There is little new under the sun when it comes to fashion. In the '00s, '90s fashion of flannels and winter bubble vests gave way to a '70s revival: Bell bottoms or flares, replaced the straight-leg Levis; bold colors replaced the subdued primary colors of the '90s; and gimmicky accessories like bandanas and hoop earrings made a bold statement. Some novelty fashion trends also came back, enter the mood ring. On Lorde's 2021 record Solar Power, the singer wistfully remembers relics of her childhood in the early '00s in the song "Mood Ring." Lyrically satirizing the disconnection of the modern world, the acoustic guitar producer Jack Antonoff plays throughout the song harken back to the early '00s pop music.
YOU CAN BURN THE SAGE, AND I'LL CLENSE THE CRYSTALS. Discussing the first single Lorde dropped fromher third album "Solar Power,"Switched on Popguest Hanif Abdurraqid argues that Lorde isn't a "singer-singer but rather a deliverer of language." Lorde's voice is low and "gravely." With average lyrics or melodies or mediocre vocal delivery, Lorde's voice would have never become the trend-setter that she has become. However, all of those factors are there with Jack Antonoff's co- production and instrumentation. Similarly, the songs on the record are only credited to Lorde and Antonoff and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/engineer Malay on two tracks. Unlike many pop writers today, Lorde's imagery evokes specific, sometimes awkward images. The penultimate track, for example, "Mood Ring," interweaves lines about transcendental mediation and the early '00s. It reminds me of the New Age trends that were strong on daytime television and on the front covers of tabloids in the check out lines. The lyrics are heightened by Jack Antonoff's acoustic guitar that drives the song almost like Nelly's "Ride Wit Me," but the cheap-sounding electric guitar effect sounds like some of the lo-fi indie music produced in the early '00s and even found on some big budget pop records of the time. What's interesting about "Mood Rings" is that Antonoff holds back on the production. He and Lorde produce the track to be rhythmic, but Antonoff refrains from bringing out bigger beats to make the song radio-ready. Instead, we have a psychedelic pop track that is more vibe than bop or banger.
DON'T YOU THINK THE EARLY 2000S SEEM SO FAR AWAY? But speaking of the early '00s, I may be in a minority of Lorde listeners who simply see the title of the song and think about another song from 20 years ago. Lorde may have not been aware of Relient K's problematic 2003 track "Mood Rings," a satirical song in which the speaker plots "to get emotional girls to all wear mood rings [so that men] can be tipped off to when they're ticked off." The song was a fan favorite, and by their third record Two Lefts Don't Make a Right. . . But Three Do, the band's popularity was branching out of youth group. Lorde's "Mood Ring" deals with how a media-saturated society makes us apathetic to what should be a good life, more in touch with nature. Relient K's "Mood Rings," however, bypasses the issues of complex emotions, making a joke at the expense of the band's female fans. Last year, after being called out on TikTok, the band apologized for the song, saying "We had a lot of growing and learning to do, still do!” Of course, Relient K was not the only band to employ casual misogyny--pop-punk and other genres of the early '00s were rife with it. Lorde's track, though, captures a feeling of the early '00s--definitely not the Christian youth group feeling--but leaves the sexism out!
Spoken formed in 1996 and signed to CCM singer-songwriter Crystal Lewis 's Metro 1 label the following year. The band's early music was influenced by Rage Against the Machine and P.O.D., mostly consisting of rap-core and nu metal. After releasing three studio records and a greatest hits compilation through Metro 1, the band signed to Tooth & Nail Records in 2003 and released their fourth studio record, A Moment of Imperfect Clarity . A CHANCE TO CHANGE THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT. Spoken's fourth record, A Moment of Imperfect Clarity developed the band's sound from a rap-rock, nu metal band to a melodic post-hardcore band. With the Tooth & Nail years during the explosion of the record label and the mass-marketability of Christian Rock, Spoken gained a greater audience. Also with the backing of the record company, the production on their Tooth & Nail albums increased significantly. On the first Tooth & Nail record for spoken, the band worked with Garth ...
East West was a Christian hard rock band that released two albums in the early 2000s. The most successful single from their debut album The Light in Guinevere's Garden was the guitar ballad " She Cries ," in which the band didn't scream the lyrics. East West's two releases are between two very important releases in Hard Christian Rock: P.O.D. 's Satellite and Underoath 's They're Only Chasing Safety . The band's follow up, Hope in Anguish was produced much better than TLiGG. The grungy sounds of slow songs and the gut-punching screams of the heavy songs met the drums, effects petals, and truly depressing lyrics--dealing with addiction, child abuse, and the music business. Four of the songs--three of the non-screaming tracks--made their way to Christian Rock radio. East West was a band that showed that they could write a hit and have a heavy album. I COULD NEVER REALLY FIND THE ANSWERS. Three years ...
TWS (pronounced two-us or in hangeul 투어스) debuted earlier this year on Pledis Entertainment , an independently-operated sub-label of Hybe Corporation . Today all successful K-pop group members promote their group on social media, but the concept of Pledis’s latest boy band was to release “boyhood pop,” or pop music that “captures the daily stories of boys.” Furthering this concept, the group uses the tagline: “twenty-four seven with us.” The group is well-marketed as the cool boyfriends of voyeuristic K-pop fans. With members ranging from 16 to 20, TWS serves as a fifth (or fifth?)-generation K-pop group, marketed to middle school and high school students, which can be seen in their highly-stylized music video “ Plot Twist .” The video features the group living in dormitory-style quarters and attending a co-educational high school. FIRST ENCOUNTERS ARE ALWAYS HARD. Lyrically, "Plot Twist" by TWS is about the awkwardness and nervousness of first encounters. The lyrics de...
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