#remixing it with the ST theme was a fun choice

[sennqu]

I was looking up the Heathens music video when this popped up and, huh. NGL it's a jam.

[castlebyersafterdark]

you've mentioned you love upbeat pop and 80s tunes... can you speak a little more on what you'd like for musicality in the final season, soundtrack and score?

i personally think that pop culture is missing the sincerity of 90s/2000s film scores like john williams and swelling violins, and if any show could bring back unabashed sincerity (today known as cheesiness because we are still allergic to being genuine instead of ironic somehow) - its ST! the overall themes and story, the 80s ET-esque influences, and they already went there with an orchestral version of eleven's theme in s4. i really want to feel hopeful and uplifted by this story in a way that makes me feel like a kid again, even though edgier endings are seen as cooler. the score has some beautiful classics like the Eulogy motif that played when bob died, when el searched for her mother, and when mike and el broke up lmao

as for soundtrack, people seem to discuss that a lot and im up for almost anything. i think cyndi lauper will return. we know the clash will return too, and seeing as we centre around will i think more alternative and rock might be the way they go instead of mainly the new wave pop classics.

One of the things that made me fall in love with Stranger Things was that it had such a unique, distinctive score. The synths and specific motifs. Super engaging, really different than what a lot of shows were doing. It's always given the show more of a cinematic quality. I'm hoping for more super cool moments like in season 4 - the Journey revamp, Separate Ways?? So good. And listen, as cheesy as it is, I still get chills when I watch the sequence that mixes Running Up that Hill with the Main Theme, like are you kidding?? I was transfixed, hands white knuckling the couch during that whole sequence. The music just took you there, you know?? And that was just the penultimate season, can you imagine what these fucking insane composers are cooking up for the series finale? Whewwww. Because that moment felt like a series ender based on music usage and YET we get 8 more episodes. I'm so excited for the score choices almost as much for the answers to the mysteries and the shipping payoffs. I really really love movie/tv scores. ST has one of the very best. And the influence! You know how many remixes and covers of common songs have been done with synth stuff over the last decade and they're referred to as "Song Name: Stranger Things Mix" despite not having anything to do with the TV show? Her influence. Respect.

One thing that I disagree with the majority on is a reprisal of Heroes - sure, it can return! But I'd really prefer a score track than a song played whenever Byler gets together. More emotional that way. I don't know where it would fit, and I know everyone loves the lyrical connotation of Heroes, but I think this moment deserves something unique. Pinnacle of all the relationships in the show and no I am not exaggerating. Truly.

I have a playlist of potential season 5 song choices! I'll just list some highlights:

Edge of Seventeen - for the Party! When it skips to 1987. Especially for Will. These lyrics are so Will coded they make me insane.

The Breakup Song - This would be so on the nose cheesy fun, but it's a good song, it sets a mood. Mike and El break up and then some danger strike and boom, needle drop.

We need some Judas Priest for Will, since it's 80s, it's rock, and the lead singer is gay!! I never see this mentioned. He came out in the 90s but that would be so cool for future Will to learn that having known this band from his childhood. There's a lot of relevant songs of theirs to use in s5 but even some of the more obvious ones would be cool.

Love is a Battlefield was briefly in s2 but it would be perfect to get a feature in s5.

I honestly love a Billy Idol White Wedding badass moment for Nancy. It just fits her, I think.

I Ran So Far Away for something with Mike, I think this song is very necessary for him.

Only You by Yazoo for the Lucas/Max reunion!! It's so cute and so them.

A friend posted about this before so I'm not the one who came up with this idea, but they predict that Video Killed the Radio Star is going to be featured in promo, using the Radio Station hideout whenever we get the first teaser trailer and I think that's a very possible route. I see the vision so clearly, kinda can't get that out of my head. I think it also ties the 50s/Creel vibes to the present day characters with the radio vs. video imagery for both promotional stuff and the actual show itself.

Listen to Your Heart, Roxette. Again, for Mike. Introspective moments. Figuring out some heavy truths. Facing feelings.

The Man Who Sold the World for Will in some conjunction with his Henry issues. It's evocative, it's dark, it's Bowie, baby! Maybe remixed and slowed and made very creepy.

I don't think Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division has been in the show yet? But, it should.

Self Control - Laura Branigan

Wake Up the Neighborhood - Holland

No One Lives Forever - Oingo Boingo

Running With the Devil - Van Halen

Beds are Burning - Midnight Oil (can be used for a scene to demonstrate the absurdity of going about life, going to school, under military lockdown, end of the world vibes etc.)

Shout - Tears for Fears

Break on Through to the Other Side - The Doors (WillEl moment or something, I've heard some great remixes of this song!)

I'm mad they already used Thriller in the trailer for s2 because I've heard some fantastic synth remixes and the lyrics are soooo perfect for a scene where monsters are running rampant in Hawkins or something. It would be so 80s and I eat that shit up.

Eye in the Sky - Henry inside the minds of the town, tormenting our leads. Make it creepy. Make everything with him fucked up and dark.

If we don't get a really poignant needle drop with the core four Mike Will Dustin Lucas gearing up for battle to Kids in America, what has all this been for???????

PLEASE. Will in a pivotal moment very late in the season with Should I Stay or Should I Go! Seems obvious but worth listing. Some big scene is going down. Then quiet. No score. Then those first few notes cut the silence. Willlllllll. This to me is in the same vein as the lead up to the scene in Endgame when Cap lifts the hammer?? Sorry, haha you can take the boy outta Marvel but...🤣

[thesinglesjukebox]

NOISESTORM - CRAB RAVE

[7.15]

But what happens when the crabs rave too hard...

Kat Stevens: In 1953, Roland Barthes argued that the artist cannot escape the conventions of language or style, rendering both hollow, a shell devoid of creative meaning. True art lies in the form - the choices of the artist (or indeed the critic) - how they manipulate the common building blocks to create something novel. But once exposed, the new form itself risks becoming normalised, falling victim to the stale conventions of its predecessors. Can true creativity ever exist within popular art? A step sideways into post-structuralism reveals that analysis of the work is also meaningless without reference to an external semiotic frame. Jacques Derrida declared that our traditional systems of bourgeois cultural criticism are a fallacy, and that a work can only be examined relative to the universe surrounding it. It's clear therefore that actually listening to "Crab Rave" would harm both my enjoyment of its concept and destroy any inkling of creativity contained within. I will instead judge it on the amount of pleasure it has given me over the last few months to see Crystal tweeting "IN THE CLUB. CRAB RAVE STILL SLAPS" [10]

Crystal Leww: "Crab Rave" rose from an April Fools joke and found its way into the dark corners of weird political meme Facebook. It's actually...good? That shouldn't be surprising, really, as the label that it was released on was also responsible for The Only Good Marshmello song "Alone," which also leaned into a gimmick but cared a lot about quality as well. "Crab Rave" is light and euphoric, soars and bounces. "Crab Rave" is probably an unintentional nod to The Prodigy's 1996 album The Fat of the Land album cover, but dance music is an ever-evolving landscape, and yes I am extremely going to enjoy a world where the lineage of an album that contains "Smack My Bitch Up" is something as dumb and fun as this. [8]

Will Rivitz: OK, so it's a meme, and it's not always a particularly good meme, but that's less the fault of the song and more that of Monstercat's generally puerile fanbase, so let's analyze the song on its own merits instead of those assigned to it by people who aren't Noisestorm: It bangs. This is by-the-numbers electro house done exceedingly well, its bassline plunging and soaring beneath marimbas syncopated so precisely it's impossible to stay still. Its between-drop sections are fairly blah, sure, but this style of EDM lives for the drop, and in that regard "Crab Rave" throws down a whopper. [8]

Taylor Alatorre: No other song in 2018 was so wholly transformed by its surrounding context, a context which may seem bewildering and even repugnant to outsiders but which constitutes a blaring beacon of defiance to those of like mind and repute. To put it another way: "Crab Rave" was more successful than any major news outlet in providing a balanced appraisal of the life and legacy of John McCain. Bow before its power. [9]

Alfred Soto: Our long national nightmare of piety and credulousness ended when George H.W. Bush died last week instead of Inauguration Day 2017, thus giving the Beltway press an excuse to praise Donald Trump's restraint. The orgy over John McCain's death three months ago was even more grisly: a pompous, unlettered bully who deserves no decent house tracks turned into memes. "Crab Rave" is a throwback in every sense. What will we get when Dan Quayle dies? [7]

Katherine St Asaph: A not-infrequent occurrence: I'll be listening to some throwaway meme dance remix (no links, I'm clutching at my last scraps of dignity; find your own), and then it'll hit me: Shit, that's kind of a poignant theme. Shit, this beat sounds plausible. Shit, this is better than some of the actual charts. Shit, the second YouTube result for this song proclaims "Obama is gone!" and what the fuck am I buying into? Shit, there are like 1,000 others. Shit, I just ripped the YouTube audio. [6]

Iain Mew: From reputation, I expected something ridiculous and/or abrasive, and when it turned out to just be a half-full Yasutaka Nakata track, I was mystified. This is because I listened without watching the video. Tip: do not listen without watching the video. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Hearing this with the accompanying music video is a delight. But what's even better is hearing the song by itself after watching said video. Blasting this in my car, I still giggle to myself as images of those dancing crabs (and their return back home at twilight!) fill my mind. [6]

Anthony Easton: Is this one of those novelty tunes that has an accompanying dance? [7]

John Seroff: The video CGI is really bad, the song sounds like it came with the keyboard, and I suppose that all speaks to the appeal of Crab Rave as the 2018 shitpost anthem. I can't really get with this, even with its built-in ironic distance. Here I thought I spoke fluent meme, but I guess I'm gonna have to play the role of cranky uncle and acknowledge I'm too old for this shit. [2]

Alex Clifton: I love novelty music, I love crabs, I love raves, I love wordless trancey songs that are good for dancing, I love dumb music videos, I love memes, I love catchy things, I love stuff that reminds me of "Sandstorm," and I love all these things a thousand percent unironically. [9]

Ian Mathers: Now, more than ever, it is time for crab. [7]

Julian Axelrod: I think I'm terrified of crabs now? [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[gessvhowarth]

Things To Do In London This Weekend: 4-5 February 2017

All weekend Explore The Ladybird Life of Dickens: an illustrated adventure at the Charles Dickens Museum MAGIC LANTERNS: Follow the trail at The Magical Lantern Festival to see lantern installations themed on the Silk Road and the Chinese Year of the Rooster, as well as the Houses of Parliament. You can also enjoy ice skating, food from around the world and funfair rides. Chiswick House Gardens, £16.50/£10.50, book ahead, until 26 February LADYBIRD LIFE OF DICKENS: The original illustrations from the 1965 Ladybird Life of Dickens book are on display at the Charles Dickens Museum. Marvel at John Kenney's drawings alongside Lawrence du Garde Peach's words. Each illustration shows a scene from Dickens's life. Charles Dickens Museum, free with admission, book ahead, until 1 April WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY: Ranging from dramatic landscapes to intimate portraits, see a selection images depicting nature through the eyes of passionate photographers at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. It's one of our favourite exhibitions every year. Natural History Museum, £13/£8, book ahead, until 10 September FALLING SHAWLS: Learn all about traditional Sami shawl-making with Sami artist Outi Pieski's installation, Falling Shawls. The installation is a combination of hundreds of fringe elements to make a coloured three-dimensional drawing. Southbank Centre, free, just turn up, until 31 December FLEA MARKET: With a choice of 30 vintage stall holders, get your hands on some unique and beautiful clothing, jewellery, homeware and more at the Hackney Flea Market. Abney Public Hall, free, just turn up, 11am-6pm, 4-5 February SHEER PLEASURE: A new exhibition of Japanese furniture, paintings, prints and ceramics opens at the William Morris Gallery this weekend. The items belonged to the gallery's founder, Frank Brangywn, and marks 150 years since his birth. William Morris Gallery, free, just turn up, 4 February-14 May Saturday 4 February Watch Labyrinth at Prince Charles Cinema. 3D DRAWING: Channel your creative side under the guidance of 3D printing pen artist Grace Du Perez and make your own phone case with the 3Doodler pen. Drink, Shop & Do, £31, book ahead, 10.30am-12.30pm ALMSHOUSE TOURS: Look around one of the Geffrye Museum's restored 18th century almshouses. Get an insight into the lives of the poor and elderly of the past with this guided tour. Geffrye Museum, £4, book ahead, 11am/12pm/1pm/2pm/3pm CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL: North London Brew Fest's craft beer festival culminates today, with 25 cask and keg beers to choose from, plus entertainment in the form of DJs. The Snooty Fox, free, just turn up, noon-1am UNUSUAL HISTORY TOUR: Londonist contributor Laurence Scales leads a guided tour around the St James's area, telling the stories of forgotten heroes and curious lives, with a focus on science and inventions. Exact location on booking, £12/£6, book in advance, 2pm HER: A 15-year-old girl from London finds that conflict has made her an alien in her own country. In Her, the protagonist, as different versions of the 'girl', faces the harsh realities that young girls in conflict zones are confronted with. Half Moon Theatre, £7, book ahead from 3pm/7pm MUSICAL MUSEUM: Explore some of the Musical Museum's exhibits before settling in to an evening of Maiastra concert featuring the works of Tchaikovsky and Debussy. Musical Museum, free (donations to Aidan Woodcock Charitable Trust recommended), just turn up, museum open from 6.30pm, concert at 7.30pm LONDON REMIXED: London Remixed Festival — offering the fun of a festival without the mud — concludes tonight. Expect remixed sounds from ghetto funk, drum and bass, reggae, anarchic hoedown, latin breaks, brass band hip hop, electro-afro music, balkan beats, folk remix, electro swing, tropical bass, afrobeat and more. Rich Mix, £20, book ahead, 8pm MASQUERADE BALL: Don your finest ball gown or cravat for this special masquerade ball and screening of Labyrinth. Cheer Sarah on as she makes her way to the Goblin City to rescue her baby brother, 'FRIEND' with Ludo and give a shoutout to Sir Didymus. Prince Charles Cinema, £13.50/£11, book ahead, 8.45pm SOHO COMEDY: Join funny lady Shappi Khorsandi as she celebrates the 40th anniversary of her arrival in Britain. 'Oh My Country' From Morris Dancing to Morrisey features whip-crack jokes, razor sharp wit and endless charm. Soho Theatre, £18/£16, book ahead, 9.30pm [until 11 February] Sunday 5 February Frock Me! vintage fashion fair is back at Chelsea Old Town Hall. LONDON WINTER RUN: There's still time to enter Cancer Research's London Winter Run. The 1okm route states in Trafalgar Square, £45, book ahead, from 9.30am VINTAGE FROCKS: Get you hands on some vintage threads at the Frock Me Vintage Fashion & Textiles Fair. With 50+ traders from across the UK and France, you'll be spoilt for choice. Chelsea Old Town Hall, £4/£2, book ahead, 11am-5.30pm FAMILY THEATRE: David Gibb performs original music, as well as songs inspired by children's music from around the world. Whether he's singing about swimming, finding a dragon in your bedroom or waiting for the postman, David Gibb: Letters Through Your Door  is a lovely way to keep the kids entertained. Artsdepot, £7, book ahead, 11am/2pm STORY TIME: Enjoy an afternoon of creativity and family time with A World of Stories. The afternoon encourages families to discover their story-writing skills, taking inspiration from the Horniman's handling collection. Recommended for children aged 3+. Horniman Museum & Gardens, kids £3, adults free, book ahead, 1pm-2.15pm/2.45pm-4pm PULP ON ICE: Skate like Common People at Alexandra Palace ice skating rink. Feeling Gloomy dedicates an evening on the ice to the music of Pulp. Alexandra Palace, £8.70, book ahead, 5.30pm-8pm STEVEN SPIELBERG: Celebrate the life of acclaimed director Steven Spielberg as he turns 70. The Philharmonia Orchestra is joined by film legend Iain Johnstone for an evening of music from Spielberg's films, including E.T., Jurassic Park, Jaws and more. Southbank Centre, from £15, book ahead, 7.30pm SUPER BOWL: Plenty of places are screening the super bowl, but we like the sound of this Super Bowl party with huge screens, grilled cheese sandwiches and booze. Oh, and it's raising money for charity too. The Social, £9, book ahead, 8pm Stage review: Depression based comedy with Chris Gethard The funny parts are well worth the wait in Career Suicide. It runs until 1 February. A comedy show about depression is a tough sell. That's the theme of Chris Gethard's new show, Career Suicide. It's all true and has parts that will bring you close to tears (not of joy), taken from Gethard's battle with depression, alcoholism and suicidal tendencies. When the laughs do come, they're huge and worth the wait. So join Gethard as he takes you on a tour of life in New Jersey and breaks out a spot-on Morrissey impression, and meet his wondrous but terrible shrink Barb. Career Suicide, Soho Theatre, Wardour Street, W1. From £8, until 4 February ★★★★☆ Harry Rosehil Stage review: Cirque Du Soleil Is Beautiful But Lacks Thrills The latest slice of epic big top action from this world-conquering circus brand has beautiful imagery and choreography but lacks genuine heart-in-the-mouth action. Cirque du Soleil - Amaluña, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, Kensington, SW7 2AP. Tickets from £20, until 26 February. ★★★☆☆ Franco Milazzo Funzing Fun things to do with our friends and sponsor Funzing. London Talks @ Night || The Science of Psychedelics Scientific research is resuming on how psychedelics affect the weirder aspects of human consciousness. This talk from Dr David Luke engages in current study into pyschedelics and their historical use in shamanic rituals. Be prepared, you might leave with more questions than answers. Get tickets LDN Talks @ Night || Neuroscience of Powerful Habits Every January you do the same thing. You make a New Year's resolution to lose weight, be thriftier, quit smoking or possibly even to start exercising. Yet how many of us find ourselves in the exact spot we started in once the month is up? This talk by Dr Gabija Toleikyte, explains why the brain resists changing habits of a lifetime. She'll also explain how to create long lasting change, by working with your brain rather than against it. Get tickets LDN Talks @ Night||Body Language of Love & Attraction What does it mean when someone flicks their hair or crosses their legs while they’re talking to you? Dr Peter Collett analyses the role of body language in relation to dating. £10 Get tickets

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/londonist/sBMe/~3/p42JnWPDg_A/things-to-do-in-london-this-weekend-4-5-february-2017

[foodselfiesandstuffblog]

Saint Heron: NELLY FURTADO TOURS US THROUGH ‘THE RIDE’ OF HER ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER

From traditional pop classics, urban dance tracks and steamy Latin love ballads, Nelly Furtado‘s body of work makes a solid argument as one of the most diverse discographies in pop-music history. Which, in part, is why I virtually jumped at the chance to interview the renowned Canadian songstress. That, along with the fact that her music has been there as a spiritual guide throughout the majority of my turbulent 22-year-old life. Since her 2000 “I’m Like a Bird,” debut the singer-songwriter has diversified her channels of creativity by rejecting limitations. Along her never-ending journey to defy the boundaries of genre, she’s written tracks that make you jump to your feet just as often as those meant to pick you up off the ground. In her revealing discussion, Nelly speaks endearingly on re-establishing herself as an artist, defining moments with her peers, and her sixth studio album, ‘The Ride’, set to debut at the end of next month. Following her pattern of not actually following a particular pattern, Furtado plans to show her fans yet another side of her complex artistry. If the album is as honest and pure as her intentions, we may be in for ‘The Ride’ of our lives.

Ashley Vance: It’s been about 4 years since you’ve released a full-length project. Talk to us a bit about the path leading up to The Ride and how the journey has treated you.

Nelly Furtado: Honestly, it’s been a really interesting 4 or 5 years. I really put a lot of me into this album, and it’s kind of interesting because I’ve been writing songs since I was a little girl, so my albums really are a reflection of me entirely because I write my material and I live my material. This album is really raw. Lyrically, I went through a huge life shift, which I like to call a paradigm shift. I had been living on fast forward for a long time and finally decided to take apart the pieces of my life that seemed excessive on different levels and that seemed blurry.

I severed a tie with a business partner and father figure that I’d had for almost two decades. Once that unraveled, I started shifting a lot of things in my life and created a deeper kind of simplicity. I did some fun things; took up play-writing classes, started working at my friend’s vinyl shop for fun, started taking sewing classes and pottery classes. I have a 13-year old daughter, so I’m also a very hands-on mom.

I also, for a while, was very busy. I had my own imprint, I was working on developing other artists, and I realized that I had lost the true essence of my own artistry which was really just a free spirited, Bohemian girl who just liked to sit in a living room, playing a guitar and singing a song, ya know? [laughs]

Definitely!

I kind of unraveled the accouterments of a pop career [laughs]. When you travel, you move with a lot of people and you tour the world. I signed my record deal when I was 20-years-old. I already had a child by the time I was 25. I went through the trials, I guess. Eventually, life catches up with you since you can’t live in fast forward all the time and these songs reflect that. I have a song called “Carnival Games,” which is literally about the fact that when you’re at a carnival with the pretty lights, the fun games, and a ferris wheel in front of you, you’re not really thinking about life outside the carnival. It’s kind of like, that lyric, “If you spend enough cash at the carnival games, you’ll have a prize when you walk away.” But then, you’ll never know what winning is really like at all.

I have another song called “Tap Dancing,” which is literally about how as an entertainer you’ve been praised for entertaining people since you were a baby. It’s almost like my sad clown song because when you walk on stage and take off your makeup and your costume, you may still find yourself still wanting to entertain your family and friends and not really realizing that your life also needs moments of stillness and quiet to really grow as a person.

I have another song called “Live,” which is like, “you know what? I’m tired of being a good girl. I’m tired of doing everything right. I’m tired of proving people.” I don’t want to live getting what I need and never what I want. We live in a world where all the information is there for us to make perfect choices 24 hours a day, but at the end of the day we’re human and we just want to live out our lives and make those mistakes. Because even though we end up with mud on our face, we write a good poem about it and feel the beauty in that moment. So, I don’t know. It’s kind of like coming to age isn’t really the right phrase. I like to call it a moment of distilling. A sobering, you know? [laughs]

[laughs] So kind of like working with a long-term hangover?

Yeah! And it’s kind of rare too, when you’re life and the themes on your album actually reflect what the music sounds like.

John Congleton had a huge hand in production, correct? How did that come about, and what was it like to collaborate with someone with such an esteemed track record?

I chose John Congleton to produce knowing he had never produced a pop album before. He’d only done alternative, punk, and modern. I met him through Annie Clark of St. Vincent, who I’m a huge fan of. I met her in Japan on tour and she introduced me to John because I asked her to. I said, you know, I really love the work on your albums I have to give credit to your producer, and she graciously introduced us. I found myself alone in Dallas, TX at John’s converted funeral home studio in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, wow!

He’s the type of producer who doesn’t really care about commercial success. He doesn’t care about any of those things. All he cares about is artistry. He was really firm with me in saying, “this album, if we do this right, could really remind people that you’re an artist and have been for a really long time.” And I thought to myself, okay, here’s someone that I feel challenged by and I want to make sure he feels that this is worthwhile, so I’m going to dig a little deeper. The day I brought him the song “Pipe Dreams,” I played the song on my guitar and just kind of sang it. I’d written the song in Kenya. I developed a relationship with a community of girls there and their families and we’d share music together. Anyway, I wrote the song on this water walk where the mothers kind of show everyone where you can get water from before they had a well system, so it was kind of this moment. “Pipe Dreams” is about not wanting fiction anymore or fantasy. Just give me reality. Give me reality in my relationships. Give me reality from myself when I look in the mirror. So, when I sang, John was listening to me play the demo and he kind of out loud just said, “Oh shit.” [laughs] It was kind of like “wow, she wrote something really good here!”

All of your albums throughout your career have had a distinctively different dynamic and sound, specifically Whoa, Nelly!, Folklore, and Loose. Why so? Was this done purposely or was this you experimenting and finding your own sound within the industry?

I think I’m just that quirky person! I’ve always been an eclectic person. I’ve had a very odd upbringing. Here I am, this child of Portuguese immigrant parents, growing up in a British colony called Victoria. It was kind of suburban, but on Sunday at Portuguese school I had this very rich cultural life. I learned to speak the language, I danced in Folklore groups, but then my friends and I loved hip-hop. It was just a really mixed bag of influences. I think my music reflects those influences. I also think that I believe music should be very democratic. I feel like I don’t believe in limitations of genre at all. You make the music connect to the source, it doesn’t matter the genre, and you express yourself. I recently did an installation, sort of performance art. I basically sat in a room and I wrote songs with 100 strangers. Some people, they had never written a song before. Basically what my point was, was that we are all connected physically and that we all have empathy inside of us. It’s the reason why the idea of the collective conscious exists. That’s why we all connect with the same songs sometimes. In that room I was trying to create moments with all of these people that were not branded or recorded or captured on video along with moments that proved the psychic connection between all of us and the way that the unconscious plays into that and into songwriting. It’s something I started when I was going to Kenya and playing songs with the girls. I’d do songwriting workshops and we’d just write a song in the moment, and I realized everyone has a song to sing.

To answer your question, the reason all of my albums sound different is because I have a very low attention span [laughs]. I’m not really a “joiner.”I did a 10k last year, and I knew I wasn’t going to join the cult of running. I just knew I wanted to run. I feel comfortable in different situations so, it’s kind of who I am. I’m a very free spirit.

Loose has to be one of our favorite albums from you. From your vocals, to the songwriting, and all the way to the production. That album actually solidified this musical relationship that you have with Timbaland. The two of you are a mighty duo. What is a studio session like between the two of you? What has been your fondest memory?

It’s fun that you’ve asked me this question because he has a new show called the Pop Game, and he invited me to help him launch the premier episode.

Really? That sounds awesome, are you excited?

Yeah! Him and I are mentoring kids! I’m on the premier episode meeting the kids and the moms and dads as we kind of sit there and reminisce on Loose and performing together. But Timbaland and I go back to the year 2001 when he sampled my voice on this Ms. Jade record called “Ching Ching,” and he invited me to be on the Missy Elliott remix for “Get Ur Freak On.” With Loose, we were able to get together in a really focused way and create something really special. To be honest, it was the party of a lifetime. We’d be in the studio from midnight to 6am in Miami, and I was in a really free spirited mindset at the time. I think it’s because I’d just finished nursing my daughter, so my body felt like it was my own again after two years [laughs]. There was a certain type of freedom in the air. I think we were just in the right place at the right time, and we were really connecting in terms of the music we were listening to. We both had something to prove! I think that makes it even more powerful when you both have something to prove.

Let’s touch on this new project! The word on the street is you won’t have any features on this album. Is this you making a statement of being ballsy and independent, or are you more-so using this as an opportunity to produce an album that’s solely centered on you?

That’s a really good question because my last English album had a lot of collaborations and my Spanish album had like eight collaborations! So yeah, I’ve done the collaboration thing pretty heavy throughout my career. I’m lucky to have very successful with crossover duet songs in collaborations. But, it wasn’t even an option. It felt like this album was so personal that it never entered my mind to have anybody on it. I think I was so full of things to say that I didn’t need anyone to compliment any of the songs. I really thinks it’s a simple as that.

It sounded very singular. We used all the same musicians. Dallas has this amazing tradition of musicians who’ve grown up playing in the church – organ players, clarinet players. So, I’ve got a lot of those instruments on my album because we used the same people and team. Since we had this cohesive little team, it really made sense that the vocals kind of had a similarity about them.

You seem to be moving in a refreshing, new direction as you’ve worked toward the release of this album. Tell me, how did the video concept to “Pipe Dreams: come about?

That’s actually the best story ever. I’d been approaching the aesthetic of the album in this very organic kind of way. Right when I got to Dallas, I called my friend who did the packaging for my Spanish album. he’s like my little brother. I said, “You’ve got to come to Dallas! There’s something happen and I don’t know what it is, but it’s a great vibe!” I just found Dallas to be so welcoming and the artistic community was so welcoming to me. I met visual artists and musicians, and it was just so organic and cool. A lot of people move to Dallas because there’s no state tax and they can live an artist life at cheaper costs. I just fell in love with the city. I featured this artist Samantha McCurdy on my album cover. It’s her 3D stretch canvas artwork, and she did the entire vinyl. We shot that maybe 2 years ago. We kind of featured all these people we met in Dallas in the photo-shoot because we felt like we should have a community essence to the project because it just felt like the city was organic as a community. One of the artists in that is a visual artist who actually created an original lyric zine that I’m selling to my fans right now actually, online. It’s beautiful, original artwork. He also contributed to my album artwork, but in addition to this, I asked him to film a video for me. So I was in Dallas a couple months ago creating a sound design project for an Art Basel installation in collaboration with my friend Sheinina Raj, who did a show called intercultural which featured self portraits of her in several different traditional outfits as a meditation on race and identity. She’s of mixed race, her fathers from India and her mother is British white. We put together this collaborative sound installation with some of the pieces with this technology called Soundwall where the sound comes from the photograph! It’s actually really cool.

I flew to Dallas to work with Adam Pickrell, and since I was going to be there, I said, “Jake, let’s shoot a video for ‘Pipe Dreams’.” And literally, we didn’t even know we were going to shoot it until 24 hours before. Adam and I were driving to his home studio, and I see these pink signs in Lake Highlands area. I said, “Let’s stop here,” so I went inside the house, and I realized that this home had once belonged to a woman named Edna Sue and she hadn’t been seen since like the 1950s. The home was full of these really cool artifacts from her life, like hand carved wooden pens with her name and memorabilia. On a whim, as we were leaving, we bought a few things and I asked the state sales representative if we could shoot a video there the very next day, and she said sure. They only charged us $100. It’s crazy how the most spontaneous things become the most perfect things. You always forget until that happens and it’s like, “Oh yeah! It’s supposed to be like this! It’s supposed to be spontaneous.”

The video was edited by another artist name Pierre Krause, and she’s an amazing Dallas based creative. Dallas has probably some of the most interesting and vibrant artists that I’ve seen in a long time. I just love the aesthetic of it and I think Jake has a great eye.

Tell me a bit about your songwriting process. How do you think working on this album helped you to continue to evolve as a writer?

The main takeaway for me was seeing beauty in everything. When you allow yourself to be raw, to be naked, to write from that “hung-over place” [laughs], I think you automatically start seeing beauty in everything. I’ve got to say, I’ve been writing nonstop for the last four years. It’s like something happened to me. I was putting these really high expectations on myself like, “I’ve got to be the perfect mother, I’ve got to be the perfect business woman,” and then all of a sudden, it was like, “No.” I don’t have to be a perfect anything. I just have to be. What if I just be? When you let yourself be, all of a sudden the writing is so natural and you’re finding beauty in every puddle and every vignette. It’s all beautiful, it’s all worthy of writing about. My process is weird though because my lyric and melody often come at the same time. Melody and lyric often come as a package deal, but not always. I use garage band, I use voice notes on my phone. I do it the old fashioned way by sitting down with paper and pen and a guitar.

I like to collaborate, too. A lot of songs John would just kind of throw out there. I’m very open when it comes to writing, and I’m constantly learning new things. Recently I wrote with this new band called The Skins and another artist named Pangena, along with Zuri Marley and Hodgy from Odd Future. We just got together and jammed for three days straight on a side project, and what I noticed when I was writing with them is that Bailey, one of the singers from The Skins, was writing melodies for me that I’d never write for myself. So I think, even if you like writing, you have to stay open minded and be open to new ideas.

Over the past year or so, you’ve worked closely with Dev Hynes, creating “Hadron Collider” from Freetown Sound. How did your relationship come to fruition?

I’ve got to say, Dev is one of my favorite people. He’s just such a precious soul to me and I think meeting him was a really big part of my journey over the last couple of years. David Byrne invited me to be apart of this project called Contemporary Color and the movie he made is coming out about it. Basically, he brought together 10 artists and 10 color guard groups from across the U.S. and Canada to collaborate on a concert to be featured at the Barclay’s Center for two nights and at the Luminato Festival in Toronto for two nights. It was such a great, great group to be a part of. I was coming from this kind of “pop” career, and everyone else came from alternative or other types of genres. Honestly, I met Dev at rehearsal because David wanted everyone to sing on each others sets. Dev was singing BGs for me and him and I were like magnets. We said, “Hi, how are you? Here’s my number. Studio date tomorrow.” He flew to Toronto and I booked a studio room, just following through with action, and before you know it Dev and I were writing “Hadron Collider” and singing. Those vocals that I did that night ended up on his album and those were pretty much the demo vocals.

We were very inspired. We pulled up Romeo and Juliet, the movie, our favorite scene where the little boy is singing our favorite gospel song right over the edge of the church [laughs]. We wanted to capture the poignancy of that movie and all of the amazing moments on the soundtrack, so that’s kind of what “Hadron Collider” was inspired by. It was also inspired by me telling Dev that me and him should have a band called Hardron Collider to make him laugh! Overall, I would say Dev was definitely like a mentor to me. I was exposed to an artist who was literally living the creative life on his own terms, navigating success on his own terms, and creating a life out of that that would still keep him content and in touch with his soul. I really admired that. I think Dev leads by example and that’s why he attracts some cool artists into his vortex because he lived the real artist life. Nowadays, it’s hard to live that life. I think we live in a very fast paced world, and for me, he just kind of reminds me to slow down, take some photographs, and write the song. That’s the most important thing.

If you had to choose, what period in the history of music has had the biggest influence on your overall artistry?

I have to straight up say ’90s R&B and Hip-Hop. That’s the first thing that comes to mind because my friends and I lived vicariously through all those TLC and Salt N’ Peppa videos. That was our escape as suburban kids with immigrant parents who were banded together through music. We would get together at jams or hook up and write rhymes together. For me, groups and acts like Mary J. Blige, Salt N’ Peppa and TLC were my role models and icons in terms of not really seeing yourself as a woman in this business but seeing yourself as a person. I think that they set the tone for the duality, strength, positivity, and total like, gumption.

In The Ride short film, you remarked that women are so powerful, “we tend to push other people’s buttons just by being ourselves.” As a woman working in a male dominated industry, why do you think that’s true?

I think we’re still in the process. We’re still in the struggle. We’re still fighting our way back to equality. Because I believe that equality existed in history, even it was in civilizations in times we don’t recall anymore. But, I do believe there was a time once upon a time where we were equal. Truly and fully godesses. I think our conceptual memory of this is present, but in the real world, because of all the politics and all the paradigms, it just doesn’t exist. I finally just read the “We Should All Be Feminists” essay. I used to read feminist texts all the time but I hadn’t read a more current one. In a way it just spelled it out. We have such a long way to go. Of course we’re going to push buttons. Of course when we do things out of the box or force people to see us as more than our bodies or our sexuality, we impress our brains, conviction and strength on the world. That’s going to cause havoc. But I think it’s exciting. I have a 13-year-old daughter and I love the perceptive her and her friends have on the world, and I love that they are able to discern fake from real. From what I see with my own eyes in terms of creativity and where people are heading, I really think the future is gender-less. I feel the future is even more body positive and limitless. The boxes are going to become increasingly irrelevant, and it’s wonderful. And I hope to be able to contribute to that energy in whatever way I can.

As you mentioned in your short film, the music does seem to take you to the “right place,” whether it be Pop, Urban, or Alternative. What has it been like to color outside the lines of so many genres throughout the course of your career?

It’s been thrilling. I remember the first time that I wrote a song when I was just a 17-year-old singer in a group in Toronto. I was just this kid from Victoria, but I knew I had this special and unique way of singing. And I remember when I got to work on the Missy Elliott remix for “Get Ur Freak On” and people thinking I was a Jamaican boy because people had never seen the “I’m Like A Bird” video [laughs]. And this is like, pre-social media. I’ve prided myself on innovation from an early age. I think it’s because my grandfather was a music composer. He was obsessed with music to the point where his day was just different spurts of inspiration. As my career went on, I was trying to make choices that were consciously different. I remember when “I’m Like A Bird” was first finished and the drums sounded a lot busier. I remember saying, “It’s not quite right. It’s not simple. We need to take out all these drums and just leave the kick and snare in the verses.” It’s that consciousness of how can I tweak things to make them a little more unique? The same thing happened with Loose. At the time, my label wanted us to use a different mix because they thought the sound was too dirty. But what I fought for was keeping that garage “loose” sound because I knew that would help stand out from other pop records at the time. And sure enough, I was right. If we’d changed the mix, it wouldn’t have been the same album. I’m kind of a music nerd. I’ve always been interested in doing things my own way. I’m experimental by nature. I’m endlessly curious about people and sound. I like puzzles. A challenge is a challenge.

Growth, Reflection and Acceptance are the three pillars you chose to highlight in the short. How do these three periods relate to the overall theme and the artist beneath this album?

To grow, you have to have perspective. To grow, you have to learn from your mistakes. So, I think taking the filter off the lens of my own life helped me to see where I was. It helped me write from a very clear space.

Wait, what’s the second one? [laughs]

Reflection! In this case I had a lot of solitude and aloneness because I kind of stripped away everything in my life. I was alone and able to reflect. How better to hear your own voice than in an empty room with it bouncing off the walls. Some of the reflection came afterwards. The last day in the studio, I listened to the mixdown of “Carnival Games,” and I just totally bawled in John’s studio and locked myself in his little washroom where he keeps his Grammy awards [laughs]. I realized that the studio has become an island for me to put myself back together, you know? I went there to fix myself through testimonials. He was my witness; John was there to testify all of my sins on the album. That sounds so silly, but it’s basically like this redemption, testifying of sins album.

And then, Acceptance! In the theme of acceptance, I went from writing this song called “Phoenix” in rural England the day after I arrived. I also flew there alone. I woke up in a cold sweat the night before, and asked myself what I was doing there, in this little bed & breakfast in rural England. I was taken by fear of the unknown. I kind of pulled myself together, pulled out my laptop and started getting ready for the studio. The next day I wrote “Phoenix.” So, I thought I was writing it about other people, other strong people. Two years later, I finally finished the vocal in the studio with John and my friend Wakeem was there and he goes, “Hey Nel, you wrote that song for yourself didn’t you?” I looked at him and said, “yeah, I think I did.” Two years later I’d accepted the fact that it was my own life raft I’d written myself. It was my own life ring in an ocean to keep myself afloat. I experienced this weird sensation of me soothing myself with the song as a sang it, which was kind of cool. And I really felt and recognized for the first time that we’re never alone in the universe. We’re not alone because we’re all unified in our emotions. I had this moment of acceptance that I was broken, but I put myself together.

 This is repost of an article published on Saint Heron. 

[thesinglesjukebox]

TAYLOR SWIFT - THE MAN

[5.67]

«What man?» “The man,” Marco explained, explaining nothing.

Jonathan Bradley: For a feminist song by an artist whose music is rarely explicitly political, "The Man" focuses its attentions on one woman in particular. That is a good thing; Taylor Swift writes best from personal experience, and this is a more immediate and sharply felt song than the blandly participatory, elections-inspired "Only the Young." "I'm so sick of running as fast as I can," says Swift, but she doesn't sound weary; she sounds resentful. And she should be, too: the public and critical response to Swift has been explicitly gendered for her entire career. One of the sharpest songwriters of her generation, she has been abjured as frivolous and feminine; petty and jealous; a scold and a snake; too nice, too nasty, too promiscuous, too prudish. ("The negative traits ascribed to Taylor always sound like a greatest-hits list of every bad characteristic associated with womanhood," Molly Lambert wrote in 2014.) "The Man" is, as Swift tunes often are, broadly applicable. But it's also specific in its indignance. These are wounds felt personally. [8]

Vikram Joseph: Taylor's lyrics are normally best when she's writing about heartache, but they are so strong here -- incisive, funny and bitingly on point about the ways in which women in the public eye are castigated for things that men are celebrated for. "What I was wearing / if I was rude / could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves" is particularly good, and the bridge contains probably the only acceptable instance of a mad/bad rhyme in pop history. Musically, "The Man" is deceptively amiable, almost to a fault -- it's fun synth-pop but feels like 1989-lite, "Out Of The Woods" with too much of the fizz dissipated. [7]

Katie Gill: Swift's superpower is the ability to release all the worst songs off of her album as singles. (Calling it now, her next single will be "London Boy.") "The Man" is far too happy and peppy for a song about institutional sexism, with a chorus that heavily relies on the line "I'm so sick." The mixing choices are bizarre: those "yeah"s hiding in the background are so awkwardly placed that it makes me wish goat remixes were still in vogue. And for an artist who still struggles to get past that iconic moment of being compared to Beyoncé, it's a weird choice to make a song that will inevitably be compared to Beyoncé. [4]

Katherine St Asaph: For all the Discourse that smogs up everything Taylor Swift does, especially (but not only) when it involves politics or feminism, "The Man" is not really of that world. It's Taylor Swift finally getting around to releasing her own "If I Were a Boy" or "If I Was a Guy" or "Do It Like a Dude": a standard topic for pop songs, alongside "fame sucks" and "I rule." These songs are rarely great, tending lyrically to The Wing ad copy (lowlight here: "my good ideas and power moves") and musically to midtempo resignation: sure, if I were a man then I'd be the man, but I'm not and won't be, so why get angry or excited? (To Swift's credit, she works with the resignation; there's genuine wistfulness to the "running as fast as I can" line, if not wistfulness that's explored far.) These songs also subsume personality: The artist is no longer herself, just a woman among the class of women -- and actually not even that defined, just not a man. Taylor Swift, being Taylor Swift, doesn't make herself totally anonymous -- the multiple lines about getting to chase models, specifically in the way Leonardo DiCaprio does, seems like a deliberate reference to the tabloid world of the Squad, Kaylor, etc. But for every spot where her vocal inflections sound indelibly like herself, there's one where she sounds exactly like Katy Perry, one where she sounds exactly like Sia, one where she sounds exactly like early Britney, and many where she sounds like late Britney, who by then sounded like everybody else. (And since Swift and Joel Little are the only writers, for once it isn't a demo vocal's fault. Which means neither are the scanSION isSUES.) Will it shift the narrative? That's the main reason this exists. Will it be anyone's feminist awakening? Given that her stans recently exhumed and endorsed a slimy blog post by one of the most notorious pustular men of publishing because it let them harass a woman for reviewing her PR documentary -- another standard form of pop-star content -- the snooze button's been hit on that. Will it take up man-sized space on the radio? Clearly; it is a song by Taylor Swift. You're the man now, dawg. [5]

Brad Shoup: For someone who's gotten so adept at threading personal storytelling in and out of celebrity narrative, Swift suddenly, inexplicably, writes like someone who hasn't browsed a magazine in years. She must know that Leo's romantic excursions are a punchline at best, and that anyone else dropping a couplet like "What's it like to brag about raking in dollars/And getting bitches and models" would be in for a straight week of surgical editorialization. As usual, her verses are intricate machines of melodic development and rhythmic gymnastics. But the chorus makes me wish she'd pulled a reverse Porter and gone full pitch-down. I know she can afford it; she's the man. [3]

Kylo Nocom: Taylor's precise satire ends up a greater priority on "The Man" than the melodies, leaving a more impressive statement than a tune. Neither Blue Neighbourhood squeals nor choral presets are intriguing by 2020, making me wonder whether Joel Little realizes, almost seven years after Pure Heroine, that its influence is getting boring now. (Yeah!) [3]

Alfred Soto: Those staccato synth chords and Taylor Swift's stentorian delivery distracted on a rather effective album sequence last August. Radio play, however, has revealed the mild gender subversion explicit in the chorus, especially the way the electronic space fails to distinguish it from the competition. Exposure, alas, spolights "If I were a man/Then I'd be the man." [7]

Tobi Tella: For an album billed as her "most political yet", Lover mostly sidesteps real discourse. "The Man" is gloriously unsubtle, but I'm not sure how true Swift's conceit rings. There are some great confrontations of double standards here, mostly of her dating history; but would Taylor Swift, a woman who writes gooey emotional pop songs about love, be "the man" in any circumstance, regardless of gender? [6]

Michael Hong: Does anyone remember that interview around the release of Lover, where she explained why she wrote that dreadful second verse of "You Need to Calm Down?" It's hilarious: a statement by a woman whose allyship stretched as far as a throwaway "boys and boys and girls and girls," now expressing public indignation at the mere idea that one might perceive her as a homophobe. As a result, we had to suffer through "why are you mad, when you could be GLAAD," which somehow earned her GLAAD's Vanguard Award, further proof for cynics that Taylor Swift had become an expert at gaming the system. "The Man" is more of the same, Taylor Swift honing in one way she's a minority and filtering out all her other privilege. It's punctuated by a weak statement: "if I was a man, then I'd be the man," ignoring the fact that "the man" is more commonly used as a symbol of oppression. Nothing about the track challenges any piece of existing culture; even the call-out of Leonardo DiCaprio is more of a playful little ribbing, something Taylor might joke about to him during one of her extravagant yacht parties. "The Man" is a brilliant piece of marketing, a demonstration of Swift's ability to flip social issues into sounding personal and branding herself as a feminist. It helps her sell her own records while elevating her own standing. But as a song, it's another awkward and clunky moment that she seems to perceive as her own little mic drop. Hopefully next time she'll a) hire some women personnel in the studio and b) learn about the concept of intersectionality. [1]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: I've criticized Taylor Swift before for her political silence, so I feel hypocritical now -- especially as a cisgender man, especially in the context of her recent Netflix documentary -- saying this sounds heavy-handed and awkward. Taylor explores the political less clumsily than Katy Perry circa 2017, but that's hardly a compliment. "The Man" is a message song, and it achieves its goals confidently, without mincing words. But Swift is a talented songwriter with many more interesting things to say, and has even talked about similar themes in more interesting ways (see "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince"). Lover is full of intimate, gorgeous pop songs like "False God" or "Daylight," so to push this as a single is disappointing. #JUSTICEFORCRUELSUMMER [5]

Lauren Gilbert: "The Man" is a theme song for every woman who has had a man explain to her that if she just smiled a little more and tried a little harder, of course it'll all work out. It feels like walking out of a horrible job for the last time, looking at the sky and knowing -- absolutely, with a certainty you never have about yourself -- that you're better than that place, and you'll make more than they will, anyway. And I'm completely here for these MUNA-esque synths and Taylor's half-rapped "bitches and models." OK, so I docked a point for rhyming "man" and "man" in the chorus. But Taylor's still got it; this bitch still knows how to write a damn song. [9]

Ashley Bardhan: The production is deceptively honeyed -- gumdrop bass and candy button high hats. It does its job in distracting from how frustratedly deadpan Taylor sounds, probably proving her point that "it's all good if you're bad/and it's okay if you're mad," as long as you're a man. She uses the word "bitch" twice in the bridge, a testament of anger from the pop star who doesn't publicly curse very much at all. She spits it out, "I'd be a bitch, not a baller," as if singing the word will get rid of it. Of course, a famous white woman like Taylor Swift wields the kind of power that most women won't even allow themselves to dream about, but still, I feel sorry for her. [7]

Edward Okulicz: In a sea of competing takes, cut-through is achieved by blending the incisive thoughtfulness of Taylor Swift with the head-scratching vacuousness of.... Taylor Swift. I wonder which man wrote the hook that made it so catchy. If you'd once written an entire multi-platinum record by yourself and still people assumed you were ghostwritten, you'd throw your hands up too. [8]

Alex Clifton: "The Man" is a bit basic and one-note, but then again, I never expected a detailed intersectional rundown of systemic oppression in a four-minute pop song on an album titled Lover. The message of the song--"if I was a man, then I'd be the man"--is one of Swift's weaker chorus lines, because it's so redundant and clunky. Still, other lines like "when everyone believes you, what's that like?" hit like a dart. I've had my share of those experiences myself, some which I still struggle to talk about, and unfortunately I know way too many other women do. To hear someone as big as Swift sing about it in a song, knowing she's had her own experiences with sexual assault and harassment, is really powerful to me. "The Man" is not the best song on Lover, but it does make me feel more hopeful about the state of the world, if only because there are going to be teen girls listening to this and deciding that they're going to make a change in the world for themselves. There were no songs like this on mainstream radio for me when I was thirteen, and I wish there had been. So if this song makes young girls feel like they can and should fight for their rights, Swift has done her job. [6]

Isabel Cole: I mean, it could have been SO much worse. [6]

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