“I Got Da Munches Vol. 2”

Artist: Star Easy

Rating: B+

My Thoughts:

There’s narcissism inherent in most rap music, but it’s symptomatic of a life I have not lived. After all, it’s one thing to be obsessed with success, wealth, and power when you’re already privileged; it’s quite another thing to desire glory (“Marvelous”) when you’ve had pitifully few opportunities to strive for it. The result here is muddled, but promising: Star Easy puts out a mixtape that’s obligatory in its braggadocio (I tried counting the references to hustling and money. I gave up).

Nevertheless, chalk it up to lack of exposure: his humble background is in southeast Georgia (“Wayx GA”), a part of the state that’s remote even for people who are originally from there. All things considered, it’s still obvious he has talent. For me though, what’s Star-Easy’s best quality is his just-detectable curiosity about the world beyond the ‘hood, and his longing to connect with others. It’s uplifting to hear him eagerly shout out to New York and Dre – a place he may never see, and a person he may never know.

Artist: Ace of Base

Rating: B+

My Thoughts:

If we’re going on pure nostalgia here – and isn’t there always some nostalgia in a music review? – this would get an A+, hands down. But what about as a piece of music? Well, it does a fine job there, too. Like Oasis allegedly being the Second Coming of the Beatles, it’s hard to avoid comparisons to ABBA when one talks about Ace of Base. They’re just fun to listen to, and I can’t think of another group (except ABBA, ironically) where Mom, Dad, sister, girlfriend, and the guys can all sit down, listen, and walk away without complaining of decadence or cheesiness. After all, here the lyrics are as innocent as a lamb, and some of the hooks are incredibly clever…

Artist: Ke$ha

Rating: C+

My Thoughts:

I am waiting for Ke$ha to do a spread in Playboy and achieve the pinnacle of her relevance and  God-given talent. Not that I don’t get what she’s trying to do – she’s a party girl, she’s trying to get us to lighten up, etc… and believe me, if there’s one thing this country needs right now, it’s more bread and more circuses! But I think it’s telling that the hallmark of her shtick is to use the everliving fuck out of an autotune and/or vocoder: beneath the digitized purrs of “Your Love is My Drug” or “Tik Tok” there’s nothing real, nothing permanent. Kind of how I feel about her personality and her career prospects.

Kei Yasuda: “I am not your grandma!”

Japanese singer and former second-generation member of “Hello,” a great dancer and vocalist Kei Yasuda was the main host of “Hello! Morning” and is a reoccurring host periodically. Being referred to as “the ugly one” Kei has a spirit of most in Generation Y and took the teasing in stride as Yasuda was one of the most talented Momusu girls ever. She continues to work in dramas and musicals. Because of her skill with several instruments, she often accompanies herself or others in acoustic performances.

References & for more information:
Hello! Kei Yasuda

Wikipedia.org

MadeMan.com

Being a young music artist is never an easy undertaking, especially in a large city like Atlanta. Most young artists in major cities longingly dream about the prospects of hearing their music on major radio stations and gaining some recognition, even if locally. This dream is now reality for

However, as a Generation-Y urban artist, there are consistently hundreds of bands, comprised of thousands of “artists,” though in their respective genres, all craving the same end goal – recognition.

Recognition not to obtain fame or wealth alone; however to gain the respect of your musical authenticity, separating your art from the superficial humdrum we are force to listen to daily.

Now, what I have always questioned as I watch young and talented artists perform their way to fame, are the insights and the driving factors which compel these young artists to continue. Where is their passion coming from? What makes them choose a band name, a sound…do they pick who they want to hear their music, or do they let the music pick for them?

The reason you are reading about The Constellations as an inspiration is because of how lead singer, Elijah Jones, characterizes the core make-up of the band. His ideals describes and defines, to the letter, what most in Generation-Y individuals are realizing about their life experiences right now.

Jones stated that the band was, “never meant to be one band….more a combination of the Atlanta music community.”

This is precisely what most urban Generation-Y individuals, not just music artists, are discovering; Generation Y has to combine an assortment of talents, knowledge and backgrounds to work together to formulate a cohesive progression to get through our quarterlife period.

In Jones’ answers to Quarterlife Magazine’s questions about his band and the quarterlife, overall Jones said that the inspiration of urban-Atlanta has definitely shaped his music; as well as the conglomerate of individuality that comprises the Constellations.

Paul Eulette & Elijah Jones of the Constellations

Eulette: Where did you get a great name like the Constellations; a “divine intervention” of some form, or just a drunken decision?

Jones: It was a lyric in a song that I wrote, that we never used. It made sense for this specific project because there were all these different Atlanta musicians, ‘…stars combining to form Constellations…’ and yes, I was drunk.

Eulette: So who are the Constellations? Where did you meet? How long have you all known each other?

Jones: The Constellations were never meant to be one band….more a combination of the Atlanta music community. There have been a lot of different players whom have come and gone, and hopefully more will in the future.

Eulette: That is a very interesting view point, and it shows in your music. You all have a unique sound I have not heard in awhile! In those transitions what kind of “generational influences” of past artists has shaped your music? What genre do you classify yourself as?

Jones: Genre: Psychedelic/Hip-Hop/Pop-Rock? There is not really one category we feel like we fit in. As, far as influences there range from Tom Waits to Goodie Mob, and to everything in between. (Those are definitely two of the main ones though.)

Eulette: I attended your ‘stellar’ (bad pun) 99x listening party…was that your first big promotion? Since then, how does it feel to have ‘fans?’

Jones: 99x has been great, having them play us was definitely a big push for us. We are grateful they are back and supporting local music.

Eulette: How about the fans?

Jones:  The fans are great! It’s a little unreal sometimes, when people “recognize” you, or they want you to sign something for them.

Eulette: That must be cool/weird! Any specific run-ins with some of your fans?

Jones: I was on a cigarette break the other day at work, and someone yelled my name from a car. I just waved, at first thinking it was a friend…but they stopped and got out, because they were fans and wanted me to sign something! It was really unreal, especially since I was at work! But, we are really grateful for our fans.

Eulette: Since you clearly have fans – which of your songs are most requested by your fans and do you ever play any covers for them?

Jones: “Felicia” is obviously requested a lot, because that’s the song on the radio. However, people in Atlanta really like to hear “Step right Up.” We try to work a cover into some of our shows…however, covers are hard for us.

Eulette: Why is that?

Jones: Because we want to do something that represents our band, and we have so many different styles and different things going on that its hard to pick a song.

Eulette: I can dig – so who writes your songs?

Jones: I wrote most of the lyrics. Ben wrote a couple of the hooks. We both wrote the music together.

Eulette: What are the topics covered in your songs, do they reflect the Gen-Y urban quarterlife of Atlanta?

Jones: This was kind of a concept record about the dirty after hours of the shady side of Atlanta; from drug dealers and hookers, to asking God for forgiveness for all the debauchery. I do compose all forms of music, so hopefully the topics will change, because really, I don’t ever want to do the same thing twice.

Eulette: Never the same things twice…so, how has your musical taste evolved, since you first began playing in the Constellations?

Jones: Well we have a big band and everyone has different tastes, with different things on their iPods, so I have definitely been introduced to new music in that way.

Eulette: What has been your biggest challenge as a band member in your quarterlife/part of Generation Y?

Jones: Ha, the biggest challenge for us is finding time to practice! Being such a big band, we have a lot of conflicting schedules. We also try to practice at our homesto save some money…but we end up getting the cops called on us and stuff.

Eulette: So with all the practicing that you all do, how do you rate your live performance ability?

Jones: We work really hard on stage. By the time we get off we’re drenched in sweat & 3 seconds from passing out! We put everything into it & i think thats such an important part to having a good show.

Eulette: If you have one, what is your least favorite part about being in a beginning band?

Jones: I love every aspect of being in a band, literally every part of it. This is what I want to do. I have no complaints.

Eulette: That’s so awesome – now most of our readers are in their quarterlife (Generation Y) How do you describe your music to people outside of Gen Y?

Jones: When I look into our crowd  of fans at shows, and I see everyone from 16-year-old to 50-year-old fans listening, I donʼt really try to explain it to anyone. I think the music speaks for itself.

Eulette: How do you feel about downloading music online, either legally or illegally?

Jones: Look, I’m old school – I like to buy the record and hold it in my hand; see the artwork, read the liner notes. I think there’s something to be said for anticipating a new record coming out & going to the store and buying it, cracking the seal, and then putting the CD in the player, smoking a joint and listening to the entire thing start to finish.

Eulette: And as far as illegal downloading?

Jones: As far as illegal downloading music – all we are doing as consumers is allowing corporate America to make huge stars out of people like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas brothers –because that demographic actually still buys music. Legitimate artists are stuck hoping to make some money touring constantly.

Eulette: How can fans-to-be gain legal access to your legitimate music?

Jones: We are working on a website which should be up shortly…of course we have a MySpace – Facebook and Twitter. We have actually just signed with Virgin Records, so the plan is to release the CD early next year. So, until then – I would just tell them to come out and see a show!

Eulette: Will you be touring anytime soon?

Jones: Well be touring again starting in October.

Eulette: So, what advice do you have for people in our generation who want to form a band?

Jones: Simple – write good songs. If the songs are there – everything else will fall into place….and most important of all:
“Love IS a murder. You have to commit to survive.”

###

It was great to hear Jones speak so highly of his passion for music and entertaining. It seems as though they let their passions override their fear of competition and negativity of defeat and took the highs and the lows through their quarterlife to reach their success.

Jones and The Constellations are on tour this month (schedule below), and Jones said he wanted to say a special thank you to his girlfriend who has stuck by him from the beginning. Jones said, “She is my inspiration and my best friend…and a pretty good drinking partner, too!”

More Information on The Constellations:

Going to Be at Bonoroo 2010? Be sure to see the Constellations!

“The Constellations could have called their debut album After Hours. Sure, Martin Scorsese already used that name for his 1985 black comedy, but the two works share much in common. Both are wide screen spectacles rife with seedy scenes and eccentric personalities, propelled by a manic energy that hustles the audience deeper into the unexpected. But Southern Gothic was a better choice. Because The Constellations stomping ground is Atlanta, GA, and in the wee small hours of the morning, A-Town can get awfully bizarre….”

“The Constellations”: Atlanta’s Gen-Y Music Inspiration]]> http://www.quarterlifemag.com/2009/10/theconstellations1/feed/ 0 http://www.quarterlifemag.com/2009/10/musiccities/ http://www.quarterlifemag.com/2009/10/musiccities/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:10:57 +0000 Russel Michael http://www.quarterlifemag.com/2009/10/942/ Whether it is an undiscovered style of Hip-Hop brewing in a local club in Berlin, or a Rock/Country crossover gathering momentum in Kansas; when it is ready, it will find its way to Los Angles, New York and/or London.

These are three major entertainment capitals of this world; and like it or not, most of the mainstream music we now know (in the English-speaking world) passes through one of these metropolitan cities.

It is not rocket science why it seems so imperative and essential to move to L.A./New York/London if you desire to achieve greatness in the world arena of music. First and foremost, all the major record labels are based there – why not be in close proximity to the decision makers who will make your sound universal?

Secondly, you are surrounded by not only said professionals, but by other great artists (your competition) who are working towards the same goal as you – and you must stay atop of your competition because as the proverb goes, “As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.”

But could this all change sooner than we think? It is a conceivable prospect.

Take into account the biggest of record labels, running on antiquated and bloated business models. How are they to survive with revenues falling by 20 percent a year? We could very well see them stumble over themselves into bankruptcy protection in the next three to five years.

I still accept as truth that huge fortunes are going to be made from music in the next five to 10 years – and I mean Oprah-kind-of-money!

However, these fortunes will be made by those who have the residual technological and entrepreneurial flair akin to the “tech boom” of the late ’90s. In fact, I would not be surprised if the world is turned on its head by MySpace Artists making fortunes (and then losing it all) out of music IPO’s in the stock market.

Huge innovation is required but sadly, the “dinosaurs” who currently run the music industry cannot see this – and it’s probably a good thing for the major record labels to just die.

The “music industry” is dead; long live the “music industry!”

So what has changed in our world to make the current systems antiquated? Social networking.

Social networking and social media have changed everything. I believe it is as significant to our times, as Gutenberg’s Printing Press was to print media. The instant and open connectivity we now have essentially means we no longer need to move halfway across the world to experience the “iron sharpening iron” effect.

Though I have met many amazing people living in London, probably the most important thing about this city is the Internet is significantly better in London than in South Africa.

Ironically, I changed locations for one reason – only to discover it benefited me better for a different reason…guess that’s how life goes.

What I most believe is in the coming years is your geographical location as a musician will have less to do with your success than your entrepreneurial spirit and your ability to embrace social networking, and any other technologies which are now shaping our industry.

For example: I’m writing this on my mobile (cell phone) on the London Underground, just stopped at Liverpool Street Station – where I am now invading somebody else’s personal space and they are invading mine – but we totally ignore it and pretend it is okay.

Staring at these people’s faces on the tube coming home from work is like reading a novel; and observing a strangers daily routine is like a course at university. All these experiences I can document on my mobile and recall later, as they are essential in sparking a musician’s imagination. London is a really cool place to live, as I imagine is New York and Los Angeles to be as well. I will not be surprised if great music keeps coming from these places simply because artists are attracted to the energy and life (and masses of people) in these great cities.

That is what living in the great cities of the world give you, (or at least London does gives me) – a chance to empathize firsthand with every level of society from all over the world in one place.

I will tell you to expect the world to change profoundly as a result of new technology, but the influence of L.A./New York/London on all of our lives will remain strong – unless we all start speaking Chinese.

Ni hao ma?

A lot of people seemed to sympathize with her through her music, and subsequently she sold a “bazillion” records. She laid down her soul, bare and true to all to absorb some “good” music for a change – music that meant “something.”

One of the big singles off that album was “You Oughta Know” which contained the following lyrics (speaking angrily talking to an ex):

‘Is she perverted like me, would she go down on you in a theater?’

Now, bare with me for a moment, and try to imagine Britney Spears, circa her “Baby One More Time“ days, singing Morissette’s lyrics…not easy to imagine, huh?

Well, that’s because back then, Spears’ image image was so “squeaky clean” with just a little a touch of sexy, but in a good way…if there is such a thing. Or consider Miley Cyrus, the girl who currently holds the squeaky clean pop champion of the world title, would she ever sing “would she go down on you in a theatre?” Again, probably not. The squeaky clean image generally lacks passion, and frankly that is what sells; leaving the passion and the gritty lyrics as a part of “The Climb” which people prefer not to talk about.

So why is it there are more mass marketed popular generation y music which adheres to the ‘Britney’ rather than ‘Alanis’ idiom? Why does shallow, shiny teen-pop music rule our airwaves over the deep, emotion-felt lyrics that are seen as all but “taboo” for the public?

Well to start answering that question, we need to consider a bit of “economics,” if you will.

You start a business selling a product with the intention of making money off of your deepest convictions that it will be good for people. If your product meets a need and there is not much competition, you become successful. Thereafter, naturally, others get in on the act, competition increases and it becomes more difficult to make money.

If you are unable to keep up with the change, reinvent or redouble your passions in your product – you will succumb to the competition – and despite the sincerity of your passion/product, you will fall under the radar.

Now, if economics isn’t your thing, think of it this way.

You have two friends, Ally and Betty. Every time you speak with Ally, she’s real, she just “tells it like it is.” She asks the questions that have no answers, tells you about all the very difficult situations in her life – she’s passionate. You love her. But…sometimes, you are reminded of your OWN dark secrets you would rather not think about whenever you talk to her. Basically, you really need to psyche yourself up whenever you strike up a conversation with Ally.

On the other hand, there is good ole Betty. She is a bit shallow, kind of aggressively positive and preppy  (in an annoying way but only at times), and yet it’s not difficult to like to her. She CLEARLY lives in a fantasy – sometimes you need that. Betty is the kind of friend who is incapable of seeing complexity in the world and everything is “just gonna work out,” and when people take advantage of her, she doesn’t even notice. No matter what happens, she always has a positive attitude.

So who would you rather talk to when you have a problem? Or rather, in this instance –who would you rather have sell your business to the public?

This is essence to the inescapable truth that is the “Pop v. Passion” conundrum that we are still experiencing.

Spears has sold, and will continue to sell, a lot of records because the record company bigwigs will put out anything that sells. People bought her sugary lyrics and bubble gum pop appeal – thin, shiny, and easy to replicate and mass produce.

Whereas Morissette was deep and one-of-a-kind. She had her success, and copycat artists came along trying to mass produce her complexity. In the end, however, the complexity and sincerity of Morissette could not even be replicated by even herself, and the genre fell short to the mass-produced pop sound. Hence, why we see Miley Cyrus and other numerous Britney clones who have come along making pots of money since the ’90s.

So even though we want to have music and artists who have the courage to “tell it like it is,” they have to be able to sustain and offer a valid solution to what they are preaching about. Otherwise, their passions become more destructive than constructive – more harm than good.

Once in a while, an Alanis-type artist comes along and helps society breathe out, to look at itself honestly again, helping us spit out the bubble gum pop that we’ve been chewing on repetitively in our generation. However, if they don’t provide a solution to the problems they raise, we being to breathe in the happy gas again and pass it on to the next generation.

So what’s my conclusion to all of this battle royale of the music genres over the ages? Essentially, I don’t expect music to change, at all. We’ll have our waves of sincerity – but it’s really just a ripple in the ocean of pop music.

UNLESS…

There is an artist who comes along and is able to tell it like it is and  provide cures that work. This artist will take their place with Shakespeare, Da Vinci and the writers of Scripture. I can only hope that we will be privileged to be alive when that happens.