America Needs Post Modern Jukebox
America Needs Post Modern Jukebox
At one point and time, Pop music was actually somewhat barely in the 80s. A new kind of music emerged with all sorts of bells and whistles. Letting go of the instruments, big bands and even singing itself in exchange for dance routines, model like figures and full coverage of their love life and other aspects of their day to day existence that had almost nothing to do with actually singing. In the 90’s we had N’Sync, Back Street Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and so many more. In the 2000’s we had Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Fergie etc. And nowadays in the 2010’s we have the infamous Justin Bieber, America’s sweetheart Taylor Swift, sexed up Katy Perry, weirdly awesome Lady gaga, no booty Miley Cyrus, Kesha etc.
You can not flip through radio stations with out listening to multiple of their songs, which often sound very similar to one another, again and again. Songs about falling in love, falling out of love, not being understood, partying like no one is watching, getting back at that significant other that screwed you over and other teen angst. They use auto tune, they do not write their own songs, they follow the lead of the record company instead of making actual music. The end result is this annoying white noise that causes you to either cringe or go insane because the song is sickeningly catchy. The fad never lasts however, every Taylor Swift song that has come out always gets in my brain and will not go away until the next T Swift song comes out and I instantly forget the last one. The cycle happens again and again and again.
But then this happened…
A YouTube channel emerged named “ScottBradleeLovesYa” or Post Modern Jukebox(PMJ for short) releases covers of the most popular pop music on the radio to date. This was not some 16 year of high school with a mediocre singing voice who attempts in vain to recreate the original song. Oh no, Sir. PMJ is all about the music. They bring back the great singers, bands and…well…they bring back good music.
The work of Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox has been viewed on the ensemble’s YouTube channel well over a hundred million times. Most of those doing the viewing, however, are not fully aware of the method to Bradlee’s madness.
On the surface, the method is video – clips of full-band performances (that’s Bradlee on piano) shot in the bandleader’s living room with a single stationary camera. The madness: pop hits of the present performed à la pop hits of the past. Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” assayed as a doo-wop number; Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” tricked out in flapper jazz; Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” rendered a 1940s big-band standard.
In fact, Bradlee’s method runs deeper. He’s educating his audience about 20th-century song styles; he’s commenting on the elasticity of the pop form; he’s confounding cultural context; he’s uniting generations; he’s breaking the rules. He’s manifesting postmodernist ideas in his approach to production and business as well as music. But as far as the fans are concerned, it’s just fun (and sometimes funny). Bradlee himself will tell you, simply, “I reimagine a song in another style because I want to hear it that way.”
I recall reading the about us section of their website some time ago and this bio had been worded a bit differently. Back then it read something to the effect of “I dislike pop music so much that I have the urge to recreate these songs into versions that I would enjoy”(Once again, this is just from memory, not an exact quote). I fell in love with his channel because of his blunt honesty and conviction to bringing music back to an art form.
Since ‘We Can’t Stop’ went viral over the interwebs, PMJ has exploded in popularity. This gave them the audience they needed to sell a number of CDs and fund their tours around the US and Internationally. They were able to get new singers, some of which were previous American Idol contestants that were able to get decently far by singing in a very conservative manner. However, when Casey Abrams and Haley Reinhart joined PMJ, they were able to unleash a singing ability many did not know that they were even capable of. Their performances on ‘Creep’, ‘All About That Bass’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’, and ‘Stacey’s Mom’ were so incredible, it far exceeded American Idol winners like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
America needs Post Modern jukebox and it’s covers of mainstream songs to show the general public, especially plunger audiences what true music is. There are children out there turning into young adults who have grown up with Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. Worst off, they swear by them as their music of choice. No longer do we hear the names of Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole or any other immensely talented artists pass through the lips of the young. If their creations have been far too dated and kids no longer have access to their music then at least they will have Post Modern Jukebox and it’s spectacular covers.
Who knows? Perhaps it will inspire a new generation of musicians and singers who bring back Big Band into the mainstream and these styles become a normal occurrence. Only time will tell and one can only hope, but if this is to happen, it will be due to Post Modern Jukebox and their efforts to make the world a better place with their music.
Chicano | Fighting/Writing for Diversity | DM since 08 | Anime Lover | Site: https://www.thegeeklyfe.com | info@thegeeklyfe.com | http://twitch.tv/that_deangelo | https://linktr.ee/deangelomurillo
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Nikki_boagreis
Thank’s for submitting this article always a pleasure reading