24K Magic And Retro Culture

Earlier this month, I took note of a trend that’s been sweeping Internet culture off its feet: namely, the retro movement, esp. in regards to 80’s and 90’s memorabilia. It’s everywhere – just take a look at the vaporwave subculture and see what I mean (although the genre has changed considerably over the last few years)! But I also noted that this augmented interest and demand for retro material had influenced the music industry as well.

Bruno Mars’ latest release, 24k Magic, exemplifies what I’m talking about perfectly. Bruno Mars has always had a lot of more classical music genres influence his work – the kid (I say that even though he’s older than me) loves R’n’B, doo-wop (*cough cough*), funk, reggae, and disco, and he isn’t afraid to show it; hell, he’s downright prideful about it. Trace amounts of these aforementioned genres pop up in his work from time to time (and sometimes they’re outright throwback tunes), but none of his albums have been anywhere near as old-school as 24k Magic. 24k Magic is drenched with disco, funk, synth-pop, 90’s R’n’B, and neo-soul that sounds like it’s been torn off the gilded shoulders of the 80’s and 90’s, and it all somehow works – it’s a cohesive package, representative of a trend that’s been taking the 2010’s by storm.

The opulent lead single, “24k Magic”, is the kind of sumptuous, overproduced slab of dance-funk bands like Nu Shooz or Kraftwerk would revel in – it’s enormous and packed to the brim with Zapp-esque talkbox vocals, synth-basslines, annoyingly catchy hooks (PUT YOUR. PINKY. RINGS UP. TO THE. MOOOOOOON) and an overwhelming amount of swagger that renders the track impossible to hate. It’s fun, plain and simple; Bruno sprechgesangs his way through the track and intermittently sings, which gives it a strong hip-hop vibe as well. “Perm” has an overwhelming, 70’s funk vibe; the constant movement and freestyle vocals feels like a peculiar love child between Jamiroquai and James Brown. It’s an absolute rip-off, but it works. “That’s What I Like” sounds like a hip-hop soul ballad from the 90’s; “Too Good to Say Goodbye” is an awesomely cheesy, theatric 80’s pop ballad, with Bruno really letting loose and delivering one of his best vocal performances ever; “Versace On The Floor” is the kind of soaring R’n’B ballad Brian McKnight, All 4 One, or even Peter Gabriel would pen up. It completely draws from a retro-drenched pool of genres, practically reaching through into the past and stealing whole chunks from it, but STILL it works!

Part of the reason is because the whole thing feels incredibly natural. It’s obvious Bruno and his crew are having a hell of a good time with this project, and that these tunes have come straight from their hearts. That carefree sense of fun and energy pervades throughout the entire LP, which makes it kind of a breeze to listen to (the fact that it’s not much longer than a half hour helps, though). It’s kind of hilarious how Skrillex claimed this album is “so fucking different, awesome and next level and sounds like nothing else that's happened before” when, in actuality, it draws from a vast array of genres and styles that have already been done before in droves. But the real beauty of this LP is Bruno’s ability to use these retro stylings and then throw his own unique twist on it; you’ll stay for that.

Tl;dr – it’s a great album, and it perfectly illustrates the growing demand and interest in retro culture in a way that words simply can’t. Don’t believe me? Then just watch it.

Post-Election Night

So he actually did it. Color me surprised.

I remember when he first announced he was going to run for President. His chances, then, looked laughable. One of America's biggest, most infamous clowns deciding to dabble in big-scale politics. I thought it was a joke. But, then, the joke went on for too long, and it ceased being funny. And then I realized his chances were actually incredibly good. The amount of support he got (and has) was astonishing. And then he became the prime Republican Party nominee.

And then he won. I saw it coming from a mile away, yet... somehow I'm surprised nonetheless.

But so it goes. Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone.

Still. Have hope, ladies and gents. The world hasn't ended just yet. If problems arise (and they inevitably will), we will take care of them like we are capable of fucking doing. And, besides, if all else fails, we can always gather together and make a quirky, ragtag group of misfit freedom fighters to battle evil and change the world! Or some idealistic shtick like that.

Life goes on. To those of you that are worried this means the end... well. Have hope.

The "Music Is Dead" Argument

LastKeyMusic here! Now, we've all heard this statement before somewhere. Could be from somebody we know, some scant, random YouTube or Reddit comment, or even from a celebrity or two - the hyper-familiar "music is dead" / "pop is dead" / what-have-you. What's really fascinating about this argument is that you hear it from a vast array of people with different influences, ages, upbringings, and cultures; who would've guessed that grouchy old dudes trapped in the 60's and blue-blooded hipster kids on Tumblr could be so similar?

If I'm coming off as somewhat sardonic, well... it's because I'm being sardonic. As a performer / songwriter / composer / musician / whatever you'd like to call me (asshole works just fine too) working in a modern music environment, statements like those are a tad bit... insulting. The "music is dead" argument implies that music will never be good again because, at a certain point in time, it died. As a result, everything that comes out after that vaguely-defined certain point in time is bereft of merit and depth. Essentially? Dead. So that's basically saying that art died with Van Gogh, and that all other artists are pure, undiluted shit in comparison.

That sounds kind of condescending, doesn't it? Guess what - it totally is. Does the music industry need a kick in the pants? Maybe. But that's really just on the business and behind-the-scenes side of things - the music industry is and always has been a cash cow, raking in billions upon billions each year, and yet very few artists and musical associates actually see a fair share of those insurmountable earnings. But that's another essay for another time. The point is, music is not dead, nor will it ever be dead until the sun kick-starts the apocalypse by going supernova and killing us all.

In fact, I would argue music is more alive than it ever has been. Music is more than what you hear on the radio. Just scrolling through CDBaby, Tunecore, BandCamp, YouTube, or Soundcloud will net you a wide variety of talented people representing a vast array of genres. Funk, D'n'B, IDM / EDM, R'n'B, Dancehall, Europop, Soul, Garage, even Vaporwave - there's plenty of treasure to be found out there. You just have to look. And it's not hard to look with the world at your fingertips.

Plus, it's not exactly hard to find an audience interested in those kinds of genres. People have way more diverse musical tastes than most would like to believe. Look at some of the current musical trends going on right now - the industry has been undergoing a pretty huge retro phase in addition to all the other, typically electronic / dancehall-based trends going on right now. 70's-inspired material, 80's, 90's, you name it.

 Bruno Mars is a fantastic example of what I'm talking about - he draws from a huge pool of influences from 90's R'n'B to 70's disco and funk (look no further than Treasure or Uptown Funk, the latter of which won Record Of The Year at the Grammy Awards). Carly Rae Jepsen's latest albums, Emotion and extended play Emotion Side B, are absolutely laden with 80's influences, with their dance-y synths, reverb-laden drums, and bright, poppy production values. There's been an enormous demand for retro memorabilia and pastiches in the 2010's, and yet people are still excited to hear new music and new sounds. That doesn't just go to show the flexibility of the industry, it goes to show the flexibility of audiences, how diverse our taste is as a culture.

If you're a musician, and you happen to dabble in a genre you think isn't "popular", a genre that lacks a wide range of influence and appeal... you'd be surprised. There's an audience for everything just like there's a sub-Reddit for everything. All you have to do is look. Music is more than charts and figures and what crabby passersby claim it to be. Music is "vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion" (Google Definitions).

And I suspect that if we keep following this criteria, music will do more than stay alive - it'll outlive us long after we're gone. So go create!