The music video is even better than the song, which gives a lot of gravity to the music. Kali Uchis is displayed with minimal makeup in the beginning as she wakes up to have her cereal. Then her makeup has yellow tones as she goes to the grocery store. Then she gets a pink and blue makeup change near the end as she is lounging in her backyard. Birds then hold up her hair to symbolize her oneness with nature. The music video shows how lonely she is by doing all these mundane tasks alone. But it also holds the theme that she is ok with being alone and is hoping for someone to save her. It seems like she is trapped in time.
All the different colors that Kali is wearing shows all the emotions she is feeling, which is a great transition to different parts of the song. Kali is really in a state of constant numbness from this breakup, which shows when she sheds a tear with no emotion displayed on her face. This music video is really about a couple who broke up and they are worse on their own, and they are both longing for each other throughout the years. At the end of the song, they get back together which is certain since they miss each other so much. I love the visuals of their kids having leaves on their head. Overall this is a great music video that displays the lyrics of the song through the visuals of the seasons and different colors. Another great release by Kali Uchis and Tyler the Creator.
Radiohead recently just hit Lana Del Rey with a lawsuit over the similarities between their 1993 hit “Creep” and her song “Get Free” on her album “Lust For Life” that was released July 21, 2017.
It was a personal song for Lana’s that closed out her album, but upon first listen, it is hard not to hear the similarities. There are similar chord progressions and the opening of “Get Free” sounds exactly the same as “Creep”. If you haven’t listened to Radiohead’s “Creep” before, which I don’t think anyone has not, the listener would think that “Get Free” is an extremely original song. But the problem is that the reason it is good is because it is copied from one of the biggest names in alternative rock. To me the song seems obviously duplicated, especially the beginning. Lana claims that she did not hear the similarities and no had intention of copying the song but that doesn’t seem 100% honest. Lana should probably get better producers who aren’t recycling the same beats from pervious songs. Even if it wasn’t her fault, they are similar, and nothing can cover that up.
Bruno Mars has been shaping the industry with his massive hits like, “That’s What I Like”, “Versace On The Floor”, “24k Magic” and his older songs, “When I Was Your Man” and “Just The Way You Are.” His 2016 album “24K Magic” really showed his growth as an artist, and you could definitely hear the Michael Jackson influences. He sets the standards for musical growth from going from a sad boy who sang about heartbreak, to becoming a multifaceted artist who takes risks. It’s hard for other artists not to be inspired by his songs and career. “24k Magic” followed the theme of a nineties throwback and Bruno continues to do so on his latest Remix, “Finesse” featuring the biggest thing to happen in rap in 2017, Cardi B.
He really doesn’t feature rappers on his songs, besides B.o.B, CeeLo Green on his track “The Other Side” so seeing him bring Cardi B on this track is a surprise, but a great one that certainly works. I feel like this is just the start of a whole new vision that Bruno has for himself. Typically in a feature, the rap verse in near the bridge of the song, but they take a different spin on it. Cardi B’s verse is at the beginning of the song which sets up the tone and energy of a fast-paced jam. She comes back on the track near the end to sing, “yea we got it going on, got it going on” with Bruno. It is a different set up that actually works really well. It certainly paid off because it was the first song to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart in 2018.The track also starts atop On-Demand Streaming Songs (with 18.7 million on-demand streams) — the first to do so since, again, “Rockstar.” The risk that Bruno took paid off. We might see other artists trying to change up the structure of songs to give it more of an original feel but just know: Bruno did it first.
The release of their 2010 album “Hands All Over” marked their first full step into a strictly pop sound. The single, “Moves like Jagger” featuring Christina Aguilera was a huge success, staying 49 weeks on the chart and hitting the number one position on the Billboard hot 100. After this massive hit, I feel like Maroon 5 gathered the tools for success on the radio and applied it to all their projects after that. A catchy chorus, another popular artist to feature on the bridge, some form of whistling, and sticking to a tiresome beat that is played two to four times throughout the song. They have formulated the art of singing about a topic with some repetitive lyrics that brush the subject but don’t say anything too deep. It is structured to get stuck in your head, but the catchiness does not hide the poor content.
This was solidified with their 2012 release “Payphone” on their album, “Overexposed”, which kind of has the same exact layout as “Moves Like Jagger”:
Also, notice the similarities in their 2014 release, “Animals” on their album “V”:
Their latest single, “Don’t Wanna Know” Feat. Kendrick Lamar really highlights all the problems of pop music today, and really shows that Maroon 5 is not hiding the fact that they are using the same basic formula to gain airplay.
Although they have been on the radio for a long time, their legacy will not stay. They have had three number one hits, 13 top 10 hits and 28 songs on the Billboard top 100, but they lack the authenticity they started out with. It just doesn’t seem like it is earned when they have moved so far away from their original image and message. I do not see the entertainment quality of repeating a chorus a thousand times and the same basic phrase over and over again.
It seems like the Adam Levine show at this point, which makes me wonder why they even keep the title of Maroon 5 when their first album and latest album sound nothing alike. We will never get back the Maroon 5 we knew and loved because they are making an extreme amount of money. I would say that they are the dictionary definition of a “sell-out.” They sold their soul to the radio, and they are not coming back but instead going to release another pop garbage single that will follow all the cliches, which will get airtime just from the comfortability and repetition of the standards of “popular” music. I understand that bands grow, change and experiment with their sound, but this seems like Maroon 5 has hidden motives, rather than just evolving as an artist. Being a fan of Maroon 5 has been disappointing as we watched them dissolve into puppets of the machine.
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