Rina Sawayama: Sawayama She proclaimed herself an “ordinary superstar” on 2017’s Rina EP; this time she conducts herself like one, producing perhaps the most High Millennial album to date. She charts her generation’s infatuations, progressing from nü-metal to R&B to Carly Rae Jepsen to, well, they’re still obsessed with her, but that doesn't prevent Sawayama from constructing a deeper statement than one could imagine from Jeppers. This takes a form not unlike a flashing neon Sonic the Hedgehog Saying There Is No Such Thing As Ethical Consumption Under Capitalism sticker, maybe with But That Doesn’t Mean You’re Not Going to Feel Guilty in smaller print. The challenge posed by the album is to love oneself when it’s trivially true that that’s easier said than done, more so for a goddamn intellectual who, aware how constructed her identity is, feels obligated to reconstruct it herself. Which, you will be glad to know, she’s more than capable of doing: she can choose new family while respecting her biologicals. If it takes a sample from extremely dead white male Beethoven to provide common ground for all her lives, that seems as close as one can get to ethical consumption to me.
I like your writing a lot, have you thought of making a RYM profile and posting your reviews there? I think you would be able to get a great audience there and your voice would be valuable; if you do get one feel free to add me as a friend my username is kevinsweg and I’ve made a system that translates Xgau-esque grades to the numerical system of the site if that’s holding you back and it show a lot of stats and insights about users which I think you’d like.
I like your writing a lot, have you thought of making a RYM profile and posting your reviews there? I think you would be able to get a great audience there and your voice would be valuable; if you do get one feel free to add me as a friend my username is kevinsweg and I’ve made a system that translates Xgau-esque grades to the numerical system of the site if that’s holding you back and it show a lot of stats and insights about users which I think you’d like.