black midi and the Happy Medium Between Critical and Casual
First off, let’s get something out of the way: go Suns. Anyway, newsletter.
Last month, experimental rock band black midi released their second album “Cavalcade” to insanely positive critical reception, and a lot of comparisons to Primus.
On “Cavalcade,” black midi quickly shifts from jazz-metal to indie psychedelia to hard rock to some other complicated genre labels. It feels like it was written 100 years ago, 10 years ago, yesterday, and tomorrow all at once.
Here’s just one song from the album, which is really only just the part of the whole, called “Chondromalacia Patella.” It changes genres at least 3 times.
I hope that encourages you to listen to the album in full. It’s good, but in a very specific context. In my opinion, the reason it got great critical reception is that it was written for the critical ear.
I listened to the whole record, with no distractions, with my headphones on. I liked it, because I think it was written for that context.
Musicians write and perform their music partially for themselves, obviously, and I’m in no way saying that black midi only writes their music to be reviewed.
But, it seems that “Cavalcade” was written to be listened to all the way through, doing nothing else. That’s normally how I’d listen to music if I was attempting to listen critically, rather than casually.
Does that make an album like “Cavalcade” better than other contemporary work? Does it have more artistic merit than the next album? Those are complicated questions, but we’ll do what we can to answer them, you and I.
That absolute BANGER is “Levitating” by Dua Lipa ft. DaBaby (lesssgoooo). It’s a really great pop song. It’s got a fun instrumental, a talented singer, some fun lyrics, and a rap feature. It’s got everything you need, and you can listen to it anywhere.
“Chondromalacia Patella” is also a really good song. Would I listen to it in the same places I listen to “Levitating,” like at a party or in the car? Probably not. Would I listen to “Levitating” while doing nothing else, like I did with black midi? Probably not, but mostly because I can’t help but dance when I listen to it.
These songs are inherently different, but I don’t think one is necessarily better than the other. Some critics may tell you otherwise, though.
“Chondromalacia Patella” is intentional, made as ART rather than MUSIC. “Levitating” is a fun song, but it was probably just made to make money. This means that one of those songs is distinctly better than the other, because it’s art.
Ironically, fans of artists also think differently. If you’re deep into stan Twitter, it’s hard to find fans of artists like Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande NOT citing chart numbers and album sales (Nicki outsold). To some, making money is a defining factor of a song or artist’s quality.
There’s a happy medium between those two mindsets, and more people should find it.
More people should listen to music critically. This comes with music appreciation and music theory being taught in school, but that’s a discussion for another day.
There’s just something about sitting down and listening to a black midi album, or a Talking Heads album, or a Phoebe Bridgers album.
Appreciation of music and art is crucial for a well-rounded life, but only critically listening, or heaven forbid making a career out of it, can lead you to an impossible level of pretentiousness.
Music is also great for a good time, however. If you’re at a party or a bar and your first thought is “this music sucks,” you’re probably being annoying! Let loose, and realize that whoever wrote and performed that music did it so that people listening would have a good time.
Whichever way you prefer to listen to music, do me a favor. Next time you want to listen, approach it differently than the last time. If you listen to music as background noise while you get ready or drive, sit down and listen to a critically praised album from this year (I recommend Julien Baker’s “Little Oblivions” or Japanese Breakfast’s “Jubilee”) all the way through with no distractions. You’ll probably gain a new appreciation for the artist, the genre, or the medium in general.
If you listen to music critically all the time, listen to a random Spotify pop playlist while you do something else, and see if you enjoy it. Drop the pretense of music having to be anything other than enjoyable. Don’t think about theory, or the music industry, or whatever. You’ll probably have a good time.
Pop music is always going to be more accessible than any other genre, that’s just how it’s always going to be. It’s popular for a reason. But, if more casual music listeners opened their ears critically, and more critically listeners got off their impossibly high horses and realized how much fun money-making music can be, we’d be one step closer to peace on earth.
Here’s today’s playlist, “happy medium,” with all the music/artists referenced in this newsletter, as well some of my favorite current/classic pop songs mixed in with some of my favorite critical listens. It’s made to shuffle, so it’s kind of like Russian Roulette for your ears.
Thanks for reading, and remember that it’s never that serious.