PC: The Roar
Joseph Krebaum
Perspectives writer
Watching the meteoric rise of my generation’s first true pop star, Billie Eilish, was both confusing and incredibly exciting for me five years ago as a high school student. The first time I remember hearing his name was when a senior colleague was raving about one of his gigs. It was in 2018, at the time most of Generation Z thought about their EP from the previous year, don’t smile at mewas going to be his calling card.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t one of those people at first. Part of it was that 2018 was my worst year mentally, and part of it was that I was way too picky, especially when it came to the music of 2018. But the most important part of all of this was that at that point, Eilish’s personality and sonic qualities were derived from the late 10s pop landscape. Out of nostalgia, her early songs like “Ocean Eyes” and “Bitches Broken Hearts” sound good to me now, but as a teenager obsessed with the 90s and 2000s, I wasn’t impressed. And despite the praise from her classmates, I felt like she was overrated.
Then something incredible happened. Shortly after the calendar turned a new page, 2019 brought me something unthinkable: a heterogeneous, sonically daring new single that lived up to the hype. That single was “Bury a Friend,” which just so happened to be the one associated with the announcement of his debut album. A few months later, I finally heard Billie Eilish’s adventurous debut album and wrote a slightly a more positive review that I posted for my enthusiastic Facebook friends to see (I cringe a little thinking about that review, to be honest).
When I first heard WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, I admit that I enjoyed certain moments more than others. At the same time, though, this stunning debut album is where his massive popularity finally clicked for me. It was at this exact moment that Billie Eilish also released the “bad guy” video, and we all got to see her fame skyrocket from there. The rest is history.
Five years have passed since the initial release of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? on March 29, 2019. It remains just as strange, eccentric and daring as ever with tracks like “my strange addiction”, “xanny”, “ilomilo” and some of the aforementioned singles. Often, Eilish’s hushed delivery wonderfully complements her older brother Finneas O’Connell’s muted production. Other times, vocals pass through unique filters, bass frequencies are distorted to the point of blowing the speakers (which they actually do). did this happens with someone I know), and all sorts of little idiosyncrasies do a lot to add to the standard alternative-meets-electropop template.
In a way, I almost consider this record album my unofficial senior time capsule. It takes me back to the days when intoxicating trap beats and hip hop music ruled the school, and it reminds me of a time when pop singers did anything but push the boundaries with their lyrical messages. Once Darkroom and Interscope released Eilish’s debut, there was no going back to those ancient times. The monochromatic era of popular music suddenly seemed much more colorful and vibrant.
Eilish herself would continue to expand her palette with complex jazz and downtempo styles throughout the 2021s. Happier than everand since next April it seems that his third album is coming, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, will continue to innovate and inspire. That being said, the enduring model of Eilish’s sound, style and success will always be her beginning, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. Without a doubt, it will continue to build its reputation as a genre-defying classic for years to come.
PC: The Roar
Joseph Krebaum
Perspectives writer
Watching the meteoric rise of my generation’s first true pop star, Billie Eilish, was both confusing and incredibly exciting for me five years ago as a high school student. The first time I remember hearing his name was when a senior colleague was raving about one of his gigs. It was in 2018, at the time most of Generation Z thought about their EP from the previous year, don’t smile at mewas going to be his calling card.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t one of those people at first. Part of it was that 2018 was my worst year mentally, and part of it was that I was way too picky, especially when it came to the music of 2018. But the most important part of all of this was that at that point, Eilish’s personality and sonic qualities were derived from the late 10s pop landscape. Out of nostalgia, her early songs like “Ocean Eyes” and “Bitches Broken Hearts” sound good to me now, but as a teenager obsessed with the 90s and 2000s, I wasn’t impressed. And despite the praise from her classmates, I felt like she was overrated.
Then something incredible happened. Shortly after the calendar turned a new page, 2019 brought me something unthinkable: a heterogeneous, sonically daring new single that lived up to the hype. That single was “Bury a Friend,” which just so happened to be the one associated with the announcement of his debut album. A few months later, I finally heard Billie Eilish’s adventurous debut album and wrote a slightly a more positive review that I posted for my enthusiastic Facebook friends to see (I cringe a little thinking about that review, to be honest).
When I first heard WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, I admit that I enjoyed certain moments more than others. At the same time, though, this stunning debut album is where his massive popularity finally clicked for me. It was at this exact moment that Billie Eilish also released the “bad guy” video, and we all got to see her fame skyrocket from there. The rest is history.
Five years have passed since the initial release of WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? on March 29, 2019. It remains just as strange, eccentric and daring as ever with tracks like “my strange addiction”, “xanny”, “ilomilo” and some of the aforementioned singles. Often, Eilish’s hushed delivery wonderfully complements her older brother Finneas O’Connell’s muted production. Other times, vocals pass through unique filters, bass frequencies are distorted to the point of blowing the speakers (which they actually do). did this happens with someone I know), and all sorts of little idiosyncrasies do a lot to add to the standard alternative-meets-electropop template.
In a way, I almost consider this record album my unofficial senior time capsule. It takes me back to the days when intoxicating trap beats and hip hop music ruled the school, and it reminds me of a time when pop singers did anything but push the boundaries with their lyrical messages. Once Darkroom and Interscope released Eilish’s debut, there was no going back to those ancient times. The monochromatic era of popular music suddenly seemed much more colorful and vibrant.
Eilish herself would continue to expand her palette with complex jazz and downtempo styles throughout the 2021s. Happier than everand since next April it seems that his third album is coming, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, will continue to innovate and inspire. That being said, the enduring model of Eilish’s sound, style and success will always be her beginning, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. Without a doubt, it will continue to build its reputation as a genre-defying classic for years to come.