Take a Beat w/ Unpopular Pop Music and Young Millennial Brain Rot
On 7/31/24 we are pondering the definition of "pop music", thanking Kacey Musgraves for helping us find our own Golden Hour, and losing our cool over a particular kind of celebrity.
If you are reading this, you have officially been enlisted in a Take a Beat experiment.
The Hypothesis: Take a Beat is not for everyone, but those who enjoy it likely know at least one other person who would also enjoy Take a Beat.
The Experiment: Each Take a Beat reader encourages one (1) friend whom they think would enjoy having a Take a Beat newsletter in their inboxes to subscribe.
The Conclusion? TBD, but I’m hoping that this newsletter is quality enough to be enjoyed by people whom I don’t even know (or, in the case of some subscribers, whom I didn’t even grow up with!)
TL;DR
What is pop music, anyways?
Thank you to Kacey Musgraves for reminding Carson of her particular and wonderful station in this world (**SUBSCRIBER CONTRIBUTED**)
NYC A++++ CELEBRITY SPOTTING REVEAL
Bits & Bobs From Inside My Brain Rot
O Genre, What Art Thou?
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of “Pop Music”
There is only one genre of music that is not defined directly by the characteristics of the music, but rather by the mass market’s appreciation of the music; whereas rock music can be described by the instruments (guitar, drum, bass) that comprise it, and rap music by the vocal stylings (spoken word) utilized, at its most literal definition, pop music (or literally “popular music”) is not defined by its composition, but rather by the patterns of compositions that the general populace most appreciates.
Pop music: a genre defined by statistics. How fun is that?!
And while there are of course always going to be songs outside of the generally understood “pop music” realm that become VERY popular (think Gotye’s mid-tempo, alternative-leaning “Somebody That I Used to Know”, Cardi B’s trap-rap “Bodak Yellow”, and the reigning #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Tipsy” by country artist Shaboozey), the musical characteristics that define “pop music” as we know it are generally agreed upon:
Up-tempo beats
Catchy, accessible melodies
Verse/chorus/bridge song structure
Relatable lyrics
And because of those generally agreed upon characteristics, we also apply the “pop” descriptor to lots of music that is decidedly (and statistically!!) not “popular”.
To that end, I’ve put together a playlist comprised of songs and/or artists that, based on some combination of up-tempo/catchy/lyrically fun/structurally simple characteristics, can be described as “pop music” — they just don’t have the streams and widespread recognition that comes with popularity.
They also all happen to slap and have the Josh Van Auken Take a Beat seal of approval!
Maybe us Takers of Beats (now that is NOT very catchy…) can propel these songs and artists into the upper quadrants of the Billboard charts where they (stylistically and super subjectively) belong!
Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
An Album for Carson Wapp’s Transition From Child to Adult
In my head, August 2017 is when I became an adult. At that point in time, I was 20 years old. While ages 18-19 were technically considered the start of my “adulthood,” I remember them as a continuation of “Highschool Carson”. August 2017 marked the start of my degree-specific studies, my professional career, and my obsession with music. Welcome to the real world!
My first day of junior year, August 21, 2017, was interrupted by the events of the “Great American Eclipse.” This event wreaked havoc over Middle America, USA. It was the first solar eclipse visible across the entirety of the United States since 1918. More than anything, this event gave us a few hours to forget about our responsibilities, stare at the sky, and see a circle block our view of another circle. It brought people together in a way that cannot be documented in history books.
I spent my solar eclipse at the Lenexa Rec Center, working a 7 AM shift as the pool manager. As the first ever pool manager hired to work at the Rec Center, I ran that place like the United States Military…and I loved every last minute of it. On this particular day in August, I finally felt the sense of direction and purpose that I craved so desperately in my teenage years. Standing on top of the roof of the Lenexa Rec Center waiting for the solar eclipse (that we ultimately didn’t see because it was cloudy), I felt a surreal sensation that I was exactly where the universe wanted me to be. It felt like everything in the world was clicking into place, and I was finally an adult.
On that same fateful August day, singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves was in Nashville, TN, celebrating her 29th birthday, viewing the solar eclipse, and creating her Grammy-winning album and magnum opus, Golden Hour (2018). The critically-acclaimed album transcends the modern definition of “genre”. Country, pop, electronic, psychedelic, rock - there isn’t really one word that captures its energy. This album digs deep into Kacey’s worldviews. It is an outpouring of curiosity around our mere existence and the magic in life’s smallest moments.
My description of the album cannot remotely compare to the magic that is found in listening to all 45 minutes and 48 seconds of Golden Hour. This album transports me back to a point in my life where I came to terms with my identify, beliefs, and ambitions. For the past six years, it has guided me through career changes, moving cities, and falling in (and out) of love. With every listen, I’m immediately reminded of the sense of optimism I felt during the Great Solar Eclipse.
- Carson Wapp, 27, Brooklyn
Man About Town: Celeb Spotting
A SHOCKING A+++ List Sighting
In my 7 months in NYC thus far I have seen the likes of Goldie Hawn, Rachel McAdams, and Kathy Najimi strolling down the avenue. Bryan Cranston, Kristin Davis, and Stephen Root have all made eyes at my dog Miss Bridget. Tracy Jordan and I locked eyes while he was driving his yellow Lamborghini truck down 57th Street.
But recently my sister and I were blessed with what may be my favorite celebrity sighting thus far. We saw someone much younger than all of the previous folks mentioned, yet out of all of them he may have the largest impact on modern society. He has a jawline that could cut through steel, cheekbones high and pronounced enough to model rock climbing stones after, and the svelte body of a figure skating otter.
He lives on not in movies, not in television shows, nor in stage work, but in something far more powerful:
The meme.
At the intersection of 57th Street and 9th Avenue, we saw: “Nooo Don’t Kill Yourself Your So Sexy Aha” Guy!
By living on in an iconic, time-tested meme, NDKYYSSA Guy also lives on in the hearts and minds of all whose Twitter feeds he has graced. Every time you gift a struggling loved one with a quick “Nooo don’t kill yourself your so sexy aha” homage, you are are also gifting them with a much needed laugh.
They say laughter is the best medicine, therefore we all have NDKYYSSA Guy to thank for his formidable medical contributions.
See NDKYYSSA Guy’s Twitter account here.
Bits & Bobs From Inside My Brain Rot
On Thursday night (technically Friday morning) I handed my phone to a random fellow at Good Room in Brooklyn, and, for once in my life, I knew what to do with my face and my limbs in a photo:
I’m always so jealous of models and influencers who, when faced with a camera lens, can turn the corner of their mouth up at just the right angle, or can look off into the distance as though there is something genuinely inspiring in their view. So when I take a photo where I’m doing something other than just straight cheesin’ that I actually like? That’s a huge W.
Naturally, my millennial instincts took over immediately, screaming “POST TO THE ‘GRAM”. And why shouldn’t I?! A good pic-and-caption pairing can send my cheugy synapses into serotonin overdrive.
The problem is that, for this particular photo, every caption idea my Take a Beaten, Twitter-core brain produced, to further borrow Twitterisms, “would have killed a pilgrim.”
So allow me to lead you on a tour through my Extremely Summer 2024 Brain Rot:
(Photo was taken at a Kelela DJ event) I mean how could my deeply Brat and Kamala-pilled brain NOT think of this?!
And I had just placed myself on this worldview-shifting chart, which I hope Kamala brings to the schools.
Then I added the “Good Room” location to my Instagram draft, and this stroke of absolute genius came rushing in.
Finally, 3 topical memes deep into my Instagram post planning, my brain rot had become so strong that none of my remaining analog neurons could stop it! There was only one thing left for my wholly rotted brain to do… GET META AND MEME ABOUT THE BRAIN ROT ITSELF!!!!
And you know what,
