Month: March 2017

Everyone knows Taylor Swift.

As one of the biggest pop stars, possibly ever, Taylor is constantly in the public radar, and her music the subject of many levels of scrutiny. Since her first album, Taylor Swift, was released in 2006, Swift has gone through a musical and personal translation. Songs from Fearless like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” were among the more popular songs of hers back when I was in 6th grade. When she released 1989 in 2014, her style had completely transformed from country to pop. It didn’t come as a surprise as her music had been changing gradually with each new album, but it brought about a new Taylor.

I don’t tend to follow celebrity lives at all, but reading an interview for Rolling Stone from just before the release of 1989, it seems like Taylor started to live independently. Swift was criticized a lot for all of her songs about unnamed boys and the fact that none of her music seemed to be about anything else, but 1989 departed from this with music about somewhat more complex topics. The music isn’t novel but it is good, at least in my opinion. I don’t tend to listen to a lot of pop, but I gave 1989 a lot of listens during 11th grade.

Taylor Swift, from what I can tell, has a bubbling and almost erratic personality. She can jump from idea to idea and her success is doubtlessly because of how quickly she is moving. Being famous is something Taylor realizes she chose on her own accord, but she is somewhat tired of the constant eyes on her and unending attention she has to put up with. Having to constantly be alert for people attempting to steal music or steal glimpses takes its toll, but Swift does her best to respond gracefully.

Along with a change in music styles, you can see a change in Swift over her decade long career in the way she presents herself to the public. People used to be crazy about her long curly hair, until she cut it short and let it lay straight or wavy. Her style is adorable, in my opinion, and she seems to always be smiling.

My favorite song off of 1989 would have to be “Wildest Dreams” which reminds me of Lana Del Rey but is still very clearly sung by Taylor Swift. Pure pop it is, and there isn’t any country left in the music. This was intentional, as Swift thought that it was hard to do both pop and country well at the same time, and instead decided to focus on just one, growing as a musician in the process.

Recently, Taylor Swift has been taking a break from social media, apparently while recording her new album. I’m excited to see if she continues to take her music in a new direction and starts to make some riskier musical choices, helping to move the genre of pop forward as such an influential artist.

Björk, as a whole, can be described as art pulled from somewhere deceptively beautiful, a dark crevice that produces something untouchable yet physically overwhelming. Her music is only one of the elements that creates this persona, and paired with her way of life, Björk creates an entirely unique experience. Not every musician is given the opportunity to have an exhibit dedicated to them in the MoMA, but the location was perfectly befitting of Björk.

In all honesty, I am no expert on her, but I know enough to know that she is entirely her own form of art. As a musician, every one of her album takes a new idea and expands it into something beautiful. As an artist, her entire way of life and wardrobe could be put into a book resting on the coffee table of the waiting room for a top interior design. In fact, a book of this sort exists, the evidence of her MoMA exhibit. At the same time, Björk is somewhat of an enigma, and understanding exactly who she is isn’t an easy task. (At least, I wasn’t able to in the 20 minutes I spent researching her for this post.)

What most fascinates me about Björk is her most recent album, Vulnicura, which is backed by a mix of strings and electronic beats, and is completely taken from live recordings during her tour. Björk’s voice travels through a huge range, and isn’t comparable to other musicians that I know of. As a whole, Björk’s music lies in some other dimension.

To some, both her music and her exhibit at the MoMA don’t quite hit home. An article discussing a visit to the exhibit, which was featured in 2015, describes it as hagiography, accusing it of overly exalting Björk as something more than she is (a human).

I don’t know where I stand on the issue. I know that I enjoy her music, and I know that I find her interviews intriguing. Although, at the same time, she doesn’t manage to pull me into all of her music, and I haven’t managed to listen to much beyond Vulnicura. The songs on the album are fragile and the notes seem to hang by a thread.

If you want to hear something different, I would recommend checking out Björk. She lived in Iceland for the beginning part of her life before moving to London with her 2 and a half year son. Even at 49, her music is not settling into any sort of regular form, but continuing to transform. Whether you enjoy it or not, it’s hard not to acknowledge the fact that Björk is creating something that helps to keep things moving forward. I can’t help but wonder if Lady Gaga draws inspiration from Björk’s bizarre sense of style and way of living. Making art is one thing, but living as it is an entirely different one.

The first time I saw Julien Baker’s Audiotree session, I fell in love. Her simple guitar looping paired with a beautiful voice and melancholy words made for the perfect trio, so I was struck from the beginning. Her guitar is a beautiful pale blue, and because I don’t know anything about guitars, color is about the only thing that strikes me. Her rainbow guitar strap gives an added flourish, subtly expressing her queerness. If you have time, I definitely recommend watching the full 30 minute session, which includes four songs and some very intelligently answered (and asked) interview questions.

She’s not a showstopper, nor does she come off as someone who would seek a career in entertainment, but she is extremely intellectual. Her opening lyrics poke fun at the fact that every one of her songs is depressing, with the words, “Wish I could write songs about anything other than death.” In her interview, Julien says she does her best to come off as honest in her musician, and rather than creating a separate persona as a musician she tries to relate her persona as a musician to her day to day self.

I personally wish I could be as articulate as Julien Baker, who clearly expresses herself both in her music and her interviews. Additionally, music isn’t even Julien’s first priority in life, as she is currently putting herself through college at the same time and is majoring in education and literature, with the goal of teaching after college. She started in audio engineering but realized she wanted to do something less technical and commercial. After her own experiences with teachers as a student, she wanted to be able to directly influence future humans to grow, in a way that is less abstract than music.

Personally, my high school teachers were some of the most influential people in my life, and I loved so many of them. They acted as positive role models and I myself am considering entering the profession for the same reasons as Julien Baker, in order to shape people positively. Overall, I am constantly struck while listening to Julien that I want to be her friend, and I think we could relate to each other in a variety of ways. She’s 21, the same age as my sister who I’m very close to, and I could see her acting both as a role model and a friend.

Although I love Julien Baker’s Audiotree session, I am honestly not the hugest fan of the rest of her music, finding her album to be a little over produced. The rawness of the music she plays above marks it as even more beautiful. If you’re like me and love to listen to a good sad song, I would definitely recommend checking Julien Baker out! Her beauty as a person and a musician is unmatched.