Aesthetics of The Month #6 - Beyoncé, Chance the Rapper, and Ed Sheeran

ALBUM COVER - The Lion King: The Gift, Beyoncé

Despite all the hate the new Lion King movie has had aimed its way, something we can salvage from all the wreckage is a new Beyoncé album. At first, I just chose this album cover because it looks really imposing, elegant and classy - all words synonymous with Queen Bey herself. But the more I look at it, the more I realise that it’s actually the perfect image for the Lion King, because on one level it conveys the power struggle between Mufasa and Scar, and later Simba and Scar. But also it points to the ‘circle of life’ (try saying that without breaking into song), and of all the animals playing their part in the merry-go-round of life and death. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been reading so much about Buddhism for my thesis this summer, and the image reminds me a bit of samsara, the wheel of rebirth, and also a little of Taoism’s Yin and Yang. Either way, it’s a super cool image, and one I definitely gravitate towards. 

SONG LYRIC - “She’s giving me ultimatums, I told her I like tomatoes”, Chance the Rapper 

Um…ok, Chance. You go ahead and tell her that *insert confused emoji*. 

After the heavy meanings of the lyrics in my last post on anxiety (which you can read here), for this month’s Best Song Lyric I simply went for something that is fun and made me smile. Chance the Rapper is a soundbite maestro, with ‘Don’t Forget the Happy Thoughts’ now emblazoned across T-Shirts and Hoodies galore. What I love about this lyric is it is completely nonsensical, but it’s this ridiculousness that makes it utterly hilarious. At least next time your partner gives you any ultimatums, you know what to say…

Although on second thought, maybe don’t try this one at home, folks.​

SONG TITLE - Post Malone - Sam Feldt ft. RANI

It’s not particularly inventive, but I always feel it’s kind of meta when an artist uses another artist for the name of their song. The Chainsmokers did it on their early track, ‘Kanye’, and it’s a good way of enticing the listener in, because regardless of whether you’re a fan of the name-checked artist or not, it makes you wonder how they fit into the song’s story and lyrics. It’s also a clever marketing tool, because Post Malone currently has a song in the charts. Maybe it’s just the equivalent of when bloggers look up which keywords are being googled the most and use it as the title for their next post! 

MUSIC VIDEO - Beautiful People, Ed Sheeran ft. Khalid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj0XInqZMHY

There were lots of contenders for this one. Chris Brown and Drake’s ‘No Guidance’ is hilarious, and worth a watch solely for Drake’s self-deprecating dance moves. Equally, another of Ed’s visuals, his collaboration with Travis Scott for ‘Antisocial’, is wonderfully off-the-wall and wacky. Having said that, after having watched it a good 5 times I still have no clue what it’s about. 

‘Beautiful People’ is a poignant rejection of the star-studded, luxurious lifestyle that celebrities often pursue. It follows a middle-aged, down-to-earth couple as they are forced to look on in bemusement at the glitz and glamour of the house parties and fashion shows that engulf them. What’s sweet is they continue to live exactly as they would if they were on a cul-de-sac in Stoke, as opposed to the mock L.A. in the music video. While everyone else is partying, the wife makes the husband a cuppa, and before long they are tucked up in bed with sleeping masks as the music and drinking continues around them. It sums up the message of the song - ‘Droptop, designer clothes/Front row at fashion shows’, before Ed emphatically protests, ‘That’s not who we are’. 

It’s grounding, and refreshing. And the couple in the video are just too darn adorable for me not to pick this as video of the month.
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Read my review of Ed's new album here

Yours sincerely, but not too seriously,
Max.i'm