ANTIART #3: 1999 SPECIAL EDITION
Best albums of '99, a Matrix op-ed, CVS music, plus new music from Yves Tumor & 100 gecs
NOTE FROM THE EDITORS
Ryan and Troy here. On a bi-weekly basis on our Instagram page, we like to take a look back at when we were babies and had really sick music taste. Our moms were playing us Sonic Youth and Pretty Hate Machine in the womb, and dressing us in OshKosh B’Gosh x Unknown Pleasures onesies. Our Life In Albums (1999) takes a look back the albums that shaped us when we were three years old. Coincidentally, it's also The Matrix’s birthday, which came out in ‘99. So, this issue deals a lot with influential albums and art at the turn of the century that still affects trends to this very day.
With Love,
(We know that the twins are from The Matrix: Reloaded stfu)
anti film archive
Entry 002: The Matrix (1999)
It’s rare that a blockbuster movie is a cultural phenomenon, praised by critics and film buffs alike, and has a major effect on society at large.
The Matrix, released on this day in 1999, grossed a total of $171M and is universally praised for its groundbreaking CGI and compelling, icon characters. For those of you living under a rock, the story follows a man named Neo who is unknowingly living in a simulation. He is broken out at times by a man named Morpheus, who gives him the permanent ability to leave with a red pill. It was directed by The Wachowski Sisters, who are both trans women. Recently one of the sisters, Lilly, contended that the movie was intended to be an allegory for the trans experience.
Transgender people have a condition known as gender dysmorphia, meaning they are caused distress from possessing a gender and name that does not conform to their identity. Everything from Neo (a gender neutral name) being called “Mr. Anderson” by the Matrix agents to the red pill being a direct reference to ‘90s estrogen pills.
This recent revelation paints the film in a completely different light, especially considering this modern wave of “red pill” hyper-masculine right wing ideology. Cancerous alpha male figures like Andrew Tate and Sneako push talking points about “escaping the matrix” by treating women like pets and breaking out of the 9-5 grind. The Wachowskis have publicly denounced this interpretation, but at this point, it’s too far gone. It speaks to subjectivity of art that it is a confirmed allegory for the trans experience, yet the “manliest”, most misogynistic and transphobic men use it as their Bible. The irony is insane there.
But now that Sneako is getting roundly slapped by all of YouTube (led by penguinz0) and Tate is in jail, maybe we can turn the tide on this “red pill” corniness.
OUR LIFE IN ALBUMS (1999)
Fiona Apple, When The Pawn…
The Magnetic Fields, 69 Love Songs
Mf Doom, Operation Doomsday
The Roots, Things Fall Apart
American Football, American Football
Dr. Dre, 2001
Slipknot, S/T
Blink-182, Enema Of The State
Nine Inch Nails, The Fragile
Boredoms, Vision Create Newsun
The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
Sigur Ros, Ágætis Byrjun
Mos Def, Black On Both Sides
Built To Spill, Keep It Like A Secret
Sleater-Kinney, The Hot Rock
Bonnie “Prince” Billy, I See A Darkness
THE RISE OF CVS POP by Molly O’Brien
The release of MUNA's "Silk Chiffon" in the fall of 2021 sent me into a tizzy. The production and arrangement and general approach—filtered, stuttering backup vocals against coffee shop open mic night acoustic guitar; snappy drums; frontwoman Katie Gavin singing way out instead of using indie pop voice—awakened something dormant in me. It was the return of the hyper-romantic sound of the late 1990s and I was thrilled.
When "Silk Chiffon" came out, I tweeted my musical prescription for 2022 and beyond: more romantic adult contemporary songs, more power ballads, and more CVS bangers. Why?? Because I was, and am, so tired of the stagnant and anhedonic pop tunes that took over the charts after 2016. I cannot listen to another minimalist beat or another instance of "welcome to my kitchen" vocals. I am sick of Marshmello songs about being sad and Imagine Dragons songs about living in a society. If I heard the Logic song "1-800-273-8255" in a public space, I would need to leave that public space.
This dark era of spare, limp, maudlin songs seemed to predict the misery of Covid times somehow. Compared to the turn-of-2010s "let's all party before we die" pop or even the 2012-2015 "delusional girlboss anthem" pop, 2017-2020 was such a bummer. So "Silk Chiffon" was a very welcome omen of post-vax positivity and indulgence: RIP exes, long live crushes.
It also sounded a lot like "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer, which came out in 1999. The mid-to-late 1990s had such an amazing pocket of dreamy, silly, holistic pop-rock tunes that blurred the distance between romantic and horny: "I Want You" by Savage Garden (1997), "This Kiss" by Faith Hill (1998), "My Favorite Mistake" by Sheryl Crow (1998), "You're Still The One" by Shania Twain (1998), basically everything off Third Eye Blind's self-titled album (1997). These songs came out when I was an impressionable elementary school-aged kid, and they embodied the plush fantasy of a utopian future, without any stress about Y2K. The new millennium was easy to envision through the heart-shaped sunglasses of love.
I have missed this sound very much!! And MUNA was not the last contemporary artist to borrow some of its magic. Maggie Rogers went all in on the late '90s pop-rock sound on "That's Where I Am," the lead single from last year's Surrender (whose release was unfortunately smothered by the same-day launch of Beyoncé's Renaissance). "That's Where I Am" would absolutely crush if it closed out the Lilith Fair I am planning in my mind. It should soundtrack the kind of romantic comedy they stopped making once everyone got a cell phone.
And the cherry on top is Caroline Polachek's Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, released this past February. Caroline is riding the late '90s vibe so damn hard on this album. The way her voice slides all around "Pretty In Possible," the "let's ride away" Spanish escapism of "Sunset," the maximalist new age rush of "Blood and Butter" (complete with bizarro but delightful bagpipe solo), the inclusion of literally Dido as a guest feature — it all contributes to a swoony, lush, vaguely New Age aura that made me think of a cross between Savage Garden and "Desert Rose"-era Sting.
More late 1990s production and songwriting, please. We cannot waste any more time being sparse and sad. Optimism and romance will save us all from the apocalypse. The future is now and it's time to fall in love.
Check out more of Molly’s writing at: https://themollyzone.beehiiv.com/
EVENT: A NEW NIGHTLIFE WAVE
We Take Manhattan 4 w/ Charlie/Shallow & The Life [03.252.23]
Waited outside for far too long despite having an RSVP and being on the list, god the door guy was annoying. Helped Brandon Wardell cut the line and he was very pleasant. Linked up with friend of the page Chris Wade and his wife who wrote the article you just read. Got in, I feel like Gorillaz was playing, maybe it was a sped up version of “19-2000”? Charlie Baker & ShallowHalo were DJing and they killed it. Then, The Life came on and was playing some of those SebAstian-style 2010s French electronic tracks where it low-key sounds like grindcore. Found a girl with the same camera as me. 2 Peronis. A little vape. Left. Good night.
ALBUM REVIEWS
Yves Tumor, Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
Grade: B+ (STANDOUT ALBUM)
On their fifth effort, the third in this newfound rock style, Tumor scores another win. With each passing record by Yves, we add another argument into the “rock music is not dead” conversation. Them and their team of collaborators are so expertly able to filter decades of styles from Sabbath to Lenny Kravitz to Oasis to Funkadelic into one signature sound. This is by far the most accessible and poppy Yves has ever been, they’ve progressed so far from their dark, noisy toiling on their first two records. However, overexposure means less edge. For newcomers to this band, I think this would be a great starting point. However, his last two records, Safe In The Hands of Love and Heaven To A Tortured Mind are leagues ahead in terms of experimentation, sharp songwriting and risk. While this record has instant classics like “God Is a Circle” and “Heaven Surrounds Is Like a Hood”, it also has some weaker cuts like “Operator”.
Regardless of it not fully stacking up to its predecessors, this is still blows everything that came out this year so far out of the water (aside from Kali Uchi’s Red Moon In Venus). It’s catchy, the drums are snappy as hell, the production is rich and full and Yves is an ever-interesting frontman.
If you liked the Yachty album this year, this is essential listening.
100 gecs, 10,000 gecs
Grade: B- (STANDOUT ALBUM)
For being such a warp-speed internet based duo, their second effort took such an absurd amount of time to drop, all thanks to their new label Atlantic. 4 years? Goddamn! The real question that we must contend with her is will such an essential component to modern hyperpop prevail or flop? In order to overcome, they had to release something that retained the soul of their debut, but changed things significantly enough to justify the public still caring. In my opinion, the result is success.
Abandoning some of the earpiercing clipping, random nonsense and unbearable autotune that both defined and held back their debut, the gecs are in a much more listenable direction. This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, less experimentation leads to sparks. On the other, we get genuine bangers like “Dumbest Girl Alive”, “Billy Knows Jamie” and “Frog On The Floor”. The duo skewers ska, nu-metal, rap, acoustic rock and more on the brief 26-minute runtime. While viral cuts akin to “money machine” and “ringtone” are notably absent, I actually prefer this to the original just as an album. The shock factor may be gone, but the music speaks for itself.