Even if you’re not keeping up with the Kardashians, I’m sure you’re keeping up with the new musical trends and the hot acts on the market. Some new and some old. But do you feel a similarity in the choice of sound and style despite their long history in the biz?
John Mayer’s latest is his new album The Search For Everything. If you’re a JM fan like me, you would have probably found it not very JM-like. But that man has had a history of trying new things if you remember his country/folk album he dropped a few years ago. How about Coldplay? They have completely reinvented themselves by embracing electronic music on their collaboration with The Chainsmokers. An effort to fit in to this changing pop- fronted market. Let’s also remember Taylor Swift. Before she dropped her hit Trouble, she’d a major country hit called Love Story. Her fans crossed over with her as well. When you loved Martin Garrix on his hardcore EDM/house hit, Animals, you somehow followed him as he quit his record label, joined Justin Bieber’s management and changed his sound to the new records he did with Dua Lipa and Bebe Rexha. This only goes to show that diehard fans will stay with their acts no matter what. They stay loyal, dedicated and support them. I did that too with acts I followed until I gave up and divorced them from my life due to what I’d like to call ‘irreconcilable differences’.
This trend has more examples: When Kendrick Lamar dropped To Pimp a Butterfly, he was hailed as the ‘John Coltrane of hip hop’ – unlike the NWA, 2pac and Biggie inspired records we’d heard of in his older releases. Remember Kanye West, Rihanna and Sir Paul McCartney collaborating on FourFiveSeconds? This introduced an old-timer like Paul McCartney to hip hop, dance and electronic listening generation of teenagers! Even Zakir Hussain jammed with The Grateful Dead, while Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan saab had jammed with Peter Gabriel in the late 80s/early 90s! The pioneers have always taken the next step. Why walk on earth when we can jump on the moon, right?
One might wonder what the reason behind this is. It’s this – It gives a fresh perspective on music itself. On the socio-political front, gives us a platform when we have things to talk about directly or indirectly and also because music is not something that should get stagnant. Others who haven’t given in to the market demands stay relevant by relentless touring and staying active so they don’t get forgotten easy. I’d say, the switch is inevitable.
