In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, dir. Michel Gondry), Clementine, character of actress Kate Winslet, comments that she would like to have the job of naming hair dyes. “The job is taken!”, she complains.

I remembered the scene while choosing lipstick colors on sale. Among the nude tones alone, the variety was impressive: cookie nude, (just) nude, nude matte and my favourite one, naked nude. What could be this colour, so mysterious that needed two synonymous words to be described?

Of course, the marketing worked for me and I bought the naked nude lipstick. Given the package received and the pale beige color of the lipstick, this naked nude was nowhere near as glamorous and daring as its name promised. The job is definitely taken, dear Clem!

I have been thinking a lot about the current mainstream pop and I could not help thinking that if I had to add a colour to the scene, naked nude would be a great option. There is a lot of glamour and eccentric names written in capital letters, a lot of pleonasm in the song lyrics, a lot of repetition in the costumes, wigs, and stage mannerisms.

No doubt the result is very colorful and noisy, but at the same time pasteurized and the result sounds as stimulating as a pale beige palette. I do not agree with the theory tahys says this happens because people happen to like the same things. My point is that in order to like or dislike something, first of all, I must be aware that that thing exists.

And here is the problem: always playing the same songs (whether new releases or oldies), radio stations make it very difficult for you to get to know a whole new world of wonderful independent music, which by the way, will not reach the top spots on streaming platforms, because the algorithms suggest… guess what? Mainstream themes!

And what would be the way to break this vicious cycle? Sincerely? I do not know. The mainstream scene is a million-dollar business, which involves many things beyond music. There is always something to do though, and no matter where you are, there is certainly an independent local scene, no matter how small. A local scene that you can strengthen, whether by promoting or attending events.

After all, expanding your taste beyond the “top hit” lists is also up to you.

Be seeing you!

G.F.