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Music

The wild world of METZ

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

The band talks Steve Albini and personal change

Since their inception, METZ have displayed a penchant for balancing noisy, no-holds-barred rock, with downright catchy songwriting. But on their latest project, Strange Peace, the Toronto imports decided to hone a new artistic sting, embracing a more artistic edge and exploratory tendencies.

Enlisting producer Steve Albini, the band stretched the contours of its sound to even crazier, more abrasive domains, with tracks echoing hard-edged post-punk and artsy noise-rock. We spoke with METZ’s singer and guitarist Alex Edkins ahead of the band’s Montreal show last month about their collaboration with Albini and the band’s artistic process.

Those who foam at the mouth for METZ’s textural guitars and fuzz-laden production quality won’t have a hard time digesting Strange Peace. Sonically, the album depends heavily on the wall-of-sound technique Phil Spector innovated in the 60s; a fully-fledged example of the noise-rock band taking on more challenging sounds. The piercing auditory arrangements are still there, but METZ has decided to sprinkle in some fancy studio embellishments here and there. Nuanced synthesizer lines quietly occupy the background in some tracks.

Among the most transformative changes METZ underwent between Strange Peace and its sophomore record, 2016’s II, is relocating to a new base of operation. This time around, the band hired noted engineering wizard and hardcore visionary Albini to record at his Electrical Audio recording studio in Chicago.

“Albini was for sure a great fit. It was a really fast process for us too,” Edkins said. “We recorded the whole thing in four days, and we were there for five.”

“It was one of the most productive weeks of my life,” Edkins added. “METZ has played with Albini’s band, Shellac, a few times, so he was familiar with our music and he knew we were familiar with his.”

Strange Peace features 11 of 14 studio recordings, which could point to more material from these sessions being released in the future.

METZ seem to be part of a new noise-rock convention with a noticeably unrestrained and reckless inclination to the music. This is mainly echoed in the inordinately anarchic ethos that pervades the music. Despite the creatively rendered ideas, the waves of noise that permeate the band’s general sound are perhaps too chaotic and inaccessible at times.

Nonetheless, Edkins was especially pleased by the well-organized, relatively smooth structure of the recording process. You wouldn’t expect this, given the unhinged nature of METZ’s music. This condensed time frame no doubt pushed the band to its limit. No wonder the album was jammed out in one sitting. It’s clear the band pulled heavy influence from tumultuous personal events that overwhelmed its members.

“I was going through a lot of personal changes. I was in a state of shock while writing the lyrics in the midst of Trump’s presidency,” Edkins said. “I also had my first son. So, there were obviously a lot of crazy things going on. The title, Strange Peace, is relating to that calm before the storm—before something bad happens.”

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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Music Quickspins

Big K.R.I.T. – 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time

Big K.R.I.T. – 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time (Multi Alumni, 2017)

Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s new album, 4eva Is A Might Long Time, is one of the most soulful and lavishly produced rap albums of the year. At 22 tracks, the album is split into two disc. Disc one is filled with southern bangers, like “Big Bank” featuring T.I. and the song “Subenstein.” Each track is executed with meticulous detail. The live instrumentation enhances each track, as K.R.I.T.’s buttery smooth flow complements the string instrumentals. While the trend in southern rap has been edging towards trap music, K.R.I.T. resists this temptation by bringing clever and introspective lyrics to the table. Despite the album’s long runtime, listening doesn’t feel like a chore. Every song feels like K.R.I.T. put his heart and soul into it. 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time is a rap epic that feels like fine dining in a genre full of fast food.

Trial Track: “Subenstein (My Sub IV)”

Score: 9.5/10

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Music Quickspins

Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights

Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights (Matador, 2017)

On Turn Out the Lights, Julien Baker’s second record, she is immensely vulnerable. The album sounds like an open diary, detailing her battles with mental illness, unsettled relationships and waning optimism about the future. While her first project, Sprained Ankle, seemed reluctant at times, the ballads on Turn Out the Lights are defiant and confident. Baker’s voice glides over spacious, piano-driven instrumentals. Her music references her Christianity, without limiting her to a strictly Christian audience. Baker hides pockets of happiness in an album defined by its haunting vocals and melodies. “Sour Breath” is open about alcoholism and loneliness, while on “Hurt Less,” she is candid about her relationship with self-care. Baker is honest and unapologetic over these arrangements, which truly allows her story to flourish.

Trial Track: “Shadowboxing”

Score: 9.1/10

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Music

The top scariest songs of all time

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

From your worst nightmares to your Halloween playlist

  1. Suicide – “Frankie Teardrop” (1977)

Suicide’s “Frankie Teardrop” follows the 20-year-old titular character from his mundane factory job to his tumultuous home life. Vocalist Alan Vega details how Frankie kills his wife, child and self in the midst of a complete breakdown from his routine life. The scarce, rigid song is a nightmarish narrative pushed to a halting climax by Vega’s blood-curdling screams. Pure nightmare fuel.

  1. Throbbing Gristle – “Hamburger Lady” (1978)

Nothing too out of the ordinary for art noise collective Throbbing Gristle, but the title alone is enough to induce out-of-whack mental images. The lyrics are indecipherable, fed through a choppy, deteriorating vocoder underneath instrumentals that land somewhere between an alien abduction and the apocalypse.

  1. Tom Waits – “What’s He Building In There” (1999)

This dramatic monologue from the uneasy perspective of a nosy neighbour is set to the tune of a subdued instrumental soundscape. Tom Waits’s barking voice wheezes with a mildly inflected delivery, which comes off like a protective dog warning you not to come any closer.

  1. Pharmakon – “Body Betrays Itself” (2014)

“Body Betrays Itself” exhibits the overwhelming claustrophobia of Margaret Chardiet’s brand of noise music. The song’s disfigured aesthetic puts to sound the sight of a body slowly disintegrating over time, and how there’s no way of controlling imminent death when stricken by illness. Chardiet fully embraces the tenets of noisiness, letting the music slowly build to a dissonant crux that offers a brief peek into a climax the listener will never recover from.

  1. Slint – “Good Morning, Captain” (1991)

Just a casual reading of the lyrics is enough to send shivers down your spine. The build-up is excruciatingly tense, with meandering guitar riffs rotating in a never-ending cycle that jolts into an anguished scream of “I Miss You.” The last song on Slint’s masterpiece, Spiderland, “Good Morning, Captain” pieces together a narrative of a captain who has lost everything at sea. The song’s explosive coda literally drove singer Brian McMahan toward the brink of insanity, to the point where he had to enroll in a psychiatric hospital a few days after the song’s release.

  1. Marilyn Manson – “Prelude (The Family Trip)” (1994)

The opening track on Portrait of an American Family is a cartoony spoof of the boat scene from the 1971 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, written by children’s novelist Roald Dahl. Marilyn Manson wanted to capture the fear a child feels at a carnival, and revamp those untapped feelings for an adult audience.

  1. Primus – “Mr. Krinkle” (1993)

You know that moment when a serial killer matter-of-factly consults that little voice inside his or her head; the voice that told them to paint the neighbourhood red? Well, I’m pretty sure the voice they hear is akin to the traumatizing sounds that emit from Les Claypool’s southern drawl on “Mr. Krinkle.” Not to mention that petrifying bass.

  1. Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath” (1970)

Once described as metal’s “most evil track” by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Black Sabbath’s eponymous song propelled heavy metal as a menacing new subgenre. The occult song about Satan ending humanity was inspired by an ominous riff that some say literally pulled Lucifer from the depths of hell.

  1. The Doors – “Not to Touch the Earth” (1968)

“Not to Touch the Earth” is a paranormal hellscape in audio that captures Jim Morrison at his most confident and lyrically unhinged. The song’s piercing organ morphs in and out of frame, expressing the song’s complete and total devolution into depravity. Lamenting the stark polarity between heaven and hell, Morrison drops clever allusions to necromancy and politics, concluding with a heartstopping crescendo.

  1. The Jesus Lizard – “Then Comes Dudley” (1991)

The Jesus Lizard is simultaneously one of the funniest, smartest and most incredibly off-the-wall bands in history. If it weren’t for their endearingly deranged sense of humour and self-deprecating lyrics, they’d probably be more inclined to crossover into the mainstream à la Nirvana. No wonder they were Kurt Cobain’s favorite band. The prickly guitar riff on this track, which was sampled from Miles Davis’s “Great Expectations,” and David Yow’s devilish howl culminate in an experience that makes you feel truly violated.

  1. The Body – “Hallow/Hollow” (2016)

“Hallow/Hollow” comes from No One Deserves Happiness, with Chip King’s ear-shredding guitar and shrieked vocals impacting like a car crash when matched against Lee Buford’s body-quaking drums.

  1.  Joy Division – “Heart and Soul” (1980)

The bass-and-drums intro sets up a hypnotic rhythm that leaves plenty of space for Ian Curtis to insert his brooding, barely active voice. Curtis died just as Joy Division’s 1980 swan-song album, Closer, was released. While the layers of guitar start to dissolve into the mix around it, the stagnating rhythm further heightens the song’s incredibly unnerving restlessness.

  1.  Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – “I Put A Spell On You” (1957)

A spooky joint that’s just as sensational as the allusion to voodooism implied in the title, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s “I Put A Spell On You” is one of music’s most seminal songs, and served as a precursor for rock-and-roll upstarts using supernatural imagery and shocking visual elements. Easily one of the great vocal performances of all time, it’s also a prime validation that the premature seeds of rock and roll were just as dangerous as the general public initially thought.

  1.  Kate Bush – “Under Ice” (1985)

In “Under Ice,” Kate Bush vividly details a dream about a person skating on a frozen river that’s buried under snow. As the person skates along, they look down at the ice and spot an obscured object moving underneath. As they follow the object moving under the ice, they come face to face with themselves in the water, drowning.

Graphic by Alexa Hawksworth

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Music

Rocky Horror’s fabulous legacy

Nick Turnau and Heidi Rubin first bonded over their love for Rocky Horror. Photo by Mackenzie Lad

A conversation with long-time cast members of  Montreal’s annual performances

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has created a culture for itself. People all around the world come together to watch the movie, while performers reenact the film live on stage. The Montreal performances are the biggest in North America, hosted annually at the Imperial Theatre.

We met up with a few cast members, Heidi Rubin and Nick Turnau, a week before the first show of the year. Turnau has been involved with the show for the last 18 years. Although he focuses on the behind-the-scenes elements of the show these days, he has performed as Frank, Riff, Brad and one of the groupies. Rubin is a 19-year veteran of the Montreal production. She fell in love with the movie as a kid and joined the local cast when she was 19. She has performed nearly every role, including Colombia, Janet, Rocky, Riff and Frank.

Q: How were you first introduced to The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Nick Turnau: Funny you should ask. It’s actually due to the person sitting to my left. We met in CEGEP. I’d seen the film before and was aware of the midnight performances—a sort of weird cult thing that happened or whatever. But we met in an English class. We met ditching an English class to go…

Heidi Rubin: Smoke pot [Laughs].

NT: Smoke pot, and she said, “Hey do you want to come to the Imperial [Theatre] and be part of this thing called The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Do you want to come and check it out?” I said, “Sure!” I ended up being in the show as a groupie [Laughs]. I think there was a dozen of us at that point.

Q: What’s the history of the show in Montreal?

NT: The cult thing started in New York. B-movie houses would play it on a weekly basis. Weird cult fanatics—such as ourselves—would go and get really really into it and involved. That’s how it sort of began. I don’t know exactly when the cult phenomenon started in Montreal. I know, when we signed up, the troope had been doing it for years.

HR: People did it in the Sivel Theatre, which was a theatre back in N.D.G., and they would do midnight showings—I think they did it weekly. Then, the cast before us, they were doing monthly performances. When Phil Spurrell, our producer, came in 20 years ago—so a year after myself—he began producing it because they needed somebody to take it over. He had a lot of experience in the film industry here in Montreal. So he took it over and changed it from a monthly thing to build up the anticipation and turn it into a really big production, the biggest in North America—I kind of believe in the world. It changed the dynamic, going from just once a month.

NT: It starts to become oversaturated once a month. It was far more niche back then.

HR: They didn’t have a cast. It was just random people who would go up.

NT: That’s how the shadow cast started, essentially. It was super-fans dressing up and acting it out.

HR: Montreal is just like any big city—there are so many diverse people here, they come to be in and a part of the show. It’s just been a riot for everyone, especially when I’d seen it back in the day.

Q: When you look at the audience, do you feel like it has changed over the years?

NT: It was more subversive back then. It had a much smaller niche market. It’s changed, but it’s always been great. Sometimes we get families [Laughs].

HR: Do you remember the old lady that would come to every show? She was like 85, and she would be sitting up there [on stage]. Anyway, she was awesome. But I find that when we first started the costume contest, that’s when crazy stuff really happened. It’s out of our control, as people get up on stage and do whatever they can to get the audience going crazy.

NT: Things got out of control [Laughs].

HR: Back then, nobody had a cellphone, so they couldn’t take a video and post it. There were two years when there was a switch-over, and I think a lot of things went online and then people just realized, we can’t do this without having millions of people potentially seeing it. So, the truth is, that there’s a part of it that’s kind of sad. Because of social media, we can’t keep secrets anymore. It’s all consensual for everybody in there, but it doesn’t stay in there anymore. So there’s a bit of a vibe that’s somehow changed.

Q: You’re right Heidi. Some people aren’t comfortable knowing that this may potentially be outing closeted people who don’t want others to know. For them, the show is a safe space.

HR: And that’s what we’re looking for. This is why I’m in the cast—this is the ultimate safe space. It doesn’t matter how weird or straightedge you are; if you’re in the cast, you’re safe. It’s good. And people come to the show because they want to be wild and they want to be crazy and they want to party and let loose, and you’re still in fucking high school, looking over your shoulder thinking, “Who’s going to judge me?” People let go of that when [they’re at the show].

NT: There’s this aspect to it, but at the same time, the ideals that have always been part of Rocky have proliferated so much more. It’s helped us more, and it’s been wonderful to watch what it’s done for us.

The final performances of this year’s edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show are on Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Photos by Mackenzie Lad 

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Music Quickspins

Future and Young Thug – Super Slimey

Future and Young Thug  – Super Slimey (Epic, 2017)

Future and Young Thug’s collaborative mixtape, Super Slimey, is exactly what you would expect from trap music’s two most notorious rappers. Unlike his joint album with Drake, Future has found an artist he can flow with, as he and Young Thug possess a chemistry that only groups like Migos have. Future and Young Thug are pioneers when it comes to rap flow, and the way they trade verses over the album’s nocturnal yet fast-paced beats make it a must-listen for all rap fans. The melodies that project from their voices make each song sound unique and different, unlike many albums in the trap genre. Songs like “No Cap, Three” and “Patek Water” featuring Offset are certifiable bangers and standouts on the album. Super Slimey just goes to show how versatile Thugger and Future really are, cementing them as the two best artists in their lane.

Score: 8.8/10

Trial Track: “Three”

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Music Quickspins

Standing on the Corner – Red Burns

Standing on the Corner – Red Burns (Self-Released, 2017)

Standing on the Corner is a jazz-infused collaboration between two New York City natives, Gio Escobar and Jasper Marsalis. Their latest effort, Red Burns, listens like a collection of snapshots, with Escobar and Marsalis navigating the desolate slums and alleys of New York through hip-hop instrumentals tempered by a healthy appreciation for jazz. The urban sounds of New York echo throughout the album like clockwork. Red Burns contains collagey sound snippets weaved together into a free-flowing narrative consisting of five songs, titled “nate sees the storm,” “red burns comin!,” “cleb sees the storm!,” “what about the planet?” and “the devil Meets Red Burns.” Across Red Burns’ hour, you can hear Standing on the Corner writing an impassioned love letter to the city that raised them, with a dichotomy of hope and despondence driving them forward.

Rating: 7.5/10

Trial Track: “Sellin Soap”

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Music Quickspins

Hayley Kiyoko – “Feelings”

Hayley Kiyoko – “Feelings” (Empire, 2017)

“Feelings” puts into words the universally tender, yet terrifying feelings, of love rushing into our heads. This single is a new chapter in Hayley Kiyoko’s musical history. The singer, known for affirming her raw emotions and sexuality on dreamy pop sounds tinted with a progressive rock background, remains integral to her style. Kiyoko uses blunt changes of tempo, from energizing synthesizer to heavy bass riffs, to emphasize the tumultuous conflict raging inside her. This same conflict is found lyrically, as she apologizes for “feeling too much, saying too much,” when she should be “tough” or “like ice.” She asserts her desires by wishing for casual touch and steamy nights. Kiyoko provides an anthem to the excitement love brings, brushing aside the societal expectations of holding back one’s emotions. The song’s music video, directed by Kiyoko, was released the same day as the single. It highlights the same conflict as the song, using the fluidity of dance and warm-to-cold lighting to show the changes of tempo. “Feelings” is a light song with an important message, yet its instrumentals can easily become obnoxious.

Rating: 8.0/10

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Music

The best Canadian albums of the millennium

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

The best of Canada, (from an American’s perspective)

20. Single Mothers – Negative Qualities (2014)

As a style, punk rock has always been rooted in emotional expression, or at least pessimism, but sounding legitimately irate on wax has often been the Achilles’ heel of bands whose rage is rendered contrived when translated in a studio. On Negative Qualities, Single Mothers’ first full-length album was a stellar effort on that front, tossing out vividly pissed-off imagery and lucid notions left and right. The album’s lyrical quips are all punctuated by plenty of solid riffs.

19. Fucked Up – David Comes To Life (2011)

The concept of the rock opera has become something of a lost art. The always prolific Fucked Up went out large and loud on their artistic statement, David Comes to Life. The album’s themes of love and self-discovery relate on a universal scale as well as in the context of a structured narrative. And up against these brick-house guitar arrangements, the script serves as just an added level of emotional investment.

18. Carly Rae Jepsen – Emotion (2015)

Emotion presents a more unified front than Carly Rae Jepsen’s lone hit “Call Me Maybe.” A-list songwriters and producers such as Sia, Devonté Hynes, Ariel Rechtshaid, Shellback and Greg Kurstin help Jepsen focus her bubbly pop effervescence into a cohesive sound that hits an irresistible sweet spot.

17. Destroyer – Kaputt (2011)

Kaputt utilizes 80s sophisti-pop, new romanticism and FM adult contemporary to deliver a wonderfully messy dive into maximalism. Atop that, it’s filled to the brim with twinkling synths and wailing trumpets and saxophones.

16. Majical Cloudz – Impersonator (2014)

The opening titular track is about as complex as Impersonator gets, with skeletal, off-kilter strings and vocal loops intersecting each other before Devon Welsh’s bulletproof baritone charges in with contemplative lyrics about insecurity and isolation. The rest is a chilling hatch patch of minimalistic electronic as desolate as Montreal winters that can fill a room with its ambition.

15. Women – Public Strain (2010)

While clinging to the lo-fi grit that made them such a varied but equally compelling group, Women broadened their horizons for this sophomore album. Two years in the making, Public Strain is more urgent than the debut in that the melodic parts are more corrosive, the tension is more palpable, and the shimmering, razor-sharp sonics are more evocative.

14. Ought – More Than Any Other Day (2014)

More Than Any Other Day snapshots the same kind of primal energy in all of Ought’s influences and filters them into a collection of songs that seamlessly volley between biting political punk and jittery post-punk finesse.

13. Japandroids – Post-Nothing (2009)

For their debut, Japandroids hit the ground running on Post-Nothing, a warm, endearingly jumbled disorder of fuzzy guitar, ecstatic drums and overly-optimism lyrics yelled in unison by guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse. The album’s childlike presentation is at times juvenile, but it captures a brand of buoyancy and nostalgic reminiscence for societal defiance that’s impossible not to bash along to.

12. Women – Women (2008)

At its most melodic, Women’s debut is a blend of noise and songcraft that adheres best when the band taps into its pop side. Underneath these nuggets of nervy, cavernous cacophony are some of the best distillations of high-octane pop of the millennium.

11. Grimes – Visions (2012)

On Visions, Claire Boucher further expands the esoteric sound she fostered on her past efforts, where her songs hovered in an infinite space loop one moment and hit the dancefloor in the next. Boucher’s baby-voiced vocals are so divisive yet intoxicating that you can’t help but envelop yourself in her otherworldly soundscapes.

10. White Lung – Deep Fantasy (2014)

Vancouver B.C.-based punks White Lung reached a blistering peak on their 2014 album, Deep Fantasy. The record is an unrelenting assault of thrash-crossover mastery. The intricate guitar leads and arresting vocal performances from singer Mish Way contribute to a rewarding set of songs that swirl by in less than 20 minutes.

9. Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)

Wolf Parade enlists producer Isaac Brock on its debut, Apologized to the Queen Mary, using his attuned ear as a source to tinge their chrisp indie pop tunes into something larger than life, producing cinematic grace while acknowledging their debt to post-punk bands of yesteryear.

8. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (2008)

On their self-titled debut, Crystal Castles churn out eight-bit noise as auditorily challenging as an Atari game’s soundtrack. These sounds churn into something chaotic, and oftentimes moody pop with a warped exterior. It was an especially revelatory sound in an age defined by technological paranoia and uncertainty.

7. Crystal Castles – (II) (2010)

Crystal Castles are, at their core, an electropop band. But on the follow-up to their instant classic debut, the band takes the disjointed sonic trickery it specializes in and pushes its stylistically singular sound to new heights. (II) has a much darker, melodic edge and punchier sonics than its predecessor, while elaborating on the more ethereal components the band ventured into on its debut.

6. Japandroids – Celebration Rock (2012)

With an abundance of jumpy, anthemic chants as hooks, sung from the perspective of a naive young-adult on the verge of adulthood, Celebration Rock delivers on the earth-shattering ruckus, youthful gusto and fiery fervor Japandroids delivered with their debut, Post-Nothing.

5. New Pornographers – Twin Cinema (2005)

Twin Cinema is a sharp and abundantly enjoyable indie record which never lacks in its references to pop music. This is thanks to the zestful performances, contagious hooks, simplistic production approach and quick-wit writing, usually from the articulate vocabulary tongue of its members.

4. Preoccupations (FKA Viet Cong) – Viet Cong (2015)

Despite the eclectic range of industrial and post-punk viewpoints, Viet Cong manages to contain it all in a finely tuned, bone-chilling experience. The warped sounds permeating this record are unified by a strong stylistic line and unmatched energy.

3. The Unicorns – Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? (2004)

Like their fantastical moniker implies, the Unicorns are playful, seemingly functioning in a mythical world of their own. Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? ambitiously balances the band’s lo-fi leanings with acute experimental flourishes and a mastery for pop. This is held in tandem by an instrumental palette of synths, recorder and clarinet.

2. Death From Above 1979 – Heads Up (2002)

Taking notes from fellow two-piece acts such as Lightning Bolt and Liars, Death From Above 1979’s recipe for destruction is a pummeling, danceable fit of clamor with enough punk sensibilities for the indie kids and enough distortion for the noise addicts.

1. Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

Arcade Fire’s gorgeous debut is both poignant and empowering, and injected with a spirit that many indie-rock acts desperately lack. The band’s members operate in perfect synergy, pushing the album’s dense instrumental catalog to breathtaking musical vistas about childhood and the psychological trappings of adulthood.

Honourable mentions:

Drake – Nothing Was The Same (2013)

Mac DeMarco – 2 (2012)

Purity Ring – Shrines (2012)

METZ – METZ (2012)

Destroyer – Destroyer’s Rubies (2006)

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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Music

Is rock and roll dead?

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

In 1972, Roger Daltrey of the The Who belted the infamous lyrics, “rock is dead.” While the lyrics were powerful, rock was far from dead at the time. The 70s can even be considered the genre’s prime period. I mean, with bands like The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Rush, how can it not be?

In the 80s, rock grew and branched off into heavier sub-genres like heavy metal and death metal. This gave rise to bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden, who eventually found ways to break through to the mainstream and get substantial radio play. This heaviness eventually led to grunge, which was ushered in Seattle during the 90s.

It was here where rock finally became part of the mainstream pop culture landscape. While Kurt Cobain was notorious for hating mainstream culture, his sound resonated with young people, the very ones pushing pop culture forward. From there, Weird Al parodies and gags from The Simpsons cemented rock’s place as a dominant part of pop culture.

It’s interesting to speculate why this was the case. Why did rock become popular culture, and why has rap taken its place? Well, the answer is simple: young people. Wherever young people go, pop culture follows, and that is why rock is dead.

For example, when Nirvana got big in the 90s, it was the young people who were listening. Even now, when “Smells Like Teen Spirit” comes on in the car, my parents get annoyed by the sheer aggression and raspiness of Cobain’s voice. However, his lyrics resonated with young people. Cobain’s music spoke to a generation that was pissed off and needed a voice. With so many people connecting with the band’s art, it was just a matter of time before entertainers and shows that fed off pop culture, such as MTV, took notice and tried to appeal to a new demographic.

Eventually, grunge became post-grunge and bands like Creed and Nickelback were born. These bands are still ridiculed today for ushering in an era where rock was no longer seen as an anti-establishment genre. Instead, rock became a milked-to-death parody of itself that lacked artistic integrity and edge. Sure, punk artists and heavy metal acts still emerged to fill the gap, but the youth-driven mainstream moved on to something else – rap.

The early 2000s saw a hoard of new artists emerge in rap, such as 50 Cent, Ludacris and Lil Wayne. Gone were the days of politically charged rap, replaced by a more hedonistic approach. Rapping about women, cars, drugs and jewelry became the norm. By basing their lyrical content around these materialistic goods, rappers tapped into the male psyche and became better rockstars than actual rockstars.

Since then, rap has become less lyrical and has drifted towards a more “do it yourself” sound that resembles the punk and grunge bands seen in rock. This time, more drugs, more violence and more sex are pushing the genre forward, with those listening to it discovering a lifestyle they have never experienced.

Just to show how much rap has taken over, hip hop overtook rock as the highest selling genre in the United States this year, according to Pigeons and Planes. What was thought of as a niche genre is now a cultural tastemaker. It just goes to show how rock’s momentum has died off and how rap’s has taken off.

On the weekly late-night talk show Real Time with Bill Maher, former NWA rapper Ice Cube was asked about new acts like Playboi Carti, who barely pays attention to lyrics and instead focuses on hooks and beats. “Mainstream rap became escapism rap,” Ice Cube said. “The kids see that they want to emulate that, so that’s what we’ve been feeding off of for the last 20 years.” This is where Ice Cube hits the nail on the head. Escapism.

Rock is no longer an escape from daily life. Gone are the days of Motley Crue singing “Girls Girls Girls.” Now, we can listen to artists like Migos brag about how many women they’ve slept with to get that same escape young people were getting in the 80s. No one wants to be a rocker anymore—they want to be rappers. Somewhere along the way, rap harnessed a side of rock that was abandoned by the rock acts of the early 2000s—edge.

Anthony Fantano of TheNeedleDrop, a YouTube music critic with over one million subscribers, made the case in a video called “Lil Yachty: Rap’s Punk Phase” that rap is in the same place rock was when rock was at its peak. Rap is in, and even pop stars are jumping on that train. Just look at “Bon Appétit” by Katy Perry. The song features all three Migos members, and while it’s a song by a pop star, the song itself has blatant appeals to trap music by way of the beat, lyrics, tempo and hook.

Rock is dead because pop culture has simply forgotten about it. Sure, the genre will never be fully dead. There are plenty of rock artists to enjoy. However, in terms of mainstream attention, rock has simply been replaced. Instrumental music has been traded in for electronic means, such as 808 drum kicks and midi keyboards.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still interesting rock bands to be heard: Arctic Monkeys, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tame Impala. These are all great options if you’re looking for a rock sound. But when it comes to the mainstream consciousness, rap has become the norm. With artists like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Migos and Big Sean dominating the charts, that isn’t going to change soon.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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Music Quickspins

King Krule – The OOZ

King Krule – The OOZ (True Panther, 2017)

Archy Marshall has released his second album under the moniker King Krule, revealing his maturation as a musician and producer. Marshall melds elements of jazz, punk, dark wave and trip hop together into an immersive and isolating soundscape. The OOZ ricochets from murmuring streams of consciousness and jazzy hooks to howling vocals and grimy punk riffs, all of which are most prominent in the dark “Dum Surfer.” King Krule has crafted a more polished and brooding sound with this new project, though the album’s lengthy tracklist of 19 songs is a bit self-indulgent. A few tracks enter into repetitive, sleepy jazz noodling without much variation in between. Marshall seems acquainted with and self-aware of his darkness, and when successful, the lingering soundscapes replicate both the mundaneness and dissociation of isolation. The OOZ is a hypnotic soundscape of an idiosyncratic psyche worth diving into, if patient enough for its track length.

7.5/10
Trial track: “Dum Surfer”

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Music Quickspins

Kelela – Take Me Apart

Kelela – Take Me Apart (Warp)

Kelela’s stunning debut is among the most technically proficient albums of the year. She flexes her muscles in uncharted musical realms, while etching a corner in the canons of R&B and pop. The tracks on Take Me Apart survey an entire generation’s worth of club music, dipping its feet in 90s IDM all the way to sultry, new-age pop. Throughout the album, Kelela continues to display her exceptionally realized songwriting, canvassing past relationships with rhythmic, galaxy-expanding pop that cherishes but rivals its contemporaries. The singer’s vocals never strain or lose their trajectory, gradually reflecting the contours and magnetism of her range. Within the space of these tracks, Kelela’s artistic vision flourishes, showcasing a precise knack for songwriting and musicality. Ultimately, what makes Take Me Apart such a fruitful listen is its extraordinary instrumental breadth and structural variation. Just as the album reveals strong dynamics the first time around, it unearths a whole universe of possibilities with every other listen.

Rating: 8.4

Trial Track: “Frontline”

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