“When will people learn?
Democracy doesn’t Work!”
Now I know my:
ABC’s.
Pop Punk A-z
Last Updated: 11/24/24, Currently on the letter “S”
I’m trying something new with Gravycore’s Pop Punk playlist. I’m treating this as a live document that will be edited several times over the next few weeks. The result for anyone who cares to follow, will be a shifting hour of Pop Punk music. I’ll be ranking nearly 500 songs on a variety of criteria and keeping the top 60 minutes on the playlist as I progress through them in alphabetical order. One important piece of criteria is including music my friends and family like, so if there’s a song you want to bump up the ranking, vote below.
You can listen to current top hour of Pop Punk below. Playlist order is based on flow and not rankings.
Daft Punk: Random Thoughts & Mood Chart
11/9/24
To say I’ve been distracted lately would be an understatement. I don’t have a ton of analysis for you this week, but I have been listening to Daft Punk’s catalog nonstop. Like “The Dark Side of the Moon” and My Chemical Romance before that, this listening has been about preparing for an upcoming laser show at the Pacific Science Center. We’ll be attending with some friends, and it will be a welcome distraction FOR. SURE.
I don’t have much to say about Daft Punk. They’re French. They’re robots. The music is enjoyable and easy to listen to. It’s easy to see how it would adapt well to a laser show. Here are some random thoughts:
I very quickly eliminated the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack from my listening. It was far more Hans Zimmery than Daft Punkish.
The live album, “Alive 2007” should not be skipped. I almost did, but a friend tipped me off and it’s solid. Every track is a mashup of previous songs they’d released.
Clocking in at 10:00, the song “Too Long” is too long. Hot take, I know. My sense is that electronic fans don’t mind though. That said, they do have one song that’s longer (10:22) and that’s the live “Prime Time of Your Life / Brainwasher / Rollin’ & Scratchin’ / Alive” mashup off of “Alive 2007”.
“Emotion”, off of 2005’s “Human After All”, only has one word for the lyrics, and you guessed it - it’s “Emotion”, repeated over and over again. It works because it’s Daft Punk, but how funny would it be if it were almost any other artist? Beyoncé. Michael Bublé. I can really hear it in Tom DeLonge’s voice. “EMOWWW-SHAWWWWN”.
Officially, “Superheroes” off of 2001’s “Discovery”, repeats the phrase, “Something’s in the Air”. But I can only hear, “Cum in the Air”. Chock it up to a French accent, I guess.
The Many Moods of Daft Punk
Here’s another mood chart. It works fine on mobile, but looks better on a larger device.
High Positivity
Low Positivity
Moderate Positivity
High Energy
Dark: “The Brainwasher”
Exuberant: “High Life”
Playful: “Get Lucky”
Moderate Energy
Urgent: “The Prime Time of Your Life”
Vibrant: “Too Long”
Nostalgic: “Fragments of Time”
Low Energy
Melancholy: “Within”
Dreamy: “Nightvision”
Reflective: “Face to Face”
Understanding Pink Floyd and “The Dark Side of the Moon”
11/5/24
A few weeks back, when I still had a gallbladder, I dragged my Prog-Rock-listening wife to a My Chemical Romance laser show, and despite me being the only Pop-Punk/Emo fan between the two of us, we both had an amazing time. So much so, that afterwards we looked up what other shows they have on the schedule. My wife immediately pointed out their “Dark Side of the Moon” event. And while I’m excited to go back for another laser show, I’ve been having trouble drumming up much enthusiasm for Pink Floyd. Why is that? Let’s dive deeper.
My Experience So Far with Floyd
To date, the most time I’ve ever spent with Pink Floyd was in my senior year English class, when we watched “The Wall” in 45-minute increments every Friday for a few weeks in a row. Ms. Bess would pause every so often to point out some film or literary device she wanted us to pay attention to. I was a kid and was just happy to watch a movie in class, but didn’t really like the way Pink Floyd sounded. At that point, I understood them as a band that people “got high to”. I hadn’t partaken in any illicit substances at that tender age, but the Nazi imagery of goosestepping hammers was unpleasant enough sober. Have people not heard of “set and setting”?
It’s kind of wild that that song has a disco beat, right? But that’s from the “The Wall” and it came out in 1979, six years after the release of “The Dark Side of the Moon”. So what’s “Dark Side’s” deal? Honestly, as of a few days ago, the image below was everything I knew about that album. It’s everywhere: tee shirts, posters, and of course on the cover of the album. Its recognizability is perhaps the biggest triumph of graphic design in Rock history.
Oh, and there’s the supposed synchronization of “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wizard of Oz”. I tried this for the first time this week. You can watch it below if you like, but basically any instance of the music lining up to the film is coincidental. After the tornado, when Dorothy exits her sepia-toned house to enter Technicolor Oz, “Money” has just started playing. But of all the songs on the album, why that one and why NOT “Any Colour You Like”? When Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, “Brain Damage” is playing. That’s pretty clever. When she meets the Tin Man, we hear a heartbeat. Also clever. But that heartbeat is how the album ends, before Dorothy even meets the Cowardly Lion. I can’t imagine how anybody thought it was an intentional decision of Pink Floyd to line all of this stuff up, and then end the album after only two of the three supporting cast are introduced. My guess is that whoever watched this and decided it was intentional, was high.
Pink Floyd vs. The Beatles
“The Dark Side of the Moon” was released in 1973. Ten years later, I was born and this album was still charting. It would continue to chart, in fact until I was five years old. It holds the record for longest consecutive run on the Billboard 200 (736 weeks) and most overall time on the Billboard 200 (950 weeks). Why is that? Why not a Beatles album? Why an album I’ve never heard and know next-to-nothing about? Spotify classifies Pink Floyd as Symphonic Rock, Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Classic Rock, Art Rock, Album Rock, and Progressive Rock. I think it’s those last two genres that give “The Dark Side of the Moon” an edge over say, “Abbey Road”.
The Beatles were hit makers, but Pink Floyd were album makers. If you haven’t heard “Dark Side”, each song bleeds into the next for the effect of one long song. And that’s probably enough to call it a concept album, though unlike “The Wall”, it lacks an overarching theme.
And then there’s the Progressive Rock angle. Prog Rock nerds like my lovely wife, are going to reward a band for experimentation. I know the Beatles did drugs and went to India and married Yoko Ono and incorporated all of that into their sound, but Pop sensibilities underlied all of it. “Money”, the only hit I can hear on “The Dark Side of the Moon”, has a 7/4 time signature, a fact my wife was all-too-eager to point out. I guess what I’m trying to say is, Pop trends will come and go, but Progressive Rock fans like the genre because it does not have to meet the whims of the moment. One would expect that that would naturally grant an artist or an album with a more enduring sound.
1973
I created another map, this time of the Rockscape of 1973, to try and understand what was going on in the scene when “The Dark Side of the Moon” was released and where it fit into everything. The Beatles had been broken up for three years at this point and it’s kind of wild how quickly things are changing. It should be noted though, that all four Beatles show up on here (McCartney is listed as Wings). Prog Rock is taking up a significant part of the map. Hard Rock and Metal are an established sound with the likes of Skynyrd, The Who, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Scorpions, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Alice Cooper. Something about The Beatles and Aerosmith only being separated by three years in Rock history is hard to grok. There’s also the rise of Glam acts like Queen, Bowie, and Elton John. Bruce Springsteen’s out there making music. And finally, there’s the rise of Punk. Even if it was in a Protopunk stage, Iggy & The Stooges and New York Dolls were setting the stage for the Ramones and the Sex Pistols.
Prog vs. Punk
It’s the split in Progressive and Punk Rock that I’m most interested in, because I think it goes the furthest in explaining my disinterest in acts like Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Moody Blues, et al. By 1973, Progressive Rock was the more defined of the two genres. I’ve done a little research, and I’m unclear if Punk was a response to Progressive Rock or if it’s that the two were more like a fork in the road, but in many ways they are set up to be opposites in the Rock world. Prog valued virtuosity; Punk valued simplicity. Prog valued long runtimes; Punk valued short. Prog valued experimentation; Punk valued back-to-basics. Prog was pretentious; Punk was crude.
I came of age in the Punk scene of the 90s and 00s. Progressive Rock was not on my radar, but it’s almost as if a distaste for the genre was coded in the roots of the music I was listening to. I’m trying hard to accept that people who listen to Progressive Rock aren’t necessarily buying into hype or virtue signaling about their enlightened tastes in music. But everyone knows short, fast songs about linoleum are more entertaining. I’m sorry, but that’s just basic science, folks.
THE ACTUAL Music
I’ve listened to “The Dark Side of the Moon” several times now. It’s ten tracks long, but I think I’m being completely fair in saying at least track one, “Speak to Me”, isn’t really a song. It’s a very slow build to track two, and unless you’ve got the volume cranked to eleven, it’s silence for nearly the entire track. Towards the end you can make out several sound effects including a heartbeat, screaming, maniacal laughter, a cash register, footsteps, and a prop plane. These are all sounds that show up in various other points of the album, so some credit for a sonic foreshadowing, but it leaves only nine real songs on the album. “On the Run”, “The Great Gig in the Sky”, and “Any Colour You Like” are also lyricless, but are at least songs. That leaves only six of ten tracks that you can sing along to, which has always been my main way of interacting with music I enjoy.
Despite that, I think the album is fairly enjoyable. “Money” is the highlight. I don’t think I will ever understand what made THIS album so special to so many. Even if the genre isn’t my cup of tea, I can’t really comprehend what it does better than other albums. People love it though, and I may just have to accept that I’ll never fully understand why. As I said before, I do think the album is fairly enjoyable. In my book, that’s a triumph of my efforts to expand my musical repertoire, and I think I’ll be rewarded on our next trip to the Laser Dome.
Next Week: Daft Punk
November Color Palette
11/1/24
Y’all wouldn’t shut up about it. It was picked up in all the tabloids, domestic and abroad. “What will be the November Color Palette for Butterscotch Chicken and how brown will it be?!?” Well, here it is. The answer’s “like 40% brown”. Happy Franksgivin’.
In Which I Hedge about the quality of “Gravycore - Rock”
10/27/24
I did it. I found the diamonds in the rough of Spotify’s Rock category. Well, SOME diamonds anyways. I didn’t really enjoy this week’s listening, and I think you can hear that in my playlist. The Rock genre is just too broad, so I was feeling musical whiplash on every new track as it swung wildly from Metal to Folk Rock to Pop to Country. The tracks can be categorized into four groups as outlined below:
Tracks 1-3) Genuinely great new(ish) songs by Rex Orange County, Suki Waterhouse, and Coin that I think my friends should hear.
Tracks 4-7) 90s, 00s, and 10s. Young the Giant, Mazzy Star, Green Day, System of a Down.
Tracks 8-10) 60s and 70s. Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Sam & Dave.
Tracks 11-18) A hodge podge of stuff. This is where it falls apart. Band-Maid, The Warning, Roxette, Kylie Minogue, Odetari, Lay Bankz, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Rhonda Vincent, Dolly Parton, Willow Avalon, Maggie Antone. When considering songs for Gravycore, I often ask myself, “would I feel embarrassed to include this song on the playlist?” And honestly, the answer to that question is “yes” for most of these. We can consider this the guilty pleasures section. The fact that it’s nearly half the playtime of the entire list, is a condemnation for how hard I had to look to find a full hour.
Anyways, if you want to give “Gravycore - Rock” a Listen or Whatever, You can do that here, But only if you really want to.
Charting Gravycore - Rock
Curious about the wide breadth of genres, I plotted them in a chart, below. You can click on it for an interactive version, though it probably looks like garbage on mobile. In fact the rest of this post is probably best viewed on a device with a larger screen.
I don’t know why I find these kinds of graphs so compelling. I think it’s just neat how they show the relation between various points. There’s the densely clustered Rock genres on the right, Pop in the upper left, and Country in the bottom left, and the “peninsulas” of stuff that are only tangentially related to the playlist at all. I actually chose the track order based on this chart. Start with Rex Orange County at the very bottom, and follow the spiderweb around counter-clockwise until you get to Willow Avalon. Actually, you know what?
Here’s a fucking map:
Is this…good? I genuinely can’t tell. Like I think it’s neat, but also kind of ugly. Anyways, like a giant turd that I’m particularly proud of, I wanted to show you. What do you think? Can you even read it on your stupid smartphone?
Next Week: Dark Side of the Moon, I Guess
My Chemical Romance & The Many Moods of Wrist-Slitting
10/19/24
Next week, my wife, our friend and I are going to the Pacific Science Center to see a laser show set to the music of My Chemical Romance. I’ve been prepping for it the same way I used to prep for live shows as a kid—by listening to the band’s music nonstop. I’ve set Gravycore aside for the time being, but I do have some musical analysis for your very sensitive little bottoms. This time, on the works of My Chemical Romance.
Tidal lists nearly 150 tracks in MCR’s catalog and I’ve heard them all multiple times now. I was thinking about the old, busted trope of how emo music was music to slit your wrists to, and how My Chemical Romance were undeniably the poster children of the 2000s emo scene. In fact, in their song, “Cemetery Drive”, Gerard Way sings the following:
Back home, off the run
Singing songs that make you slit your wrists
It isn't that much fun staring down a loaded gun
But is it fair to dismiss all of their work as depressive, wrist-slitting music? Beyond making light of serious mental health issues, I actually think a lot of their music sounds pretty happy. There is undoubtedly a macabre theme running through most of it, but some songs are actually kind of funny, and others make you want to dance. I’ve made an alignment-style chart comparing energy and valence, so you can judge for yourself.
High Energy
Mourning: Helena
Irreverent: Dead!
Moderate Energy
Unsettled: Sleep
Triumph: Welcome to the Black Parade
High Valence
Low Valence
Moderate Valence
Low Energy
Heart Wrench: Cancer
Despair: I Don’t Love You
Rebellion: Teenagers
Bonus Playlist: Gravycore - Autumn
10/17/24
I’ve built up a small library of Gravycore music, but I think it’s large enough now to create seasonal playlists. These are all songs that have previously been featured as a part of Gravycore, but with a focus on those with the most autumny vibes. I’m looking at song titles that conjure fall imagery (“Summer’s Over”, “Sienna”, “The Gold”, “Yellow”), but I’m also paying attention to the sound. To me, fall music is highly acoustic, moderately melancholic and instrumental, with moderately low tempos, volume and energy. Live and dance music is deprioritized in fall.
Listen Here for Gravycore - Autumn
Bedroom Pop
10/16/24
In my lifetime, there have been a few genre labels that felt ironic. Alternative was supposed to be an alternative to mainstream Rock. But when MTV and all the mainstream radio stations began playing it, did the title still fit? "Alternative" lost its original meaning and became synonymous with a particular sound. The same happened with Indie. "Indie" stands for independent, but pretty quickly there were Indie labels. How could you be independent AND signed to a label? It was an oxymoron. Indie went the same way as Alternative, with the word defining a particular sound more than it defined the independent status of certain artists.
Enter Bedroom Pop (see also: Bedroom R&B, Bedroom Soul). These are artists who are purported to have recorded their music on laptops in their bedrooms. Will the genre suffer the same fate of Alternative and Indie with the corporate takeover of the sound and redefinition of the word? Well, Billie Eilish is often considered a Bedroom Pop artist, so it appears to be headed that way. That doesn't mean there isn't good music to listen to in the genre though. I discovered most, if not all, of my favorite Alternative and Indie artists after the genres became radio-friendly. So let's see what Bedroom Pop has to offer.
Listen Here for Gravycore - Bedroom Pop
Gravycore’s Most Important Bedroom Pop Artists
Jonah Yano, Clairo
“Snowpath”
Clairo has been considered a pioneer of the Bedroom Pop genre since her 2017 hit, “Pretty Girl”. In 2018, she came out as bisexual, and in the following year, she released the queer anthem, “Sofia”. I first discovered her in my POV: Indie listening two weeks ago as one of the frontwomen of Shelly.
Jonah Yano is from Vancouver, BC and I just discovered him through my Bedroom Pop listening this week.
Jordana, TV Girl
“Summer’s Over”
Gravycore’s only been around for a month, but both of these artists are becoming regular features. Their collaboration, “Better in the Dark”, was featured on my POV: Indie playlist. Jordana also narrowly missed being included on Gravycore - Indie Pop, with “Like A Dog”. TV Girl has had even more features in Gravycore’s short run. More on them below.
Shelly
“Natural”
As mentioned previously, I discovered Shelly as part of my POV: Indie listening. Their song, “Steeeam” was featured on Gravycore - POV: Indie. “Natural” is the B-Side to that single.
Beach Bunny
“Clueless”
I can’t quite remember the first time I discovered Beach Bunny, but it was before Gravycore existed. Her 2017 song, “Sports”, was featured on Gravycore - POV: Indie. I’ll say this for “Sports”: I like the song, but when I listen to it, it feels like someone is hijacking my volume knob, turning the entire mix up and down as it shifts between verses and choruses. I’m happy to report that 2024’s “Clueless” is a bop, with no such mixing problems.
JDM Global, Luna Li
“Bug”
First time discovery and feature for JDM Global. Luna Li has been a part of my listening every single week, but earned her first two features this week as part of my Bedroom Pop playlist. More on her below.
Wallice
“Gut Punch Love”
I can’t remember the first time I listened to Wallice, but it predates Gravycore by a little bit. “Gut Punch Love” is a deceptively happy song about her mother’s fiancé’s death to Yakuza violence in Japan in the 1980s. It sets the tragic lyrics against a sunshiney Power-Pop melody.
Luna Li
“Afterglow”
Toronto Indie queen, Luna Li has been on my radar since week one of Gravycore, with her song, “Bon Voyage”, but it’s her dreamy “Afterglow” that earned her a feature on Gravycore - Bedroom Pop.
The Marías
“Sienna”
I don’t remember when I first discovered The Marías, but it was with their song, “Heavy”. “Sienna” is their first feature on Gravycore. It is about front-woman, María Zardoya’s, mourning of a child that would never come to be conceived because of a breakup with her former producer. In fact, the entire album, Submarine is about that breakup.
Mother Mother
“Oh Ana (Mother Version)”
A 2024 release of the self-recorded version of 2007’s “Oh Ana” fits perfectly into the modern Bedroom Pop genre for its stripped-down aesthetic. Mother Mother is a band I’ve liked for a while and they’re from Vancouver, BC. They were featured on the Gravycore - Modern Rock playlist a few weeks back, in their collaborative mashup with Cavetown on “Dirty Devil Town”.
Alex G
“Mis”
I first heard this song as part of my POV: Indie listening, and then again during my Indie Pop listening. Both times, it narrowly missed the cut for inclusion on my Gravycore playlists, so I’m very happy to feature it this week. It’s the perfect time too, because I feel the sonic quality fits Bedroom Pop much better than the previous genres.
TV Girl
“The Blonde”
This is San-Diego-based, TV Girl’s, third Gravycore feature in as many weeks. There was their collaboration with Jordana on “Better in the Dark”, and another collab with George Clanton on “Summer 2000 Baby”. This week, I’m featuring TV Girl solo with “The Blonde”.
Peach Pit
“Did You Love Somebody”
I first discovered this Vancouver, BC band in earnest as a part of my New Music for Old People project, but I’d heard buzz about them before that. Happy to feature them again, for the first time as a part of Gravycore.
Pity Party (Girls Club)
“Yellow”
I first heard Pity Party (Girls Club) during my POV: Indie listening on their collaboration with Lucys on “I hope that you think of me”.
Genevieve Stokes
“Desert Eagle”
Genevieve Stokes’ “God” came up as a part of my Indie Pop listening. It’s a great song and narrowly missed inclusion on that week’s playlist. I’m so happy to feature “Desert Eagle” this week though. For me, the two songs paired together really cemented for me how much she sounds like Regina Spektor, with equal parts melancholy and whimsy.
Suki Waterhouse
“Nonchalant”
Suki Waterhouse has been a perennial heart-breaker since week one. Her song, “Blackout Drunk” was nearly included in Gravycore’s Modern Rock, POV: Indie AND Indie Pop playlists only to be cut in favor of something else every single week. And truth be told, I think it’s the better song. “Nonchalant” is just a better fit for Bedroom Pop. If you listen to one song this week that’s not on Gravycore - Bedroom Pop, make it “Blackout Drunk”, my biggest honorable mention so far.
Mommy Long Legs
“Sorority Girls”
If enough people were reading this blog and listening to these playlists, I imagine this song’s inclusion would be controversial. It’s straight-up Riot Grrrl, which doesn’t really fit the sonic qualities of Bedroom Pop, even if it does fit the more denotative definition of DIY-recorded music. To be fair, I discovered it on Spotify’s “The Pulse of Bedroom Pop” playlist. And it’s just so hard for me to deny a Seattle Riot Grrrl band with a name like “Mommy Long Legs” a spot. Also lyrics like, “Hey hey hey boys / Let’s go to the frat party / The theme’s white people / Get your roofies ready”.
Quinnie
“Touch Tank”
I heard “Touch Tank” as a part of my Indie Pop listening, and it’s getting its feature this week. It’s pretty impressive how Quinnie effortlessly blends amusing innuendo with genuine tenderness and vulnerability. Plus, this line makes me laugh: “I’d rather get naked and swim in your blow-up pool and dry our dolphin bodies off and question your tattoos”.
Thee Sacred Souls
“My Heart is Drowning”
San Diego based Soul group, Thee Sacred Souls is fronted by Josh Lane, a black man. I’ve only just now become aware of them through my Bedroom Pop listening, but they immediately earned a spot on the playlist with this Motown-Rocksteady blend of a bop.
Cuco
“First of the Year”
Cuco’s collaboration with Sofía Valdés, “How’s That Working Out”, has turned up in my listening of Modern Rock, POV: Indie, and Indie Pop and was finally featured on Gravycore - Indie Pop. He gets his second feature in two weeks with “First of the Year”. Both songs have a dreamy, bedroom quality, but we only hear Cuco’s vocals on the latter, which in my opinion help further the bedroominess of it all.
Beach Vacation
“Stuck Here”
I’m very excited to have found this Seattle band, and am giving them a feature on my first week listening to them.
Mickey Darling
“Broken People Breaking Hearts”
A first-time discovery for me this week, off his first full-length album, Let’s Dance Until We Get Scared, released last month.
Listen Here for Gravycore - Bedroom Pop
Next Week: My Chemical Romance
Indie Pop x Identity Politics = Indie-entity Pop-itics
10/9/24
Three weeks deep into the Gravycore project, I’m noticing a sizeable shift in the kinds of musical voices I’ve been listening to. It began with Modern Rock—an intentionally broad, radio-friendly category. In week two, I refined my listening to POV: Indie—still broad, but seemingly limiting itself to just the indie sub-genres (Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Folk, etc.). A further refinement happened this week, as I dove deep into Indie Pop, where the voices are getting distinctly queerer and more femme (albeit whiter).
The Identity Shift
In week two’s POV: Indie listening, BIPOC representation hit 28%, its highest value so far, but still shy of matching U.S. demographics, which hover around 35%. BIPOC representation in Indie Pop is lower still, but higher than that of Modern Rock.
Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ artists have not only maintained their presence in Gravycore but expanded it. Even in the ostensibly more traditional Modern Rock space, queer artists exceeded national demographics (8% of U.S. adults). At 26%, Indie Pop has more than tripled that value.
Where Are The Ladies?
The starkest shift, though, has been gender. Modern Rock’s predictably dude-heavy lineup had female representation languishing at 26%. POV: Indie’s more sensitive, confessional slant pushed it slightly higher, but still well below parity at 50%. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that in Indie Pop, women are not just present—they’re defining the scene. We’re looking at a solid 63%.
Should Music Tastes Shape Identity or Should Identity Shape Music Tastes?
As a queer woman, this is the question I find myself asking. When I was young, I was a punk rock kid and invested a heavy portion of my identity in that. Even today, I find myself worried about disappointing a 19-year-old Gravy with sharpie manicures and sXe scrawled on the backs of her hands. But the truth is, that was music made mostly by and for straight dudes. Gravycore is about saying “fuck the man” and being true to myself.
“If that ain’t punk rock, I don’t know what is.”
-Scott Creed, front-man of the hit rock-n-roll combo, Creed. R.I.P. probably.
BIPOC Identities
16% of Modern Rock Artists
20% of Indie Pop Artists
28% of POV: Indie Artists
35% of US Population
LGBTQ+ Identities
8% of US Population
13% of Modern Rock Artists
15% of POV: Indie Artists
26% of Indie Pop Artists
Women
26% of Modern Rock Artists
36% of POV: Indie Artists
50% of US Population
63% of Indie Pop
The Boygenius of it All
One more thing unrelated to any of that. I feel like it’s worth acknowledging just how much of this week’s Gravycore is by members of Boygenius. We’ve got the super-group itself on the last track, performing Afraid of Heights. We also have Lucy Dacus on “Night Shift”. Then there’s Phoebe Bridgers. She appears solo on “ICU”, with Manchester Orchestra on “The Gold”, and with her OTHER supergroup, Better Oblivion Community Center on “Dylan Thomas”. I’ve come to the conclusion that Indie Pop is the Boygenius & Co. genre. I know a certain slender-fingered young man who will appreciate these artists’ inclusion on this week’s Gravycore.
Listen Here for Gravycore - Indie Pop
The Track Listing
2. What are We
Gonna Do Now
by
Indigo De Souza
LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Woman-Fronted, Indie Pop, Bubblegrunge, Asheville Indie
3. That You Are
by
Hozier, Bedouine
EE-Approved (Hozier), BIPOC (Bedouine), Woman-Fronted (Bedouine), Countrygaze, Chamber Pop, Chamber Folk, POV: Indie, Pop, Modern Rock, Irish Singer-Songwriter
6. The Gold
by
Manchester Orchestra, Phoebe Bridgers
EE-Approved (Phoebe Bridgers), JB-Approved (Phoebe Bridgers), LGBTQ+ (Phoebe Bridgers), Woman-Fronted (Phoebe Bridgers), Indie Rock, POV: Indie, LA Indie, Indie Pop
7. M
by
Soccer Mommy
JR-Approved, EE-Approved, JB-Approved, Woman-Fronted, Small Room, Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Bubblegrunge, Art Pop
8. Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
by
Yeule
Broken Social Scene Cover, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Nonbinary-Fronted, Hyperpop, Hyper-Rock, Ambient Pop
10. ICU
by
Phoebe Bridgers
JB-Approved, EE-Approved, LGBTQ+,
Woman-Fronted, POV: Indie, LA Indie, Indie Pop
11. How’s That Working Out
by
Sofía Valdés, Cuco
BIPOC (Sofía Valdés, Cuco), Woman-Fronted (Sofía Valdés), Dream Pop, Bedroom Pop, Gen Z Singer-Songwriter
12. Dylan Thomas
by
Better Oblivion
Community Center
JB-Approved, EE-Approved, LGBTQ+, Woman-Fronted, Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Omaha Indie, Melancholia, Chamber Pop, POV: Indie, LA Indie
13. Summer 2000 Baby
by
TV Girl, George Clanton
San Diego County (TV Girl), Vaporwave, Hypnagogic Pop, POV: Indie
14. This is How It Went
by
Beabadoobee
BIPOC, Woman-Fronted, POV: Indie, Indie Pop, Bubblegrunge, Bedroom Pop
15. Seed of a Seed
by
Haley Heynderickx
BIPOC, Woman-Fronted, Pacific Northwest, Small Room, Portland Indie, Indie Pop, Countrygaze
16. Anyone Else but You
by
The Moldy Peaches
EE-Approved, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Nonbinary-Fronted, Pacific Northwest, Lo-Fi, Anti-Folk
17. Afraid of Heights
by
Boygenius
JB-Approved, EE-Approved, LGBTQ+, Woman-Fronted, POV: Indie, Indie Pop
Listen Here for Gravycore - Indie Pop
Next Week: Bedroom Pop
POV: Indie?!? Or Just Plain Indie?
10/6/24
Defining POV: indie is a confusing ordeal and filled with several layers of speculation. It seems to be quite broad in terms of the kinds of music that get grouped into it. The best conclusion that I’ve been able to come to here is that it’s a catch-all for indie - indie rock, indie pop, indie folk, etc. Spotify has no other generic category for indie.
Additionally, POV is not officially defined. I guess it means Point of View? But what does Point of View mean in the context of indie music? The internet is full of speculation on this, and genuinely, the best answer I can find is that it’s a reference to the POV memes on social media. But what does THAT have to do with indie music?
Maybe it’s social media indie? Artists that go viral on TikTok, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc? Except the top 3 artists of POV: indie right now are The 1975, Twenty One Pilots and Hozier. Hardly TikTok artists. This is my final layer of speculation - I think the genre encompasses the listening habits of Spotify users who ALSO listen to social media indie. It does seem to include some very small artists that I can only track down to their SoundCloud pages, as well as better-known artists like I’ve previously mentioned. So it’s small indie artists who are breaking out on social media, as well as more mainstream indie artists. Isn’t that just…indie? In fact, its official definition from Spotify sounds like it’s describing exactly that.
POV: Indie music is a genre that encompasses a wide range of styles and sounds, often characterized by its DIY approach and non-commercial appeal. It is typically produced independently of major record labels and is often associated with underground or alternative music scenes. The music is often characterized by its unique sound, experimental approach, and raw, emotional lyrics. It has a dedicated following of fans who appreciate its authenticity and independent spirit.
With that in mind, here’s my top hour of listening for POV: Indie. The criteria for inclusion are listed beneath each track below.
Listen Here for Gravycore - POV: Indie
The Track Listing
1. Strangers
by
Ethel Cain
JB-Approved, LGBTQ+, Woman-Fronted,
Modern Dream Pop, Indie Pop, Country Gaze
2. I Know the end
by
Phoebe Bridgers
JB-Approved, EE-Approved, LGBTQ+,
Woman-Fronted, POV: Indie, LA Indie, Indie Pop
3. Evergreen
by
Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners feat. Caamp
Colorado (Richy Mitch & The Coal Miners), Modern Folk Rock, Stomp and Holler, Indie Folk
4. You Love Me
by
Kimya Dawson
EE-Approved, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Nonbinary-Fronted, Pacific Northwest, Olympia WA Indie, Anti-Folk
6. Die for Me
by
Jean Dawson feat. Lil Yachty
JB-Approved, BIPOC (Jean Dawson, Lil Yachty), San Diego County (Jean Dawson), Modern Indie Pop, Indie Hip Hop, Trap, Rap, Melodic Rap, ATL Hip Hop
8. Sports
by
Beach Bunny
DC-Approved, Woman-Fronted, POV: Indie, Indie Pop,
Chicago Indie, Bubble Grunge
10. Say That You Will Wait for Me
by
Honne, Liang Lawrence
BIPOC (Liang Lawrence), Woman-Fronted (Liang Lawrence), UK Pop
12. Better in the Dark
by
Jordana, TV Girl
Woman-Fronted, San Diego County (TV Girl),
Modern Indie Pop, POV: Indie
18. On Fye
by
The Simps, Eyedress, Zzzahara
LGBTQ+ (The Simps, Zzzahara), BIPOC (The Simps, Eyedress, Zzzahara), Woman-Fronted (The Simps, Zzzahara), POV: Indie, Noise Pop, American Post-Punk
Listen Here for Gravycore - POV: Indie
New Sticker
10/5/24
Washington’s state highway signs are so bad. Let’s celebrate that with a bumper sticker. Measures 2.5” tall and 25” long. Fits on most car models’ rear-bumpers.
The Playlist is Dead. Long Live the Playlist.
9/29/24
I’m moving past New Music for Old People. It had a good run of…<checks watch>…a few weeks. But don’t worry - music is still the hyperfocus du jour. And I’m still pushing playlists on my friends and family. It’s just that I’m now exclusively listening to…
🤘Gravycore.🤘
“…the fuck?”
It’s a bullshit genre. I made it up to complement one of the 6,000+ musical genres defined over at Every Noise at Once. It’s just music that I, Mrs. Gravy Cheeseburger-Davis, enjoy. These are the core aspects of gravycore music:
It’s an umbrella genre that includes the music I’ve listened to most of my life, such as ska, punk, alternative rock, indie rock, indie folk, and indie pop.
It’s also an evergrowing umbrella, to help an aging Xennial stay in the loop about 20s music and beyond.
It intentionally grows the diversity of artistic voices from the bands fronted almost entirely by straight, white men that I grew up on.
It pays attention to local scenes. Specifically those of the Pacific Northwest, Colorado and San Diego County.
My friends and family enjoy it. Music is best enjoyed when shared with people you care about. If there’s a song, album or artist that you think is gravy to its core, let me know.
Ultimately, with this project, my goal is to define and refine. Every week I plan on doing a deep dive on a different genre and ranking the songs I hear on their savory, gravory goodness. To start, I’ve chosen modern rock, because it’s broad and encompasses most of my existing musical tastes.
Listen here for Gravycore: Modern Rock
The Track Listing
2. Velvet Ring
by
Big Thief
LGBTQ+, Woman-Fronted, Small Room, POV: Indie, Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Countrygaze, Chamber Pop, Brooklyn Indie, Art Pop
8. I Don’t Wanna Party Anymore
by
Vlad Holiday, Kacey Musgraves
Woman-Fronted (Kacey Musgraves), Indie Garage Rock, Bedroom Pop, Modern Dream Pop
10. Dirty Devil Town
by
Mother Mother, Cavetown
LGBTQ+ (Cavetown), PNW (Mother Mother), POV: Indie, Indie Pop, Bedroom Pop, Vancouver Indie, Canadian Indie Rock
11. Rainbow Overpass
by
Bright Eyes,
Alex Orange Drink
BIPOC, San Diego County (Alex Orange Drink), EE-Approved, Stomp and Holler, Omaha Indie, Melancholia, Indie Rock, Chamber Pop
12. Part of Your World
by
New Found Glory
Little Mermaid Cover, Pop Punk, Neon Pop Punk, Emo, Easycore, Movie Tunes
13. You Hear Yes
by
Destroy Boys, Mannequin Pussy, Scowl
LGBTQ+ (All Three), Women-Fronted (All Three), Modern Hardcore, POV: Indie, Oakland Indie, California Hardcore, Riot Grrrl, Modern Power Pop, Indie Punk, Bubblegrunge
15. I Lied, I’m Sorry
by
Chloe Qisha
BIPOC, Woman-Fronted, NYC Indie Rock, UK Pop, Alt Z, Gen Z Singer-Songwriter
17. Hollywood
by
Toro y Moi, Benjamin Gibbard
BIPOC, PNW (Benjamin Gibbard), EE-Approved, Indietronica, Indie Soul, Hypnagogic Pop, Chillwave, Stomp and Holler
18. Lonely is the Muse
by
Halsey
LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Woman-Fronted, EE-Approved, Pop, Indie Poptimism, Etherpop, Electropop
19. Dull
by
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, Softcult
LGBTQ+ (Softcult), Women-Fronted (Both), JB-Approved, Canberra Indie, Canadian Shoegaze
Listen here for Gravycore: Modern Rock
It’s me. I have a blog.
9/26/24
Remember the Puget Lowland Almanac? It’s like that, but not a single subject. I’m embracing the serialized nature of how I form interests. Eventually I’ll burn out on a topic and inevitably find my way to a new one. This is a dumping ground for whatever I’m into at the moment.
This is also for a VERY minimal audience. If you’re here and you don’t know who’s writing this…why?