Just Jaded
Will I love it, if I don’t change it?
Written By: Zaylee Bell
College and choosing the right major weighs on every student’s mind. Then after graduation, the options of where to go and what to do present themselves. The biggest question hidden within all of this is, “am I going to love it?”
In this month's podcast, Jade and Joanna speak with Amanda Molloy. Amanda is a graduate student in her second year of Entertainment Industry Management at Carnegie Mellon University. She is also a public relations rep for °1824 and an artist management intern at Full Stop Management.
For undergrad, Molloy went to the American University in Washington D.C., where she studied journalism originally. During her time there she started photographing different shows but was not focused on a career in music. She thought she would do something with political journalism, then discovered her passion for live music and switched her major to double in business and marketing.
She was a COVID-19 graduate, so coming out of college, it was hard to find a job in live music. As a result, Molloy opted to continue her education at Carnegie Mellon University. During her time at CMU, she got her position with °1824 and two internships with different booking companies.
Amanda is loving her time at Carnegie Mellon. She enjoys all the interesting classes she gets to take, and the opportunities that come with them. But she believes the greatest thing to come from her time there is the connection she’s made that won’t only benefit her in her career but will also be lifelong friendships.
Her position at °1824 was not a planned one, but she says she loves it. She feels like she sees her work in action and is able to share her intense love of music with the fans and the people she works with.
The title of PR rep at °1824 has made Molloy thankful for her journalism background. The skills she learned while majoring in it, are very transferable. As everyone should know how to write, even if it is just an email she claims.
Seeing as emailing is a big part of her day-to-day as a PR rep, it’s easy to understand why she would say that. On a day-to-day basis at °1824, Molloy is responsible for many different tasks. Recently she hosted her first press conference with one of her favorite artists and is now working press for them, which she described as a full circle moment for her.
Along with sharing her story about college and her position at 1824 Molloy offers some advice to students and other aspiring music industry professionals. She says that being a fangirl is great when it comes to working in music. Of course, don’t lose your cool, there is a time and place to pass out.
Make those connections, as we’ve all heard a million times, the music industry is about who you know not what you know. Never make connections just to get a job though either. Be genuine when going into those conversations. Look to hear about their experiences, and learn from them.
Finally, be a kind person. Molloy claims that being kind is underrated in this industry. If you’re not there because you live and breathe music, you might want to consider changing your career. In the episode, Molloy also shares an experience where this idea was prevalent in her own life.
To hear more about Molloy’s story and all the advice she has to give check out this month's episode of A Little Jaded wherever you get your podcast or on Jaded’s website.
The Car - Arctic Monkeys Review:
Written By: Faiza Niazi
With the popularity of platform boots and oversized sweaters on the rise, as well as the resurgence of many major artists, such as Lana Del Rey, 5sos, and the Neighborhood, it's become very evident that Tumblr era is finally making a comeback. Whether or not you were on the platform at the time, its trends and content surely affected the way you viewed fashion and music throughout that period.
Not to mention, it completely transformed the music industry, in the sense that it gave way to many emerging artists, with more niche and nuanced sounds, therefore moving our attention away from this sort of “pop-py” phase, associated with the early 2000s, to a more edgy and experimental one.
Most notably, we can see this in the case of the Arctic Monkeys. Even with the level of success they had amassed, following the release of their first few albums, the band didn’t really gain as much traction till the release of AM. This album not only catapulted the band into fame but it also paved the way for many other artists who wanted to move away from the sort of formulaic and repetitive sound of the previous era.
Since then the band has released two more albums, one of which was released this past weekend. This album, also known as The Car, has been highly anticipated by newcomers and die-hard fans alike, yet, some have begun to speculate that this album won’t live up to their expectations, especially considering the amount of time that's passed since the release of their last album, and the two teaser EPs released last month.
These EPs, which have now been confirmed as the first and fifth track on the album, threw fans for a loop this past month in the sense that it sparked a bit of discourse. Unlike Arctic Monkeys' older songs, which have a very upbeat and distinct sound to them, these songs gave some fans the impression that this album would be more sluggish or monotone in its approach, which is not entirely wrong.
If one were to look at the instrumental components behind tracks two through four for example, they would quickly notice that there is this somewhat repetitive streak going on with regards to the same set of instruments playing at similar tempos, therefore making it difficult for listeners to differentiate the songs from one another. Even with tracks six through nine, which switch out the jazzy and almost psychedelic feel of the electric guitar for the more calming effects of an acoustic guitar, the sounds still blend together which can make it difficult for listeners to establish each song as its own sort of entity.
Listeners have also struggled to understand the message behind a lot of these tracks. Unlike some of the band’s previous songs, which drew listeners in through their use of vivid imagery and descriptive metaphors, these tracks have made it very difficult for fans to decipher what the lead singer, Alex Turner, is trying to convey to the audience. With lyrics ranging from “Lego Napoleon movie. Written in noble gas-filled glass tubes” to “Richard of york, the executive branch. Having some fun with the warm up act”, it's become somewhat difficult for the audience to find some form of reliability amongst these more obscure references.
Yet, even with all of the changes being made, this notion that the band must maintain the same persona or sound as it did nine years ago is a bit impractical. If anything, it's refreshing to see an artist step out of their comfort zone creatively, and construct an album in the traditional sense of having the songs build off each other, to reflect the overarching theme of the album itself, rather than grouping a bunch of miscellaneous songs together in the hopes that one will go viral.
Lastly, it was interesting to see Turner take a more vulnerable approach in his writing, by discussing the imposter syndrome and pressure he’s felt over the years to play into the sort of image his fans have projected onto him.
That being said, I'm eager to see how the band will progress from here and if you are the kind of listener who appreciates an album that can blend together and has a slow and somewhat melodic feel to it, then I would highly recommend giving this album a listen.
