Stereothematica

Ten Years Ago

• Season 2 • Episode 55

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0:00 | 20:29

Can you remember what you were listening to in 2016? It was a different world, an end of an era, a sad time, in fact, a shit year, some might say–we say it pretty unequivocally. But the music we listened to provided an escape, relief, and sometimes just a pleasant enough distraction. Join us on this (brief) trip down memory lane!

SONGS:

Julia Jacklin: Pool Party (2016)

Gal Costa: ​​Vou Recomeçar (1969)


RESOURCES AND REFERENCES:

Pitchfork The 100 Best Songs of 2016

Solange: Cranes in the Sky

What Are The Filming Locations of Solange's Latest Album?

Pitchfork’s Ryan Schreiber shaped Internet music journalism and now leaves it behind (2019)

NPR Obituary for Gal Costa (2022)

Interview with Gal Costa (2020)


Connect with us on Instagram (to share your song picks or troll us), Spotify (for our ever-growing playlist), and Stereothematica.com (for extra fun)!

If you like what you’re hearing, please subscribe, and if you love it, a five-star rating and review would send us into the exosphere of excitement.

And email us at stereothematica@gmail.com! We will write back! 

SPEAKER_02

Hi, I'm Christina. And I'm Christine.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to Stereo Thematica.

SPEAKER_02

Music is how we connect with the world and with each other. When I moved to Texas, Christina and I started a weekly game. One theme, two songs.

SPEAKER_01

That game grew into deeper conversations about each other and about the music that shapes us.

SPEAKER_02

Each week we share our pics, swap stories, and dig into tracks you might love or never expect. Hi, Christine. Hello, how are you doing? It's been a while. The funny thing is, it's still February for us. It'll be March for our listeners, and it'll be the day after my birthday. Oh. I think I know how you feel about birthdays, but what's your general opinion?

SPEAKER_01

General opinion is it's my fuck you day.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's not a day I celebrate. I don't want other people to celebrate me, but I do use it to say, I'm off the grid. Don't bug me. Not that, you know, I don't mean that harsh as harshly as it sounds. Yeah. But but yeah, it's my day to just be dark, to go dark. Yeah. That's good.

SPEAKER_02

That's a very wise approach because I hate my birthday. And it's also one of those things where I'm like, I have this problem where I'm like, I hope no one makes a big deal out of my birthday. And then if they don't, I'm like, no, I made a big deal about my birthday. Hate being a Pisces. Just kidding.

SPEAKER_01

That is, but that's the struggle of the environment we live in because of social stuff.

SPEAKER_02

Uh the attention economy. Uh yes. I also don't believe in time. Talk more about that. Just so made up. Like constructs. Um yeah, it's a social time is a social construct. I am simultaneously 25 years old and 100 years old, even though I'm I've never lived 100 years. I might as well have. Yep.

SPEAKER_01

So it doesn't matter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Time doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01

I'm with you on that.

SPEAKER_02

However, this week I wanted to explore a trend. Oh. And that is a 10 years ago trend. I feel like I saw people on Instagram like doing where were you in 2016? Like really? I guess obviously. People do. Right. And I'm like, well, that's more interesting to do when it's like a clean, like a five or a 10. You know, but like 2016, like what the year Trump got elected for the first time. Yeah. Fools. Anyway, um, let's do it. Let's jump on the train. And in classic style, it's already run its course. So why not jump on the bandwagon really late? But for me, it's new. So this is exciting. Okay, nice. I like that. Thank you for bringing that approach to this episode. And yeah, it's even though I don't believe in the concept of time, I like to reflect back on life because I have a really bad memory. And this actually exercise makes me feel like I haven't truly lost all my memories. Okay. I like that. Yeah. Thank you. So 10 years ago, I feel like personally feel like music was in a weird place. And to confirm this, I took a peek at the top 40 to see where we were. I will say though, I used to hear a lot of top 40 music because I would work out at the Gold's Gym in Venice and they would always play the radio.

SPEAKER_01

Sorry.

SPEAKER_02

And what? You think that's funny?

SPEAKER_01

Gold's Gym in Venice. I mean, Gold's Gym by itself is funny, but then the Gold's Gym in Venice, isn't that like an iconic?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, it is. Why would you think I wouldn't work out there? And what kind of working out are you doing there? Putting up big numbers.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

I was shredded. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

I think God, we I could spend a whole episode talking about it. I'm sure was Arnold like I would see him and I would say, What's up, Arnold? And he'd go, Yeah, thank you. Uh, and Magic Johnson, who I always wanted to say, Hey, weren't you in that Michael Jackson music video? That would be a funny thing, right? Yeah. Anyway, I never did it. Good. Back to the top 40 songs. It was like Justin Bieber, Drake, Rihanna, Drake, and Rihanna. And oddly enough, their on again, off again relationship ended in 2016. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Pitchfork, remember that little publication? Yes. Their number one song of 2016, of 100, mind you, was Kanye West's ultralight beam featuring Chancellor Rapper, The Dream, Kelly Price, and Kirk Franklin. Yikes! That didn't age well, did it? Kanye, my God. And neither did Drake for keeping score. Beyonce and Solange had numbers two and three, respectively, with formation and cranes in the sky. I wasn't familiar with that Solange song, but the music video was stunning. And I got pretty excited when I recognized one of the filming locations. Oh, it was the Alley Theater here in Houston. And you might be happy to know that Bowie's Lazarus got the number five spot from Black Spar. Okay. Black Star. Frank Ocean was also all over their list. And really hip-hop dominated the list. Even a lot of mainstream songs that would have crossed over to the pop 40, top 40. So this made me want to explore a little bit about Pitchfork. And I know that you and I have talked about Pitchfork on here, but Pitchfork used to be a website that I would read pretty regularly in college. And I knew that many of my friends who worked at the radio station did as well. Because during that time they championed underground indie music, but it was predominantly white and male. Surprise, surprise. I mean shocker of the century, right? But not just the not just the people they were talking about, but the journalists that they employed as well. So it was very one note, in my opinion. And pretty soon after I graduated from college, I stopped reading pitchfork. I was tired of the navel gazing and the snobbishly low ratings they did of some bands that I really liked. So I was intrigued to see this much more diverse, much more mainstream top 100 lists of theirs from 2016. And 10 years later, it's still pretty interesting to see who's in favor and who isn't. Yeah. After probably around 2011, 2012, Pitchfork acknowledged that they got more diverse and started featuring more female artists and more minority artists, and more hip-hop in particular. So that's where we're picking up on this change. Okay. But I will say, back in 2016, the song that I chose for my 10 years ago didn't make their list. And 10 years ago, I stumbled across Julia Jaclyn, an Australian musician who, I find this so touching, was inspired by Britney Spears at age 10 to become a musician. And while I don't hear any Britney influence in her work, maybe that's a good thing, but I was really digging the song Pool Party from her debut solo album, Don't Let the Kids Win.

SPEAKER_00

I was shot eating my dad's time.

SPEAKER_02

You are tall in my bed to go to you have any familiarity with this artist before I shared it with you, Christine? What do you think? No.

SPEAKER_01

No. And this is one of those cases where if you hadn't shared the song with me, I probably wouldn't have listened to the entire song. But I always want to like listen beyond the skipping point when you share something. And and there have been a few times where I had to push myself. And this is one of the instances.

SPEAKER_02

I was seeking out.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But I can acknowledge like this isn't an artist I really listen to anymore. So when I put it on, it was kind of more of a walk-down memory lane. And I did get to see Julia perform at one of my favorite venues in LA, the Troubadour, that year in 2016. And she did a really great job. It was just a really fun, you know, time to be living in LA and get to see a lot of fantastic musicians. So that's that's it. That's my little walk down memory lane. And I am curious to know what you were up to, or rather who you were listening to back then.

SPEAKER_01

Well, before we get into my pick, I am kind of curious. Was this before? I mean, the election was in November, so more likely you saw Jaclyn at the Troubadour probably. I think it was October. Okay. Oh wow, close. Yeah, so pre-election. Yeah. Crazy to think like October was just like, there's no fucking way this guy's gonna be elected.

SPEAKER_02

And that's just it, Christine. I went into the freaking voting booth thinking, ah, I just voted for the first female president.

SPEAKER_01

FML. Yeah, big time. Um, okay, so no, it's just it's it is interesting to think about that year, 2016. So yeah, we've established I'm not your typical music fan. So I know you didn't expect, well, I hope you didn't expect that I'd actually share something that came out in 2016, did you?

SPEAKER_02

I mean, there was one album I thought you could have pulled from, but we already recently talked about it.

SPEAKER_01

No, exactly. Um, that album, of course, is David Bowie's Black Star. And I will not get into that today. Truly, most of 2016 was dedicated to David Bowie. And if you listened to our visceral episode just a few weeks ago, uh, you know that 2016 was the year of my Bowie rediscovery. Obviously, I knew him, I appreciated him, but 2016, like things changed for me big time and it turned into a full-blown obsession. So, yeah, 2016, obviously the year we lost David Bowie, but it was tragic for a lot of other reasons. We lost three very special women in my friends' lives and therefore my life, so that was hard. And then, of course, Trump was elected, and that still is is very hard to think about that moment and that that night and the day after, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the month after that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Seriously.

SPEAKER_01

But um, but yeah, back in 2016, I was still at the Korean consulate, and um, one of my favorite shows at the time was uh a Korean drama, Reply 1988. And that was about the lives of five friends and their families living in Seoul, and it was set against the backdrop of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. And I just love that show, it's very cute. If you're at all interested in Korean dramas, this comedy is a fun one, and lots of good music from the time, so I would be shazamming songs all the time. So that's also what I was listening.

SPEAKER_02

Nice too. Love it.

SPEAKER_01

But then there was a Brazilian song that came out, of course, in 1969, not 2016, and that like completely rocked my world in 2016, and the song is Vou recommençar in English, I will begin again, by Gal Costa. Christina, did you know about Costa or the song?

SPEAKER_02

I don't think so, but the cover art for this album is very familiar to me. And I don't know if it's just because it looks kind of like it kind of looks like a 1920s like silent film star picture. Yeah, yeah. But I don't know if that is why or if I had recognized it from something. But I definitely didn't know this song.

SPEAKER_01

Interesting. I'm surprised I actually didn't share it with you. I feel like this was this is one of those songs that I'd always share with people, just wanting to share like something that people might not be familiar with. So, well, lyrically, the song is about choosing to start over after heartbreak in a very deliberate, almost defiant way. And what we just heard, we go from her suffering and this emotional exhaustion. She's saying her happiness has been fake and that real joy feels distant, almost forgotten. But instead of staying in the despair, not that there's anything wrong with that, but she she makes this conscious decision to begin again. And I know the first time I heard it, like something shifted. And in 2016, with Bowie gone, with the world feeling so unstable after Trump's election, this idea of restarting kind of resonated. Alguém que eu posso acreditar. So now she's talking about finding love again, maybe even someone she can believe in. I remember when I sent the song to you, you did call out something uh about her vocals, I think. Yes.

SPEAKER_02

I noticed I think there was kind of this like growl, like what did I say? Like kind of I don't remember, but it's just like this really funny noise that she makes.

SPEAKER_01

It's an animalistic noise and she makes it throughout. And it it's it's fun to hear. You I don't think we're playing it in this clip, so you get you gotta listen to the whole thing. Yeah, definitely listen to the song.

SPEAKER_02

But it it it was unexpected. I think that's what caught me off guard, is because when I heard it, I was like, what is she doing? And it's kind of funny, but it's also like uh it's unexpected because it's she has, I think, a beautiful voice. And then to hear this kind of ah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's a growl.

SPEAKER_02

It's good.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, sometimes you have to do that, right? Yeah, you do for sure. So, so Gal Costa was one of the most important voices in Brazilian music and a central figure in the Tropicalia movement of the late 1960s. She worked with artists like Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and she helped create the style that combined traditional Brazilian sounds, psychedelia, rock, funk, and even avant-garde experimentation. And yeah, I think you could hear the funk a lot in this one. That's why I love it. It's very rocking. And then, of course, this is all happening during a military dictatorship in Brazil. And she's she said at the time, we wanted freedom, freedom to mix everything, freedom to be who we were. So that's that's really coming across in in this song, especially. The album has a lot of great songs, but this is the one that like has stuck with me over the years. And over the course of her career, Costa has released more than 40 albums. And she's kind of constantly like reinventing herself, and she's become an international ambassador for Brazilian music. She's performed across Europe and the US and has truly earned recognition as one of the most powerful vocalists of her generation. And you can like her voice is is so sensual, but like you said, there's this this rawness and like a wild animal coming out from time to time. And it's so it's it's so unexpected, especially against this more sensual, like softer sound. But it's kind of confrontational, which I love it. And I kind of think it's a great choice for an international women's day release, which I think you know, March 10th, it's close enough to March 8th.

SPEAKER_02

So we've got two international female artists on the city. Nice timing.

SPEAKER_01

But Costa passed away in 2022, and Brazil mourned her as a national treasure, and Cayetano Veloso said she was one of the greatest singers in Brazil. And she really was a force, like someone who embodied artistic freedom in a repressive era and continued to evolve long after the dictatorship ended. And for me, in 2016, her voice carried something like so unafraid and cool. And when everything felt like it was ending, she reminded me that beginning again is an act of courage. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02

She was creating music during a dictatorship for you to listen to during a dictatorship. Exactly. I mean, I'm joking, but it's like it's actually a powerful testament. Yeah. Like you can still make beautiful and empowering and create art during really shitty times.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And music lives on. Hell yeah. Music will always live on long past the fucking dictators.

SPEAKER_01

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

So, um, Christina, are you ready? I'm ready. And instead of a soapbox, I brought a laundry basket because that's all I had sitting around.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

In response to recent events, Stereo Thematica is issuing a statement on unannounced FaceTime calls.

SPEAKER_01

Good lord, are you kidding me? People do this. I intentionally have FaceTime turned off on my phone, but people, if you ever considered doing this to me, you might as well delete my number because this is unhinged behavior.

SPEAKER_02

I need a good half hour to prepare myself mentally for a FaceTime call. And if you FT me out of the blue and you're not standing next to my favorite musician or celebrity, or hell, maybe even if you are, I don't want Alexander Scarskard to see me my pajamas. Unless do the right thing.

SPEAKER_01

Schedule time for calls. And friends, they should be calls, not video calls. We're on Zoom all day long. If you want to see my face while you're talking to me, pull up my best photo on your phone or just meet up in person for a Manhattan.

SPEAKER_02

In conclusion, get a landline if you want to make chaotic day ruining calls. I'll be ready to twirl the cord and giggle like a teenage girl again. But I prefer to do that off camera. And for the record, this does not pertain to you, Catherine.

SPEAKER_01

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

SPEAKER_02

And now, Christine, what's the hint for our next episode?

SPEAKER_01

Well, next week and the week after, in honor of Women's History Month, we are taking a break to travel and recharge. But we'll be back on March 31st with a new episode to conclude the month.

SPEAKER_02

Thanks for listening to Stereothematica. If you like what you're hearing, please consider a review, a rating, or sharing with a friend.

SPEAKER_01

Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and follow us on Instagram where you can share the songs you had on rotation 10 years ago.

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And visit stereothematica.com for more fun.