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One of the things I value most in a person is someone who is honest and doesn’t portray a person they’re not. I want to know that I can trust the words coming out their mouth and the intention behind their actions. If a person supports a social cause, what is the reasoning behind it, is it because they truly care about societal issues, or do they want to seem like a conscientious individual. It’s hard to tell, especially when there’s so much benefit to being perceived as a good person. The music industry is full of people, who desperately want to be seen in this light, but many of the time their words don’t match their actions.

Katy Perry is a prime example of a musician who isn’t as conscientious as you might think. Back in 2013 at the American Music Award she was heavily criticized for dressing like a geisha when performing “Unconditionally”. People took this as her appropriating a culture that she wasn’t apart of. Now in my opinion I find nothing wrong with this and I actually thought it was cool that she appreciated Japanese culture and wanted to represent it in her performance. However, certain people refused to acknowledge this as a possibility for her reasoning for wearing the outfit and perceived it in the most negative light possible. People ran with the narrative that she was just trying to profit off a culture and a people, which somehow results in her being perceived as a bigot. America is a melting pot or so I’m told, people from around the world come here with ambitious of starting a new life and taking part in the American dream. This means people bring their wonderful cultures and customs here, which enriches the overall culture in America. So, I don’t understand why people lose their minds when a person wears a kimono during a performance. If anything, it shows an interest in that culture and the want to express that feeling. Also, I have a hard time believing money was the main reason for Katy Perry dressing like a geisha, she’s literally one of the wealthiest and most famous musicians in the world.

There was enough social pressure for her to apologize for her actions and she promised to do better. She even apologized for tweeting a picture of a Hindu goddess with the caption “current mood.” She apologized for wearing a sunflower dress which was perceived as a slight against the Taiwan’s Sunflower Student Movement. At this point just say that she’s doing something racist and she’ll apologize for it, her intention don’t matter, right? The main problem I have with this is that she seems spineless and unable to think for herself. Just tell her what to think and believe, and she’ll do it. So when she’s at the Hillary Cliton campaign and pushing for social issues, her voice doesn’t carry any weight. It also doesn’t help that former staff recounted time that she would call black employees the N-word and found it funny. Katy Perry is merely a symptom of this societal problem, which is people masking their true thoughts and intentions behind a carefully constructed mask.  

If Katy Perry represents the spineless and so-called conscientious artist, Kendrick Lamar represents the artists who actually care about the societal issues they’re speaking about. Kendrick, other than being on a completely different level than Katy Perry, is one of the realest artists and people out there. His music is so meaningful and his lyrics so powerful. Many of his songs talk about the unfair treatment of his people and the hardships of growing up in Compton.

“My Pops said I needed a job I thought I believed him”

“Security guard for a month and ended up leaving”

“In fact, I got fired 'cause I was inspired by all of my friends”

“To stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in”

“Projects tore up, gang signs get thrown up (wassup?)”

“Cocaine laced in marijuana”

“And they wonder why I rarely smoke now”

“Imagine if your first blunt had you foaming at the mouth”

“I was straight tweaking the next weekend we broke even”

“I made allegiance that made a promise to see you bleeding”

“You know the reasons but still won't ever know my life”

“Kendrick AKA Compton's human sacrifice (yeah)”

This is an excerpts from one of Kendrick's most famous songs titled “m.A.A.d City” which also happens to be one of my favorite songs by him. The lyrics illustrate a harsh reality that a lot of inner city children go through. He wanted to get an honest job, but the environment around him wasn’t supportive and influenced him to stage a robbery instead. He was also surrounded by a lot of drug use, which can have a huge impact on a person’s chances of using and becoming addicted. Kendrick overcame these obstacles and became a music icon, with massive influence.

Even though he gained money and fame, he still has strong ties to his community and the people around him. This is shown by him donating his money to the school district that he grew up in, which would help support after-school programs. He did a five-stop world tour in which all the proceeds went to Habitat for Humanity. I could talk about his charity and service to his community all day, but the fact is that he cares, and it shows. The last thing I want to mention about Kendrick Lamar is that he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his album “Dam.” This is a huge deal because this is the first time a non-jazz or classical album has ever won the Pulitzer Prize, which goes to show you, his importance.

George Kusunoki Miller or more commonly known as Joji has had a pretty unique rise to fame. If you know the lore behind George Miller you would know he has had a couple of different personas throughout his career. Each being pretty different from one another, but similar in a way. 

Filthy Frank was the first character he made up, which got really popular for his shock value and comedic insight. Filthy Frank constantly pushed the envelope on what was acceptable on YouTube and really was the first edgy youtuber. His content ranged from comedic insights on societal trends to mini skits that were sometimes hard to watch. In one of his more infamous videos he shaved one of his friends' head and used the hair to make a cake. Then he proceeded to eat the cake with other YouTubers Maxmoefoe and iDubbbz which induced vomiting. Many of his videos were pretty extreme and had a lot of people mad that he was allowed on the platform. 

Pink Guy was the next character that he created, which was even more extreme than Filthy Frank. The character donned a pink jumpsuit and creepy facial expression. Pink Guy appeared in many of Filthy Franks videos, usually pranking people and just causing overall havoc. He also started a small trend back in 2013 called the Harlem Shake, which might be the most popular meme of all time. Like seriously the impact was massive, everybody from around the world was doing it from children to doctors to accountants. 

There is a common trend between all of these characters and that's music. With every character that George creates, music has become increasingly more prominent in his content. It started with Filthy Frank where he occasionally made satirical songs about random things. One of my favorite songs was making fun of weeaboos, who are extremely cringy people who are obsessed with anime and Japanese culture. The character of Pink Guy marked a change in George’s focus from content creator to musician. He made an entire album around the character of Pink Guy called “Pink Season”, which was released back in 2017. The album was completely satirical and was designed to make people laugh. The album was actually well received and people enjoyed the idea behind it.

Shortly after the release of “Pink Season” George wanted to move in a different direction with his career. He no longer wanted to be a content creator on YouTube or do satirical music anymore. He wanted to pursue a serious career in music which would have no elements of comedy in it. This would be a tough task because his past persona’s were so extreme and socially unacceptable, it would be hard for people to see him any other way.  Also, his fanbase was very dedicated and wasn't happy about him retiring the characters of Filthy Frank and Pink Guy. At this time YouTube was changing at a rapid pace, which meant controversial and edgy content was not being monetized as much. This wasn’t really a huge factor for George because he barely got monetized anyways. What was a huge contributing factor was the stress and loss of passion for making content. This stress exasperated a heart condition he had and made him step away for a while. 

Joji is George’s last persona and stage name, this persona is the most representative of George as a person. Most of his songs are about failed relationships, love and his struggles with himself. Google defines his genre of music as a mix of R&B, lo-fi and trip hop, which is a pretty good description. I would also add that he definitely embodies the sad bio trope and he does it pretty well. He released his first album “In Tongues” which was released back in 2017. People were pleasantly surprised by his vocals and the overall production of the album. Honestly, I could take it or leave it, the album was good, but not great. His next album “Ballards 1” was his first studio album, which was released back in 2018.  Personally, I think this might be his best album so far with songs such as “Test Drive”, “Attention”, “Yeah Right”, and “Slow Dancing in the Dark”. The album that rivals “Ballards 1’’ would be his next album “Nectar” which was released in 2020. When I first listened to the album, I was a little disappointed and thought it was a step down from “Ballards 1”. But after listening to the album again, it started to grow on me and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend songs such as “After Thought”, “Normal People”, and “Sanctuary” which is my favorite song on the album.  His most recent album “Smithereens” which was just released this year in November, isn’t that good. To be completely transparent I haven’t listened to all the songs yet, but my first impressions aren't good. It’s possible that it could grow on me like “Nectar” did, but I don’t think it will. I feel like he’s doing the same thing he has done in his last albums, just not as good. 

Everybody has a childhood dream and many of us still have that same dream. Unfortunately, many of us don’t ever get to fully realize our aspirations and are forced to get mundane jobs that aren’t fulfilling. This realization can be soul crushing and can lead to people to lose all interest in their passions. I can remember many times that people have said “Oh, I used to play the drums, but I don’t anymore” or whatever their passion was. They speak about it, like it’s a lost part of themselves that cannot be recovered due to the depends of society. It’s hard to blame them, responsibilities to our families and jobs can be overwhelming at times. However, I believe it’s extremely important to fight for your dreams and passions, and to not let society strip away your identity.

Jeff Ditaranto is a prime example of somebody who hasn’t lost his passion for what he loves and refuses to let society dictate his life. Jeff is a musician who mainly does vocals but can also play the drums. Like most kids growing up he wanted to play in front of an audience filled with adoring fans screaming his name. Musicians such as Billy Joel, Queen and Tears for Fears all had a massive influence in shaping his artistic vision and love for music.

Unfortunately, Jeff didn’t make it big and wasn’t able to become world famous with millions of fans. He now works at a Pizzeria called Giddy’s, as the head pizza maker, which is the same Pizzeria I work at. He’s very skilled at what he does and makes good money doing it, but it isn’t the same as performing in front of an audience. I asked him “how has this affected your passion for music and performing, like was it discouraging that you didn’t make it big?” He said it was disappointing, and it was hard to comprehend that my dreams might not come true, but my passion has never wavered. After getting to interview Jeff, it’s crystal clear that his passion is still strong as ever and nothing will get in his way of hitting the stage.

However, hitting the stage isn’t always easy for Jeff since the food industry is extremely demanding in terms of hours and fatigue levels. As a head pizza maker your expected to work at least 50-60 hours a week, Sunday through Friday, and Saturday nights (depending on the time of the year). He also has a family that depends on him as a father and breadwinner, which puts even more on his plate. But when you love something you find the time to do it, no matter what.

Music can be like a mirror, it can reflect what an artist is feeling through the words they choose to sing, it can be a catalyst for social change which is a reflection on our flawed society. This transmission of ideas and feelings from the artist to the audience is a critical part of music’s influence and allure. A relationship is formed with some fans having a deep emotional connection to the artist and others that causally enjoy the music. Both of these factors help create a community of people that personify what the artist is about.

Unfortunately, these meaningful connections between the artist and audience are starting to depart from the music scene. I believe this is due to the over monetization of music which creates a loss of meaning in the music itself. Many artists don’t write their own music or even partake in the production of it. This reminds me of the now deceased Queen of England, she was a figure head without any power; much like the modern day musicians, who have no musical talent and are propped up by labels. The melodies and instrumentals are heavily researched to specifically appeal to the human brain. The lyrics are just as heavily produced as the melodies. Even when the artist goes to perform, they usually lip synch, which I actually don’t mind because their vocals are god awful. Travis Scott is the living embodiment of these qualities.

If you listen to Travis Scott, would you be able to tell me what his message was or what he was trying to convey. Probably not, because you probably couldn’t even understand the words coming out of his mouth. The lack of clarity of his vocals does a  good job of hiding his meaningless lyrics, that he probably didn’t even write. I looked up some of his lyrics of his most popular songs and there just as generic and unoriginal as you would think. I understand that not every word is meant to be fully pronounced in music, this can be due to the cadence of the song demanding a unique pronunciation of certain words. I also understand that musicians can’t create music solely by themselves and usually require a team around them. These nuances aren’t lost on me, but Travis Scott isn’t a nuanced musician, he’s more like a clout chasing air head.

So, why is Travis Scott so popular and idolized? Well, Like I said he is a clout chaser which reflects what society deems as important. In recent years people have stopped caring why someone got famous and for what reason; instead, they just applaud the fact they got famous. This is because the new currency is social currency which is a huge part of a clout chasing. Social currency is basically becoming well known by positive or negative means, which in turn gives that person some type of influence in society. This influence in essence can be exchanged for monetary gain or status.

Naturally the next question is why people go to his concert and what type of “music scene” does he have. I’m sure he has fans that love his music and the way it makes them feel. To be completely honest, I listen to his music occasionally and enjoy it, but I don’t attribute that to his artistic vision. I attribute it more to the army of scientists and music producers that make his music sound good. I think the allure of going to a Travis Scott concert is going to a Travis Scott concert and being seen. I feel like most of his fans don’t actually care about him or his music that much, instead they just want to post on social media that they went there. I mean it’s a pretty good relationship because he clearly doesn’t care about them either, which was evident on his Astroworld festival tour in 2021. He refused to stop his concert when the crowd was getting out of hand, killing nine people as a result. He later gave a lackluster apology on a short Instagram post, which wasn’t received well. This resulted in enough social pressure for him to have a one-on-one conversation with Charlamagne tha God for damage control reasons.

Over the weekend I went to Chicago to visit my family, who I haven't seen in years. It was great to get out of New Brunswick and the daily grind. One of the things that made it so enjoyable was being introduced to new music that I hadn’t heard before. My cousin Josh has always had a passion for music and really enjoys going to music festivals and live performances. One of the songs he introduced to me was “Step” by “Vampire Weekend”, which I immediately asked for the name of the artist and song after hearing it. Honestly, it’s pretty rare for a song to grab my attention in such a way, most music is pretty forgettable and doesn’t make much of an impression.

A picture of me and my cousin (Josh) at the Bean in Chicago

When I first listened to “Step” by “Vampire Weekend” the beginning vocals sounded very familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint where from. So, I decided to do some research and found that the song lyrics and other elements of the song were heavily inspired from “Step to My Girl” by “Souls of Mischief.” After listening to “Step to My Girl” it was clear that I had never heard that song before and it wasn’t the source of the familiarity. After thinking for a while, it hit me that “Step” sounded like it was sampled from “My Girl” by “The Temptations.” So, I re-listened to the 60’s hip-hop classic and surprisingly it was really similar to the opening vocals of the song (“Step”).

After the opening part, the rest of the song sounded very unique and different from what I usually listen to. First, I tried to identify what instrument I heard, which was pretty difficult based on my limited knowledge of music. I definitely heard some piano and guitar being played, and some type of synthesizer being used. I know there had to be more instruments being used but I just couldn’t identify them. After doing some additional research I learned that a bass, banjo, drums, keyboards, and shakers were all used for the production of the song. I was pretty disappointed that I didn’t recognize the banjo being played, because I definitely hear it now.

I felt that the lyrics and vocals played well together and did a good vibing with the melody of the song. The lead vocalist Ezra Koenig has a pretty distinct voice that plays well with the overall uniqueness of the song. A small critique I have, is that it’s hard to understand what Koenig is saying at times, which can make it difficult to follow the theme of the song. I actually had to look up the lyrics of the song to understand what’s he was saying.

“Every time I see you in the world,”

“You always step to my girl” “Ancestors told me That their girl was better”

“She's richer than Croesus, she's tougher than leather” “I just ignored all the tales of a past life” “Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife” “And punks who would laugh when they saw us together” “Well they didn't know how to dress for the weather” “I can still see them there, huddled on Astor” “Snow falling slow to the sound of the master”

Today I will be sharing with you guys a shortened version of a playlist I like to call Skating and Chillin. It’s a pretty simple concept, if you're down to chill and want to enhance your overall vibe, give this playlist a try. 

To start off, I have to talk about Mac Miller who is one of my favorite artists of all-time. Honestly, I could be a little biased since we're both from Pittsburgh and we Yinzer (Pittsburgh lingo for us) stick together. The Song “Best Day Ever” is very bittersweet, it's a super chill song that Mac released back in 2011. The music video starts off with Mac Miller dancing around as a child having a great time while his parents filmed him. The video slowly transitions to him rapping about his life and how great it is. Also the video was shot at Taylor Allderdice which was the high school he went to and only 5 mins away from my house. The reason this song is bittersweet is that Mac Miller died so young and this song reminds of that. He was only 17 years old when he released this song and so many people were rooting for his success. 

You can’t have a playlist about chillin and having a good time without some Kid Cudi songs in the mix. Like Mac Miller I had a couple of different Kid Cudi songs to choose from.  I settled on “Just What I Am” (feat. King Chip) since it was the first song I heard from him and it's pretty dope. A friend introduced me to this song when we were illegally smoking hookah inside our synagogue. I know this probably doesn’t paint me in the best light, but it was pretty chill and we had a great time, so who cares. 

“Rasta Love” by Protoje is an absolute classic in my friend group and you should definitely give it a listen. I just get filled with memories of skating around Pittsburgh with my friends listening to dope music. Every time, “Rasta Love” would come on we would start singing along and this would usually result in people looking at us weirdly. But like I said before, who cares about what other people think when you're having fun. 

I wouldn’t consider “Money For Nothing '' by Dire Straits to be a chill song, but I love to listen to it when I’m skateboarding. The song starts off pretty slowly with the artist singing “ I want my MTV” in a soft tone which eventually builds up to a crescendo; that is immediately interrupted by one of the craziest guitar solos ever. 

Do you remember, when I said no playlist about chillin is complete without some Kid Cudi? I still believe that, but I’m going to modify that stance a bit, by adding John Coltrane to that list. It would be an insult to not bring up jazz, when discussing this topic. “Blue Train” is a great song to start off with, if you haven't heard anything from him before. I always listen to some jazz when I need to study or even help falling asleep.

   In class today, I was asked to write about a live performance that I saw and to critically dissect the performance. I was really excited about this assignment until I realized that I’ve never seen an artist perform live. I’ve never been to a concert or even a basement show, for that matter. Honestly, this really surprised me because I love music and for me not to even see a single artist perform live is pretty crazy. So, I started to think If I could see one performance live what would it be? I instantly thought about Queen’s legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985 which took place at Wembley Stadium.  

   Before I go into the performance itself, I need to give you some context about the event so you can fully appreciate what happened. Live Aid as the name suggests was an event to aid the people of Ethiopia during a famine that lasted from 1983-1985. Artist such as Elton John, Queen, Madonna, Santana, Run DMC, Sade, Sting, Bryan Adams, The Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Duran Duran, U2, The Who, Tom Petty, Neil Young and Eric Clapton all performed. This was also a multi-venue event which took place at Wembley Stadium (London) and John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia) with over a 160,000 combined people in attendance. This inspired many artists to perform around the world to show their support which led to almost 2 billion people watching around the world.

 Now for the performance, Queen opened with “Bohemian Rhapsody” with Freddie Mercury donning his famous mustache wearing a white tank top and jeans. I can picture myself in the audience waiting in anticipation with over 70,000 people around me doing the same. The atmosphere must have felt other worldly. I remembered going to a Steeler’s game with 70,000 cheering fans and I could feel the energy pouring into me. This feeling would be tenfold if I was about to see Freddie Mercury hit the stage with his flamboyant personality and unmatched vocals. After “Bohemian Rhapsody” they performed “Radio Ga Ga,” “Ay-Oh,” “Hammer to Fall,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Will Rock You,” and they closed the performance with “We Are the Champions.”

  There are songs that can instantly make you feel nostalgic or at the very least make you think about a specific time in your life. The song “All Star” from Smash Mouth always reminds me of the movie Shrek and how much I enjoyed listening to it as a child. If you listen to a Taylor Swift song it could remind you of your last relationship and how it ended. Personally, when I hear Frank Sinatra it instantly evokes imagery of a city skyline and an early Christmas morning.  

Sinatra’s Nothing But The Best is a 2008 album that compiles his greatest hits. Songs such as “Come Fly with Me”, “Strangers In The Night'' and “New York, New York” are all on this album. Each song induces nostalgic feelings that remind me of people and places in my life. I remember making pancakes with my grandfather when “Come Fly with Me” was playing in the background. This was usually followed up with a cup of hot chocolate since we visited in the winter time. 

   The song “New York, New York” always reminds me of Chicago because when I was younger I confused the two with one another.

These small town blues They are melting away I'll make a brand new start of it In old New York   If I can make it there I'll make it anywhere It's up to you New York, New York   New York, New York I want to wake up in a city That doesn't sleep And find that I'm number one Top of the list Head of the heap King of the hill

  When I hear the lyrics “If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere” it illustrates a cold unforgiving city that has opportunity for people who are willing to embrace the hardships of New York. If you embrace the struggle and believe in yourself your dreams can come true which is illustrated in the lyrics “And find that I'm number one, Top of the list, Head of the heap, King of the hill.” 

Jarad Anthony Higgin or more commonly known as Juice Wrld jumped onto the rap scene in early 2018 with his first studio album “Goodbye & Good Riddance.” Juice Wrld immediately grabbed people's attention with his unique vocals and transcendent beats. It’s in these moments, I wish I had a technical understanding of how music works, so I could better explain why Juice Wrld is so special. However, I don’t need a technical understanding to appreciate his musical genius, I just have to close my eyes and listen. 

It Impossible to talk about Juice Wrld without mentioning his lyrics and more specifically the topics he’s willing to rap about. In many of his songs he opens up about his substance abuse  and mental health struggles. 

I can't breathe, I'm waiting for the exhale

Toss my pain with my wishes in a wishing well

Still no luck, but oh, well

I still try even though I know I'm gon' fail

It's stress on my shoulders like a anvil

Perky got me itching like a anthill

Drugs killing me softly, Lauryn Hill

Sometimes I don't know how to feel

Sometimes I don't know how to feel

Let's be for real

If it wasn't for the pills, I wouldn't be here

But if I keep taking these pills, I won't be here, yeah

I just told y'all my secret, yeah

It's tearing me to pieces

I really think I need them

I stopped taking the drugs and now the drugs take me

This excerpt is from his song “Wishing Well” and it really encapsulates what Juice Wrld is about. In the first paragraph he talks about obstacles in his life that seem impossible to overcome, which leads to his continued use of drugs. He even acknowledges that he might not be successful without the drugs.  But still he continues to live this destructive lifestyle. He starts the last paragraph by referring to this cycle of drug use as his secret, even though it's ruining his life. The last set of lyrics are really powerful because it showcases the transition between using drugs and becoming dependent on them.