The concept of cool within music changes from time to time, with each new era there is a new set of influencers creating the new cool. But with the current music industry being obsessed with nostalgia, the question arises:
Will this new generation of artists be able to create something that hasn’t been done before yet? Most people want to be acknowledged as cool, but cool as a charecteristic, a trait, is something that’s largely unattainable - an essence that is present within a person from the very moment their born. It’s what makes them unique, setting them apart from their contemporaries. It’s that something that implored David Bowie to create Ziggy Stardust. If a person is lucky enough to be deemed ‘cool’ it’s present in everything about them; their appearance, their interests, the way they walk, the way they talk. The adjective can also be associated with a way of living, a movement, a sense of being etc. Although the word ‘cool’ used to be the go-to slang word for appreciation, these days it’s not really used anymore. Ironically, you could almost say now calling something ‘cool’ has a paradoxical effect on the person/product/whatever that’s being deemed as cool. Simply put, it’s now uncool to say cool anymore. ‘Hella good’, ‘that shit kray’, ‘that’s dope’, ‘that’s deck’ are just some of the phrases that act as modern-day substitutes used by ‘the kids’ as a way of expressing their enjoyment for something or someone.
However, while this may be the case for the popularity of the word, the concept that surrounds the adjective has existed throughout many centuries and cultures, and by the look of things it’s prevalence isn’t waning anytime soon. The concept of cool, for those who are unsure, is the theory behind cool, it’s the driving force that decides what’s in and what’s out. It differs from generation to generation, and with each new generation there are a new set of artists/influencers that arrive, to tear up the old concept and create a new paradigm to judge things on.
The most revered artists that have walked this Earth have always had an aura of cool swirling around them. Without this they’d be like everyone else - meaning they’d be no desire within fans (everyone else) to be like them, thus no popularity and no lasting effect on culture left by the artist. Primarily this aura is expressed via the artists’ combination of their original image and their fresh, exciting music. For example, Elvis with his pompadour and prototype rock & roll laid down the foundations for what the idea of the popstar would later on become. Artists like Elvis who arrive with a never before seen or heard partnership of identity and music, often go on to become an influence and sometimes if their influence is strong enough, they in turn, create a whole new part of culture - a movement, a new genre etc. The documentary Influencers: How Trends and Creativity Become Contagious by R + I Creative looks into the role of an influencer more broadly, exploring what it takes to be one and how they can come to shape life as we know it.
With this in mind, even though pressures to look and sound original/new/edgy have always been there. Nowadays it seems the pressures to create something new, become an influencer and therefore shape a new concept of cool are at an all-time high. Surprised? I’m not.
We currently live in a world where everything past and present has/is currently being documented via this all-knowing machine called The Internet. This vast library can help us sniff out a fake in an instant, help spot influences that new artists are trying to alter and manipulate and pull off as their own. And with this current obsession with everything yesteryear - Nostalgia - not only dominating music but other parts of culture were at risk of creating a culture drought caused by the lack of something new. As the amazing Fran Lebowitz says in the Martin Scorsese directed Public Speaking the job of the young people is ‘to do something new’.
That’s why here at MTHRFNKR we get excited and will carry on to get excited about artists like Azealia Banks and The Weeknd. Artists who refuse to use tired old methods and in the process create new fresh ideas. Whether this be bringing a stompingly infectious hybrid of electro/house/rap to the mainstream or if it’s refusing all press and creating a sense of mystery until they’re ready - it’s exciting.
We talk about these artists, probably excessively, because they show promise of creating an aesthetic and music that’s completely their own - showing potential they could one day become an influence and help shape a new concept of cool. One that’s ours. And god knows we need one, because at this rate we’re gonna be known as the Instagram Generation. Shudder at the thought.
Watch the documentary Influencers: How Trends and Creativity Become Contagious by R + I Creative below.
By Antonio Rowe
