Millennial Spotlight

A comparison of music and the industry from the 1990s through today by analyzing cultural influences, technological developments, and public perception.

[millennialspotlight]

A Moment of Silence please, for the end of the beginning

Back in November 2013 the band Streetlight Manifesto finished up their last tour, the End of the Beginning tour. Being a big fan of their work, I was sure to go to one of their shows back in the summer. Now while many people may be saddened by the end of their tours, there isn’t much to worry about because they told us that even though their touring was over, they were not planning on breaking up and in fact were planning on focusing on creating new content. And even for more clarification and to assuage the hearts of their fans they made a blog post just to make sure that no one would be confused.

Just last week, however, they posted this picture to their official Facebook page.

  This got fans going crazy in the comments.

Over 200 people have commented on that picture in thorough confusion. A lot of those people didn’t get the memo that they weren’t down for the count, though to be fair that picture sure didn’t look promising.

To those that haven’t been following their recent developments, they have been in a tooth and nail fight with their current record label Victory records because of many different disputes in the past and through the production of their latest album, The Hands that Thieve, which is some of their best work in my humble opinion.

With both of these two factors in consideration, its quite normal that they posted that picture, they’re getting away from their previous recording life. They have been together as Catch 22 since the late 90's, and as Streetlight since '03, for some of us that music has touched us for the majority of our lives. Not wanting to be associated with the previous label, wanting more room to grow as musicians, having come to the end of the beginning of what many hope to be a long road ahead.

By: Francisco Almenara-Dumur

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Team Drake or Team Jay-Z?

[View the story "Fondue Vs. Lacrosse You Decide" on Storify]

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"Hello Kitty" video by Avril Lavigne 'racist'?

Avril Lavigne released the music video for her new single, "Hello Kitty", just shy of a week ago. Its already receiving mixed sentiments from fans and critics, some calling it racist and others backing the singer. With the 24/7 news cycle, are Americans too critical?

[View the story ""Hello Kitty" video by Avril Lavigne 'racist'?" on Storify]

[millennialspotlight]

a hipster in his natural habitat --chances are whoever he's listening to we will all be listening to in a matter of months.

Emily Glisson

[millennialspotlight]

Hipster Hysteria

At first, hipsters were just the artsy loners who liked to hang out in coffee shops and make fun of all things enjoyed by the mass general public. However, after my sister once referred to me as a hipster, I really began to reevaluate the term. I realized that I’m  really not a hipster at all, but my “hipster-ish” likes and interests are a result of the once underground hipster culture that has now become mainstream, dictating everything from our clothes to our music tastes.

As of late, “hipster” has come to receive an almost negative connotation but there’s really no denying its a major cultural aspect of our generation. I mean come on guys, would you really have spent 60 dollars on a shirt from Urban Outfitters that you could have easily found at GoodWill if there were no hipster influence? 

However, clothing trends come and go every year, but what’s more interesting to me is the way this new found hipster hysteria is also hugely influencing our individual tastes in music and the way we listen to it. 

Trends from past decades are suddenly regaining popularity thanks to hipster culture and music is no exception, especially singer/songwriter and indie music. Since hipsters thrive on authenticity and originality, the raw and non commercialized music of the indie/folk genre is steadily regaining it’s popularity and prominence in the music scene. 

 Most indie/folk artists start small with minimal devoted audiences, write their own songs and explore new ways of expressing their music; all things every true hipster can’t help but admire.

Seeing as hipster culture has now catapulted itself to the mainstream, there are more young hipster music snobs than ever relentlessly searching for the next big unheard of artist.  After all, there are few things a hipster enjoys more than being the first to discover a new artist before they blowup in the mainstream.  

This hipster craze is setting the stage for amazing artists to gain recognition that might not have had the chance otherwise. Take the movie Juno for example, it was one of the first largely popular movies that displayed overarching hipster themes. Teens everywhere, myself included, became obsessed, bought the soundtrack and artists like Kimya Dawson and Cat Power became the cool new thing because of their association with the movie and inadvertently, hipsters. 

So, to all you hipsters out there who will never admit to actually being hipsters, we thank you. Yes we make fun of you and sometimes think you go to ridiculous extremes, but you have reminded us of awesome music genres and artists that don’t get enough rightly deserved credit. 

By: Emily Glisson

[millennialspotlight]

How the Internet Helps Small Bands

When people think of technological advancements in music, we would generally think new equipment and a different electronic sound, but what about when its applied to non electronic music? For example Punk music, how has technology changed that genre? Well Timmy, I’m glad you asked.

By the time the 90’s came around, punk was already a popular genre but still had that indie/underground feel to it, one that prides itself in being a DIY genre. Back then if you wanted to buy a small band’s album you would actually have to go to their shows to get them. This isn’t a bad thing, because live shows are usually fun, but it thoroughly limited a small band’s exposure.

Back in the 90s and even early 2000s music sharing was difficult for the majority of the population, and even then most of it wasn’t happening too legally (I’m looking at you Napster and LimeWire).  Let’s fast forward to today, someone in a small band can, with the right know-how of course, put together a few tracks, and even make a simple music video. With websites like YouTube, SoundCloud and Bandcamp, sharing and profiting from your own music is much easier and wider reaching.

  A good example goes is the post that I made earlier this week about what I was currently listening to. They have a YouTube for sharing and they also have a Bandcamp page for selling. This is a strategy that many small bands and artist use nowadays because chances are higher that someone is going to buy your stuff if they can get a taste of it first.

by Francisco Almenara-Dumur

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first song I posted was an example of his acoustic incorporation and this one shows how technology has come into play. (it's a really long song but you get the idea from the intro)

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Check these examples discussed in my post of the way a single indie/folk artist, Sufjan Stevens, displays different versions of the genre in his songs.

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Is Technology Redefining not only our Lives but also our Music?

The genre of indie/folk first came onto the music scene in the 1990s, yet the artists who pioneered the genre then would probably not recognize the music we now consider to be indie/folk as such. The emergence of modern technologies and their takeover of everyday life has radically changed the ways we define, produce, and respond to the music of the ever expanding indie/folk genre. Indie/folk of the 90s was characterized by acoustic undertones, catchy melodies and raw lyrics that resonated on a deeper level with listeners. While much of this is still true of indie/folk today the changes we do see can largely be attributed to the rise of the computer and the producing options/variations it allows. Thanks to the computer, a "band" can now consists of one man and a computer program that allows you to manipulate sounds. This is true of bands in all genres but it's especially interesting in indie/folk considering it’s a genre that was once set apart by its emphasis on the use of acoustic instruments. The artists that were once mainly acoustic have transitioned their sounds to reflect generation Y’s technology obsession. Take the artist Sam Beam, who’s stage name is Iron & Wine, for example. His first few albums, that were produced in the late 90s/early 2000s, were song writing gold with quiet acoustic tones and brilliant lyrics that can only be explained as the result of genius. I buy all his albums, but when I heard his latest one it did not sound like the Iron & Wine I thought I knew. The heart of the music was still there in basic forms, but the acoustic undertones that were so present in his past albums were replaced by a more digital feel. The core of the indie/folk music we listen to now has not necessarily changed from that of the 90’s, it has simply expanded to include the characteristics it’s known for as well as the musical innovations that came with the computer. A perfect example of this is artist, Sufjan Stevens. You can hear a song with a banjo as the sole instrument and another with an intricate techno beat all on the same album. Stevens has successfully converged older aspects of the genre with new musical advancements, producing a hybrid that’s just right for the new generation of indie/folk listeners. Both of the artists I’ve mentioned exemplify the evolution of the genre from a technological standpoint. Advances in technology have shaped our musical experiences in many ways and as technologies continue to advance and evolve it’s clear that our definition of music will as well. By Emily Glisson

[millennialspotlight]

Iggy Azalea - Fancy (Explicit) ft. Charli XCX

Here is the #1 Hip-Hop song of the week! Enjoy :)

Denise Kennedy

[millennialspotlight]

The Twerk Takeover

Were you one of the 10.1 million viewers that watched Miley Cyrus twerk on stage at the VMAS? There were 306,100, tweets per minute about this performance according to The Associated Press. Twerking has been one of the most popular trends that have taken over social media and the club scene in America. Twerking did not start in 2013 with Miley Cyrus at the VMAS but rather started with hip-hop music in the 90s .

 1993: The first song to reference the word twerk was from the song called “Do The Jubilee All” by DJ Jubilee.   

2000: The Ying Yang Twins song “Whistle While You Twurk” peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The term twerk became even more known to the general audience.

 2003: The song “Get Low” by Lil John and the East Side Boys reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and is one of the most popular songs of the 2000s. The term “skeet” was the term that everyone knew from the song, but if you listen closely to the lyrics they also mention twerking.

2005: Beyonce’s No. 1 song “Check Up On It” remerged the word twerk. Beyonce was twerking in the video, before the term twerk truly had a definition.  

 2011: If you search twerking on YouTube the most popular music video is “Booty Me Down” by Kstylis, racking up 16.3 million views since its debut. Although there is no twerking in the video, it is considered a “twerk song.”

 2013:  Howcast a very popular YouTube channel recruited famous choreographer Tweetboogie to do a “How to Twerk” video. The video now has over 10 million views, people everywhere are trying to learn how to properly twerk.

Technology enabled the word  twerk to be used in everyday life and made the hip-hop music scene more about twerking than the actual song. If you can twerk to the song it’s sure to be a hit. If you go back to the 90s you can see that the term twerk was prevalent in Hip-Hop music before 2014.

Denise Kennedy

[millennialspotlight]

Here are WXJM's top 10 songs for this past week! 

Katherine Carten

[millennialspotlight]

The Technological Drive Behind the Prevalence of Techno & E.D.M.

With today’s top 40 pop hits’ sound so intertwined with electronic music, let’s take a look at what got us here. From the founding of the techno genre in the 1980s to the direct influence of most popular music styles, through technological developments and cultural movements like the rave scene, electronic music has risen to the foreground of many previously untapped music genres.

The technology for mobile phones has exponentially increased with smart phones and their associated apps, including apps where you can make music on them. Since almost half of all Americans own smart phones, this is a huge market that has redefined their methods of access to music. The technology has allowed for anybody to make music at the tip of their finger.

With the prevalence of smart phones in the 2010s and iPods in the early 2000s, young music listeners are mobile and social. Social media has become one of the ways people can share music with friends and explore new music. Platforms like spotify, tumblr, soundcloud, and bandcamp allow for synchronous sharing on social media applications by listeners. The emphasis on interaction with technology today encourages and shapes the culture surrounding the pop music drivers.

While technology drives musical influences, the music shapes and is shaped by the culture. With techno/electronic music coming to the forefront, the rave scene has risen as well. DJ artists like Avicii, David Guetta, and Calvin Harris play massive festivals around the world catering to the rave culture of intense dance music and providing an atmosphere of chaos and the love for music.

A combination of technological advancements, mobile devices, social media, and the culture surrounding electronic music, this new wave of music genre is here to stay. 

by Katherine Carten

[millennialspotlight]

Currently listening to Silly Things by Wild Child

Emily Glisson

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Hello everyone my name is Emily Glisson and I'm a sophomore at JMU studying journalism. In my free time I enjoy playing the guitar, walking my dog in the arboretum and hanging out with friends. Music is one of my passions and I will be writing posts about the evolution of indie/folk music from the 90's to today, incorporating technological and cultural changes! Enjoy!

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Hey everyone, my name is Denise Kennedy. I am a sophmore at JMU double majoring in Dance and Media Arts and Design with a Journalism concentration. When I'm not in the dance studio I am either hanging with friends or writing. My posts will be on topics within the evolution of Hip-Hop music from the 90s until now for the Millennial generation. Can't wait to share. :)

[millennialspotlight]

Currently listening to Radioactive(Cover) by The Holophonics

Francisco Almenara-Dumur