SOSAD2112: Of all of the celebrities that died in 2016, whose death had the biggest impact on you, and why?

VESUVIUS: Both in life and death, David Bowie. His music had a huge impact on me from a young age. I think "Changes" was one of the songs that persuaded me that music could be good (along with "Eight Days a Week" by The Beatles and "Reach" by S Club 7). Then when I started getting into music “properly," his 70's material was a great gateway to lots of other things.

His death really affected me, particularly because I’d presumed he must be in good health and would have more music out in the next few years. I spent at least five days listening only to his music. I would advise against it. Definitely won’t be repeating that trick if Paul McCartney ever dies.

Q: From Ab-Soul and Aesop Rock to Zack de la Rocha and Zedd, so much music has been released this year. If you could have society experience one piece of music that went overlooked by many/is very underground, whether it be an album or single, what would it be, and why?

A: Oh, that’s a hard one. On musical merit, something like Puberty 2 by Mitski. There’s probably a case for that one on social merit too, just because of the way it paints depression and particularly female sexuality, and for that matter female sexuality when you’re depressed.

That’s quite well known though, and aside from it being a great album, I don’t think society needs to hear it. So I think my answer is Let Them Eat Chaos by Kate Tempest. I only really knew Tempest as a poet, and the opening track made me worry that the whole thing was going to be spoken word, but there are some absolute bangers on there. She goes really hard, and gets right inside the heads of the characters she presents. It’s an important picture of our times.

Q: The world has noticeably shifting toward populist politics over the past year. For those that don’t know, populism is defined as:

“a political style of action that mobilizes a large alienated element of population against a government seen as controlled by an out-of-touch closed elite that acts on behalf of its own interests,... [with a] goal… to unite the uncorrupt and the unsophisticated (the 'little man') against the corrupt dominant elites (usually the orthodox politicians) and their camp followers (usually the rich and the intellectuals),... guided by the belief that political and social goals are best achieved by the direct actions of the masses, [which] comes into being where mainstream political institutions fail to deliver…”

Do you think the world is scared? Are the people tired of governments trying to solve problems society thinks it could handle better? Why do you think populism has surfaced in society the way it has?

A: I couldn’t really say.

My best guess is that there’s a section of society that feels left behind and powerless. I don’t think anyone thinks that they can solve the issues they rage about on their own, but they do think that the right leader could do if they’d just stop caring about “human rights” and “economic prosperity," which are seen as codewords for “foreigners” and “rich foreigners.”

Fear of jihadist terrorism probably plays into it, although Britain and the US haven’t had much of that for the past decade. I think the biggest political factor has been the failure of moderate opposition groups to provide a reasonable alternative. In the UK, disillusioned people didn’t see any reason to vote for Miliband ahead of Cameron (even though Miliband’s policy positions were pretty much the same ones Corbyn has used to capture the disillusioned on the far left). In the US, mainstream Republicans have basically done nothing but fuck up the federal government for six years, and in any case, who wants President Cruz? President Rubio? President Jeb? Ew.

So it’s partly the result of big sociological factors and partly a failure of mainstream politicians to appeal to the isolated.
Q: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly was largely unique due to its heavy use of soul, funk, jazz, and classic R&B sounds in its production, and it seems to have had ripple effects throughout the music industry: Childish Gambino is making a soul/funk/R&B album; Chance’s Coloring Book came at us with that soul/gospel rap sound; Mac Miller and Ab-Soul both had rap albums that showed jazz-influence; and it’s even made its way to the underground and is showing up in musical acts like Injury Reserve. Am I just reading into this too much and jazz/soul/funk has always been there in this magnitude, or do you think that TPAB has really had such a strong effect on music this year?

A: I’ve noticed this too. I’d like to particularly shout out Koi Child’s album, which is some really great jazz rap.

I don’t really believe in influence. I think culture evolves gradually rather than being dramatically shaped by tectonic events. The main exception is when there’s a technological innovation, but even those are the result of gradual evolution.

While TPAB has probably changed the way a few things have sounded, rap’s been trending in this direction for a while. We’ve been seeing more textured sounds, more live instrumentation, and more complex sampling. Look at Acid Rap, or Tetsuo and Youth, or Flying Lotus’ work. High-fidelity genre blending is in right now.

Kendrick’s also been credited with sampling a surge in those weird “here’s a phonecall from my parents saying how much they love me” skits which seem to be on every third album right now, and for sparking an increasing musical interest in Black Lives Matter. The phonecall thing, eh, maybe, but that goes back to The Black Album at least. The protest thing, on the other hand, isn’t Kendrick’s influence, it’s just that musicians protest against the same things that people protest IRL.

No doubt Kendrick’s made a few people think “you know what, let’s jazz this up” - Bowie certainly cited him as an influence on Blackstar - but quite a lot of it would have happened anyway.

Q: I’m still feeling unsatisfied with the Genius Awards this year following ScopeY’s scrapping of the Meme category, so perhaps, I can get my fill here: What do you feel was the best Genius meme this year, and what was the best global meme this year?

A: Brexit was the best global meme. Trump would have beaten it if he didn’t win, but he did, which rather takes the shine off of things. Brexit is just about economic illiteracy and losing my right to move to the continent. It’s not good, but it’s not the huge clusterfuck that Trump is. The sheer volume of memes it spawned will be good for a good twenty years. Trump memes would probably be good for life if he wasn’t president. Maybe in fifty years we’ll be able to look back on the next four years and laugh. Next to Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom and Diane James and Jeremy Corbyn and so on and so forth, Harambe doesn’t stand a chance.

Genius memes? I think the reason ScopeY abandoned this category was because “kinik” was the only thing with more than one vote. ScopeY hates fun, so he hates kinik. I’m struggling to think of anything tbh. Maybe people finally realising that Drake is trash. Maybe the comically ott hate that Kanye and .Paak’s mediocre albums got in response to the sincere but equally ott love they got. The second one was mostly me though, so I guess I have to go with “Views is trash”.

Q: Vesuvius, are we gonna blow ourselves the fuck up? Do you think that we, as a planet, are doomed to destroy ourselves? Is there any hope for us in 2017?

A: We’re not going to blow ourselves up.

I will grant you that, for the first time, an idiot has been given access to nuclear weapons and seems prepared to actually use them rather than just using them for propaganda (s/o Kim we’re not scared of you). I just don’t believe he would actually use them, unless someone else used them first, and nobody else would use them first.

Doomed to destroy ourselves? A pretty good chance of that happening, but not through bombs - only global warming. Trump’s environmental policies are disastrous, and if America doesn’t keep its promises then why would China or India or Russia? Hopefully we manage to de-carbonise anyway, but I think it will be hard. The next President will need to make up for four years of Trump by acting very quickly and deeply, and that might not be politically viable.
Q: Like, we’ve had major impeachments in Brazil and South Korea, Turkey almost faced a coup, Brexit happened, America is facing hatred from both sides (e.g. ISIS and the Phillippines), Russia interfered with U.S. Election, zika was a big deal… If we don’t destroy ourselves, how will we hold ourselves together?

A: I think our current countries are too big and too tightly bound. We need to hold each other only as close as we’re comfortable with.

Let people have as much control over their lives as possible. Let important decisions be made locally, not nationally. Give more regions total independence, but still collaborate on issues which are important internationally.

All in all, don’t place too much emphasis on “togetherness.” Spend a week in a room with your best friend, and you’ll start to hate them. Too much togetherness is hell.

Q: In your personal life, did you lose anyone close to you? I’m not specifically talking about a death, but did you stop talking to a close friend, or did a loved one cut you out of their life?

A: It’s pretty hard not to lose someone over a whole year. A lot of people just drifted away in a very undramatic fashion.

I went to one funeral, which was very weird.

There was only one dramatic departure and even that was a bit of a whimper. I just decided it was time to stop talking to someone who I cared about a lot, and who I previously considered a best friend, but who didn’t really seem interested anymore.

Q: Do you watch any network T.V.?

A: I don’t really know what network TV is. In Britain we have five “terrestrial” channels - BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4, and Five - and then a load of digital-only channels. I only really watch BBC shows and Netflix, although I’ll occasionally catch something on ITV or 4.

I think I probably saw about 20 complete series(/seasons) of drama and maybe 15 of comedy this year, mostly Netflix Originals.

Q: Can you believe that Zootopia came out in 2016? It feels like ages ago. What are other things you have a hard time believing that they occurred in 2016?

A: 2016 actually feels pretty short for me to be honest. I thought Zootopia might have been this time last year, but maybe, that was Zootropolis. I guess Terry Wogan’s death is the thing that feels longer ago than it actually was.
Q: What is your opinion on “mumble rap?” How long do you think its shelf life is? Do you have any love for the likes of Fetty Wap, Young Thug, Desiigner, Chief Keef, Lil Yachty, Future, etc.? Do you think it means anything that they’re all verified artists on Genius? Do you feel as though lyricism in hip hop took a hit?

A: I don’t really like mumble rap. I prefer drill to trap, and I like Young Thug, but it’s never going to be my favourite genre. My dislike of Future is one of my defining characteristics - I’ve tried very hard but I don’t see why people like his music.

It does mean something that they’re all verified - it means that they’re all popular young rappers, and that Genius is eating.

It didn’t affect lyricism in hip-hop. If that’s what you’re about then the good news is that the “real” rappers are still there.

Q: Do you watch the YouTube channel theneedledrop any? Did you hear anything from Corey Feldman’s Angelic 2 The Core? What do you think of music reviews in the first place?

A: I changed my mind; Genius meme of the year is this -




I don’t make a habit of watching Fantano, but when I do I usually like it. I don’t always agree, necessarily, but he clearly knows what he’s talking about and usually makes a strong case supporting his opinion.

Didn’t hear the Corey Feldman album but I will check it out.

Music reviews are important because time and interest is limited, better to get someone else to filter a lot of it for you. You just need to find a reviewer whose tastes reflect your own.

Q: What would you call your highlight of 2016?

A: Probably seeing Father John Misty live in Lisbon in the summer. He’s an incredible performer.

Second place would be Sarah Olney’s election as MP for Richmond Park. It was a relatively small but significant victory for liberalism, for globalism, and for the Liberal Democrats, the political party I support. The last few years haven’t been good for us, but Brexit seems to have reminded people of our value.

Q: What would you call your lowlight of 2016?

A: We’ve done enough on Brexit, Trump, and Bowie. So on a more personal level:The shop I worked in closed down. I got moved to another local branch where I’m finally starting to feel at home, but it was not what I wanted.My mum had an accident in late 2015 which didn’t seem like a big deal, but some nerve damage left her in serious pain for a few months. I felt bad for her, obviously, but it also meant she was always grumpy and intolerant and hard to be around.The whole slickk thing was a disaster. I don’t regret doing it, because it was really necessary and, as pretentious as it sounds, Genius is better for it, but I wish I hadn’t had to do it. I hope he’s OK. Massive rejection by a group can’t feel good.Q: What is your resolution for 2017?

A: My top priority is to graduate and get a job that allows me to make a living. Beyond that, continual self-improvement.