Some pop artists become increasingly fearless with mega-fame others have demonstrated a forte for coded messages that linger beyond their final notes. FGTH frontman Holly Johnson retains a way with coded pop his 2015 solo single Dancing with No Fear captures the instant exhilaration of the dancefloor, but also an underlying hope that of living without the toxic constraints of homophobia and other prejudice. Meanwhile, Liverpool outfit Frankie Goes to Hollywood were brilliantly insouciant rebels, infamous for their "banned" 1984 smash hit Relax (in the liner notes for their debut album, band bassist Mark O'Toole admitted: "when it first came out we used to pretend it was about motivation, and really it was about shagging"), but also sneaking references to the Cold War, avant-garde art and philosophy onto their subsequent prime-time singles (Two Tribes was packed with visual and audio nods to Soviet and Western leaders, including Lenin, Reagan and Thatcher, as well as clips from nuclear war public information films Welcome To The Pleasuredome treated impressionable pop fans to the influence of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's opium-laced 1797 poem Kubla Khan). Smash Hits would run features on slickly catchy pop band The Blow Monkeys, whose coolly smooth tunes conveyed allyship with LGBTQ communities (1986's Digging Your Scene) and opposition to Margaret Thatcher's right-wing UK government (in numerous sharp details, including their 1987 duet with Curtis Mayfield, (Celebrate) the Day After You). This tension proved a hotbed for coded pop, from the gender politics of Eurythmics and Culture Club, to Bruce Springsteen's punchy blue-collar protests (Born in the USA went over the heads of the Reagan administration, who attempted to spin it as a gung-ho anthem). The 1980s Western mainstream felt both rampantly materialistic and weirdly puritanical stylistic excess abounded, from fashion to music productions, yet a heavily judgemental tone also presided across conservative governments in the UK and US, as well as media coverage, particularly when it came to social and sexual expression. It's a bit like a support network."Īs a child/teenager, I didn't grasp the concept of resistance or representation via news bulletins I learned everything through pop. A lot of pop music is really important because it invites you to become part of a movement, no matter what that is. Now, BTS also embody so much of that gang mentality, and the connection with their fans is so powerful. I saw it again, years later, working on the initial marketing for One Direction. They had a swagger, and when you watched them perform, you imbibed something of that the idea was: 'you could be part of this gang'. "Their music was very formulaic, repetitive, kind of like a mantra. "NKOTB brought a kind of expansiveness that we hadn't had in British pop for a while," argues Kadis, who is now a music manager and industry consultant. Kadis insists that even the frothiest lyrics and poses can evoke a coded power – including early-'90s boy band, New Kids on the Block. Pop songs don't originate themes of mental wellbeing, equality, liberty, activism – but they do transmit them to the broadest platforms possible.Īs with song lyrics, this immersion in pop music operated on more than one level at once – although the underlying message was a sense of camaraderie pop is essentially a unifying force. It has given voice to individuals and groups denied access to other platforms for expression." Pop music has often been dismissed as "lightweight" given its young audience, simple snappiness and mainstream status, but those elements are really where its strength is concealed. US musician and author Ted Gioia argues in his excellent book Music: A Subversive History (2019): "At every stage in human history, music has been a catalyst for change, challenging conventions and conveying coded messages – or, not infrequently, delivering blunt, unambiguous ones. The most iconic 21st-Century dance anthem Pop music is both universal and intensely subliminal a catchy tune grabs our attention, but it is the coded elements (lyrically and visually) that really connect with us – and at their most powerful, they are positively transformative. This might be a selective shuffle from Eilish's catalogue, but the idea of a "secret note" to listeners expressing her happiness is also persuasive, particularly as her material has addressed mental health and personal vulnerability. When multi-award-winning 19-year-old singer-songwriter Billie Eilish announced her upcoming second album release, many fans on social media were abuzz about a possible "hidden message" linking her various record titles: My Future Everything I Wanted Happier Than Ever.
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