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Musical artists, in competition with both one another and the constant stream of new media that is being put out, are forced to constantly come up with new marketing techniques to promote their shows and albums. With so much content available so readily, a simple promo video or demo release doesn’t seem to captivate people’s attention anymore.
Being against house music is as easy as it is difficult. It is repetitive, frequently building off of a classic 128 bpm drum beat that bumps the prototypical “unts unts unts.” Its artists are young hipsters who ‘understand’ music at a level that ‘the rest’ just do not seem to understand. Hell, if you aren’t into house music, you probably are accused of not truly feeling music, that internal energy that builds up in the ravers of old German basement nightclubs, which ‘for–sure’ has no connection to the copious amounts of MDMA consumed. Or at least that is the stereotype.
To individuals newly acquainted with mainstream hip–hop, DJ Khaled’s presence can be somewhat confusing. He shows up at the beginnings of his songs, usually says his name and a slogan, and then lets the other artists take over. How does a man put out so many successful records with top artists while appearing to do so little himself? Well, “appearing” is the key word—Khaled does plenty, both with the music itself and in building his brand.
In July 2012, Frank Ocean released his debut album Channel Orange to critical acclaim and commercial success. It was the culmination of the hype that built from his 2011 appearances on Kanye West and Jay–Z’s Watch the Throne, his membership in the hip hop collective Odd Future, his openness about his sexuality, and his popular mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra. Everyone was ready for Ocean to take over the music industry. We all know what happened after.
When you hit your 20s, being an anime fan who wants adult friends who aren’t necessarily also into ninjas, super–powered high school girls, and giant mech battles proves quite the challenge. Aside from closeting your weeaboo status, one of the textbook methods to avoid universal derision and disdain is attempting to argue for certain shows’ inherent worth and that they’re “not all like Dragonball and Naruto, dude, you should really check some out.” The go–to series for this phenomenon is Cowboy Bebop, Shinichiro Watanabe’s Space–Western, also famous for its heavy jazz–influenced soundtrack. Its genius and cult status amongst American audiences is often explained due to this mixing of styles from east and west.
Before sitting down to listen to this album, the only Vance Joy song I’ve ever heard was "Riptide." Based on how much I liked that song, I was excited when I saw Nation of Two show up in my Release Radar on Spotify. However, after listening to it all the way through, I have to say it was one of the most mediocre albums I’ve ever sat through.
Hello, friends. It's time again for your weekly roundup of this week’s wildest music industry news. It seems that whatever craziness goes down in this world, the music industry always takes the cake for the strangest, most obscure—yet relevant—completely off the wall stories. From alleged kidnappings (what!?) to appearances on Family Feud, to just genuinely exciting announcements of new projects in the works, here are Street’s top picks from the soup that was this week.
It’s been a minute since Logic sounded like the rapper we were first introduced to with mixtapes such as the Young Sinatra trilogy. It’s not that subsequent releases since then have been poor or completely lacking of the same rapid–fire delivery and hard–hitting braggadocio found on his early mixtapes; it’s that the tone has simply felt different. Under Pressure felt like a biographical album, The Incredible True Story served as a concept record, Bobby Tarantino sounded like a fun but vapid mixtape, and Everybody was a politically charged release.
Three weeks ago, I wrote an album review on Rhye’s album Blood for the Love Issue. Their ability to create love songs that are just as sexy as they are heart–wrenching is an ability I admire in singer Mike Milosh and his excellent band. On Feb. 27, I got the chance to see Rhye perform at Union Transfer, an evening which I was eager to experience. I was curious how Rhye translated their precision–cut riffs and falsetto portamentos into their live performances. After a nearly two–hour set that felt like a closed moment of transcendence, I became a mess of love–based emotions that I still carry with me as I write this article.
To some, Vampire Weekend is solely recognizable for being at the top of their music library, but for others, the band is known for the fact that it was formed in the Ivy League at a school that some might call our city–slicking, but less fun friend, Columbia. So we took to the deep dark web to find out what other bands had Ivy League blood (read: elitism) pulsating through their beats. Here’s what we found:
The Shrek movies have an odd cult following. Shrek has been memed, idolized, and ultimately cemented as a part of pop culture that’s here to stay. Shrek fandom, though, extends beyond the dark corners of the internet: Shrek was a national movement, and the franchise has the numbers to back it up. The series has received everything from Academy recognition to critical acclaim. To date, the series is the 14th highest grossing franchise of all time, only behind the likes of Ice Age, Toy Story, and Despicable Me. A Shrek 5 is even in the works, and is rumored to be released in 2019. Shrek was a phenomenon every millennial experienced and likely participated in.
Last fall, my friend showed me an album that had just come out called Red Burns by an NYC–based jazz collective called Standing On The Corner (SOTC) led by Gio Escobar. I was blown away by the complexity of the songs, the themes of uncertainty in the future as a minority in America, and the ability of the album to be so incoherent, yet flow like nothing else. The website for the album is layered with images spanning from famous Worldstar videos to Jim Crow signs. I was confused and amazed at the same time. I was hooked.
Cracks in the stereo. Loud blaring. Sometimes listening to music is not a perfect experience. Listen to an old record and it's riddled with the remnants of mediocre audio equipment, weak masterings, and the occasional mic crack. There's a reason so much music from the 60s has been remastered. The quality in which these albums were recorded was under low–quality standards. Now, with the access to amazing studio equipment that the majority of artists have, they are able to remaster songs to make them sound perfect. Error–free music.
Jack White’s Latest Album, Boarding House Reach, is going to hit the market on Mar. 23. In a little less than a month, the album is forecasted to make waves in the alt–rock and grunge worlds. Boarding House Reach comes as a much needed break from White’s hiatus: his last studio album, Lazaretto, was released four years earlier, in June of 2014.
An outspoken voice, yet an enigma. A genius, yet often the source of highly questionable statements and opinions. Kanye West is like no other—starting from his humble beginnings in Chicago and continuing through his winding career path to becoming one of the most famous and critically acclaimed artists of all time, the man has been a major influence on the music industry. His impact is palpable in the works of countless performers over the last two decades—it’s most impressive. Let’s take a closer look and trace Mr. West’s path to becoming a living legend:
Punk rock as a genre has always been anti–establishment, with many songs offering commentary on political and social issues. However, bands of the '80s and '90s would never be able to produce some of the offensive songs they did in the political climate of today.
On Valentine's Day, Frank Ocean released a gorgeous cover of "Moon River," as made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s and, boy, did it floor me. Not only was it a highly creative and interesting spin on a classic, but it definitely has taken on a form totally outside of the context of the original—a crucial piece of criteria for a good cover. Frank’s version was so good that it inspired this series, “Under the Covers," where each week I will review three covers and give a verdict on whether I prefer the original or the cover. So without further ado ...
She's been described as a cross between Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Courtney Marie Andrews. Record–producer and musician Ryan Adams heard one of her original songs and then invited her to produce a 7–inch at his studio the next day. She's about to open up for Bon Iver in London, and has played with legendary bands like the Violent Femmes and The War On Drugs. Everyone, it's Phoebe Bridgers.
Destiny Frasqueri, better known as Princess Nokia, is not your average new–school New York rapper. Nokia is unique not only for her ascendancy in a music genre dominated by men but for her powerful projections of feminism. Princess Nokia came from a difficult background, but has used her past experiences to empower the young women in her fanbase and encourage independence and strength—while also making some great music, of course. Frasqueri lost her mother at age three to AIDS and was placed in a foster home for seven years after that, where she was frequently abused by her foster mother. At age 16, she ran away from the foster home, with, as she puts it, “three dollars in my pocket and 75% on my cell phone battery.” Over time, Nokia honed her hip—hop talent while also developing an attitude of strength through independence, an attitude that has become one of her signature traits as an artist. Princess Nokia also identifies as bisexual, and the early part of her hip—hop career gained traction through performances at queer nightclubs. Needless to say, Princess Nokia has overcome a lot of hurdles to get to the point where she is now, and her autonomous nature and constant determination indicate that she’s not complacent with her place in the rap game today.
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