Hype is helium: the monatomic force that causes a cultural product to exceed its normal boundaries, float upward, and crowd out everything around it. Hype works when an artist or art work hits an already partially exposed common nerve, setting off a mass discussion about issues that go far beyond whatever product started the chatter. Sometimes what's left behind after hype turns out to matter a lot: Nirvana's Nevermind. Sometimes, not so much: Axl's Chinese Democracy.
After I wrote my post about pop music and Miss Del Rey the other day, I realized why so many people are put off by her and why the authenticity criticism works. She originally marketed herself as an indie artist, not a pop artist. If she had just come out as a blatant pop artist then people would have held any type of expectations of indie credibility. For example, I really like Demi Lovato and Kelly Clarkson, but I know that they are just pop singers and thus I don't look to them for life changing music. They put out catchy songs that are fun to listen to with my kids (plus they both can sing). If I really want to be touched by music, I'm going to look somewhere else. Had Miss Del Rey set the proper expectations, I doubt people would hate her as much as they do.
Spinner put together a pretty fascinating article recently
entitled Lana
Del Rey: Can Artifice Survive in the Age of Adele?. The article discussed how in 2011 the masses
embraced an artist that went completely against the modern pop music grain—Adele—and
how in turn those same masses (or at least the music blogging community) has
turned against an artist that in many ways embodies the plastic glamour of
modern pop music—Lana Del Rey.
Admittedly I have not kept up with the rise of Miss Del Rey
despite having seen her name and picture hundreds of times while perusing the
various music blogs that I follow in Google Reader. I figured she was just one of the new hipster
flavors of the month like Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver, but after her SNL
performance I read a piece
on PopBytes discussing the idea of attacking Del Rey for her apparent lack
of authenticity.
… a large portion of the criticism
of her failed to focus on her music. Which is why I say let’s not rush to
judgment.
True, I haven’t yet been blown away
by any of the songs I’ve heard from Del Rey. But I want to listen to Born To
Die before forming my opinions. Sadly, I seem to be the exception here.
Many people are all too eager to write her off before the record even has a
chance to hit the stores. Why? On the grounds that she is “inauthentic” – an
adjective that has been used by Del Rey’s critics almost synonymously with her
name.
But how exactly is Del Rey
“inauthentic”? Because she was born as Lizzy Grant and opted to use a
stage name for her pop persona? That argument really sucks. Think of Judy
Garland, Audrey Hepburn,Marilyn Monroe and a substantial chunk of the
rest of the entertainment industry. Stage names are everywhere and we love
stars who use them, forgetting that they ever were called anything else.
Or is it because she had obvious
plastic surgery? If Del Rey’s infamous pout had been enhanced by Photoshop on a
magazine cover instead of by needles at a doctor’s office, we’d probably be
okay with it. She’d be adhering to our cultural expectations of what a
25-year-old female singer should look like.
What so many people aren’t willing
to admit is how petty and illogical many of the “authenticity” critiques of her
really are. Or that the “identities” of other pop stars we culturally embrace
are not carefully manufactured to maintain certain public perceptions of who
they are.
The post went on to make references
to Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Katy Perry and how each have taken stage names and
created personas.
Now let’s go back to Renee Gold’s piece for Spinner --
The British songbird was a
commercial and critical success, selling over 6 million copies of her
Grammy-nominated sophomore effort '21' and occupying most critic year-end
lists. '21' debuted atop Billboard's charts and spent 16 non-consecutive weeks
at No. 1, tying the 'Titanic'
soundtrack from way back in 1997.
Adele embodied authenticity by refusing to fit into pop music's superficial and
sexed-up landscape; she broke its mould altogether. Adele simply stood on her
own laurels as a great singer. No bells, no whistles, no fireworks-blasting
boobs. Despite wallets being tight, people shelled out in record-breaking
droves.
Working the fringe,
play-to-your-friends club scene in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, she began her 'professional' career in 2006
under her real name Lizzy Grant and sported a short blond crop and a SoCal
skateboarder aesthetic. She'd released music on three separate indie labels
when, last spring, she uploaded her DIY vid for 'Video
Games' to YouTube and quickly caught fire across the blogosphere.
Redubbed Lana Del Rey -- an evocative name picked by a curious new manager --
she now sported a '60s sex-kitten bouffant and, or so the bloggers blogged,
collagen lips, a more streamlined nose and possibly chin-and-cheek implants.
(Del Rey has, of course, denied all reports of plastic surgery.) Months after
the video went viral, she signed to Universal's Interscope Records.
But perhaps in an attempt to hold onto her hipster fanbase, news of the record
contract only became public in October 2011 -- despite the ink being dry in
July. During that three-month buffer, Interscope enlisted indie media to build
buzz off Del Rey's already bubbling retro-hipster persona. But at the same time
they also started plastering Del Rey's face on the cover of glossy magazines as
2012's new 'It Girl' and procured her Next modeling contract.
Eventually, the contradictions became too much.
Months before Del Rey's 'Saturday Night Live'
debut became an
epic fail, the 25-year-old singer had already become a whipping gal online.
Most complaints centered on her authenticity, or rather lack of. Her
glamour-puss persona and new blinged-out
videoshot in a Parisian castle (with tigers!) seemed a far stretch from her
Mac Book-made 'Video Games.' And when the dots were connected further, people
discovered she was the daughter of a millionaire. Nothing pisses off
tastemakers more than the affluence and privilege of the questionably talented.
And so the questions began...
Was she a real indie artist? Did she write her own songs? (Yes, actually.) Was
she manufactured by money-hungry studio execs? Why did she tell people she used
to live in a trailer park? Did she get signed to Interscope based on the
expertly produced/auto-tuned demo she made with daddy's wallet?
[…]
An Adele she is clearly not --
never was -- but that didn't stop Interscope from trying to package her as
2012's 'answer to.' Hell-bent on turning her into a superstar, they instead
made Lizzy Grant the first victim of the Age of Adele. She failed the litmus
test and now the label could have a bona fide disaster on their hands and are
remaining tight-lipped, despite requests for a comment.
[…]
Where Adele is art, Lana Del Rey is
all artifice -- and that may have been good enough a few years ago. After all,
we consumed a steady diet of auto-tuned lip-syncer Britney Spears but
she puts on a damn good 'live' show and regularly drops killer singles. And
though Stefani Germanotta may have reimagined herself as Lady Gaga, her artifice isauthentic.
Like Ziggy Stardust before her, she has the voice, charisma, songwriting and
instrumental abilities to make her far more than her cultivated look.
But even if we ignore Del Rey's
appearance, the 'SNL' debacle has sullied her live reputation which doesn't
bode well for her business-wise, since the new trend in 360 record deals depend
on revenue from ticket sales and merch table sales to make up for the dwindling
CD market.
In trying to make sense of the backlash thrum -- which, in Del Rey's defense,
has always held a wiff of plain 'ol jealousy for the 'pretty new girl' -- one
thing is clear, Adele has changed the game.
She skyrocketed to the top on the perfection of her cashmere voice and never
let the poptart peacocking so demanded by the music industry define her.
Adele's pedigree doesn't dominate Internet message boards (like Del Rey and her
fabulously rich father) nor has her stage name ever been focus-group tested.
She is pop's zeitgesit and the new standard for which to measure other artists.
So why, especially when we're at the apex of a recession, would we settle for
anything that reeks of an elaborate ruse? Authenticity is popular music's new
currency and everyone (and their blog) are on the lookout for counterfeits.
It’s those last few paragraphs that I think are the core of
this entire article. Essentially, thanks
to Adele, the pop music audience will no longer settle for prefabricated pop
stars. The economy is certainly, at
least partially, to blame for this.
People have less disposable cash and thus are going to be very picky
about what artists they are going to support.
On top of that, after a decade of pop stars that were so plastic and
inauthentic that they could have been walking Barbie dolls, there had to be a
breaking point.
In a lot of ways, Adele’s success mirrors that of Nirvana’s
20 years ago. Back in 1991 we were in
the middle of a recession and the masses had been spoon fed a steady diet of manufactured
glam metal and glitzy pop music since the dawning of MTV ten years
earlier. With “Smells Like Teen Spirit,”
Nirvana punched a hole through the façade of what it was to be a rock
star. They were three regular guys,
playing music from their heart that was raw and struck a chord with
people. Not only were they a huge success,
they changed the game. People wouldn’t
settle anymore for bands that were just preprogrammed by record labels and
music executives (for a couple of years at least…).
Fast forward to 2011.
The economy was in the midst of a terrible recession (one that makes the
recession of ’91 look like a hiccup) and the masses had been spoon fed a diet
of prefabricated and plastic pop stars that completely lacked anything that
felt real. Enter Adele. She showed up with a voice that’s to die for
and she didn’t care that she didn’t fit into the pop star mold. On top of that, there was real heart in her
music (the heartbreak in “Someone Like You” is palpable and painfully honest). With “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele punched a
hole through the façade of what it was to be a pop star. Now only time will tell if her success was
enough to change the game for a whole new generation.
This brings us back to Lana Del Rey. In a lot of ways, the backlash against her
has not been that different from the backlash thrown at Motley Crue when they
tried to reemerge with a new singer and a rougher sound. People just didn’t buy it and a lot of people
aren’t buying Miss Del Rey either. This
also gives hope that finally the masses are ready to embrace those artists that
have been playing the fringes but never breaking through. I suspect that we will see some of those
artists breaking big in 2012—The Gaslight Anthem for example. Just like in ’92, there will be some artists
from the underground that become big simply because they are good and the
public is more receptive, but I also suspect that it will be a temporary thing
(just like it was 20 years ago). The
difference now is that the cycles is much faster (thank you internet) and the
public is much more fractured (also thank you internet). It’s hard, if not nearly impossible, to
become an artist that transcends genres and scenes in this day and age. But now that the public is more perceptive
maybe artists like Kate Nash, Jenny Lewis, Lucero, and the aforementioned
Gaslight Anthem will become household names.
Lord knows that there are tons of great bands and artists out there that
have been making tremendous music and garnering cult followings. Maybe now will be their time to shine.
There were two bands in the early 1980's punk scene that
went by the moniker Youth Brigade. One hailed from Washington,
DC and was part of the same scene the
birthed Minor Threat and Dischord Records. The other hailed from Los
Angeles, CA and started the
label BYO Records which released classic records by the likes of 7 Seconds,
SNFU, and The Bouncing Souls. In the early '80s, the CA Youth Brigade
released the classic album Sound and Fury (technically released twice, the
original version is now available as the Out of Print CD and the version that
most know is available as the Sink with Kalifornija CD) but after that their
releases became sporadic. The band (and label) was started by the Stern
brothers Mark, Adam, and Shawn. In 1984,
Adam left the band for art school while Mark and Shawn continued as The Brigade,
recording one record (which I’ve never heard sadly). The band reformed as
Youth Brigade in 1991, recorded the Come Again EP in 1992 and the Happy Hour
album in 1994.
In 1996 Youth Brigade released the brilliant To Sell the
Truth. The record was a perfect mix of pop punk hooks with hardcore
energy and biting lyrics. The record
opens with “It’s Not My Fault,” an
incredibly catchy rant on personal responsibility. “It’s Not My Fault” perfectly sets the tone
for the record with its biting and ironic lyrics. Next up is “Spies for Life” which continues with the
biting and ironic lyrics
while “Sick” is nothing short of a brilliant rant. “We’re
In!” is a scathing
rebuke of the punk scene of the mid-‘90s.
The rest of the record follows suit with songs that are as catchy as
they are bitingly intelligent. The
record’s standout moment is the phenomenal “Believe in Something.”
Not only is this song filled with hooks galore, it also
contains some of the most spot-on lyrics
I’ve ever heard.
I went out walking just had to think all day spent talking really need a drink we have the luxury of fighting in our seats a price for any justice the whole notion stinks
What the hell are we doing with our lives screaming for freedom while fighting with all sides
Say there's a reason justify the lies but I think we're empty inside I know a girl a girl so smart she can talk endlessly of why we're so apart I know a boy a boy so tough stand up to anything but he'll never say enough
What the hell are we doing with our lives screaming for freedom while fighting with all sides say there's a reason justify the lies but I think we're empty inside...
Should I believe in you, believe in me, believe in god, country and the family believe in greed the corporate state believe that power and money means strength believe in love and the birds and the bees believe in peace honour and harmony believe that we should live and let live it's up to you just believe in something.
I want to think you believe in you I believe in me, will it set you free someone's always telling you what to believe in and I don't think you should have to fear, pay any money or sacrifice years to find some peace of mind, to find a way to believe in something
The rant of “We’re In!” aside, the ‘90s was a great time for
music and some stellar punk rock records were released in those years. Sadly most have been lost or forgotten or just
greatly under-appreciated. In many ways
that has been Youth Brigade’s fate.
Throughout their entire career they have been overshadowed by their
contemporaries (Social Distortion, Minor Threat) or the bands on their label (7
Seconds, The Bouncing Souls) but thanks to many loyal fans (many of whom play
in very popular bands), Youth Brigade has had the kind of long run that most
bands would kill for.
To Sell the Truth to-date has been the band’s last
full-length release. In 1999 they were
part of the BYO Split Series, Vol. 2 release with Swingin’ Utters and there has
been talk of a new full-length in the works.
While I eagerly await that new record, if it were never to come to pass,
To Sell the Truth is one hell of a way for the band to go out.
