Bells Deep – DEAD2ME
Every few years, we learn of the real face of the people who get to organise headline concerts in our arenas. We, inevitably, learn about their poor treatment of spouses, employees and defenceless animals. And what do we do about it? Nothing!
Not even the law seems to be able to touch these people, and we sure aren’t doing anything about it. We’ve become numb to the realisation that it’s highly motivated individuals ready to tap dance over corpses that get the big prizes in all areas of life, music included. But it’s up to people like Bells Deep to understand what this means.
The fact is that we’ve become accustomed to egomaniacal jerks writing our pop hits. What about the real artists? What about the sensitive types who used to line up the bedroom walls of music fans decades ago?
Bells Deep feel pretty sorry about the state of the world. They’d change if they could and, surely, are willing to put it all into a song. But they also know that these sorts of missions are futile unless you get people to listen closely. This is why “DEAD2ME” is revealed as a kind of indie-pop takeover. The hooks are friendly, and modern fans of The Strokes will hit thumbs up, but listen closely and you’ll find some tension powering the track. Could these be arena rockstars that we could trust?
Alex Little – Finally Safe in the World
Those who used to become stars in the entertainment business were supposed to accept losing a great deal of themselves on the trip over to the top. Could they get on without their real name, real clothes, and the way that they naturally respond to things?
They’d have to learn. No entertainer from the Golden Age of any art form was truly granted the option of being themselves. Consequently, everything that they presented to the public was heavily weighed by the people pulling the strings. But these are compromises that modern pop singers like Alex Little wouldn’t accept.
How could pop stars of old ever truly be vulnerable? Even the moments when they finally admitted to life being tough on them were carefully orchestrated behind the scenes. Honesty was rarely a weapon used by pop stars.
Things are, hopefully, changing, and Alex Little’s “Finally Safe in the World” is part of that transformation. The Vancouver singer’s sound and image call to mind the ’60s female pop stars. But, unlike them, Little is not afraid to lay it all on the line. “Finally Safe in the World,” yes, is a song about being vulnerable and being rewarded for it. It’s a song about searching for a true companion. Is this a new kind of pop star?
