Tag: pop music

Something Odd Is Going On In Pop Music These Days

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Pop start Dua Lipa came out with a new album and….meh. I’ve not noticed any cultural significance to it’s arrival. And I say this as someone who has in the past really enjoyed much of Lipa’s stuff.

Dua Lipa

And don’t get me started on the fan-service that was Taylor Swift’s latest album.

These developments make me wonder if we’ve entered a new era of pop music where everything is so diffused and segmented that someone like me — who is always up for a new song, album or artist — can totally miss huge swaths of the music industry.

I think some of this comes from my personal reliance on Spotify to introduce me to new music. I’ve not been pushed any of Lipa’s new music via Spotify’s discovery process. But even beyond that, there just doesn’t seem to be any cultural to her new album.

It will definitely be interesting to see what happens when AI-generated pop music gets good enough that it competes head-to-head with regular old human generated music.

The Advent of New Cultural Era?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It definitely seems as though we’re — a last — experiencing something of a vibe shift. There are a number of new musical acts that are actually, well, good. There’s IDLES, So Good, Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo just to name a few who are really interesting and actually make music that serve the audience really well.

Another thing I’ve noticed is a growing number of young people on Tik-Tok doing “fit checks” where they look like a person from between 1968 and 1972. I haven’t seen anyone dressing like this out in the wild, but everything old is new again, so it seems possible that Tik-Tok might cause these isolated instances to spread across the country.

Chappell Roan
At the same time, technology is also lurching forward with the rise of AI and the Apple Vision Pro.

Put all these developments together and it definitely seems that we’re on the cusp of leaving the 20-odd year Post-911 era. A lot will depend on, of course, what happens with the election.

If Trump wins, there’s a good chance that there could be a rather amazing, severe break with the past one way or another. Either because we become a full blow MAGA Nazi autocracy, or, oh boy, we depose Trump then have a civil war because Red States get mad and leave the Union in a huff.

But it does seem as though the post-911 era is fading, if nothing else. The confluence of tech change along with cultural changes definitely seems to indicate that this is the case.

Charli XCX Is Cool


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The reason why I like Charli XCX is she’s sex positive in a way that reminds me of Madonna (etc) way back when. It used to be that female vocalists would run around without any clothes on. I’m old now and I miss that vibe. Charli XCX reminds me of that.

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 18: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Charli XcX attends The BRIT Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on February 18, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images for Bauer Media)

I like her music, too, but she wears her sexuality on her sleeve in such a matter that it’s like, “Finally, a pop singer who’s willing to not be a prude.” It’s weird — at least to me — how all the major female vocalists these days a extremely modest compared to what they used to be.

Madonna, for one, made a whole career out of exploiting — and exploring — her sexuality in a very public fashion. I mean, the woman did come out with a book called “Erotica,” for Christ’s sake.

Anyway, it’s all moot. It’s not like the good old days of my youth are ever coming back — with female vocalists or anything else. But I do enjoy Charli XCX being something of a throwback.