Your picks (5): Mixing it up--21 Pilots, Punch Brothers, Jon Batiste, Poppy

 

Here are more of your recommendations.   One thing these all have in common is they don’t fit into the usual buckets. 

 

Twenty-one Pilots:  “Stressed Out”  (suggested by Raj D.)

Two billion views!  This clearly struck a chord with a lot of people.  I don't think people today are actually any more stressed out than previous generations were, but that’s beside the point.  It's is an interesting mashup of alt-rock and rapping.  The entire thing has a minimalist vibe while still being funky. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXRviuL6vMY

 

 

Punch Brothers (suggested by Edward D.) “Movement and Location”

Ed didn’t pick a specific song, so I listened to a bunch of things and picked this one.  They use bluegrass instrumentation but range far beyond traditional bluegrass.  This remarkable piece is from their 2013 album “Who’s feeling young now?” The co-founder of the group is mandolin player Chris Thile (theel-ee), probably known to many of you as host of “Live from Here” (the successor show to “Prairie Home Companion”).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxaPbOEm070

 

 

Jon Batiste:  “Freedom” (suggested by Chris B.)

Ok, this guy’s day job (actually night job) is as a bandleader on late night TV.  His best-known gig was doing the music for Stephen Colbert, but he clearly has bigger ambitions. Here is a high-energy mashup of New Orleans funk, soul and little bit of rapping.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YHVC1DcHmo

 

 

Poppy (formerly That Poppy):  “Low Life”  (suggested by Maia K.)

Multiple choice:  Poppy is a) a musician whose whole life is a performance art piece; b) a rock star who believes she is an android; or c) a holographic deity with her own actual religious following.  Your guess is as good as mine.  This is the tamest thing I could find by her, but there is more coming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwnoSeiAFSY

 

 

 

It’s not just WAP: Are women winning the battles but losing the war?

In the struggle for women to be taken seriously, we can’t deny there has been progress in many fields of endeavor. In the popular music world, women are indisputably at the top of the heap.  Most of the biggest, richest pop stars in the U.S. today are women. In theory, they hold enormous power, not least over the way they market themselves.  Now, one marker of progress was supposed to be that many of us agree that packaging women as a commodity to be consumed is not a good thing.  So would someone please explain this? 

Ariana Grande, looking for all the world like goods for sale:

 

 

Beyonce, twerking like a stripper (and dressed for the part):

 

 

And just in case the message wasn’t clear, let's remove any doubt, shall we?

 

 

 

Doja Cat, on display for a "client":

 

 

 

Lady Gaga, who has made a point of her woke politics (stemming in part from traumatic experiences as a girl), being pawed by a crowd of rough-looking men:

 

Heck, let’s go full stripper, and give the guys a lap dance complete with some intimate viewing:

 

 

 

In case the message isn’t raw enough, here is Katie Perry being kneaded and spread prior to being deep-fried:

 

 

 

Think I was kidding?  Here she is, being fed into the cauldron.  Note that this is not presented as some dark, Margaret Atwood dystopian nightmare—the title of this song is "Bon Appétit" and one of the lines is "You've got me spread like a buffet".  She thinks this is sexy.

 

 

 

What the hell is going on?  I’m no prude--I know where to find porn if I want it—heck, it’s everywhere.  But these people are supposedly music stars.  Their stuff plays in the background everywhere—shopping malls, gyms, and on the radio. Most of it sounds the same-- catchy, boppy, and non-threatening--because most of the songs are written by stables of professional songwriters who work from templates.  Do you get the feeling it’s not about the music? 

 

Some people claim that because these women have control, this is not exploitation.  Sorry, that doesn’t pass the laugh test. This is standard jerk-off magazine fare, on an industrial scale.  Phyllis Schlafly said that women’s ability to manipulate men through sex was their greatest power, and warned that asking for equal treatment in the workplace would require surrendering that power.  She needn’t have worried.  For women, pop culture appears to be all about embracing the hooker esthetic to lure us in, the music be damned.  And, given that these are our biggest cultural icons, do we really think that our teenagers are going to pay any heed to the occasional schoolroom lecture about setting boundaries?

 

By the way, for those who think I’m being unfairly critical of the women, let’s be clear: The men are largely absent, having abandoned the field.  There are currently no major male pop stars who even merit a discussion (sorry, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars do not count).  It seems women have won the war, and lost it at the same time.

Your choices (4): Marcus King, H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Tedeschi-Trucks Band

 

For a country sometimes stereotyped as lacking "culture", America gave the world a heck of a lot of music, from blues, jazz, bluegrass and gospel to country, rock, funk, and most recently, hip-hop.  While hip-hop is the only one whose American audience is growing today, all of these forms of music retain dedicated followings here.  Even in rock and jazz, where the innovation and dynamism have largely migrated to other parts of the world, there are American artists keeping the flame alive today.  Here are some of the best things you all recommended: 

Marcus King:  “The Well”  (Eric A., Edward D.)

Marcus grew up in a musical family, gigged with his father as a kid, and formed a band while in high school.  He released his first album in 2019.  His playing style is a throwback to early southern rock, but with more flair and heavy dose of blues.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_xHMKkzPc4

H.E.R.:  “Losing” (Robert A.)

Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson has exploded onto the scene.  At age 24, she has already released multiple records, appeared in films and written parts of film scores.  She is classified as R&B, but in her early work you can hear a strong jazz influence.  Her success (she is a Grammy and Oscar winner) has pulled her into the corporate music machine, and I find her recent stuff less interesting, so here is something from when she was just breaking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-i53r-yVQ

 

 

Janelle Monáe:  “Tightrope” (Robert F.)

Monáe is a polymath who writes music, sings, acts, choreographs, dances and produces her own records.  She scrambles genres and styles, has a science fiction alter-ego, and, like Grace Jones a generation earlier, wields a pointedly androgynous persona.  She is one of my candidates for “coolest person alive”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc

Tedeschi-Trucks Band:  “Layla” (cover) (Lewis L.)

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks formed their band in 2010, after having established themselves individually as practitioners of roots rock and blues.  (Trucks is also the nephew of the late Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers.)  They are among a small circle of musicians keeping blues and roots-rock alive today. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCL4o6i5934

 

Your picks (3): Drugs optional

 

The Limiñanas

Thank you to everyone who sent suggestions.  I got more than I expected, and they were all over the map.  Best of all, I hadn’t heard most of these artists before.  Here are a few that surprised me.

 

 

Shpongle: “Nothing is something worth doing” (suggested by Raj D.)

Shpongle are a British duo who mix Indian classical instruments and traditional sounds from around the world with modern electronics and arrangements.  This piece has a new-age vibe, but more sophisticated, with multiple time signatures and scales.  Some moments have a 70’s fusion edge as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tVs_R8-WT0

 

 

Tame Impala: “Feels like we only go backwards” (Suggested by Jenny F. B.)

Tame Impala is the ongoing project of Australian multi-instrumentalist and composer Kevin Parker.  For live tours, the band consists of five musicians including Parker.  Their sound hearkens back to the psychedelic grooves of the late 60’s; some of their songs have hints of the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour”.  This clip is from their second album, released in 2012.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wycjnCCgUes

 

 

The Limiñanas: “Calentita” (Suggested by Daniel G.)

This French duo debuted in 2010, with a spare sound that could be described as punk played on folk instruments.  They promptly went in multiple other directions, with a rotating cast of musicians joining in the fun.  Their songs are absurd yet weirdly hypnotic. I don't know how to describe this one, so just hit play:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPdOo2E5zOc

 

Your picks (2): Nigerian Explosion

 

 

Tiwa Savage

My friend Jeff M. turned me on to a whole scene I was barely aware of.  The Nigerian music industry has recently boomed and is now the biggest in Africa as well as one of the most dynamic in the world.  As I think we all know, Western popular music (encompassing jazz, blues, rock, soul, funk and hip-hop, and all their permutations) is rooted in African music brought over to the New World by enslaved people, as well as through trade and immigration to the Caribbean.  Now, African musicians are taking the sounds and instrumentation of Western popular music and recombining them with traditional African folk and tribal music. 

 

I’ve previously included work by artists from several African countries in my folk-rock and folk-metal posts, but nothing from Nigeria.  So, with big thanks to Jeff, here are a few of the artists he recommended.

 

Tiwa Savage: “Lova Lova”

 

Born in Nigeria, Savage spent her teen years and early career in the UK and US, before being drawn back to Nigeria in 2012 by the booming recording industry there.  She graduated from Berklee College of Music, and performed with a variety of big name pop, rock and soul artists before heading out on her own.  She sings in English and Yoruba, and covers a lot of ground both stylistically and topically.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Qbx3UNcoC1Q

 

 

Burna Boy:  “Wonderful”

Born Damini Ogulu, Burna Boy is one of the most commercially successful young Nigerian artists.  He mashes up African sounds from all over Africa (not just Nigeria), with dance pop, reggae and rap. He has broken through to an international audience, and was a Grammy nominee.  He knows how to roll a lot of ideas into one song, as you’ll see here.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=k33o1IgtUEM

 

 

Niniola:  “Designer”

Niniola Apata came up the through the talent-show circuit, which is apparently how it’s supposed to be done these days. She combines African beats and melodies with a Caribbean swing, and instrumentation that sometimes sounds a bit like house or trance.  From the buzz, it appears her biggest fan base is not in Nigeria, but in South Africa.   She was nominated for a Grammy as part of the team that scored the Lion King.  This song is a fun but sardonic take on consumerism.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ib7YN4jK-oM