there is a lot of information and resource if you ask that key question (what is Prince’s influence?). I want to start off with a great article from The Rake. Whilst many associate Prince with musical excellence, some forgot how he influenced people in other ways. The fact he would not define himself rigidly in terms of sexuality. How he empowered so many not to be continued. To feel their own identity. Maybe an almost unheard-of thing from an artist in the 1980s and 1990s, there are so many today who have been emboldened by Prince’s strength and defiance:

“Bigots, the unadventurous, they can’t stand individuals. They want everything easily categorized. (Preferrably, as white, male, middle class, hetero, conservative.) But much as the gatherings at Trump rallies would suggest otherwise, that kind of closed mindset is rapidly dwindling. Generation X, who grew up with Prince, overwhelmingly don’t simply tolerate but celebrate diversity and do-your-own-thing individualism. The Millennials, for all their many faults, take singularity — the freedom to be who you are, who you want to be — as a given. (Bless their entitled little hearts.)

Prince, much like David Bowie, that other great musical individualist lost to the world this year, played a major part in bringing about this new cultural enlightenment.

When Prince sang “Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay?” in 1981’s ‘Controversy’ (one of his earliest hits), those sorts of questions were indeed controversial. Now, though race and sexuality remain politically charged topics, romantic preferences and one’s gene pool are much more “Meh, whatever” matters to most of us than they were thirty-something years ago.

Prince was instrumental in making that so. His whole approach seemed to say, bravely, boldly: Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. So what? His look, his appeal, his music, transcended race lines — colour don’t matter anyway. Call Prince a ‘fag’? His response was like a shrug: What if I am? Nothing wrong with that, man. And there he was — as immortalised in the film Purple Rain — all sexy in bedazzled satin, leather and lace, riding away with a hot babe on the back of his motorcycle. Call the man a ‘freak’? Sure enough. About to get real freaky with that Apollonia — and a whole host of ladies to follow.

Prince crushed the bland masculine stereotype — Playboy, James Bond, whisky, cigars, and casual misogyny — and created a new paradigm. He proved a guy could be uber-dandyish, androgynous, sexually and gender fluid, yet brimming with raw carnal appeal. He was a little man, whose persona was writ large. A ‘soft’ man who hit hard.

Above all, Prince was an individual who stood as a standard bearer for individuality, his influence helping empower millions of others to own their uniqueness, shaping the more diverse, accepting, colourful world that’s crystallising in the 21st century. No wonder he was so hated by the forces of conformity. And loved by pretty much everyone else”.

In 2017, Everything Zoomer highlighted five ways in which Prince changed the music industry. There really was nobody like him. Whilst, on 7th June (his sixty-fifth birthday) we will remember his great music and all he gave to the world, one cannot help but imagine what could have been. There was so much the genius was going to give to the world. Lucky that we have the overstuffed and bountiful Paisley Park Vault, where he kept stuff he recorded but had not yet released. We will get Prince music for decades to come:

“1. Prince’s Sound

The trajectory of Prince’s career begins, of course, with his music and the famed “Minneapolis Sound,” named after his hometown, that he pioneered leading into his first album, For You, in 1978. Prince’s potent brew of everything from rock and funk to pop and new wave music was a revelation to fans around the world who’d never heard anything quite like it—especially coming out of the hard-rocking 1970s. His sound had such unique and wide-ranging appeal that it could rock a club and act as the soundtrack to Tim Burton’s darkly sinister 1989 film Batman. “Batdance” anyone?

Prince’s song “Darling Nikki” also has the distinction of being the instigator behind the movement that ultimately led to the “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” warnings now commonplace on the cover of albums.

Throughout his career, however, Prince never rested on his laurels, continuing to innovate and experiment with sound and music. And after seven Grammys, chart-topping singles and albums, Rock and Roll and Grammy Hall of Fame inductions and millions of fans worldwide, it’s safe to say that Prince reigns as one of the greatest pop music pioneers of the 20th century.

2. Behind the Songs and Record Industry Battles

Prince not only wrote some of the most original pop music of the last 40 years, but he also played most of the instruments (he was celebrated as a brilliant guitarist) and produced and engineered the music. One of the most hands-on artists of his or any generation, Prince helped put the creative power back in the hands of artists when he assumed control over most of his musical output. From his very first album, for which he secured the publishing rights and the ability to have free reign over the creative direction of the work, it’s clear Prince’s influence stretched far deeper into the studio than most other artists then or now. By taking this approach Prince was also able to shape the specific, innovative sounds that ultimately influenced countless musicians to come.

But perhaps even more importantly, Prince went to bat for artists everywhere when he stood up for control over his own music. As the International Business Times wrote,”Perhaps more than any artist in the history of recorded music … [Prince] personified the never-ending tensions between music performers and the industry that profits from them. In a four-decade career beset by legal skirmishes, Prince battled with record labels, bootleggers, streaming companies, ticket resellers and [I]nternet giants such as eBay and YouTube. He was not afraid to take adversarial stands against anyone he perceived to be a threat to his artistry or his livelihood, which to him were one and the same. That included public entanglements not only with parasitic types in the recording industry but also with advocates of free speech and even his own listeners.”

While he refused to allow his music to be used by anyone from video game makers to online streaming services (except Jay-Z’s Tidal streaming service) to parody artist “Weird Al” Yankovic, Prince’s highest profile battle over his music came in the early 1990s, when his original record company, Warner Bros., wouldn’t allow him to release his music at his own pace, resulting in the singer wanting out of his contract. When the company refused he changed his name to the infamous “Love Symbol,” since Warner Bros. had trademarked the Prince name. Despite the fact that it hurt his record sales and the name “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” became something got a punchline, Prince stuck by his principles and released music on his own record label and even became a pioneer in selling music online.

More than two decades later, as artists from Pete Townsend to Taylor Swift speak out about how unfairly streaming services and other digital music outlets treat artists, Prince’s battles with Warner Bros. seem more and more justified. Like with his music, he could see further ahead than most when it comes to the business side of his craft and struck an early blow for the rights of artists for generations to come.

3. Crafting “Prince”

A massive part of Prince’s appeal, aside from his music, lay in his image. As the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame put it, “From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative. His colorful image and revolutionary music made Prince a figure comparable in paradigm-shifting impact to Little Richard, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and George Clinton.”

From the costumes to the attitude and his gender bending persona, singer Vanity at his side and changing his name to the “love symbol,” Prince, perhaps even more than David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust, pushed the societal boundaries of sexuality, style, music and personality. Whereas Ziggy Stardust was a Bowie persona, Prince was Prince.

4. Purple Rain

Prince’s first film, 1984’s Purple Rain, in which he starred, and its accompanying soundtrack, became synonymous with the artist for the rest of his life. The last film to win an Oscar for Best Original Song Score (the award is now for Best Original Musical though no one has ever won it due to lack of eligible musicals to fill out the category), its soundtrack, featuring Prince backed by the band The Revolution, won a pair of Grammys, spawned instant classics like “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and the title track and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Perhaps most impressive of all, the Purple Rain film and album made Prince the first artist ever to land a top-of-the-charts trifecta: having the top American film, album and single at the same time.

5. Music Video on MTV

Two years before Prince brought the world Purple Rain, it was his “Little Red Corvette” that shot to the top of the charts. But perhaps more importantly, at a time when African-American artists struggled to get significant airplay on the brand new music video channel MTV, Prince and “Little Red Corvette” were among the prominent artists and songs that helped break that barrier and usher in an era of more diverse talents and sounds on America’s most popular music station”.

I am going to wrap up in a minute. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the magnitude of Prince’s vast influence. How he not only changed music, but he touched so many people’s lives. Far Out Magazine named eight artists who were influenced by Prince. Those whom we might not necessarily associate with him. I have chosen a few of them. I will include these artists – and many more – in a playlist at the end of this feature:

“Beck

Beck started life as a no-wave folk rock outcast, playing street corners and coffeehouses to audiences who seemed completely disinterested in this weirdo with an acoustic guitar. But when Beck got to bigger stages, a certain funky dance-move crazed demon seemed to erupt out of him – someone who greatly resembled a performer like Prince.

Of course, Beck also owes some chameleon-like tendencies to Prince as well. But on albums like Midnight Vultures, especially on the song ‘Debra’, Beck transforms into full-on Prince mode. He even throws in the occasional Prince cover in his live shows, just to prove how devoted of a disciple he is.

IN THIS PHOTO: St. Vincent in 2018/PHOTO CREDIT: Sonja Horsman/The Observer

St. Vincent

From twee art-rock to dirty ’70s funk to hard-driving electronica, it’s hard to think of a more eclectic artist in modern music than St. Vincent. Unwilling to repeat herself in any way, Annie Clark is probably more analogous to David Bowie, but there are plenty of influences from Prince in her artistry as well. 

Apart from covering ‘Controversy’ at a Grammy salute to the late Purple One in 2020, Clark also picked up a few guitar tricks from Prince throughout her career, most noticeably on her self titled fourth studio album. Songs like ‘Down’ and ‘Regret’ don’t work unless the fuzz-filled guitar lines don’t at least give a slight nod to ‘Purple Rain’ or the bloopy synths don’t fire up images of Dr. Fink.

Dave Grohl

There’s a great scene in the Foo Fighters documentary Back and Forth when the group are recording guitar parts for the album Wasting Light. Chris Shiflett is laying down a chorus-heavy rhythm part for ‘These Days’ when Dave Grohl breaks out into a spontaneous and brief rendition of ‘Purple Rain’. Obviously, a walking musical encyclopedia like Grohl has some experience rocking out to Prince.

Grohl and the Foos have busted out a few Prince covers in their day, with ‘Darling Nikki’ being a particular favourite of the group. But the ultimate honour actually came the other way around, when Prince sang parts of ‘Best of You’ during his Super Bowl Halftime appearance. Grohl later called it his “proudest musical achievement”, and he joins a strange list of Prince covers that also includes Radiohead”.

Many might say, in terms of his versatility and levels of influence, Prince is the only artist others would need to reference. There is a strong case for that. From his flexible and chameleon sounds to his unparalleled musical brilliance, through to his fashion, sexuality and work ethic, he is a role model and icon for so many. WIRED argued this point about Prince being the only influence you need back in 2016 (just after he died in April). It makes it even sadder that he is not with us and seeing artists emerging now who cite him as an influence:

“Much can be said about Prince's music, and in the following days, it will. At their best, his recordings were limitless---wells of production ideas, freaky arrangements, and unexpected melodies that could never run dry, no matter how many repeat listens. But it's Prince's work ethic and vision that always influenced me most. He was as punk as a huge pop star could be. From his first album, For You, on which he's credited as having played all 27 instruments on the recording, Prince made almost everything on his own.

His career was defined by an admirable lack of leniency. He was famous for around-the-clock recording sessions in his Paisley Park recording complex, resulting in an impossibly prolific output, much of which remains in the vault. On albums, he played every instrument, even sang his own backups; live, he pushed his band to the limit. He starred in three feature films---only the first, Purple Rain, was a hit---and directed two of them. In a 2009 Los Angeles Times profile, Ann Powers put it this way: "Prince's personality seems to be governed by two oppositional impulses: the hunger to create and an equally powerful craving for control."

Again and again, Prince insisted on making expensive, high-concept, and unexpected choices. Most famous among these is his 1993 decision to change his name to an unpronounceable glyph—a decision that required his label, Warner Brothers, to organize a mass-mailing of floppy disks containing a custom font so that he could continue to be written about in print media. Some might characterize this as a diva move, and it was---but it also represented a commitment to the craft of pop-stardom so total it required a new typeface to even write about.

The control he exerted over his public image occasionally verged on the draconian. In 2007, Prince began an ultimately fruitless vendetta against what he perceived as widespread copyright infringement online, going so far as to issue DCMA takedowns against fan sites sharing photographs, images, lyrics, album covers---anything linked to his likeness---and making YouTube take down videos, including a 29-second home video by Stephanie Lenz showing her children dancing to a barely audible clip of "Let's Go Crazy." He ultimately gave up the fight, but not before the Electronic Frontier Foundation invented a new honor for his abuse of copyright claims: the Raspberry Beret Lifetime Aggrievement Award.

It may seem over the top, but Prince's foray into copyright law makes sense in the context of a career spent tightly manipulating his own public image. After all, being a pop star is a 360 degree endeavor. The music is important, but so is the finely tuned identity. And the mystique, preserved and defended by any means necessary. And even the language, something Prince realized in the 1990s, switching to an idiosyncratic shorthand (see: "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic") that could identify a Prince joint before the listener even pressed play. It's nothing less than the construction of an effect, a total impression, on millions of people. These days, pop stars tend to achieve such impressions through transparency, by staging confessionals and throwing shade via the collective 24-hour social-media reality show. But Prince did it with style---and control.

Prince took full responsibility for the execution of his complete vision, no matter its commercial viability. And when it came to the music, he had the freedom to take risks---nobody will ever be as good as Prince. We'll be playing catch-up in perpetuity; we'll not so much as nail that drum machine sound in our lifetimes. But there is one aspect to his influence we can all take to heart, musicians or otherwise, and that is to work hard. To be relentless. To insist on complete authorship of your own work. And to never stop, not until your last breath”.

On 7th June, it will be Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday. It is quite a milestone! Of course, we will remember his passing and the fact that we lost him so young (he was fifty-seven). On the other side, we can reflect on his genius and all of the wonderful music he gave us. All those brilliant moments that bond us. As an artist, he has influenced countless others in so many ways. Inspiring and strengthening L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ listeners, compelling and motivating others to be true to themselves and not be cowed by hate and what is deemed to be ‘normal’, these messages and qualities will inspire people for generations more. I will definitely raise a glass in memory of Prince…

ON 7th June.

FEATURE: Be That Movie Queen: Kate Bush and How T.V. Shows and Films Use Her Music

FEATURE:

 

 

Be That Movie Queen

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in London, 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari 

Kate Bush and How T.V. Shows and Films Use Her Music

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WHERE to begin when it comes…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional shot for 2005’s Aerial/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton

to the subject of Kate Bush and the adulation she has received over the past year or so! Even though a lot of them has come from award nominations, updates on her website, and the reissue of her lyrics book, How to Be Invisible, quite a bit of it started with the Netflix series, Stranger Things. I am not going to go into it again - as I have discussed it more than enough! Suffice to say, it helped get Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) to number one. In the process, it introduced her music to a new generation. It was acclaim in the U.S. that was especially humbling and overdue. This artist perhaps not as respected and known as much there as in the U.K., it does feel as though things have changed in that respect. That was confirmed and cemented as Bush was finally (on the fourth time of asking!) inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A big honour that should have happened last year, this iconic genius has finally ‘cracked’ America. She never wanted that, but I think it is more to do with the country adopting her music and embracing it in a way that was not done all that connivingly before. Hounds of Love (1985), The Sensual World (1989), The Red Shoes (1993), and Aerial (2005) are albums that were noted and did quite well, but she has always fared much better in Europe.

Kate Bush’s music being used on T.V. shows and films is not a new thing. She has been heard on the small and big screens for decades now. In fact, This Woman’s Work first appeared in the film, She’s Having a Baby, in 1988 – a year before it appeared on The Sensual World album. There has been a smattering of placements and known songs popping up. Whilst filmmakers have not exactly employed the deep cuts when it comes to Bush’s music scoring their scenes, at least using some of the bigger hits gets her music to new people. One song that has appeared in a few shows and films is This Woman’s Work. I recently wrote how it featured at the end of The Mother. That film stars Jennifer Lopez in the titular role. It is played to render emotion and evoke a sense of pride and fulfilment. The original song was intended to be told from the father’s perspective. Sometimes immature and not taking responsibility, he had to face his wife breaching and their baby being at risk. It is that kind of emotional weight that was not really explored in other songs. I can appreciate how others have taken it more literally and related it to a mother. This Woman’s Work is one of Kate Bush’s most moving and evocative songs. It really does suit quite a few possibilities. In fact, The Daily Beast reacted to The Mother using This Woman’s Work: the end of a long and growing line that are perhaps distilling the song’s essence and importance. You can emphasise with some of Coleman Splide’s anger, though I think that it is a good thing that this classic is being heard and shared:

“If you’ve not yet experienced the phenomenon of music supervisors plopping Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” into a piece of visual media that you’re watching, then you either have hobbies that don’t include mindlessly staring at a screen all day (good for you!), or you haven’t yet seen The Mother (a curse unto your firstborn). At this point, “This Woman’s Work” is starting to veer on, well, any song on the Suicide Squad or Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks in terms of sheer overuse.

It’s kind of like when a lot of us cried watching that one gay episode of The Last of Us, before the most annoying people online cropped up to say, “Stop weaponizing Max Richter’s ‘On the Nature of Daylight.’” Since its release in 2004, Richter’s song appeared in notable moments in The Last of Us, Arrival, Shutter Island, and several other films and television shows as well. I don’t really have much of an ear for recognizing the repetition of a sappy orchestral piece, but I certainly do for a bravura vocal performance from one Kate Bush. And I fear that too many music supervisors are misunderstanding the intention behind “This Woman’s Work” and using it as a slapdash form of emotional exploitation.

IN THIS PHOTO: Jennifer Lopez in The Mother/PHOTO CREDIT: Netflix

“This Woman’s Work” was written by Bush for John Hughes’ 1988 film, She’s Having a Baby. The song is introduced in a pivotal moment during the film, which is by-and-large a romantic comedy—until the titular baby that she’s having comes a-knockin’, and the movie suddenly takes on a very real gravity. In a hospital waiting room, Jake (Kevin Bacon) reflects upon his relationship with his wife Kristy (Elizabeth McGovern), whose health is in danger during labor, when their child reaches the breech position. Jake understands that he could lose Kristy, their child, or the both of them, and he can’t even be near them in this moment. As he waits for news, a flashback montage of his life with Kristy plays, set to “This Woman’s Work.”

It sounds almost a bit corny—and distinctly ’80s—but the scene is incredibly effective in its context. That’s especially true, considering that this was the first time audiences ever heard “This Woman’s Work;” it was written by Bush about experiencing a crisis during childbirth, from the man’s point of view. The video for the song made these details a bit murkier, so it could resonate with a larger audience, but the crux of the song’s meaning stays the same. Put simply: If you’re going to use “This Woman’s Work” in a film or television show, it should stay far away from the thin line between sentimental and hokey.

In the past five years alone, I’ve seen two shocking and unforgettable debasements of “This Woman’s Work,” which were equally appalling, but for different reasons. The first was in the second season premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale, where a group of 50 or so handmaids are sent to a barren, dystopian version of Fenway Park and made to climb up to gallows, where they think they are about to be hung under the glare of stadium lights. As nooses are put around their necks, that Bush’s memorable warble sings out. “I know you have a little life in you yet/ I know you have a lot of strength left,” she croons, while the handmaids, who have had their mouths muffled, silently exchange glances and tearfully try to accept their fate.

It’s absolute torture to watch. It’s cruel to the point of viewer manipulation, pure trauma porn from a show that made its name by trading in the stuff. And Bush’s song, once a tender examination on the fragility of life, transforms into a vicious ordnance, stripped of any meaning to give viewers a psychological beating.

Somehow, this scene being a big fake out, where no one actually dies, only makes it feel more ruthless. I was so angry with The Handmaid’s Tale after that episode, so upset that its writers and music supervisors thought that no one would call them on their bullshit, that I never watched another frame of the show. Was I paying for Hulu at the time, meaning my viewership, or lack thereof, would have any effect on their metrics and margins? No. But I like to think I stuck it to them.

IN THIS PHOTO: Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto/PHOTO CREDIT: Niko Tavernise/Searchlight Pictures

The second shrewd use of “This Woman’s Work” came just as recently as this year, in A Man Called Otto. That Tom Hanks clunker is already a deeply narratively confused film, and it doesn’t help that Otto has no conceivable idea where to start, when it comes to sprinkling in stirring resonance throughout the movie. However, the one thing going for this entry is that it has the good sense to mimic how the song was used in She’s Having a Baby (though if you’ve got to imitate a scene that already worked much better, you’re already juggling bigger problems than deciding what song to slap over it.)

In Otto, Bush’s song scores a flashback, where a young Otto (played by Hanks’ real 27-year-old son, Truman) and his pregnant wife are in a bus crash. The destruction is intercut with present-day Otto preparing a suicide attempt, which he doesn’t ultimately go through with. Obviously, neither of these things are comical. But the way in which the film presents them in conjunction has a similar air to that scene in The Handmaid’s Tale—you just can’t believe the lengths that someone went to, just to get you to cry.

You see, writers and music supervisors think that if we cry, we’ll be blinded by our own physical emotions. The simple biological act of moisture forming in our tear ducts turns us into vegetables. If we get choked up, we’ll automatically assume that correlates to a movie or a television show being good. That’s not the case! Sometimes, it’s just overwhelming. Other times, I’m crying with laughter; there is nothing quite so funny as seeing a bus twirl through the air in slow motion, set to Kate Bush wailing. At that point, the use of “This Woman’s Work” becomes a parody, and you’re basically asking me to giggle”.

There might be an argument to suggest that a song like This Woman’s Work is an easy go-to regarding evoking emotion and tenderness – but does it really do the song justice and get the meaning behind its lyrics? I think that it is only a good thing that Kate Bush’s music is used in films and on T.V. She has to prove and sign off on any use of her music, so she will know how it is being used. I remember Hallelujah (originally recorded by Leonard Cohen, but most famously covered by Jeff Buckley) being used on a lot of stuff years ago. Jeff Buckley’s version. It seemed like you could not get away from the song! It was used with seemingly every emotional or tragic moment on film and T.V.! We won’t have the same sort of overuse with This Woman’s Work, but maybe there is an argument to made to suggest that there are other Bush songs that could be used instead. It is always amazing to hear Kate Bush’s music heard, but if the same song comes up as an easy hit of emotion or reaction, then perhaps that does risk too narrowly defining her worth! Appropriately, this woman’s work is vast and full of treasures. It sort of takes me back to radio stations and the fact that they largely play only a few songs of hers – with Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) played more than any. I can see why singles might be favoured to deep cuts, though there does appear to be this homogenised representation of Kate Bush that you do not get with other artists.

The only way that you can get a full and proper appreciation of an artist is exploring their entire body of work! Not to say that there should be an uptake in Kate Bush songs being used in films and T.V. shows, but if filmmakers are thinking of her, then go a bit deeper. It is a more original angle, and you do not risk the same track being recycled. I don’t think we will see Running Up That (A Deal with God) feature too much, as it had such a remarkable success of the back of Stranger Things. Perhaps This Woman’s Work will continue to appear on the screen, but it would be awesome if we got to hear some lesser-known Bush songs in films or shows. Maybe even a single not overly-used, such as Babooshka or King of the Mountain. The success Bush has enjoyed in 2022 and this year is not only down to the use of her music on shows and through films. it is to do with her legacy and endless relevance. It is an easy and effective way of opening eyes to her extraordinary music and what she means. Rather than stick to the tried and tested, there is a world of Kate Bush music that would perfectly work on shows and films. It might get people to dive into her albums and not only listen to the hits. In turn, it might encourage radio stations to be a little less concise and restrictive regarding the Bush songs they play. The Mother has put This Woman’s Work in focus. Who knows which Kate Bush song will be on the screen, and whether it is a huge film or a T.V. series. It is flattering and validating that people want to use Kate Bush’s music for their films/shows. It proves (if it wasn’t fact already!) that she is…

SO remarkable and loved.

FEATURE: Strange Symphonies: Celebrating the Anniversary of Two of Kate Bush’s Best Singles

FEATURE:

 

 

Strange Symphonies

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

Celebrating the Anniversary of Two of Kate Bush’s Best Singles

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I can never pass over…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in the cover shot for 1978’s Lionheart/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

an opportunity to celebrate Kate Bush anniversaries. Whether that is an album or single, it means that it is back in the spotlight. I get to talk about these particular moments. Earlier in her career, different singles would be released in different counties. I know I have used a few features to focus on 1978 and 1979, but I want to keep us in 1979 just for this piece. Two of Bush’s best singles got a 1st June release that year. It was a bit of an odd thing releasing different songs depending on the country. I feel it is important to mark forty-four years of Strange Phenomena and Symphony in Blue. One extraordinary thing about the releases is that these were songs from different albums! Strange Phenomena is one of the best tracks from her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside. With Wow (which had already been released as a single in March 1979) as a B-side, this was the final single from that album. I do find it kind of exceptional that Bush was able to promote two albums at the same time. Lionheart, her second album, arrived in November 1978. The year after both were released, and they were still getting focus in the form of single releases. These single releases occurred just over two weeks after Bush completed The Tour of Life. Bush put out Never for Ever in 1980. In the meantime, there was still some momentum from her singles. Today, you probably wouldn’t get a single released so long after an album had come out!

I am going to come to Symphony in Blue in a bit. I like the fact Strange Phenomena was only released as a single in Brazil. Perhaps a nation one would not feel warranted their own single release, I am so curious what promoted that decision! As we see from the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, this arresting and fascinating song did warrant a release. I also feel that it could have been a successful U.K. single. After it was performed widely during The Tour of Life, surely there would have been enough demand:

“['Strange Phenomena' is] all about the coincidences that happen to all of us all of the time. Like maybe you're listening to the radio and a certain thing will come up, you go outside and it will happen again. It's just how similar things seem to attract together, like the saying ``birds of a feather flock together'' and how these things do happen to us all the time. Just strange coincidences that we're only occasionally aware of. And maybe you'll think how strange that is, but it happens all the time. (Self Portrait, 1978)

"Strange Phenomena'' is about how coincidences cluster together. We can all recall instances when we have been thinking about a particular person and then have met a mutual friend who - totally unprompted - will begin talking about that person. That's a very basic way of explaining what I mean, but these ``clusters of coincidence'' occur all the time. We are surrounded by strange phenomena, but very few people are aware of it. Most take it as being part of everyday life. (Music Talk, 1978)”

I could imagine what a great music video could have been created for Strange Phenomena! It is a magnificent song that was not a magnificent success – though EMI felt that momentum should keep going, and there was still life from The Kick Inside.

It must have been confusing for Kate Bush knowing that two of her songs were being released as singles on 1st June, 1979! Still only twenty at the time, she was seeing her music released all over the world. If Strange Phenomena was an attempt to crack Brazil – or at least make them aware of Kate Bush -, then the majestic Symphony in Blue was aimed at Japan and Canada. I have written about this song before but, as it is celebrating its forty-fourth anniversary as a single, I am re-exploring it. I shall come to some thoughts regarding the song. Released in Japan and Canada, it featured Full House as the B-side on the Japanese release; Hammer Horror was the B-side in Canada. Hammer Horror was the lead single from Lionheart, so there was all this crossing over and confusion. Regardless, it meant that a song that ranks alongside Bush’s best did get a single release. I thought this was another sure-fit gem that would be released as a single in the U.K. Maybe EMI felt that they needed to limit the number of single releases at this point. Hammer Horror and Wow came out in the U.K. and elsewhere. Bush did perform Symphony in Blue during The Tour of Life, and she also played it for her 1979 Christmas special. It is a wonderful song that has this real and evocative depth. I wonder whether that was a conscious move from EMI. Bush was keen to be seen more of a serious artist, so it might have been an important and focused move to change perceptions and the narrative.

Symphony in Blue has this almost philosophical quality to it. One of her most beautiful songs, it showed that she was one of the most remarkable songwriters of her generation. This was a brand-new song. Bush was given such a short time to record Lionheart and follow up The Kick Inside, Symphony in Blue was one of three new songs written (the others being Coffee Homeground and Full House). I am glad that two very distinct songs got a single release. On the same day as she was promoting her second album and keeping that in the consciousness, there was also this single from her debut – and this was over a year since that album was released! I am not sure how much Bush had to do with deciding which singles were released where, but she would have known that these songs were going to get single releases in Brazil, Japan and Australia. This was a vital time for Bush’s career and her rising popularity. On 1st June, 1979, she was fresh from The Tour of Life. She would have been working on Never for Ever, but touring alone was not going to be enough to keep her played and talked about. Even if the singles were released in countries that might be massive territories for her (even though she did visit both Japan and Australia), it did mean that new fans were created and confirmed. I have always said how more singles should have been released in those early years. Strange Phenomena and Symphony in Blue are magnificent examples of the sophistication and raw talent Bush displayed at the start of her career! She was writing the sort of songs that her peers were not. Even back in 1978 and 1979, there was nobody in music like…

OUR Kate!

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from the Best Albums and Mixtapes by Women from 2023 (So Far)

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Kelela

Songs from the Best Albums and Mixtapes by Women from 2023 (So Far)

_________

I have previously…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Miley Cyrus/PHOTO CREDIT: Steven Meisel for British Vogue

listed the best albums by female artists this year (so far). In March, I also compiled a playlist with tracks from the best albums of the year. I want to focus on revising my thoughts regarding the best albums and mixtapes (there are a couple that I wanted to include that was a mixtape and not an album, so that is why I am broadening things a bit) made by women. Instead of delving into these works fully, I am going to take a song from each of them. The reason I am featuring albums by women only is because I feel they have been responsible for giving us the best music of the year. Also, as the Mercury Prize committee will soon shortlist the albums nominated this year, a few of the artists mentioned in the playlist will be named, I am sure. I also want to show what diversity and range there is between these albums. Such an amazing and busy year for terrific music, these queens have delivered some pure gold! I am not including music from female-fronted bands. Maybe you will know many of these albums, but some of them will be fresh to you. Have a listen to the songs below and, if you can, go and investigate the albums they come from. As you will plainly hear, it is hard to fault the brilliance that has come from some very special women! I know the quality will continue as we march through the second half of 2023. I may do another playlist like this at the end of the year but, for now, here are the songs from the best albums and mixtapes of the year…

BY some remarkable women.

FEATURE: Ctrl, Alt, Shift… Based on a True Story: Why the Writers Guild of America Strike Should Reassess the Rights of Artists and Songwriters

FEATURE:

 

 

Ctrl, Alt, Shift…

IMAGE CREDIT: storyset via Freepik

Based on a True Story: Why the Writers Guild of America Strike Should Reassess the Rights of Artists and Songwriters

_________

THERE are a lot of things…

 PHOTO CREDIT: WireImage/Getty Images via Vanity Fair

that are happening in Hollywood that are not being mirrored in the music industry. I always feel like there is a link and generations-long bond and association between music and film. There is definite crossover and, when it comes to talent, there are various different layers and levels. In the film industry, you have actors, directors, producers, executive, and numerous other roles. Music too has its songwriters, producers, artists, engineers, and many others who make amazing songs and albums come together. Equal and fair pay is a sore subject in music at the moment! It is a big issue in America too. The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike is not a new thing: there have been writers strikes in Hollywood in the past. There are protest happening and shows being put on hold. This strike looks like it could last a while. I have been intrigued by a  recent feature in Pitchfork, which asks when artists will get their Hollywood strike moment. There are some interesting extracts that made me think:

“In today’s music industry, the distinctions between songwriter and musician are even blurrier than they were in the 1980s. Independent contractors are excluded from the protections offered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935. Labor lawyer Leo Gertner explains that the independent contractor classification was carved out in the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the NLRA, which also banned solidarity and wildcat strikes and passed right-to-work laws. “A lot of this stuff is just anachronistic,” says Gertner. “In the modern economy, and especially in industries like music where technology has played a huge role in atomizing the workers and allowing people to do little pieces of work and then get paid very little, I think the law has lost sight of that.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Min An/Pexels

Guitarist Marc Ribot, who has been an AFM member since 1977, notes that it’s not just workers that have been atomized. When the AFM won in the 1940s, they negotiated contracts with major labels guaranteeing fair pay for all member musicians that are still in place today, protecting recording artists on those labels. But for decades, those companies have been outsourcing production and working relationships to smaller indie labels, which aren’t subject to union contract terms. Another Taft-Hartley piece, which prevents workers from taking organized action against anyone but their immediate employer, insulates the wealthiest labels from financial responsibility. “You can’t go after the money anymore,” says Ribot.

Phillip Golub, a jazz musician and member of the Music Workers Alliance, founded in 2019, agrees. “Ford, GM, and Chrysler figured out that if they bought their parts from a third-party parts manufacturer that was a small company, then they wouldn’t have to deal with the union in their shop,” says Golub. “The major labels did the same exact thing.”

Most musicians today would likely be classified, like the songwriters, as independent contractors. That weakens their organizational power under the NLRA, but because antitrust laws consider organized rate demands from independent contractors to be price-fixing, it also means that any coordinated action targeted at better pay could invite a lawsuit. After music trade groups tried to warn musicians about unfair contracts from Sirius XM in 2011, the radio giant sued the groups on antitrust grounds, alleging that they were interfering with free market competition”.

I think it opens up a wider conversation about the value and worth of songwriters, artists and producers. Even if songwriters have greater security, representation and, I guess, compensation than artists, I still think that writers and producers are overlooked. Similar to Hollywood and how there is focus on actors and directors, how much kudos do we give to those who produce the films and write the script?! Similarly, in music, the artist gets all the adulation. Aside from the GRAMMYs having categories for writers and producers, most award ceremonies only recognise the artist, songs and album – whereas songwriters and producers get overlooked. Whereas huge artists like Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran are generating quite a bit of revenue from massive album sales and streaming numbers, I have always been curious how much money goes to songwriters and producers. I think Swift is more autonomous in regards the songwriter, but there are plenty of others who help make these massive artists successes. How much are they earning from sales and streaming? Are they being recognised as much as they should? Do they have rights and a union behind them if they want to strike? It is quite a complex area, so I am not going to pretend that I know all of the laws and situation. I was compelled by the headline Pitchfork put out regarding songwriters and why they can’t strike….just yet. The article ends with this:

“Even without legal and policy fixes, organizers say the emergence of strong organizing groups like the Music Workers Alliance and UMAW suggest that musicians are ready to fight again. Years ago, Ribot opined that if unions don’t stop the siphoning of profits by tech and streaming companies, rank and file music workers would revolt, within or without the constraints of labor classifications. “That rank and file revolt,” says Ribot, “is happening right now”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

I think, now more than ever, it is clear that artists, songwriters and producers are undervalued and underpaid. I don’t think artists, no matter how big or small, could afford to strike. It would backfire, and I am not sure whether it would lead to immediate change. If writers in America are being seen as rank and file by some, it is clear their striking is impacting shows. Their importance cannot be understated! I wonder whether the current striker will leads to reform and new terms - or, if nothing is agreed, Hollywood will start to crumble. Whether their rights and value will be put at the forefront. From working hours, pay and accreditation, there does need to be action! Writers in America are not being paid fairly. This TODAY article goes into more detail:

“Writers are also fighting for higher residual payments, or the payments writers receive when shows they have worked on are re-released, whether as reruns or in syndication.

According to the WGA, half of all writers now work in streaming, which pays fewer residuals for new and pre-existing shows.

Valentina Garza, a producer and writer who has worked on shows including “Wednesday,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Jane the Virgin,” shared one stark example on Twitter of how low residual payments can be on streaming services.

“In case anyone’s wondering why the WGA is on strike, this is my streaming residual check for two episodes of 'Jane the Virgin,'” she tweeted, sharing a photo of a check made out for three cents. “One for .01 another for .02. I think the streamers can do better.”

In the face of these industry shifts, the union is proposing regulations regarding artificial intelligence, pay structures to make up for the elimination of residuals, preservation of the writers' room, minimum pay for streaming, and guaranteed number of on-the-week jobs for writers, per a WGA document.

The Guild's proposals, according to the WGA, would cost studios $429 million per year. Studios' counterproposals were $86 million”.

I am thinking about music and songwriters and artists. Times are hard for most artists. In terms of how much they are compensated and the rights they have. With the rise of AI threatening the future of music in some ways – artificial intelligence able to replicate artists’ voice -, it must worry writers. Even if AI cannot replace a human voice and style, songwriter could become more machine-fed and generated. I think that songwriters are enormously important! Music has not really had its #MeToo movement (whereas Hollywood has). Will songwriters here and in the U.S. ever strike? It is clear that, when it comes to streaming sites and the low payment artist are given, there will be some form of action and rebellion. Artists are touring harder than ever just to break even. For songwriters, things are quite bleak – especially when it comes to royalties from streaming. Variety wrote about this in a feature from March:

“If you love songwriters and hate the many ways songwriters are underpaid, paid slowly, or not paid at all, please read the following: There is between $700-$800 million of mechanical-royalty income related to songs that were streamed between 2018 and 2022 that has not been paid — and there is no guidance on when it will.

Why? Eyes down.

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (“MLC”) is an organization responsible for receiving mechanical royalties from streaming services, matching the royalties for songs to the appropriate songwriters, and distributing that income to songwriters and publishing companies accordingly. The MLC is currently holding $373 million dollars in mechanical royalty income for songs streamed between 2018 and 2022.

PHOTO CREDIT: Moose Photos/Pexels

In simplest terms, the MLC can’t distribute this money because the mechanical royalty rate for that period still has not been finalized.

The statutory rate for mechanical royalties is set every five years by the Copyright Royalty Board (“CRB”). This rate hadn’t moved very much in decades; however, in a 2018 proceeding before the CRB that is known (anachronistically) as Phonorecords III, songwriters and publishers finally received an increase to the compulsory mechanical royalty rate, from 11.4% to 15.1%, for the 2018-2022 period. Four streaming services appealed this decision, causing a long and expensive back-and-forth in the courts. Finally, in July of 2022, the increased rate was preliminarily upheld — the decision was heralded as a long-awaited win to songwriters. In addition to the royalties held by the MLC, if these preliminary rate increases are finalized, streaming services will owe hundreds of millions in royalty payments to songwriters for those past periods.

In total, finalizing the Phonorecords III rates could lead to additional payments of up to $700-800 million in royalties.

Unfortunately, it has been a hollow victory for songwriters thus far. For the monies to be released, the CRB must publish a final determination on the mechanical royalty rate for the 2018 to 2022 period. Once it is set, streaming services will have six months to report and pay the MLC additional royalty payments based on the increased rate. The CRB, presumably dealing with other important matters, has still not issued its final determination.  Obviously, this is frustrating, but it is especially painful in a time of economic uncertainty and heightened inflation. Mechanical royalties are a critical source of revenue for songwriters, particularly as streaming has become the dominant format for music distribution.

PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

Failure to receive the full royalties due for songs streamed between 2018 and 2022 negatively impacts every aspect of the songwriting economy. Songwriters rely on mechanical royalty income to support themselves and their families and ensure they can continue to create music for a living and build their careers. Music publishers use this revenue to sign new songwriters, acquire music catalogs, and provide advances to creators. These layered uncertainties impacts proper compensation and investment in songwriters’ creative works, futures, and the entire industry”.

I hope that there is negotiation and satisfactory resolution for writers striking in Hollywood and other parts of the U.S. Their value and key is clear - and yet it is not being compensated fairly. I think the same is fair for artists and producers. But songwriters are near the bottom of the pile when it comes to payment and fair treatment. There have not really been any strikes in the music industry. Maybe the risks are too high. I think, inspired by writers' strike, songwriters should strike. Maybe now is not the perfect time but, unless there is change and proper recognition, it might come to that! There is the risk of being sued by companies like Spotify. I do feel that songwriters and artists should come together and demand better conditions and payment. The more technology atomises and demonetises artists and songwriters, the worse it will be for the industry – and that will have long-lasting impact across the industry. In music, as it will be the case in Hollywood soon enough, I hope that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) actions, protest and passion…

 IN THIS PHOTO: A picketer at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles carries a sign with references to the television shows Grey's Anatomy, Abbott Elementary and Succession/PHOTO CREDIT: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

STRIKES a chord!

FEATURE: Time Out of Mind: Discussing the Mental Health of Male Musicians

FEATURE:

 

 

Time Out of Mind

IN THIS PHOTO: Rapper Kendrick Lamar has spoken previously about his experiences with depression and mental health struggles/PHOTO CREDIT: Ellis Parrinder/Camara Press/Redux

Discussing the Mental Health of Male Musicians

_________

I have used this title before…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Artist YUNGBLUD has discussed his mental health in the past. The track, god save me, but don’t drown me out, addresses his struggles and fears/PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Pallant

for a couple of other features, but as Steely Dan’s Time Out of Mind (from 1980’s Gaucho) seems appropriate here, I am using it again. I have been inspired by a book by journalist, author and legend Caitlin Moran. What About Men? is released in on 6th July. If you are not familiar with Moran’s work, I think that you will not want to miss out on her upcoming book. It seems like it is must-read. It asks some very important questions. At a time when toxic masculinity rages, and men’s mental health is not often explored widely and put in focus, this book looks to a brighter (hopefully) future:

“For the past ten years, whenever Moran has been doing an event, or an interview – talking about women, and girls – at some point, someone will have asked, ‘But, Caitlin – what about men?’

And at first, like an idiot, she was like, ‘Whevs. They’re fine. Dude, I’m all about Team Tits.’

But now – after decades of rising male unhappiness, mental illness, loneliness, academic failure, and the online radicalisation of young men – plus modern mens’ trousers becoming so tight, they look like leggings – Moran has realised: yes. There is a problem here.

No, this isn’t ‘a feminist trick’. We’re genuinely really worried about you. After all, the cause of unhappy girls, wives and mothers is, all too often, unhappy boys, and men.

And there are some things that womankind has learned along the way – being gloriously honest about your fears and problems, making jokes about them, and then having a jolly good go at changing the world – that feels kind of useful right now. 2023 is when we really do need to ask the question, ‘What about men?’

Come and join the start of a new, urgent, but also often amusing conversation – and bring your husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, nephews, boyfriends and best friends with you.

Porn, violence, Star Wars, fatherhood, sex, banter, Andrew Tate, Jordan B Peterson’s lobsters, and what’s actually good about masculinity: we’ll discuss it all.

We’re better together”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Caitlin Moran, photographed in Mallorca, Spain/PHOTO CREDIT: Vicens Gimenez

A lot of my features are about women and equality. Whether it is a festival line-up shunning female artists, or I am discussing the fact that the best albums of the year have been released by women, it is a subject that is very dear to my hear. It is important to keep talking about the amazing (and often underrated) work of women, but also focus on some of the more troubling and darker facts. Unfortunately, some of my recent features have revolved around sexual assault and harassment. In an industry where so many women have been subject to sexual harassment and assault, it is obvious that more needs to be done. I do hope that the industry does something. So many women feeling unheard and vulnerable. I know Caitlin Moran’s book will talk more about men’s mental health in general and the conversations around that, but it has got me thinking about the way I discuss and frame men on my blog. I would consider myself to be a feminist writer, and it is so important that as much discussion as possible happens when it comes to the discrimination and inequality through the industry. Although it applies to a small percentage of men, I am always disgusted, exhausted and angry when reading the statistic of sexual abuse and harassment. I also get enraged hearing stories about women being bullied and abused online. Whether it is threatening language or explicit threats, there is sexism, misogyny and this unwavering toxic masculinity.

Men’s mental health is one of multiple questions and topics that are discussed (“So, what about men? Why do they only go to the doctor if their wife or girlfriend makes them? Why do they never discuss their penises with each other - but make endless jokes about their balls? What is porn doing for young men? Is their fondness for super-skinny jeans leading to an epidemic of bad mental health? Are men allowed to be sad? Are men allowed to lose? Have Men's Rights Activists confused 'power' with 'empowerment'? And is Jordan B Peterson just your mum - but with some mad theory about a lobster?). Whilst I will never defend men who are culpable of sexual abuse, threats and misogyny, I have not really discussed male musicians and their mental health and challenges that face them. There is another feature due when it comes to the darker side of music and how to make women feel safer. It is a topic that is never far from my mind. More and more, we are reading statistics about male mental health. The statistics around mental health in men is shocking:

“Why Men Don't Talk About Their Mental Health

To the cohort of men who don't talk about their mental health, we asked what the underlying reasons were:

• ‘I’ve learnt to deal with it’ (40%)

• ‘I don’t wish to be a burden to anyone’ (36%)

• ‘I’m too embarrassed’ (29%)

• ‘There’s negative stigma around this type of thing’ (20%)

• ‘I don’t want to admit I need support’ (17%)

• ‘I don’t want to appear weak’ (16%)

• ‘I have no one to talk to’ (14%)

Even when related to medical professionals like their GP, many men don't feel like they can raise the issue of mental health. Almost one quarter (22%) of respondents said they would not feel comfortable speaking to their GP or any other professional about their mental health. The main reason given was that they worry it would be a waste of their GP’s time. Given that suicides are so high amongst men (77% of all suicides are committed by men), it serves to highlight the damage that can be caused when men feel like they can't reach out for support.

PHOTO CREDIT: Inzmam Khan via Pexels

The results show that work still needs to be done to lift the stigma that surrounds mental health. Dr Natasha Bijlani, a Consultant Psychiatrist at Priory Hospital Roehampton, puts it down to the outdated idea of what it means to be a man:

“Traditionally, men have been less likely to seek support for mental health issues. This is probably for a number of reasons including stigma and the traditional ‘strong male’ stereotype still prevalent in our society – the idea that expressing emotion is a sign of weakness."

The Biggest Issues Affecting Men's Mental Healt

77% of men polled said they experienced some level of symptoms for common mental health problems such as anxiety, stress or depression.

But what underlying factors are driving those symptoms? Respondents were asked about the biggest causes of pressure in their life - pressures that might negatively impact their mental health.

The top three issues are:

• Work-related pressure - 32%

• Financial pressures at - 31%

• Health concerns - 23%.

The seasonal pressure of Christmas was also mentioned as a factor, especially among older men aged 35-44. The cost of the festive season means Christmas and mental health don't always match up as harmoniously as we believe - especially for those with young children or bigger families”.

Of course, we can look at the music industry and know, from seeing those statistic above, that there is a whole group of people that we need to spotlight. I keep coming back to Caitlin Moran’s book, where she asks questions that perhaps have not been asked before. I am not going to write about toxic masculinity of a poisonous side of music when it comes to men. It is impossible to defend or rationalise any of that behaviour. Instead, I have been inspired by her opening up debate and doing something she has not done before. More used to writing from a woman’s perspective and speaking from a female perspective, What About Men? is looking at the challenges afflicted men and the idea of modern manhood. Why men feel the need to win all of the time; whether there is still taboo around discussions around unhappiness and anxiety. It has been a catalyst for me, for at least one feature, to have a more sympathetic approach to men in the industry. To be fair, I have never had any issues withy artists (unless they make the news for the wrong reasons), but I have never really thought about their struggles and realities. As someone who struggles with various mental health issues, I can only imagine how hard it is for men to carry that whilst trying to maintain a career in such a competitive industry. I know female artists, of course, have mental-health struggles. The reason I am focusing on men is because they often find it harder to discuss that side of things. The media also does not often look at mental health in male artists and opening up the conversation.

I have read a few recent stories where some high-profile male musicians have talked about their mental health. It can often be hard to do so because, when they are being interviewed, it is always about the music. There are very few forums where we get to hear about what it is like for men in the industry – and the effect a busy career has on their mental wellbeing. You can apply this to all artists but, as Ed Sheeran recently revealed in an interview that he felt embarrassed about discussing his mental health, you do have to ask questions. Is there still a stigma around men talking freely and honestly about depression and anxiety? It is something that impacts so many in the industry, but is there much consideration given when it comes to touring, promotion and care? I do feel like there is so much pressure on their shoulders, that many would rather try and grin and bear it. If artists like Tom Grennan have talked about mental health struggles and challenges in the past, I do wonder if there is enough being done in the music industry to create a dialogue and do more to safeguard male artists. This should be extended to all genders, but there does seem to be a sense of stigma still applied to men when it comes to how they process struggles. With increased touring demands – because artists are not making money from streaming -, the exhaustion of travel, putting on a smile in interviews and on stage, coupled with financial struggles and very long days, there is a fear that we could see so much burn-out, careers being ended, or something even more disturbing.

In the past, there have been articles and occasions when men have talked about their mental health. Movember (or Men's Mental Health Awareness Month) happens in November. Last year, an article came out that spotlighted the male artists who were putting their struggles in the spotlight:

“Many male musicians had spoken up about their struggles or shown support for others during the Men’s Mental Health month of November.

Dave, a rapper from South London and Yungblud, an alternative indie singer from Doncaster, Yorkshire, not only used their social media platforms to speak on it but used their music to further speak about their own mental health struggles.

Dave’s debut album PsychoDrama was created following therapy sessions he attended discussing his mental health. In the album, he touches on his mental health, his strained relationships, and his feeling toward his brother who was convicted of murder in 2010 and is serving a life sentence.

Yungblud used his art and social media to advocate not for his own diagnosis but for other less spoken about mental health struggles.

Youngblud’s song “God Save Me, But Don’t Drown Me Out” is about struggling with depression. During an earlier interview with NME, Yungblud said he struggled with his mental health and more so when people were “not understanding what you’re going through”.

If documentaries like Man Down have provided this platform for men in music to freely explore mental health issues, how often has the conversation been reintroduced? You get the odd article or interview where an artist has discussed their mental-health, but I still feel there are many in the industry unwilling to share or fearful of speaking out. In terms of how that will affect their career. They might feel exposed or like they are on their own. Musicians who do speak out about their mental health are to be commended, but it is not a common thing. I feel, especially over the past couple of years, there has been a rise in mental health problems among male artists. The fact some mainstream artists have revealed their struggles with give inspiration and strength for others to do likewise, but what is done when these interviews come out? For those artists who do open up, what happens next? It seems like they just go back into the thick of things and there is not enough being done. Songs from big artists like Kendrick Lamar are proof that mental-health problems can affect any man in the industry. Apart from the odd documentary and interview, I don’t know what is being done. It might be impossible for the industry and labels to give their artists too much time off or reduce their workloads. Of course, we must also do more in this sense to protect women and non-binary artists. They have the same mental health struggles, together with problems that most men do not experience (sexual harassment and misogyny for example).

After reading articles and interviews where male artists were bravely opening up about their struggles, I do think that the conversation needs to widen. There are wonderful charities and organisations that provide support for musicians. As this 2020 piece reveals, the number of Indie male artists who report mental health issues is shockingly high. Less likely to seek support or talk about their issues, there is definitely cause for the industry to take this on board. Something that can then be rolled out to all artists, I do worry that we could lose some musicians because of the pressures put onto them. Those speaking out do help, but I think a lot of male artists stay silent and just carry on regardless. This can then lead to exhaustion or depression. I opened by saying that Caitlin Moran’s new book, What About Men?, inspired me for a number of reasons. I have discussed men in a negative context in a lot of features. It is justified given the circumstances and context but, when thinking about male artists, I haven’t really thought too hard about these conversations that we need to have. Why are so many still not reporting their struggles? Do artists that talk about mental health issues or mention it in songs get necessary support and allowances? Does the entire industry make less demands of artists? Do we need more podcasts, shows and documentaries where the focus is on male artists’ mental health? I know that so many male artists are being impacted. That feeling that they are alone or will feel weak and judged if they talk about their problems. I hope that more support and awareness comes about regarding male artists and mental health problems, as we need to…

NORMALISE it and change the narrative.

FEATURE: Aqualung: The Barbie Soundtrack, and Why the Upcoming Film Is a Must-See

FEATURE:

 

 

Aqualung

PHOTO CREDIT: Atlantic Records/Warner Bros. Pictures

The Barbie Soundtrack, and Why the Upcoming Film Is a Must-See

_________

THERE are a couple of points…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Warner Bros.

that I wanted to bring up when it comes to the upcoming Barbie film. Directed by Greta Gerwig (who co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach), the film comes out on 21st July. As this is a music blog, I wanted to look at the soundtrack, but there is also something else that I wanted to focus on. I will start with the music. Undoubtably the film of the summer, there is a lot of excitement around Barbie already. Rolling Stone reported on the soundtrack roll-out, in addition to providing more details about the film itself:

“The movie of the summer is almost here — and now has an all-star soundtrack lineup to go with it.

Rolling Stone exclusively reveals that Barbie: The Album will feature Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, Fifty Fifty, Gayle, Haim, Ice Spice, Kali, Karol G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, PinkPantheress, Ryan Gosling, Tame Impala, and the Kid Laroi. The compilation project releases July 21, the same day the movie, starring Margot Robbie and Gosling, arrives in theaters worldwide.

What a lineup … and also Gosling. Jokes aside, the star has been known to flex his vocal chops —Gosling sang, danced, and played piano in the Oscar-winning La La Land.

And the list isn’t even complete — more artists will be announced as the album’s release date draws near. The project will be executively produced by Mark Ronson, who collaborated with Lipa on the platinum-certified “Electricity” as one half of the electronic duo Silk City.

On Monday, Lipa (who stars in the film as Mermaid Barbie) announced that her single from the soundtrack, “Dance the Night,” will be released Thursday. The Grammy-winning multi-hyphenate kept the Barbie vibes going this week, living her plastic fantastic life at Cannes, where she unveiled her new collaboration with fashion house Versace.

A first glimpse of the song made its way into the latest Barbie trailer, which finally reveals some gritty, existential details about the plot beyond shiny plastic and picture perfect parties. Dancing at her own giant blowout party — her version of a small get-together — Barbie spins and twirls to Lipa’s smooth vocals, singing: “You can find me under the lights, diamonds under my eyes.”

“It is the best day ever — and so is yesterday, and so is tomorrow, and every day from now until forever,” Barbie exclaims on the dance floor, keeping the good times going until she asks: “Do you guys ever thinking about dying?” With a loud record scratch indicating the sudden vibe-shift, “Dance the Night” is immediately replaced with the sound of crickets to go with everyone’s horrified looks.

For some on the project, being involved in Barbie is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Barbie moniker is one of Nicki Minaj’s long-standing alter egos, punctuated by 2018’s “Barbie Dreams,” which flipped Biggie’s “Just Playing (Dreams).” Now, she’s on the soundtrack.

A brief clip of her contribution to the project closes out the trailer. As the release date flashes across the screen in the classic Barbie font, Minaj spits: “It’s Barbie, bitch, if you still in doubt.”

Sadly, no sign of Aqua on the project. The previously unknown group from Denmark exploded when its cheeky track “Barbie Girl,” which included the unforgettable “life in plastic, it’s fantastic” bars, became a global sensation in 1997. The track was sampled in 2017’s “Not Your Barbie Girl” by Ava Max, who appears on Barbie: The Album. Read the oral history of the infamous track, which turned a quarter-century last year, here.

The movie’s first trailer arrived last month, introducing a Barbie multiverse and a star-studded cast: Issa Rae as President Barbie, Ana Cruz Kayne as Supreme Court Justice Barbie, Kate McKinnon as a Barbie who’s always “in the splits,” and others. The Greta Gerwig-directed flick takes place in Barbie Land and has a log line: “To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis … Or you’re a Ken.”

The Barbie fun doesn’t stop here — the film’s global trailer drops Thursday at noon ET. Plus, Barbie is just one movie on Rolling Stone’s “40 Movies You Need to See This Summer” list. See what else made the cut here”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa/ PHOTO CREDIT: Tyrell Hampton

I am excited about the soundtrack, as it features some huge artists. I half-jokingly titled the feature ‘Aqualung’. Aqua are a Danish band that released Barbie Girl in 1997. That song won’t appear on the soundtrack (mercifully). I think that the artists and music that will be on the soundtrack will give life and breath to a film that is going to be among the best of the year. Dua Lipa’s single is fantastic - and she will have a small role in the film. There is another thing that I wanted to focus on. Barbie is a film that has heart and moments of emotion. I think it is primarily a comedy. After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less-than-perfect doll, Barbie sets off to the real world to find true happiness. The trailer looks incredible, and it is clear that Greta Gerwig is helming a film that is going to do huge business at the box office. It has a $100 million budget, and I expect that it will take a few times that within weeks. It is hard to name too many comedies from the last decade which have stuck in the mind. One might see a comedy that is heart-warming and uplifting. When it comes to those classics and standout comedies, I struggle to remember when the last one was. You would have to go back many years to name a comedy that can sit alongside the best of all time. I think that the Barbie film is not only going to be one of the films of 2023 – this could well rank alongside the best comedies ever. With Greta Gerwig’s incredible and imaginative direction, there is going to be this balance of fantasy and real-life. When in Barbieland, there is going to be a lot of fantasy and frivolity. A somewhat plastic world that seems suited to Barbie. In terms of the script, there is plenty of scope for huge laughs and memorable scenes. I think it is the transition into the real world that will provide the highlights.

With Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, there is that chemistry and connection you can feel in the trailer. I think that Robbie especially has a natural gift for comedy. It is going to be a fantastic film. I have been dubious when it comes to modern comedies. Not much has captured me in terms of the plot and crucially the laughs. A lot of them fall rather short! With Barbie, I think that it is going to exceed any comedy released in the past couple of decades. Of course, it will have a lot of depth and seriousness too. The marketing campaign has been incredible. I can understand why people are excited ahead of the July release. Mark Ronson is the Executive Producer of the soundtrack, so you are in safe hands regarding the sequencing and artists. HAIM, Ice Spice, Kali, Karol G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj and a host of others will provide one of the best soundtracks of the year. I was eager to write something about Barbie, if only to highlight the music. You know the film will get five-star reviews across the board! With excellent performances, a hugely strong cast, and direction by Greta Gerwig, this is going to be a film that is going to sit alongside the very best. In comedy terms, I think that we are in for something huge! There are going to be more teasers and news coming about Barbie closer to July. At the moment, you can feel the anticipation and excitement. This is a smash that you…

WON’T want to miss!

FEATURE: Spotlight: Shallowhalo

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

Shallowhalo

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A duo I am very excited about…

everybody needs to check out the amazing Shallowhalo. Comprised of Allyson Camitta and Ezra Tenenbaum, they hail from Brooklyn, New York. There is a lot of exciting music coming from New York right now. There always has been buzz and brilliance - but it seems now is a particularly fertile and interesting time there. I first heard them when their recent single, Renaissance Affair, came out. They have released an album, No Fun, which came out in May 2022. I wonder whether they are following that this or next year. I am going to come to a couple of interviews where Allyson Camitta was discussing her musical inspirations and the work of Shallowhalo. They are chats from last year. I think they are relevant now, as you get a good sense of where the duo came from and the sounds that inspired it. I want to start off with some recent kudos from NME. They named Shallowhalo as one of the acts defining New York music at the moment:

“ShallowhalWho: The synth-pop duo modernising ’80s sounds
Why you should care: Made up of Allyson Camitta and Ezra Tenenbaum, Shallowhalo are reimagining that signature, synth-heavy ’80s sound with their unique musical voice. Each of their tracks is dripping with dreamy vocals provided by Camitta, along with dynamic percussion arrangements that add a bit of edge.
Key Track: ‘Renaissance Affair’ (AG)”.

I am really excited to see where Shallowhalo go next! They are being tipped for big things, and I think that there is a growing fanbase for them in the U.K. I guess they do take a modicum of inspiration from British Pop of the '90s. Maybe that is one reason why Shallowhalo are resonating with people here. PAPER  heralded Renaissance Affair for a recent feature. It is definitely one of the best singles of 2023. I think that Shallowhalo are going to go very far:

“Shallowhalo is in their renaissance era. On their single “Renaissance Affair,” released today, the Brit-pop duo sport sunglasses and powdered wigs as they sing along to playful '80s pop synth — okay, there are many eras at play there.

Shallowhalo’s revival is as bright-eyed and full-cheeked as a Sistine Chapel cherub. Their latest single, premiering today on PAPER, falls at the heels of the single “Crystal Ball,” the duo's second release with Melbourne label Dinosaur City Records.

In “Renaissance Affair," French aristocracy meets camcorder meets karaoke as Shallowhalo's Allyson Camitta and May Rio, who provided backing vocals for the single, go gallivanting across New York City streets, exploring the lore and LARPing of New York nightlife. The visual was filmed by nightlife documentarian Jackie Young.

“I incorporated footage from the times over the last few months I’ve seen Allyson and May play around New York,” said Young. “Each time, I’ve re-recorded over existing footage on the same worn-down Mini DV Tape, creating an analog glitching collage which felt fitting for how the New York music scene can feel like a fast-paced blur.”

By re-inventing history, the music video allows its protagonists to reinvent themselves. Occupying an ambiguous space between life and play, “Renaissance Affair” encourages listeners to live their life like make-believe. Reminiscent of childhood costumes and characters, Camitta and Rio live out their fantasies and find themselves in the process.

"'Renaissance Affair' was written over this past summer," Camitta recalls. "I was going out regularly to a friend’s weekly DJ gig at Home Sweet Home in the Lower East Side and then took a picturesque trip upstate to the Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, New York where we dressed up in medieval outfits and took a bunch of mushrooms. The song is a mashup of the pageantry and escapism of dressing up and going out in the city — the fantasy of it all.”

The track itself blends Italo Disco, tape echoes, flute and an '80s-ready baseline with additional vocals from Rio — wrapping a host of voices, styles and sounds up into one repeat-worthy beat”.

I am going to look back on a couple of interviews from last year. The Luna Collective spoke with Shallowhalo’s lead, Allyson Camitta. It is fascinating seeing how Camitta started out and the sort of sounds that inspired her. No Fun is a magnificent debut statement! I think that Shallowhalo will take even bigger steps on a sophomore album. It is amazing seeing them rise and get so much deserved attention:

“THERE’S AN OLD SAYING ABOUT MUSICIANS — that states, “If you’re a musician and also a programmer, you’re frickin’ sick.” And what a coincidence that artist Shallowhalo is all three. What is it about a synth that speaks to all of us? I still remember the first time I heard Shallowhalo’s music, her sweet voice, and the feeling of being intoxicated with the fullest sounds music can offer. It was like the melody was telling me exactly how to feel, exactly where to be.

Bringing with it a sense of belonging, a sense of remembering, Shallowhalo does so without being too obvious or too derivative. It’s something almost all musicians aim for but very few achieve in their lifetimes. Shallowhalo’s new debut album, No Fun, does just that while adding a bit of her very own girlboss programmer flare that keeps everything new and exciting; it’s like hearing music itself again for the very first time.

I was able to sit down with Shallowhalo and ask her some of my own burning questions — friend to friend — about her artistry, vision, process, and the tender love and care that went into the making of No Fun, out now.

LUNA: When did you start making music?

SHALLOWHALO: I started making music in 2016 after I bought a Korg Minilogue. I tried writing a couple of songs but didn’t know how to finish them and got caught up with school and working in fashion. A few years later, I met Harrison [Smith], and he asked if I wanted to play synth in his band, Turtlenecked. This terrified me because I had never been in a band before, but he was cool with that so I said yes and we were able to play a couple shows before the pandemic happened. By then, I was having so much fun playing music with other people so I decided to keep going. Ezra [Tenenbaum] and I started making music together, which is funny because we’d known each other for a long time but never collaborated until then. We were just having fun, challenging ourselves to make a song every couple of weeks to release an EP. Before we knew it, we had 10 songs and decided to put out an album.

LUNA: Who was your biggest musical inspiration while making this album?

SHALLOWHALO: I was aiming to make something that sounded like if you put electroclash, goth pop, twee, and synth pop in a blender. We were also constantly listening to Chris and Cosey, they have so many great songs.

LUNA: What does the songwriting process look like for you?

SHALLOWHALO: We tried a few different ways, and it was different for each song, but I like to constantly be working on new lyrical ideas to help guide the process. I started journaling a few years ago after reading The Artist’s Way, this self-help book for artists. One of the book’s exercises is called “Morning Pages,” where you wake up and immediately start writing whatever is in your head. The only rule is to keep writing until you fill up three pages. It sounds corny, but there's something about when you first wake up when your mind is still in that half-sleep state that helps me write in a more dream-like way.

LUNA: Favorite song you’ve ever written?

SHALLOWHALO: “Yesterday's Toy” is probably my favorite because I wrote a whole story behind it and it came together so seamlessly. We originally had a skeleton of a song that I sang gibberish over while I figured out the lyrics. I locked myself in a room and came up with a storyline where I had a porcelain doll that was a little haunted, who was precious to me when I was younger. Over the years, I lost track of her until one day I stumbled upon her in a thrift store, along with everyone else's forgotten toys. Seeing her brought back all the good memories we had together and a strong sense of nostalgia so I vowed to never leave her again”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brittany Orlando

There is another interview that I want to source before wrapping things up. A GRRRL’s Two Cents spoke with Allyson Camitta as part of a series featuring inspiring womxn and queer femme musicians based in New York City about their experiences, music tastes and favourite hang-outs:

“I understand that you started making music when you bought a korg mini synthesizer. What drew you to the synth in particular and what compelled you to take it home?

I bought that synth around five years ago when I first moved to New York and studied. I’ve always been a big music fan who would go to shows every night of the week. I always wanted to make music, but I didn’t know where to start. I grew up taking piano and violin lessons, and I learned how to read music, but never learned how to write it. So it just seemed like the next logical progression to start making my own music. And since I knew how to play piano already, the synth seemed like it would translate well.

When you and Ezra started working together, when did you both realize you had something special?

Ezra and I started making music together during the lockdown in Spring 2020. We were both getting heavily into analog synths at the time. He built up a synth collection and I bought a DX7, which is a more 80s-sounding keyboard. We just started jamming together and messing around with all these different synths, and at the time we weren’t thinking “Okay, we’re going to start a project.” It was a very natural progression that lead to a couple of songs that felt like they belonged together. So we eventually decided to expand on that, and started thinking in terms of creating an album or an EP. Then we wrote a bunch more songs, some that got scrapped, and a few others that made it onto the first album, No Fun.

How would you describe the world of Shallowhalo?

The world of Shallowhalo sucks you in, haunts you, hypnotizes you, and it’s built around community and inclusion. I want to bring all of these amazing people that I’ve met throughout my life together and curate one big dinner party. I also think about that when I collaborate with people too — filmmakers, photographers, dancers — combining all of these mediums together and creating something beautiful.

I said in an interview a few months ago that our vibe is basically a rave at a haunted Victorian mansion, and we recently turned that into a reality. Ezra and I rented an Airbnb upstate with a few artist friends of ours — Frost Children, May Rio, Big Dumb Baby, etc. — and we DJ-ed and had a little forest rave, which was cool.

I also understand that you’re a really big fan of the mid-2000s indie sleaze culture. What is it about this particular resurgence that appeals to so many people, particularly now?

I think it has to do with people being cooped up at home for so long. A big part of that moment was going out, partying, getting sweaty, and this need for connection after a major American recession, which is happening again. Coming out of pandemic restrictions, people want to go into full-on party mode. So seeing people like Cobrasnake at parties where my friends are DJ-ing is awesome and surreal. I’m 100% behind this indie sleaze revival because I’m really inspired by a lot of the music that came out during that time. I actually just found my old iPod. And looking through that iPod library, I was really impressed with how fantastic my taste was back then. I was also on a lot of online forums too, always wanting to discover something new, and that hasn’t changed.

Who are some of your favorite artists in the city that more people should know about?

GRBGE_GRL, May Rio, Frost Children, The Dare, Test Subjects, Liam Benzvi, Slic, sadie. I could go on and on. There are so many awesome musicians in the local scene making incredible, [boundary-breaking] stuff”.

Not only a duo conquering the New York City music scene, Shallowhalo are a worldwide sensation! It is still early days, though I do think that there will be a load of international tour dates and festival headline slots soon enough. There are many in the U.K. that would love to see them play. With a phenomenal debut and newer singles Renaissance Affair and Crystal Ball under their belt, the future is looking very bright for….

THE remarkable Shallowhalo.

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Follow Shallowhalo

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/shallowhalo/

TikTok:

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

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/shallowhaloxoxo

Bandcamp:

https://shallowhalo.bandcamp.com/track/renaissance-affair

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/302pglvxOK8fDRZTsNoAgq

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzy35lJfbwWbWVhR8ci3iyg

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/shallowhaloxoxo/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Ice Cream Parlours and Milkshake Bars: The Playlist

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: lookstudio via Freepik

Ice Cream Parlours and Milkshake Bars: The Playlist

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THE weather is improving…

 IMAGE CREDIT: Freepik

and, when the sun is out, rather romantically and oldskool, I think back to classic ice cream parlours and milkshake bars. We still have them now, but there is a particular nostalgia and something 1950s/1960s about them. I am glad they are still around and popular (especially ice cream shops and bars), as they will be buzzing in the summer! To mark the approaching warmer weather and a bright (hopefully!) season, I have compiled a playlist of songs both classic and modern that evoke those scenes. Of the older-style bars and parlours that seem outdated or of the past now, to the more modern examples, there is this pull and wonder to them. It has been interesting thinking of songs that could well score a pleasant afternoon or evening grabbing a milkshake or some ice cream – or, if the mood strikes, both! To mark the warming weather and some drier and brighter skies, here is a playlist that should get the summer sounds started early. If you have not even considered venturing out to get some ice cream or a refreshing milkshake, then I hope that these tracks help…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Austin Cooper via Pexels

PUT you in the mood.

FEATURE: Divinely Uninspired/Broken by Desire: The Weight of Success: The Commercial Lure of the Male Singer-Songwriter and the Deeply Personal

FEATURE:

 

 

Divinely Uninspired/Broken by Desire

IN THIS PHOTO: Lewis Capaldi

The Weight of Success: The Commercial Lure of the Male Singer-Songwriter and the Deeply Personal

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THIS might be a bit of a mash-up…

 IN THIS PHOTO: cottonbro studio via Pexels

but there are a couple of things that have become clear when it comes to the mainstream and particular tastes. It is wonderful that there is this explosion and continued wave of fresh and exciting Pop music. Whether it is a relatively new and rising artist or a legend like Kylie Minogue, I think there is this pleasing core of music that is not particularly personal or overwrought! I like when an artist can bare their soul, but there is something to be said about music that is more escapist and fun. Whereas there are female artists who are exposing their wounds and putting their hearts out there (such as Adele), I think there are more that have this fresh and more thrilling sound. That might seem like an over-simplification, but the most electric and interesting music is coming from them. In terms of energy and inventiveness, they are leading the way. Ellie Goudling recently said that her new album, Higher Than Heaven, was her least person. It was a bit tongue in cheek, though I think that there is this expectation for artists, especially commercial Pop acts, to be personal and revealing. Maybe this was more common pre or during the pandemic, but there has been this reassuringly uplifting and less personal music appearing since then. If there is this phenomenal and catchy as hell bliss coming from a lot of female artists, the same isn’t necessarily true with regards the men. Again, that might be over-simplifying things, but there is a divide. If artists such as Harry Styles can mix the personal with the more spirited and lively, there is still this reliance and lure of the heart-on-sleeve male singer-songwriter.

I am not necessarily talking about the Indie acts like Sam Fender. Years ago, there was this saturation of male artists who were more introspective and soul-baring. Rag'n'Bone Man, Lewis Capaldi, and Ed Sheeran are a few artists who have this very similar sound. This feature is really about two things. For one, it is a music and lyrical style that seems to be very popular and sought-after when it comes to mainstream male artists. The other point relates to a certain weight of expectation and pressure on them. If artists like Ed Sheeran and their ilk are affable and likeable enough, their music doesn’t seem to match the personality. You have Ellie Goulding, Kylie Minogue and Dua Lipa music that very much matches their demeanour and personalities. Female artists are personal and revealing in their music, yet I don’t think there are the mainstream artists who are quite downbeat or wounded that have the same sort of commercial pull. Maybe Freya Ridings and Adele are the big examples. I wonder whether this heartfelt and almost tortured at times sound is taking a lot out of the artist. Does it also have enough depth and nuance to stand the test of time?! Sam Smith, a non-binary artist, has been associated with this same sort of sound and lyrical approach. They are bolder and more daring on their latest album, Gloria, but there does seem to be this awkward mix of bigger and more experimental sounds with lyrics and songs struggling to find identity and depth. Maybe a similar generic and sometimes bland approach. Is there this feeling that they have to be revealing and too personal? You can tell Smith is trying to evolve their sound, but there is that commercial and fan expectation that they need to wear heart firmly on sleeve. I have enormous respect for artists like Smith, and Sheeran, but I also worry about a few things. I will come to Lewis Capaldi soon. He, alongside Sheeran and Smith, have revealed personal struggles and a certain fatigue recently. If their music is very honest and personal, I do wonder if there is this negative effect. That this earnest and revealing music is taking a lot of out of them. I do also wonder whether there is still this worrying trend of embracing artists whose music has this very similar sound. The continued dominance of inner-looking and heart-exposing music. If there are many male artists pushing forward and offering alternatives, these very similar and hugely popular artists like Grennan and Sheeran are not taking bigger leaps or experimenting as much as many of their peers (many of them female) – or whether they are trying and it isn’t working.

Sheeran’s latest album – and the last in the mathematic symbols series -, -, was commended for progress and some attempt to move his sound on. Many explained how he was also harking back to his acoustic roots. How his lyrics were not exactly reinventing the wheel and necessarily trying to speak to those beyond his fanbase. Playing to the masses and displaying a vagueness, there is a pattern emerging. Are big male artists like this expected to stick to a lyrical direction?! Why is there commercial demand for a particular type of male artists that is not necessarily comparable to the sound and type of female artist?! Sheeran went to number one. I can appreciate that Sheeran wanted to be personal and honest on -, but is that what is expected of him – or was this a very conscious decision to reflect personal grief and losses?! He was featured in Rolling Stone back in March. A few parts of the interview caught my eye:

“With Sheeran’s new album, – (pronounced Subtract), due May 5, he’s in sudden danger of achieving a new brand of musical coolness, thanks to some of his most unadorned and emotive songwriting, paired with the chiaroscuro inventiveness of production by the National’s Aaron Dessner. Sheeran knows there’s a chance critics might actually like this one, which kind of scares him: “I’m worried about that, because all my biggest records, they hate.”

Sheeran isn’t afraid to say what he means in his songs, at nearly all times. If he’s grown up and is a father now, he sings, “I have grown up/I am a father now” — the opening line of 2021’s =. His use of metaphor is sparing. He loves Van Morrison, but if Sheeran wrote a song called “Listen to the Lion,” it would probably be about a trip to the zoo, and a Top Five worldwide hit to boot.

PHOTO CREDIT: Liz Collins

Someone on Twitter recently accused Sheeran of making “sex anthems for boring people,” a critique he needs only a millisecond to contemplate. “150 million boring people, by the way,” he shoots back, referring, loosely, to his total album sales, a figure that clearly hovers close to the surface of his mind. “I think I’m quite meme-able. Have you seen the meme of me when I’m queuing up at a record store in my own T-shirt with a bag that says “÷” on it? And it says, ‘Why does Ed Sheeran look like he’s queuing up to meet Ed Sheeran?’ I think it’s because I am quite quote-unquote ‘ordinary-looking.’ I look like someone’s older brother’s mate who came back from college and works in a pizza shop.”

If there’s still skepticism about therapy in the U.K., some young Americans treat it as a sort of miraculous, all-healing totem — hence the prevalence of “Men will literally become the biggest male pop stars of their generation instead of going to therapy”-type memes. For Sheeran, it’s been deeply helpful, but not magical. “The help isn’t a button that is pressed, where you’re automatically OK,” he says. “It is something that will always be there and just has to be managed.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Liz Collins

“Eyes Closed,” the first single, is built around a pinging pizzicato riff that builds to an octave-jumping chorus as big as anything in Sheeran’s catalog: “I’m dancing with my eyes closed/’Cause everywhere I look I still see you.” It’s a rewrite of a more straightforward pop song Sheeran had on hand, a more generic breakup narrative. Now it speaks directly to his traumas and their aftermath: “I pictured this month a little bit different/No one is ever ready.”

There are 14 tracks on –, but that’s not the end of Sheeran and Dessner’s collaboration. Sheeran yanked three tracks from the album that felt too joyous, and realized they were the start of something else. “It was very quickly seen that we were making two different things,” says Sheeran. He went on to write an entirely separate second album with Dessner. He’s already mixing that one, though he’s not sure when it will come out; he wants to give – a chance to breathe. “I have no goals for the record,” he says. “I just want to put it out.”

Sheeran has five more albums in mind using another category of symbols, one he’s not ready to share, at least on the record. He sees the last in that series as a years-long project, with a twist. “I want to slowly make this album that is quote-unquote ‘perfect’ for the rest of my life, adding songs here and there,” he says. “And just have it in my will that after I die, it comes out”.

There is a whole other feature I need to write about male artists and mental health. How music can be therapeutic and a way of understanding and healing. How it can also have very damaging psychological effects when they have to perform these very raw songs live. It is commendable that these men want to be very direct and honest with their fans and music - and their commercial success shows that the audience are connecting with the music. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, the sounds can be very insipid or familiar. If Sheeran is experimenting and genre-hopping, for the most part, the music is quite dry and homogenous. Lewis Capaldi is another artists I have a lot of appreciation for. He is a very funny and warm guy and I always want good things for him. In fact, his latest album, Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, has stormed the charts:

“Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent has outsold the rest of the Official Albums Chart Top 10 combined in the process. It surpasses the previous biggest opening week of the year – Ed Sheeran’s Subtract shifted 76,000 chart units in its first seven days on sale earlier this month – Lewis now claims the title with his second Number 1 album.

This week, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent nets in excess of 95,000 chart units, it’s the most streamed, downloaded and physically purchased release of the week, and also the best seller of the past seven days in the UK’s independent record shops. See the Official Record Store Chart Top 40 here.

What’s more, the record outperforms the opening week of Lewis’s debut Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, which totalled 89,000 chart units in its first seven days of release in 2019.

Lewis also claims the biggest opening week of any album since Taylor Swift’s Midnights in October 2022 (204,000 chart units), and the biggest first week for a male solo artist in 12 months, since Harry Styles’ Harry’s House reached the summit in May 2022 (114,000 chart units)”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Alexandra Gavillet

In a recent interview with The Times, Capaldi explained how his fragile mental health might force him to quit music. Like Sheeran (who also said he might quit music), Grennan and even Smith, there is this label such as ‘boy-next-door’. A certain image and type of artist. Also, in the interview as in the music, Lewis Capaldi is soul-baring. This is an artist and sound that is popular and speaks to fans, but here is another artist who has this commercial success and enormous popularity running adjacent to this very personal music that isa clearly from the heart. The demands of touring and maybe the rawness and realness of his lyrics is having a detrimental impact. If there is catharsis and therapy in the way he can express himself, I do wonder if there is an expectation on the male singer-songwriter to be a certain way. Although it only applies to a few, there is clearly a distinct type of singer-songwriter that has been popular for years. Lyrics that are very soul-baring and honest, but also a little run of the mill at the same time. I have nothing against their music, although there does seem to be a lack of music endeavour and evolution. Again, this might require a separate feature exploring male singer-songwriters, mental-health, and the way there are labelled and marketed – and, indeed, the sort of commercial pull they have. It is an interesting phenomenon that someone like Lewis Capaldi is shifting so many albums, but that is alongside interviews where he voices his worries about his health and longevity!

Also, as many critics have stated, the music can be middling. I know these artists have a huge fanbase but at a time when so many female artists are pushing forward and releasing music that can be personal but also very fun, there are these huge male artists that are sticking on a well-worn track. If his debut album’s title, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, was a bit tongue in cheek, Capaldi has been resolutely unmoving on Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent – wanting an album that was not a reinvention; instead something that was personal and similar to the debut. I have a lot of respect for Capaldi and his peers. I notice something interesting when it comes to personality and popularity compared to the musical depth, pedigree and originality. It is clear that the days of the heart-warming and personal male singer-songwriters is not over, but I do wonder whether the music has much substance and longevity (especially compared to what is being produced by incredible female artists). There is also this discussion that needs to be opened up more when it comes to the mental-health of these huge male artists and whether we need to talk more about this. That might be for another day! Although I do have a lot of respect for Lewis Capaldi and his soundalike brothers, I do find the music a little hard to get behind and keep in the head. I do hope they will be okay and keep in the industry, but I also have my fingers crossed that their next studios album will…

HAVE a sense of evolution and invention.

FEATURE: Changing Their Tune: Treating Women in the Music Industry with Greater Respect

FEATURE:

 

 

Changing Their Tune

PHOTO CREDIT: Thiago Matos/Pexels

Treating Women in the Music Industry with Greater Respect

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RATHER than this being related to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Rapper slowthai has appeared in court, where he has been charged with two counts of rape, both occurring in 2021/PHOTO CREDIT: PA Archive

a breaking bit of news or statistics regarding gender inequality in the industry, it is more a culmination of things. I know that there is small movement and improvements in the industry when it comes to how women in music are treated. I have recently written about sexual assault and harassment many women face. Whether they are at festivals, behind closed doors or elsewhere, there is still a shocking number of cases being reported. Musicians such as slowthai (Tyron Frampton) is currently facing two counts of rape. Going beyond respect, this is consent. Taking away that human right because an artist thinks they are beyond punishment. When it comes to a lot of male artists who are accused of sexual assault, they are often quickly forgiven by the industry or not sufficiently punished. In the case of slowthai, he has been taken off of several festivals’ bills, but you suspect he will be celebrated and heralded in a few months or so – and everything will sort of be back to ‘normal’. Natasha Rainey wrote an article for Gigwise recently. She talked about how sexual assault is still very prevalent in music. Many of the women who are speaking out and affected are portrayed as ‘alleged victim’(s) or not really seen as trustworthy:

“I will also never understand the pedestrian pride of acquitted artists. Is there pride of genuine innocence in a world that believes you capable of sexually assaulting another person after years of grinding only to be taken advantage of yourself. Maybe there is.

Alas, you can’t fix a broken system from the top. Groundless power dynamics trickle right down to burial sites of (not so) cancelled musicians and their successors. It’s the stasis of music as we know it. Where would Reading and Leeds be without it?

Gig culture is an easy place to start. Choking in sweat, hormones and the euphoria of strobe lights, boundaries are blurred, and hands reach unimaginable places.  It’s an echo chamber of congenial bad behaviour. Right place, right time, eh? But it’s usually the other way around as the story goes.

And if the addled groping of a stranger on a sticky dancefloor isn’t enough, the smug strummers, 1-foot off the floor, who believe it is their divine right to conquer are certifiably nauseating. I respect musicians, I especially respect musicians who respect their audiences and fellow musicians. It’s the egos a spotlight can enchant in them. It’s reductive to say an ego leads to sexual assault but abusing idol worship is a power play, no matter how far off the ground your stage is.

PHOTO CREDIT: Liza Summer/Pexels

Forget the gigs, we’re moving onto bigger and darker things! As of August 2022, 1 in 3 women are sexually assaulted at music festivals. Sexual assault has long since transcended dress code, drunkenness and “you were asking for it”-s – now the crowds are thirsty and taut, practically forcing randy headbangers upon the wanton head bobbers. I never thought overcapacity would ever play into half-cooked narratives of sexual offenders, but here we are. It’s the new normal, it’s fucking insane.

More sinister to come, the industry! I was a fresh 20-something trying to blag a career in music. Smitten in the lowest possible position (intern), I was soon corralled into working weird shifts, inappropriate conversations about sex and at the receiving end of nude photos sent by my universally loved boss. In a city where blacklisting breeds lists quicker than the time it takes to press delete, what does an impressionable young woman do? They don’t say a thing.

Maybe you can fix it from the top. Maybe the big leagues need to do more, be bolder at weeding out the bad ones, speak up for the people lower down the ladder that can't.

On a broader landscape, 1 in 4 women are raped, 1 in 18 men are raped and the highest number of rapes recorded by the police ever was in 2022. So, why is being safe in the safeguarded world of music so hard? Sexual assault is not victimless. It’s easy to be convinced otherwise, next year’s headliners will let us know.

At this point, I feel like a broken record. But in a broken system, let the music play, tainted and crooked as it is”.

If festival bills are slowly beginning to balance in terms of women being included, headline slots of predominantly the privilege of male artists. Again, there are improvements being made, but excuses are often thrown around when festival organisers are called out regarding clear sexism and gender imbalance. I think there is sufficient options and flexibility when it comes to suitably female artists and their availability. Rather than it purely being an issue with the industry not promoting women or giving them opportunities at ground level (though that is a major reason), I think organisers are just not really that compelled and motivated to fight for equality. You can throw about whatever excuses you like – male artists seen as more commercial and popular; if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it; there are plenty of women on the bill, so what does it matter if they are not headliners? -, but that is all it is: people hiding behind rather flimsy excuses. It comes down to respect for the amazing women out there and the brilliant music they are releasing. Every festival that heavily relies on male artists fore their headline slots is clearly not digging deep enough or purely accepting the fact that the best music being made is by women. They are visible and waiting to take to the stage! They have the requisite experience, and one could easily name dozens of female artists suitable for any festival! I have written about ageism and how some women are not included on various radio stations’ playlists because of age. Kylie Minogue’s recent single, PADAM PADAM, did make it onto Capital’s radar – a station that tends to play younger artists – but there are stations, including BBC Radio 1, who have not featured her. One can call it ‘selective ageism’ if they want, but the fact is that there are many female artists making such relevant and incredible music not included on playlists because of their age. I realise stations like Kiss and Capital have both Rita Ora and Beyoncé on their radars (both of whom are over thirty), but there are stations and playlists that tend to define a woman as relevant and fresh if they are under thirty or thirty-five, whereas male artists don’t quite have the same struggle!

I do think that the more conversations that happen, then the more things will improve. It is often women highlighting the inequalities rather than men. Many women do not feel safe in the industry because of the fear of being sexually harassed or assaulted. A lot of female artists are not being heard and featured at festivals – especially as headliners -, and I think that more and more, many stations and playlists are reserved only for ‘young’ female artists. Maybe tied to this notion that they are desirable and worthy when they are a certain age. Attitudes need to change. Much greater respect needs to be shown! I will finish with a feature that is about sexism many women face. This is still a major problem in the industry. If award shows like the Ivor Novellos recently celebrated some remarkable women, there are plenty of others that have not done enough to recognise the work of female artists.  Recently, Whiskey Kicks – a long-time music journalist and editor of UKF (who is also a woman) – spoke with some female D.J.s in the industry about their experiences. It seems, when it comes to Dance and women D.J.-ing, there is still a lot of sexism and assumption that they shouldn’t be there or must be supporting their boyfriends (rather than being the actual talent and D.J.). I have selected a few parts of the fascinating article:

“Ruth Royall

I’ve definitely had people mistake my manager for the DJ before but they were always absolutely mortified afterwards and not at all rude about it. I don’t find that it’s individuals that are the problem the majority of the time, it’s the overall sense of still being the only woman in the room and feeling like I’m lucky to be there.

Backstage areas are often full of men, predominantly white, who have been doing this for years, there have been comments like ‘the girls are doing great at the moment aren’t they’ or ‘women are really having a moment’. This is meant with the best intent, and I love that the guys are taking notice and getting behind the momentum but it still makes you feel somewhat ‘other’ and like it’s not going to last. If we balanced the playing field from the top, for example, promoters booking more women, more female A&R and tour managers and more women running the live tech side of things, encouraging more women to take degrees in sound design and engineering, we would stop feeling like a lucky girl with a golden ticket and feel like we belong. Which we do. We are getting more light shone on us than ever before, which is a great thing, but we don’t want to feel like we are being given permission to be there, we want to just do our thing and have a great time just like everyone else.

Amy Jayne

One story that stands out to me and I always refer back to was from Hospitality at The 02 Academy in Brixton 2014. I was Head of Promotions at the time and the team had pulled off an amazing sold-out event at one of the most prestigious venues in South London. It was early doors and I was standing on the side of the stage watching the venue fill up fast. I was having a proper moment in my own head, looking out and feeling so proud of the team. It was also one of the biggest events I’d been involved in at that time. The next thing some guy, a guest of someone playing the event, comes over and interrupts my moment by asking me if I was the DJ’s missus. I laughed sarcastically and told him I wasn’t – “Ok, so which one are you shagging then?”. I rolled my eyes and told him I worked for Hospital Records. “Ahhhh ok, well go get me a drink then.”

Obviously, I walked off and didn’t get him a drink but I do regularly kick myself for not standing up for myself – this wasn’t the first or last time I’d experienced this but the difference this time was the moment in which he interrupted me. I went from being so proud to so disheartened in a split second.

Another moment that springs to mind that I can only laugh at given my age and experience was a comment made by a random guy backstage at a show: “You can’t be a Label Manager you’re too young….. and a girl”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Georgie Riot

Laurie Charlesworth

A pretty big DJ once asked me how I got backstage at an event, threatening to call security, basically insinuating that I’d snuck back there. I was actually working in management for another artist on the lineup at the time, which was why I was backstage. I was the only woman backstage.

Georgie Riot

I’m a 26-year-old female who’s always been surrounded by men during my education and now working in the music industry. In college I was the only female on my Music Technology course, I found that I was treated with less respect, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I find that as a female, no matter how good you are at what you do there is always someone ready to chime in and say something to dampen your success some of the phrases I’ve either heard people say or read online are: “she didn’t make that track herself”, “she probably had a ghost producer” “she only got to where she is now because she’s a female”.

Working in the music industry as a woman, it feels like you have to work twice as hard to prove yourself. even when you’ve proved yourself, people will always have something to say about you because of your gender. It’s something that most men will never understand because they won’t ever experience it. We are grossly misrepresented, not taken seriously as artists, objectified, and sexualised and it seems that our appearances are valued more than our skills.

A lot of people think it’s easier to pave a way for yourself in the music industry as a woman, but it definitely isn’t. Let’s stop pigeon-holding women, and try to re-programme people’s attitudes towards female artists. Let’s give women equal opportunities and support, after all music is supposed to be about peace, love and unity”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Luriko Yamaguchi/Pexels

Those experiences seen above are not isolated. Most women in the music industry have faced sexism at some point. There is still this massive imbalance when it comes to opportunities and exposure. Women often seen as less valuable and good as their male counterparts. The struggle that so many women in music face is huge. To getting started and being given the same opportunities as men. Making it onto radio playlists and festival bills. Feeling safe and secure. Having a lasting career and being taken seriously when they pass a certain age. Many men face some of these issues, but it is much more common for women. From gig-goers and station bosses, through to those higher up in the industry, women do need to be shown a lot more respect! There will be those coming out and saying that the issues I have outlined refers to a small number of men – and that most men in the music are respectful. This is true, but it is down to every man in the music industry to support women and talk about imbalances and inequalities. I don’t think there are enough using their platforms and voices to support women. Whether they are a journalist, label boss, musician, or anything else, you don’t see many interviews, speeches or podcasts where men are calling for change and progression. Most of the articles written relating to gender inequality, sexual assault and the problems at the core of the industry are written by women. If small steps are being made, there is an opportunity and real need for huge leaps to made! With every article, tweet, and report of women feeling unsafe, unheard, or disrespected, it proves that they are not perceived and treated the same way as men. Given everything they give to the industry, and the fact that they are responsible for making music as wonderful, accepting, and brilliantly diverse as it is, the least they deserve is…

TO feel respected, heard and treated far better than they are.

FEATURE: Angel in Disguise: Brandy’s Never Say Never at Twenty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Angel in Disguise

Brandy’s Never Say Never at Twenty-Five

_________

I am keen to explore…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Brandy Norwood during the 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA on 13th September, 1998/PHOTO CREDIT: Margaret C. Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

an album that helped cement the brilliance of an R&B icon. Released on 9th June, 1998, Brandy’s Never Say Never reached number two in the U.S. and nineteen in the U.K. The record label Atlantic consulted David Foster as well as producer Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins and his team to work with Brandy Norwood on the record; Jerkins then went to work on and mould majority of the album. He also acted as Brandy’s mentor. In terms of what is explored on the album, Brandy discusses her experiences with love, the media, and monogamy. Perhaps her most important album, it built on the promise of her 1994 eponymous album. Maybe four years was a long gap, but it resulted in a follow-up that is more eclectic and broad. Showcasing her amazing voice and songwriting, Never Say Never contains singles such as The Boy Is Mine (with Monica), Angel in Disguise, and Have You Ever. Never Say Never was nominated for Record of the Year at the 1999 GRAMMYs. Because it is twenty-five years soon, I wanted to spotlight an incredible album. Having gone five times Platinum in the U.S., there is no doubting the importance and popularity of Never Say Never. The first feature I want to highlight is from Vibe. They marked its twentieth anniversary in 2018:

“Her project came four years after her self-titled debut, a notion that would be considered blasphemous today. But Brandy was in no way resting on her laurels. During the 90s and early aughts, Brandy was the R&B ‘it girl,’ with mainstream appeal. She was the epitome of the “girl next door,” which was showcased on our television screens every week as she starred on the hit UPN (now CW) sitcom, Moesha.

When Brandy entered the studio in the fall of 1997 to begin recording, she wanted to break away from the songs heard on her debut. But in some ways, the Brandy album has similarities to Never Say Never when it comes to ballads such as “Brokenhearted” and “Always On My Mind.” Both records have the then-14-year-old singer crooning about heartbreak and longing, themes she would come to revisit on her sophomore offering.

This time around, things would be different– enter Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. Brandy’s record label connected her with the then-upcoming producer, and the next is R&B music history.

Jerkins, along with his production and songwriting team consisting of brother, Fred Jerkins III, and LaShawn Daniels, gave Brandy a timeless mix of R&B ballads, up-tempo and mid-tempo tracks. He was the mastermind behind Never Say Never’s hit lead single, “The Boy Is Mine,” a duet with Monica. Playing on the rumors in the press about the two songstresses disliking each other, Jerkins thought it would be cool to put those stories to a song.

It paid off with “The Boy Is Mine” spending 13 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and winning both ladies a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. Brandy had officially arrived.

In addition to Never Say Never having commercial appeal with “The Boy Is Mine,” the album is strong in its R&B roots. “Angel In Disguise” is arguably one of the best opening tracks on a 90s R&B album. With backing vocals from R&B veteran Joe, the song tells a story of Brandy playing tug of war with her love with him pulling back emotionally. It’s mid-tempo production leaves any listener drenched in all the feelings as Brandy stands her ground in the game of love.

Let’s keep in mind, when Never Say Never is released, Brandy was only 19-years-old. One would never know that seeing as the album’s messages and lyrics appear to be from someone 5 to 10 years older”.

There was a lot of retrospection in 2018 when Never Say Never turned twenty. Many were excited to look back on an album that was Brandy’s international breakthrough. It was also an album that influenced upcoming female artists such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Listening back almost twenty-five years since I first heard Never Say Never, and it still sounds so fascinating and strong! Albumism revisited Never Say Never in 2018. Even though the entire album is terrific, there is one song that many people associate with Never Say Never:

“Released one month ahead of the June 1998 drop date for Brandy's second album Never Say Never was its initiating single, “The Boy Is Mine.” Conceived as a two-way split between herself and her peer Monica, the slick slice of black pop showcased the pair trading cool, but caustic barbs at each other in relation to a romantic liaison with the same man. The song also doubled as the title piece to Monica's sophomore album which premiered two months later. The ensuing sensation the track created—commercially and culturally—still astounds twenty years removed from its reveal. Separate from the phenomenon that was “The Boy Is Mine” was the respective impact of Brandy’s sophomore LP itself.

Never Say Never followed Brandy (1994), the eponymous debut on the Atlantic label that established the vocalist—and emergent actress—as a preeminent presence in the R&B marketplace. Animated by its compelling streak of singles showcasing Brandy's versatile contralto, Brandy hit the platinum mark four times over in the United States alone. As an entire body of work, the self-titled collection's smooth, hip-hop soul vibe was fetchingly fitted to Brandy's voice and left listeners craving more. Demand for the singer's second offering was high.

The Never Say Never sessions began in the latter half of 1997 with the pressure for Brandy to repeat (and exceed) the critical and commercial performance of her first record. Despite this tension, Brandy kept a level head and carefully vetted the collaborative suggestions from Atlantic Records. Such was the label's counsel that Brandy intersected with the industry-decorated Canadian arranger, producer and writer David Foster.

Wisely sensing that Foster could lend a certain level of pop crossover credibility to the project, Brandy agreed to put down tracks with him. Foster helmed three compositions for the set: “Have You Ever?,” “One Voice” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” The latter track was a spirited, if ultimately faithful cover of the 1991 power ballad smash by Bryan Adams.

The remainder of Never Say Never was overseen by an enterprising young man that was assuredly on the way up. Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins had been the man behind the boards on song pieces for the likes of Vanessa Williams, Mary J. Blige and Joe and it was hoped that he and Brandy would find creative chemistry together.

As it happened, the assembly for Never Say Never allowed Brandy and Jerkins to discover their respective muses in each other and commence one of the most enduring, if tempestuous singer/producer partnerships in popular music history. In addition to his own individual production and writing skills, Jerkins had a close knit pool of colleagues—Harvey Mason Jr., LaShawn Daniels and Fred Jerkins III—to assist him in Never Say Never's construction, while fielding supplemental writing or production contributions from others as needed.

Encouraged by Jerkins to share her feelings and participate in the record making process, Brandy wrote and produced on the LP where she could. The rest of the material contained on Never Say Never reflects various Darkchild staff—or writers/producers commissioned by them—tailoring it all to her life experiences. It makes for a long player that is disarmingly astute in tackling identity (“Top of the World,” “U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)”) and romantic turbulence (“Angel in Disguise,” “Almost Doesn't Count”). By infusing her own pathos into these typically chewed over subjects, the album is a somewhat intimate affair.

With its 16 tracks radiating a clear and concise confidence, Never Say Never was sent out into the world on June 9, 1998. Critically and commercially, the effort was a monumental victory for Brandy with seven of its singles, post-“The Boy Is Mine,” carrying the record—domestically and internationally—into the spring of 2000. The collection was also a Grammy favorite with nominations in two calendar years, 1999 and 2000; she won one in 1999.

Accolades aside, Never Say Never is representative of an overall watershed moment for Brandy's legacy in that the album trademarked her exuberant, but mature aestheticism and transformed it into a source of inspiration for much of the modern R&B that came in its wake. It was quite a feat for the little girl who originally held fast to the dream of becoming a Whitney Houston-esque songbird in her own right. But as the saying goes, “never say never”.

I am going to end with a review for the terrific and iconic Never Say Never, Brandy is an artist who continues to release extraordinary music. Her latest album, B7, came out in 2020. Let us hope an eighth studio album comes about soon. Sputnikmusic had their say about an album that I feel, whilst hugely successful, is actually quite underrated. I would like critics to revisit it now and revise their original reviews. There was a lot of love for Never Say Never:

“Brandy is an oft-repeated name in dance music and r&b retrospectives, but rarely is her music put to the test beyond a small handful of well-known singles (and of course, countless samples). Today, I challenge you to put her music to the test. If you're saying to yourself, nice try, I'll never appreciate such a cheesy album or genre, here's what I say to you: Never Say Never.

Never Say Never captures the energy of an artist fresh off of a successful debut album, ready to let go and make music true to her heart and vision. Like many old skool r&b releases, a lopsided tracklist detracts from the record's immediacy looking back...but that's not the point! The serendipitous pairing of Brandy and producer Darkchild (aka Rodney Jerkins) resulted in a distinct atmosphere and style that made waves in the pop music industry and beyond. It doesn't lose sight of what r&b had to offer during the '90s, but is simultaneously forward-thinking, striking a balance between camp and soul that remains exceptional over twenty years later.

On 9th June, Never Say Never turns twenty-five. A real classic, I know Brandy herself will have a few words to say about it. I am not sure whether there is an anniversary vinyl being planned (the music videos from the album could be remastered in 4K), but if you get chance to stream Never Say Never, then please do. It sounds as remarkable and impactful now as it did…

BACK in 1998.

FEATURE: Don’t Leave Me This Way: Why It is Time for Another Motion Picture About the Iconic Studio 54

FEATURE:

 

 

Don’t Leave Me This Way

PHOTO CREDIT: John P. Kelly

Why It is Time for Another Motion Picture About the Iconic Studio 54

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THIS is tied to any…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Beyoncé on a fake horse during her Renaissance World Tour/PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood

event or anniversary, but I have been thinking about the resurgence and rise of Disco-inspired music. Whether you call it Post-Disco or Neo-Disco, there has been a lot of artists putting their stamp on it. From Jessie Ware to Kylie Minogue or Beyoncé, it is a great way of revitalising sounds of the 1970s and updating them. Maybe using Disc as a basis, there is a blend of the modern and classic. Hardly surprising that this concoction should result in such phenomenal albums. People wasn’t to be uplifted and transported somewhere! I suspect that we will see a lot more albums like this in the coming years. It has made me think about a vital club that has sadly now closed, but it played a key role in Disco’s story. Studio 54’s building is there still, but it operates a Broadway theatre. It is located on 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighbourhood of New York City. I get the feeling that, whether they are an American act or British, there are artists evoking the spirit of Studio 54. I definitely put on their albums and feel like I am there. The Guardian recently reviewed Beyoncé when she played in Cardiff as part of her latest tour. There was a mention of Studio 54:

“One section encapsulates the emancipatory next-levelness: a pugnacious workout in which a trio of Renaissance club tracks are delivered in even sweatier forms. The Queens remix of Break My Soul interpolates sections of Madonna’s Vogue, acknowledging a previous time a major US pop star paid tribute to the innovations of dance music’s queer crucibles. Enveloped within are further nods to fellow musicians: Lizzo, Tierra Whack and Santigold are just three contempories named. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bessie Smith and “Helen Folasade Adu”, AKA Sade, are pioneers recognised.

In among all this bass and bling, Beyoncé’s voice remains commanding. But her more conventional soul melismas are rationed tonight, with staccato raps, ecstatic noises and edicts to the fore. If Lemonade, Beyoncé’s previous record, was a nuanced statement of Black pride, Renaissance revels in unbridled physical liberation for “everybody”. There are women in the band. There are plus-sized dancers, although there could be more. A giant silver duvet envelops Beyoncé at the end of Cozy, a song about being comfortable in your own skin. Whether overtly intended or not, a woman on horseback doesn’t just tilt at Studio 54, it suggests the notion of a warrior queen, of a Boudicca – an image that contrasts with the more prevalent colonial narratives: statues of chaps on horseback”.

It is just over forty years since Studio 54 closed its doors. On 4th February, 1980, a few years after it opened as a Disco club, the party named ‘The End of Modern-day Gomorrah’ ended this wonderful era. Even if it was a brief regency, you do wonder if anything like Studio 54 exists today. Not only in terms of its setting and vibe, but the sort of people who go there. Before coming to the point of this feature, I want to quote from GQ. They chatted with Ian Schrager about the release of the book, Studio 54. The opening paragraphs are vivid and scene-setting:

“There are two useful political bookends to the continued significance of the legend of Studio 54 from the opening and closure of the most famous nightclub in the world. When the doors of Studio flung open during the infamous early summer of 1977, the socialite Nikki Haskell was among the first to approach the velvet rope. She was double-dating that night. On her arm was a man whose name is now forgotten to history. Accompanying them was the future president of the USA, Donald Trump, with his then-bride, Ivana.

In Studio’s dying days, after its short lifespan – the space ignited then burned out with the speed, efficiency and sparkle of a Catherine wheel – scandal had begun to accrue around the former midtown opera house, and not just concerning the freewheeling accountancy practices of its owners, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. Margaret Trudeau, deep into the dreamy haze of a Quaalude hit, slumped back on a banquette in Studio’s secret room downstairs, under the stage. She was an early victim of what is now euphemistically known as ‘the upshot’. The Canadian prime minister’s wife was papped knickerless. The shot became the hottest news item shared across Canadian news media the following day. Pierre Trudeau lost his seat shortly thereafter. Three decades later, his son Justin occupies it.

PHOTO CREDIT: Robin Platzer

That the twin leaders, the giants of North American politics, should have intimate connections to Studio 54 should come as little surprise. ‘Everybody who came to New York went there,’ says Ian Schrager now, sitting in his Lower Manhattan office suite, the central hub of operations from which he conjures ever-more delightful environments in which the mundane business of life can be lent his tasteful fairy dust. ‘I mean, it was a phenomenon.’ Schrager has just opened the latest of his hotels, Public, on the Lower East Side. Patti Smith played at the ribbon-snipping party. A rooftop terrace bar looking wide out onto the East River, Brooklyn and beyond carries with it some of the vista of his past and present. To many, Schrager is the unofficial king of New York.

Over his left shoulder sits the Studio 54 logo, the letters picked out in lacquered gold. By ‘everyone’ coming to Studio, he means ‘everyone good’, a claim that bears close scrutiny. The discotheque rode a new celebrity wave hard and fast, its politics a secondary afterthought to the amoral bacchanalia housed within. Parties were thrown for Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote. Thelma Houston once ‘ummed’ and ‘aahed’ her way through the delicious introduction to “Don’t Leave Me This Way” in crimped silver lamé from the balcony. Michael Jackson still sported his Afro there. For the Warhol coterie, Studio was an elite variant of the working men’s club. In its final hours, Diana Ross bid farewell to Rubell and Schrager from the Studio DJ booth before the NYPD intervened to cut short the Dionysian excess by dishing them out a couple of jail sentences for tax evasion.

In the intervening four decades since, Studio 54 has become the subject of every art director’s glamour mood board. When boys who read nu-disco blogs hear the opening strains of “Love Hangover”, “Relight My Fire” or “Was That All It Was”, it is their imaginary Studio 54 valve that those propulsive basslines first tickle. When a stylist slips into a kaftan, it is to the back stairwell of Studio their sartorial choice transports them. I once heard the NYC Downlow, Glastonbury’s triumphant disco space, described as ‘Studio 54 in a cow field’. When you want to designate a particular brand of louche elegance on a night-time scene, Studio 54 is the natural first port of comparative call.

PHOTO CREDIT: Robin Platzer

In it Rubell and Schrager, a pair of old friends with a Brooklyn complex, had temporarily restructured Manhattan in the spirit of interwar Berlin, setting the theatre of the twilight to a disco beat. ‘The best thing that happened to me,’ says Schrager, ‘was being raised in Brooklyn. Everybody was hungry, everybody was upwardly mobile. Your parents wanted you to live better lives than they had lived. In Brooklyn, everybody had an ambition and everybody had something to prove. You know, I wasn’t declawed, as I would’ve been if I’d grown up in a suburb.’

On its 40th birthday, Ian Schrager has begun for the first time to look back in detail at the legacy of Studio 54. As he glided past 70 last year, he has reached a satisfying point in his story. He has a wife, Tania, and a seven-year-old son, as well as two daughters from a previous marriage, and two step-daughters with Tania. Schrager is living something of his domestic life in reverse. Now a hugely successful hotelier, he has a string of successful global concerns that have bucked the populist hospitality trend. His hotels, like his nightclub, have been much imitated, never bettered. ‘I’ve been in one of my hotels and heard someone say, “This is the hotel from hell,”’ he says, without a care. ‘Well, whatever. The strength of the hotel is that it’s not generic and it’s not for everyone”.

It is a shame that the Disco era died, and that a club as legendary and iconic had to close. Now that this is this fresh wave of Disco-inspired music, one would think there is lease and life in such an iconic club like Studio 54. I understand there are a lot of Disco clubs around the world, but none that have the lure and fame of Studio 54. Given its history and allure, there has not been a huge amount in the way of films about it. Studio 54: The Documentary came out in 2018. The way it is described (“#Studio54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism - a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club’s hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time”) is thrilling! It is a must-see for anyone with even a passing interest in the club. There have been films that have included Studio 54 and used it in their plots. Only one big film to my mind has got a theatrical release. Studio 54 was released in 1998. It starred Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, and Mike Myers as Steve Rubell, the club's co-founder. Whilst the idea and intention of the film was noble and needed, reviewers stated it was a missed opportunities. Not featuring many of the real characters and faces that passed through, the lack of realism means it is not an essential representation of Studio 54. Without ingraining and exploring its L.G.B.T.Q.+ themes, a lot of Studio 54’s meaning and legacy was lost.

There is definitely scope and demand for a film that revisits Studio 54. Not to cast already, but you could see Beyoncé taking in one of the parts! Maybe working to the close in 1980, you could focus on a group of friends who frequent Studio 54, but it would very much be about the real-life people who ran it and helped put it on the map. Perhaps there will be some creative license regarding some of the characters, but you want to keep it grounded. It could show some of the excess and hedonism that was present inside the walls of the Midtown Manhattan space. Backed and propelled by a terrific soundtrack, it could be a really popular film. I don’t think there has been anything beside documentaries when it comes to Studio 54. Putting something on the big screen twenty-five years after the film, Studio 54, was released, there does need to be something more real and rooted in the club’s history and players. I think it would resonate with audiences of all ages. Although the Studio 54 story would include corruption, excess, controversy and some dark elements, there is also the frivolity, the fun and sheer cool of the club! Rather than make a film that waters down the sex and drugs, or one that focuses too much on it, there could be this balance where you see inside Studio 54 and its famed guests, but you get to do so through some lead characters experiencing it for the first time. As so many of the songs and artists played at Studio 54 have doubtless influenced artists today repurposing oldskool Disco, there is relatability creating a film that takes us inside this legendary place. I definitely think that it is…

TIME to go back there.

FEATURE: Inspired By… Part Ninety-Eight: Siouxsie and the Banshees

FEATURE:

 

 

Inspired By…

IN THIS PHOTO: Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1986

Part Ninety-Eight: Siouxsie and the Banshees

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THERE was meant to be…

 PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart/Popperfoto

this big moment when Siouxsie Sioux played the Cruel World Festival on 20th May. Sadly, the festival was cut short due to adverse weather in California. It meant that she did not get to play to U.S. audiences that day (though she did get to play a rescheduled show the following day). It would have been a huge moment for someone who is so loved! One of the most captivating live performances there is. For this Inspired By…, I am focusing on her band, Siouxsie and the Banshees. The hugely influential London band honed this unique and distinct Post-Punk sound that had a big impact on artists that followed. Their debut album, The Scream, came out in 1978. Their final album, The Rapture, arrived in 1995. It was a fine way to bow out. I wanted to celebrate their legacy with a playlist of songs from artists influenced by the amazing Siouxsie and the Banshees. First, AllMusic provide some detailed biography concerning the iconic band – with one of the most talented and important leads in Siouxsie Sioux:

“Siouxsie and the Banshees were among the longest-lived and most successful acts to emerge from the London punk community; over the course of a career that lasted two decades, they evolved from an abrasive, primitive art punk band into a stylish, sophisticated unit that notched 18 Top 40 hits in the U.K. as well as a left-field Top 40 hit in the U.S.

Throughout its numerous lineup changes and textural shifts, the group remained under the leadership of vocalist Siouxsie Sioux, born Susan Janet Ballion on May 27, 1957. She and the Banshees' initial lineup emerged from the Bromley Contingent, a notorious group of rabid Sex Pistols fans; inspired by the growing punk movement, Dallion adopted the name Siouxsie and formed the Banshees in September 1976. In addition to bassist Steven Severin and guitarist Marco Pirroni, the band included drummer John Simon Ritchie, who assumed the name Sid Vicious; they debuted later that year at the legendary Punk Festival held at London's 100 Club, where their entire set consisted of a savage, 20-minute rendition of "The Lord's Prayer."

Soon after, Vicious joined the Sex Pistols, while Pirroni went on to join Adam and the Ants. The core duo of Sioux and Severin, along with new guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris, reached the U.K. Top Ten with their 1978 debut single, "Hong Kong Garden"; their grim, dissonant first LP, The Scream, followed later in the year. Two days into a tour for their 1979 follow-up, Join Hands, both McKay and Morris abruptly departed, and guitarist Robert Smith of the Cure (the tour's opening act) and ex-Slits and Big in Japan drummer Budgie were enlisted to fill the void; although Smith returned to the Cure soon after, Budgie became a permanent member of the group, and remained with the Banshees throughout the duration of their career.

With ex-Magazine guitarist John McGeoch on board, the band returned to the studio for 1980's Kaleidoscope, a subtler and more melodic effort than their prior records; on the strength of the U.K. Top 20 smash "Happy House," the album reached the Top Five. A year later, the Banshees released the psychedelic Juju, along with Once Upon a Time, a collection of singles; at the same time, Sioux and Budgie formed the Creatures, an ongoing side project. Following 1982's experimental A Kiss in the Dreamhouse, McGeoch fell ill, and Smith temporarily rejoined for the group's planned tour; a pair of 1983 performances at London's Royal Albert Hall were recorded and later issued as Nocturne. Also in 1983, Severin and Smith teamed as the one-off project the Glove for the LP Blue Sunshine.

After his recovery, McGeoch opted not to return, so the Banshees recruited former Clock DVA guitarist John Carruthers after Smith exited following the sessions for 1984's dark, atmospheric Hyaena. With 1986's Tinderbox, Siouxsie and the Banshees finally reached the U.S. Top 100 album charts, largely on the strength of the excellent single "Cities in Dust." After 1987's all-covers collection Through the Looking Glass, Carruthers took his leave and was replaced by ex-Specimen guitarist Jon Klein and keyboardist Martin McCarrick for 1988's Peepshow, a techno-inspired outing that gave the group its first U.S. chart single with "Peek-a-Boo."

In 1991 -- the year in which Sioux and Budgie married -- the Banshees performed on the inaugural Lollapalooza tour; their concurrent LP, Superstition, was their most commercially successful, spawning their lone U.S. Top 40 hit, "Kiss Them for Me." Another singles collection, Twice Upon a Time, followed in 1992 before the group returned after a long absence with 1995's stylish The Rapture, produced in part by John Cale. A year later, the nostalgia surrounding the reunion of their former heroes the Sex Pistols prompted Siouxsie and the Banshees to finally call it quits; Siouxsie and Budgie turned to the Creatures as their primary project, while Severin composed the score for the controversial film Visions of Ecstasy. In 2002 Siouxsie, Severin, and Budgie reunited, joined by guitarist Knox Chandler, for the so-called Seven Year Itch tour, eventually leading to a live album, Seven Year Itch, and a DVD concert film in 2003. Universal Music began releasing the band's albums remastered with bonus tracks in 2006. Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions, drawn from live recordings made for the John Peel radio show between 1978 and 1986, appeared that same year”.

Even though the group are no longer together, Siouxsie Sioux is playing live. In July, she heads off on a European tour that includes the U.K. Latitude Festival (20th-23rd July), and she’ll also headline the BBC Sounds Stage on the final evening, joining previously-announced headlining acts Pulp, Paolo Nutini, and George Ezra. To illustrate the influence of Siouxsie and the Banshees, below is a playlist of tracks from artists who cite their as influences or have been compared with them. It shows they are an…

ENROMOUSLY important band.

FEATURE: You Don’t Have to Be Beautiful… Some of the Early Press Reaction to Kate Bush’s Music

FEATURE:

 

 

You Don’t Have to Be Beautiful…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Clive Arrowsmith

Some of the Early Press Reaction to Kate Bush’s Music

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MAYBE something that influenced…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: DPA

Prince’s 1986 hit, Kiss, there is this oddly insulting headline that appeared in SOUNDS in 1978. Their headline ran “You don’t have to be beautiful…”. I wanted to look at some of the weird and sometimes short-sighted press that Kate Bush has received through her career. Now, she is considered to be an icon and legend. There is mostly positive press - but that was not always the case! I have written about this before, but it is very strange that the press did not really know how to handle Kate Bush or what to make of us. If her music was original and unlike anything around her, the press seemed to use that as an excuse to cast Bush in a very odd light. I can only imagine how she must have felt, excited about her career and keen for the music to connect, reading some of the press! SOUNDS spotlighted Kate Bush in March 1978. Even if they were very positive about her music fort that interview, the fact that they lead with an odd headline – and say that we cannot accuse them of being sexist – was a peculiar angle. They do mention her looks and beauty. Bush said that she didn’t mind this being brought up, so long as it did not get in the way of her career and interfere with her process. Donna McAllister was the interviewer. It is a mixture of compliments and random digs. There is mention of her mannerisms and over-gesticulations. It was not always the case though, for a teenage artist excited to see her name in print, there was this somewhat condescending and patronising overtone. By mentioning her looks or kooky side, it did undermine the seriousness of her music and the fact that she was a professional.

SOUNDS were back at in September 1978! It is okay not to like an artist, but the way in which this was conveyed by the magazine was a bit insulting. They interviewed her after a busy and successful year. This time around, it was Pete Silverton who was asking the questions. There are some great quotes from Bush, but the language used by Silverton was extraordinarily disrespectful. There is a quote that said: “…insipid to the point of unreality”. It came from a paragraph where Silverton remarked being “trapped” in a conversation with Bush was like being in a kid’s T.V. show. Something quite wholesome, but with unwarranted aspirations of intellectualism. Silverton was patronising when Bush talked about astrology. She was not referring to someone’s star signs, but real astrology where mathematicians get together and study it. Written off as someone who was quite airy and ridiculous, how discouraging must it have been for Bush to read stuff like that?! I am not spotlighting this press to emphasise anything bad: more, it is about showing how this amazing artist succeeded and resonated with fans, despite the fact the press didn’t truly understand her. If they are faced with someone interesting and different, their instinct was to mock and ridicule! This is not a random dive into the press around Kate Bush. I have been reading Laura Shenton’s Kate Bush: A Visual Biograph. Shenton discusses Bush’s amazing career. Her words are accompanied by incredible photos and press cuttings. It is a terrific read for Bush fans!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Rapport

Whilst I was amazed by the photos and this really arresting writing, the press cuttings, at times, made me feel both sadness and respect. Every artist has to deal with some bad or inaccurate press coverage. There was a turn of the tide by the time Hounds of Love arrived in 1985, but the years before that were quite tough at times. Bush committing to interviews, only to be described in such belittling or insulting tones! Even when an interview is largely positive, there was always some sting or unnecessary comment. 1982’s The Dreaming was a very experimental and dense album. I can understand how critics might have felt confused by the album – and not quite sure how to address or assess it. Keeping things with SOUNDS – not to fixate on the publication, but they did interview her quite a bit -, and there was a less editorial approach from Karen Swaye. Instead of Swaye going off on a tangent and sharing unwanted opinions about Bush’s looks and sound, there was this forum where she allowed Bush to speak. Published in October 1982, it is one of the mire respectful interviews. Even so, during the interview, Bush was asked about early press and how she was portrayed. In 1978 and 1979, there were not many female artists around. The press did not quite know how to cope with an artist who was coming into a male-dominated industry. If someone early interviews winkingly claimed not to be sexist, by calling attention to that, I think that they were.

Definitely, when you read some of the words aimed at Bush, it was a case of journalists going after an ambitious and unique female artist. It was easier for them to mock and misunderstand, rather than take her seriously! I am glad there was a reversal in tone and affection by 1982. Even so, a review of The Dreaming by Rose Rouse couldn’t help but be spiteful. New to Bush’s work, Rouse found her sickening and stomach-churning. Criticising the production and feeling depressed by some songs, Rouse was a typical example of what journalists had been doing since 1978. Bush was constantly dogged with this idea that she was on cloud nine and quite vapid. Rouse was shocked that there were real themes and serious words throughout The Dreaming. Expecting Bush to be empty and sickly-sweet, encountering tracks like The Dreaming and Pull Out the Pin were a surprise. Even so, the review came across as ill-informed and stuck up. A young woman daring to do something different and experimental! There was still this impression that women in music should have a particular sound and style – and that an album like The Dreaming was boring or a mistake. Alongside the more positive and encouraging reviews and interviews, Bush still had to read this. She was mocked for being quite philosophical and dreamy. She was then written off when doing something more esoteric or political. She could not win either way!

SOUNDS were covering Kate Bush in 1985. Hounds of Love got enormous praise, but one of the biggest music magazines of the time were still not willing to give it over to Bush. Caroline Linfield was not impressed when she attended the premier at the London Planetarium. It was a very condescending and bored take. Linfield described the evening in rather distressed tones. Not impressed by the light show and this idea that Bush was a hippie that was all surface and no substance. Lacking any real respect for Kate Bush and displaying zero knowledge of her importance and back catalogue, it is another press cutting that should have been full of praise and respect – but instead was a waste of column inches and time! As I say, most of the press was positive and showed compassion and affection. There was a sector that was pretty mean and dismissive of Bush. Whether she was being interviewed back in 1978, or returning to the spotlight in 1985, I can see why she would stop reading her press after a while. Some may say that it does not matter but, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Internet was not a thing. People were getting their music media from magazines and newspapers. That is how a lot of opinions were formed. Bush has had the last laugh and is a massive success all these years later. It comes down to her being misunderstood and ahead of her time. One of few female artists in the mainstream when she started out, critics could not get over this common idea that she was a waif-like teen with not a lot to say. This was never true, but it was just the way she was written about. Perception has changed now, but there were so many years where Bush could not get away from this notion that she was insubstantial and out of her depth. The narrative did change, and now one can bury that ridiculous press! There is so much love for her now. The press she gets now is overwhelmingly positive. After some of the words she had to read early in her career, it is the very least…

THAT she deserves.