How BILLIE EILISH Breaks The Rules

this episode is brought to you by curiosity stream without a doubt Billy Eilish is this year's breakthrough artist her album tackled themes of suicide sobriety and even climate change referencing the California wildfires a direct result of rising global temperatures find out more about the new technologies being used to combat wildfires witness the current repercussions of climate change and how we'll all live on Mars after we mess it all up I'm kidding hopefully Mars would be cool though it's all on curiosity streams breakthrough but more about that later in the video Billy Billy Eilish is the most talked-about teen on the plant so let's talk she amassed over a billion streams before even releasing her debut album in part due to the overnight sensation that was ocean eyes [Music] she was only 13 when it was recorded but otherwise it's a pretty straightforward pot tune that displayed her sultry vocal talents and her brother Phineas's production prowess the brother-sister duo shared the track on Soundcloud and it took off shortly after the platform is usually known for giving rise to do-it-yourself hip-hop artists it's not common for a pop act to find overnight success on soundcloud but then again billy isn't your common pop star I mean she's painted as a pop star to the general public but what is pop nowadays her music is part electronic part rock part hip hop bound together by a delicate voice in a neo punk aesthetic Interscope Records were quick to take notice of her talent helping her deliver the EP don't smile at me the dark pop single bellyache carried folk like verses strung between electronic dance music choruses the siblings began to defy Chandra but more notably presented some unusual songwriting a fictional story about murder from the perspective of a psychopath it's more fun than dark but it was the single copycat that would give us a glimpse at their forthcoming horror inspired direction their music stands out in the pop universe were everything is made in a professional studio even with a major label the pair continues to write and record in Phineas's bedroom studio they found working alone together to be more raw and from the heart it's a level of creative freedom that few pop stars have been afforded at least this early on in their careers their label has avoided intervening with their creative vision they aren't trying to mold her image or sound to fit the pop mainstream it might be why none of her following singles sounded similar to one another you should see me in a crown carried the horror theme forward with some heavy trap influence he was quickly contrasted by when the party's over like like proof of her choral upbringing it's a hauntingly personal ballad with some bon iver 20 to a million type stylings bury a friend delivered a pulsating black skinhead sort of omen the accompanying music videos were made to grab your attention but it was her range of singles that helped cast a wide net putting her on multiple genre based playlists and stations it's why it seems like she's everywhere at once for EP was strong but it was her debut that proved the buzz to be worthy when we all fall asleep where do we go is consistent cohesive and self-aware a whole piece of art with songs that service one another one of the best-selling records of 2019 it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 making her the first artist born in the 21st century to do so yeah she was born after 9/11 feel old yet it became the best performing album of 2019 in the US with 12 of the album's 14 tracks charting on the Billboard Hot 100 the most ever for female musician she's garnered six Grammy nominations including Best New Artist record of the year album of the year and song of the year making her the youngest artist to ever be nominated for all four major categories and in the following months she will be the youngest artist ever to record a Bond theme to understand what's so special about Billy and her music let's analyze her biggest hit today bad guy subverts genre musical form narrative perspective and even gender roles it hardly sounds like your typical radio hit most of her songs on the record are pretty basic at their core bad guy is no different it's made up of a pretty simple bass and drum track since Billy's vocals sit somewhere between a whisper and a hum phineas produces in a way that emphasizes his sister's voice usually using a ton of low-end bass frequencies kick drums snaps or the absence of sound itself it sounds like Billy singing along to the music playing at a party next door apart from the occasional sound effect it's an artfully crafted illusion of intimacy finneus layers and pans multiple takes of Billy's voice bringing them up close and personal to each ear thank you so it adds to that feeling like she's getting inside of your head Billy's breath adds a percussion like effect here to those loud intakes of breath are pretty reminiscent of a cymbal she's a pop miniaturist avoiding any grand vocal gestures but still bringing hard-hitting tracks but the production is also unique because they don't shy away from strangeness like the hook it doesn't exist at what should be peak high point of any pop song course the whole arrangement stops completely delivering the song's title before a cartoony synth takes over to keep things interesting [Music] it shouldn't work but it's just quirky enough the song ends with the trap outro dramatically falling from 135 beats per minute to 60 that's almost unheard of in pop singles it's jarring for listeners disruptive for dancers and can pull attention away from the song's narrative it's difficult to ignore the sudden change making it a hit that could only exist in the streaming era we're in an age where every rule is being broken in the outro Billy builds to a Nursery Rhyme horror movie melody there's plenty of imagery like that in her lyrics bad guy sees Billy taunting a lover flaunting her tough nature while questioning his own it's an interesting role reversal that puts Billy in the driver's seat it's been a minute since a girl has been the bad guy it's a bit ironic considering Billy as the female perspective of the current male-dominated wave of emo rap or sad pop that whole new emo style has had plenty of male counterparts in fact it's pretty much entirely male it's a bit of a new avenue and she's the first girl in it it seems pretty obvious why music media would make a big deal out of that being a girl with that aesthetic brings a new and exciting angle to that aesthetic pop has become less about materialist concerns and more about existential ones tastes teens are lost frayed uncertain and they think about death bubblegum pop is not gonna cut it Billy's response to the world collapsing around her is to make it into art Billy's music is like a reassuring hug to teens she saying I know how you're feeling and you're not alone she champions the strange the misfits and the misunderstood she comes across as a candid and honest teenager not a brand produced by some marketing team she's real and her fans adore her for you might not get her but she embraces it and quite frankly she probably couldn't give a damn Billy Eilish is here to stay breaking the rules like no one else [Music] this episode is brought to you by curiosity stream from the founder of the Discovery Channel curiosity stream has thousands of documentaries from some of the world's best filmmakers earlier I mentioned their breakthrough series and episodes like extreme wildfire combat Greenland is melting and a life on Mars it's by far my favorite series on the platform featuring experts showcasing recent developments in the sciences like resurrecting extinct animals gene manipulation and our attempt in journeying to the Sun you can get unlimited access starting at just $2.99 a month but my listeners get the first 31 days completely free when you sign up using the link in the description and the promo code middle 8 you'll also get access to nebula a streaming video platform built by and for independent creators like polyphonic Volks Geist and myself the world's top documentaries and more from the creators you love a weight at curiosity stream comm slash middle 8 as always thanks for watching ladies and gents thank you to my patrons who support this channel I've got a few ideas for new rewards but tell me what would you like in return for pledging on patreon let me know in the comments below if you liked the video give it a like rating if you loved it subscribe and be sure to hit that Bell so you'd never miss an episode what do you think of Billy I'm pretty excited to see what her and her brother do for the upcoming Bond flick but that's it from me thanks for watching and keep listening

Channel: Middle 8

Views: 289,065

Rating: 4.8914762 out of 5

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Id: MkR2wN1y1vs

Length: 9min 52sec (592 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 25 2020