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Before Its Time: How EDM Transformed Ellie Goulding's Folk-Pop
The British pop star's career might've looked entirely different if it weren't for the DJs like Bassnectar and Calvin Harris.
04.16.2020
In 2010, a singer-songwriter by the name of Ellie Goulding went from a relative unknown to the newly crowned ruler of the British music charts.
Raised in a village of fewer than 1,000 people, Goulding went on to study at University of Kent, where she was spotted by her future manager. After building a presence on MySpace and linking up with various producers, the budding star inked a record deal with Polydor, who released her first EP, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, in 2009. The Guardian called her a "pop sensation" before the EP had even hit stores.
<p>Goulding's early work was emblematic of U.K.'s biggest trends in music. At the time, Florence + the Machine's grandiose baroque pop was getting major radio play, juxtaposed with the electro beats of recording artists like Example and Tinie Tempah. Goulding toed the line between the two worlds, updating her acoustic coffeehouse roots with synths and layered production. With her debut record, <em>Lights</em>, released a decade ago, Goulding proved she wasn't just the result of empty record label hype. Historically rockist <em>Pitchfork </em>gave the record a 6.8 out of 10, a seemingly middling number that translates to a major achievement in the pop sphere. She was the real deal, and the United States wasn't ready.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>While Goulding's brand of pop was England's next big thing, the U.S. was welcoming the age—albeit a relatively brief one—of dubstep. Though the eardrum-rattling EDM subgenre coincidentally originated in London, North American producers like Skrillex, Datsik, Excision, and Bassnectar brought the boom across the pond in the early 2010s. When Bassnectar gave a whack at reworking Goulding's song "Lights," he played a major role in broadening her reach, too.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Bassnectar—the Bay Area EDM pioneer born Lorin Ashton—uploaded his remix of "Lights" to YouTube in February 2011. True dubstep was a bit aberrant for mainstream radio, but thanks to Internet virality and simple word-of-mouth, it came to define the early 2010s and sneak its way into the pop charts; Skrillex would go on to make <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntGTK2Fhb0" target="_blank">a Top 10 hit with Justin Bieber</a>, while the bass drops of Taylor Swift's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNoKguSdy4Y" target="_blank">"I Knew You Were Trouble"</a> are undeniably indebted to dubstep. Goulding's original version of "Lights" eventually reached the U.S. charts two years after its initial release. But for hundreds of thousands of online music purveyors, the Bassnectar remix was the first time they heard her voice.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="53a10658c44c5c8fb6f9277d0adadaad"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D6zGLm9wr24?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Ellie Goulding - Lights (Bassnectar Remix)</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6zGLm9wr24" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><p>Though Goulding's debut album blended synthpop with folksy roots, a great deal of her commercial success came by way of DJs: Her collaborations with Calvin Harris, Diplo, Kygo, Major Lazer have all landed on the Hot 100 (Skrillex and Zedd have also enlisted her for vocals). She lent songs to a number of top movie soundtracks, too, including <em>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, About Time, Divergent,</em> and—most unavoidable of all—<em>50 Shades of Gray, </em>whose "Love Me Like You Do" remains Goulding's biggest U.S. hit since "Lights." Her career thus far has been defined mostly by guest vocals on EDM bangers and movie songs, rather than her own down-to-earth pop foundations.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p><strong>Though the sounds of <em>Lights </em>might've been forgotten in the U.S., its influence is still prominent. </strong>The meteoric rise of Maggie Rogers—with Pharrell's endorsement aside—came with a reverence for her ability to bring a '70s singer-songwriter sincerity to Swift-sized splendor. King Princess, the young phenom cosigned by Harry Styles, similarly mixes synthy schmaltz with a bluesy, homegrown feel.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>This isn't to say that Goulding isn't a massive pop star, but had her ascent occurred in other circumstances, our perception of her as an artist would feel more authentic. But now, so closely affiliated with clubby, house hits and soundtrack songs, Goulding's fresh approach to pop has fallen into the shadows—but its influence on mainstream music is still prevalent, however distorted. Anyway, stream <em>Lights.</em></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="media-headline">
<strong>Lights</strong></p><iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:album:3duZhvcaoqdNveQYXf9dMV" id="91176" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="630d0dc34ed22e02efcbf008f2b2fd96" expand="1" height="480" width="100%"></iframe><h2></h2><iframe src="https://embed.spotify.com/?uri=spotify:album:3duZhvcaoqdNveQYXf9dMV" id="91176" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="630d0dc34ed22e02efcbf008f2b2fd96" expand="1" height="480" width="100%"></iframe>
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Culture Feature
This Haunts Me: The Shredded Cheese Wife Guy
One Texas couple became a meme after they went 18 minutes without shredded cheese on their fajitas. What could be worse?
07.02.2020
Courtesy of Junkee
Karens. Even if you don't know them by name, you know who they are.
Karens have been asking to speak to managers all over American suburbia ever since Kate Gosselin debuted her infamous reverse-mullet on Jon and Kate Plus 8 in 2007. "Karens"—the collective nickname for middle-aged entitled white women who love nothing more than being pains in your ass—have been walking among us for quite some time, but as shelter-in-place orders and mask mandates have taken over the world, the presence of Karens has become even more apparent.
Last weekend, a Karen went viral in a since-deleted Tweet for a reason only Karens would empathize with. Jason Vicknair, a 40-year-old man from Allen, Texas, was just trying to enjoy his first date night out in three months with his wife at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Mi Cocina. Things took a turn for the worse.
<p>"My wife, date night after 3+ months locked up on quarantine," Vicknair tweeted, along with a photo of the wife in question staring longingly at a room-temperature skillet of fajita beef. "Waiting for shredded cheese as it's the only way she can eat fajitas. We've asked 4 people, going on 18 minutes now...We gotta quit blaming #COVID19 for crappy service."</p><p>Understandably, most of Twitter had no remorse for Vicknair, who has since been dubbed the "Shredded Cheese Wife Guy" of the Internet. This wife of his is a prime example of a Karen, acting with a sense of entitlement. As delightful as shredded cheese is in the world of Tex-Mex food, a lack of it has never killed anybody. You know what <em>has</em> killed people, though? I'll give you a moment to guess. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Unless Karen has some extremely rare medical condition that physically prevents her from eating grilled meats without a dairy topping, she is a whiny child. The instant virality and backlash prompted Vicknair to delete the tweet, but by then, it had already been immortalized in dozens of memes.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><div id="011d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0afbf40c35b240a1a6f2566f3b71e8c7"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277232337915392000" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My wife, date night after 3+ months locked up on quarantine. Waiting for shredded cheese as it’s the only way she c… https://t.co/z3mqv4bn8f</div> — alex (@alex)<a href="https://twitter.com/alex_abads/statuses/1277232337915392000">1593350893.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><div id="76105" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2c13e945554b7d4fe4c723568cb01d5b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277085408325537792" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">please sir, she needs shredded cheese for her fajitas https://t.co/yXZLjKjPCS</div> — adam (@adam)<a href="https://twitter.com/burgerkrang/statuses/1277085408325537792">1593315863.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><p><br></p><div id="65aec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1f8da1eecdf5a83284f15b3f30d895a3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277361862141771776" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My Wife Waiting For Shredded Cheese As It’s The Only Way She Can Eat Fajitas https://t.co/Ygywu9gnJj</div> — isaac (@isaac)<a href="https://twitter.com/ass_dentata/statuses/1277361862141771776">1593381774.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><p><br></p><div id="54a5f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fa109ff2a58f2cbb483bf443df89053c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277455582245662721" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My wife, date night after 3+ months locked up on quarantine. Waiting for shredded cheese as it’s the only way she c… https://t.co/7tfeAz00o8</div> — Juggalocialism #BLM (@Juggalocialism #BLM)<a href="https://twitter.com/UweBollocks/statuses/1277455582245662721">1593404119.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><div id="8d8e9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="371fe8d68308008503556fab2b60072f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277084409053581313" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My wife, date night after 3+ months locked up on quarantine. Waiting for shredded cheese as it’s the only way she c… https://t.co/qwdWz4ucab</div> — thomas violence (@thomas violence)<a href="https://twitter.com/thomas_violence/statuses/1277084409053581313">1593315624.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><div id="62694" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7464c812054f5ec83b73df1fff2a21a3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1277278060438487041" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">DO YOU HAVE SHREDDED CHEESE FOR MY FAJITAS? https://t.co/HFMKoCLtv9</div> — Hemant Mehta (@Hemant Mehta)<a href="https://twitter.com/hemantmehta/statuses/1277278060438487041">1593361794.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><p><a href="https://www.centraltrack.com/video-we-interviewed-shredded-cheese-wife-guy/" target="_blank">Speaking to local Dallas blog Central Track</a> while wearing a tank top and backwards hat emblazoned with an American flag, Vicknair said that he himself is a former food service worker and understands the hardships faced by service workers. He should know, then, that restaurants are very difficult to keep perfectly sanitary, and patronizing a food establishment during a worldwide health crisis is a very bad idea, especially when <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/06/25/883311877/texas-governor-hits-pause-on-further-reopening-amid-covid-19-surge" target="_blank">his state's governor has been quite bad at containing the virus</a>. To each their own, though!</p><p>Vicknair claims he primarily uses his Twitter to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/opinionated-much/id1509302227" target="_blank">promote his sports podcast, "Opinionated Much?,"</a> because of course he has a sports podcast. He's "still learning how to use Twitter," he told Central Track, but his tweets about poor service are nothing new; if he sees a spill at Target, for example, he'll tweet a photo of it before bringing it to an employee's attention. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>As a matter of fact, Vicknair says he doesn't shy away from tweeting his complaints at <em>any </em>brand,—which is also especially Karen-like behavior (he's evidently taking a break from Internet complaining, though, as his account is deactivated at the time of writing). What he <em>doesn't </em>tweet about, though, is politics, because he's "not smart enough to have any political views."</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><h2></h2><p>To be that picky about anything as our world faces a health crisis and a social justice revolution is simply pathetic. But what's the main lesson Vicknair, forever the Shredded Cheese Wife Guy, has learned after being publicly shamed?: "I will not be posting anything regarding my wife, obviously." At least he's not throwing fits over having to wear a mask.</p>
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MUSIC
The Harry Styles-Jenny Lewis-King Princess-Koffee Tour Proves Genre Is Nonexistent
Good luck getting tickets, though.
11.13.2019
If there's one thing that could be said of our modern era, it's that nothing exists in isolation.
One could even say that nothing goes in just one direction anymore—instead, things are moving in multiple directions, operating in loops, often meeting at crossroads. For a long time, at least in the music industry, things appeared to be stratified, separated by genre, linear visions, and arbitrary categories. Rock artists toured with rock artists; indie stars opened for indie stars. Patrician music lovers looked down on pop-lovers, and pop-lovers bullied indieheads. Success could be purchased with a record deal and marked by a position on a top chart. Gender was divided between a man and a woman. Feminism was disconnected from race and class.
Times are changing. Pop, like fashion, has become fluid and multidimensional. Elton John can collaborate with Young Thug. Lady Gaga can ricochet from electronica to folk and back. Harry Styles has become a bisexual icon and a truly great songwriter, capable of drawing from multiple genres to create nuanced and political pop music.
And now he's going on tour with Jenny Lewis, Koffee, and King Princess. They'll all be opening for him on different stops on his 2020 "Love on Tour" tour, which will begin in April.
A little background: Jenny Lewis is an iconic songwriter who fronted the band Rilo Kiley before creating a body of intensely powerful solo work. Koffee is a singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician from Jamaica who's generated a huge amount of buzz in a short time by putting a fresh and experimental spin on reggae. King Princess is a dream pop star who may or may not be capitalizing on queer aesthetics but still embodies an inspiringly out and proud image.
Harry Styles will be touring with King Princess, Jenny Lewis & Koffee and i think THATS FCKING POWERFUL https://t.co/9qGeQmGTFq— Crissa ◟̽◞̽ is not seeing louis (@Crissa ◟̽◞̽ is not seeing louis)1573655430.0
Styles' choice of openers is brilliant because it brings together so many different devoted and passionate fan-bases. Queer fans will relish the chance to dance along to King Princess, while indie traditionalists and older millennials will come for Jenny Lewis, and Gen-Z fans of cutting-edge music will show up for Koffee. All these musicians are bound together by one common thread: Their music is really, really good. And isn't that what matters in the end?
Rilo Kiley - A Better Son/Daughter www.youtube.com
King Princess - 1950 www.youtube.com
Koffee - Toast (Official Video) www.youtube.com
Unfortunately, the existing tickets sold out with stunning speed and cost an exorbitant amount of money, sadly prohibiting many of Styles' fans from enjoying the experience. (Many of them feel scammed). If Styles were to truly embrace the ethos of his commitment to breaking down all genres and boundaries, he'd make his concerts free, but alas, one can only dream... Until then, let us keep listening to our descriptively titled crossover Spotify playlists (shoutout to "Creamy" and "Pollen"), saying "okay" to Boomers who insist that there are only two genders, checking Co-Star for evidence of discernible meaning, and praying for the day when everything and everyone will truly be free.
Harry Styles - Sign of the Times (Video) www.youtube.com
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