Issue 61: The Rise of Hyperpop

Childhood Albums | 06

Love Live! Music as a Brand | 22

Horrorcore: Then vs. Now | 30

Noo52 N 61

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Promotions Sarah Yi Hung-Chih Huang Russell Zingler Sadhana Pakala Sofia Maricevic Chelsea Henderson Jessica Gwardschaladse Matthew Rose Jenny Chen Alayna Thomas Hannah Lowicki Emily Greenberg Emily Harris Harleen Bhatia Fenner Dreyfuss-Wells Lia Flannery Desmond LaFave Kimmy Curry Roshni Subramonian Brinda Dhawan Clara Folkebo Isabel Gonzalez Grant Foskett Angela Lin Lucas Cooperman Kristie Wong Josh Stone Frank Schramm Minako Ohashi Maya Kumar Ella Trumper Anita Shanker Kaitlyn Wong Joey Handel Catherine Brownell

Photography Sadhana Pakala Alex Sumas Social Media Directors Evan Daniels Hannah Lowicki Emily Greenberg Matthew Rose Wanja Njama Art & Design Cali Cardenas Outreach Coordinator Angela Lin Josh Rosenberg Emily Greenberg Angelina Han Sadie Parker Anna Rowley Mikhail Dorokhov Design Coordinator Brooke Elmore Samantha Cirillo Jenny Chen Ellie Johnson Randall Gee Gabrielle Bruck Graham Moitoso The Team Hannah Ahn Josh Stone Jenny Chen Kelly Thomas Staff Writers Kaya Dlouchy Verena Calista Irawan Carleigh Sussman Maia Fernandez Baigun Brian Bae Sonia Popovic Maura Intermann Julia Aguam Joshua Stone Megan Lam Catherine Argyrople Jess Gwardschaladse Michelle DAlessandro Risa Tapanes Amanda Lavery Nicholas Alonzo Rayven Tate Nora Holland Norman Zeng Corey Watanabe Chelsea Lorene Henderson Roman Distefano Rayn Tavares Neeloy Bose Sadhana Pakala Reine Lederer Taylor Piepenbrink Stephanie Miano Brandon Yap Maya Lucia Verena Calista Irawan Frances Lee

Lauren Scornavacca Hannah Lee Natalie McGowan Casey Buttke Emily Gringorton Kristen Chen Gabbie Whittle Kimmy Curry Christian Gomez Sydney Lerner Amanda Stark Casey Martin Matt Streibich Jessica Janinda Daniel Chin Avery Parker Charlotte Hysen Sebastian Wicke Konstantin Rezchikov Stuti Phalahari Kelly Thomas Alekhya Rekapalli Alex Sumas Isabel Gonzalez Isabelle Harris Brinda Dhawan Loretta Querceto Caroline Lidz Annina Hare Casey Buttke Abigail Johnson Angela Lin Alex Pesek Web Jessie Yang Sophia Thomas Emma Stoloff Hung-Chih Huang

Meet the Staff

About Willa Shiomos Position Features Editor Major Computer Science and Design Graduating 2022 Favorite Venue Bug Jar, Rochester NY Tastemaker Since Fall 2018

Sadhana Pakala Position Photographer Major Marketing and Design Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC Tastemaker Since Spring 2020

Sofia Maricevic Position Promo Major Finance and Accounting Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Mohegan Sun Arena Tastemaker Since Spring 2019

Listening to

Townes Van Zandt For the Sake of the Song Park Hye Jin IF U WANT IT

Quote

“Once Grimes releases a Christmas album it’s over for all of you.”

Erika de Casier Essentials

Glass Animals “Domestic Bliss” Maisie Peters “Maybe Don’t” Taylor Swift “the 1”

Hiatus Kaiyote Choose Your Weapon Anderson .Paak “JEWELZ”

“I don’t know how to describe our generation of music... white boy sad banger pop?”

“I’m just giving you a hard time.”

Radiohead In Rainbows

Jenny Chen Position Design Coordinator Major Business Administration and Design Graduating 2023 Favorite Venue Anywhere!

Tastemaker Since Fall 2019

Taylor Swift “Hey Stephen” Rina Sawayama “Paradisn’” NIKI “Plot Twist”

“Who’s Taylor Swift anyway?”

Motel Radio, Sinclair

Photo by Kristen Chen (Environmental Studies)

Table of Contents Cover Story

18

(Marketing the Future:) The Rise of Hyperpop 2020 has undeniably been the year of hyperpop, but the term itself is far from a perfect description of the high-energy pop it wants to describe.

Features

Editorials

06

Childhood Albums

10

The Partition of Pop Music

30

Horrorcore: Then vs. Now

12

Cactus Jack Sent Me: How Rappers Sell Junk Food

Interviews

15

An Interview With TOPS

42

Local Talent: Sweeping Promises Features Editor Willa Shiomos talked to local talent Sweeping Promises about the recording of their newest record.

Learn about the history behind the dark, horror-inspired subgenre of hip-hop.

Taylor Swift Discography Look back on the career of one of the most captivating modern pop stars whose constant style changes never fail to make her a topic of discussion.

22

Album Reviews

Love Live! Music as a Brand For fictional music groups like Love Live!, music is often seen more as branding than genuine artistic expression.

32

This One’s For You, Mr. President: The Music Industry’s Relationship with Donald Trump Everyone has something to say about Donald Trump and musicians are no exception.

Here’s what a few have had to say in their music.

Reviews

25

In the era of streaming, do we really still need genre descriptions like “pop,” or do they just serve to perpetuate inequality in the music industry?

With the Travis Scott McDonald’s meal in recent memory, here are some other examples of rappers cashing in for a junk food endorsement.

A Match Made in Hell: Metal and Video Games’ Dark Pact Metal music and video games have a shared history of public backlash, so it’s only natural they would cross paths to make some of the best video games and soundtracks in history.

Tastemakers President Kristie Wong talks with TOPS about COVID and karaoke.

Etcetera

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34

Get ready for some nostalgia. Here are the movie soundtracks that shaped our childhoods and were formative to our music tastes.

38

More than the Music: Dolly Parton More than just a timeless musical talent, Dolly Parton has been a force of social justice throughout her career.

Declan McKenna, The Neighbourhood, Action Bronson, The Front Bottoms, Joji

40

Free Market Diss Tracks: Anti-Capitalism in Pop Music Historically, pop music has fallen into the materialistic ideology that more is more, but lately a few pop musicians have taken a notably anti-capitalist turn in their music.

Feature Fall 2020

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Growing up, many of us can credit family members as a formative source to our ever-evolving music taste. Legendary essentials from Wilco to Marvin Gaye graced our ears before we even knew what we were really listening to. Perhaps equally as influential was the music we consumed through early cinema. We’ve highlighted a few animated gems of our childhood featuring exceptional music that’s enjoyable for all ages:

Originally, Prince was given a private screening of Happy Feet to gain approval for the use of his song “Kiss.” He enjoyed the movie so much, he offered to write an original song for the production – “Song of the Heart” – setting the tone for the genre-bursting perfection of a tracklist that makes up the film. From Robin Williams’ cover of “A Mi Manera (My Way),” (popularized by Frank Sinatra and the Gypsy Kings) to the utilization of 2006’s superstars P!nk & Jason Mraz, the album manages to fuse classic rock, gospel, funk and soul without making it Disney kitsch.

• Maya Lucia (Media and Screen Studies)

If becoming a TikTok sound is a modern-day benchmark for the enduring cultural relevance of a record, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa may just have one of the most influential film soundtracks in history. Under the creative direction of both Hans Zimmer and will.i.am, the dynamic duo combine dense orchestral arrangements with groovy electronica. Will.i.am taps into his gravelly lower register, which started as an inside joke between him and Justin Timberlake, to give life to the smooth and sensual Moto Moto in his lusty ode to curvaceous hippos, “Big and Chunky.” The pulsating groove of “I Like To Move It” then beckons almost anyone to bust down on the dance floor, as will.i.am hypnotically fuses hip-hop with funk. Packed between Zimmer’s lush cinematic scores, will.i.am brings a certain flavor to the soundtrack that’s fun enough for kids to digest while staying true to the essence of his music—so much so that you might mistake any one of these songs as a Black Eyed Peas deep cut.

• Neeloy Bose (Bioengineering) 7

Feature Forever idolized in meme history, the soundtrack behind Shrek cannot be ignored when reminiscing about the dynasty. At the introduction of our ogre, Smash Mouth delivers “All Star,” permanently emblazoned into the memories of any watcher or pop-culture participant. Even the biggest Shrek fan can appreciate this time capsule of the late 90’s music—from rock hit “Bad Reputation” where Shrek wrestles (read WWE) the knights, to the piano classic “Hallelujah” where Fiona and Shrek, since parted, are both miserable. The Original Shrek soundtrack is loaded with nostalgia, and for good reason, since the soundtrack truly meshes with the screenplay for this era of music and film.

• Max Seaman (Biochemistry)

Shrek walked so Shrek 2 could fly. And soar it did. Shrek 2 was released only 3 years after the original and the soundtrack embodies the shift in alt-rock music for the early 2000’s. Counting Crows opens to the newly-wed ogres. Notable 70s and 80s hits including “Funkytown” and “Changes” present these iconic songs to young, impressionable ears. The soundtrack also features some grittier songs like “Little Drop of Poison” by Tom Waits, and the depressing track “People Ain’t No Good” by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

“Holding Out For a Hero” provides the sound for the climax of the movie, where the plot chaotically meshes. “Livin La Vida Loca” by Donkey and Puss in Boots (Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas) soothes us into the credits.

In Shrek 2, the music coordinated even more with the film while the album itself provided a larger variety in release date and genre. As a result, Shrek 2 dominates the original Shrek.

• Max Seaman (Biochemistry) Fall 2020

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Designer: Ellie Johnson (Graphic and Information Design)

While toilet humor may not exactly be for all ages, the soundtrack to Aardman Animations’ Flushed Away withstands the test of time.

The album is a surprising victory in the attempt to appeal to both kids and parents with a lineup of memorable hits, like Tina Turner’s version of “Proud Mary” and Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.” Tom Jones, Jet, Fatboy Slim, and the Dandy Warhols add star-power to the mix of genres on the tracklist, but a cover of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by a group of soulfully-singing sewer slugs makes it all complete.

• Sarah Lamodi (English and Linguistics)

The year is 2006. I am blasting “Rockin’ the Suburbs” by Ben Folds on my knock-off iPod. And in that moment, I was truly rocking the suburbs. Over the Hedge’s soundtrack is tag teamed by Folds and British composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (Hotel Rwanda, Bee Movie, Wonder Woman). For those unfamiliar with this film, it is – in short – about animals in the woods who awake after hibernation to find their home has been taken over by a suburban development and their rebellion against the intruders. Ben Fold’s reworked originals become the voice for the film, as the animals encounter Costco lifestyles behind Fold’s cover of “Lost in the Supermarket” and tears are shed to “Still,” while learning about the lonely beginnings of protagonist, RJ the raccoon. Folds’ songs also manage to add an amusing social critique of suburbia for the adult listeners while including “Hedge” specific moments from the film. And yes, I still have these songs on my playlists.

• Maya Lucia (Media and Screen Studies)

9

ㅅt

THe

PARTITION OF

Editorial

P O P M U S I C POP MUSIC Pop music, at its core, has always existed alongside and fed into the popular culture of the times. For as long as it has existed, it has given rise to provocative discourse and provided landmarks for monumental shifts in the public’s consciousness—just try to listen to “Baby” by Justin Bieber without instantly triggering any of your repressed memories from the height of Bieber Fever. But when you take a step back and try to define what “pop” music actually is, most people seem to hit a wall. Is it just a shorthand for popular music where the genre is some sort of Frankensteinian amalgamation of whatever and whoever is successful at that given time? Or is there a definitive musical gene that all pop music could be traced back to like some sort of Darwinian evolutionary tree where Taylor Swift would ultimately descend from Stevie Nicks and Britney Spears?

The answer: no one can say, and yet how you categorize and define the music that you consume and are surrounded by is an incredible insight into how you understand the collective of pop culture.

When you think of pop music, international megastars might come to mind, such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Beyoncé, or Rihanna. But even in this small selection of artists, there is such a wide range of genres and influences that’s almost dizzying to track. MJ’s world-conquering funk or Madonna’s electronica could be discussed with no end in sight, and it still wouldn’t do justice to Beyoncé’s hip-hop cadence or Rihanna’s dancehall and reggae influences.

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Though the melodic R&B-esque jams of Mariah Carey may have dominated the nineties while Lady Gaga’s hyper-maximalist Eurodance pop stomped across the globe in the late 2000’s, the reality of how music is categorized and partitioned into genres is comparatively bleak in nature. In its current state, how major industry players categorize music is largely exclusionary. The Grammy Committee, for example, essentially has the power to submit a nomination into any genre it wants. This is because a group of field experts in the genre monitor the nomination process, and if they deem a submission to lack enough elements of the genre for whatever reason, it can simply be whisked off to another. But of course, this requires the classifications of every genre to be strictly defined and maintained, which most are not. In the Rock categories, these experts decided that if the production of a submission was too “bright and slick,” it could be dismissed and tossed over to another committee. Now given that the gates around these genres are being kept by the subjective tastes of industry veterans, the problem arises of music that strays too far from its preordained destiny in any one particular genre.

In 2019, a little-known song named “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X was wiped from the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for not embracing “enough elements of today’s country music.” Notable for its infusion of country sounds with 808s and hi-hats, which are most closely associated with trap music, Lil Nas X’s mega-smash would have become the fastest and highest-selling country song in history.

But in banning this song from any country association, after it had already topped the country charts, the industry was sending out a message as to exactly who is allowed to succeed in certain genres.

Reading this in the larger context of white pop artists being able to enter and flourish in other genres with ease, the continuous act of Black artists being shut out of critical or commercial recognition for their pioneering work in different genres becomes even more glaring.

In an interview earlier this year, Tyler, the Creator criticized the Grammys for their—what has since been renamed— “Urban Contemporary” category, which he deemed to essentially be a euphemism for the n-word in its broad characterization of Black art.

He was joined in this criticism by The Weeknd, who rallied against mainstream releases by Black pop artists being shoved into this category regardless of the genre of their actual releases. On a drearily predictable note, The Weeknd, who considers himself a pop musician, was recently nominated in R&B categories at various award shows for his world-conquering smash “Blinding Lights,” which is a synthwaveinspired dance-pop song.

So exactly, what is it that makes a pop song a pop song, or a country song a country song? Where do we draw the lines across music that takes influence from and inspires artists across a multitude of genres? In a post-streaming world, where music can be defined less and less by particular characteristics that are specific to any one genre, how can we justify partitioning the technicolor that the music industry has to offer into, what is quite literally, a rigid, black and white system of musical categorization? When we see the pioneers, who continuously drive the sound of music forward, being thrashed and entrapped by vague descriptors, the conversation needs to be had on whether these descriptors are meaningful at all.

Are these categories simply being cherry-picked to lock out Black musicians from being credited and awarded for the work that they do in shaping the cultural and musical trends of our time? The face at the forefront of pop music that has influenced generations of people is ever-changing, but the industry seems keen to ensure that only a specific kind of face ever attains the acclaim and recognition that it deserves to achieve.

Designer: Hannah Jean Ahn (Business Administraion and Design)

While Bebe Rexha was able to snag a Diamond-certified country-pop crossover hit that was nominated for several country Grammys, notable Black country stars, such as Kane Brown and Jimmie Allen, have yet to even be nominated by the committee with similarly massive hits of their own. Even Beyoncé herself was rejected from consideration in the country category by the Grammys for a song that she literally performed at the Country Music Awards. In stark contrast, white artists, such as Post Malone and Justin Bieber, have been able to successfully invade historically-Black genres and claim accolades in hip-hop and R&B categories at several award shows, despite being noted for their pop-leaning tendencies. With traditional genre labels already seeming archaic in an increasingly genre-bending future, it seems that the only remaining pillar of music categorization is the systemic anti-Blackness that it consistently reinforces.

In an era where Black musicians have had more visibility in their

influence over the music industry than ever before,

their music is still shafted and overlooked by

superficial labels. Even megastars, such as Drake, have protested against the

of music by Black artists at the Grammys. He notably rejected his Grammy wins in the Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance categories for “Hotline Bling,” which he acknowledged to be a pop song. Simultaneously, he was snubbed a nomination in any category for his song, “One Dance (feat.

Wizkid & Kyla),” which became the first song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. Other Black artists, such as Bree Runway and FKA Twigs, have also noted the industry’s insistence on labelling them under rap and R&B categories for their music.

• Neeloy Bose (Bioengineering)

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Editorial

CACTUS JACK SENT ME; HOW RAPPERS SELL JUNK FOOD

Designer: Angela Lin (Business Adminstration and Design) Fall 2020

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A young driver pulls up to a McDonald’s drive-thru. An audibly exhausted and underpaid teenager’s voice comes through the intercom speaker, asking “What can I get for you?”

The driver, hardly able to contain his laughter, says “You know what I’m here for man,” pausing just long enough for the dejected-sounding McDonald’s worker to begin responding “Alright anything else-” before the driver blasts the opening refrain of Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” through his car speakers.

It’s 2020, and playing a song is the hottest way to order a burger. Travis Scott’s “Cactus Jack’s Favorites” meal at McDonald’s is the highest-profile food endorsement made by a Hip Hop artist in recent memory. However, rappers have never been hesitant to cash a check in exchange for their stamp of approval on a food product. Here are some of the best examples:

Sprite Lyric Cans The original run of Sprite lyric cans came in the summer of 2015 and highlighted iconic lines from rappers with incredibly illustrious and critically acclaimed careers, such as Rakim, Biggie Smalls, and Nas. Drake also got a can. Each can had a quintessential lyric (for Drake’s cans Sprite settled for slightly less-inspiring lines like “I’m the rookie and the vet.”) from one of the artists printed in quotes along with the face of the rapper. Following the success of the first campaign, Sprite revived it in 2017 with a new line of artists including Vince Staples, DRAM, Kamaiyah, Vic Mensa, and Lil Yachty (Yachty’s previous work with Sprite included an ad in which he sits at a piano inside a cave of ice, repeatedly singing “Cold like a Sprite soda,” an incredibly catchy take on his hit song “Minnesota”). The second run coincided with what Sprite deemed to be an important milestone for Hip Hop, and the brand director proudly claimed it had been “one of the first brands ever to recognize the power of hip-hop more than 30 years ago.”

Travis Scott’s McDonald’s Burger Announced in early September, Travis Scott’s deal with McDonalds has been hard to avoid this fall. The promotion consists of a special meal that seems to be a glorified quarter pounder with cheese, along with McDonalds-branded Travis Scott merch. Among the items for sale on his website were Cactus Jack keychains, slippers, and a $90 three-foot-long chicken nugget body pillow. The hype is so overblown that the Cactus Jack branded McDonalds Crew t-shirts given to employees were quickly resold on eBay. Apparently anticipating the cynical response to branding a standard menu item as a limited time offer, McDonalds has already clarified the difference on their website “Nah, it’s also got shredded lettuce and crispy bacon because that’s how Cactus Jack likes it (straight up!).”

A Tribe Called Quest Sprite Ad As it turns out, Sprite may have a legitimate claim to being one of the earliest brands to collaborate with rappers. Before the faces of Drake and Lil Yachty blessed the ice cold green aluminum of a Sprite can, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg starred in a 30 second TV commercial in 1994. The video is a quintessential representation of the ’90s, complete with oversized flannels, Coogi sweaters, and a group of young people breakdancing underneath a highway overpass. “Image is nothing.

But thirst, thirst is everything,” Q-Tip raps in his tranquil flow before Phife finishes “grab a cold cold can and obey your thirst.”

Master P’s Rap Snacks These bags of chips adorned with the faces of famous rappers are possibly the most overstated yet most appealing Hip Hop endorsements. Each flavor of Rap Snacks features a different artist, and some of the flavor names reference the endorsing rapper (Migos’ Sour Cream with a Dab of Ranch, Lil Boosie’s Louisiana Heat). Previous Rap Snacks artists include Cardi B, Romeo, Fetty Wap, and Lil Yachty. The brand is owned by Romeo’s father, Master P, who has proven to be one of the savviest entrepreneurs in the Hip Hop industry. Master P recently launched an offshoot of Rap Snacks called Rap Noodles, with aims to dominate the instant noodle market. “If you ain’t eating Rap Noodles, then you shouldn’t be eating noodles,” claims Master P. Though these chips and noodles may not taste much different from those of generic snack brands, Fetty Wap is undoubtedly cooler than Chester Cheeto.

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Editorial

Lil Jon’s Kool-Aid Christmas

Snoop Dogg Hot Pockets If the Tribe Called Quest video was a time portal to the ’90s, Snoop Dogg’s music video for Hot Pockets “Pocket Like It’s Hot” is a window into 2012, featuring appearances from early YouTube stars DeStorm and Andy Milonakis. Snoop parodies his own hit, “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” replacing the original lyrics with Hot Pocket-themed rhymes like “got some cheesy drizzle drippin on my chizzle.” Just as you think the video can’t get any more bizarre, the Hot Pocket mascot takes off his mask to reveal that he is none other than WWE wrestler Brodus Clay.

DJ Khaled’s Finga Licking Restaurant DJ Khaled is best known for his ridiculous Snapchat stories and his iconic shoutouts on some of Hip Hop’s biggest hits.

While he may not be an actual DJ or rapper, Khaled is, by all means, an excellent marketer and businessman. In 2015 he turned his sights towards restaurants, opening Finga Licking, a soul food restaurant in Miami. Khaled has adapted his usual bombastic personality to fit the role of a restauranteur, enthusiastically showing off the lobster, shrimp, and steak that Fina Licking has become well known for. “First of all, I don’t know who Guy Fieri is. No disrespect to him at all but we have the best chefs in the world,” he said in a video for Complex.

After your entree, Khaled highly recommends the red velvet cake. “The red velvet cake a problem,” Khaled boasts.

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It’s Christmas Eve, and Lil Jon takes a slow sip of Kool-Aid before sitting down at the piano. Before he can play a note, the house shakes and Lil Jon murmurs “Oh, no,” before a giant Kool-Aid man breaks through the wall, bellowing Lil Jon’s signature “OH YEAH!” Lil Jon and the Kool-Aid man then break into a Crunk Christmas carol full of wholesome lyrics like “Ol’ Saint Nick that’s the MC, got us getting turnt on some old CD’s,” accompanied by ad-libs from the Kool-Aid man. From giving gifts to little kids to baking Kool-Aid man Christmas cookies, this promotional music video has it all. Between Lil Jon, his crew of breakdancing kids, and the giant Kool-Aid man, the video’s energy is infectious, and will have quickly have you singing “Feliz Navidad, no egg nog, more Kool-Aid!”

• Desmond LaFave (Journalism and Media Screen Studies)

TOPS e t r n view ith i n a w

TMM: COVID has impacted everyone’s lives, including those in the music world. How has COVID personally impacted TOPS?

TMM: It’s definitely really difficult to replace the energy of a live concert.

Jane: The biggest thing was just not being able to tour our record that came out. That obviously sucks because it would have been nice to celebrate and show it to everybody and see all of our fans.

The other thing was that it actually meant I was in Montreal for a while with the band and we were able to work on some new music.

But yeah, now we basically can’t work other than creatively at home. We can’t play shows for, I don’t know, I think until maybe next September at the soonest, so it’s pretty, pretty crazy.

I also think I might’ve - I mean I never had a positive test - but I’m pretty sure I got sick with it because I have been sick for months. I know personally what it’s like to recover from it or to not recover. It has definitely changed and touched everyone’s lives in a big way.

Jane: Yeah, I can see us doing something maybe in a more intimate level at most.

TMM: Definitely. With the magazine, we experienced so many cancellations for Spring events and are now trying to figure out what to do until COVID is not a thing. Is TOPS going to play some virtual shows in the near future?

Jane: Well, to be honest, we feel kind of conflicted about doing virtual shows. Just because I’m now in Berlin and our drummer is in Los Angeles. It’s difficult for us all to be together and play in the same room.

We’ve done a couple of these things where we play separately and it’s a split screen kind of thing, and maybe we’ll do some more stuff like that.

It just feels like it’s not necessarily like the best stand-in for a real performance. Even if we managed to get together, it would just be like, I don’t know. It just feels like maybe it’s better to wait until we can actually present our music in the way that feels most true to it, which would be live in front of people.

That’s kind of disappointing for some people to hear, but I’ve watched a lot of these shows and it is a nice way to stay in touch with fans, but it just doesn’t feel like a substitute for a real live experience.

Right now the plan is to wait it out and concentrate on creating new songs for people and diving into that creative process.

TMM: In your recent documentary-style videos, you mentioned that you miss being together all the time and when you really miss something, you realize how temporary things are and it makes you want to capture them more. Is there anything you love that you feel can’t truly be captured in music?

Jane: That’s a nice question. I wonder… I guess taste of food?

I feel like that could be very difficult. I often use music as a way of translating light or energy, or kinds of atmospheric, spatial experiences. It’s kind of in that way when you have a feeling like your life is a movie or something. I think in that sense, almost anything in reality can be captured, but I wonder if I’ve ever heard anything capture the way something tastes.

TMM: You mentioned that you wrote “Take Down” about having a conversation with your past self. If you could speak to your childhood self, what would you tell her?

Jane: I would tell her that it is hard right now, but it’s actually going to get easier and that’s okay. I had a hard time growing up with learning and stuff. I think my brain didn’t fit in the general world that I was in so well, and it was really alienating and I had a lot of insomnia and stuff.

Thank God I don’t have as much of that now.

But yeah, I remember when I was little, a lot of people saying that you should enjoy yourself and to stop frowning because it’s going to be so much harder later on. Y’know, the kind of things that people say to kids when they’re upset.

I mean, it’s gotten so much easier for me now that I am free and I can just be myself and have all this autonomy as an adult. So yeah, I probably would have been like, “Don’t worry, it actually gets better and it’s going to be okay.”

15

TMM: I love that routine! Can you elaborate on that good kind of fear?

Interview

TMM: You previously spoke about being very private and introverted.

Do you typically get stage fright and what do you usually do right before a show?

Jane: I almost always get nervous before we play. I think everyone in the band does, maybe not as nervous as me, but everyone gets kind of this adrenaline feeling.

I definitely try to take the time to get ready slowly and carefully.

I do some breathing and singing. Sometimes, I try to play flute if I’m playing flute on stage to try to get it in tune and get attuned with it.

Then, we do this thing where if we’re really playing a show that is huge and we’re all scared shitless, we’ll say “strong.” I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but I’ll be like “strong Marta” and then Marta will be like “strong Jane.” We’ll go around saying that to each other and get amped up.

We call it “conquering the worm.” You have to go out and conquer the worm. Once you overcome that little thing, you remember that feeling is much more about everything leading up to a moment.

When we actually start playing, I feel like we always relax a lot.

And as we’re playing more shows, at a certain point, it’s just really not an issue. I feel like it’s only right at the beginning of touring or these certain shows. I’m sure that there’ll always be something like that. Like whatever the next thing is would be scary. But I think being scared is pretty good actually.

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“I think that one of the best feelings is to conquer a fear.

Like when something that seems so huge all of a sudden feels small and no longer intimidating.”

Jane: I’m not saying that people should do what they don’t want to do.

I think maybe at times in my life, I’ve put myself through hell trying to always be uncomfortable because I thought that was what would help me grow.

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on everything, as I’m sure other people have. I feel like maybe it’s fine to make yourself uncomfortable and get into situations looking to grow. On the other hand, do what you want. It is good to face a fear, as long as it’s going to aid you in furthering you down a path that is the correct path for you or what you want from life.

So yeah, I would say that you shouldn’t be hunting fear, but if you come across it on the way, it’s okay. I think that one of the best feelings is to conquer a fear. Like when something that seems so huge all of a sudden feels small and no longer intimidating.

TMM: In another interview, you mentioned enjoying meeting women with philosophical approaches to life. Are there any specific aphorisms or philosophies of life that you live by?

Jane: Specifically? No. I think there’s certain things that I try to remind myself of. I think the biggest thing for me is to always maintain an awareness that everything I perceive is in my own head. Like, maybe if you’re disappointed in somebody, you have to realize that you were just disappointed in the idea of that person or what you thought that they were going to do. Understanding the subjectivity of experience is something really important to me.

And then other than that, no. I try not to live too much by mantras or maybe I just forget them.

TMM: I really like your comment about recognizing subjectivity in life. I always think about how we’re basically meat computers.

Everything’s happening in the objective world and our auto-pilot has already reacted before our consciousness adds a layer of emotion or subjective context to explain everything.

Jane: Definitely, I feel like this is something that’s just being forgotten a lot right now. Subjectivity has become the rule of law, almost like your subjective vision of reality becomes a fact when you say it, like in politics and stuff. It seems like there’s not enough acknowledgement that we actually all just have different points of view on some level.

TMM: That is very true. You also talked about how you like karaoke because it gives shy people the opportunity to be someone else for a moment. What are your go-to karaoke songs?

Jane: I’ve been doing a Cher song. It’s so bad, I stopped doing it.

Actually, it’s been so long since I’ve done karaoke. I used to do safe songs from Stevie Nicks. My drunk song is “If I Could Turn Back Time.” I also really like doing the song “Children of the Grave” by Ozzy Osborne, but I feel like that’s one of those things where it makes me happy, but it’s never really pleasant to listen to [laughs].

TMM: I love that you talk about karaoke because in my resume, I put my number one interest and skill as karaoke.

Jane: No way. What is your go-to?

TMM: “Reflection” from the movie Mulan.

TMM: That’s really funny because I’m Chinese and we love karaoke.

Like a lot of families I know have whole karaoke setups at home and grew up on it.

Jane: That’s so, so amazing. It would be cool to grow up in an environment that has all that expression and gives a chance for everyone to get up and do their thing. I really admire that.

TMM: I wanted to ask about the “Driverless Passenger” music video.

It is an animation of the world ending. The band travels into space aimlessly and then sees these visions with a montage that zooms into a baby. What is the story behind that concept and the visions?

Jane: So that was a funny song and funny video to me because our friend, Jason Harvey, did it and he is really cool. He is a unique artist that does animation, but also blurs the line with comedy, while being very compassionate and poignant.

Even though it’s really dumb, like he has videos of him peeing his pants and stuff, it’s somehow very poignant.

I basically told him the general scope of the idea was leaving the world behind. I was thinking about driverless vehicles and just this way of being a driverless passenger. You’re at the whim of the world. I had this daydream of being in our tour van and it’s just taking us wherever we need to go.

Then he took it to this whole other level. I wanted us to leave the earth in this driverless car and he filled in the blanks. It’s just a very weird video and I really like it.

TMM: I loved the music video too. I like your vision for autonomous vehicles. I work at Tesla and now I’m just going to think about “Driverless Passenger” every time I see a car.

Jane: They should really license that song!

TMM: So, if the world was going to end in 24 hours, what would you do?

Jane: I would probably make a few phone calls and be with my boyfriend as much as I can and try to find some water to look at. I don’t think 24 hours is a lot of time to get anything done. So being with people that I love and maybe looking at some water. Yeah.

“The biggest thing for me is to always maintain an awareness that everything I perceive is in my own head.

Like, maybe if you’re disappointed in somebody, you have to realize that you were just disappointed in the idea of that person or what you thought that they were going to do.”

Designer: Angelina Han (Computer Science and Design)

Jane: Amazing, that’s a great song. Yeah, we were in Taiwan and they took us to a karaoke spot and it was quite embarrassing for everybody. They have karaoke booths in the street that people run into after school or on their way to work or whatever. It’s just so ingrained into the culture.

We were taking advantage of all of the free drinks and fried food they put out and just doing horrible jobs, like butchering all these songs and they were doing these beautiful renditions of everything.

TMM: I really appreciate you taking the time to meet and answer some of our organization’s burning questions.

Jane: Yeah, of course. Thank you for calling!

• Kristie Wong (Business Administration and Computer Science)

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As the new brand of internet-pop has started to reach larger audiences, fans and industry figures alike have been eager to put a name on it. “Hyperpop” feels right in the way it describes how the genre turns pop music tropes to eleven with addictive, high-speed energy, but as many artists have pointed out, it’s also a label that ignores the history behind the music. It’s a common misconception that the term “hyperpop” comes from the Spotify playlist of the same name, but in fact, fans of the UK label PC Music have been using the term since at least early 2016 as a substitute for the genre’s other title, bubblegum bass. But the way in which the term has evolved since then is counterintuitive to the ethos of the genre. “Hyperpop” as a designation consolidates a variety of thriving, individual genres under one label in a way that sanitizes them for larger consumption. It is no coincidence that the term is now inextricably linked to its Spotify playlist; marketing was always the company’s goal. The spirit of genres under the “hyperpop” label has always been fiercely anti-commercial, but their music is now being reclaimed by commercialism in a way that further empowers playlisting and takes agency away from independent artists. These artists now need “hyperpop” to survive...

What is currently considered to be “hyperpop” is incredibly difficult to define. Perhaps this is because the term feels like it consolidates the distinct sounds of many LGBT artists and distills and homogenizes them into a one-size-fits-all industry label in a way that defines aesthetic more than actual genre. It’s also the case that the influences behind artists categorized as “hyperpop” come from all over the musical landscape. It is just as likely to have an artist cite Oneohtrix Point Never and Arca as influences as it is S3RL and I Set My Friends On Fire. The few common threads between most “hyperpop” are ultraautotuned vocals and lyrics that feel so ironic and absurd that they end up sounding genuine and endearing.

The production also finds an impossible middle ground between high-gloss pop and glitchy DIY. It’s PC Music perfectionism turned Soundcloud laissez-faire. But with the popularity of the Spotify “Hyperpop” playlist, the definition of the genre has become so blurred that it basically encompasses anything with autotune. There was a time where you would have been laughed at in music circles for calling Bladee and SOPHIE the same genre, but now they regularly sit next to each other on the playlist without question. Recently, artist Alice Gas, whose music has often been lumped in with hyperpop, spoke out on Twitter, affirming that she hates the term because it’s not what she considers her music to be. In fact, she follows a pretty long history of happy hardcore music that you would have to be pretty willfully ignorant to avoid.

Her extremely fast paced 4/4 beats and upbeat, bouncy melodies are the definition of the genre.

And it’s not just the influence of happy hardcore that’s being erased by the label of “hyperpop.” At any given time, the Spotify Hyperpop playlist runs the gambit from emorap to cloud rap, tread to trance, wonky to more traditional synthpop, and electropop to the usual bubblegum bass.

It begs the question, what do all these genres really have in common and what is the point in labeling them under one name? No one is really to say that the arbitrary genre labels “hyperpop” is overshadowing are in some way more valid than it is as a designation, but clearly there’s not a lot in common sound wise between artists and these individual genres already have established communities.

Forcing a common label on all of them doesn’t feel like it benefits the existing fans or the artists in any way. Who it does benefit, however, is the people behind the scenes of the music industry. Having a specific label for what is essentially “internet music” is invaluable in marketing to a new audience. Humans love putting things in boxes with easy labels, which in turn makes it easier for companies to market specifically to those boxes.

This is where TikTok comes into the story. It is obvious that the platform has completely changed how music is made and consumed, giving any 15 second clip with high energy and a catchy hook the ability to blow a song up. That’s the reason why numerous “hyperpop” artists have gotten their break in 2020. One of the most famous was Cmten and Glitch Gum’s “NEVER MET!” which blew up – due to vaguely alternative looking teenage girls mouthing along to “A-a-a-a-a-a-a I wish we never met.

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We broke up on Picto-Chat, crying on my DS.” Eventually though, it reached the tier of ultra-popular TikTok sounds that get thrown on any random video. Alice Gas’ “Ferrari’’ had a similar rise, originally gaining popularity from users posting videos of their pets raving to the song. And the list goes on, from XIX’s “Kismet” to Yungster Jack and David Shawty’s “Pressure” to Ayesha Erotica’s “Sixteen” to p4rkr’s “i dont want that many friends in the first place.”

That’s not even mentioning the meteoric rise of 100 gecs, who have at this point become synonymous with the term hyperpop itself. TikTok’s algorithm promotes meme-able content, in-jokes, and a strong sense of community. When you combine that with the irony, sense of humor, and ethos behind the songs, it’s no wonder this kind of music has blown up on the platform.

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Blowing up comes with its drawbacks, however. Earlier this year, “hyperpop” artist Fraxiom tweeted “glitchcore or hyperpop is what people who are late to cool music will call your cool music.” Though they were partly joking, they were also saying something pretty important about the rise of “hyperpop.” If you’ve followed the artists in this style for years, you’ll know that this kind of music has always been part of an internet safe-space for queer people; it’s been fiercely insular and uncommercial precisely because the people who make and listen to it know how they’ve been treated by outsiders to the community in the past. It’s

important to understand that gatekeeping a community for the sake of personal safety is not pretentious or malicious, it’s survival. That’s what many didn’t understand earlier this year when it was revealed that insanely popular and politically controversial YouTuber Pewdiepie listened to many “hyperpop”-adjacent artists. Twitter exploded with artists denouncing him and asking him not to listen to their music. Again, Fraxiom responded to this by simply saying, “if pewdiepies massive fanbase were to find my music made for my small queer friend group i would like priv my acct within the hour.” These artists understand that the homophobic, transphobic mainstream would obliterate all the work they have done to grow a supportive community for each other. That’s where the conflict of interest comes in for many “hyperpop” artists and fans.

There is a widespread desire among longtime fans of these artists for them to “make it” in the music industry, to be able to make a living off music (again Fraxiom “When I get a check from streaming I will use it on my queers”), but also a subliminal fear that additional attention will just lead to more hate.

Before 2020, pretty much any artist adjacent to the “hyperpop” label probably would have never dreamed of just how big it would grow, which speaks to the aforementioned anti-commercial nature of these artists. Part of the identity of “hyperpop” is transforming traditional pop sounds into something challenging and subversive; it was essentially the new punk. But now that it is seeing such real commercial success, part of that identity feels like it’s being negated. Even if it isn’t the artists’ intention, the counterculture of “hyperpop” is being consumed by the capitalistic monolith of the music industry. We don’t hate the Spotify Hyperpop playlist for the music or artists, we hate it for Spotify. It feels like just another queer-created genre being canabalized

by the industry and squeezed for all the ideas it has before being tossed aside for the next big thing. The only difference this time is that artists seem to be aware that it is happening very early on in the process, yet still can’t seem to do anything to stop it. Recently, PC Music label head and legendary producer A.G. Cook did a takeover of the Hyperpop playlist and received a lot of criticism for his choices. Smaller artists were distraught to find that

they had all been removed from the playlist and replaced by already established acts. After a few hours and a lot of outrage, the playlist was updated with songs from some of these artists, but the message was clear: at any time, a whole subset of smaller artists could be completely deplatformed.

The evolution of “hyperpop” feels like a warning for the future of music in the streaming era. The way in which Spotify has homogenized and subsequently commodified a set of genres under one dubious label sets a dangerous precedent. It is clear that the company has too much power over the music industry and that communities like the one around “hyperpop” rely on playlisting too much, but there also isn’t a clear way out. All fans can do is be mindful of the true context and history of the music they love. In the case of “hyperpop,” that means respecting that hyperpop is not in and of itself a genre, supporting small artists, and remembering, as Fraxiom again says, “hyperpop and queerness ARE inseparable.”

• Grant Foskett (Computer Science)

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Editorial

Music as a Brand

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The concept of the fictional band or music group is not an unfamiliar one. While there haven’t really been any notable Western examples in recent years beyond the Gorillaz, there’s an modern explosion of fictional music groups in Asia, more specifically Japan, whose groups not only regularly top the charts, but are arguably franchises in their own right. With these groups often spawning video game series, mobile games, and a wide variety of merchandise, it’s hard to remember that they still release music. In fact, it’s hard to recognize these collectives as musical entities at all. While it’s easier to categorize bands like the Gorillaz as a clear musical act, what can be said about groups who weren’t initially developed to release music at all? Whose music is secondary to the brand’s merchandising and products?

To understand the popularity and conception of these fictional music groups, it’s helpful to comprehend the sheer importance of idol culture in Japan. While it exists in the Western sphere to a certain degree, idol culture places an emphasis on image and attractiveness. Idol artists may release music, but their core identity deeply involves their physical appearance and fan service. Music can be secondary in nature to an idol’s merchandising and public events, and the most important attributes of a successful idol don’t necessarily have to be the quality of their music, but their visual appeal and availability to their fanbase. This basic understanding of idol culture helps guide why fictional music groups are so wildly successful. Not only are these characters attractive, but the merchandise they’re able to market maintains personal connection to their consumers.

These groups are character and visual driven, which almost defies their identity as a musical act. However, music arguably still plays an incredibly relevant role, albeit not as an expression of artistic intent but as a way of furthering the appeal of these idol characters. To illustrate this, the Love Live! franchise presents a fictional music group whose music is still a core part of their identity regardless of their character driven model.

Love Live! is a multimedia project developed by the publishing brand ASCII Media Works, music label Lantis, and the animation studio Sunrise. First established as a manga, the series went on to have its own animated television series as well as release music. The group that Love Live! creates, μ’s, pronounced muse, is canonically a school idol group established by 9 highschool girls trying to prevent their school from shutting down. While not the first fictional idol group to be created, it’s important to note that this project was created with the intent to release music. Unlike other franchises such as IdolMaster or Uta no Prince-Sama where a majority of their music was released only after they were popularized, μ’s released a single, Bokura no Live Kimi to no Life, shortly after it was serialized in DenkiG’s Magazine.

Separate tracks were then released as the story progressed, with the group’s narrative developing alongside their evolving discography.

Fan input was also highly valued, with the group’s name being put to vote. As Love Live! itself began to increase in popularity due to the appeal of their characters, the music they released was instrumental in establishing their presence. Their tracks developed in line with the plot of the group’s story, and the quality of their music production increased as the girls themselves grew more experienced. Endearing themselves to their fanbase through their appearance was a given, but the personal attachment and connection they were able to foster

through this multimedia approach gave weight to the tracks they released. From an outsider’s perspective, Love Live’s discography seems like another piece in the massive franchise, but for the fanbase, the tracks have a canonical meaning and relevance. Even as a fictional music group who is marketed more for its visual appeal, the music of μ’s is inseparable from the group’s identity. This relationship now extends to many other modern fictional music groups, who have all followed suit in connecting their music to an overarching narrative or story element.

The biggest trouble with μ’s however and fictional idol groups overall, is that even though their music is deeply tied to them either through plot or gameplay, it’s still placed on the same level as merchandise for these franchises. For μ’s, the songs that they’ve released are recycled over and over for their video game series and their mobile gacha games. In one of their most popular titles, the mobile game Love Live! School Idol Festival, their songs simply serve as a mechanism to deliver the experience of having the girls perform for you. These tracks are also repackaged to be sold in multiple iterations of the same album, with the focus being shifted onto the visual aesthetic of the album packaging rather than the music. The group has performed in multiple tours across Japan as well, with the character’s voice actresses reprising their roles on stage while an

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animated video of the group performing plays on a screen behind them. In each of these scenarios, music is definitely integral in appealing to fans, but it’s never cemented itself as the main focus.

What proves to be amazing however is that this strategy is financially successful. The ability for these fictional idols to integrate into the everyday lives of their fans as tangible characters while paired with catchy pop and pop rock has resulted in franchises such as Love Live! earning over 29 million US dollars in physical media sales in one year alone. The brand has left a massive cultural footprint in Japan. Other franchises such as the aforementioned IdolMaster and Uta no PrinceSama series also earn just as much, if not more. While this concept isn’t exactly new, it signals a gradual shift in the commercialization and marketing of these fictional music groups and the role that their music plays. In comparison to the popular fictional idols that came before LoveLive!, such as the Vocaloids, the inclusion of artistic intent was still present. For Hatsune Miku, her status as a software that could be distributed and utilized readily not only helped solidify her as a widely known idol, but gave her tracks that could be definitively associated with an individual sense of expression. Miku’s visual appeal was still incredibly strong, but it was through her most popular tracks

that her fanbase was drawn in. With vocal software falling in decline though, and the recent success of franchises like Love Live!, it’s clear that fictional music groups would derive far more from capitalizing on merchandising and other forms of media rather than rely solely on musical talent.

While musical acts are often thought to be defined by their music, for these groups, it only serves to empower the group as a more recognizable brand. In the same way these characters develop their popularity through their animated portrayals or merchandise, music accomplishes the exact same function. As distant and unfeeling as it may sound, there is still something notable in these tracks. These songs serve to extend the personas that these characters embody, push story progression in the group’s canon, and it culminates in meaningful multi-media efforts. As commercialized and streamlined as these songs are designed, they impart relevance because of the narrative that they are able to establish. In doing so, these fictional groups arguably accomplish what any artist sets out to do.

• Mona Yu (Computer Science and Criminal Justice)

Album Reviews Declan McKenna Zeros Released September 4, 2020 Label Tomplicated Inc. Genre Indie Rock Tasty Tracks “Emily,” “Daniel, You’re Still a Child,” “Sagittarius A*” With commentary on social issues, the environment and religion, English singersongwriter Declan McKenna has once again delivered an album that breaks artistic barriers with Zeros. Through the perfectlymeasured, yet unique combination of futuristic hyper pop and classic rock tracks, McKenna tells a story set in a dystopian Earth that has avoided its impending Doomsday. However, as much it is a fantastical story, it is also a metaphor to the chaos happening in 2020, making McKenna’s music hit even closer to our home planet.

While Zeros is slightly recognizable to his previous work, McKenna clearly took a different direction towards 70s pop opera style. On McKenna’s debut album, What Do You Think About The Car, he tackles heavy subjects like politics and the media’s handling of a transgender teen’s suicide, leading him to be labeled by publications such as The Guardian and NME as ‘the voice of Gen Z.’ However, in Zeros, McKenna’s lyrics are more abstract and centered around his narrative of space and navigating an apocalyptic world complete with guitar solos and new wave inspired melodies.

Zeros is definitely an album for listeners to experience chronologically as a narrative.

While McKenna’s mix of genres gives a nod to the past, at times the musical references seem a bit too obvious. In “Emily” and “The Key to Life on Earth,” parts of the tracks can be directly linked back to David Bowie’s songs; the same can be said with “Be an Astronaut” feeling similar to Queen’s sound. While this pays tribute to the many artists McKenna supposedly used as inspiration for his album, at times it can come off as too similar and less creative on his behalf. In addition, most of the songs on Zeros are of the same energetic pacing, which can make some sounds blend

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together while listening to the album in full.

Unlike What Do You Think About the Car, there is no real variation in the tracks.

Nevertheless, Zeros is ultimately a crazy interstellar, winding journey that is definitely worth the listen. This album might not have necessarily surpassed the famous What Do You Think About the Car, but Zeros has definitely shown how much McKenna has grown and developed as an artist.

With its social commentary, enticing story line and its lively, spirited tracks, Zeros is definitely an album ahead of its time.

Nora Holland (Journalism and English)

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The Neighbourhood Chip Chrome and the Mono-Tones Released September 25, 2020 Label Columbia Records Genre Alternative Rock Tasty Tracks “Pretty Boy,” “Devil’s Advocate,” “Cherry Flavoured” The Neighbourhood has donned a new look—both sonically and visually—with their 4th studio album. Chip Chrome and the Mono-Tones delves into the depths of frontman Jesse Rutherford’s alter ego, Chip Chrome, and his suppression as Rutherford’s musical voice. Drenched in washed-out, wistful melodies and vulnerability, the record is a melancholic evolution from the quintet’s previous releases, exploring the emotionality of sound. However, the record’s overall boring arrangement far from reaches the lofty ambitions of their rebranding.

The first glimpse of Chip Chrome was in the “Middle of Somewhere” music video in August of 2019, a shocking and confusing look for long time fans and newer listeners alike. The unfortunate experience of witnessing a chrome painted lunatic with diamond grills and green eyeshadow singing and walking through a field almost feels like a violation of some unspoken social code.

The situation never improved, either, as the “Pretty Boy” music video is also hopelessly

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uncomfortable, and the “Lost in Translation” video butchers its reference to 80’s MTV. The point of this alter-ego, as an expression of Rutherford’s voice and representing his personality in an original way, is lost in its own absurdity.

Actually listening through the album does little to help. The alter-ego theme is adequately reinforced through the introductory “Chip-Chrome” and the interlude “The Mono-Tones,” with the former’s energy hyping up the following tracks, and the latter’s almost annoying lyrics and instrumentals perfectly blending with the following “BooHoo.” Most of the tracks’ lyrics allude to the persona of Chip Chrome, and successfully chronicle the group’s introspection catalyzed by the realization that their rapid rise to fame impeded their ability to mature as a group.

Overall, the record is too consistent, as some of the tracks are entirely uninteresting and bleed together. “Hell or High Water” is the most egregious offender, and is in contention for the worst The Neighbourhood song ever released—its uninspired melody is borderline painful to listen to all the way through. Contrasted against their widely successful sophomore record Wiped Out!, Chip Chrome and the Mono-Tones presents very few moments of respite from the drudgery of its instrumentals.

Although the band’s compositional literacy has undeniably suffered, a glimmer of hope emerges from the legendary “Pretty Boy,” a track which can easily hold its own against even their colossal 2011 hit “Sweater Weather.” Its low-key, subdued instrumentals are expertly accompanied by Rutherford’s gloomy vocals, occasionally panging in anguish. Instantly a sad-boy classic, the track easily surpasses every other song on the record in its succinct depiction of the vitality of love and the pain it can produce. “Devil’s Advocate” and “Cherry Flavoured” are the only other singles of note, both of which are instrumentally and vocally on-par with their previous work.

“BooHoo” and “Silver Lining” are the only new tracks which approach the success of the singles, but are still woefully inadequate.

But should Chip Chrome and the Mono-Tones be compared this intensely to the group’s former work? Maybe not, but its lackluster

composition still fails when considered as an independent body of work. Even the exceptional “Pretty Boy” can only redeem it so much.

While Rutherford’s bold attempt at a transformation is admirable, it is also fundamentally flawed in its garishness and sonic weakness. Even if it is dull and uninspired, appreciating the album as a piece of performance art and relishing in its sparse strengths is worth the effort.

Ethan Matthews (Architecture)

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Action Bronson Only For Dolphins Released September 25, 2020 Label Loma Vista Recordings Genre Hip-Hop/Rap Tasty Tracks “Capoeira,” “Sergio,” “Hard Target” The Action Bronson experience is one that rejects classification. The Queens native got his start in the rap game in 2011 after pivoting from a burgeoning career as a gourmet chef, and has since taken on a mantra of ceaseless expansion. To compound his catalogue of acclaimed albums and mixtapes, Bronson released a string of Viceland TV shows, multiple cookbooks, and even broke into the worlds of acting and abstract art. His eclecticism is a trait that has spilled into recent albums, with the New York boom-bap pulse of his early work slowly fading into the subtext.

Bronson’s newest release, Only For Dolphins, pulls influences ranging from lounge jazz to 60s Brazilian pop, forming a free-flowing tapestry of sonic excursions – all tied together by the unique draw of a singular personality.

Only For Dolphins opens with the bombastic, self-produced, “Capoeira.”

Bronson touches on a string of familiar touchstones: late night exploits with cokedout models, exotic vacations to the pacific, and ridiculous wrestling references (“Power bomb ‘em through the dinner table/ It sound like a moose hittin’ a Winnebago”). It’s clear that, lyrically, there are no plans to abandon

the established script of hilarious oneliners and non-sequiturs. The reggae tinged “Latin Grammys” relies almost entirely on this approach, offering two braggadocious verses and the repeated hook “I may not be able to touch my toes/ but I will still fuck these hoes.” “Cliff Hanger” employs the same instrumental style to greater effect, and allows Bronson to flex his storytelling ability by stringing together a series of brief vignettes of lavish degeneracy.

In the past, Bronson’s goofy personality has produced a number of standout moments, but he’s fallen short when it comes to carrying a complete album that warrants repeat listens. This was the case on his prior release, White Bronco, a 26 minute album that failed to probe beyond the surface level. Bronson is at his best when he offers a glimpse behind the façade, a quality achieved on his highest charting album, Mr. Wonderful. Only For Dolphins exists between the two extremes, but strives consistently toward the latter. Tracks like “Latin Grammy’s” and “Splash”, a cheesed-out advertisement for an imaginary fragrance, are contrasted by meditations on aging and fatherhood on “Sergio” and “C12H16N2”.

This makes for a more varied listen than some of his recent work, reflecting a sense of growth and maturity.

A common criticism laid against Bronson is that he has spread himself thin with his expanding portfolio of professional endeavors, leaving little time and energy to focus on his music. Many point to his adoption of laid back flows and looser rhyme schemes as a sign of degrading skills, or a lack of passion for the craft through which he gained notoriety. Others, including myself, see it as a stylistic choice driven by a new perspective. With age comes wisdom, and while Bronson is anything but profound, his rhymes exude a sense of calm fulfillment. On “Hard Target”, Bronson counts his blessings over a morphing jazz piano sample. His persona, once a portrait of unattainable extravagance, now comes across as a genuine reflection of self-efficacy. This is one of many points on the album where Bronson’s delivery sounds truly effortless. His downtempo musings flow in a constant stream over the meandering instrumental.

On Only For Dolphins, The bars may not come at the rate they used to, but Bronson’s dense imagery and captivating personality are as strong as ever. While a hand full of tracks favor mood over substance, the majority of the album offers a rewarding blend of the two. Personal and professional growth outside of music have strengthened Bronson’s appeal, and placed a wider range of stylistic influences at his disposal. In the words of the man himself, “I made lives, so now it’s time for me to lay a vibe.”

Fisher Hunnewell (Finance and Management)

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The Front Bottoms In Sickness & In Flames Released August 21, 2020 Label Fueled By Ramen Genre Alternative Rock Tasty Tracks “montgomery forever,” “Fairbanks, Alaska” With over a decade as a band and five full-length albums behind them, The Front Bottoms have developed a solid fanbase and a reputation for a folk-punk/alternative rock style, punctuated with blunt, striking and often narrative lyrics. On their fifth album, In Sickness & In Flames, they sometimes follow this precedent. The album has a mix of highs and lows, with some songs carrying on the band’s legacy, and others feeling more like fillers than anything else.

In Sickness & In Flames particularly succeeds in the singles – “camouflage,” “everyone blooms,” “montgomery forever,” and “Fairbanks, Alaska.” In particular the latter two are the most captivating songs on the album. Some of The Front Bottoms’ best and most characteristic work comes when their lyrics toe the fine line between being extremely personal and niche and yet, still, relatable to the listener, and these songs both include that individualistic element. Combining this with upbeat, folk punk choruses that you can easily imagine singing at a live show someday – these songs are a win for the record. Another note of success on the album is the band’s attempts to be more solemn in some of the writing. While The Front Bottoms are certainly no stranger to tackling difficult and serious

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topics in their songs, it also isn’t unusual for them to balance this with a humorous line or a deceivingly uplifting melody. When In Sickness & In Flames is stripped down to the genuine emotion, however, it works. One of the best cases of this is the final song “make way,” which starts slow and melancholy, then picks up into a continuous confession of feelings and worries (“Nobody understands who I truly am,” sings Brian Sella on the second verse).

However, on other parts of the album, they didn’t meet their full potential. Though every album deserves a chance to be heard and interpreted on its own, regardless of the artist’s history, it’s difficult not to compare In Sickness & In Flames to The Front Bottoms’ previous works. There isn’t a real sense of the band attempting to completely change their style on the album, which makes it natural to hear the similarities to past works in some places, and, in others, to notice the places where the album fails to live up. A common occurrence on the record is tracks that feel like they’re only halfway to where they should be – places where the music doesn’t fully capture attention, or where the lyrics feel weak. After proving that they can write truly compelling songs, it’s disappointing when The Front Bottoms put out songs that aren’t quite there. An example of this is “jerk,” the third song on the album, which draws the listener in with a catchy, distorted background repetition stating, “The things like that don’t matter,” and then loses the listener with a frankly basic chorus consisting of nothing but the line “Yeah, I know that I look like a jerk.”

Sometimes The Front Bottoms can make blunt statements work, often even with a hint of humor. Sometimes, it would seem, they can’t pull it off quite as well.

In Sickness & In Flames is not bad by any means. It has strong points and enjoyable songs, but it isn’t a perfect album, either.

It grabs attention at some points, then lets it go at others, and overall exists as a good attempt that wasn’t fully realized. The album isn’t a complete write off, but there are better albums by The Front Bottoms, and it’s hard to forget that.

Amanda Lavery (Music Industry)

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Joji Nectar Released September 25, 2020 Label 88rising Genre Trip Hop Tasty Tracks “Ew,” “Like You Do,” “Normal People” George “Joji” Miller has done it once again. On September 25, 2020, Joji released his sophomore studio album Nectar. In just 18 tracks, Joji brings listeners on a journey through which he battles love and fame. He recruits a variety of artists for his features, including Lil Yachty, Omar Apollo, and BENEE, giving a well-rounded sound to the album. Fans were especially anxious for the release of Nectar. The release was originally meant for June 2020, but was pushed back to September in respect of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests. His freshman album BALLADS 1 was a smashing success, and after a 2 year production period, fans couldn’t help but ask for more of Joji’s raspy falsetto. Nectar was well worth the wait.

The first half of Nectar is reminiscent of BALLADS 1 both sonically and lyrically.

Joji continues to croon of heartbreak and hopeless romanticism over ethereal piano and guitar instrumentals in tracks such as “Ew” and “Run,” the latter of which is the second single released from the album. Both songs will bind you to your bed, having you clutch your comforters as you cry to the brilliant intersection of beautiful lyricism and haunting instrumentals.

While Joji certainly delivered with his classic melancholy vocals, we see him evolve and experiment with several of the tracks on Nectar. With the help of prominent DJ Diplo, Joji introduces a more pop-like sound with “Daylight,” which is the last of the 4 singles released from the album. While “Daylight” is surely a head-bopper, it feels a bit like a sell out. The lyrics are certainly not as deep or as striking as those of the other tracks, and, as he released it in August, it feels like he wanted to profit over it becoming a “summer anthem.” His predictions were certainly correct, as enlisting a celebrity DJ notorious for summer hits helped boost Joji’s name to the 17th ranking on Billboard’s charts, a rare occurrence for an alternative artist.

Another large theme in Nectar is Joji’s experiences with stardom, especially seen in “Modus,” “Tick Tock,” “Pretty Boy,” and “Mr. Hollywood.” It seems Joji teeters between loving fame and hating it. In “Modus,” Joji describes the pressure the music industry puts on him to be something else. While he recognizes the perks, the emphasis on changing is really taking a toll on him. Joji even sings that he wants to “be a Chevy not a Sentra,” which could be a nod to his American and Japanese cultures clashing, making it even harder for him to understand his own identity.

Joji continues the theme of stardom in “Pretty Boy,” featuring Lil Yachty, but with a more playful, buoyant tone. As an ode to Beverly Hills, this is certainly a 180 from his track “WHY AM I STILL IN LA?” off of BALLADS 1. The song is also more experimental, as it’s more pop-like than Joji’s usual style. The heavy bass and upbeat tempo on top of some sadder lyrics mirror Joji and Yachty’s experiences. The two express how their rich, lavish exteriors are great camouflages for their internal pain. It’s almost as if the contradiction of the lyrics and the beat also match the dissonance of Joji and Yachty’s voices; Yachty’s voice is extremely guttural in comparison to Joji’s orotund melodic voice.

Nectar will certainly be on repeat. Joji’s ingenuity in emotive lyrics and galactic-like production are more than exquisite- they scratch that itch in your heart and mind that you just can’t reach. Joji’s evolution from his offensive yet hilarious Pink Guy persona to

his now evocative, enchanted sound proves that he has a lot more in store for us. Nectar is just the start.

Lacie Foreht (Communication Studies and Media Screen Studies)

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Designer: Megan Lam (Architecture)

Feature

So what is horrorcore? You may have heard the name floating around in hip-hop communities but never really knew what it meant. Horrorcore is quite literally what the name suggests, hip-hop with lyrics that are based in horror or aim to rile the listener up.

This could range from alluding to and mentioning horror films to rapping about the occult.

The genre doesn’t necessarily have to explicitly mention things adjacent to horror in the traditional sense, as it can also talk about mental illness, drug abuse, and psychological horrors. Horrorcore pays homage to gangsta rap and uses hardcore beats paired with violent, dark lyricism to paint a picture that makes you uncomfortable. While this sounds extreme, odds are, you’ve probably already heard songs that fall under this genre. To better understand what falls under the umbrella as horrorcore, let’s talk about the history of it first.

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Though it’s hard to pin down what the first horrorcore song was, the genre first made its appearance around the 1980s, specifically in Houston. Ganksta NIP is credited as being a pioneer in this genre as a lot of his music in the late 80s, though not written with the intention of being horrorcore, helped shape what the genre was and mold the type of lyricism used throughout the songs. NIP leaned into the narrative that horrorcore spun with many of his studio albums including “psycho” in the title as well as naming his record label Psych Ward Entertainment. In 2018, he deemed himself the “Creator of Horrorcore” by releasing an album with that title.

Another group that contributed to the rise of horrorcore’s popularity was Geto Boys. This group also hailed from Houston and worked a lot alongside Ganksta NIP. The group not only brought attention to the genre, but are credited for paving the way for many rappers coming out of Houston and giving credibility to Southern hip-hop. One incident that brought them a lot of publicity was having their debut album initially being blocked from release. This was due to intense and violent lyrics throughout the album. One of their most popular songs “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” speaks in the life of a gangster and gets into the nitty gritty of the adverse effects it can have on one’s psyche. With the opening line from Scarface saying “At night I can’t sleep, I toss and turn/ Candlesticks in the dark, visions of bodies bein’ burned”. They fed off of the publicity gained from this and went on to release incredibly popular albums, with their following album going platinum. This wasn’t the last time Geto Boys would be in the limelight for controversies. A lot of people outside of the genre and many politicians criticized their music and said it was causing people to act more violent. This didn’t phase them though, and they continued to release music that would shape the genre.

Horrorcore really solidified itself as a genre popular amongst southern artists. In ‘94 the group Three 6 Mafia made their debut out of Memphis, Tennessee with the album Mystic Stylez. This album was nothing short of horrorcore with themes of drug use, the occult, and Satanism. The radio wouldn’t play their music on the radio because they were so adverse to the lyrics, but the local radio hosts went on the play “Da Summa” on air and the group took off from there. Three 6 Mafia and Mystic Stylez have often been cited as pioneers with their first project gaining praise from critics and fans alike.

When it comes to modern day horrorcore, the lines are a lot more blurred in what falls under the genre. Some artists denounce the term and distance themselves from the genre (with good reason) and don’t label their music as such. In result of this, we tend to see artists whose music that fits the mold of horrorcore and having similar characteristics, falling into horrorcore adjacent genres such as trap metal, hardcore hip-hop, and industrial hip hop. A few prominent examples of this are Tyler, the Creator’s songs “Yonkers” and “Goblin” which were known to stun the general public when it dropped as it’s lyrics were punchy and violent.

The motifs in this song allude entirely to the genre, however, Tyler and the rest of Odd Future stated time and again that they do not consider themselves to produce horrorcore.

Horrorcore is starting to become an abandoned term for rising artists for many reasons. While it has helped shape a lot of music that we listen to now, the genre as a whole has many flaws with it being incredibly vulgar, disrespectful, and misogynistic. Despite the genre that was once at the forefront having dwindled away, it has given rise to many subgenres and talented artists. Within the realm of trap metal has given rise to artists like Ghostmane and $uicideboys$, and City Morgue. Industrial hip hop has given us clipping., JPEGMAFIA, and Ho99o9 to name a few.

• Rayven Tate (Mechanical Engineering)

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Editorial

THIS ONE’S FOR YOU, MR. PRESIDENT The Music Industry’s Relationship with Donald Trump

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Nowadays, it is no secret what a person’s political views are. Whether it’s your family, your closest friends, your neighbors, or even the random person you follow online, we’re in an increased age of political polarization and conversation. With the 2020 presidential election drawing candidates with an extreme range of politics such as Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders, all constituents have a viewpoint and everyone has an opinion.

No matter what your opinion is on Donald Trump, one thing is certain: it’s a strong one. This is most certainly true when it comes to influential musicians as well.

It’s no secret that many “big-name” liberal artists have a certain disdain when it comes to Trump; renowned musicians that range from Neil Young and Elton John, to Rihanna and Adele, to the Rolling Stones and Queen have all publicly expressed their disapproval of Trump’s usage of their music at political rallies. Some have even gone as far as to sue Trump for copyright infringement, as Neil Young did in August of 2020. His statement expressed that he “in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.” Since the music industry currently carries ties to questions of ethics, race, and equality, it’s clear that it cannot stay disconnected from politics.

If you search up, “Songs about U.S. Presidents” or, maybe, more specifically, “Songs about Bill Clinton,” there are only a few relevant examples that appear. However, if you specify your search to “songs about Donald Trump,” Google will direct you to an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to more than 20 songs just about the POTUS and another page called “Donald Trump in Music.”

Why, and how, is it that conservatism, and especially Donald Trump, often inspires and angers artists in a way that could be considered uncharacteristic of politics? The answer is simple: people have a lot to say about him.

Some artists have taken this condemnation of Trump, not only as a president, but also as a person, and brought it one step further: by making their opinions on him concrete in released songs. One notable song, released in March of 2016 before Trump was even elected, is titled “FDT” which stands for “Fuck Donald Trump.” A poetic and almost prophetic track

by YG, featuring Nipsey Hussle, the song addresses their outrage and disgust for the candidate and his racist policies and harmful actions towards Mexicans, Muslims, and the Black community, saying “All the n**** in the hood wanna fight you/ Surprised El Chapo ain’t tried to snipe you/ Surprised the

Nation of Islam ain’t tried to find you.” They further address their issues with Trump by attacking his immense personal investment in his campaign ($66 million) through their lyric “Donald Trump spent his trust fund money on the vote.” YG even released “FDT - Pt. 2” featuring Mackelmore and G-Eazy in July of 2016, which references the Orlando nightclub shooting of 2016, Trump’s sexual remarks towards his daughter Ivanka, and his statements on deporting Muslims and Mexicans. These tracks have become increasingly prominent as the 2020 election draws near.

No matter what your opinion is on Donald Trump, one thing is certain: it’s a strong one.

This was only the beginning of the music industry’s outcries on Trump, as many artists have since included innuendos or slipped Trump’s name into their tracks with negative connotations. However, an interesting addition to this forming discography against Trump would be Ice Cube’s lead single from

more specifically, his song “Trump is Your President.” Gray is an up and coming Black rap artist, having opened for artists such as 50 Cent and 2 Chainz, but gained his fame by tweeting a video of him rapping his song and receiving recognition from Trump’s official Twitter. Although Gray’s grandmother was a Black Panther during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, he considers himself a “right-wing nut.” A few notable lyrics from “Trump is Your President” includes “Donald Trump is your President, if

guaranteed to be varying perspectives and portrayals that follow the biases of each individual. However, it’s certain that there are few prominent figures as polarizing as the current president. No matter if they’re for or against him, each side has, at least how they perceive it, the strongest evidence and motivations against Trump. Some musicians have chosen to denounce Trump through song lyrics while others have relied more on public statements and comments; this is still true for the opposite end of the political spectrum. No matter what method artists have relied on, it’s clear that this fascination with Trump’s far-right ideals – which some consider patriotic and others un-American – is a conversation that will continue through the 2020 election and perhaps long after. This intertwinement between politics and music has evolved tremendously during these past four years, and we will likely continue to see the music industry itself mimic the American public and become increasingly polarized.

• Rachel Cerato (International Affairs and Environmental Studies)

you like it or not Keep that energy you you had with Barack” and “You want to impeach him I guess that’s what you do when you can’t beat him” in reference to Trump’s impeachment trial in January of 2020. Gray is an intriguing case study of the relentless support of dedicated Trump supporters despite the contradictions between their identity and the POTUS’s policies and beliefs.

When tracing a single individual’s portrayal throughout the music industry, there are

Designer: Maura Intemann (English and Graphic and Information Design)

his 2018 album Everythang’s Corrupt, “Arrest the President.” Although never referencing Trump by name, Ice Cube very clearly implies that he is speaking about the POTUS, not to mention that he has performed the song while a montage of Trump clips appear behind him. Although a similar sentiment towards the president, this track particularly attacks Trump’s contact with Russian intelligence during the 2016 election, stating, “Arrest the president, you got the evidence/ That n**** is Russian intelligence.” This call to action addresses the people even more so than the previous song, and in an organized and educational way, lays out the evidence for the arrest of Donald Trump.

With these examples, it seems very clear what the political stance of many artists is. However, there are songs supporting Trump and his policies, although they are certainly the minority. One popular songwriter that has been vocally pro-Trump, amid many oppositions and outrage, is Kanye West. In 2016, Kanye announced that he had not voted in the presidential election, but if he had, he would’ve casted a vote for Trump.

Furthermore, in 2018, Trump and Kanye met at the White House and furthered their public relationship.

This relationship went one step further when Kanye released “Ye vs. the People” in April of 2018 featuring T.I. This track follows the commentary of Kanye against T.I. (who stars as “the people”) as Ye further solidifies his public support of Trump’s policies. In one line, Kanye says “wearin’ the hat’ll show people that we equal” in reference to his choice to wear Trump’s Make America Great Again hat and in another line “All Blacks gotta be Democrats, man, we ain’t made it off the plantation,” alluding to his 2018 comment that “slavery was a choice.” This release brought a multitude of reactions including disgust, outrage, and overall disbelief at the rapper’s political alignment.

To bring it all together, arguably one of the most prominent endorsements of Trump in the music industry has been Bryson Gray’s 2020 Album MAGA Ain’t Got No Color, and

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AA Match Match Made Made inin Hell: Hell: Metal Metal and and Video Video 6ames’ 6ames’ Dark Dark Pact Pact

Designer: Norman Zeng (/Graphic Design/)

way to the very legitimate satanism of some Norwegian black metal bands. Generally though, the horror and violent elements of metal are performative ways of pushing against cultural taboos and giving a middle finger to polite society. All of it serves to make the fairly mundane act of some 21 year-olds with long hair strumming on some instruments feel more exciting and perhaps even slightly dangerous.

As the average player began to get older in the 1990s, and technology allowed more vivid graphics and sound, developers began to pull from metal aesthetics in order to make their games stand out. Just as embracing violent and dark themes could make a metal band seem like something greater, leaning on these aesthetics made games into something more threatening and cool.

The connection is only logical, as video games really came into their modern form in the late 80s-early 90s, right as the metal genre was arguably at its peak before its decline in popularity to where it is today. Many of the developers, especially those in America and Britain, were the exact same young male demographic that made up the majority of metal fans during the period. It’s easy to picture how this new era of video games could be developed with Slayer or Pantera blasting in the background.

If there’s one developer in the early 90s who undebatably were inspired by their favorite metal bands, it was id Software. The game that made them famous was Doom, an early first-person shooter released in 1993 as shareware (you could buy the second and third chapters by mail). While their previous major title Wolfenstein 3D had some of that deliberately provocative, metal-eque DNA, Doom

Designer: Norman Zeng (Graphic and Information Design)

As a genre, metal has always been a black sheep in the music sphere. It’s telling that in Rolling Stone’s September 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, metal appeared in the top 100 only once, with #97 going to Metallica’s Master of Puppets. It lacks critical acclaim in all but the most niche of music outlets, and in terms of sales and plays...well, its location down near the bottom of Spotify’s main page is a clear indicator. To most listeners it seems, metal is deeply uncool, or perhaps overly abrasive and assaulting. Perhaps it’s a perfect match then, that video games, a medium which in and of itself is often looked down upon and considered childish and vulgar, has come to embrace the musical genre in a number of ways.

A very concrete example would be games directly based on bands. One of the earliest is the Nintendo Famicom game Holy Diver, a completely unlicensed adaptation of the Dio album of the same name, with characters named after Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhodes, and Ronny James Dio battling to save a fantastical world. Metallica at one point in the mid-2000s had a planned car-combat game called Damage, Inc. Iron Maiden has a mediocre mobile title, but a far more bizarre title is 1999’s Ed Hunter, an odd fusion of a greatest hits album and a PC on-rails shooter à la Time Crisis, with rather poor “wavetable” synthesis covers of Maiden songs. There is also the very obvious example of a couple Guitar Hero song packs, namely for Metallica, Aerosmith, and Van Halen.

Beginning in the 1990s, however, several games and development studios clearly drew from both the sounds and artwork associated with the metal genre in original ways. When referring to “metal aesthetics,” there’s a certain range implied, from the campy horror of Ozzy Osbourne biting the head of a bat off on stage, all the

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Feature Designer: Norman Zeng (/Graphic Design/) Fall 2020

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went all in. Players stepped into the boots of a marine stationed on Mars, where a spatial rift has opened and allowed in the hordes of Hell. The cover art was clearly inspired by the album covers of its time, with the marine firing away as comedically viscous demons surround him on all sides.

Not only did this anti-Satanic premise and aesthetic clearly fit a very Beavis and Butthead variety of “metal dude!” machismo, but it had a soundtrack to match. The first level’s music is utterly iconic, with the track “At Doom’s Gate” clearly taking influence from “Master of Puppets’’ by Metallica as well as other thrash metal bands. A big limitation of the soundtrack’s ability to match the intensity of metal classics was the sound technology on PC at the time. Many games in this pre-CD era had to rely on soundcards such as the Creative Labs Soundblaster, which would use either wavetable synthesis or crude samples which could be sequenced by game composers. While the soundtrack to Doom clearly was inspired by metal, the samples available were pretty terrible at emulating chugging rhythm guitar or soaring leads, though surprisingly decent drums rounded out the mix. The rest of the soundtrack is let down by a preponderance of darker ambient tracks, clearly leaning more towards the game’s horror inspirations. Songs like “On The Hunt’’ may be vaguely inspired by metal, but really just sound like the preset “waltz” rhythms from a 1980s workstation synthesizer mixed with a poor imitation of Judas Priest.

The up-and-downs of the soundtrack aside, Doom was in many ways the godfather of the modern first-person shooter, and introduced thousands of suburban kids to the world of metal, albeit rather indirectly. It’s worth mentioning that a notable fan of the game was Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who agreed to do the soundtrack of id’s next game, 1996’s Quake quid pro quo. While that particular soundtrack mostly consists of industrial ambient music, the title track is distinctively metal, with a driving synth loop, coarse screaming vocal samples, and a sound that’s more intense than much of NIN’s discography. Finally an id software game was able to ship on CD, meaning that various musical influences that the company brought to its games could finally come across clearly in its soundtrack. For the 2016 reboot of the Doom franchise, composer Mick Gordon clearly was influenced by Reznor’s work on Quake and NIN, decisively leaning closer to industrial metal or djent than the crude thrash metal of the original Doom. His cover of “At Doom’s Gate” for the reboot is starkly different, with the main guitar line buried under layers of heavy

distortion and a Polivoks Soviet synthesizer swirling throughout the mix, with a massive breakdown replicating the original riff.

CD, in general, was the big innovator in bringing metal to game soundtracks. Prior to systems such as the Playstation and Windows 95 PCs in the mid-90s, games were limited to compressed sample playback or more obscure synthesis techniques such as frequency modulation. While many of these retro soundtracks can be a lot of fun (I will defend the NES Pictionary main theme to my grave), it was rather challenging to imitate the sound of bands such as Black Sabbath or Motörhead with basic sound waves. CD’s larger capacity allowed developers to simply stick a completely recorded soundtrack onto the disc, which opened up the ability for imitation of certain genres that had previously only been suggested at.

What’s interesting to see is essentially the “metalization” of series soundtracks as they moved into the 90s, with some series that started with these basic melodies gaining incredibly rocking tracks once they transitioned to CD recordings.

It’s impossible to say if these metal versions of series’ themes were the “original” intended version of the song, but there’s no debate in my mind that they’re not real metal. A very clear example of this process is the evolution of the song “Bloody Tears” from the Caslevania series, which first appeared in the second entry Simon’s Quest in 1987. Even in the crude form offered by the NES sound chip , the track has a lot of driving motion, accompanied by a very gothic arpeggio fitting for the game’s haunted castle theme. Super Castlevania IV for the SNES showed off a much more complicated arrangement with sampled instruments, but it was still somewhere in that void between classical, rock, and almost bossa nova. However, by 1997’s Symphony of the Night for the Playstation, “Bloody Tears” was reimagined in the mold of symphonic metal à la Nightwish or Within Temptation, with a soaring guitar solo, an aggressive drum breakdown, blast beats, and gothic piano accompaniment.

It would be a mistake to discuss metal in video games without mentioning two of the most well known compilation-esque titles from the modern era. The first is the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise, which while primarily focused on the skate punk and ska music of the late 90s and early 2000s, features a significant amount of metal throughout the series. There was a huge variety of subgenres, from classics like AC/DC and Iron Maiden, to more obscure groups such as Entombed and In Flames. Those games were metal in soundtrack alone, but actor Jack Black and developers Double Fine set out in the

late 2000s to make the most metal game of all time. Brütal Legend was a send-up of the entire genre, with Black voicing a roadie-turnedsavior of a fantasy realm, wielding a flying-v style “axe” (as well as a literal axe) against demons. A number of metal icons have speaking roles, such as Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne.

Unfortunately, if metal was uncool in the past, it’s even less cool now. While there are still titles with a metal influence, such as the 2016 Doom reboot or its 2020 sequel, in many ways games have grown out of metal, at least for the moment. Most big-budget titles are either set in realistic modern settings or unbelievable fantasies, and tend to have symphonic soundtracks to match. Thanks to modern storage and sound technology, it’s very easy to have music that resembles that of film or television, rather than divisive or distracting genres such as metal. Games are no longer the “edgy” medium which sparked Senate hearings, and metal is no longer the counter-cultural sound which sent conservative culture warriors into hysteria. To end on an somewhat somber note, it’s fair to say that the relationship between metal and games was representative of a certain immaturity, one that defined the 90s and early 2000s. Perhaps there’s a chance for a resurgence, but for now, games have moved on from their rebellious metal phase.

• Bryan Grady (Political Science)

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Editorial

Designer: Kaya Dlouchy (Graphic Design) Fall 2020

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Dolly Parton More than the Music:

For many people, Dolly Parton is a household name. Even if they don’t listen to her music, most know of her renowned hit singles.

Her discography is extensive, consisting of 51 studio albums, six live albums, five soundtrack albums, and one EP, not to mention the over 180 compilation albums that she has released worldwide. Parton has also supplemented her discography with an equally sizable filmography consisting of 12 movies and over 400 appearances on television. Despite being marketed as country music, Parton’s music isn’t just for lovers of country. Her music touches something in all listeners’ hearts. She’s like the Southern grandma that everyone wants in their lives and whose voice sounds like it’s calling you home, soothing the depths of your soul and assuring you that everything is going to be alright. In recent years, she’s remained relevant not only by continuing to release music, but also by continuing to use her fame for the greater good. What’s impressive about the “Jolene” singer isn’t just her musical talent and prolific song-writing ability, but what she’s done with her fame.

Many may just know her because of her hit songs and distinctive appearance, but few know of the way she’s used her success for the benefit of others.

One of the biggest ways she’s given back to her hometown of Pigeon Forge, TN, was the creation of her theme park.

Deep in the heart of the Tennessee Valley lies the glittering gem known as Dollywood.

Originally an attraction owned exclusively by

the Herschend family, Parton partnered with the family in 1986 to create the Dollywood many know and love today. The theme park is inspired by Parton’s career and aspects of life in rural East Tennessee. The creation of the park revitalized the economy of the town and, to this day, is the most highly visited tourist attraction in Tennessee. Her involvement in the park caused the attraction to flourish.

Since then, it has even expanded to other parks and venues, such as the Dollywood: Splash Country water park, the DreamMore resort, numerous cabins in the Smoky Mountains, and a couple dinner shows. It continues to draw millions of visitors to Pigeon Forge each year, turning the once quiet town into a bustling tourist hub.

Parton’s involvement in her community did not stop at just the creation and expansion of Dollywood. When fires raged in nearby Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2016, Parton donated $12.5 million to families affected by the fires. The My People fund that Parton created provided roughly 900 families with $10,000 in support in the six months following the destruction of the fires.

She later donated another $3 million to the victims for continued support in the years following the fires. Even beyond contributing to her local community, Parton has worked to better the lives of people nationally and internationally. In 1995, she founded her Imagination Library, an organization that gifts books to children from birth to age five in participating communities. Though it began with children in her native Sevier County in Tennessee, the organization now sends books to kids across the country and in

Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. Dollywood has even hosted a series of charity concerts in order to fundraise for the Imagination Library, increasing the number of kids they’re able to send books to. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, Parton donated $1 million to the medical center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee to help with the research of a vaccine for the coronavirus. In an interview on NBC’s Today Show about the donation, Parton said, “I felt like this was the time for me to open my heart and my hand and try to help.”

This past August, Parton also expressed her support for the Black Lives Matter in an interview with Billboard, stating that “our little white asses” aren’t the only ones that matter. This statement aligns with Parton’s past actions, such as the renaming of one of Parton’s attractions in Pigeon Forge from “the Dixie Stampede” to just “the Stampede” in 2018. Some criticized Parton for changing the name of the attraction, but Parton stuck by her decision, stating that she didn’t want to keep the name if it was offensive to anyone. According to the Dollywood website, their values include serving others by “working as a team and empowering each other, being accountable to our guests, each other and the communities we serve, and leading with love; being Patient, Kind, Humble, Respectful, Trusting, Unselfish, Forgiving, Truthful and Dedicated.”

Her values, and those of the Dollywood corporation, have been made clear by Parton’s actions and words. She’s never shied away from sensitive topics, instead

choosing to approach the situations with love and compassion. When she was tasked with writing a song for “Transamerica,” the 2005 dramedy about a trans woman reuniting with her long-lost son, Parton approached the song knowing the responsibility she had of telling the story of the search for one’s identity. The resulting song, “Travelin’ Thru,” stirred up a lot of backlash from conservatives, but did not faze Parton, who is a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

In a time where people are calling for social justice, it’s becoming more apparent that it’s important to support celebrities and public figures that add positivity to the world rather than spread hate and negativity. More and more fans these days are calling for celebrities to be more accountable for their actions. Some artists are being canceled for racist behaviors or sentiments, while others are being called out for not speaking up despite their position of privilege and influence. Dolly Parton, however, is an example of someone who has used her power and influence for good. She uses her platform to promote a message of love and respect, all while taking responsibility and accountability.

She recognizes her position of privilege and works “9 to 5” to ensure that she is using her voice to not only serenade the world, but spread the message of justice, fairness, and kindness. Parton’s actions since attaining success show that she is more than just her music, and she’s definitely more than just some “Dumb Blonde.”

• Chelsea Henderson (Undeclared)

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I I I I I I I I I I I Editorial

Free Market Diss Tracks:

ANTI-CAPITALISM IN POP MUSIC In 2009, British pop star, Lily Allen released the lead single “The Fear” from her sophomore album and gave a perfectly manicured middle finger to consumerism.

The painfully accurate satire that weaves between embrace and disillusionment of needing everything at once declares in its second verse, “I am a weapon of massive consumption/ And it’s not my fault, it’s how I’m programmed to function.” If there is one thing that has aged well over the past 11 years, it is this song. As we are all forced to perceive the reality of our world in late stage capitalism, we are entering a new era of subject matter that is both reflective, mournful, and continually critical of society.

While pop culture has a tendency to celebrate the idea that “more is more,” there are many artists today who are taking a look around and not quite seeing the appeal, to say the least.

Materialism and consumerism are long standing topics in music, especially within the pop genre. They are tropes that have aged quite strangely, as some artists continue to use them as an aid to their braggadocio while more recent takes have

used them in a more self-aware sense.

Among the more refined of this commentary, we find “XS” (pronounced not as the clothing size, but the word “excess”), a single from Japanese-British artist, Rina Sawayama’s massive debut album, SAWAYAMA, that takes a pointed approach in capitalistic critique. The track is what would happen if one of Britney Spears’ early 2000s hits was injected with heavy metal guitar riffs and a dense social commentary. Beginning with a strong allegiance to consumer culture and taking a hard left, it cuts hard with lines about exhaustion of resources (“Flex, when all that’s left is immaterial/ And the price we’ve paid is unbelievable”) and even the pay gap (“Make me less so I want more”), culminating in an irreversible wreckage.

All of this is woven between simply perfect choruses in which a robotic voice interjects, demanding “more” as Sawayama returns an apt, “Oh me, oh my!”

Next up we have Declan McKenna, a political-beyond-his-years indie-pop artist whose trippy 2020 record Zeros is an embodiment of futuristic mass destruction.

This is the boy who broke on the music

scene at age 16 with a song calling out ignorance in the governing body of FIFA’s World Cup in 2014, so nobody should say they’re surprised when he speaks out on climate change and the permanent damage of the modern digital sphere half a decade later. “Twice Your Size” imagines what will happen when we fully deplete our world and swallow up all that it’s good for. “Earth will change and we must grab our beds/ And get out of range,” he states. Another entry, “Sagittarius A*” is an ego-tripping, zodiacreferencing track that was summed up by McKenna in an interview with Apple Music with one quote: “I am bigger than the world, even though we are limited to our resources and we know we’re limited to our world. I don’t care, and I’m going to pull you down with me.” While it may be heavy lyrically, it’s balanced out by its grandiose, playful arrangements that put these apocalyptic thoughts in a bit of a sunnier setting. At the end of the day, though, Zeros serves as a red flag for our present state and a fearful prediction of what’s to come.

A more down-to-earth exploration of these topics is found in Norweigan artist,

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I I I I I I I I I I I I • Drew Quercio (Music Industry)

Designer: Gabby Bruck (Computer Science and Design)

AURORA’s, 2019 project, A Different Kind Of Human (Step II). AURORA imagines the transcendence of the human form while laying out all the reasons she wishes to leave it. Perhaps the most blatant depiction of dismay is found on “The Seed,” which paraphrases a Native American proverb in its chorus. “You cannot eat money/ When the last tree has fallen and the rivers are poisoned/ You cannot eat money.”

This finger-pointing is backed up with a video depicting the various effects of global climate change, resulting from the lack of environmental protection against the demands of a capitalistic society that requires infinite resources in a finite world. The chant-driven “Apple Tree” is a hopeful piece, protecting and encouraging those who wish to go against the world’s exploitation by demanding, “Let her save the world, she is just a girl/ Let him save the world, he is just a boy.”

In its various forms we will always be able to spot social commentary in pop music, but perhaps this is one to keep an eye out for in the future. As the negative effects of capitalism rear their ugly heads, it is likely that there will be a greater saturation of content that cries out against it. By railing against the cultures of consumerism and materialism and directing attention to the mass destruction of these institutions, pop music is becoming a powerful tool that carries much more weight and awareness than many may be willing to acknowledge yet. However, if the sky goes red more often and our seasons continue to blend together, that due credit could come sooner rather than later.

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Designer: Sadhana Pakala (Business Administartion and Design) Fall 2020

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DISCOGRAPHY Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift is one of the most polarizing yet captivating pop stars of the last decade. Though her tendency to change her style and sound at the drop of a hat sometimes feels ingenuine, it’s never without full and complete commitment. Hailing from Pennsylvania, Swift’s family quickly relocated to Nashville when the singer was 14 years old in order for her to pursue a career in country music. After signing with Big Machine Records, Swift began making a name for herself by releasing country-pop music that always told a story. The music from her early days became the soundtrack for young girls’ lives around the world. But after a few albums that consisted mainly of acoustic breakup songs, Swift began to grow up as an artist and a person and went on to experiment with a multitude of sounds, for better or worse. Although there have been missteps throughout her career, it is undeniable that Swift is one of the most meticulous and successful pop stars of this decade.

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Fearless

Taylor Swift In 2006, 16 year old Taylor Swift released her self titled debut album which almost immediately launched her into stardom.

Although it is probably her least known album, lead singles “Tim McGraw,” “Should’ve Said No,” and “Our Song” remain staples in her discography. The country focused album resonated with girls of a similar age who saw themselves in the stories she told.

Granted, most of the tracks come across as shallow considering Swift’s age, but they still have the same catchiness that made her a household name. “A Place in this World” is about as basic as a Taylor Swift song could get, as she sings on the chorus ‘oh I’m just a girl, trying to find a place in this world.’ These cliches continue on deeper cuts, “Tied Together with a Smile” and “A Perfectly Good Heart.” Although this may be the most forgettable Swift album, that doesn’t mean it comes without highlights. The explosive “Picture to Burn” is an angry country break up anthem on par with Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” More delicate tracks like “Teardrops on My Guitar” and “Cold As You” show off the beginnings of Swift’s detailed songwriting ability. Taylor Swift is an album that brings nostalgia and comfort to those that grew up with it, but doesn’t necessarily stand the test of time.

Only two short years after her debut, Taylor Swift followed up that record with a similar, but more polished sound. Fearless follows the Swift formula: acoustic, narrative style songs about a young teenage girl’s romantic relationships. But this time, her songwriting was even stronger. The transition from 16 to 18 years old allowed for more depth and understanding in Swift’s stories and a greater sense of confidence in her performances. Title track “Fearless” is a quintessential Taylor Swift song, featuring long drives, kissing in the rain, and references to her small town. Fearless was also the most relatable Swift has been during her career. Before the mega fame and a multitude of famous relationships, Swift was still just a country girl, (albeit still from Pennsylvania) and Fearless was tender, romantic, and youthful in all the right ways. She also strays from straightforward love songs, penning a sentimental story about her mother on “Best Day” and a slightly strange attempt at a revolutionary anthem on “Change,” the latter of which proved her voice was strong enough to stand against her country contemporaries.

Recommended Tracks: “Breathe,” “Forever & Always,” “Fearless”

Recommended Tracks: “Picture to Burn,” “Our Song,” “Tim McGraw”

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Speak Now By 2010, Taylor Swift was the worldwide pop star and household name that we know today, although she was still holding strong to her country-pop roots and her pristine image. Speak Now, in a lot of ways, was an extension of Fearless, though with a bit more confidence in showing off the stronger side of her voice. Speak Now also features many references to Swift’s famous boyfriends causing fans to dissect every line of the album. On “Back To December”, she regretfully thinks back on her break up with actor Taylor Launter. “Dear John” is a direct attack on fellow musician John Mayer that is as juicy with details of their relationship as it is a heartbreaking song about feeling taken advantage of. With the release of Speak Now, it became obvious that Taylor Swift had a distinct voice and sound. But since many these songs seemed interchangeable with those on Fearless, it was time for a change in order for Swift to stay interesting and relevant.

Recommended Tracks: “Last Kiss,” “Ours,” “Enchanted”

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Red

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On her fourth album, Taylor Swift leaned full into the pop image she began cultivating on Fearless and Speak Now. Though she still sprinkled in some signature breakup stories with a pretty acoustic background, the turn from country to pop was now unmistakable. “I Knew You Were Trouble” features full electronic production for the first time in Swift’s career, a choice that inspired one of the most famous memes of the time, which compared Swift’s voice to that of a shrieking goat. However, the most successful parts of Red came when she seamlessly blended her 16-year-old country sound with a new and mature 22-yearold version of herself. Songs like “Red” and “State of Grace” felt like a positive step forward for Swift, which both featured explosive chorus’ that were worthy of her stadium sized live shows. All time fan favorite “All Too Well” was Swift’s longest track at this point at almost six minutes long, and is still a staple at any of her live shows. Looking back on her discography, Red is probably a hardcore Taylor Swift fan’s favorite album of hers, as it ties together what resonated with fans from her younger years with the musical maturity that comes from being experienced in the industry for six years.

Recommended Tracks: “State of Grace,” “All Too Well,” “The Last Time”

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1989 1989 pivoted Swift’s career in a significant way. By 2014, Swift was regularly harassed in the media for her numerous public relationships. 1989 in a lot of ways was her response to the unnecessary criticism she received. It was also a big shock to hardcore Swift fans because of how straight forward pop it was. As this was her first big genre change, there was destined to be some missteps. “Shake It Off,” although probably her most successful single, was cliche with an overwhelmingly cringey music video. Similarly, “Bad Blood” was Swift’s first attack at Katy Perry which only came across as immature and petty. However, this marks Swift’s first time working with producer Jack Antonoff who became an important player in her following records.

Tracks like “Style,” “Out of the Woods,” and “Wildest Dreams” had a more complex structure that steered away from her traditional acoustic instrumentals.

Recommended Tracks: “Clean,” “Out of the Woods,” “I Know Places”

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Reputation Fed up with the gossip and criticism of her personal life, Taylor Swift attempted to take a darker turn with Reputation. For an album that is supposed to be an aggressive statement against her haters, it was sadly weak. Her attempt to come off as serious and angry felt ingenuine to the country girl Swift fans knew and loved. Much of the album felt forced, as if Swift felt she needed to make another shift in her sound. Her attempt at rapping on “Look What You Made Me Do” and “...Ready For It?” was a step too far away from what made Swift a household name. Through the blunder of overproduced mayhem (for instance, the colossal mistake that was a Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Future song) it’s difficult, but not impossible to find something to cling onto. “Dress” fortunately is the light at the end of the tunnel, featuring a more mature side of Swift that isn’t afraid to sing about sex. The other gentler cuts from Reputation, “New Years Day,” “Call It What You Want,” and “Delicate,” make the album still worth a listen.

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Recommended Tracks: “Dress,” “Delicate,” “Getaway Car”

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Lover Due to some truly terrible singles (“ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down”), Lover is sadly one of Swift’s most overlooked records. Following the mess that was Reputation, Swift came back with yet again a new angle for her sound. Lover is bright, colorful, and filled with love in all the ways that Reputation was lacking. It is also the most mature she’s sounded, with stories about a serious, long distance relationship. “False God,” a notable highlight, is sexy in ways that Swift has never been featuring a smooth saxophone. Lover was released in the midst of her longest public relationship and featured the most joyful love songs of her career, surprisingly lacking in breakup songs. Tender moments on “Cornelia Street” and “Paper Rings” revealed the seriousness in Swift’s relationship that had yet to show up in her music. But it wouldn’t be a Taylor Swift album without some snarky moments. “The Man” is a fantastic call out to the sexist double standards in society and “I Forgot That You Existed” is the most petty breakup song. Due to the significant changes in sound from 1989 to Reputation to Lover, it became clear that Swift’s true speciality is holding onto relevancy while simultaneously exploring any direction her music can take her.

Recommended Tracks: “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” “Cornelia Street,” “I Think He Knows”

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folklore While in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, Taylor Swift released her most chilled out record to date. Without the pressures of touring in arena sized venues, Swift was able to fully explore a completely new laid back sound. folklore is quickly becoming known as Taylor Swift’s “indie” album because of it’s distinct turn away from the traditional pop she has focused on for the last few years. With further help from producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, much of the tracks on folklore explore stories that aren’t from Swift’s life itself, but rather written as fictional tales. It provides a new future for Swift, one where she can be in a long-lasting relationship and still write the heartbreaking tracks people love. The trio, “cardigan,” “august,” and “betty” intelligently tell three sides of a love triangle in a way that makes you feel for each person involved. Other notable stories include that of the heiress that used to live in Swift’s home (“the last great american dynasty”) and that of a woman fed up with how the men around her treat her (“mad woman”).

Although it’s her most recent record, folklore is the most mature, engaging, and memorable Swift has been yet.

Recommended Tracks: “my tears ricochet,” “mad woman,” “invisible string” • Emma Turney (Communications)

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 Local Talent

Local Talent

Sweeping Promises Designer: Michelle DAlessandro (Business Administration and Design)

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Sweeping Promises are interested in being singular. To clarify, that’s singular in the truest, most distilled form of the word; in constructing their newest record, Hunger for a Way Out, which was released in August, Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug were looking for liberation in simplicity. “I was getting obsessed with the idea of The One,” Caufield explains over a classic, quarantine Zoom call.

“We usually think of art in terms of the two or the three or the many... but you never think of art as the monolith, as the single thing.”

And so the duo set out to avoid the layers of tediousness they prescribed to their previous bands, most notably dream pop outfit Mini Dresses (who Tastemakers previously profiled in 2018), instead focusing on the notions of impulse and immediacy.

This current was spearheaded by what they call a “patented, single mic technique,” a setup which consisted of one microphone placed in front of the drumset while aiming everything else at it. The songwriting process was instinctive and spontaneous, the front half of the record coming together in a mere two hours of experimentation. The final result is a vibrant stream of post-punk with acute urgency, anchored by an energy so potent and present that it tunnels directly forward.

But that’s not to say the music feels narrow.

Hunger for a Way Out was entirely recorded in, and for the most part inspired by, the sonic vastness of open space. Through Caufield’s grad program, the band was granted access to an unused concrete laboratory. The room gave each and every sound expansive expression; “It was a cavernous space, which never happens in punk music,” Caufield tells me. “When you think punk music, you usually think in terms of things being extremely dead and direct. Every single thing that you did in that space had a reverb tail that was ten seconds long.” The environment gives the tracks a gnarly distortion with unbounded resonance, acting as a symbiotic trick where would-be flaws become essential features.

Even more salient is the way the space shapes Lira’s spry, audacious vocal delivery. The vertical immensity of the laboratory simulates the effect of layering, her declarations echoing with rich, luminous articulation. One of the best moments on the album is on its title track, where Lira alternates melodies with exasperated interjections, her “here we go’s” propelling the song ahead before she pierces through to the chorus with renewed clarity and crucial precision. Lira insists (maybe in jest) that part of their mission was to “de-

cool” punk music, opting to employ the expressive affectations of pop music in her performance rather than the more monotone straightness punk is usually associated with.

But, if anything, her bright intonation is what makes Sweeping Promises sound ineffably cool, combining a raw exhalation of DIY tendencies with buzzy exuberance.

Still, coolness, or at least the prospect of renewed relevance, was a deciding factor in releasing Hunger for a Way Out under a new band name. “It’s funny being in Boston as a band for eight years because you see the scene really turn over and regenerate… it kind of rotates every year as a fresh crop of students come in,” says Caufield. “There’s an artificial sense of time passing in Boston that I think is pretty unique in the music scene.”

This phenomenon prompted the need for a fresh start, but also a slight concern for the multiplicity of their cycles of musical rebirth. They shouldn’t be worried; with their searing, concise dynamism and effortless revivalism, Sweeping Promises sound convincingly timeless. Willa Shiomos (Computer Science and Design)

ZOOMED Can you tell which six album covers we’ve zoomed in on?

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12. “arsenic” — glaive 13. “Poison” — GFOTY 14. “glittr” — aldn 15. “Imgonnagetmyrevenge” — d0llywood1, Alice Gas, blackwinterwells, 8485 16. “IPHONE” — Rico Nasty 17. “Vacation Bible School” — Ayesha Erotica 18. “EURO PLUG” — Tony Velour, Dylan Brady 19. “cortisol” — Folie 20. “BIPP” — SOPHIE

Modus Vivendi — 070 Shake

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1. “money machine” — 100 gecs 2. “Ferrari” — Alice Gas 3. “anthems” — Charli XCX 4. “i dont want that many friends in the first place” — p4rkr 5. “NEVER MET!” — Cmten, Glitch Gum 6. “Thos Moser” — Food House 7. “Watch Me” — The Pom-Poms 8. “I <3 Harajuku” — Alice Longyu Gao, Fraxiom 9. “IRIS” — blackwinterwells 10. “popular” — umru, Laura Les 11. “EXOTIC” — Kid Trash

Virgo World — Lil Tecca

We’ve put together a list of some essential “hyperpop” songs from page 18’s Marketing The Future: The Rise of Hyperpop.