Joshua Seawell – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Wed, 30 Jan 2019 07:49:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Joshua Seawell – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 In ‘Icarus Falls,’ Zayn subverts the sound of pop stars https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/30/in-icarus-falls-zayn-subverts-the-sound-of-pop-stars/ https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/30/in-icarus-falls-zayn-subverts-the-sound-of-pop-stars/#respond Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:30:09 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1148921 Zayn’s public persona is irreparably characterized by those topics of endless media intrigue. He’s an alum of One Direction: our generation’s most popular boy band. He’s on-and-off with Gigi Hadid: one of our generation’s most recognizable supermodels. And he has just left his Muslim faith, though he long bore the weight of its politicization. He’s […]

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Zayn’s public persona is irreparably characterized by those topics of endless media intrigue. He’s an alum of One Direction: our generation’s most popular boy band. He’s on-and-off with Gigi Hadid: one of our generation’s most recognizable supermodels. And he has just left his Muslim faith, though he long bore the weight of its politicization. He’s a “pop star.”

But this label reflects little understanding, and defies his increasing absence from the cultural role. His music is something else, and seems to operate with relative independence from the fixtures of public perception. On his second album, “Icarus Falls”, his whole persona is almost unrecognizable.

“Icarus Falls” represents much continuity from “Mind of Mine,” the artist’s debut. In my review of “Mine” from 2016, I described its style as an “amorphous and tense mix of hip-hop, R&B, and new-wave electronic pop,” which feels apt for “Falls” as well. This album too is inescapably taut: on “Icarus Interlude,” a bridge between the album’s two halves, a plucky bass never lets us relax to the gorgeous vocal. And Zayn again bears his stream-of-consciousness lyrical style, with its occasional stumbles. “Optimus Prime” is a hard name-check to work into a song inconspicuously, it turns out.

The continuity between albums is deliberate. As Zayn has retold, and commentators have noted, some of Falls’ songs originate from writing sessions for “Mine.” Zayn retains producers and writers like duos Saltwives and MakeYouKnowLove, and the powerhouse producer Malay, an alumnus of recent albums from Frank Ocean, Lorde and more.

Malay’s perhaps most relevant work is on Lykke Li’s most recent album, last year’s “so sad so sexy,” which he washes with a sound reflecting that of Falls. But Malay’s soft pop aesthetic feels particularly apt here, working with an artist whose voice easily inhabits the leftover space.

Indeed, if there’s anything that distinguishes “Falls” from “Mine,” it’s ease. The album’s length suggests a certain confidence; few artists would test their label overlords with a 26-track, 90-minute record. “Flight to the Stars” is led by a series of a cappella couplets, a token of an album where the production says little. And if the concept, which claims to trace a rising Icarus in pursuit of love, and then a falling, heartbroken Icarus, feels a little loose in application, that’s because it is. Zayn reads as indifferent to the pressures of the industry and album reviewers to conform to concept or simplicity. He’s secure in its sprawl.

And Zayn doesn’t conform to the sound of the modern pop star. His preference for guitars is clear, even as they’ve fallen out of genre favor. As the album mulls familiar themes of love and heartbreak and resentment, which Zayn does especially well — there are few processed synth hooks and more big vocal lines, a decidedly old school touch. In today’s context, few of his songs work as well as top 40 fodder as they might have 10 (or even 20) years ago. Perhaps because it so eschews most pop trends, but certainly owing to its nonstop emotional fervor, the album feels personal.

When a pop musical moment does emerge from this architecture, it’s all the more rewarding. Zayn’s pop romp on “No Candle, No Light” works best because we need release from the intense subversion of typical easy gratification to which the album and artist default. “Talk To Me,” a dance tune with clear roots in modern Afrobeat, is similar fun. So while there’s little boundary-pushing on “Falls,” and it runs overlong (songs like “Common”, an amusingly self-descriptive dud, deliver little), the album works nonetheless, buoyed by earnestness and skillful oscillation between tension and release.

But that’s the music, and sometimes the public persona catches up. Zayn’s struggle with anxiety is long and open. In his tour for “Mine,” anxiety led him to cancel shows, though publicly shyness long preceded the tour. In the messy and low-promotion rollout of the album, fans questioned whether his heart was really in it. No tour has yet been announced for Falls, and any shows that do result are unlikely to feature meet-and-greets or any other hyper-exposed pop star standards. He’s not going to be consumed except on his own terms.

The industry, of course, is and always has been crushing in this way, inducing anxiety in its talent and then punishing those who crack under that stress. Rising young stars, a type that fit Zayn only a few years ago, will almost universally tell you as much. It’s not just the labels, though the labels are a problem, or reviews like this one, which can be callous; it’s the fans. They demand, they demand, they demand, and when the music is slow or insufficient, and the shows cancelled, and interviews sparse, we get more stories about which 1D band member said what about the ex-Muslim boyfriend of Gigi Hadid.

 

Contact Josh Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Jessica Lá Rel Casts a Spell at Wine & Cheese https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/16/jessica-la-rel-casts-a-spell-at-wine-cheese/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/05/16/jessica-la-rel-casts-a-spell-at-wine-cheese/#respond Tue, 17 May 2016 03:31:53 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1115181 I pull up to Kairos for Wine and Cheese shortly after 10. I almost worry I’ve come to the wrong place. Caution tape adorns the building’s front entrances without explanation. As I approach, my hesitation is assuaged by a louder and louder rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” Following a more confident crowd, I step […]

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I pull up to Kairos for Wine and Cheese shortly after 10. I almost worry I’ve come to the wrong place. Caution tape adorns the building’s front entrances without explanation. As I approach, my hesitation is assuaged by a louder and louder rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” Following a more confident crowd, I step around the back, where a few unguarded bouncers open a door. I walk in, unsure what to expect.

Modest string lights tie the room, and the crowd, together. Our assembly occupies the floor and the couches and the tables indiscriminately. In the corner, a few diligent hosts pour out, dispensing red and white wines freely for new friends and old friends alike. Tonight, I am simply one of an ever-changing cast of characters. At once, I am stranger and familiar.

As I recognize a friend across the room, I step into the throng, a diverse, amorphous clutter. To some people, Kairos is the medium, not the destination, and the night’s soundtrack is ambience to their own conversation. But to most, the music is spellbinding. This majority is bound together in purpose, gaze, and awe.  

Jessica Anderson, also known as Jessica Lá Rel, is the night’s able muse. She and her band tick through “Lay Me Down” (Sam Smith), “Ain’t Nobody” (Chaka Khan), “Freedom,” (Beyonce) and other songs, drawing from a discography of soul, pop, and reggae. Jessica carries this set list with charisma and sheer vocal talent, as well as the assistance of a tireless live band and backup vocals. Though the set list risks Top 40 fixation at times, the night is salvaged by the band’s immaculate performance, a heartfelt original song on black uplift, and the crowd’s eager reception.

Afterwards, my friend tells me that I experienced a unique Wine and Cheese. Jessica, a former Stanford student, is an infrequent performer. String lights are similarly uncommon, and usually small EDM acts headline.

But the secret of Wine and Cheese is that every night can be unique. It works around a fulcrum of acute presentness, which allowed me, a first-timer, to feel at home with long-time attendees, and which allows the event to evolve with little regard for its previous forms. It is not bound by tradition, but by whatever pieces of light, sound, and feeling the hosts and travelers assemble for the night. No one can recreate Jessica, or inhabit her vocal talent, or draw her crowd. But new combinations are inevitable, and even welcome.

I leave at 11, sure that I’ll come back another Wednesday night, even knowing it won’t be the same.

Contact Josh Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Festival review: We see Coachella’s artists, and they see us too https://stanforddaily.com/2016/04/28/we-see-coachellas-artists-and-they-see-us-too/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/04/28/we-see-coachellas-artists-and-they-see-us-too/#respond Fri, 29 Apr 2016 06:41:10 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1114361 At Coachella, I was reminded of the enduring power of live performance. Music festivals add performative and visual dimensions to music, exceeding simple concerts with much bigger visuals, larger crowds, more hype and competition with other acts. Under these circumstances, musicians bare their entire artistic capital — guests, new versions of old songs, hastily organized […]

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(Courtesy Jason Persse, Wikimedia Commons)
(Courtesy Jason Persse, Wikimedia Commons)

At Coachella, I was reminded of the enduring power of live performance. Music festivals add performative and visual dimensions to music, exceeding simple concerts with much bigger visuals, larger crowds, more hype and competition with other acts. Under these circumstances, musicians bare their entire artistic capital — guests, new versions of old songs, hastily organized Prince tributes — to transform their sound into show. As they feed off the highs of a vast performance and the audience’s awe, the crowd gets to see what they’re really made of.

This mutual involvement can deal a blow to artists, when, as in Zella Day’s otherwise charming set, she turned the mic to the audience only to find that few knew her lyrics. But the experience can be thrilling for artists too. Major Lazer and Halsey, for instance, designed exhilarating sets. Halsey, new wave pop starlet, started her set with the provocative and unsettling “Gasoline,” the stage blowing pillars of fire with the first chorus. During a brief pause in a song, she probed the audience dramatically, “How many of you came here to escape the bullshit of your everyday lives?” When the huge crowd erupted with affirmation, she yelled, “That is what this album is about!” With dramatic effects and a gargantuan sound system, she brought her album to life for the audience.

Major Lazer also prompted crowd participation, pre-empting every drop with a four-count of “Jump, jump, jump, jump!” At another time, the reggae-EDM collective (Diplo, Walshy Fire, Jillionaire) induced the crowd to run right, then run left, then both ways again, in sync to the beat. They brought out studio artists from their own songs — Nyla, Fuse, MØ — as well as Usher. For dance music sets like this, crowd involvement is the lifeblood, intrinsically vindicating the music’s quality and the set’s success.

But expanding their song to show revealed an uglier face. A group of scantily clad dancers paraded around the stage from the set’s first song, without adding much to the set except sex appeal. When Usher joined Major Lazer to perform Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” and “1999,” his microphone faltered. As three expert DJs danced casually on stage, Usher was almost inaudible.

Though the two-way gaze of a live venue promises fulfillment for modern EDM artists, it also holds a certain inviability. The Jack Ü set turned me off from the duo, as Diplo strutted around stage as a glorified hype man. Huge props populated the stage, like a guy in a Febreeze bottle costume, without clear intent beyond Snapchat value. They remixed an incoherent collection of top-40 hits to keep the audience interested.

Zedd’s set, high on visuals, gratuitously emblazoned his name on every screen (and, in fact, the set itself) in distasteful show of ego. Except for some brief drumming, Zedd seemed to do little during a set that probably just required him to push play.

Calvin Harris, Sunday’s headliner, played an uninspired sequence of his own hit singles. With much to gain but little to offer live, EDM artists just can’t stand up to the high standards of venues like Coachella. Desperately, they turn to flash, hype and the cults of personality which propelled them to fame, wearing at the pretense that their music matters.

On Saturday night, Grimes offered an alternative. Admittedly, she indulged the audience somewhat, playing the more popular side of her discography. She, like so many musicians, set out for the high of a thrilled audience. But frantically, the Canadian singer-producer ran from keyboard to stage, starting loops, joining dancers, singing. Her involvement with electronica isn’t ever complete; it’s purposely ongoing, which makes her so necessary during her own set and makes every development so unpredictable. Between songs, which she started and ended strictly at her own pace, she provided background on her work. Talent shone through work about which I was previously ambivalent. Live, she won a fan.

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Zayn reaches for a new identity https://stanforddaily.com/2016/04/05/zayn-reaches-for-a-new-identity/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/04/05/zayn-reaches-for-a-new-identity/#respond Wed, 06 Apr 2016 04:26:14 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1113099 Zayn Mailk, a former member of this generation’s most iconic boy band One Direction, recalls all the typical traits of a former Disney star. Widely recognized and branded, exploited tirelessly by the music industry, handsome and generally inoffensive, Zayn was, for a time, the face of teen pop. Now, in pursuit of a solo career, […]

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(Tajmyr, Wikimedia Commons)
(Tajmyr, Wikimedia Commons)

Zayn Mailk, a former member of this generation’s most iconic boy band One Direction, recalls all the typical traits of a former Disney star. Widely recognized and branded, exploited tirelessly by the music industry, handsome and generally inoffensive, Zayn was, for a time, the face of teen pop. Now, in pursuit of a solo career, his debut album indicates the public’s Zayn was mostly a fiction. On “Mind of Mine,” he invites us to a real expression of self.

The album captures Zayn’s (not unprecedented) transitional circumstances after leaving One Direction in 2015. He’s caught in the chaos of newfound freedom, empowered but perhaps lost. The album’s first song, “PILLOWTALK,” exposes his internal conflict and breaks in the new Zayn sound, constituted by an amorphous and tense mix of hip-hop, R&B and new-wave electronic pop that runs the length of the album. With every expletive and R-rated contemplation, Zayn distances himself from his previous musical identity, about which he’s spoken disparagingly in interviews. More than anything before, this is him.

Though the post-Disney personas of Miley Cyrus or Selena Gomez often feel like performances, Zayn works throughout “Mind of Mine” to reveal himself honestly. On “tRuTH” and “rEaR vIeW,” he bears this out explicitly and extensively: “I will tell no lies,” he declares on the latter. Partly owing to its stream-of-consciousness style, the album’s honesty is perhaps its hallmark.

Zayn’s quest to define himself as an independent artist, however, is complicated by his own uncertainty. “Mind of Mine” frequently grounds his identity in others, from the ubiquitous and complicated “she,” to references to criticisms of himself and his work found on “LIKE I WOULD” and “BeFoUr.” His creatively ambiguous nods to intoxication aside, Zayn’s rather nondescript self-characterization belies the chaotic lettering of the album’s song titles.

At the same time, however, the album’s ambiguity helps to characterize Zayn as an apt spokesman for the human condition. He has a profound understanding of his own emotions, what people need and the dynamics between the two. On “BLUE,” he finds himself entranced by the hope of a woman as his lover; on “sHe,” he notes she needs someone to love her with respect. On “She Don’t Love Me” and “wRoNg,” he tells of emotionally unrequited sexual relationships — but on the two songs, he’s on different sides of the equation. These switches and the willingness of the artist to meditate on subjects extensively is perhaps Zayn’s most promising artistic asset. He expounds on topics at length, often revisiting motifs and ideas over the course of the album. “BoRdErSz” and “TiO,” for example, bring to life similar aspirations to emotional transparency, but approach the subject so differently that both songs feel worthwhile.

“Mind of Mine” owes its success in this vein to a powerful collaboration. Producer Malay is a force of nature, aptly managing Zayn’s vocals through ambitious falsettos and lower-key moments alike. He works to let Zayn shine on the haunting “iT’s YoU” and add an enticing air of mystery to “lUcOzAdE.” (The only departure from this successful equation might be “fOoL fOr YoU,” which has another producer at the helm.) Malay and Zayn also produce a memorable sound in “fLoWer,” a song in Urdu which again grounds us in the album’s core message: “Until the flower of this heart has blossomed, this heart won’t be at peace,” he croons. “Give me your heart.” At most, the song represents the most personal moment in Zayn’s study of the human condition. At least, he knows it’s not a song he could have put out in One Direction.

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Charli XCX breaks genres, loses focus on ‘Vroom Vroom’ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/10/charli-xcx-vroom-vroom/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/03/10/charli-xcx-vroom-vroom/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2016 06:03:39 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1112168 On “Vroom Vroom,” Charli XCX breaks out of genre. She’s known for rock and pop, and has tread hip-hop ground before (“Fancy,” “Drop That Kitty”) but this work isn’t really hip-hop, despite some stylistic inspiration. On her EP, “Vroom Vroom,” Charli XCX inaugurates a new sound (and a new label), composed with a haphazard mix […]

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Charli XCX performing in 2014. (Photo by Justin Higuchi, Wikimedia Commons)
Charli XCX performing in 2014. (Photo by Justin Higuchi, Wikimedia Commons)

On “Vroom Vroom,” Charli XCX breaks out of genre. She’s known for rock and pop, and has tread hip-hop ground before (“Fancy,” “Drop That Kitty”) but this work isn’t really hip-hop, despite some stylistic inspiration. On her EP, “Vroom Vroom,” Charli XCX inaugurates a new sound (and a new label), composed with a haphazard mix of harsh effects, pitched vocals, and aggressive bass.

“Vroom Vroom,” the EP’s eponymous opener, is an MIA-style venture into irreverence. “Bitches know they can’t catch me,” Charli XCX quasi-raps to a big-drum beat. “Trophy,” which turns up to a Pulp Fiction sample, is a feminist anthem. “Secret (Shh),” probably the EP’s best work, and its most conventional, is a clever innuendo for lovers’ rendezvous.

The previous strengths of Charli XCX’s career resurface on “Vroom Vroom.” She’s a talented and charismatic vocalist who has honed an inviting group vocal. Her songs, as always, scream attitude. As a longtime songwriter herself, she has a knack for catchy hooks and originality.

And though Charli XCX’s willingness to take risks is refreshing in a staid and predictable pop universe, it doesn’t quite pay off on this EP. Charli XCX’s rebellion against the rules of music themselves is too much, too fast. “Paradise,” for example, is an incoherent mess until the outro; it can’t decide whether it’s a throwback or not, another victim of the album’s distaste for a consistent instrumental.

On “Vroom Vroom,” Charli XCX demonstrates talent and intent as an artist, as she consistently has. But to make her departure from genre work, she’ll have to commit more fully to an alternative sound in the future.

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Black Love: An audience in action https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/22/black-love-an-audience-in-action/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/22/black-love-an-audience-in-action/#respond Mon, 22 Feb 2016 18:31:30 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1111229 On Sunday, February 14, Black Love takes over Toyon Hall. For a few minutes, a few hundred formal people crowd in Toyon’s outer lounge, sprinkled generously with rich desserts and Martinelli’s. It’s lit. Someone takes pictures with her friends in front of a balloon arch; someone else flaunts his bow tie (a real one) and […]

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Jessica Anderson '14 and Tyler Brooks '16 perform at Black Love in Toyon Hall. (NAFIA CHOWDHURY/The Stanford Daily)
Jessica Anderson ’14 and Tyler Brooks ’16 perform at Black Love in Toyon Hall. (NAFIA CHOWDHURY/The Stanford Daily)

On Sunday, February 14, Black Love takes over Toyon Hall. For a few minutes, a few hundred formal people crowd in Toyon’s outer lounge, sprinkled generously with rich desserts and Martinelli’s. It’s lit. Someone takes pictures with her friends in front of a balloon arch; someone else flaunts his bow tie (a real one) and warms up his voice. As the doors to Toyon’s large inner lounge open, people rush for the best seats in the house. Some end up in the periphery, but nobody complains. The main event, the product of tireless work from Stanford’s Black Student Union, is about to begin.

A freshman, Clarissa Carter ‘19, starts with an original song: “Speechless,” a sultry love song that builds over a few guitar chords. With the climactic high note, “I’m speechless,” the crowd erupts in applause. They laugh and snap with Abisola’s spoken word putdown of a man who doesn’t respect her; “I’m Word 2016, and you’re Word 1996; you can’t even read me.” They gas up Justice. They sing with Jessica. This is black love.

At this year’s event, the performers were almost universally spectacular – though Escape Hatch carried the night. The group, composed of Conrad Kisunzu ‘16 (often known as Connie.K), Aisha Sharif ‘18, Kevin Coelho ‘17 and Johnny Weger ‘18 performed three songs, culminating in a well-received cover of Chance the Rapper’s “Sunday Candy.” The lead duo foiled each other perfectly; Aisha’s understated performances were an effective contrast to Conrad’s big stage presence, and her vocals brought elegance where he brought grit. Together, the group proved an R&B powerhouse, though I was disappointed not to hear any originals.

Finally came the professionals. Expectations were low after the sudden withdrawal of Kehlani, the event’s much-hyped headliner, just a few hours before the show. People were exiting as LA-based rapper KR (Kalaan Rashad) took the stage, and his early calls for crowd engagement fell short. The audience came for the people they knew — in lieu of their fellow students, only a big name like Kehlani would suffice.

Gradually, however, Rashad began to win them over. He paced the stage and flirted with the front row. He rapped bars with intensity and charisma, seemingly oblivious to the stream of sweat running down his face. In the latter half of his set list, he left the stage entirely to perform in the middle of the crowd. They fell for him.

The final performer, Marc E. Bassy (of 2AM Club fame), drew a more mixed reaction. Perhaps owing to his celebrity, Bassy proved (and could afford to be) a more casual performer after the high-energy spectacle of KR. With a creative mix of R&B, pop, and his own personality, Bassy brought confidence and self-possession to stage. “Chemistry? What the fuck do y’all study here?” he cajoled the audience between songs. They laughed, but by then the night was over. With all Bassy’s predecessors on stage, the audience got what they came for.

Contact Josh Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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‘This is Acting,’ a Top-40 tour de force for Sia https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/01/tour-de-force-for-sia/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/01/tour-de-force-for-sia/#respond Tue, 02 Feb 2016 05:12:37 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1110112 “I’ll tell you what you want to hear,” Sia promises on “Unstoppable.” The Australian-born songstress (full name: Sia Furler) has written for Beyonce (“Pretty Hurts”), Rihanna (“Diamonds”), and Britney Spears (“Perfume”), to name just a few. She’s a pop queenmaker, and for good reason. Her original rendition of “Let Me Love You” (later popularized by […]

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(Courtesy of Kris Krug, Wikimedia Commons)
(Courtesy of Kris Krug, Wikimedia Commons)

“I’ll tell you what you want to hear,” Sia promises on “Unstoppable.” The Australian-born songstress (full name: Sia Furler) has written for Beyonce (“Pretty Hurts”), Rihanna (“Diamonds”), and Britney Spears (“Perfume”), to name just a few. She’s a pop queenmaker, and for good reason. Her original rendition of “Let Me Love You” (later popularized by NeYo) speaks to both her raw vocal talent and penchant for songs about vulnerability and resilience. In recent years, she’s turned a mostly jazz background and expansive songwriting portfolio into her own pop career, most recently with the successful hit single “Chandelier.” On “This is Acting,” she blurs the lines between her roles as artist and songwriter, composing the album solely of songs rejected by other artists.

Sia embraces the identity crisis that this concept prompts. She dissolves the institution of the pop star ego, hiding her face behind an ostentatious black and gold wig in all public appearances, and featuring everyday individuals wearing the same wig on all her single covers. The transferability of her message has long been an organizing principle for a songwriter like Sia, and that’s — ironically — never more acute than on her own album. On “This is Acting,” Sia decides not to pass the wig to Rihanna or Beyonce or Britney, handing it to the audience instead.

The album’s title plays on the duality of (and contrasts between) inward vulnerability and outward performance, inspired by the artist’s own struggles with depression and the music industry. On “Reaper” (a Rihanna reject), “Alive,” “Bird Set Free” (Adele rejects), and “Unstoppable,” Sia alternates between maligning fame, depression and death itself, often characterized and combined by an enigmatic “you.” On the triumphant “Alive,” she murmurs, “I had a one-way ticket to the place where all the demons go,” as the lyric video shows the same text over a wall graffitied, “HOLLYWOOD.” Like all great pop artists, she turns her struggle into anthem.

But if darker moments like these are the wig’s black half, Sia also embraces the gold. “Footprints” is angsty love with a cute twist, an ode to the power of support in times of need. Upbeat party bangers “Cheap Thrills” and “Move Your Body” are certain top-40 additions, owing to sheer force of will (they’re written to be irresistible). “Sweet Design,” a homage to Sia’s alternative sonic roots, reminds us of her versatility — and that no one’s too aloof to make a song about rear ends. It’s hard to tell how seriously we’re meant to take this less personal material, but my guess is not very. Ultimately, Sia’s big sound accomplishes its mission — seducing you in 4/4 time, in both colors.

If anything stops “This is Acting” from being a top-tier album, it’s formula. Over the course of the album, Sia’s trademarks — melody-first and lyrics-second writing, perfect vocal quirks and big drums — begin to feel practiced and inauthentic, though these same qualities have made Sia songs successful previously (take “Chandelier”). Sia’s template for pop songs makes every track listenable, and has made her successful, but this repetition degrades the work as a whole. Songs like “Broken Glass” and “House on Fire” (which continues a fire motif that deserves to be retired) are skippable, and she struggles to break out on the miasmic “One Million Bullets.”

The album’s troubles, however, are redeemed by its best moments. On “Space Between,” the final track of “This is Acting,” her masterful pop equation works, as she grieves over love turned bitter. Every note speaks heartbreak. Sia feels real and relatable.

Then again, it could all be acting.

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

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The case for listening https://stanforddaily.com/2016/01/19/the-case-for-listening/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/01/19/the-case-for-listening/#respond Wed, 20 Jan 2016 02:03:48 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1109531 We all remember the recorder. There’s a time in all our lives — the early years — when music is considered an indispensable part of learning. We are excited to blow incongruent melodies through a magical stick and we get even more excited when those melodies become congruent. Though we don’t have the words yet, […]

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Kendrick Lamar performs at Outside Lands 2015. (RAHIM ULLAH/The Stanford Daily)
Kendrick Lamar performs at Outside Lands 2015. (RAHIM ULLAH/The Stanford Daily)

We all remember the recorder. There’s a time in all our lives — the early years — when music is considered an indispensable part of learning. We are excited to blow incongruent melodies through a magical stick and we get even more excited when those melodies become congruent. Though we don’t have the words yet, we are starting to learn how sounds can come together in a uniquely powerful form of expression. As time goes on, however, our educational system retires the recorders, the xylophones, the shakers, in favor of stiffer forms of learning, and we find meaning and community in other worlds.

We begin with music for good reason. Study after study validates the worth of music as an educational tool. In kids, music often produces better language development and higher IQ. But even for young adults, researchers Cameron White and Susan McCormick find that song can enhance understanding of issues like poverty, racism, abuse and more. In a much-cited 1994 experiment, students overwhelmingly reported that it helped them grasp sociological concepts. Thus it seems inexplicable that the older we grow, the less our education system incorporates music into learning. Instead, we begin to speak more and write more, a transition based in positive intention but unfortunate expense.

As our campus grapples with complex issues of social justice, and as OpenXChange seeks to mediate them, this body of research suggests music as the remedy. We ought to be listening — or perhaps, listening more critically. For insight on black issues, for instance, the under-informed can start with the icons.

There’s a lot to learn. After all, even Kendrick’s hit single “i,” in its universalist rhetoric, is an ode to Compton. Similarly, rap’s anti-authority attitude (perhaps most popularized in NWA’s “Fuck the Police”) shouldn’t be decontextualized — in NWA’s case, it came from the rampant police brutality of that era’s Los Angeles and its notoriously broken judicial system. Rather than treating hip-hop as a boisterous costume to don on Friday nights, then, we should treat rap — whether it’s about police brutality or simply success in the face of adversity — as political, rather than purely recreational.

But we must go further. After all, if our music is Top 40, our politics will be, too. In the same way that traditional learning entails new — sometimes uncomfortable — ideas, we must listen to artists with diverse perspectives, even those who push us out of our comfort zone.

Fortunately, this work is being done. Campus organizers, for example, blasted Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” at a recent Mizzou solidarity rally. More formally, Stanford senior Janei Maynard is working on a thesis in the subject of hip-hop based education and makes a compelling, outcome-oriented case for the enrichment of social sciences through music, based on not only cultural stakes but results in “critical media literacy” and “critical consciousness” development.

So often, the failure to critically listen bears consequences. As a freshman, my friends and I cringed in my room as we heard a white counterpart across the hall throw the N-word around with some flippancy. It’s been a while, and I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but I think she might’ve been singing along to something she didn’t understand.

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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LÉON finding her way in new EP https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/15/leon-finding-her-way-in-new-ep/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/15/leon-finding-her-way-in-new-ep/#respond Mon, 16 Nov 2015 05:19:19 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1107071 We first hear LÉON’s voice 14 seconds into her “Treasure” EP, and it’s glorious. “’I don’t know’ is all you have to say,” she gripes though a thick production, substantiating all the genres by which she defines herself: “indiepop/soul/whatever.” The “Treasure” EP represents an exciting, if challenged, debut from the mysterious new Swedish artist and […]

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(Courtesy of LÉON's PR)
(Courtesy of LÉON’s PR)

We first hear LÉON’s voice 14 seconds into her “Treasure” EP, and it’s glorious. “’I don’t know’ is all you have to say,” she gripes though a thick production, substantiating all the genres by which she defines herself: “indiepop/soul/whatever.” The “Treasure” EP represents an exciting, if challenged, debut from the mysterious new Swedish artist and her producer, Agrin Rahmani.

On the title track, LÉON reminisces, “I was your treasure, treasure, treasure,” her wistful vocals providing depth and attachment to a lyrical  simplicity — a generally successful tactic that pervades most of the work. Her voice shines again at the opening of “Tired of Talking,” and again with the pre-chorus. “I’ve been nothing but good to you,” she trills. In these moments, when her voice is given space to breathe, LÉON is unmatchable. She’s an Ellie Goulding with fuller sound, or a less dramatic Adele. On “Leon’s Lullaby,” she’s a dreamy rendition of new soul artists like Leon Bridges. She glows in minimalism.

It’s for this reason that she and her decidedly alt-pop producer feel so mismatched. He’s good — the electronic hook on “Nobody Cares” and the whistle finish on “Tired of Talking,” for example, demonstrate real creativity. But too often, Rahmani treats LÉON as another instrument in a vast digital orchestra of synths and effects, rather than its lead performer. She’s invisible on the chorus of “Nobody Cares,” too compressed on “Lullaby,” and can’t escape an unnecessary high harmony on “Treasure.”  To the detriment of them both, Rahmani only ever trusts LÉON’s voice accidentally, or on condition of the next big instrumental bit.

The EP’s strengths occasionally trump this central challenge. “Treasure,” for all its faults, is a stylistically bold adventure into familiar themes of love and intimacy. Under LÉON’s vulnerable vocals, the subtext seems to read, “you’ve never heard anyone say it like this before.” To their credit, Rahmani and LÉON never run out of new ideas to keep a song interesting, and easy lyrics contribute accessibility without sacrificing sophistication. (Just listen to “Tired of Talking.”) There’s a lot to like on “Treasure,” and there’s reason to be excited for the forthcoming LP.

These critiques of “Treasure,” in fact, imply LÉON’s potential. Coupled with a different producer, or a quieter Rahmani, songs like “Lullaby” prove she could be a big soul mover, or, with “Tired of Talking,” an alt-pop queen. But, in trying to be both, LÉON has discovered fundamental frictions between the styles “Treasure” hopes to combine.

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Playlist: Lost love and blinging hotlines https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/12/playlist-lost-love-and-blinging-hotlines/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/12/playlist-lost-love-and-blinging-hotlines/#respond Thu, 12 Nov 2015 16:59:26 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1106902   Hi again, Stanford! This week, in honor of Drake’s surprisingly successful single, we bring you “Lost Love and Blinging Hotlines,” a series of odes to the significant other who got away. Though Ingrid Michaelson’s decidedly not over it on “Over You,” and Otis Redding is all broken up on “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” […]

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Icona Pop - London life (Wikimedia Commons)
Icona Pop – London life (Wikimedia Commons)

Hi again, Stanford! This week, in honor of Drake’s surprisingly successful single, we bring you “Lost Love and Blinging Hotlines,” a series of odes to the significant other who got away. Though Ingrid Michaelson’s decidedly not over it on “Over You,” and Otis Redding is all broken up on “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” Ella Eyre (“Comeback”) says they’ll rue the day they left.  

Again, comment any song suggestions for other readers or playlist requests for us!

Contributors:

Josh

Just Another Night – Icona Pop

Eye of the Needle – Sia

Comeback – Ella Eyre

Tyler

Come Back Baby – Ray Charles

Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan

When It Hurts So Bad – Lauryn Hill

Pictures of You – The Cure

Serena

Over You- Ingrid Michaelson, A Great Big World

Skinny Love- Birdy

Tess

Drops – Jungle

6 8 – Gabriel Garzon Montano

Till It Happens To You – Corinne Bailey Rae

Ben

Bell Bottom Blues – Eric Clapton

Don’t Give Up On Me – Solomon Burke

I’ve Got Dreams To Remember – Otis Redding

Clare

Twilight – Elliott Smith

Funny Not To Care – Lake Street Dive

I’d Rather Go Blind – Etta James

The Way You’d Love Her – Mac DeMarco

Rahim

When I Was Your Man – Bruno Mars

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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MixedCo mixes in alumni for 30th anniversary show https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/30/mixedco-30th-anniversary/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/30/mixedco-30th-anniversary/#respond Fri, 30 Oct 2015 08:45:52 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1105971 Dutifully, Karan Mathur tells me that Mixed Company, or MixedCo, is Stanford’s oldest coed a cappella group. But his passion, along with that of co-president Matt Baiza, clearly lies with Mixed Co’s modern form: namely, its reputation as a tight-knit community of diverse individuals. From over 100 applicants, the singing group accepted eight new members […]

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Dutifully, Karan Mathur tells me that Mixed Company, or MixedCo, is Stanford’s oldest coed a cappella group. But his passion, along with that of co-president Matt Baiza, clearly lies with Mixed Co’s modern form: namely, its reputation as a tight-knit community of diverse individuals. From over 100 applicants, the singing group accepted eight new members this year, and the selection process is clearly geared toward chemistry. “It’s important to keep a really strong group dynamic,” Baiza says. “It’s more than just musical ability.” For me, the 30th anniversary concert confirmed his sentiments: Mixed Company is a family.

The current members of MixedCo. (KATLYN ALAPATI/The Stanford Daily)
The current members of MixedCo. (KATLYN ALAPATI/The Stanford Daily)

Last weekend, the group’s 30th anniversary celebration convened with over 100 MixedCo alumni visiting campus during Homecoming Weekend for an intergenerational concert. The setlist appropriately spanned decades, from a quirky rendition of “Road to Nowhere” by the classes of ‘85-’90, to the contemporary “Shut Up and Dance.” Finally, every member rushed on stage for a timeless (albeit oversized) performance of the group’s anthem, “Leland’s Island” (memorable: “and we’ll have fun fun fun till our daddies take tuition away”). Though the older groups may have lost some of their previous musical lustor, the event didn’t hinge on vocal quality. Instead, it succeeded on anecdotes about initiation, jokes about members who had gotten married and campy comedy sketches. MixedCo was performing a family reunion.

That said, someone deserves a shoutout for the incomparable performance of “Black and Gold” by the classes of ’10-’15. Or — even better — everyone does. I’d never heard MixedCo sound better, or perform more compellingly, than with an army of flawless harmonizers behind Nicholas Chen ‘13, alumni president, on lead.  

Generations of alumni gathered on stage for a finale. (KATLYN ALAPATI/The Stanford Daily)
Generations of alumni gathered on stage for a finale. (KATLYN ALAPATI/The Stanford Daily)

Maybe these moments — Chen’s soulful croon over a chord of 30 voices — are what Baiza means when he explains the MixedCo vision. Asked about the group’s Singing in Service program, which has taken the group to schools in Hawaii and Mexico and elsewhere, he tells me: “[It’s] sharing the ability to make music.” Drawing from his own experience, Baiza suggests, “being part of a musical group and in school really affects your academic outlook, and makes you invested.” Mathur jumps in to riff on the value of arts, affirming, “music is something everyone universally understands.”

If there’s a unity in 30 years of MixedCo, outside of its traditions, it stems from this understated view of music. Indeed, the MixedCo philosophy suggests music can be funny or grand or serious or understated, depending on the interplay of its producers, and that music is best — it inspires, it unifies — when those contributors are numerous, diverse and collaborative. For proof, Baiza and Mathur suggest, I need only look at the talented team they’ve assembled. After all, who would imagine cohesion among such mixed company?

 

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Playlist: ‘Convincing my roommate I’m sophisticated’ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/26/convincing-my-roommate-im-sophisticated/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/26/convincing-my-roommate-im-sophisticated/#respond Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:09:34 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1105727 Hi Stanford! This week, the writers and editors of the Daily music beat are excited to bring you something new: a playlist. “Convincing My Roommate I’m Sophisticated” is a compilation of our team’s favorite eccentric songs and artists, here to help you win your artsy roommate’s respect. If you have any song suggestions for other […]

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Hi Stanford! This week, the writers and editors of the Daily music beat are excited to bring you something new: a playlist. “Convincing My Roommate I’m Sophisticated” is a compilation of our team’s favorite eccentric songs and artists, here to help you win your artsy roommate’s respect.

If you have any song suggestions for other readers or playlist requests for us, please drop them in the comments!

Contributors:

Josh

i (Album Version) – Kendrick Lamar

In Time – fka twigs

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – Florence and the Machine

Ben

Open Mind – Robert Glasper Experiment

By Fire – Hiatus Kaiyote

So Lost – Ady Suleiman

Tyler

Blue Train – John Coltrane

Svefn-g-englar – Sigur Ros

The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You’re Going to Have to Leave Now, or, ‘I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!’  – Sufjan Stevens

Tess

Bored in the USA – Father John Misty

On & On – Erykah Badu

Armchairs – Andrew Bird

Clare

Cilvia Demo – Isaiah Rashad

Look At Where We Are – Hot Chip

Know Til Now – Jim James

 

You can contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Behind the scenes with the Stanford Concert Network https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/16/stanford-concert-network/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/16/stanford-concert-network/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2015 10:37:05 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1104931 If there’s a soundtrack to Stanford, sophomore Nick Burakoff and senior Freddy Avis are writing it. This year, the duo (along with co-director Manolis Sueuga, who couldn’t make it to our interview) are leading the university’s Stanford Concert Network (SCN), a musical juggernaut with a hand in everything from small EBF concerts and music rental […]

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If there’s a soundtrack to Stanford, sophomore Nick Burakoff and senior Freddy Avis are writing it. This year, the duo (along with co-director Manolis Sueuga, who couldn’t make it to our interview) are leading the university’s Stanford Concert Network (SCN), a musical juggernaut with a hand in everything from small EBF concerts and music rental services to the iconic Full Moon on the Quad and Frost Music Festival. And while Burakoff and Avis trade asides about obscure EDM artists during our interview, their vision is closer in scale to Major Lazer.

From left to right: Nick Burakoff, Freddy Avis and Manolis Sueuega. (Rahim Ullah/THE STANFORD DAILY)
From left to right: Nick Burakoff, Freddy Avis and Manolis Sueuga. (Rahim Ullah/THE STANFORD DAILY)

When Avis quips, “we have a lot of momentum,” it’s an understatement. The Network is fresh off of turning out a massive crowd for Stanford’s perennial Frost Music Festival, snagging Post Malone for the recent “Fallout” concert and a funding victory that leaves them in unexpectedly good financial standing. “I think we’re gonna be a much more active organization this year,” says Burakoff. “We have a lot of exciting things in the works,” adds Avis – and though he studiously avoids spoiling other projects, he does let me in on one: a new initiative called Stanford Studio Sessions, through which SCN will partner with FM radio station KZSU to record and stream live sets of student artists.

The new effort represents one of SCN’s top priorities: to help student artists expand their reach and connect with a broader audience. But the Network, especially under its new management, sees itself as more than a facilitator. Burakoff explains, “SCN is one of those groups that’s really trying to give back and add to the student experience,” especially by building a “diverse musical atmosphere.” Avis contributes, “if you think music is an important part of campus life, SCN is at the front of that effort.” For the small team that runs this massive organization, managing the concert experience isn’t just about music. It’s public service.

The vision might feel pretentious without a reflection on past experience. But the success and 4,000 plus attendees of last year’s Frost Festival suggest that Stanford Concert Network has both the skillset and the demand to shape campus life. Under the ambitious management of Burakoff, Avis and Sueuga, it’s poised to be bigger and better than ever. Asked if last year’s success has produced worryingly high expectations, the pair is dismissive. Avis responds, “it should help us drive this year’s show.” Burakoff adds, “If anything, I’m worried about how to build off that platform and just go higher.”

 

You can contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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A new, anxious Americana in Halsey’s debut https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/06/halsey_badlands/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/06/halsey_badlands/#respond Wed, 07 Oct 2015 01:50:58 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1104418 She’s disillusioned, and ‘Badlands’ says we should be, too. In her promising debut, Halsey (born Ashley Frangipane) navigates dynamics of power and sexuality in a sonic dystopia that looks eerily like modern society. Over cynical alt-pop instrumentals, she plays the embattled anti-hero, an experienced warrior taking on all the institutions holding her down. Our artist’s […]

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She’s disillusioned, and ‘Badlands’ says we should be, too. In her promising debut, Halsey (born Ashley Frangipane) navigates dynamics of power and sexuality in a sonic dystopia that looks eerily like modern society. Over cynical alt-pop instrumentals, she plays the embattled anti-hero, an experienced warrior taking on all the institutions holding her down.

Halsey performing on her American You(th) tour. (Courtesy of Halseymusic17, Wikimedia Commons)
Halsey performing on her American You(th) tour. (Courtesy of Halseymusic17, Wikimedia Commons)

Our artist’s stage name derives from her New York upbringing: Her hometown, Brooklyn, includes the “Halsey” Street which also serves as an anagram of her first name. Her troubled financial background led to her first pre-fame tour and performing to make a living.

And though ‘Badlands’ avoids explicit autobiography, Halsey’s identity as a bisexual, biracial and bipolar woman is its constant inspiration. At 21, Halsey owns a tired worldliness built from struggle, and on ‘Badlands,’ it’s immersive.

In this vein, Halsey strives to be the voice of an anxious and diverse generation sometimes too much. The opening three songs too readily sacrifice strong storytelling for anthemic resonance.

Though a person of her various identities is understandably antiestablishment, “Castle” feels a bit on-the-nose. And the topical “New Americana” is a clear play for radio-ready greatness at the expense of the insight that comes later in the album with Halsey’s lived experience and the daring character of her instrumental introductions. “Hold Me Down” has its moments, including some stinging indictments of patriarchy (“Sold my soul to a three piece, and he told me I was holy”), but ultimately works only as an introduction to ‘Badlands’’ more personal material.

After these tracks, the album somewhat abruptly transitions from Lorde-type generational angst into a more comfortable niche and largely stays there, merging the personal and the universal into a single narrative. “Coming Down” and “Drive” particularly demonstrate Halsey’s potential in this respect.

“I’ve got a lover, a love like religion,” she croons on the former, an effort in iconoclasm and irreverence matched by “Young God,” which finds power and risk in young love and vulnerability. These songs are ‘Badlands’’ tour de force: messy, ironic chronicles of modern relationship, inextricable from both old institutions and new romantic rules. With impressive soundscapes and disaffected vocals, Halsey has a way of simultaneously sweeping us up in her moment (we’re all in the car on “Drive”) and placing us in broader society.

But ‘Badlands’ sometimes loses steam when it ventures too far from its core strengths. To her credit, Halsey’s departures pay off on “Control” and “Colors,” which provide surprisingly honest perspectives into mental health and demonstrate her artistic versatility. But “Haunting” and “Roman Holiday” contribute little to the album, and feel like placeholders after harder-hitting tracks. Similarly, even a catchy chorus can’t save “Ghost,” a disappointing finale which can’t sit still and misfires entirely with jarring rapped verses.

Instead, ‘Badlands’ succeeds when Halsey understands honest and contextualized self-reflection as her most powerful political and artistic tool, leaving progressive checklist-songs and filler tracks at the door. That’s when she’s most the voice she wants to be — everyone’s and her own, all at once.

Contact Joshua Seawell at jseawell ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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