“That’s Just Their Style:” A Look Into Recycled Pop Electronic Music Icons like The Chainsmokers and Zedd.

Do you remember The Chainsmokers’ 2015 song “Roses”? Maybe not, but you’ve definitely heard 2017 The Chainsmokers’ (featuring Coldplay) hit “Something Just Like This.” If you listen to them, they are the same song with different lyrics. The “drop,” is not changed at all. It is completely the same. The melodies are strikingly similar in The Chainsmokers’ “Honest” when compared to their more popular song featuring Pop Artist Halsey, “Closer” as well.

The same could be said for producer Zedd’s “Stay” and “The Middle.” Although it isn’t as blatantly recycled as The Chainsmokers’, the two songs follow the same recipe of distorted female voice, broken down with ticking noises. The same formula is used in the remixes as well. If you listen to Zedd’s remix to Shawn Mendes’ “Lost In Japan,” it is the same distortion and ticking sound. Sure, it could just be that it is Zedd’s “style,” or “sound,” but it seems to be only slightly varied from “The Middle.”

Each of the songs mentioned had their time in the spotlight, and although their popularity isn’t for lack of trying, as they both found a formula that appeals to the masses and decided to not fix something “if it’s not broken.” This, however, directly relates to Culture Industry. As described by Prof. Eaton, 2000s pop electronic music provides an abundance of itself, in only slightly varied versions of the same song, standardizing what it means to be a popular electronic song in the late 2010s. At the risk of sounding like a mass culture theory post- these songs almost distract the audience into thinking that producers such as The Chainsmokers and Zedd are creating groundbreaking sounds, whereas there are plenty of artists (even electronic artists) who do not get the popularity in which they deserve because they do not fit the mold of the top 40. It seems as if every time a “new” song by artists that are just regurgitations of their older songs takes away from the creativity of it all.

Jay-Z, rap sensation, said it perfectly in his 2009 song “On To The Next One:”

Hov' on that new sh*t, [n-word] like "How come?"

[n-word]s want my old sh*t, buy my old albums
[n-word]s stuck on stupid, I gotta keep it movin'[n-word]s make the same sh*t, me I make The Blueprint

An obvious nod to his albums named The Blueprint, Jay-Z makes the point in which artists should not be discouraged from moving forward with their music. Furthermore, there is an almost infinite amount of music out in the world, and staying within the cheap recycled music within the top 40s is just staying within the dictated popularity from whomever has the largest amount of money to market their sound.

Lady Gaga and Fan Indentification

Click, Melissa A., Hyunji Lee, and Holly Willson Holladay. "Making Monsters: Lady Gaga, Fan Identification, And Social Media." Popular Music & Society 36.3 (2013): 360-379. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. 

Melissa A. Click, et al. loos at fandom surrounding Lady Gaga. In exploring the relationship between Lady Gaga and her fans the authors draw from three areas of research: fan identification, monsters & the monsterous and the celebrity and social media. They also interviews fans. Fans, according to Click, et al., identify with Lady Gaga through her message of empowerment and self acceptance. The authors note the work of John Caughey in examining the fan and fan object relationship. Caughey writes that over time, fans will often incorporate a celebrity’s values into their own attitudes. With Lady Gaga many of these values are already present and are validated and strengthened by Lady Gaga’s engagement with her fans. Fans of Lady Gaga call themselves “little monsters” and consider Lady Gaga the “mother monster”. Perceiving themselves as outcasts, this is a way for fans to embrace their differences. Monster generally has negative connotations in our culture and this is a way for fans to own this word. With Lady Gaga as “mother monster” and protective mentor she becomes almost a parental figure further strengthening a fan’s identification with her. Click, et al. notes the importance of social media in the popularity of Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is very active on social media and goes beyond the self-promotion of most celebrity’s. She often will interact directly with her fans, most often through twitter. She will respond to a fan’s artwork or cover of her song. This response to the interpretive aspect of her work allows fans to “see the real authentic person behind the celebrity.” This social media engagement with Lady Gaga “both enable and amplify” the identification fans have with her. 

I thought this article was very interesting in that the authors find a very strong fan identification when a celebrity validates their values, particularly when it is done through personal engagement on social media. This, they find, empowers the fan base.