Billie Eilish

[Koeitje]

Her targeted audience are teenagers so i feel not a slightest interest in her music.

Do musicians have a target audience? Record companies do in their marketing, but most musicians make the music they want to make. All tracks on her debut album were written and produced by her and her brother.

 

[puppet]

Her bro is a good writer ... she can deliver a message. I hate seeing what the "moneymaking" end of that business is going to do to her image from where it started out. The Vogue cover is one example.

 

[mononoaware]

His argument is two fold: the age of the artist matters, and the age of the listener matters. I say listen to what you enjoy and don't be a grumpy old man.

I don't listen to Billie Eilish either, but mainly because I just haven't got into it. Maybe I should, because I'm generally not very interest in the later work of older artist because it often just doesn't feel fresh and just a recycling of what they already been doing for ages.

Some other teen artists: Adele, Amy Winehouse, Laura Marling, Kate Bush.

I wonder if it is a social thing to attribute great fame and talent to a young person and to sensationalise it.

Like when an artist works unrecognised for years until finally breaking into the market with their refined matured talent, and then you have a teenager achieve similar success is presented like “wow look at this amazing”.

I agree one should not be grumpy towards anothers prefences, but I do not understand the sensationalising of Billie Eilish.
I am willing to understand if someone can explain the deep meaning and talent in the songs she sings.

 

[mononoaware]

I like the fact she wasn’t grown in a test tube by Disney with dance and voice coaching from the age of three.

I assume it this “home grown” aspect which is preferred by people.
Is it the “home grown” aspect showing in her voice/songwriting which is appealing to you?

 

[Koeitje]

I wonder if it is a social thing to attribute great fame and talent to a young person and to sensationalise it.

Like when an artist works unrecognised for years until finally breaking into the market with their refined matured talent, and then you have a teenager achieve similar success is presented like “wow look at this amazing”.

I agree one should not be grumpy towards anothers prefences, but I do not understand the sensationalising of Billie Eilish.
I am willing to understand if someone can explain the deep meaning and talent in the songs she sings.

That is a story of the ages, plenty of long lasting legendary artists started in their teens and had success even back then. I feel that a lot of people dismiss music is just because its popular.

I assume it this “home grown” aspect which is preferred by people.
Is it the “home grown” aspect showing in her voice/songwriting which is appealing to you?

You make it sound like a bad thing that an artist does their own thing. But yes, I do like artists that do their own thing.

 

[Jimbob54]

Do musicians have a target audience? Record companies do in their marketing, but most musicians make the music they want to make. All tracks on her debut album were written and produced by her and her brother.

Depends on the musician. I think the ones that are hell bent on being successful will play whatever and however their "people" suggest will be a good idea to increase their market.

 

[Koeitje]

Depends on the musician. I think the ones that are hell bent on being successful will play whatever and however their "people" suggest will be a good idea to increase their market.

And on the flip side you have those who hated it like Talk Talk and Radiohead. There is always a spectrum.

But for debut albums I think most just want to do what they want to do. Unless its some actual test tube shit.

 

[mononoaware]

That is a story of the ages, plenty of long lasting legendary artists started in their teens and had success even back then. I feel that a lot of people dismiss music is just because its popular.

For some reason not much of the audio archive is artists that are successful/famous since young age.
I do not listen to “legendary” artists either, I listen to mostly recent artists which I perceive as talented.
I do believe they are popular though in the audio world.
e.g. Sarah Jarosz, Brandi Carlile, Amy Wadge.

I can understand some dismissing popular music, thinking it is radio music.
And then believing themselves as listening to rare obscure music which makes them feel unique and special.

I simply do not listen to much “pop” music because it is not my taste.

 

[TankTop]

I assume it this “home grown” aspect which is preferred by people.
Is it the “home grown” aspect showing in her voice/songwriting which is appealing to you?

Definitely that and her unique style but there is also tons of untapped potential.

I wonder if it is a social thing to attribute great fame and talent to a young person and to sensationalise it.

Like when an artist works unrecognised for years until finally breaking into the market with their refined matured talent, and then you have a teenager achieve similar success is presented like “wow look at this amazing”.

I agree one should not be grumpy towards anothers prefences, but I do not understand the sensationalising of Billie Eilish.
I am willing to understand if someone can explain the deep meaning and talent in the songs she sings.

I totally agree but the moment these two were discovered studios started loading dump trucks with cash, someone was going to get her on contract and nobody gets a prize for second place.

 

[mononoaware]

her unique style

Okay maybe that is the part I am missing, since I do not listen to “popular” music.
I can kind of understand it, but the voice and songwriting is just not for me I guess. . .

 

[abdo123]

I am willing to understand if someone can explain the deep meaning and talent in the songs she sings.

she made an entire documentary about her on Apple TV, she basically went some really tough shit in her life and she sings about how she feels unapologetically no mater how dark these feelings are.

 

[mononoaware]

You make it sound like a bad thing that an artist does their own thing. But yes, I do like artists that do their own thing.

I was asking another user, but I was asking specifically that because I could not detect this “home grown” or unique sound of Billie Eilish.
And I am curious as to how they perceive it.

I am interested in home grown artists sorry if you misunderstood.

 

[dfuller]

2 discs.

Ah, I see how they do it now. Not much program per side so lots of ability to print both level (within reason) and low end. Probably the compromise I'd have taken as well.

 

[mononoaware]

she made an entire documentary about her on Apple TV, she basically went some really tough shit in her life and she sings about how she feels unapologetically no mater how dark these feelings are.

Ok thanks.
So quite raw and unapologetic vibe. Kind of appealing to nihilism and existentialism?
Sorry if this is going too far maybe I should listen again first.

But it has to click doesn’t it for the listener, and musically I just did not get that unfortunately. . .

 

[MCH]

Ah, I see how they do it now. Not much program per side so lots of ability to print both level (within reason) and low end. Probably the compromise I'd have taken as well.

Last album is 2 records, first one is 1 (43 minutes, quite standard)

 

[Helicopter]

I should rip it and see if they boosted some of the bass that is there to make up for the inability of the vinyl medium to reproduce sub bass, amd then compare to FLAC.

 

[Martin]

I feel sad for some of the comments in this thread. I guess I shouldn’t be reading and enjoying the Harry Potter books. Or watching and enjoying Darci Lynne Farmer. Or listening to and enjoying LeAnn Rimes, Taylor Swift, Lorde or Grace VanderWaal. Or watching and enjoying the Harry Potter, Divergent or Hunger Games films. I feel sad for those that cannot find enjoyment except in material aimed at fuddy-duddies and old farts.

Now I draw the line at BTS, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande or Justin Bieber but that’s simply because I don’t like their music, not because I’m not part of their targeted demographic.

Liking music by young people does not make you a pedophile same as liking music by dead people doesn’t make you a necrophiliac or music by persons of the same sex make you lesbian or gay. Don’t be afraid to like what you like.

Billie Eilish is a very talented musician making refreshingly new, compelling music.

Martin

 

[MNMLSM]

Adult male audiophiles listening to Billie Eilish seems creepy to me. It's pre/teenager's music, made by a teenager.

I loved teenage boy music, when I was a teenager. Think Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones and for the girls; Irene Cara, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper etc. It was fabulous. It still is when I want a retrospective jaunt into my adolescence. Throw in a bit of Quiet Riot, Midnight Oil and you have an 80s party. Yay.

But listening to current tweenager pop now in my fifties would be just, plain, weird. Creepy in fact. I grew up. Have you?

Quite ironic that a guy who describes himself as grown up, tries to categorize art and its consumption in a form of age groups.
To me, your statements show quite the opposite of a grown man, you sound like a boy who just hit puberty and tries to degrade an artist because he can't connect to his/her music.
I'm probably younger than you and I already learnt that if I don't like an artist it doesn't automatically mean that the music is bad or not fitting to someone else (no matter the age), that's quite a limited mindset.

 

[q3cpma]

Nope. Exactly the same deal. So don't try to play some woke gender card- it just doesn't work with people who have independent and critical thinking skills.

I loved teenage boy music, when I was a teenager. Think Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones and for the girls; Irene Cara, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper etc. It was fabulous. It still is when I want a retrospective jaunt into my adolescence. Throw in a bit of Quiet Riot, Midnight Oil and you have an 80s party. Yay.

But listening to current tweenager pop now in my fifties would be just, plain, weird. Creepy in fact. I grew up. Have you?

You're not doing it right. If you want to offend the pleb, just say the truth: it's an insipid fad with little musical worth bolstered by potent marketing and anyone who treats it as anything more than pleasant radio music has garbage taste; and like all these pop music fads, it'll fade like snow in the spring sun, won't even have the time to miss it.

An advantage of not being natively anglophone, is that you focus on the music first, then on songwriting last, so you can't really make the mistake of confusing music for poetry: text is a bonus of least importance, that is given much interest mostly in today's popular music by people who want to feel/appear deep.

I can understand audiophiles liking its ultra close-miced sound and pulsating electronic bass, but the content? Heh. That's for the kind of "audiophile" that "listen to everything" which is always a codeword for "I only listen to approachable stuff and I don't have an independently developed aesthetic sense".

At that point, you wait for the inevitable answers full of the usual fallacious accusations (*ist, old man, narrow mindedness, "not bowing to the Relativism god", etc...). While you sit smugly for 5 minutes before forgetting it anyway.

 

[abdo123]

Ok thanks.
So quite raw and unapologetic vibe. Kind of appealing to nihilism and existentialism?
Sorry if this is going too far maybe I should listen again first.

But it has to click doesn’t it for the listener, and musically I just did not get that unfortunately. . .

You can’t really describe Billie like that, she has the authenticity of country music, with the melancholy of alternative with the freshness of mainstream pop.

Billie the artist is Billie the person, she’s not a manufactured pop doll, she sings her stuff she writes her stuff and she writes her music videos as well.

unless you invest a little bit of time getting to know her as a person you won’t understand her art. It’s weird i know.