Ariana Grande, our reigning Queen of Pop, has blessed us with many studio albums, from Yours, Truly, which embodies the pure innocence and joy that accompanies young love, to thank u, next, where we find out that the honeymoon phase doesn’t actually last forever, to her last album, Positions, where[Read More…]
Tag: pop
Miss Americana is back, and so is her pop persona
It’s 11:59 on a Thursday night. My friend and I wait with bated breath in Milton B, hurriedly refreshing Spotify. We’re not waiting for the café’s mediocre WiFi to load—we are waiting to listen to Midnights, Taylor Swift’s latest album. I knew all too well that the impending release would[Read More…]
Charli XCX’s ‘CRASH’ yields gems among the generic
If you’ve come to appreciate Charli XCX’s hyper-pop charm, you’ll love CRASH, released on March 18, a collection of dance tracks perfect to bob your head to. However, the fast-paced set lacks the expressionism that has defined Charli’s career so far. Especially following her latest, self-reflexive pandemic album, how i’m[Read More…]
On Melodrama, Lorde reveres being young and dumb
It’s easy to trivialize pop music, or dismiss it as something intrinsically lesser than “real music." It can seem banal, and focus on catchiness in lieu of explicit meaning. But those criticisms often miss the point of the genre. At its best, a pop song isn’t about a message, per[Read More…]
South African musician takes centre stage: St. Lucia on fame and the beauty of pop music
If you are drawn to synth-pop beats, reminiscent of 80s music, your ears would have perked up as St. Lucia kicked off their set at Osheaga. In the sweltering afternoon heat, frontman Jean-Phillip Grobler emerged on Osheaga’s Green Stage, situated at the end of a large dusty field overlooking downtown[Read More…]
Trib Mix: Holidaze
Once the first snow sticks, you know winter is here to stay. Lucky for us, El Niño came on strong this year, and snow has been staved off for at least a few more weeks. The one thing we can say for certain is that finals come and go, but[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Pop is art—don’t go by the numbers!
The last few years have seen a burgeoning of the movement of ‘poptimism.’ Poptimism takes popular music as an artistic form worthy of merit and critique like any other, and has been very productive. Popular music is analyzed and appreciated more rigorously and superstars like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor[Read More…]
Album Review: Purpose – Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber’s last few years have been tumultuous, to say the least. At the beginning of his career he was a teen idol who—likely under the direction of a PR team—always said and did the right things. Then, as he grew older, he developed more individuality; ultimately manifesting itself in[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Adele’s “Hello” and discussions of identity
In the last few years, female artists have taken an incredibly strong stance on feminism, creating art that focuses on the tense dialogue surrounding gender, race, and identity. Whether this requires a change from their old style or leans into their existing art depends on the artist: For someone like[Read More…]
Album Review: 25 – Adele
Some singers shoot for critical reception; others for commercial success. Some aim for none, some for both… and then there’s Adele. The British sensation—officially Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (yes, she’s an order of the British empire now), literally started from the bottom. Born in Tottenham, U.K., and raised by[Read More…]
