by Niko Skinner

Red Hot Chili Peppers, August 2022 (Wookubus, The PRP)

Red Hot Chili Peppers is a rock band from L.A. Their music incorporates elements from alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock. They have long been one of the most influential and best-selling bands with millions of records sold worldwide. Big names that have been influenced by Red Hot Chili Peppers include Linkin Park, Kanye West, and SZA (Madden). They have achieved great success with albums such as Californication, By the Way, and Stadium Arcadium. When I think about Red Hot Chili Peppers, the first song that comes to mind is “Can’t Stop” because it is often covered by other bands, one of the most played songs by Red Hot Chili Peppers onstage and on the radio, and it’s the walkout song of UFC fighter TJ Dillashaw.

Red Hot Chili Peppers just dropped their thirteenth studio album, Return of the Dream Canteen. In this album, Red Hot Chili Peppers combine their typical rock sound with a hybrid of funk and hip hop. One way this is accomplished is through the instrument and vocal variety that you hear throughout. “My Cigarette” has a consistent funky bass line that fits in with an alternative rock atmosphere. There is also a saxophone solo at the end of the song that you would probably hear at a night club. Another song that has a driving bass line is “Handful”. This song combines this with a lead guitar and a rhythm guitar part that make up Red Hot Chili Peppers’ signature instrumental sound. Also, there are rap and funk vocals in “Tippa My Tongue” accompanied by hard rock guitar phrases, a bouncing bass line, and a swung percussion part. Things take a hard turn at the end of “Afterlife”, which has a screaming guitar solo that is heard in punk and hard rock music. This is unique because it is through this solo that you get wide-eyed because a break is taken from the chill vibe that you get from most of the album. Speaking of wide-eyed, that was my outward expression when I first heard “Fake as Fu@k” because the song suddenly and constantly alternates between being very relaxed and slow in tempo and energetic and quick in tempo. The song starts with the verse that has soft vocals, a rhythmic guitar melody, and a basic drumbeat. Out of nowhere, all of these are replaced with a talking bass sound, a more lively guitar melody, occasional trumpet runs (which take me back to my marching band days), and a faster drumbeat that make up the chorus. These patterns alternate in a storytelling way.

For a band that has been in the game for so long, Red Hot Chili Peppers are very good at being innovative while still maintaining their signature sound. The general sound that was presented in Return of the Dream Canteen is like a hybrid of their original sound from the 1980’s and a 2022 atmosphere. I had heard their name thrown around by people around me many times, but I hadn’t taken the time to listen to a lot of their music until now. I am glad I did because their music is proof that the music game doesn’t have an age limit. They could have retired a long time ago with an established legacy. However, they are still at it, and it makes me wonder what their legacy will look like going forward.

References

Wookubus. “Red Hot Chili Peppers & Måneskin Among 2022 ‘MTV Video Music Awards’ Winners”. Theprp.com, 28 Aug 2022. https://www.theprp.com/2022/08/28/news/red-hot-chili-peppers-maneskin-among-2022-mtv-video-music-awards-winners/

Madden, B. (2021, September 24). 7 Artists & Bands That The Red Hot Chili Peppers Have Influenced. Cool Accidents. https://www.coolaccidents.com/news/artists-bands-influenced-by-red-hot-chili-peppers

by Niko Skinner

Breland is a singer and producer from New Jersey who has mainly drawn inspiration from Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. His music is a hybrid of country rap, R&B, gospel, and soul. Despite only being in the game since 2019, Breland has already made waves in the music industry with his two EPs titled Breland and Rage & Sorrow and his platinum award-winning single, “My Truck”. I must say I’m quite impressed by the mix of musical elements in his songs. He typically combines trap beats and acoustic instrumentation with R&B vocals that have a soulful tone. Imagine having Keith Urban, Lil Nas X, Usher, Migos, and Kirk Franklin in a studio together. That’s an idea of the kind of ambience you would hear from Breland’s music. It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard before.

Breland recently dropped his debut album, Cross Country, in the early part of September. On this album, he teamed up with other country artists, including the aforementioned Keith Urban, Mickey Guyton, Thomas Rett, Lady A, and Ingrid Andress. Most of this album sounds like it’s strictly country music because it deviates from Breland’s usual mix of elements from various genres. The general sound throughout is relaxed yet upbeat. You can dance to the songs in this album, and it also makes for good music to calm down to. This is accomplished by the use of soft vocals, finger-style guitar picking, and medium tempo. You can still hear obvious elements from other genres combined in some songs. For example, “Throw It Back” is driven primarily by a trap beat that you would hear in hip-hop along with the aforementioned acoustic guitar finger-style picking technique and familiar high-pitched vocals from Keith Urban. Another good example would be “Praise the Lord”, which incorporates the typical clapping that you would hear at a southern Baptist church and gradually sneaks in a hip-hop beat. The clap and the hip-hop beat take turns being in the foreground and background. It’s amazing how multiple music genres that have been thought to have been different in terms of the types of messages being spread can work together like this.

Breland touches on his shyness and sense of direction in Cross Country. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he admitted that he was a shy kid growing up and wasn’t naturally inclined toward performing. He also said that he doesn’t know exactly where he belongs in the music industry, but he isn’t worried about it. He mentioned in this same interview that he identifies the term “cross country” as a sub-genre of music that intersects country music with other genres of music (Freeman). This is an idea that I can get behind because I believe that it makes for an even more powerful way to tell a story. It can potentially get listeners behind an artist and respect them. I look forward to this idea being expanded.

References

Edwards, Clayton. “Breland Tells Outsider He is ‘In Service to the Song’ – Marty Smith Podcast”. Outsider.com, 15 November 2021. https://outsider.com/podcasts/breland-tells-outsider-he-service-song-marty-smith-podcast/

Freeman, J. (2021, February 26). Breland on the Country Vibes of His New Song ‘Cross Country’: ‘This Is Where I Belong’. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/breland-cross-country-my-truck-1133958/

by Niko Skinner

The Comet Is Coming is a jazz-rock band based out of London. You will typically hear elements of jazz, electronica, funk, and psychedelic rock out of this band. The Comet Is Coming especially stands out because jazz is usually associated with different parts of the U.S. (ex. New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, etc.) nowadays. However, British jazz blew up in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with the arrival of musicians such as Harry Beckett, John Taylor, and Michael Gibbs coming into the limelight to forge their own sound and diversify jazz music. This explosion did not last for a very long time, and British jazz had all but fizzled out by the late 1980s (Waring). Since their arrival in 2013, The Comet Is Coming has played a big part in bringing elements of British jazz back into the scene.

Toward the end of September, The Comet Is Coming released an album titled Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam. There is plenty of room for observation when it comes to this album. On a side note, I like how the title sounds like the name of a move from the Dragon Ball series. I also have to say that this album as well as their music in general has such a hypnotic effect. This makes sense if you take into account the combination of different genres being used. Something that jumped off the page for me was the consistent use of saxophones. The saxophone riffs you hear throughout the album are played at a quick tempo and steady rhythm. There is a good amount of long tones mixed in as well. Songs such as “ATOMIC WAVE DANCE”, “ANGEL OF DARKNESS”, and “TECHNICOLOUR” consist of percussion that is played in the same swing rhythm that you would typically hear in jazz music. I think all of this is what mainly drives the jazz sound in the album. I also liked the way that all of the elements from various styles are being manipulated. A strong example would be the instrumentation pattern heard in “CODE”, which consists of the use of call-and-response between the saxophone and synthesizer sounds. To explain it in depth, you hear a constant back-and-forth switch between the synthesizer and saxophone, so you get both jazz and electronica vibes from this song. There is also a lot of dissonance throughout Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam as you would expect to hear in psychedelic rock music. This means that there are a lot of phrases played throughout that sound tense and jarring. This is uniquely mixed with some funk and jazz grooves that you can dance to. The Comet Is Coming did a good job at making these conflicting elements work together.

To be honest, this band’s music presented quite the challenge for me to uncover because there is a lot to analyze. I went back and listened to songs that fall in to the category of one genre and compared them to the songs in Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam. This is good practice because it stimulates the brain and makes listening to the album more intentional. The Comet Is Coming is certainly not a group that likes to put all of their eggs in one basket.

References

Bua, Jane. “The Comet Is Coming Announce Album, Share New Song “Code”: Listen”. Pitchfork.com, 29 July 2022. https://pitchfork.com/news/the-comet-is-coming-announce-new-album-share-new-song-code-listen/

Waring, C. (2021, August 18). The British Jazz Explosion Of The Late 60s And Early 70s. UDiscoverMusic. https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/british-jazz-explosion-60s-70s-feature/

by Niko Skinner

Kendrick Lamar is a rapper and producer who is straight out of Compton (pun intended). He has been one of the most influential rappers for the past decade. Kendrick cites other rappers such as DMX, Tupac, Jay-Z, Nas, Snoop Dog, and the Notorious B.I.G. as his musical influences. His music often combines elements from the traditional West Coast hip-hop with those of progressive rap, funk, jazz, and soul. Kendrick also has a unique way of relating issues that he has gone through with a wide array of demographics, regardless of the different walks of life people have had. This is often accomplished through his flow, delivery, and fluctuation of his voice. He uses a deeper voice in some of his songs while he uses a higher voice in other songs. I’ve had to keeping asking myself, “Is there a featured artist he’s not telling us about?” A lot of his songs consist of him rapping in a traditional West Coast style while presenting it as poetic dialogue to his listeners, so you feel like you are having a conversation with him and feeling what he is going through in real time.

Kendrick Lamar released Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers in May 2022. As a longtime fan of Kendrick, I have always viewed his music as vulnerable compared to a lot of California rappers, but this album was a new level of personal. After listening to this, I feel a sense of knowing his story in as close to full as we can know. It touched on a variety of topics such as childhood trauma, family dysfunction, faith, racism, mental health, and fatherhood. “We Cry Together” is especially a track that illustrates Kendrick’s life behind closed doors because it’s a short film that consists of a dialogue between him and actress Taylour Paige in the form of spoken word and rap. From the numerous f-bombs, n-bombs, and b-bombs exchanged between the two to Kendrick taking Taylour’s keys to spite her to the angry sex, this track captures the stereotypical picture of a dysfunctional household that we see on the outside looking in. “Mr. Morale” is probably my favorite track on this album. I loved the mix of percussion and choir vocals. I also feel like the tone and mood of the song’s beat fit very well with Kendrick’s lyrics about his faith and trauma. All in all, I would rank Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers number one when it comes to vulnerability and emotion. As an advocate for mental health, I really appreciate Kendrick opening up. It shows listeners that it is okay and encouraged to be vocal about mental health struggles and to not keep it bottled up inside. It especially breaks the stigma surrounding us African American men that we have to be cold and stoic all the time for the sake of not showing “weakness”. Kendrick is a popular artist, so I feel like more people who believe or have believed this stigma at some point will be receptive to the message being spread by this album.

Kendrick Lamar has been around since the early 2000’s, but I started listening to his music in 2012 and never looked back since. I fondly remember being turned on to some of his earlier work such as good kid, m.A.A.d city and untitled unmastered. His latest album has showed that Kendrick still had a lot left to unpack after nearly two decades.

References

Bandini. “Kendrick Lamar Hints That He Is Releasing A Double Album”. Ambrosiaforheads.com, 3 May 2022. https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2022/05/kendrick-lamar-morale-steppers-two-albums/

by Niko Skinner

Raury is a singer and rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. His unique style of music draws elements from hip-hop, folk rock, soul, and indie rock. It makes sense given that his musical influences are from a diverse list of artists such as Queen, Marvin Gaye, Bon Iver, Andre 3000, Kanye West, and Kid Cudi. A friend told me about Raury, and I have to say that he has been one of my favorite artists to listen to recently. I’ve had “God’s Whisper” on repeat recently, and it’s a fun song to learn how to play. Something that immediately caught my eye when I first started listening to Raury’s music and saw what he looked like is that he embodies the old adage that it’s okay to be different from everybody else. As a matter of fact, he embraces it, once even going as far as to call himself a “super wildcard” (Milton, 2015). That makes sense to me because his music doesn’t match his appearance from a societal point of view. Raury has also given back to his community through his music. He has started an annual one-day festival named Raurfest, in which he and other artists perform live in concert as part of LVRN weekend. The donations go toward art programs in Atlanta public schools as well as clothing for the homeless population (Turner, 2016). I think that is very thoughtful because we always want to use our gifts to bless others, no matter how big or small our gifts are.

However, what I want to talk about is a mixtape that Raury recently dropped in June titled Strawberry Moon. The songs on Strawberry Moon are mostly either slow or medium tempo. Also, songs such as “Feel Good”, “Heatwave” and “Channel Zero”, consist of a mix of fading background vocals and vocals in the foreground, which I feel has become a staple of Raury ever since he first came into the limelight in 2014. This mix is good because you can easily tell which is which despite the songs being unconventional. I also liked how he used multiple guitar effects in the mixtape. Examples of this are the reverb effect you hear in “2020 Vision” and what sounds like the whammy effect in “That’s Life”. As a fellow guitar player, I can certainly appreciate artists consistently innovating the use of such a popular instrument. I don’t know about you, but overall, I got some soul, lofi, and indie rock vibes from the instrumentation of Strawberry Moon. This mixtape contains messages about a variety of challenges that he has personally gone through, such as facing adversity from the world (“Heatwave”), self identity (“Phases”), the complexity of love and romance (“Her Smile”), and spirituality (“Channel Zero”). These are all very common in today’s world, and Raury does a good job of relating with us on these topics while taking us through his inner subconscious. It is hard to balance every aspect of our lives, especially when we are adults. It doesn’t get easier, so I think that it’s important to have more of these insights that can make for good conversations with the people around us.

Raury is still young, so you can certainly expect him to continue to come up with ways to be a wildcard.

References

Milton, J. (2015, November 25). Here’s What’s Up – RAURY: “I’m A Super Wildcard, You Don’t Know What I’m Gonna Make Next”. DIY Magazine. https://diymag.com/2015/11/25/heres-whats-up-raury-im-a-super-wildcard-you-dont-know-what-im-gonna-make-next

Silva, Nik. “Raury releases 22 new tracks on SoundCloud Musician broke contract with Columbia Records”. Monkeybuzz.com, 23 April 2018. https://monkeybuzz.com.br/novidades/raury-lanca-22-faixas-ineditas-no-soundcloud/

Turner, David. (2016, July 1). Raury Gives Back To Atlanta With Raurfest And ‘Trill Yoga’ – The third annual Raury-helmed festival supports ATL’s creative youth. MTV. https://www.mtv.com/news/ui0bpm/raury-gives-back-to-atlanta-with-raurfest-and-trill-yoga

What’s up, fellow Earthlings! Who says there needs to be a theme for everything? I feel like that can limit my work sometimes. This week, I’ll be blogging about The Clubhouse, Nicole Atkins, and Walker & Royce. There will be no theme involved like all my other posts.

The Clubhouse

The Clubhouse is a local jazz and rock band from Denton, Texas. With Daniel Ward playing bass, Roger Hunt playing guitar, Carlos Pacheco playing tenor saxophone and Mitch Albers playing drums, magic is bound to be made in addition to the magic they have already made for a band that has only been together for a year and a half. The Clubhouse describes their music as “loud, jazzy, and eclectic”. They dropped their first album earlier this month, entitled “Elefant”. Releasing an album for the first time is already an accomplishment for any band, but this band has the potential to go far if they keep making music as great as the songs on “Elefant”. The Clubhouse described this album as a collection of different tunes with a variety of influences like indie rock, R & B, jazz, blues, metal, and electronic. Artist influences of theirs include Led Zeppelin, Wayne Shorter, Grizzly Bears, Snarky Puppy, Frank Zappa, and Donny McCaslin.  I can hear more jazz on this album than anything else, but I can also hear elements from other types of music. For example, “DS-444” gives a rock feel, especially in the guitar and drum beat. Also, “Velvet Face Doll” sounds like a jazz song with a pinch of R & B in it. When you hear that this band comes up with songs by switching instruments, jamming together, and seeing what they come up with, it’s no surprise how creative they can be with their music! This kind of creativity is something to make note of and appreciate!

Nicole Atkins

Nicole Atkins is an American theatrical pop singer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Her main influences are soul, crooner, and psychedelic. She just had a new album, “Goodnight Ronda Lee”, come out. It’s her fourth studio album. This album is very emotional. I know that can be said about a lot of music these days, but “Goodnight Ronda Lee” provides a distinctive kind of dramatic effect that’s not seen or heard often. The songs depict real-life personal struggle. However, Atkins doesn’t treat them as somber, as Jewly Hight pointed out on NPR Music. “Colors” is about her drinking too much, and relying on others for safety. As we all know, anything can happen in that kind of situation. That kind of suspense is depicted by the minor key, piano sound, and the vibrato in the strings sound. Also, the title track has a bit of irony because it has a little bit of a Latin/country sound, and it’s in a major key. These come from a simple Latin drum beat, electric guitar lines that you would typically hear in country music, and a driving bass line. I say that it’s ironic because the song is about bad behavior. According to Hight on NPR Music, the plot of the song is that Atkins is trying to drag an unbalanced friend away from a party. The way Atkins put this album together puts the “bold” in “bold”.

Walker & Royce

Walker & Royce are an American tech house duo. Samuel Walker and Gavin Royce are the names of these two promising artists. They have a hot new single out named “Take Me To Your Leader.” To be honest, this song makes me want to do something that I’m not very good at, which is dance! It has a typical electronic drumbeat, a heavy bass sound, and varying synth sounds. Along with these, this song has minimal vocals, which consist of rapping in the chorus. I like how Walker & Royce incorporated the constant changes in the synths because it gives off an orchestral vibe. When I say this, I mean that you hear different instrument groups playing different patterns constantly. It’s like the different synth sounds are taking on that kind of form in “Take Me To Your Leader.” Classical music is the foundation of all the modern music that we love and appreciate today. Bravo to Walker & Royce for remembering where they came from by incorporating this characteristic!

There you have it! Another analysis of different modern music that y’all may or may not have heard! I hope this stimulates your musical brains, and stick around for the next Skinner Music Blog Post!

Hello, fellow music lovers! A stage name means a lot to a band or artist as it pertains to their music. Some may sound bland, and some may sound creative. The artists that I’m posting about this week have creative-sounding names that are hard to forget. I’ll be blogging about Washed Out and Joon Moon.

Washed Out

When I first saw this name on Spotify, I was expecting it to be the name of a band. It turns out that it’s actually the stage name of solo singer Ernest Greene. Washed Out is an American chillwave singer, songwriter, and record producer. He just dropped his third studio album, “Mister Mellow”. The songs on this album are mostly distorted with a lot of dissonance in the instrumentation. By that, I mean that you can hear dissonant chords throughout, especially from two different instruments being played together. In most of the songs, it’s as if the vocals are trying to fade into the background, but they are actually at about the same level as the instruments instead. Both of these qualities combined make the songs sound dirty yet still awesome. That’s why I think there is a bit of irony behind Washed Out being Greene’s stage name. The word “wash” is associated with cleaning something.

Joon Moon

Joon Moon is an American neo-soul band that consists of Krystle Warren, Julien Decoret, Raphael Chassin, and Sebastien Trouve. “Joon” is a Persian word that literally means “life” or “dear”. The moon is also viewed as a beautiful astronomical body that we have the pleasure of seeing in the sky just about every night. I believe that this band got their name because they strive to express beauty, peacefulness, and strong emotion attached to touchy subjects in all of their songs. It’s no different in their new EP, entitled “Tiger EP”. It contains tracks such as “Tiger” and “Call Me”. “Tiger” has a nightly piano sound and driving yet relaxing percussion that would probably put most people in a calm mood. Along with those, some of this song’s lyrics convey a message of hidden love and emotions, such as “Who’s hiding how they’re feeling?” and “Who’s slightly maybe in love?”. However, most of the lyrics also convey a suspense message. These include “Who’s dancing around the question?” and “I know who you are”. I find this to be a bit ironic in comparison to the band’s name and the instrumentation of “Tiger”. “Call Me” has a lively piano and percussion sound that persuade people to calm down. The lyrics are about a breakup and the singer being ignored by his ex. The title comes from a line in the song that says, “Why won’t you call me?”. You can also hear the message incorporated in the singer’s voice in the main chorus. The singer accomplishes this by variating his pitch several times whenever he says and holds  “say”, also known as intonation.

There you have it! This goes to show that stage names are more than spontaneous ideas that come to mind. Stay tuned for the next Skinner Music Blog Post!

Welcome back! What do Kevin Morby, Chon, Tom Walker, and The Drums have in common? They all know how to express creative freedom in some way. That means that they know how to incorporate and mix up musical elements to make their music different from other bands and artists yet still listenable to the ears. One of these bands/artists may be very distinctive from the other three, but I’m pretty sure everyone will get my point as you all read on.

Kevin Morby 

Kevin Morby is an American singer and multi-instrumentalist. He plays piano, guitar, and bass. Morby was formerly the bassist of folk rock band Woods. Since 2013, he has been on a solo career path. His style can be best described as indie folk rock. About a week ago, he released his fourth studio album, “City Music”. I always love an album that has the electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and piano in it, and that’s exactly what “City Music” has. You can also hear different styles of guitar playing such as strumming, picking, and fingerstyle. Along with that, the songs have different tempos. For example, “Crybaby” has strumming acoustic at a medium tempo, then it switches to strumming the electric guitar at a faster tempo in the next song, “1234”. “Caught In My Eye” has fingerstyle acoustic, which is always nice to hear. “Night Time” has a palm-muting, strumming acoustic guitar sound along with piano chords. I never thought those two sounds could click so well with each other. All of the songs on this album,  with the exception of “Come To Me Now”, use a basic drumset sound along with some guitar in it. “Come To Me Now” has a synth sound with an echoing drumbeat. Morby’s lyrics in most of these songs are about love. I like this mix because Morby is not limiting himself to a certain kind of sound for a certain topic.

Tom Walker

Tom Walker is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His main genres are R & B, soul, electronic, rock, and alternative. His musical influences include Ray Charles, The Police, and Bob Marley. He dropped an EP last month, and then he dropped a non-album single earlier this month.

First, I want to talk about his new EP, entitled “Blessings”. After listening to this, it seems to me that he has an affinity for the mixture of the sound of an electric guitar and synths. For example, “Karma” has some parts where the electric guitar and synths are played at the same time. It also has some moments where only the synths are played, and then the electric guitar slowly weasels its way back in. Vice versa actually happens in “Just You and I”. This EP as a whole has a chill vibe that expresses Walker’s relaxed mood when it comes to making music. If you ask me, I think that’s why “Blessings” is a fitting title for this EP.

Now, I’m going to talk about his single, “Heartland.” Walker seemed to go all out with this song in terms of creativity. It has a brilliant blend of synths, electric guitar, violin, and backing vocals. I especially love the electric guitar riff that leads into the chorus because it’s very catchy. It also has an energetic, alternative-sounding drumbeat to make this song sound whole and full. As the title suggests, “Heartland” is about finding love when all seems to be lost. It’s in a major key (happy-sounding), and it has lyrics such as “Why are you standing in the cold? Here’s a place you want to go”. Both of these aspects tell me that Walker truly strives to provide positivity and hope in this song.

The Drums

Nothing says “think outside the box” like naming your band after an instrument. The Drums are an American indie surf pop band. It consists of a permanent member, Jonathan Pierce, on vocals, and touring members, Danny Lee Allen on drums, Johnny Aries on guitar/bass/backing vocals, and Tom Haslow on guitar. Their fourth studio album, “Abysmal Thoughts”, came out a week ago. “Surf” is a perfect way to describe this album because it sounds like music that could be played at beach parties and surfing competitions. This kind of music is characterized by a medium fast tempo, eighth note runs on the bass, and a fat electric guitar sound. Most of the songs may sound the same to you the first time through, but if you give it a few listens, y’all will notice different elements in each song. There are some songs on the album that sound very distinctive. When I say that, I mean there are a few songs that are different in tempo and instrumentation. For example, “If All We Share (Means Nothing)” has an acoustic guitar sound as opposed to the electric guitar sound that’s in other songs on the album. The tempo also drops a bit in this song as well as in “Are U F’ed” (excuse my French) in comparison to the other songs. I find it ironic that this album as a whole is in a major key even though there’s a negative connotation to the word “abysmal”. As I’ve blogged about before, Paramore employed a similar tactic with their album, “After Laughter”, where the songs from that album are in a major key even though the themes were negative. That just goes to show that it’s possible to tell one story with one aspect of your music while telling a different story with another aspect.

Chon

This is the band that I said would be distinctive from the other three artists/bands. Chon themselves have said that the genre of their music doesn’t matter, and I was actually talking with a couple of friends about this the other day. We discussed what genre we have described them as and whether they say the genre of their music doesn’t matter as a marketing tool or for the sake of creative freedom. One of my friends that I was discussing this with told me that Chon saying that their genre doesn’t matter and not being afraid to break barriers makes him like their music even more. I personally think that both of those reasons could go hand-in-hand. Chon can really be described as an instrumental math rock band. Math rock is a style of indie rock that’s characterized as having irregular and complex rhythmic and instrumental patterns, mostly dissonant chords, and odd time signatures. The members of the band are Mario Camarena on guitar, Erick Hansel on guitar, Esiah Camarena on bass, and Nathan Camarena on drums. They recently dropped “Homey”, their second studio album. Just like their music is generally described, the songs on this album are in a major key, giving it an upbeat tone to go along with its irregular patterns. I specifically hear accents on irregular counts, such as those from the guitar and drum parts in “Here and There”.  I also notice constant switches in the drumbeat in all of the songs. In “Wave Bounce”, it alternates between a rock beat and a jazz beat. As a whole, this album is firing on all cylinders to break stereotypical music barriers, and I love it!

In conclusion, these bands have displayed different forms of creativity in their most recent music that command their audiences to listen to them. That can also tie into other careers and hobbies that you might be into, like poetry, designing, drawing, etc. Think about this as y’all tune in for the next Skinner Music Blog Post!

What’s up, fellow inhabitants of Earth! Y’all are now on the Skinner Music Blog train! It’s not really healthy to keep secrets from people. No matter what it is you need to let out, there’s always an outlet through which you can do that, such as music. Artists who have been vulnerable in their music lately include Allen W Brown, Hillsong United, Jorja Smith, and London Grammar.

Allen W Brown

Allen W Brown is a Christian rapper out of Amherst, Virginia. He has been dedicated to living as a servant to God and glorifying Him through rapping since the age of 20. His biggest musical influences are Bizzle and 116 Clique, which consists of Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, KB, Tedashii, and Gawvi. Now 30, Brown just released an EP titled “The Transformation of Allen Brown.” As the name suggests, this EP emphasizes the struggles that he had and how he overcame them and transformed by the glory of God after reevaluating his life. Highlighted by his single, “Hands Up”, this EP depicts Brown’s struggles with sex, weed, and pornography. He’ll be the first to tell you that it wasn’t easy to quit that stuff, but it is still possible as long as you surround yourself with good people and keep fighting. You can tell by his straight-forward lyrics that he really wanted to give his testimony, especially in “My Story”, the first track on the EP. This song has such lyrics as “I was glorifying evil”, “I was living a lie”, and “if it wasn’t weed, it was pornography”. Brown says that it’s very important to serve God and the community by being vulnerable because you could relate to your audience and help them change their lives as well. He really couldn’t have said it better.

Hillsong United

Hillsong United is a contemporary Christian worship band that originated from the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. They have been making and releasing worship music in God’s name since 1998, and they aren’t slowing down. Earlier this month, they dropped their fifth studio album, entitled “Wonder”. The band is mostly open throughout this album about emotional struggles, such as feeling overwhelmed, fear, and confusion. For example, their song, “Splinters and Stones”, has such lyrics as “you saw the crushing weight my flesh deserved”, “you saw my heavy heart”, and “your beauty staring down my brokenness”. They also echo the fact that they can overcome all of that by putting their faith in God because God loves us. A good example of how they glorify God’s love is in “Glimmer In the Dust”, which has such lyrics as “your love never fails”, “lost in your awesome wonder”, “I know that you love me”, and “let your love take over”. It is really great that they still have the ability to reach out to audiences through their music. I definitely recommend this album to anyone who may not be having the best time emotionally right now.

Jorja Smith

This is only the second artist that I’ve blogged about that’s younger than me! What?! Jorja Smith is a 20-year-old British singer who’s main genres are soul, neo soul, R & B, and jazz. In her new single, “Teenage Fantasy”, she sings about relationship troubles she had when she was a young teenager. The lyrics describe how her brothers and parents warned her about boys that she was attracted to and how she struggled internally with not wanting what she can have and vice-versa (not being able to have what she wants). I really feel like Smith can especially reach out to teenage girls with this song because there are a lot of teenage girls out there that face the same problems. It definitely helps to listen to a singer that’s a little bit older and wiser from going through these issues herself. In general, teenagers seem to be in a rush to be in a romantic relationship, but as some of the lyrics of “Teenage Fantasy” say, there’s no need to rush.

London Grammar

London Grammar is a British indie pop trio formed by Hannah Reid, Dominic ‘Dot’ Major, and Dan Rothman. Ever since 2013, they have gone platinum and sold thousands of album copies in Australia and the UK. They recently dropped their second studio album, “Truth Is A Beautiful Thing.” They are so right. The truth is a beautiful thing! Telling the truth does wonders not only for you but also for others around you. On this album, London Grammar is open and honest about struggles such as depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, and rejection. For example, “Oh Woman Oh Man” is about Reid being rejected and giving up. However, the song that I feel would give y’all the most chills is the title track, “Truth Is A Beautiful Thing” because you can hear the emotion in the minor key out of both the vocals and piano. This song also talks about trading lives with somebody and being under heavy weight. For example, this song has lyrics like “Could you take my place and stand here?” and “you’d be on knees and struggle under the weight”. I haven’t heard an album this emotional in a while. It’s beautiful and powerful that London Grammar is letting out this emotion through their music.

I applaud all these artists for using music as an outlet to let out their emotions and personal stories. As mentioned earlier, there has to be some way to be vulnerable because you can’t have these struggles and the emotions associated with them bottled up inside you forever. I hope y’all think about that and keep an eye out for the next Skinner Music Blog Post!

The Skinner Music Blog is back in town! In this post, I’ll be talking about some artists, duos, and bands who have been combining different ideas into their most recent music to create something that they can call theirs. Who am I talking about? I’m talking about alt-J, Snakehips, Radiohead, and Duke Dumont & Gorgon City.

alt-J

alt-J is an English indie rock band. It consists of  Joe Newman on guitar/lead vocals, Thom Sonny Green on drums, and Gus Unger-Hamilton on keyboard/vocals. Originally formed in 2007, alt-J has been making waves across the world with their unique style and bravery when it comes to taking risks as far as differentiation is concerned. It all started with their 2012 debut album, “An Awesome Wave”. alt-J just released another album earlier this month, titled “Relaxer”. In this album, they throw in creative ideas that can only be developed by the modern technology we have today. They combine this quality along with sounds that are similar to other bands to produce a whole new product that’s pleasing to the ears of anyone that’s a fan of rock or alternative. I applaud that because they are following one of the most important rules of marketing, which is that you have to continue to develop new products in order to stay in business. The unique sound is most apparent in the album’s second track, “In Cold Blood”. In this song, a similar melodic line to Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” can be heard. Along with that, I hear elements from the main chorus of the Iron Man theme song by AC/DC in the first two lines of the main chorus of “In Cold Blood”. “Pleader”, the last track on the album, sounds like something you would hear on the zombie mode of Call of Duty Black Ops. The fingerstyle acoustic guitar and orchestral parts provide an ominous yet soothing sound that is unique to alt-J. They accomplish this by constantly switching between the major and minor key. I say that if they keep differentiation strategies like this up, alt-J will still be relevant ten years from now.

Snakehips

Snakehips are a British electronic duo, consisting of Oliver Lee and James Carter. They recently released a trap-style single titled “Right Now”, featuring hip-hop/R&B singer/rapper ELHAE, rapper D.R.A.M., and pop/R&B singer H.E.R. Trap music has been hot for a very long time, and this track certainly hasn’t disappointed. I believe that the smooth yet constantly transitioning instrumentation contributed a lot to the good sound of this song. You can especially hear the transitions during the outro, where the percussion, the piano, and all the vocals wind down then build back up. I know that a lot of people out there say that all trap music sounds the same these days (myself included), but “Right Now” is one-of-a-kind. I also need to mention that the melodic line used throughout this song reminds me of the intro to Muse’s “New Born”, but that may be just my perspective. This great song is the result of great, overall teamwork from Snakehips, ELHAE, D.R.A.M., and H.E.R. to send a message of uniqueness when it comes to electronic trap.

Radiohead

To me, a name like Radiohead sounds like a name that I thought would’ve been taken by another band a long time before this band came together in 1985. Radiohead is an English rock band consisting of Thom Yorke on lead vocals/guitar/piano/keyboards, Jonny Greenwood on lead guitar/keyboards, Ed O’Brien on guitar/backing vocals, Colin Greenwood on bass, and Phil Seway on drums/backing vocals. Most of these members play common instruments, so that’s how you know that magic is bound to happen! Magic is exactly what you hear in their new single, “I Promise”. Promise is a word that can be associated with discipline, and that’s exactly what I hear in the drumbeat. It has a military march vibe to it, which is characterized by the constant accents in the snare drum. Radiohead combines this with soft-spoken lyrics and peaceful yet assertive instrumentation in a major key to make the song very fitting with the title. It just goes to show that not all soft and peaceful music have to be soothing enough to put people to sleep. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to listen to peaceful music that isn’t totally soft-sounding.

Duke Dumont & Gorgon City

Duke Dumont is an English house DJ. Gorgon City is an English electronic music production duo, consisting of producers Kye “Foamo” Gibbon and Matt “RackNRuin” Robson-Scott. What happens when you put them together? They make electronic music that I would play at a party or family reunion. Duke Dumont & Gorgon City recently collaborated to make a track named “Real Life”. This also features Naations, a groovy electronic duo that consists of Nat Dunn on machines and Nicky Routledge on vocals. Even though this is song has love lyrics, you can also dance to it. That tells me that you don’t have to be serious all the time in order to love somebody, and that it’s okay to let loose and move your body freely. I also like how the piano is in the background during the intro and the verses then it slowly transitions into the foreground during the chorus. That is just genius and the result of great teamwork between different musicians who have great chemistry together. Talking about collaboration skills honestly reminds me of my days in concert band, marching band, jazz band, steel drum band, and worship band. Even though I didn’t write songs with anyone in either of these ensembles, it still taught me the importance of teamwork and combining ideas to reach a common goal.

There you have it, ladies and gentleman! All of this is just a small testament to the fact that you don’t have to strictly limit yourself to solo artistry in order to succeed in the music industry or listen to good music. I hope y’all keep this in mind and hang around for the next Skinner Music Blog Post!