The Suez Canal Halftime Show
Nu Music Monday #16 / 29-03-21
Hey there,
I’m Red, and welcome to Nu Music Monday. Glad to have you here.
Every week I write quick bites about some of my favorite tracks released in the past seven days (-ish). I also go into the latest music news when I feel like it and share stuff I think is worth your time.
In today’s edition, in addition to the introduction of a handful of splendid new tracks, I’ll talk Lil Nas X, satanism and artistic theft, as well as Demi Lovato, public scrutiny and marketing your trauma.
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Rubbing the devil the wrong way
Lil Nas XXX
After MONTHS of teasing, Lil Nas X finally released the title track from his upcoming debut album. Snippets have been doing the rounds on social media since last Summer and Superbowl ads made it all feel very official.
Now, how do you go about making music for your first full-length on the back of the most commercially successful track in recent memory? I’d imagine the pressure must be crushing: that is, if you let it get the better of you. Lil Nas X obviously didn’t.
‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ takes after today’s biggest viral hits—concise, hard-hitting, sticky and highly re-playable. Consider the brief fulfilled. Clocking at a mere 2:20 min, the track whizzes by to a Latin groove (very sign of the times, I know) that is a whole fantasy of its own.
In the video, Lil Nas X falls from grace directly into hell where he ends up grinding on Satan. There’s been the expected outcry of zealot fervor as well as the “how dare you do this when children are watching you?!” tweets—very WAP déjà vu. Is the video provocative? Sure. Should it be more PG? Not your call. If you don’t want your kids watching this, don’t let ‘em.
Lil Nas did push the provocation one step further by collaborating with MSCHF, an art collective, to make and sell 666 pairs of ‘satanic’ shoes, complete with bronze pentagram and a drop of human blood (??). Clearly, ruffling some feathers is part of the ammo.
Creative leeching: the blurry line between inspiration and theft
Now, for some (more) legitimate criticism in my eyes. People online have been quick to point out the shot-for-shot similarities between ‘MONTERO’’s CGI pole scene and FKA twigs’ ‘cellophane’ music video. And it’s not purely coincidental (those things rarely are).
‘cellophane’’s video director (Andrew Thomas Huang) had been contacted by Columbia Records some months ago to possibly work on some visuals with Lil Nas X. The label ultimately chose to go with someone else for the ‘MONTERO’ video. But that didn’t stop them from virtually profiting from Huang’s artistic vision by capitalizing on his and twigs’ original labor of love.
Look, all art is influenced by both the people that came before and its contemporaries in some shape or form. No art is made in a vacuum. And sometimes the line between being inspired by something and straight up copying it can be blurry. But in this case, it’s really not. It’s a case of a bigger label refusing to invest its resources the right way by incentivizing new, fresh visions, choosing instead ripping off years of work and emotional investment without acknowledging the creative source.
It’s not too late for Lil Nas X and his team to give twigs’ and her team the credits (and coins) they deserve. Surely many of the people—probably including Lil Nas X—involved in creating the ‘MONTERO’ visuals were unaware of the creative leeching at play here.
In the past, a big label like Columbia would’ve had little incentive to make things right with Young Turks, Huang and twigs. We’ve seen the nefarious effects of those types of power dynamics before. But I have hope that this time will be different.
Track of the week: BROCKHAMPTON’s high-octane return
Kevin Abstract and Danny Brown link up for one of the best cuts to ever come out of BROCKHAMPTON’s camp. It combines both sides of the coin with a tremendous hype part led first by Abstract and then Brown as well as a dizzying mellow(er) back end. The supergroup’s production is as smooth as ever, and manages to integrate sampling with impressive ease. It really feels like BROCKHAMPTON’ve hit a stride: there are few achievements as gratifying for artists as making something incredibly elaborate seem so simple. More good news: their next album is due April 9. Can’t wait!
All hands on deck
serpentwithfeet’s new album has legs
DEACON is the name. serpentwithfeet’s second album is as intimate as it is communal. It’s got more of an accessible pop appeal than soil without sacrificing its soul. ‘Heart Storm’ is the album highlight I’d recommend giving a go first if you’re not too sure about diving into the entire body of work. Trust and believe, it’s one of the best releases of the year so far, you don’t want to miss it.
“Love watching the tempest dance”. Me too.
Demi Lovato: dealing with the harrowing consequences of public scrutiny… in public?
Demi Lovato has crawled out of an extremely sticky situation and proudly stands on the other side: an overdose, three strokes and a heart attack nearly got the best of her back in 2018. Now she’s back with a docu-series where she dives in the causes of her addiction and past dysfunctional behaviour head first.
Having battled eating disorders and addiction for most of her career, she looks back at the toxic habits and all enabling factors that led her to a premature deathbed. The aggravating factor in all this, she explains, is the constant pressure put on female performers to look and dress a certain way. It’s cruel interactions—often unilateral— with the public that pushed her the edge.
Fast forward: it’s 2021 and Demi appears stronger and resolved to never relinquish the control she’s fought so hard to recover. No more punitive diets, no more obsessing about her looks and reining in her personality for the sake of others. Good for her.
But I can’t help but feel uneasy about how Demi is going about rebuilding herself in the public. Don’t get me wrong, she has every right to do whatever she pleases. A docu-series that coincides with an imminent album drop? Can’t hurt sales! But also: might as well amplify the message as much as possible, the testimonies can help others going through similar struggles, I get it.
I still worry that going so public with everything and launching an album cycle simultaneously might re-trigger some of the root causes of Demi’s previous demise. The subsequent chart placement inquiries, the inevitable search for approval, the comparison with previous work… all common concerns in the profession, are now compounded with her recent efforts to open up and how that'll be received separately.
There’s a price to marketing trauma: you certainly hope it will inspire and help others, but at what cost for yourself? Here’s hoping Demi now has a strong enough support system that’ll help her navigate the response to her upcoming body of work and ignore the constant chiming about how she should handle her body.
Jean!
Easy one. R&B rising star Jean Deaux does her thing again. Sit back and enjoy.
Rejjie!
Birds chirping, flutes fluting, percussions percussing, Rejjie rejjying. Sit back and relax.
Natalia!
Mexican folk artist Natalia Lafourcade is back with yet another classic cover. As delightful as always. 9 minutes well spent.
It really be like that sometimes
Donna Missal tests new waters with Sega Bodega
“sex is good, but have you tried fucking with yourself?” inquires indie pop icon Donna Missal. Each album cycle is a rebirth for Donna: this one takes her out of the hands of Lighter’s pop rock production and straight into the arms of Sega Bodega, rising Scottish producer and PC Music friend. None of the usual bells and whistles, guitar riffs and habitual vocal prowess. Donna is experimenting with a sound she has the chops to make her own entirely. Excited about what’s to come.
Another one in the bag for Masego
The techno part
New cover from Future Islands
Part of 4AD’s collection of covers from the label’s back catalogue, Future Islands’ Colourbox revamp proves how timeless the original is. And how easy it is for the Baltimore guys to put their stamp on anything without sounding like they’re even trying.
The funk of it all
Beck and Paul McCartney. It could’ve gone every which way but ended up in a wonderful place.
From Berlin to Detroit and back
Marco Mello sounds every bit as reverent of the boom bap legends of the past as he sounds confident in his own voice. Clearly a labor of love, his new track ‘The Rhyme’ is one to irrepressibly nod along to. Indulge in luxurious production by K-Mel and Bob Powers and get lost in the intelligent wordplay, the dextrous delivery and even more straightforwardly, the groove. That’s what the kids call a vibe, I think.
Sweet but psycho
Julia Michaels wants her current lover’s exes to be dead so she doesn’t have to think about them: borderline sociopathic behaviour but also, yes, makes sense. Can this be used against her in court? Imma need a little restraining order your honor.
New EP from Gallant: Neptune’s habitable after all
Apart from already-released material (‘Comeback.’ and ‘Relapse.’) there’s really one track on the EP you should pay attention to above all else: ‘Scars.’ is the perfect combination of contemporary R&B and whatever collective stroke of genius producers were on in the late 90s. Gallant makes pain feel incredibly sexy. I want Charli XCX on this for the remix.
More, more, more
Also check out these *dandy* new tracks:
You’ll find my favorite releases of the month (so far) in this Spotify playlist.
Thanks for reading! Back soon with more great music & stuff,
I’m @red_dziri on Twitter.