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Tunnel Songs : Breaking Down Cinematic Use of Berlin and Bowie

Music matters deeply to the emotive value of a film. The sonic emotion determines the interpretation of the viewer and their own emotive association to a scene. Recently I happened to watch the films Perks of Being a Wall Flower and Jojo Rabbit within the same week. I realized that both used David Bowie’s song Heroes in scenes where freedom in the face of despair were being conveyed. Being a massive Bowie fan, I did a deep dive to see if the lyrical and production context intended the song to convey this mood, or if the song was being used against Bowie’s creative intentions.

Heroes appeared on the album Heroes created by Bowie in 1977.  Heroes is a part of the “Berlin Trilogy” of Low, Heroes, and Lodgers. All of these albums were created in some way in Berlin. However only Heroes was the only album created entirely in Berlin. Bowie wrote and recorded the song in a studio in Berlin that was directly next to the Berlin wall. He could see the wall outside the window of the studio. Heroes the song is the only one of Bowie’s song’s to be translated to German.

Bowie credited the song to Toni Visconti. Visconti was in love with someone who he would meet by the Berlin wall. Bowie was inspired by this and wrote Heroes as a fictional tale about two lovers who were separated by the Berlin Wall, but still hoping to be romantically involved.  However, many critiques believe that the song also reflects the relationships that Bowie was having with men in Berlin, as he often went to a gay bar nearby the wall. While Bowie came out as gay in 1972, Bowie was married and had a son at the time of this interview and was still married during the full time of his Heroes album creation.  He had gone to Berlin to escape the drugs and alcohol problems he had acquired during his rise to stardom. Together his escapism from the addictions found in fame, as well as sexuality led critiques to believe the song is also about Bowie and spirited life, not just Visconti’s experiences of love by the wall.

In the song, there is a lyric “Standing by the wall, and the guns, short above our head, and we kissed, as though nothing could fall and thee shame was on the other side, we can bear them forever and ever” (Heroes). These lyrics show the clear illation of the Berlin wall and its violence and separation. Atonally the line about the wall would not fall, is not saying that they kissed inspired by the wall, instead, it is saying they had the utmost power in the face of adversity. While the wall “would never” fall they would continue to be in love and be heroes in their steadfast love for one another. Early in the song it says, “bother will keep us together, we can beat them, forever and ever” (Heroes). This shows their love in the face of adversity.

While I can never know if Bowie would approve of Perks of Being a Wall Flower or Jojo Rabbit I do think the songs are used to convey the emotion that Bowie was trying to portray. The song’s message of love’s ability to overcome political and physical barriers portrays the hope that both Perks of Being a Wall Flower and Jojo Rabbit aim to convey in their respective Heroes scenes.

Digital is Dull

 

A few years ago I purchased a record player. The purchase shocked my baby boomer parents as they were confused on why their Gen Z daughter was ditching her iPhone and AirPods for old A and B sides. However, upon receiving the record player I began to gather a collection of vinyl that spanned Creedence Clearwater revival to Taylor Swift.. Upon seeing my parent’s shock, I began to show them that record players weren’t for the 20th-century melodies, it was becoming a music medium for new and old music consumption. Recently I  surprised my 1980’s-DC-Punk-scene father by borrowing his cassette player to listen to a 2020 album I had bought on cassette tape.  However, I am not the only 2000’s baby who is listening to my favorite artist on physical manifestations, it is a growing trend spanning the 14-year-old Olivia Rodigo fans to late 20s One Direction fans.

Cassette Tapes

A new addition has emerged on artists’ online merch shops. Cassette tapes. From Dua Lipa to Harry Styles to Olivia Rodrigo, the rectangular boxes are the hip new collector item. Furthermore, the boxes are decorated with unique stickers and hued plastic to elevate the aesthetic appeal of the tapes. And while the convenience of an iPhone and headphones cannot be beaten, there are numerous websites selling portable cassette players. Stores that are frequented by the under 25 crowd, such as Urban Ourfitters, are stocked with cassette players in numerous colors for purchase. The vast option of cassette player colors and artists’ clear attention to cassette case design represents the aesthetic importance of the cassette tape.

Records

Last week on April 23 crowds of patrons lined up outside record stores around the United States. Across the 50 states, reports began to emerge that a large chunk of buyers were young people. This news came as no surprise to those that have been watching the upwards trend in Gen Z record collectors. Most artists these days release vinyl copies of the albums. Artists like Maggie Rodgers, Taylor Swift Bullie Eilish, and  Lizzo have partnered with Target to make vinyl with exclusive colors or covers that are only sold through Target.  Major corporations like Target actively promoting and selling out exclusive vinyl is one piece of evidence to support the claim that records are back for 21st century Top 40.

So why is this happening? While there’s no clear answer, I have a few theories. Anti-vax discourses have caused artists like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young to pull their music off the top streaming platform, Spotify. Furthermore, streaming platforms give little money to the artist for the number of plays listens to. These two issues with digital platforms could be at the root of the turn to physical copies of music. When a consumer buys a cassette tape or record, they are buying straight from the artist, cutting out any streaming platform conflicts. In an age where money and cooperative responsibility merge closer and closer, buying from the artist becomes a more promising avenue for music consumption.  Beyond the financial and morality theory, is the aesthetic theory. A quick look at social media trends will show that influencers have been promoting the aesthetic of records and cassette tapes. From room tours to outfit inspiration, the aesthetics of 70s florals and 90s mom jeans are back. To further fit the popularization of the 70s and 90s is the promotion of the music consumption styles of these decades.

How TikTok Makes A Grammy Nominee

While social media has already been a fruitful avenue for music promotion, the app TikTok has brought new methods of music promotion to the music scene. On TikTok, artists can release one-minute-long clips of their music on the app, in a format that users can attach to their videos. The ability for the public to have easy access to edited sound files has created a social media space where songs can be shared quickly and widely through mass amounts of people.

This new development of music spread has led artists to market their songs into TikTok trends, as a way of expanding the use of their songs as a TikTok sound file. While there are multiple ways for these sound bites to turn into trends, there are two standout ways that songs turn into trends, to further explore how these trends work, I have laid examples of these two trends through a few of this year’s Grammy-nominated “Album of the Year” artist’s songs files on TikTok.

Dance Trend

Doja Cat is a prime example of how a dance trend led to her streaming numbers being boosted. In early 2020 her song “Say So” became a popular TikTok sound as it had a dance attached to it. As more people engaged with the mass amount of dance videos using the 30 second sound clip of her song, more people added the song to their playlist. Due to this her “Pink” album jumped on the charts. She continued to use her popularity of dance trends with her songs by creating dances for songs on her next album. On her 2022 Grammy-nominated album, four of the songs have TikTok dance trends. While the Grammy’s are not nominating dance trends, the dance trends are boosting the songs to the Recording Academy’s attention.

Lil Nas X also was able to gain mass attention with his songs by creating a dance trend. For his song, “THAT’S WHAT I WANT”, a dance trend became popularized. This pushed his song to be popular on TikTok. UT is not surprising that his most popular song on Spotify is this song, seeing its popularity and placement on top trends on TikTok.

By using dance trends, clips of songs can gain mass viewership and interest. Doja Cat and Lil Nas X are just two examples of how a good sound clip and dance can make a song successful on the popular charts.

Personal Story Trend

Olivia Rodrigo has taken the world by storm with her debut album “SOUR”. Over half the songs on the album have over 20k videos with the song. However, her song “Traitor” has 20k videos. The main use for the song is to be the background to a personal story. The song adds the element of betrayal to stories of failed relationships or friendships that a user is trying to explain. The use of the song in the videos functions as if it is a part of a movie soundtrack of someone’s life. Through the carefully curated choice of the part of the song to clip for TikTok, Rodrigo was able to connect her song to people in an intimate and personal way. The use of this storytelling in TikTok videos allowed for mass groups of people to connect to the song, thus adding the song to their playlist. Through this chart-topping success, much of which came from her TikTok video popularity, Rodrigo was able to have her debut album nominated for album of the year at the Grammy.

Billie Eilish also had one of her songs be used to tell a story on TikTok. Many users have used “getting Older” to talk about various ways they have grown up, and experiences they went through. The sound has over 500k views. She also has “Happier than Ever”, which was used for the user’s storytelling. In this case, it was for recount breakups that had happened.

Both of these show how songs can become popular on TikTok if they help a user tell a story. Music is meant to tell a story, one that often is intended to connect with the masses. TikTok shows that if the music does a good job of connecting with other stories, then it can become a viral TikTok sound, thus leading to rising to the top of music charts.

The convenience of any user being able to use a sound snippet without having to do their sound editing leads to the easier ability for a sound to become viral, and thus boost an artist’s reach. By simply pressing a button, any user can play an artist’s sound and clip all their followers. Artists and their teams are recognizing how their song trending on TikTok can boost a song to chart-topping status. As we continue to have more social media music marketing avenues emerge, it is important to understand the power they have on an artist’s chart success.

 

Turning Quarantine Joys into Career Desires

I went to my first concert when I was 15. Against my better judgment, and to my mother’s anxiety, my dad dropped me off at the venue, alone, as I had told my parents that I would be meeting up with my friends. What they didn’t know is that I would be meeting up with my friends INSIDE the General Admission 5,500 capacity outdoor venue. Long story short, I found my friends, and in a roundabout way found my passion. I remember the feeling of first discovering the collective joy and community that a packed pit brings. I spent many nights after that attending any concerts that were in the drivable distance of my small city in the midwestern center of the United States.

It was memories of these live event nights that I hung on to and longed for deeply in the days of quarantine 2020. As I searched for my joy in times of reflection, in between tiger king episodes and whipped coffee, I always went back to videos and pictures of concerts of days past.

As I reflected on these images of joy, I also reflected on what I wanted my life to look like when we exited the world of lockdown. While my degree I’m working on is in international relations, I found myself increasingly drawn to the idea that I wanted my life to exist in the world of live events, more than the world of international politics. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy learning about international events, but I realized that my joy was in live events, and my future was creating this joy for others through working in the live music industry. However, as I realized this career path switch, I realized I had no idea how to find a place within my new desire.  Just as I had marched into my first concert with no understanding of what I was doing besides a belief that I was going to enjoy the music, I realized I needed to march into the music industry with the understanding that I had the skills to navigate the industry and find my place and community. This meant I needed to be brave a simply jump into any opportunity I could that would help me find my place and my joy.

I started by looking into what I could do on my university campus that would give me experience in any aspect of the music industry. I searched lists of clubs at my University, looking for creative and musical outlets where I could join communities of music lovers and expand my understanding of the industry. I applied to write for the student radio station as a music blogger and reviewer. In this space, I found others who could introduce me to new ideas, and interests within the music industry. I found that when you follow your passions, you fall into new places with others from who you can learn and grow.

I also found that I did not have to try all new things. Because the music industry is so multi-disciplinary and vast, I could take current involvements and include my passion into them. In the semester before Spring 2020, I had been a writer for the education law column for my university’s pre-law journal. As much I loved education law, I knew that entertainment law was an area the journal could expand into, and I could learn and grow in. Starting in the Fall of 2021 the journal added an Entertainment law column that I lead as head editor. Not only did my push for this column helps me grow my understanding of music law, but also created a space where four other students on campus could grow in their passion for music through writing article for the column. This showed me that when we advocate for communities where we can foster our passions, we can help uplift others around us.

Even though I’ve been to more concerts than I can count, I still get giddy every time I walk through the doors of the show. The anticipation of the joy, community, and enjoyment of a concert will never get old. I know that as I continue to work towards my career desire to work these shows, my anticipation and excitement of walking through the doors will only grow. As I learn more and understand the skills behind live music production, my understanding of the hard work that goes into these communities will only deepen in respect and appreciation. It is that understanding that continues to drive me to jump into new spaces and involvements that will lead me to that understanding.

The Groundbreaking Feminine Power of Rock Icon Stevie Nicks

 

Queen of shawls and heartbreak, Stevie Nicks has been creating hits since the 1970s. As a pioneer of women in rock, Nicks is a role model for many modern musicians. Yet Nicks’ journey to be a pioneer of women in rock, is an interesting story of feminine power in the midst of a hyper-masculine music world. Through her lyrics and clothes, Stevie harnessed the power of the feminine to carve a path for herself and build the road for women in music across the globe.

With 40+ years in the music industry, Nicks has dozens of songs penned under her name.. Her fearless proclamations of the dynamic feminine and her mystical garments are exactly what makes her the music mother for many of us. Her proclamations of the strength of a woman are still radical in many cultures, yet they were especially radical when she was penning her early song. In the world of macho rock in the 1970s, Nicks’s fearless proclamation of the woman’s spellbinding power while wearing flowing dresses and draping feminine shawls is a unique and empowering narrative to be written. Yet it is exactly what Nicks’ was writing, most importantly in the song “Rhiannon”.

In one line in the song, Rhiannon says, “ She rules her life like a bird in flight/ and who would be her lover?/ All your life you’ve never seen a woman taken by the wind” (Nicks). These lyrics of feminine power in a rock song were a new idea in music. At this point in time rock was a celebration of hyper-masculine, male sexual power, and a macho mindset. Up to this point few women and be able to enter into the misogynistic world of rock n roll. In much of popular rock, the dominating narrative of the women was either ideal woman/Madonna/Saint, evil or fickle witch, or Sinner/Whore/Victim. If you look at the lyric in Rhiannon as mentioned above, Nicks took this classic rock women witch narrative and turned it into a story of the feminine power of the witch.  Pop culture scholar  Carol  L. Thompson highlights this when she says, “Rhiannon transcends the evil fickle witch stereotype by casting the heroine as irresistible, independent, and in control of her own destiny”. The timing of this song being written as Nicks was experiencing the masculine world of music shows how Nicks understood the patriarchal music industry that she was against. However, Nicks took this understanding of the patriarchal system she was facing, embraced it, and wrote an anthem of how she would take these barriers as a way of gaining power. This narrative of taking power highlights Nicks’ history of her success in embracing femininity as a woman in music while facing rampant misogyny in the rock music industry.

Nicks embracing the power of the feminine did not stop at her lyrics. Following the commercial success of the 1975 album, Fleetwood Mac,  Nicks began to work with clothing designer Margi Kent to develop her clothing style for performance. This ultimately led to her wearing long skirts, platform boots, and numerous shawls.  This decision to make her image clearly feminine in skirt and heels was a bold decision knowing the misogynistic rock music scene she was entering. By overtly promoting her femininity through her clothing she chose to be strong in her femininity in a male-dominated space.  Through this unapologetic clothing expression, she visually expressed women were important and needed in the rock world. It clearly highlighted her difference as a woman and the barriers she was breaking in her success.

Culturally Stevie Nicks is an icon. Stevie’s music still tops the charts, years after the song’s initial release. Her longstanding popularity shows Nicks has inspired many generations with her music. Her legendary status comes from her pioneering actions as one of the famous women in music and in rock n’ roll. Through her lyrics and clothing, she chipped away at the singularly hypermasculine rock culture and carved a space for feminine power to enter rock successfully. Her achievements in these actions have solidified her legacy as a legend in rock n roll.

 

Garam Anday and Pakistan’s Emerging Feminist Punk Scene 

If someone mentions Feminist Punk Rock, most music lovers would point you towards the Riot Grrrl movement. Starting in the early 1990s, the Riot Grrrl bands were brash, political, and popular. Founded in Olympia Washington in the United States, the Riot Grrrl movement merged the musical with the fight against misogyny to and fit what we deem the popularized Feminist Punk Rock movement of today. Feminist Punk focuses on the cross-cultural ideas of gender equality, and its political music movement has spread across the globe. Recently, the Feminist Punk Rock ideals have been gaining popularity within a new band of women, in the country of Pakistan.

Feminist rock has been a new type of protest that has emerged in Pakistan political movements. Garam Anday, Hot Eggs, is a feminist Rock band that has been gaining traction in the region for their feminist critiques of the government. Garam Anday works to critique the gender discrimination that occurs in Pakistan. Through the use of their lyrics and music videos, they are weaving a narrative of women who are fighting back against the gender bias in Pakistan.

Garam Anday gained a large portion of their fame through their song “Mas Behn Ka Danda”, which translates to Mother and Sister’s Sticks. In this song, the women sing about the reckoning that is coming from women and girls challenging the sexist and patriarchal systems that are set up in Pakistan. In the song, the women sing

“we are coming after you boy, with our burning eggs, Mothers and sisters bring our reckoning”.

In this line, the women are taking back their feminine descriptors and using them as a source of power. Often in songs, the female body is used as a sexual object. However, Garam Anday uses their distinctly feminine bodies as a source of power in their song. By taking the very distinct female anatomy of eggs, i.e. ovaries, and saying those ovaries are coming after the men, Garam Anday is citing the power that a woman has to push back against patriarchal systems of power. Politically, the song’s use of eggs is powerful because it is a direct allusion to the sexual violence that takes place in Pakistan. At the moment there is mass sexual violence towards women. In government spaces, men control and diminish women’s bodies. For example, in 2021, Prime Minister of Pakistan Khan responded to the rape crisis in Pakistan by saying that it was occurring because “if a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact on the man unless they are robots” (Tariq). This is just one example of how gender and sexual violence is perceived in Pakistan, This is the violence that Garam Anday is working against in their music. By creating a song where ovaries are seen as the site of power, Guram Anday is creating political messages of female empowerment through their music.

Guram Anday has further politically organized through the locations at which they play their music. In 2019, Guram Anday “performed at the Aurat March where they escorted the pidarshhi ka janaza” (Khuldune Shahid). Performing at the Aurat March is important to note in terms of Guram Anday’s political popularity. The Aurat March is a political protest against the violence against women in Pakistan. By being invited to the march, Guram Anday secured public awareness and acceptance as a voice for change in women’s rights in Pakistan. Guram Anday is following the feminist Punk Rock ideas of music’s political organizing influence taking it to help use it to uplift their message of women’s empowerment and the message of the Aurat March.

While a Bikini Kill reunion is unlikely, the spirit of feminist punk rock is still alive and well. Guram Anday is just one example of how Feminist Punk Rock has crossed cultural boundaries to unite under the common cause of gender equity for all. Guram Anday shows us that feminist punk rock is for all, and is used by all. Guram Anday shows us that the fight for equity in music should not be a western focused approach.  Instead, it is an intersectional and global fight for ALL women.

Watch Garam Anday’s Music Video

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