Alli's Articles
INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, CULTURE PIECES, MUSICAL RAMBLINGS.
We haven't had trouble with artists criticizing our blog and the things we write about here at Twilight Collective, but that doesn't mean we don't feel pressure from the outside world. This seems to be a common theme on my page lately, with my review of 1 Trait World Tour being published earlier this month, a parody album by a group that was created to make fun of overbearing, critical music journalists. It's gotten to the point where I don't enjoy referring to myself as an amateur "music journalist," because the phrase itself just brings up so much negativity, especially in this digital Pitchfork-ian era that the world is in right now. There have been many things that I've seen people say online that have made me question my writing, this blog, and my newly picked journalism major, the newest comment being made by indie hip-hop artist Lizzo. She since deleted the tweet, but it read: “PEOPLE WHO ‘REVIEW’ ALBUMS AND DONT MAKE MUSIC THEMSELVES SHOULD BE UNEMPLOYED.” I felt attacked by this sentence, which seemed to be yelling directly at me with all of its capital letters. It made me upset, I must admit. I love listening to music, I've been influenced by all different types of music through my family members, and all of the exploration that I do by myself. I've talked to so many artists through this blog and got to look at the world through their eyes. I've read and watched countless other interviews and reviews by more seasoned critics. I'd like to think I know my stuff when it comes to music, but this tweet made that confidence shrivel up. I lack the confidence, tools, and resources to make my own music, along with the fact that I just don't want to. Writing articles and poetry is good enough for me, but does that mean all of my work and knowledge is invalidated? Is my future just a black hole if I go into this industry as a non-artist? Luckily, as I scrolled through the replies, I felt better as I saw hundreds of users just as shocked and upset as I was. People were warning her of "dying on this hill" while she's so early in the career ahead of her. I should now clarify that I do not hate Lizzo because of this tweet, I just listened to Cuz I Love You the other day and it is so great, needed, and an album that is supposed to make the listener feel amazing and unstoppable. Ironically, while listening to an album full of positivity, I couldn't help but still feel down with this comment still lurking in the back of my head. Fans pointed this out as well, how she made a very derogatory statement when her role has been established through these songs as a beacon of hope and light. Listen, not all music journalists are as aware and open-minded as I'm ideally painting us out to be. Some are ignorant. Some give low-rating review to albums the general public think are good. Some are just straight-up disrespectful, with their lack of research and refusal to acknowledge an artist's perspective, much like what Lizzo is referring to. Unfortunately for the cool journalists, these are the ones that overshadow the whole occupation. Some aren't even doing it for money! Cough, cough, twilightcollective. Lizzo is a fairly new artist, so I could understand the anger she went through when her album got negative reviews. In this world, with its dizzying 7 billion population, people go through different experiences. We aren't always able to fully understand what another goes through based on the simple fact that we're not them. This follows into media reviews; If a grown white man was the one that reviewed Cuz I Love You, he probably would find it harder to relate to what Lizzo speaks about. Not saying that grown white men can't practice loving themselves once in a while. She seemed to eventually cover this in a follow-up tweet, inviting music journalists to sit in her next recording so they could see what she sees. Even though I, along with many other journalists still felt the sting from the original sentence, this story did have a happy, educated ending where the two parties came together. This goes back to our main message at Twilight Collective: this industry needs more diversity, and here we are, trying to make that a reality! Anyone should be able to review an album, boy or girl, adult or teen, musician or non-musician, because the variety of opinions makes the music world go 'round, and gives the artist themselves a better idea of how their work is perceived by all. If just musicians reviewed music, it would be too technical all of the time, and hard for non-musicians to understand. With the non-musician opinion, there's a lot more emphasis on other aspects, such as the emotion and lyricism of the songs. So music journalists, listen to albums! Do your research! Write reviews! Artists want to know what you're thinking. And even though I'm not an artist myself, I know that for a fact. All of the heartwarming messages I get when I talk about a musician's work makes it easy to see that they thrive off of praise, and even constructive criticism. That's a thing that's hard to get used to, not just as a musician, but ANY person who's putting their thoughts out into the universe. But once you realize that negative feedback is the Yang to positivity's Yin, it comforts you in a sense. I'm only 17, so I have much to go through before I'm fully employed, hopefully as a journalist of some sort. This tweet and the thoughts of doubt it put into my head gave me the power to fight back against them, and ensured me that I am indeed passionate about my music. Listen to Lizzo's new album Cuz I Love You, available on most streaming applications!
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As an young teen aspiring to be a music blogger, it's pretty clear to see how messy the real industry is nowadays. I live in constant fear of becoming one of those universally hated, backhanded-compliment-giving journalists: you know, the ones that spend their time cooking up clickbait headlines and discovering new ways to invade an artists' privacy. I have an immense urge to make fun of them all one day in an article, but sometimes the greatest people to insult them is the ones that know them best: the bands themselves. So move over Weird Al, get out of the way Tiny Meat Gang, 1 Trait Danger has arrived. It's been a over year since 1 Trait High was released, a masterpiece of a parody album concocted by Car Seat Headrest drummer Andrew Katz, with the rest of the band (Will Toledo, Ethan Ives, and Seth Dalby) making an appearance as well. The 10-song release touches on a variety of irritating tropes and characters they've encountered in the music journalism world since they've debuted as a full band. While 1 Trait World Tour, which dropped March 31st, carries these ideas in 12 new tracks, a slew of new topics have been thrown into the mix. These include repetitive comparisons to other artists, festival killjoys, and even angry tour managers who won't give you water, even after you've asked them 15 times. The album, or should I call it, this experience, begins with the very appropriately titled "Softmore Slump." It serves as a perfect little prelude for the album, warning any naysayers who doubted the success of the group post-1TH. I have to admit, the first 1TD album went extremely hard, and the EDM beat drops were better than anything Skrillex could have ever dreamed of. I didn't know it would be possible for anything to slap even more, but a minute and thirty seconds into the first song and I was already proven wrong. The same goes with the next song, "Melbourne, Australia," which first dropped as a surprise single about 8 months back. There were times while listening to this album where I doubted if the whole thing was a joke or not, because there was no way that a parody could sound this good. The general plot of World Tour is what it says in the print: it tells the story of 1 Trait Danger, the new face of indie-rock, traveling the world, meeting new caricatures, and playing a bunch of festivals. The album captures the entire journey, from the ride there ("Banger on a Plane") to the final "Reprisal." In the middle of the album, there's four songs meant to capture the sound and feel of four different festival sets, which was a nice in-theme touch. The 1 Trait Crew never passes up an opportunity to directly name-drop artists, and that proved to be true once again with the 4th track "Glass Boys (Midday Festival Set)." With an hilariously spot on and infectious chorus that's guaranteed to get stuck in your head for the rest of the week, the use of twangy guitars and vocals that drone on and on perfectly mimic Mac Demarco's trademark sound. Because of this sound, Mac always seems to be the go-to guy any time a journalist wants to compare a newer indie band to some known figure for the clicks. This gets bland, and I imagine rather insulting when an artist works hard to hone their sound and is inevitably thrown under the Demarco Rug. Don't get me wrong, I love Mac and his music, but there is more music out there to make comparisons to. This seems to be part the message that 1T was getting at with this one! The jabs continue in the next track, "Clap When I'm Dead (Evening Set)," which reminded me a lot of this Hard Times article I saw the other day. "Sidestage Headliner" playfully roasts The xx in a line I laughed out loud at because I knew I wasn't the only one that noticed this! Near the beginning of the song, Andrew mutters, "What are you, playing one string one your guitar and flipping through two different notes while Jamie does all the work?" Jamie xx is an amazing artist, and his solo work is equally as, if not MORE impressive than what he's done with The xx. I'm not sure what act "Bedtime Bowie (Mainstage Headliner)" is supposed to be poking fun at, but you can blame that on my age, or my fried-out brain due to AP Bio, I guess. I'll be damned if that melody in the beginning isn't un-ironically amazingly crafted, though. And what would be a 1 Trait Danger album without a tale of an evil computer genius? "Multiple Computer Mark" channels Cosset from 1TH through their shared favorite activity in the world: hacking. Are they related? Are they the same person? Will their paths ever intertwine? The theories keep on coming. The amazing musical breakdown by Will at the end was definitely my favorite part of the song. It better make it on the next CSH album! As I listened to more and more of this album, I was astonished at all of the topics it managed to hit, the 10th track "Fly, Play, Travel, Play, Fly" using its repetitive title to point out the tiring schedule that musicians are often pulled into. Once again, sounds like a perfectly normal EDM banger you'd hear at a club. I think that's what makes me cry-laugh the most about 1TD, that you could throw any of their songs in some DJ's playlist and not one drunken patron at the bar would notice. The next track, bilingual bop "On Tour With Eddy (Yo Tengo)," is probably my favorite song off this album. I can't pinpoint an exact reason why, but it's probably between the manager voice, the sheer EXISTENCE of Eddy, or maybe either of the lines "They'll put down ya pants / And they'll punch ya in ya sack," and "Agua agua por favor / lo quiero mother****** so just give me some more." The random Spanish makes it SO MUCH better. There are songs by Car Seat Headrest that I've openly sobbed to. There have been songs by Car Seat Headrest that hit my poor little heart like a truck when I hear the first note. I think the fact that the members of CSH have the power to make me either tear up or wheeze until my stomach hurts with a flick of a switch makes me love the 1 Trait project even more. The music industry is a rough place, and sometimes hostility from both sides - journalists and artists - just makes it worse. Sometimes, the best way to deal with aggravating subjects and people is to simply troll them by making a amazingly talented and accurate comedy album with loads of lore and even a downloadable video game bundle (that I would totally invest in if I didn't just blow all my money on stuff for vacation next month). If this overly descriptive and passionate review didn't inspire you to check out the album for yourself, I don't know what will. My final thoughts, to quote "Reprise," "You can take everything I've ever done and run with it." And run with this article you can. Listen to 1 Trait World Tour on Bandcamp! Make sure to check out 1 Trait High while you're there, too.
If you want something a little more serious, listen to the real Car Seat Headrest. They're just as amazing. |