music blog

Gracie's newest single, "Rockland", sounds slightly similar to tracks on Swift's "folklore". In fact, the production is almost identical.

Aaron Dessner, one of the main collaborators on folklore and evermore, produced this track, which accounts for the similarity in production.

The production includes a fingerpicking guitar part, "nature" synths, and a synthesis of strings throughout the chorus. Although the production is eternally similar to Swift's records, the song itself is entirely unique.

Gracie has always had a specific way of writing and performing that feels intimate. Her lyrics are personal enough to be her own story, but vague enough to allow for relatability. Finding that sweet spot of intimacy in songwriting can be difficult, but Gracie continually proves that she knows what she's doing.

It is not only her writing that sets her apart. Her vocals are incomparable to anyone else right now, so distinct that you know a Gracie song when you hear it. Once again, her vocals are close and personal.

The ability to create such a unique track even with an instrumental that is setting up for another plagiarism scandal is one not many possess.

I believe Taylor herself has said "folklore" is a late-spring/early-summer album, but I couldn't disagree more.

"folklore" is an early fall album. The record is meant for the first days of autumn, when the temperature has just dropped below 70 and there's a slight wind chill. The wind chill. Listen to "the lakes". It is impossible for me to listen to this track without thinking of the wind chill.

At this point, my argument may seem spotty. I mean, "august" is a track on the album, the season is practically in the name. But listen to the lyrics of "august". According to Swift's love triangle, Augustine is reminiscing on her summer fling with James. It isn't August. She's looking back on August, and what better time to do that than the first days of autumn?

I just happened to think about this, but it's piqued my interest and I have to share.

Rodrigo has carefully crafted an image of sad girl teen energy that has made her relatable to millions of teenagers everywhere. Her relatability has accounted for a lot of her musical success. In addition to her great songs, her image has helped a lot to get her where she is today.

Ever since news broke out about her relationship with 24 year old producer Adam Faze, it seems like a few fans are questioning her relatability. Not sure how it relates to her career, but fans have been picking at her relationship.

This makes me wonder: what happens when she grows out of this image?

She's risen to success like no other before, and has become the poster child for heartbroken teenagers everywhere. Once she moves out of this era, will the success follow her?

You may be like, "Yeah, it will. Examples: Lorde, Billie Eilish, the list goes on." And I agree. But you have to admit that Olivia's success story is not comparable to any of these artists, and it's tough to gage whether this image will stick around long enough for her to maintain relevance, and who's going to grow out of it first: her fans, or her?

Clairo’s newest album has us thinking about the last year in music.

Let me start with this: Sling is a phenomenal record in terms of listenability. I would 100% listen to this record at any given time.

But like any other great album, there’s a lot it’s told us.

First, let’s touch on the elephant in the room: Jack Antonoff. He’s found collaborating with Clairo on Sling, but it’s unclear how much he had to do with crafting each song. Was he merely a producer physically creating Clairo’s vision or did he have significant contributions to the vision itself? Based on the record, I feel like he did have a say in the style of the tracks. I say this because Sling has a style comparable to Taylor Swift’s folklore, Lana del Ray’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club, and even Lorde’s new single Stoned at the Nail Salon. Jack Antonoff is listed as a collaborator in each and every one of these albums, which is concerning in that his touch may be the reason we are hearing an overlap in the styles of music of each of these artists.

But we can’t blame it all on him. Perhaps the other reason Sling sounds so similar to these records is because that’s just “in” right now. Phoebe Bridgers was nominated for 4 Grammys this year, Taylor Swift took home Album of the Year for folklore, and Lana too was nominated for AOTY in 2020. 

The future for our pop/indie artists may be this style that’s hard to put in to words. There’s a lot of soft layering of vocals; either lots of strings or just a piano going. The kind of vocal layering where the melody isn’t right out in front like we’re used to. The majority of it is calm and folksy, like a slight drizzle on a weekend afternoon.

The way it’s going now, some of our favorite artists may have a concerning overlap with their music. As of now, the factor that separates these artists is vocals. 

Conan Gray started off creating lifestyle YouTube videos, but was pushed into the music scene after posting his self-made Idle Town on YouTube. Shortly after, Conan was making a name for himself in the music scene.

As many popular artists nowadays, TikTok was integral in furthering Conan's career, as multiple tracks of his went "viral" on the app. I believe the first was Maniac, and during early 2020, Heather, a track off Conan's debut album, Kid Krow, went so "viral" that it boosted him into mainstream pop success.

The success of Heather put Conan on a pedestal, and set an expectation for the kind of music he would be creating from there on out. In order to please the same hundreds of millions of people who enjoyed Heather, he needed a track that was similar.

People Watching is the perfect single for this case. The track is about watching other people fall in love while you long for the same, but are forced to wait on the sidelines because you're unable to "feel that emotion". Although the message isn't identical to Heather, it'll surely bring in the same group of listeners.

The track is a pop ballad, produced by Dan Nigro himself, the main producer of Olivia Rodrigo's #1 album, SOUR. Dan Nigro also helped write the track, as did Julia Micheals, one of pop's most notable songwriters. It's slow in sad in a way similar to Conan's other ballads, but it has an interesting drive to it that keeps the song going. The production seems to build and build throughout the whole track, which helps us as listeners stay attached for the duration of the song.

Punk’s not dead.

Jaden Hossler, professionally known as jxdn, has grown quite the fanbase after signing to blink-182′s own Travis Barker. 

Jaden started posting TikTok videos in 2019 and gained a following through posting lip-syncing videos and singing videos. His vibe was very “boy-next-door”, not much like his current aesthetic. 

His first single Comatose was delayed multiple times in the release process. It makes us wonder if he was signed to DTA Records prior to creating this single or if DTA picked him up after hearing the track. This timeline is important, as it tells us whether Jaden changed his image in order to align with DTA or happened to align with it beforehand. Often times, “industry plants” create an image much like Jaden’s in order to appeal to a certain group of listeners. 

His second single, Angels & Demons, blew up on social media and resulted in his first certified Gold track. After dropping a few singles, announcing his tour with MGK, and collaborating with different artists, Jaden released his debut album today.

And it’s good. 

I obviously have a few notes. Every track sounds almost identical. If you played me one verse I wouldn’t be able to tell you which track it was. It lacks individuality in a way that is respectable, as Travis helped him craft this album, and it’s clear that his sound has influenced it. 

DTA has publicly stated their mission to bring back pop-punk whilst adding in rap/hip-hop influence to modernize it. It’s refreshing to hear a record that’s mainly played acoustically, as a lot of top-charting songs nowadays heavily rely on the use of software programs. 

The album is driven by upbeat music with sad lyrics, but has a fair amount of slower songs. As an MGK fan, it’s cool to see him collaborate with jxdn.

Fans are not happy that Lorde is happy.

Maybe it’s growth, maybe it’s maturity, but fans are not happy that Lorde is happy.

Solar Power is the blueprint for summer vibes: the beach, sand, waves, living in the moment...but that’s not Lorde’s brand. Pure Heroine gave us teenage angst, Melodrama gave us introspective heartbreak, but this single is giving us happiness and clarity.

Artists have been making era changes for quite a while now. In this ever-changing music scene, no artist is confined to a singular style or mood of music. But by creating a specific style and mood of music, artists begin to grow a fanbase that resonates with the art they are creating in that moment. 

What happens when artists change up their style? Why aren’t they worried about ruining their career?

Everyone’s heard of the statement “I liked his/her old stuff, but I’m not a really a fan anymore.” As artists shift from era to era, fans will shift in and out as well. In some cases, there are fans who stick around for the long run. Perhaps they grow with the artist in some way (shoutout Swifties!). 

Lorde seems to be closing in on experiences with freedom while also touching on more pressing topics, like pollution (I saw a TikTok on this, but I forgot who’s it was). Solar Power isn’t dark, or sad, or about heartbreak, and it seems to have upset some Lorde fans who have been anticipating this release for years. 

Billie Eilish seems to be facing the same sort of backlash, and she has been since the release of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? . “OG” fans were distraught over the fact that Billie had moved on from her indie/alternative feel of don’t smile at me and moved into a much darker and experimental style. Nevertheless, Billie managed to bring in a new chunk of fans, including the Recording Academy.

Unfortunately, for Lorde fans that have been around since 2013, this release may be disappointing, and it’s unclear of what’s next for her. It’s quick to judge an album that has yet to come out, but this lead single has drawn some questionable responses. 

Swifties are more than familiar with the name Jack Antonoff, knowing him for collaborations on 1989, Reputation, Lover, folklore, and evermore. But his expertise isn’t limited to just Taylor Swift, but rather multiple extremely talented and successful women, including Lorde, Lana del Rey, and St. Vincent. Not to mention he makes his own music, which is surprisingly opposite to the projects his collaborators put out. 

When you listen to pieces by the artists mentioned above, there’s a bit of a trend in terms of production and notably songwriting. But when you take a look at Bleachers’s music (Bleachers being Jack Antonoff’s band), it pulls more of an 80′s vibe (he even collaborated with Bruce Springsteen), not similar to the works of Taylor, Lorde, Lana, etc. 

Why is it so different? It just proves his undeniable talent and ability to spread his creativity to harmonize with other artists. Being able to create music that includes his input without sacrificing an artist’s individuality. 

Not only that, his influence isn’t always direct. Although Olivia Rodrigo did not work with Jack Antonoff on her #1 album, there’s influence in every song in terms of songwriting and production. The bridge of drivers license is comparable to tracks on Lorde’s Melodrama, and the stripped-down, acoustic nature that’s unique to Olivia in today’s pop scene pulls influence from Antonoff’s work. 

The Solar Power rollout was a mess. Somehow the single ended up on streaming platforms hours before release, but was quickly pulled. Less than an hour ago, the first single off Lorde’s 3rd studio album, “Solar Power”, was released. 

Pure Heroine consisted of teenage angst in a form of indie pop realism. The songwriting was incomparable with anything in the music scene at the time, which led to Lorde’s instant success at the age of 16/17. 

Melodrama came next, 4 years after the release of Pure Heroine. Melodrama was more of a romanticization of life, detailing heartbreak and romance in a reflective way. 

The single “Solar Power” was quite different from anything we’ve heard from Lorde. The song is driven by a muted guitar, similar to that of “The Louvre”, yet has completely different undertones. “The Louvre” is darker and fits the theme of Melodrama, while “Solar Power” is lighter, happier, and reminds you of sunlight. 

When I first listened to Maude’s music I was surprised she didn’t have millions of monthly listeners on Spotify. She’s truly a hidden gem and her music makes you want to dance, cry, and scream all at the same time. The versatility in her fairly short discography proves she’s meant for success. “One More Weekend” is perfect to blast in the car, “Block Your Number” is perfect to get up and dance to, and “Lovesick” will have you reminiscing. 

I’d describe her as an indie-pop form of Lorde. The vocals are similar but Maude’s songwriting cannot be compared to popular artists today, and this kind of sound deserves charting recognition. It baffles me to think she’s still sitting just under 1 million monthly listeners, as her music isn’t what you hear on the top charts, but would be a fresh new sound to add up there. 

Olivia Rodrigo's music is not new.

Olivia has swept the nation with the first 3 singles off her debut album, “SOUR”. But why is she receiving this response?

Initially, I assumed it was because of the online narrative of the Olivia-Josh-Sabrina love triangle. That brought fans in for “drivers license”, but what kept them around? 

It’s simple really. For a long time, everyone in the music industry preached individuality. The idea of “We already have one Ariana Grande, we don’t need anyone else making the same type of music.” And it makes sense. We don’t need multiple Lordes (or maybe we do since she hasn’t released anything in 4 years). Just watch The Voice or American Idol. The judges will always say they’re looking for someone unique, to bring something new to the industry.

Olivia Rodrigo’s music is not new. "drivers license" is a gut-wrenching ballad that is all too familiar. Everyone’s heard a ballad before, and there are three artists that define this song. Gracie Abrams in the verse, Selena Gomez/Taylor Swift in the chorus, and Lorde in the bridge. Ballads like “drivers license” weren’t being made because artists didn’t want to create something so familiar. Everyone was out looking for a brand new pot of gold and overlooked the idea of making a traditional song. 

Next, “deja vu”. This track is straying away from gut-wrenching ballad and more into the indie pop realm. It’s different, and not seen in mainstream music, but start digging deeper into Spotify or Apple Music and you’ll find loads of songs like this. I’ll save you the trouble and point out a few popular songs like “deja vu”. “Furniture” by Maude Latour and “Cruel Summer” by Taylor Swift. Although "deja vu" has a vibe not as familiar as “drivers license”, we’ve heard stuff like it before. And people like it.

Finally, “good 4 u”. The latest track from Olivia, that’s punky and loud. The angry side of heartbreak. The track is nostalgic, and pulls us back to early 2000′s Avril Lavigne and teen movie soundtracks. It’s “rock-y” in a way that reminds me of Paramore and Machine Gun Kelly’s new stuff, but translated into teenage girl angst. And of course, a modern version of some of Taylor’s hits. Notably “Forever and Always”. A few more comparisons have been popping up over the Internet, including "Misery Business" by Paramore and "I Did Something Bad" by Taylor Swift. And we obviously can’t forget the Conan Gray influence in both “deja vu” and “good 4 u”. “good 4 u” is different from what we see on the top charts today, but isn’t necessarily new. It’s nostalgic. 

Dixie D’Amelio and sister Charli D’Amelio face hate every single day for being themselves. Charli rose to fame in just a few months and is now one of the biggest influencers out there, at just 17. Her older sister, Dixie, decided to tag along and move out to LA to start a career of her own. 

Dixie released her first single under HITCO in 2020, and received backlash from day one. “Be Happy” became an international meme, and it only got worse from there. Her second single “One Whole Day” featuring Wiz Khalifa received backlash for the lyrics. Despite being a catchy song, people were quick to point out the repetitive and childish lyrics, and a lot of hate was geared towards Dixie, even though she didn’t write the song.

I’ll give you a chance to listen to the song and view the lyrics before reading further. 

So the song is about a past relationship where one person wasn’t putting in the same effort as the other. People have speculated that the song is about Dixie’s ex, Griffin Johnson, who was accused of cheating back in 2020. Reading in to the lyrics, Dixie seems pretty sad about the situation and explains how she was “really, really, really, really, sad” for one day. 

I can see why the lyrics seem childish on the surface, but when you really start to think about the situation and realize the sarcasm behind the whole song, you’ll be able to recognize its genius. The whole song is a mockery of an ex and Dixie is singing about how she was only sad for one day, but now she’s over it. She only shed one tear while throwing your shit in the fireplace. A completely ironic storyline like this is rare in pop music, and unfortunately listeners overlooked the pure genius of “One Whole Day”.

Dixie could’ve made it more obvious that the whole song was sarcastic. Take Taylor Swift’s “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” for example. In the bridge of the song, she makes a sarcastic comment, but follows it up with a laugh and says, “hahah I can’t even say it with a straight face”, indicating to listeners that the line was ironic. Dixie could’ve added some elements that highlighted the irony of the song, and the lack of said elements made listeners misunderstand the storyline.

Is it possible I am looking way too far into things and am completely off? Yes. Maybe Dixie was “really, really, really, really, sad” for one day and just had to break out in song and unleash her emotions. 

Yes, you read that right. Taylor Swift ruined Country Music.

Taylor Swift rose to fame in the mid-2000′s after signing a record deal with Big Machine. Her first three albums were purely country, and her fourth studio album “Red”, started pushing towards pop. “22″ and “I Knew You Were Trouble”, which performed best on the album, were pop songs. 

After the release of “Red”, Taylor decided to move completely into pop for her fifth studio album, the revolutionary “1989″. Everyone knows it and everyone’s heard of it, proving to country stars everywhere that migrating to pop is beneficial to their career. After “1989″, Taylor left country for good, releasing two pop albums and two alternative albums.

Okay, so Taylor Swift made The Great Migration to pop, but what does that have to do with country music as a whole?

Taylor Swift proved to everyone that starting out as a country singer means nothing for your future career, and your music career is only what you make of it. This idea started pushing to the genre as a whole, and country stars only reached mainstream success after making pop music. Take Maren Morris for example. Had anyone outside the country community heard of her before “The Middle”? No. “The Middle” gifted her with mainstream success, which is everything a musician could strive for.

Mainstream success can be equated to pop success. Check the top charts. What do you see? All the songs on top charts are some form of pop or hip-hop music. Country to hip-hop is quite a leap(unless you’re Lil Nas X), so making pop music is a better option for country stars who want to achieve more. 

“Golden Hour” by Kacey Musgraves did extremely well, despite it being a country album. However, once you listen to the album, it’s really a country-pop fusion, and isn’t like Kacey’s previous works. Fast forward a year, and Kacey Musgraves has made The Great Migration and is now making full on pop music. 

Essentially, country music has now become outdated pop music. Pop music that’s a few years behind, and it’s because of Taylor Swift reaching immense success after switching to full on pop. Taylor Swift became mainstream because she started creating mainstream music. So the only solution to save country music is to make country music mainstream. Unfortunately, the industry is not there just yet.

If you haven’t heard the name Olivia Rodrigo in the past few months, you are definitely living under a rock. No offense, but Olivia has risen to top 50 artists in the world on Spotify in just four months, and has broken countless records with the hit “drivers license”. I’m going to get straight into this one, since I’m sure you already know of Olivia’s rapid success.

Olivia performed at the Brit Awards last night, which is the popular music award show held in London, England. Last night’s ceremony was fully in-person and held in London’s O2 Arena. Olivia was one of the first performers, following Dua Lipa and Coldplay. After her performance of “drivers license”, Olivia received a bit of hate from the online community.

The performance featured Olivia standing in a stunning Dior set, backed by a piano and a harp. The harp was a beautiful touch, and it was nice to see Olivia standing and performing versus her usual performances, where she sits and plays at the piano. 

Stars who earn success as quickly as Olivia are destined to run in to media hate at some point in their career(just ask Taylor Swift!). After Olivia’s performance aired, users on TikTok were pointing out how different she sounded, and hating on her performance overall. Swifties and Livies alike came to Olivia’s defense, but that didn’t stop people from talking about her performance. Some said Olivia sounded “shouty” and nothing like her previous performances, and others defended her by saying it was her first real live performance in front of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, and more. 

Olivia did sound different at this performance, but in no way was it a “bad performance”. First of all, it was live, of course she is going to sound difference. The bridge was not “shouty” but rather emotional, and you could tell she really put her all into this performance. As an actress, she knows how to portray emotions, and she did it perfectly here. Not to get too technical, but the song was transposed down, which could’ve been the reason for the critiques she’s facing. 

If you haven’t heard of Tate McRae yet, you’ve missed a lot. No stranger to viral hits, Tate McRae has garnered a huge fan based via YouTube and TikTok. Tate was a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance a few years back, and started a YouTube channel shortly after. From there, she gained a small following through vlogs and dance videos, but what really jump started her career was the viral video “i wrote a song...”. At just 14 years old, her video got her a lot of social media attention. Shortly thereafter, she released “One Day” as her first single, and it ended up on Today’s Top Hits on Spotify. As an independent artist, securing a spot on Today’s Top Hits will definitely get you attention from labels. For Tate, that meant 11 different record deal offers. 

Tate continued to post on YouTube for multiple years, and her best performing videos were her “relatable” original songs. The release of her first EP “all the things i never said”, where she collaborated with Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, set her apart from a lot of current pop artists, and her sound continued to develop from there. 

The single that truly secured Tate’s spot as one of the biggest pop stars in the world was “you broke me first”. “you broke me first” was released during the initial lockdowns for the pandemic, and did not take off until months after. Somehow, “you broke me first” skyrocketed after users started posting TikTok videos to it, but this only happened months after its release. As we know, TikTok is a powerhouse for the music industry, and “you broken me first” taking off like it did was really no surprise. 

Following the success of “you broke me first”, Tate went on to release many, many singles. 7, to be exact, in the span of just a few months. The rapid release of these singles was clearly in response to the success of “you broke me first”, but none of them were able to top it. 

“slower”, one of these singles, caught my eye quickly. It was posted on Tate’s YouTube channel about 2 years ago but only released this year. The reason was simple. “you broke me first” had a very specific vibe that resonated with a lot of fans, and in hopes of trying to replicate its success, she/her team tried to replicate the song itself. The YouTube version of “slower” is fairly different from the official version, and the production seems to mimic that of “you broke me first”. Unfortunately, “slower” has yet to take off like “you broke me first” did, but maybe it just needs time.

“TOO YOUNG TO BE SAD” was released in late March 2021. It features four previously released singles and two new tracks. By the time this EP was released, Tate had found her unique sound. She’s an expert at songwriting, and usually writes about personal yet relatable topics, which continues through her career and is prevalent in this EP. Her sound could be described as this: pop songs sang over a trap beat. All of her songs have a synth, often a beat drop of sorts, and aren’t as vocally challenging as a lot of other pop music today. Although her sound is very much pop, its even pushing alternative, and could be compared to Sasha Sloan’s “Lie”(great song btw). Though this EP is great and shows a lot of maturity in finding her sound, I do prefer the songs on “all the things i never said”. Her first EP is more on the pop side, so maybe I’ve yet to accept the change, but this second EP is completely separate from anything you hear on the charts today.

Ashe came out of nowhere. Her hit single “Moral of the Story” was featured in a Netflix film titled “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before 2”, and she gained immense success. More than the film however, the single blew up on TikTok, which in my personal opinion was the real cause of her rapid success. Ashe then collaborated with Niall Horan to create a remix of the single, which brought her a brand new audience. All in all, 2020 was a great year for Ashe.

She released her debut album, Ashlyn, quite recently, and there is just too much to say about it.

Starting with “Moral of the Story”, we could already tell the Ashe is a skilled songwriter and has no fear of getting vulnerable and showing her true self and stories through music. The song was almost triumphant, and although the story told in the song was quite personal and unique to Ashe’s life, millions of people resonated with it.

Getting into the album itself, there is only one adjective I would use to describe the bulk of the record: whimsical. Multiple tracks carry this trend of a “whimsical” sound, and it’s not just the production and songwriting. Ashe’s voice itself can be described using this adjective. Every note sounds so raw and authentic, which reflects the album’s purpose. It’s also her enunciation. The way she dictates certain words is quite idiosyncratic.

In terms of influence, it’s nostalgic in a way that is difficult to pin-point. There’s a little bit of Carole King’s “Tapestry” sewn in there and also “Pet Sounds” by The Beach Boys. She explains the influence of The Beach Boys in Episode 1 of her Youtube series.

“Kansas”, the last track, is the perfect representation of the whole record. There’s a nostalgic feel but a ton of modern influence, and also has this giant plot twist in the song. The so-called “plot twist” is a trend that carries throughout the record. In songs like “Me Without You” and “Kansas”, it starts out sounding familiar, but then you get to the chorus, and suddenly, it’s nothing like anything you’ve ever heard before. The “plot-twists” are the best aspect of the entire record.

When “Me Without You” was first released ahead of the album’s release, comments said that it gave off a “Billie Eilish vibe”. Which is true, in terms of the first verse of the song. The first verse can easily be compared to “bad guy”, but after that, there’s no comparison. The “plot-twist” in “Me Without You” is harsh and abrupt, and quickly pulls away from the “Billie Eilish vibe” and straight into the whimsy that truly reflects “Ashlyn”.

Billie Eilish is known for bringing something brand new to the mainstream music scene. Her fresh alternative style has put her on the map as one of the biggest pop stars in the world at just 19 years old.

I've been listening to her since the release of her first EP, "don't smile at me", and immediately fell in love with her style. Her debut album, "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?" was revolutionary to say the least. It was something dark, eerie, and different, and it did extremely well, critically and commercially.

Recently she's done a Taylor Swift-eqsue era switch, changing her hair(which sparked some chatter) and releasing a single off her next album, "Happier Than Ever", which is set to be released in July.

"Your Power" is nothing like any of her previous projects, and can really only be compared to one or two tracks in her career. It's delicate, simple, and sits on a very heavy topic. It's clear that us as listeners were expected to listen more closely to the lyrics over anything else, as the song was not over done in terms of production, and basically just sits on a guitar for the whole song.

Billie is no stranger to strongly portraying emotions through her music, and you can truly feel every note and every word she sings, and tension in her vocals and lyrics are prevalent. Overall, the song as a whole doesn't have much tension or build up, and is quite static throughout the whole thing. Not to be harsh, but it sounds like 3 minutes of the same 10 seconds on loop. I understand this is because the lyrics are the main focus of this track, and it really does highlight Billie and Finneas’s songwriting abilities.