Why the Beyonce Grammy Win isn’t a Big Deal (even if it is kind of weird)

Originally written February 9, 2023; unpublished until June 2023

Nobody doubts that Beyonce deserves a Grammy or two. Given her newfound status as the most-decorated musician in the history of the ceremony, this should hardly be controversial. That’s probably why no one was surprised that she took home even more hardware this year. But what did turn heads were some of the categories: Best Dance/Electronic Recording and Album. You don’t have to spend very long looking to find someone who disagrees with these awards. Despite being the social media equivalent of mortal enemies, Reddit and Twitter were united with flaming indignation and proclaimed that although Beyonce is good, she does not fit.

I’m just going to say it: Beyonce is absolutely dance music. Although her style falls closer to R&B than to modern dance music, the Grammy-winning song in question, “Break my Soul”, is still charged with an uptempo four-on-the-floor beat under pulsating synths and syncopated stabs. If this production came from a Skrillex or Tiesto side project, no one would have batted an eye. To argue that this song or the album it came from are not electronic or dance music is to admit that you haven’t actually listened to it.

One of the main arguments with Beyonce’s win seems to be the fact that she isn’t an electronic artist like the other nominees. But what even counts as “electronic music” or as an “electronic artist” nowadays? If we’re going to count her out, what sub-genres should or shouldn’t count for the Grammy? There are constant fights over the line between DnB and breaks, whether ambient should be counted as electronic or something else entirely (another Grammy controversy), if brostep is ‘real’ dubstep and even whether or not house counts as EDM. The Wikipedia page on electronic music lists nearly 400 genres and subgenres and still warns that it may be incomplete. For a genre so notoriously fickle and vague when it comes to genre identity, is it any wonder that fans take issue when something rocks the boat?

Looking at the past winners of these awards, the Grammys are as unpredictable as they are varied. Britney Spears, The Baha Men, and Justin Timberlake have all won Grammys in the Dance/Electronic category, and lest we forget, a total outsider ended up as a nominee in 2013 through questionable methods. If “Who Let the Dogs Out” is good enough for a trophy, then there’s plenty of space for the likes of Beyonce, especially because she actually seems to get what this genre means to so many people.

Electronic and dance music have historically been genres of welcoming those who find themselves pushed out of every other space. From the gay and black communities who founded many of the clubs in the early days of the sound, to the trend of DJs wearing masks to hide their identity or boost their confidence, the electronic/dance scene has always been rooted in acceptance and safety. RENAISSANCE, the album in question, is partially a love letter to those who built such spaces. It might not sound like modern house or dance, but Beyonce made a point to thank those who pioneered these sounds in her acceptance speech.

And this is what makes this scene so weird. One minute it’s ‘PLUR’ and the next is pitchforks and torches. You’d be hard-pressed to find another community that embraces the oxymoronic concept of open-armed gatekeeping like electronic music. Who knows, perhaps the reason for the pushback is a fear that the mainstream is coming for this safe space, and Beyonce is just the latest scapegoat for that anxiety.

In the end, most of us can agree that the Grammys are kind of silly. Do I think she should have won or even been nominated for this category? Personally, no, but I also don’t see this as the catastrophic oversight most of the internet seems to think it is. After all, dance music is supposed to be a fun thing.

Note: This was an assignment in my Writing About Music class. We were instructed to write a blog-style opinion piece on something in current news relating to music. Target 500-750 words.

Gaga vs. Philosophy: A Defense of Pop Music

Originally written February 2, 2023; unpublished until June 2023 with minor changes

Pop music has always been a contentious topic. From hipsters to haters, there always seems to be a new voice complaining about the songs topping the charts. However, for Theodor Adorno and Julian Johnson, the issue goes beyond a simple difference in taste and takes a turn into philosophical anxiety over the effects from the mass-distribution of music. For Adorno, much of the fear stems from what the commodification of music does to the listener, whereas Johnson is more concerned about what commodification does to the music.

Looking at Adorno, much of the issue boils down to commodified music is made to please the masses and has thus become too formulaic. Music that is a product can never be anything deeper because it must keep the status quo. While groups like Axis of Awesome seem to agree all pop music is formulaic, pop artists have often used those very formulas to break societal norms and shift the status quo. For example, Lady Gaga might be the most banal, generic popstar one could imagine, but it wasn’t always that way. Although her late-2000s songs followed the same structure and instrumentation as other pop hits, the formula held a trojan horse of mold-breaking messaging. Many of her songs included messages like mental health awareness, LGBTQ acceptance, and even anti-exploitation. It might be hard to remember, but only 15 years ago these were very taboo and controversial topics. Lady Gaga was the first time many people were even exposed to the types of conversations which have become normal only a decade later. Pop music, something people were very familiar with, was able to serve as the delivery method for major social change. In this case, as in many others, the formula was the weapon to break the status quo, not maintain it.

Switching to Johnson's ideas, one of the main concerns was that the spread of music into different forms and playback technologies destroys the opportunity to see it as art. The more that music is simply used as the backdrop for other activities (parties, working, shopping, etc.), the more likely we are to regard it as an ambient presence, like the temperature or light. In many ways we lose the ability to consider the meaning or potential of the piece simply because the medium reduces the likelihood we will engage with it on a level deep enough to get anything out of it. This snowballs into a problem where the music that comes after is no longer designed to be examined closely since no one ever will.

To be honest, I don’t entirely disagree with his points. I think music should be appreciated as an art and people should sit down and do nothing but listen more often. I am hardly innocent when it comes to using music as ambience, and I find deeper connections to the music when I permit it to be the only thing in my mind. However, pop music forming a background of our life is far from a bad thing. Much like music, all types of art sometimes take a subconscious role in our lives. Murals become commonplace; architecture is often overlooked; and despite what Johnson claims, it is entirely possible to read a book without paying any attention to the words on the page. However, what all these art forms (including music) share, is that the background they provide make the world better to live in. Wall art makes the walk through the city a bit more colorful; simply walking into a beautiful building can boost your day; and as silly as it might be, a little bit of “Bad Romance” while you wait in line at the store might make you hum along and bop your hips a bit. Although most people are not engaging pop music as a serious art form on a day-to-day basis, it is still making their lives better and happier. As important as it is to have art that teaches us about the dark or mysterious parts of ourselves, I think art that teaches us the answers to one of life’s biggest questions -how to be happy- is just as vital, possibly even more.

Note: This was an assignment in my Writing About Music class. We were to write a response to the ideas of Adorno and Johnson from class readings and defend pop music. Our claims did not need to be extensive, but they were to include at least one example of a song or artists that supported our claims. These pieces were written with the understanding that there would be some generalization of social issues, philosophies, and concepts. However, the main point of this exercise was to show understanding of the two thinkers' ideas and be able to engage with them. Target 500-700 words.

Blind Album Review: Lexicon of Love

It Doesn’t Get Simpler than ABC: A Blind Review of The Lexicon of Love
Originally written January 24, 2023; unpublished until June 2023

Although it feels a bit odd to compare a group’s sound to those who likely drew inspiration from them, ABC’s The Lexicon of Love is what you’d get if David Bowe had decided to work with the Pet Shop Boys. Unless you have a particular affinity for hair metal, chances are this album is what you’d think of if someone asked you imagine what the 1980s would like boiled down to its core.

The opener, “Show Me” is anthemic and immediately captures the listener’s attention. A performance has been prepared, and ABC is excitedly pulling you inside the theater and pushing you into your seat before running up on stage. The other songs that make up side one are a smothering blanket of horns, guitar, and synth-driven funk. I should make it clear that this is smothering in a good way, as in smothered burritos. (In this case, the listener is the burrito in case it wasn’t clear.)

Almost any track from Lexicon could have been a single, but “The Look of Love” is far and away the best song. Good thing it is too because it’s featured multiple times on the album for reasons that become clear once you’ve finished side two. The album holds so much of that classic ‘80s cheese that everything starts to blur and morph to the less-good connotation of smothering by the middle of the second half. This is until the penultimate track “4 Ever 2 Gether” suddenly strips down to a distorted spoken word line halfway through - a welcome breather. I’m hesitant to suggest any particular song to cut, as they are all enjoyable in their own right, but Lexicon could have done with a bit less fat around the edges. Fortunately, the final song is just a short reprise of “The Look of Love”, the afore-mentioned best song here. The callback helps finish the show on a high note and prevents the listener from dwelling on the excess.

Oddly enough, the album’s title is a bit misleading, because this ‘lexicon’ only holds a few words at best. The theme of the album bounces between “holy cow I’m so much love that it hurts and I wanna dance” and “I’ve been scorned and burnt by love, but I’ve going to spite my ex by continuing to enjoy life. Also, I wanna dance.” Sometimes it’s not that complicated, I guess.

Looking at ABC, I’m amazed a group that nails the core sound of the New Wave had such little success in the USA, and that there’s almost no nostalgia or curiosity about the group except from UK sources. I’m no musical expert by any means, but as a teenager I dug into ‘80s music with a vicious appetite. I’m stupefied that this album or group never found its way onto my radar given all the similarities to other artists from the same time that were bigger in the US. Lexicon holds reflections of Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, A-Ha, Devo, Rick Astley, Tears for Fears, Madonna, Simple Minds, Human League and so many more. Once again, it feels wrong to compare ABC to acts that were their peers or came later, but I’m not sure there’s any other way to convey just how quintessential ‘80s this album is.

The band’s history is pretty standard fare: a group of musicians decided they wanted to make music together, got noticed by the right people, and spent the rest of their career chasing that same success. I mean no disrespect to ABC, but according to many sources, Lexicon was their peak of popularity, and the rest of their time was spent somewhere in the middle of the UK charts. While this might be seen as a letdown for most groups, I think it’s great that they were able to enjoy some time in the spotlight. If you had to peak with your debut, Lexicon is about as good as it could get. The group didn’t break up due to infighting or drug use or anything either, so that’s a win too.

The Lexicon of Love is ultimately one of those albums that immediately sounds like the era it came from and represents it well. Each of the songs are definitely worth a listen for when the same old “Eighties Hits” playlists don’t cut it, though the whole album can be a bit thick at times.

Note: This was an assignment in my Writing About Music class. We were to review an album that we had never heard of before. I, despite having been raised on 80s new wave, had never heard of ABC. This was a review written after having first heard the album two weeks prior. Target 500-750 words.

Review: ATTLAS – Out Here with You

ATTLAS – Out Here with You

Originally written January 11, 2023; unpublished until June 2023

Once rumored to be a secret project of a DJ with a mouse for a face, ATTLAS uses his second album to set some distance between himself and both the expectations set by that rumor and the incessant demands of the world. Out Here with You carries a secure sense of excitement and awe, like looking out at a sparking field of fresh snow while keeping your blanket firmly wrapped around yourself. Although a product of the 2020 lockdowns, you don’t need to be living through a pandemic to appreciate a moment to breathe and take a break from a world that so rarely offers one.

Note: This was an assignment in my Writing About Music class. The goal was to complete an album review in the style of Mike McGuirk using only 3 sentences at most.

Welcome! First time? Start here!

 Hello and welcome to my website! I recognize that there are likely a very limited number of people who will ever see this or read my content, but that's not really the purpose of this space. My main hope is that this website can help me continue to develop my skills as a writer and can serve as some sort of a portfolio to those who might be interested in my writing later on.

In winter 2023, I took a class at BYU called "Writing About Music". This class was my dream course, as it combined so many of my interests at once and approached music discussion through a variety of lenses and styles including journalism, academic writing, criticism, and theory. Through this class, I discovered that my love for music and my love for writing could have a common goal, so I decided to continue writing.

Feel free to explore the bits and pieces I have here. My goal is to eventually get a new piece out every week, and to have all of my previous works edited and ready to be published here in a few days. I write everything from album reviews to interviews, and I am currently working on a proposal for writing a book in the 33 1/3 series on Tears for Fears's Songs from the Big Chair.

Enjoy the space and hope to hear from any readers!