@@@ Marshmell, Khalid: Numb (N/A, 2022) Some mainstream listening today off the front of the Apple Music opening page. Sonically, it’s a midtempo dancefloor banger but the lyrics about wanting to get numb is kinda depressing. I continue to maintain that the rock star memes about drug use, hitting up the ladies have been fully soaked into mainstream American pop culture. It’s kinda weird, no? There’s a bit of loverboy in the middle, he just wants to get numb with you, which is a very mixed message. The sounds are …mainstream. Strummed guitar sample, straight dance beat, tight arrangement. For me the weirdness of the lyrics is key here.
@@@ Bartees Strange: Wretched (N/A, 2022) This is a ballad that opens with an arpeggiated synth then pulls in some epic guitar noodle bits and some yearning, oh the yearning! He’s got the yearning bad and I feel for him. He sheds the yearning for an earnest uplifting section where he’s thankful and shit. I’m having trouble figuring out what he’s actually singing in the chorus but the vibe is clear. I like the singing, he’s working here, but the sounds are not super compelling and continue to be one of the reasons I criticize mainstream music. Mainstream culture is so weird.
Deep In the Music 