Billie Eilish - The future of pop?

robwright

I’m very late to the party on this one but what an album! Billie and brother/producer Finneas are a writing/production powerhouse! And all recorded in his tiny bedroom! I’ve seen a couple of YouTube videos that show how they work, layering the vocals with incredible precision! Maybe the 21st Century version of the Beatles experimentation at Abbey Road? 

I think the future of music is safe in their hands! A bold claim so I’m prepared for the backlash! 

Winny_Pooh

They are very visible but not particularly innovative...just part of a current trend.

To see the roots of the future let's look back 12 years to Fever Ray and the Knife and a host of 2000s electronic musicians that have influenced the current crop:



And even further to all those warp record releases.

If the future is anything it's recycling and popularising music from the past ala Daft Punk. 

danishbacon

Winny_Pooh said:

If the future is anything it's recycling and popularising music from the past ala Daft Punk. 

Business as usual

monquixote

I'm a big fan.

Some really great pop music around at the moment. More inspiring than anything going on in rock for me.

Blueingreen

I quite like her stuff but with some exceptions (the James Bond theme for example) it hasn't really blown me away.  I prefer the best of Lana Del Rey's stuff in a not entirely dissimilar vein (although Lana's last album was something of a disappointment).  I can see why disaffected teens will find it easier to identify with Billie though, and she and her brother are at an age when you would only expect them to get better.  It wouldn't surprise me if the next album, or the one after that, really is something.

robwright

Winny_Pooh said:

They are very visible but not particularly innovative...just part of a current trend.

To see the roots of the future let's look back 12 years to Fever Ray and the Knife and a host of 2000s electronic musicians that have influenced the current crop:



And even further to all those warp record releases.

If the future is anything it's recycling and popularising music from the past ala Daft Punk. 

That Fever Ray track is also genius! Who needs guitars????

darthed1981

robwright said:

I’m very late to the party on this one but what an album! Billie and brother/producer Finneas are a writing/production powerhouse! And all recorded in his tiny bedroom! I’ve seen a couple of YouTube videos that show how they work, layering the vocals with incredible precision! Maybe the 21st Century version of the Beatles experimentation at Abbey Road? 

I think the future of music is safe in their hands! A bold claim so I’m prepared for the backlash! 

I think that's fair.  She genuinely is a fantastic talent.  It shocked me to hear the Bond theme she wrote with her brother as well, it's a fantastic bit of music, if you can do something better than Jack White, you can do it bluddy well.

I find the "these people most people have never heard of are better" argument a bit daft as well.  Ultimately it's "pop" music short for "popular", the Beatles would never have had the influence they have had if they had still been playing Sgt Pepper in clubs in Hamburg - their popularity and global success was PART of their story.  It's never "just about the music".

I'm not part of her generation so can't comment on how she fits in, but she regularly gets comparisons to Nirvana, and I guess therefore Oasis if she was British.  To the people who fit in the bracket, she's everything.

Pop music at the minute is great as well, it really is in a pink patch.  They always say the music industry defaults to pop when nothing else is going on and the stuff Dua Lipa, Harry Styles (though I like her a bit more... for some reason) etc. are doing is really cool.  Bruno Mars is fantastically talented, hell I'm not a huge fan but Ed Sheeran has conquered the world with talent and hard work, he's a consummate professional.

darthed1981

...that Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus is a fantastic pop song as well.  Love how it swaps "her" and "him" throughout, aint nobody safe (except possibly IT Managers in their 40s, but I'll learn to live with it)...

duotone

Her 2nd album is released on 30th July.

I really liked some stuff on her 1st album, am looking forward to seeing how this compares, does she play it safe etc.

sev112

I am told by better aged knowledgeable youngsters, that she is not in everyone’s good books any more?

dindude

Doesn’t quite live up to the considerable hype for me, have got a lot of respect as clearly her and her brother are incredibly capable, and I enjoy some of it, just doesn’t pass the ultimate test of me activity wanting to put it on repeat like when you discover great music -it’s just a bit too stylised and of the now, which makes me wonder whether it will have ultimate longevity. 

Interestingly someone mentioned Lana Del Ray above, have to admit I was in the “heard video games back in the day, kinda know she critically claimed, haven’t bothered to keep up” camp. But having just discovered Norman Fucking Rockwell, now that’s an album! You can here how many people she’s influenced, Billie for sure, also Lorde (it was her great new single Stoned at the Nail Salon) that led me to Lana (same producer). I honestly think “Mariners Apartment Complex” is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard, it’s stunning.

Either way I do agree with the sentiment that there is great pop music out there at the moment.

monquixote

dindude said:

Interestingly someone mentioned Lana Del Ray above, have to admit I was in the “heard video games back in the day, kinda know she critically claimed, haven’t bothered to keep up” camp. But having just discovered Norman Fucking Rockwell, now that’s an album! You can here how many people she’s influenced, Billie for sure, also Lorde (it was her great new single Stoned at the Nail Salon) that led me to Lana (same producer). I honestly think “Mariners Apartment Complex” is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard, it’s stunning.

Yes, that Lana album is superb although can't have it on in front of the kids because its filthy!

Golden pop era at the moment.

Bugger all rock that compares at the moment.

dindude

monquixote said:

dindude said:

Interestingly someone mentioned Lana Del Ray above, have to admit I was in the “heard video games back in the day, kinda know she critically claimed, haven’t bothered to keep up” camp. But having just discovered Norman Fucking Rockwell, now that’s an album! You can here how many people she’s influenced, Billie for sure, also Lorde (it was her great new single Stoned at the Nail Salon) that led me to Lana (same producer). I honestly think “Mariners Apartment Complex” is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard, it’s stunning.

Yes, that Lana album is superb although can't have it on in front of the kids because its filthy!

Golden pop era at the moment.

Bugger all rock that compares at the moment.

Yeah, she’s a bit sweary for sure!

andy_k

I liked the Billie album when it came out, but a bit of digging around soon destroyed the idea that it was done in their bedroom, maybe the demo's were, but there was a bit of a development story which wasn't widely publicised.
I thought the Miley album was also a good effort, but I did my own experiments with her 'live' performances, the idea of singing along to a backing track has evolved as much as recording technology, but still a great example of producing music that hits all the spots, nothing new really, but very well done all the same.

Jez6345789

I did like the first album and yes once the media and the industry get the machine working stuff does get a bit overhyped so I don't take too much notice of the hyperbole and spin but to me, it was a solid worthwhile album. 

As for Lana Del Ray that girl has been my guilty pleasure since Born to die but then NFR came out every song is like a crafted earworm, played it to death enjoyed every breathy cliched moment of it.