pop music

SnappScenes: “John Wayne,” Lady Gaga x Jonas Akerlund [Work Tape]

SnapTrakks, TK:LA

Pretense: I never really got around to developing this one (thus the “[Work Tape]”), but for the sake of the record… 160-second snap reaction from the day they emptied this clip on the digisphere

***

So, it is, and here we are #againagain Hollywood corpses, technicolor torches, muscle cars, and glorified blaze-bound stars: Lady Gaga’s back with another sonicscape of cinematic audiobiographical bombast –– kiddies, let’s get high #scenethespace

Fair pretense: Every track on Joanne is entirely autobiographical (full-stop got it, full-stop great) that said ––

Okay, so … Joanne vibes are real, and considered, and I –– we –– appreciate that, fully and completely support Joanne as a collective experience. So, “John Wayne” completely great, completely new, completely it’s own thing –– completely autobiographical. So, “John Wayne” as a visual representation of a completely autobiographical experience within the context of this real, considered space –– is, quite frankly, out of my realm of expertise: I’m not the Lady, how am I supposed to know what it means if I wasn’t there?

So, that said, for the record, I cannot stake analytical claim on this most recent cinematic release from a one said Lady Gaga; because, I am not she. So…

Thus said –– for the kids, for the children, for old, times, sake let’s pretend the video is a mental flashback of a performance artist’s life lived in the modern fishbowl of broadcast spectacle –– for the kids, for the children, for old, times, sake let’s pretend this latest release from a one said Lady in living GAGAVISION is but another installment of … #waitforit … TRANSMISSION GAGAVISION

(i know, i know: “but, swiper, it’s not another installment of ‘#waitforit’ TRANSMISSION GAGAVISION –– it’s a promo video.” yes, but that’s not fun, and that’s not why proper non-single studio produced music videos are distributed “for the fans,” just, either keep reading or rewatch the video or be brilliant out in the world, but if you’re going to keep reading just sit back and get weird for old, times, sake)

Ciao Manhattan… Sunset Genesis in the Living Lens of Perfect Illusion

Soundtrek, TK:LA

Three years later: Perfect Illusion; welcome to the new testament.

^

#literallytheonlyfeaturedreferencedirectlyexplainingwhatanyofthatmeans

Perfect Illusion, as its own release is a mirror, an aural gaze inside the disco boulder of sonic self-realization. Building scene from a grain of salt, mother of pearl emerging from this her world oyster, three lifetimes later emerges the post-pressurized diamond, setting sail from Shangri-La, steady rolling along the PCH with a rhythmic detour down Laurel Canyon, from rebel hippie rock through the Sunset Strip’s Electric Ladyland until we settle in the gapless gallivance of Xanadu’s disco wonderland – that living pantheon for all Angeles-bound-and-stellar-bred cosmic artists.

That boulder, that diamond, that crystal gem here finds its sonic identity in the literal pop; that cataclysmic synthesis of hard rock and disco inferno – that blast to birth the boulder’s mirrored glass.

So here, as its own entity, Perfect Illusion is the synergy of Golden Coast tones maximalized and harmonized with that most signature human chord, to the point of genre eradication in the face of just well-crafted tribal opus soundtracking. Rock, Folk, Disco, R&B (check the background vocals, kids, some kind of rhythmic blue), together, in a manner most-threatening to the sonic status quo… any time we merge those most marginalized Canyon dwellers, city slickers, urban denizens, soulmen, cosmic dancers, punk rockers, jazz cats, and funk grooveallegiant together in that secret space of aural invisible, we usurp the very system that gentrifies through genre and “mainstreaming.” Welp, with Mark Ronson, Kevin Parker, BloodPop, and Josh Homme (get it, Queens of the Stone Age… get it, Radio… Gaga… Queen… of the… never mind) on soundboard as the latest four Gospel Unicornmen of the Apopcalypse squad: buckle up buttercup, bricks-and-string are back on the airwaves #catchthebeat

Perfect Illusion, as the lead single of a comprehensive record album, is the first law of universal dynamics; the Law of Mentalism: the all is mind, the universe is mental.

per·fect
adjective: ˈpərfikt/

  1. having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.

verb: pərˈfekt/

  1. make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible

+

il·lu·sion
noun: iˈlo͞oZHən/

  1. a thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses.

=

TL TULOMTULOM FTK

read: this life and this record are your perfect illusion, so… perfect the illusion and manifest mental reality #FREEYOURMIND

Mathemagical, isn’t it? #itsallmakebelieveisntit ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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The De Jure, The De Facto, The Glory of Britney Spears’ Tribal Gospel

Leitgeist Zeitgeist, Soundtrek, TK:LA

First things first: #HOWCANYOUREADTHISTHERESNOPICTURES
Second things next: Sort it out, education is the motivation #Literacy #ImaginationPassport #GetToWork
Here's a motion picture, focus and find your chill #letsread

Here’s a motion picture, focus and find your chill #letsread

*And now: our regularly scheduled programming*

So… in the two years and miscellany of months since Britney Jean… many dramatic learning scenarios have unfolded… for the shown world, and both a one Miss Britney Jean Spears, and mutually exclusively, myself #swiperitsnotaboutyou #iknow #itsalwaysbeenaboutdora #yesiknow #everypopstarisdora #igetit #keepitmoving #peoplearetryingtoreadhere #wellnotherehere #noonereadsthis #probablybecausetherestoomanyinsecurehashtags #anyway

Much like Britney Jean, said Spears nor myself have anything to prove in this latest iteration… except the reality that we live our lives as tales to be told, we record said lives to manifest alchemical gold, and beyond any and all else, we eclipse the great with the good, and actively oppose the established fallacy that human lives are nothing more than fails to be sold… which, effectually, is the everything; because Glory finds and founds itself in the amplified actualization of De Facto over De Jure Millennial Pop music culture identity, it breeds: I applaud and advocate for Glory; because I, along with a camaraderie of unbeknownst-to-us-then-undeniable-to-the-world-now Army officials, find and found the self in this relentlessly resilient tribe of born-and-bred Millennial Pop music culture creatives, I proceed.

#LETSGETINTELLECTUAL #INANANTIESTABLISHMENTARIANKINDOFWAY #LIKEWEALWAYSDOATTHISTIME #WITHUNNECESSARILYEGREGIOUSAMOUNTSOFIMPROPERLYPLACEDRHYME

So, without further ado (“without further ado…” it’s all melodramatic – get what the kids want and have fun with it! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) the de jure, the de facto, the one-off story riffing about the Glory that is this marvelous ninth record album from millennial cult pop tribe leader Britney Spears…

De Jure

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana.

glory (noun) glo·ry \ˈglȯr-ē\

1. something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride

2. a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.

3. a ring or spot of light: as

a: aureole

b:  a halo appearing around the shadow of an object

De Facto

Britney Spears exists as the living pop canon of the TRL Generation: period, unequivocally; Glory exists as said Generation’s anthem battle hymn and opus tribal frequency. #OurBattlefieldIsSpectacularPrivatizedPublicity #YourVibeAttractsYourTribe

For the record:

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Vinyl Cut Prose: “Pneumatose”

Soundtrek, TK:LA, Vinyl Cut Prose, Vinyl Mind Flow

sc-pop

I date many things… cities, sounds, dreams. These things happen. When I date sounds, it is a full-stop courtship: get to know their interests, their background, their dreams, with whom they engage, do they have siblings, where do they post up to get down – can they read. These things. Eventually, the dalliance fades and something worthwhile is made. Eventually, we mix a master, and reverberate rhythms of the most loyal low-fidelity.

All of this is to say, I mingle with sonic musings. I’m a made match for muses. What does a first date sound like? Like the first take. It’s slow on the uptake, but fairly deliberate. It finds a track it grooves with, and explores it from myriad angles, pitches, and plays. We talk about life, shared experiences, we find lyrical camaraderie and beat-driven commonality. We find freedom in the music. There’s liberation in improvisation. You take an understood foundation and say: “I know you, you know you – here’s how I hear you, here’s how you appear to my ears… Here’s how the finished product unravels into the unknown.”

It gets weird. It remains inspired. It leaves few scores unsettled. It’s somewhat manic. It’s experimental. It is not interested in how you move, more so in the guarantee that you move and what compels you to move at all. It, takes, its, time.

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Vinyl Cut Prose: “Free Falling,” Florrie

Soundtrek, TK:LA

Sirens Round Two: “Free Falling” … English Channel tunage courtesy of Florrie #getgravitational

First seven seconds hit:

and it feels like taking a little something to channel loose wires…

Free falling… it’s like I’m free… falling… it’s a change of course

Here I am, I sing the verse, sing the verse, sing the verse…

Upside down, and in reverse… in reverse… in reverse

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Biorhythmic: “Seashells,” Florrie

Soundtrek, TK:LA

Florrie Arnold’s career has to be one of the most enjoyable to follow as a Pop fankid, culture connoisseur, and audio-anglophile; it’s, just, good, music – period.

2010’s Introduction, 2011’s Experiments, 2012’s Late – all EPs, all independent, all soundtracks for something of an anomaly in the current industry – sonic record of artistic development, unbound by mainstream market trajectory.

April brings the Bristol-native’s fourth EP, entitled Sirens. The album’s first track, “Seashells” was released late last week and – it works.

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Decennium Spin: “The College Dropout,” Kanye West

Soundtrek, TK:LA, Vinyl Cut Prose

“Through the wire, to the limit to the wall, for a chance to be with you, I’d gladly risk it all…”

#dropthuglife

TCDWh

Junior year of high school, despite – and in a contrarian way, due to – the *re*-election of George W. Bush, 2004 was an amazing year in an equally understated way. Off the heels of Jay-Z’s blueprint, in the slightly distant midst of red-crossed cameras, stood the gifted present of a re-educated maestro, the Don in pink Polo: Kanye West. Ten years ago today, pre-Yeezus walked onto the scene a solo rapper; through the wires, past the slow jamz, West set his own blueprint for fame’s new workout plan.

KWCDX

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Vinyl Cut Prose: Britney Jean

Pop Culture, Soundtrek, TK:LA, TrapperKeeper, Vinyl Cut Prose

I’ve spent the past two years since Femme Fatale mastering the art and science of global media and communication with Britney as my canon. I don’t really need to prove anything, and apparently neither does she; because Britney Jean founds and finds itself in that, it breathes … I appreciate Britney Jean.

Holding the thread close to a dream, while intelligence becomes the steal
For what if gold, showed token sold, while manners abright and rightfully bold
Make a wish, a princess dream, unfold the map, a small lil bean
To vanish the air and trace out the new, so scared to love, so soon who knew
Beautiful voice creeps in my head, only one person person can wear this red
Traces behavior, young and small; I see land, I must fall

 – Britney Jean

Linger in the legacy… intelligence as the steal is Britney Jean – no, she is not GaGa, nor Madonna, nor is hers the aspired claim on their cerebral domain, that knowledge which detaches one from visceral humanity… that spark to light the first morning star. Yet, only one can wear the red, the Scarlet Letter Britney dons instead… And so seeing land, she must fall; that grounding rooting the human and iconic plight – from dust we came and to dust we return, no matter how high the peak flight.

131101-britney-spears-musical

This is the record of someone who’s already been where you want her to stay, but that’s the point – you can’t evolve, and still return to that place unchanged. But you’ll never see it that way, because you’re not thee.

Revealing itself much like a sunset over the Hollywood Hills… we have an aural venture through lightly hued layers of majestic technicolor faded, ascending as a systematic rise within the naturally spectacular, muted neon chromatic escalating to the heavens, forever rooted in the Canyon, steady upon the capitalized moniker of America’s finest institution – studio stardom.

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Crate Dig: My First Blog Post #ever #kindof

Anthropopogy // Culture, Deconstruction, Pop Culture, Soundtrek, TK:DC, TrapperKeeper, Vinyl Mind Flow

Stumbled across my now-defunct first blog from back in 2007 #thatyear and in the past six years… not much has changed at all… what can I say?

For the sake of morbid curiosity… from October 2007… my first blog post… #itsadoosie #notheresnopictures

swiper sighs manifesto

So until I figure out this whole music blog thing i’ll just blog about pop culture, pseudo-politics, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, ology … the usual and of course media/entertainment which includes music, movies, tv a bit, books, or whatever suits my fancy.

Ummmm as for the music scene right now – it’s lacking in the mainstream. American Top 40 isn’t a good representation of music, the Top 40 should be indicative of the culture. The top 40 is watered down everything, even pop is watered down. Say what you will about Britney, Christina, N Sync, and Backstreet – but they were Pop: down to the core. They were catchy and they got into your head. They were like Saccharin; they were too sweet, and it was so synthetic, but they were devoured by the masses. You could not deny the sheer “Pop” of it.

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BlinkkBeats: Britney Spears – “Work BxxCH”

SnapTrakks, Soundtrek, TrapperKeeper

Everything was worth it. Everything is worth it. Everything will be exponentially more worth it in increasing measure as the cycles continue – if, you, work bxxch #BRITNEYTAUGHTUSALL

#nowgettowork

BlinkkIt:

Please believe this could be a dissertation #ohwait #hadbeendonethat #twice #becauseitsjustthatnice

Brass tacks: It’s fun. Remixable. Killer hooks. Understandable fodder. Strong focus on the beat, pulse, and bombast – Britney claims her role as integrated pneuma, as opposed to overt lyrical / verbal navigator.

I make the governor / Call me the governor

… supports said dissertation #busherayouthsubculturecelebrityicon, and thesis #welcometopostpopmusicentertainmentculture quite nicely. I approve and appreciate.

SIDENOTE: ( I’m not a youth subculture celebrity icon of an era ushered in by an incumbent governor president-elect – but if I were, I would probably hook it with: “I make the governor call me the governor” – I approve, I appreciate, I acknowledge that if ifs and ands were pots and pans there’d be no #WORK for tinkers’ hands… #luckyguesses #Y2Kforeveryall)

SnappIt:

If, you, want, that life – the glass house, the fame balls, the applause, the roar, the 20/20 experience, the carte blanche to go rogue, the holy grail, the crucifixion, the revolutionary rebirth, the ability to make them go berzerk in a breath,  that ticket to kiss land – you, betta, werk.

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