Who says we're bad?
I tend not to write about contemporary mainstream music on this blog all that much. This may have to do with the fact that I’m old — 38 is ancient by music standards: most artists my age are either dead or selling insurance, which is worse — and I therefore do not know about contemporary stuff anymore. That or it simply is objectively not that great.
By contemporary mainstream music, I mean that rather undefinable blend of electro/pop/rnb that is best epitomized by Post Malone’s work — and I use the word somewhat loosely. In an interesting turn of events, this decade has seen these three distinct musical trends converge to form this mutant that are today’s chart-topping beats:
Electro, via EDM, is everywhere in music production these days, regardless if you’re listening to hip hop, rock or, well, electro music. Even indie stuff is shock full of after effects now, save for a few exceptions that tend to veer in the other, unplugged, luddite extreme.
Pop, via easy listening, has come to take over the airwaves in an event greater way than in the 60’s, when it very much fought it off and/or converged with rock or folk music. Nowadays, rock and folk stuff is “adult” charts material.
RnB, via Boyz II Men, has come to essentially define the “flavour” of our times, a distant relative from its authentically revolutionary roots that were actual rhythm n’ blues, soul music or the more recent, although already labeled “old school” hip hop.
Now, in order to avoid sounding too old and stupid, I don’t actually believe that we are witnessing the end of music per se, but rather the end of an era in music. And I have fairly high hopes in the next trend, whichever it may be. Meanwhile, not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, there still are a couple of welcome surprises that come up once in a while in that syrupy musical mixture that has become the Billboard Hot 100.
Billie Eilish is one of those gems, perhaps the most shining one in years.
“Bad guy”, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, 2019.
Not even 18 yet, Eilish has nevertheless managed to take the charts by storm with what is arguably an original take on that poppy mainstream music I so heavily derided earlier, proving it is still possible. Her behemoth of a single, “Bad Guy”, who took the charts’ top spot earlier this year, is interesting as it clearly is a heavily produced electro-pop track that takes quite a bit from its illustrious predecessor and other standout gem, Lorde’s “Royals”. Interestingly, both artists were incredibly young when they exploded onto the music scene, yet another proof that there is hope coming from the newer generation(s).
Despite having all the perks of an easily forgettable piece of barely melodic radio-friendly beats, the song is actually both endearing and intriguing. Eilish’s voice is nice, which is not always a given in pop anymore, her composing somehow manages to be original as it does not immediately remind one of anything (also not a given anymore) and her overall tone, underlined by the video, is one of appealing weirdness that is usually only seen in much more mature artists’s work.
In short, the young Billie Eilish single-handedly — with the help of her producing and composing partner of a brother — managed to transcend the genre of the day to create a truly interesting and enjoyable piece of music. Let us hope she does more of the same — as in more original work.